Chapter Fifty-Five: The Reason for the Pursuit

Watching Su Yi, who seemed to care quite a bit about the matter, Lie Feifei glanced at him uneasily, then lowered her head slightly and whispered, “I… I followed you here…”

“You followed me?!” Though he’d suspected from the start—after all, there was no way their meeting here was a coincidence—actually hearing Lie Feifei admit to trailing him still filled Su Yi with disbelief. He, of all people, had been followed? And the one following him was only a newly advanced Dou Practitioner! With his extraordinary soul perception, how could he have missed it?

First, he’d been ambushed by a Dou Cultivator, then secretly tailed by a Dou Practitioner—twice in succession he had failed to sense danger in advance. The realization left Su Yi somewhat dispirited.

He looked at Lie Feifei, who still seemed unsure of herself, and sighed inwardly before frowning. “Why did you follow me? Do you need something?”

Faced with his question, Lie Feifei could only stammer out her reasons. She had always looked down on Su Yi, never expecting much from him. However, today, the very person she regarded as a useless cripple had, right before her eyes, effortlessly defeated Liu Xuan, a third-level Dou Practitioner.

From the ease with which he’d seized Liu Xuan’s wrist, to the casual snap of his arm, and that final kick that sent him sprawling, everything overturned Lie Feifei’s understanding. When did third-level Dou Practitioners become so weak? How could a supposed good-for-nothing defeat one so thoroughly?

It had been a one-sided, brutal display from start to finish.

Lie Feifei could hardly believe her eyes. She refused to accept the possibility that Su Yi had regained his strength, telling herself again and again it was impossible. Though she’d once liked him, Su Yi had long since become a cripple, and deep down, the now resentful Lie Feifei was unwilling to see him rise again.

Yet, having personally witnessed Su Yi display power at least on par with a third-level Dou Practitioner, she felt not only shock, but a restless unease, even a faint, creeping fear.

To dispel her doubts, Lie Feifei decided to investigate for herself and secretly followed him—until she saw Su Yi ambushed, which both startled her and seemed like an opportunity, so she continued to follow, spying in secret.

But what she saw left her stunned. The assailant was a Dou Cultivator, and yet, the Dou Cultivator ended up dead!

Even at the height of his former prowess, Su Yi could never have managed such a feat—yet now, the supposed cripple had done it. Overwhelmed, Lie Feifei had made an involuntary movement, which unfortunately alerted Su Yi.

Having learned the reason, Su Yi could only smile wryly at the irony. Who would have thought Lie Feifei would come to “gather intelligence” for this? Looking at the tear-streaked, pitifully beautiful face before him, Su Yi felt a strange emotion stir in his chest.

He had intended to remove his hand from Lie Feifei’s shoulder, but catching sight of her fair neck and the delicate skin exposed at her collar, he unconsciously hesitated. The rise and fall of her chest as she breathed brought to mind earlier, wicked thoughts of making her submit to him.

Now, Lie Feifei had already yielded, obeying his every command. If he were to make her his plaything…

Su Yi shuddered inwardly, forcefully suppressing the urge. Looking at the lovely, shapely Lie Feifei, his breathing quickened slightly. His right hand, still on her shoulder, slowly slid down, inching toward her ample chest.

Sensing his unusual movement, Lie Feifei gasped, instinctively trying to pull away. Blushing, she shot him a glance. “Su Yi… what are you doing?”

“I’m just testing whether you really obey my orders,” Su Yi replied with a sly chuckle, his eyes on her flustered, embarrassed expression. “From now on, you’re to stand here—don’t move an inch, understand?”

Lie Feifei, who had wanted to struggle free, froze at his words and stood rigidly, allowing Su Yi’s hand to rest on her chest, her eyes filled with indescribable embarrassment.

Su Yi gently kneaded the part of her that every man in Changling City dreamed of touching. He swallowed, forcing himself to banish all inappropriate thoughts, and slowly withdrew his hand.

But it truly was astonishingly soft, he mused to himself.

Having just been groped, Lie Feifei felt a strange sensation from the masculine hand on her sensitive flesh. She was at a loss, unsure how to respond or what to say.

The silence between them grew awkward. Glancing at the corpse on the ground, its face still frozen in disbelief, Lie Feifei hesitated before speaking softly, “Su Yi, how did you become so powerful? Even a Dou Cultivator isn’t your match…”

Su Yi gave a bitter smile. Although, thanks to his formidable soul power, he was perhaps stronger than ever, facing a Dou Cultivator was still perilous—hadn’t he just been on the losing end of a vicious fight?

Were it not for the tenacious, razor-sharp Xuanlong Tendon and a surprise attack, he could never have killed a Dou Cultivator so easily.

Looking at the corpse, now cleaved in two, Su Yi swallowed hard. The power of the Xuanlong Tendon still unnerved him—he’d never used it to kill before, let alone someone stronger than himself.

If that razor edge ever turned against him, it would be a disaster. Though the Xuanlong Tendon became razor-sharp when infused with Dou Qi, its sole flaw was that its entire length became lethally sharp, endangering its wielder.

Fortunately, it could be controlled with soul power, and as long as one didn’t move the part gripped in hand, it was relatively safe. Su Yi had practiced this a few days ago. In this continent, Xuanlong Tendon users fell into two camps: those who specially modified the weapon for safety, and those powerful enough to wield it as-is.

Su Yi, lacking the expertise to alter his weapon, could only use it with caution. Touching the strand wound about his arm, now inert without Dou Qi, he wondered if Lie Feifei had noticed it.

Without Dou Qi, the Xuanlong Tendon looked ordinary and couldn’t be manipulated by soul power. Few would recognize it, but Su Yi preferred to keep his trump card secret.

Lie Feifei, seeing the shifting emotions on Su Yi’s face as he remained silent, grew anxious. Had she said something wrong? Her life was now in his hands, and she was utterly powerless to resist. The thought made her feel both desolate and lost.

She, one of the three great beauties of Changling City, had always been admired and pursued, proud and aloof, dismissive of those she disliked. Who could have imagined she’d one day have to humble herself before the very youth she once scorned?

Su Yi returned to himself, recalling her earlier question. He smiled faintly. “You really think I’m that powerful now?”

“Of course!” Lie Feifei replied in her melodious voice, her smile sweet. “He was a level-thirteen Dou Cultivator!”

“Level thirteen?” Su Yi’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Do you know him?”

Lie Feifei nodded obediently. “His name is Zhong Yuan, one of the Auburn family’s guards. He’s often seen at Auburn Mountain’s side. Just a few months ago, he advanced from level twelve to level thirteen.”

Su Yi nodded, thinking that he’d been out of the loop for a while. But if his opponent was truly a level-thirteen Dou Cultivator, that made his trump card even more impressive.

With that, he walked over to the corpse, searching it briefly. He found only a coin storage card before tossing both card and corpse into the storage ring on his left hand.

Lie Feifei’s eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the storage ring, her gem-like gaze filled with questions.

Su Yi caught her expression and smiled. “It seems you have something to ask?”

“Yes! How did you suddenly become so strong? And how do you have a storage ring? Could it be…” Lie Feifei hesitated, then ventured, “You were never crippled by the destruction of your Dou Qi core? Was it all a lie?”

“Then why did you do it?” Her voice was a mix of confusion and something like regret. “If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have…”

“Young Miss Lie—” Su Yi’s tone suddenly turned cold and unfamiliar, a mocking edge curling his lips as he looked at her.

“It seems you really have a thing for white knights, don’t you?”