Chapter 233: The Old Nun of the Jinzhou City Nunnery

Chapter 233: Chapter 233: The Old Nun of the Jinzhou City Nunnery

A show of force.

Such a display of power was enough to give those who coveted the White Fox a serious wake-up call.

Otherwise, the road to the Celestial Dao Palace would likely be plagued by endless trouble.

He stood in midair, waiting for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. In the end, no one else came forward. The way they looked at him had changed. Although many eyes were filled with hatred, what lingered was a thick, unshakable fear.

Chu Fan shook his head and strode through the void, heading back toward the city.

Before long, he arrived back at the inn.

But as he was about to leap into the small courtyard, he was blocked mid-jump by a barrier.

Seeing this barrier, how could Chu Fan not understand?

’That woman, Leng Yingxue, is truly devious,’ he thought.

’If she didn’t want to help, she could have just said so.’

’I originally thought that if those people tried to take advantage of the situation, they would just be courting death!’

’No wonder they all chased me outside the city!’

A large portion of them must have wanted to take advantage of the chaos to snatch the White Fox, but unfortunately, they couldn’t break through the barrier. That’s why they went outside the city to find him.

"I’m back!" Chu Fan called out.

The moment he spoke, the barrier vanished.

"Is the trouble all taken care of?" Leng Yingxue asked, looking at Chu Fan with some surprise.

"Who do you think I am? You call that little nuisance trouble? I guarantee they won’t dare bother me again anytime soon," Chu Fan said, not without a hint of pride.

Leng Yingxue rolled her eyes at him.

The White Fox flew into Chu Fan’s arms like a bolt of lightning.

"Let’s go,"

Leng Yingxue said coolly.

Chu Fan nodded.

They left the courtyard together, settled the bill in the main hall, and began walking toward the city gates.

Along the way, any Cultivators they encountered scrambled to get out of their path.

This made Leng Yingxue incredibly curious.

She couldn’t figure out how a Little Kalami like Chu Fan, merely at Tier Four of the Divine Separation Realm, had escaped the siege of so many experts.

It now seemed he had truly and utterly intimidated them.

In truth, it wasn’t that Leng Yingxue was unwilling to intervene; it was simply that her pride wouldn’t allow her to take the initiative.

She had planned to act when Chu Fan could no longer hold on, or when he cried out and begged her for help.

Now, burning with curiosity, she still couldn’t bring herself to ask.

She could only follow behind Chu Fan in silence, matching his steps. But no matter how hard she thought, she just couldn’t comprehend how he had managed to turn the tables and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Back in the county town, in the rear courtyard of the County Magistrate’s Government Office, Princess Huaining had smashed everything she could in the study.

The room was a complete wreck.

She had arrived with such a powerful entourage, making a grand show of force, and had assumed victory would be effortless.

Who would have thought she would end up paying such a heavy price?

Ten Divine Separation Realm masters were dead. Four of them were her personal guards, assigned to her by her father, the Prince. Even her father had treated those four with the utmost respect.

The other six, while not from the Prince’s Mansion, were Tributors from various vassal families.

How was she going to explain this?

Her father’s punishment would be a minor issue. The real problem was that after this incident, he would surely be disappointed in her.

Moreover, this rare opportunity to get closer to the Crown Prince was now gone, just like that.

Chu Fan.

Although she wished she could eat his flesh and drink his blood, what trump cards did she have left to use against him?

Ten Divine Separation Realm masters, killed invisibly in a mere moment.

Such methods...

"Commandery Princess, the Crown Prince’s Personal Guard have arrived with a decree from His Highness."

A Maid’s voice announced from outside the room.

Long Yujie’s heart jumped. ’The Crown Prince’s Personal Guard? Here to see me with a decree from the Crown Prince?’

Filled with confusion, she tidied her makeup, smoothed the wrinkles on her clothes, took a deep breath, and forced a smile before opening the door and walking out.

Leaving the rear courtyard, she saw the County Magistrate in the main hall, cautiously attending to a middle-aged man clad in armor.

"You are Princess Huaining?" the armored middle-aged man asked.

"I am. May I ask what instructions the Crown Prince has for me?" Long Yujie said with a slight curtsy.

"By order of His Highness, I am to take the ten corpses and bring them back to the Traveling Palace."

