Chapter 46: Yu Xiaogang and Flender Arrive in Heaven Dou City! Zhu Zhuqing Is Still on Horseback on Her Way Here

"Li... Li Zhexian..."

"Let... let me take a look at you..."

Xue Qinghe's voice was hoarse, choked with tears, and trembling.

With utmost care, she used her sleeve to wipe away the mud and bloodstains smeared across Li Zhexian's face.

As that familiar countenance gradually emerged from beneath the fabric,

she could no longer hold back her emotions and flung herself into Li Zhexian's embrace.

"Hiss—"

Li Zhexian sucked in a sharp breath.

The spot where Xue Qinghe grabbed happened to be the fracture on his wrist.

"Huh?!"

Xue Qinghe raised her head, the tears still glistening in her eyes, and unceremoniously rolled up Li Zhexian's tattered sleeve.

When she saw the ghastly, deep purple bruise stretching from his wrist all the way up his forearm,

a piercing, chilling murderous intent surged deep within her pupils.

"Did Zhao Wuji do this?"

Li Zhexian smoothed down his sleeve to cover the wound and smiled,

"It's already mostly healed."

"Next time we meet, I will surely execute him."

Xue Qinghe glanced at him and gently nodded.

At this moment, Pufferfish and Serpentine stepped forward, casting suspicious and bewildered looks at Li Zhexian.

"Li Zhexian, your aura..."

"Strange. You are clearly standing right in front of us, yet we cannot sense your presence at all."

This was precisely why Li Zhexian had passed right by them earlier without being detected.

Assuming the two were merely the Crown Prince's personal guards, Li Zhexian simply chuckled and said,

"I had the good fortune of obtaining a rare spiritual herb that can conceal one's aura."

"If not for that, it would have been nearly impossible for me to escape from Zhao Wuji's clutches."

Pufferfish and Serpentine clicked their tongues in wonder.

"To escape with your life under Zhao Wuji's full-forced pursuit..."

"At your age, that is already extraordinarily impressive."

Li Zhexian smiled and said nothing more.

Impressive?

A defeat is still a defeat.

He would simply win it back in the future.

"Let's go, Your Royal Highness."

Li Zhexian turned to Xue Qinghe, whose eyes were still red at the rims.

Xue Qinghe nodded.

"Many people are still out there searching for you."

The two walked side by side toward the edge of the forest.

Suddenly, Xue Qinghe came to a halt.

"What is it?"

Li Zhexian looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"Wait a moment."

Xue Qinghe raised her fingertips.

A wisp of pure, radiant light spirit power overflowed from her fingertips, condensing in front of her into a smooth, mirror-like curtain of spirit energy.

She faced the light mirror.

She tidied her slightly disheveled hair, which had been ruffled by her emotional agitation.

Then, she produced a pristine white handkerchief and wiped away the remaining specks of mud from her cheek.

Only after completing all of this

did she notice Li Zhexian standing beside her, shaking his head with an amused smile.

That mud-stained face revealed a flash of exceptionally dazzling white teeth.

"What... are you laughing at?"

Xue Qinghe checked her reflection in the mirror once more, confirming everything was in order.

Li Zhexian's smile grew even warmer.

"I am laughing at how much you care about your appearance."

"Look at me, covered in mud and blood—it's practically dried into a shell, and I didn't even think to wipe it off."

Xue Qinghe gave him a playful, exasperated glare, the tips of her ears turning slightly red.

"It's your fault. The mud on my face... wasn't it all yours?"

"If I went out looking like that, what would other people think?"

Li Zhexian said helplessly,

"Well, it's clean now, let's go..."

"What's the rush?"

Xue Qinghe stepped in front of Li Zhexian, picked up the pristine white handkerchief once more, and raised her hand to wipe away the remaining mud from his face.

"I've already used this handkerchief."

She lowered her gaze and asked,

"You don't mind, do you?"

Li Zhexian looked at their reflection in the light mirror—Xue Qinghe's movements were gentle and focused, her expression carrying a rare earnestness and tenderness.

His own features gradually became clear beneath her wiping.

Li Zhexian smiled and said,

"What if I said I did mind?"

"Then you'll just have to endure it."

Without raising her head, Xue Qinghe replied with a hint of unyielding, affectionate coquetry.

Pufferfish and Serpentine deliberately lagged behind by a few paces.

From afar, they watched the two who were standing almost shoulder to shoulder.

Pufferfish cast a sidelong glance at Serpentine, his gaze carrying profound meaning.

