Chapter 54: Hmph, evil spirits be gone!

At dusk, after finishing the day’s training, Ying Zhiyao was utterly spent, so exhausted that she could neither raise her hands nor move her feet.

Ji Shichu carried her steadily on his back, his heart aching for her.

“Can you hold on a little longer?”

“Come, come—replace that peony vessel over there. Its position is unsuitable.” Old Butler Feng pointed toward a jade-green peony vessel.

Luo Ziran’s food poisoning caused an uproar throughout the Luo family. Luo’s father flew into a rage. Luo Ziran was the heir to the FH Group—how could they let such a grave incident pass without consequence? Compared with his father, Luo Ziran himself was far calmer. He had already vaguely guessed who had tampered with the food.

Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind and took the rose from her grasp. One by one, the thorns were plucked from its stem until only a smooth stalk remained, which was then placed back in Pei Yiyue’s hand.

At the same time, Ailan’s enormous wolf paw slammed into the ground. The vital force within his body surged and boiled forth, rapidly melting the snow around him like flames of searing heat.

Yet before they even reached the bottom of the building, Fang Xiachu was startled by Qin Letian, who suddenly sprang out from beside her.

Sure enough, before the stack of plates had even floated to the dining hall, the spell failed. The plates hanging in midair came crashing down in a clatter.

After untying the ropes around her and removing the white cloth stuffed into her mouth, they laid her flat on the bed.

Xia Hua was puzzled and asked A-Qiu, “Can Hongyu truly let go? Why do I feel that he seems to be in such pain?” At that, Su Lianyan looked as though she wanted to say something, but stopped herself.

After Xiao Bofan broke free, Luo Ziran did not continue attacking her. He curled up on the sofa, his entire body trembling incessantly, his face revealing profound agony.

Some distance away, a man who had retreated to safety saw that Lian Yuncheng had been surrounded and was fighting desperately among the people of the Huashan Sect.

Had she been another official, Gongsun Yu would not have been affected. But when such an air appeared upon her face, he could not help being moved. The reason was simple: beauty was a kind of power.

At that thought, an idea occurred to her. She suddenly barked like a dog. The instant the cry left her lips, Huimin, who had been lunging toward them, halted abruptly. Her pupils flew wide, and for a moment her entire body trembled with terror.

Lian Yuncheng sensed that something was wrong and knew they could not remain there for long. He decided that leaving first was the wisest course. But just as he cast himself into the air with his lightness technique, he felt several murderous presences racing toward him.

There was nothing he could do. Once again, he had been summoned back to the police station, and he knew the situation was becoming more troublesome by the day.

Since Old Du insisted that the person who delivered the note had handed it over aboard the vessel, and the great ship was now in the middle of the river, it was impossible for him to disembark. Yet Old Du and Jiang Baiyou had already searched once and found nothing. There was something distinctly suspicious about the matter.

The demonized Marshal of the Rolled Curtain, Sha Seng, was corrupted by the pure, sacred radiance of the white glazed fragments. Unable to bear the torment, he let out a scream of agony.

As she spoke, the Gu sorceress pointed toward Huimin nearby. Huimin’s eyes were vacant; in an instant, she seemed to become a puppet. By then, she was under his complete control.

Suddenly, a clear ape cry rang out from above, shattering the stillness of the temple. A golden ape no more than a foot tall clung to a branch with both feet, watching Yan Luanshuang intently with wary eyes.

“This—this…” Gu Wanli had never imagined that there could be such a story behind it. He listened in utter astonishment.

Historically, Lu Bu wielded the Heaven-Piercing Painted Halberd. As for Ran Min, he held a double-edged spear in one hand and a linked-hook halberd in the other. The two men in the Uighur army wielded the same weapons.