"But..."

Long Yujie hesitated. Although they were just corpses, she had a duty to return them for a proper accounting—whether it was the four from her own Prince’s Mansion or the six from the vassal families.

But with the Crown Prince himself sending someone to collect them, how could she dare defy his decree?

"What? Does Princess Huaining intend to defy a direct order?" the middle-aged man’s brows shot up, and Long Yujie flinched in fright.

Long Yujie hurriedly said, "Since it is His Highness’s command, how could I dare disobey? The bodies are in the rear hall. Please, General, take them."

The General had his men take the corpses. After seeing the General’s party off, the County Magistrate cautiously followed behind Long Yujie.

"Commandery Princess, it would be best for you to report this matter to the Prince. The clearer you are, the better it will be for you."

Long Yujie looked at him. "Continue."

"Since the Crown Prince sent men to retrieve the corpses, he must have heard about the battle outside the city and has grown suspicious of Chu Fan’s methods. When you report to the Prince, there is no need to embellish the story. Just state the facts. The Prince will certainly deliberate on the matter."

"Are you suggesting that Chu Fan really did use an Evil Technique?"

"This humble official would not dare to make such a rash judgment!"

Chu Fan, now far from Shanyin County, was of course unaware that after he had forcefully torn through one great net, an even larger one was about to descend upon him.

And no one knew how many more people would throw themselves to their deaths, one after another, in this coming net.

At the moment, Chu Fan was in a relatively good mood. Although he still hadn’t figured out who was pulling the strings against him, he had at least shaken off this trouble for the time being.

They walked for a long time, and Leng Yingxue was curious the entire way, but in the end, she never voiced her questions.

"I have an old acquaintance in Jinzhou City ahead," she said. "After we enter the city, I will go to see her. If she is there, we will rest in this city for three to five days. If not, we will leave tomorrow morning."

"Oh? That’s good. It’ll save me some silver." What Chu Fan actually wanted to say was, ’Finally, I can escape your demonic clutches.’

"While I am visiting my acquaintance, you may do as you please, but you are forbidden from leaving Jinzhou City. Otherwise, when I find you, I will surely kill you."

"I say, my lady, can you please not threaten to kill me at every turn?" Chu Fan said helplessly.

"If you do not wish for me to kill you, you had best not defy my demands," Leng Yingxue said coldly.

"Fine, fine, fine! Your fist is bigger, so you’re right!"

The moment Chu Fan finished speaking, Leng Yingxue’s gaze overflowed with killing intent.

He couldn’t help but feel a chill run down his spine.

Chu Fan just didn’t realize that his words had inadvertently offended Leng Yingxue.

In truth, she herself hadn’t figured out what kind of feelings she had for Chu Fan.

On one hand, she despised him, for he had sullied the chastity she had preserved for nearly two hundred years.

But whenever she heard Chu Fan mention Yun Xi, or when he acted like he didn’t care about her, her heart would feel a little disappointed and sour.

At the same time, she was curious about everything about him.

She also felt a sense of empathy for his past experiences.

In short, it was complicated, like a tangled mess of hemp with countless knots that was impossible to straighten out.

The real reason she had been sticking to him like a shadow was that, deep down, she wanted to understand her own heart.

The two of them and the fox didn’t walk for long before they took to the air. A little over an hour later, they arrived at Jinzhou City.

As soon as they entered the city, Leng Yingxue vanished from his sight without so much as a word to Chu Fan.

On Brocade Mountain in the north of the city, there was a nunnery. In total, only eight people resided there.

The nunnery’s simplicity stood in stark contrast to the prosperity of Jinzhou City.

However, judging by the overflowing ash in the incense burner before the nunnery, it had no shortage of faithful followers.

After parting ways with Chu Fan, Leng Yingxue arrived at the rear courtyard of the nunnery.

"Amitabha. So it is Donor Leng. This morning, my master instructed this humble nun that you would arrive around noon. Please, Donor Leng, follow me."

An elderly nun put down her broom, pressed her palms together in a salute to Leng Yingxue, and then led her into a Zen courtyard.

Inside the Zen courtyard, a nun who looked much younger than the elderly one sat cross-legged on a prayer mat, gently tapping a wooden fish.

"This humble nun has been waiting for you for ten years."