Wasn't it you who patted your chest and guaranteed "everything will be fine"?

Serpentine let out a silent sigh.

As he watched the gentle tenderness the Young Master displayed while wiping Li Zhexian's face,

even he—a ruthless blood-stained executioner—felt a warmth melt against his heart, smoothing away its cold edges.

He suddenly murmured in a low voice,

"The Young Master infiltrated this Heaven Dou City entirely alone at the age of nine..."

"A young girl, navigating the treacherous and deceitful depths of the imperial palace all by herself, enduring countless trials and hardships..."

"Only you and I, as brothers, have witnessed it all and felt the ache in our hearts."

"But the Supreme Pontiff..."

Pufferfish's expression stiffened abruptly.

Serpentine continued on his own train of thought.

"Knowing what I know of the Supreme Pontiff..."

"She would never rest easy without leaving her eyes and dark agents by the Young Master's side... they most certainly exist."

"Now that Li Zhexian has grown so close to the Young Master,"

"he has likely already fallen into the Supreme Pontiff's sight."

Pufferfish clenched his fists tightly.

He knew all too well the methods and temperament of that Supreme Pontiff.

Once she decided that Li Zhexian might become a variable threatening the Spirit Hall's grand plan, there was no telling how cold and ruthless her actions would be.

"We both know what it meant when the Young Master lost her composure after Li Zhexian went missing."

"If the Supreme Pontiff truly moves against Li Zhexian..."

"I shudder to imagine how the Young Master would react."

Serpentine's tone grew heavy.

"We can only hope that the Supreme Pontiff still..."

"retains a shred of bloodline affection for the Young Master."

When Li Zhexian and Xue Qinghe emerged from the forest

and came into the sight of the anxiously searching crowd,

after a brief moment of silence, an uproar of wild joy erupted, and everyone surged forward like a tide.

Dugu Yan froze for a fraction of a second, then rushed toward him like a madwoman, her tears scattering along her path.

Discarding all hesitation, she threw herself into Li Zhexian's arms, her voice thick with lingering terror.

"Li Zhexian..."

"Wuwu... you... you scared me to death..."

Ye Lengleng also jogged over to Li Zhexian.

The young girl subconsciously lifted her arm slightly, as if she, too, wished to embrace him.

Yet in the end, she timidly pulled it back.

With tear-filled, azure eyes, she simply looked at him in silence and whispered softly,

"As long as you're safe... as long as you're safe..."

This scene fell into the eyes of Ye's mother in the distance,

causing her to knit her brows in frustration.

"Lengleng, you're far too passive!"

"With such a great opportunity, if you don't take the initiative, when will it ever be your turn?"

Seeing that Li Zhexian was safe and sound, Dugu Bo stroked his white beard with a smile and his figure vanished abruptly.

The members of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy team were equally overjoyed at the sight.

Yufeng had the most dramatic reaction.

A grown man, he actually covered his mouth and wept.

Aosuo felt his scalp tingle at the sight.

"Yufeng, for heaven's sake, what on earth are you crying for?!"

Yufeng glared at him through his tears and choked out,

"My idol is safe! With such a touching scene, are you telling me I can't shed a couple of tears?"

Unable to stand a grown man blubbering any longer, Aosuo turned to the Shi brothers.

"Give Yufeng two punches for me!"

"You got it!"

After soothing the emotionally overwhelmed crowd,

Li Zhexian waved his hand grandly and borrowed a hundred gold coins from Xue Qinghe.

He hosted a lavish banquet at the Fragrant Delicacies Pavilion to treat these rare and cherished friends.

Meanwhile,

at the other end of Heaven Dou City,

Yu Xiaogang and Flender were burning with anxiety. Just as they had left Soto City,

Flender had activated his Martial Soul True Body—the Four-Eyed Douluo Owl—and carried Yu Xiaogang in a rapid flight toward Heaven Dou.

Driven by such relentless travel,

they finally arrived a day later.

Liu Erlong, who had been waiting for a long time, led them to the village where Ma Hongjun was hidden.

Upon seeing Ma Hongjun lying on the bed—missing his right arm and lower body, still unconscious—

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth fiercely, a gloomy shadow crossing his rigid face.

Flender, who had brought Ma Hongjun all the way from the village, felt his eyes instantly turn bloodshot.

And at this very moment,

Zhu Zhuqing was still whipping her horse onward, galloping tirelessly through the dust on the road toward Heaven Dou City.