Chapter 53: Hatred

“Alright, you may go. I’m entrusting this matter to you,” the superior instructed with calm indifference.

“Yes, I take my leave,” the elder replied, then turned and departed.

With the elder gone, only He Er and the unconscious He Yi remained in the hall below. He Er, kneeling beside He Yi, dared not utter a word. It was only after the elder left that He Er trembled and addressed the figure above, “Master…”

No sooner had he spoken than a howl of agony pierced the air. In an instant, the two figures were swept away by a gust of wind, scattered to ashes.

“Useless, nothing but a waste,” the person seated uttered coldly before vanishing without a trace.

Turning now to the elder’s side.

The elder returned to his own courtyard. Facing the empty air, he spoke, “Summon Su Jin to see me.”

“Yes,” came the reply from the emptiness, followed by a ripple of air that quickly faded back to tranquility.

Unconcerned, the elder strode into his chamber. Standing by the window, he mused, “The Qilin... The Qilin is the sacred beast of Tianyu Mountain. Why would it rescue that young man? Could it be there’s something extraordinary about him?”

As the elder pondered, a knock sounded at the door.

“Elder,” called a voice from outside.

“Enter,” he responded.

At his word, the door opened and in walked a young woman of striking beauty. Her expression was devoid of emotion, her aura as cold as the elder’s own. The blankness of her face seemed almost a waste of such loveliness.

Upon entering, she bowed respectfully. “Elder, you summoned me. What are your instructions?”

“There is a task I wish to assign you,” the elder said.

“Please, Elder,” she replied with deference.

“I need you to get close to someone.” With a wave of his sleeve, an illusion appeared in the air, displaying a young man—Lin Hao.

When the elder first saw Lin Hao, he had recorded his appearance with a memory crystal. The young woman, upon seeing Lin Hao’s face, frowned, a flicker of doubt in her eyes as she looked to the elder.

“This is the one you must approach. I want to know his secrets. Every detail about him must be clear to me. Gain his trust—stay by his side,” the elder instructed.

“Su Jin receives her orders.” Listening intently, Su Jin bowed deeply and replied solemnly.

“Good, but…” The elder hesitated, sizing Su Jin up and down.

Feeling uneasy under his gaze, Su Jin glanced over herself, finding nothing amiss. She looked questioningly at the elder.

He coughed, a rare show of awkwardness. “Ahem, you must be careful—don’t approach him with that cold expression. If you mess up the task, you alone will answer for it.”

“Rest assured, Elder, Su Jin knows how to conduct herself,” she replied, a twitch at her mouth betraying her understanding of his implication, though her face quickly returned to composure.

“Very well, you may go,” the elder said, perhaps feeling his words had bordered on impropriety, and turned away.

Obediently, Su Jin left the elder’s courtyard, vanishing in a flash.

After she departed, the elder spoke again in his chamber, “Report to me immediately about Su Jin’s mission, especially anything concerning the Qilin.”

“Yes,” came the answer from the air, then silence again.

The elder, accustomed to such exchanges, kept his face impassive.

Turning now to Lin Hao’s situation.

The Qilin, having whisked Lin Hao and Mo Ming away, brought them to its cave. Both were unconscious, so the Qilin transferred some spiritual energy to them and stood guard at the entrance.

Lin Hao’s wounds were lighter. After nearly half an hour, he awoke, stirred, and took in his surroundings. Startled, he sat up quickly, pain shooting through his injured arm. He hissed, held his arm, and leaned against the wall, surveying the cave.

He glanced to the entrance and saw the Qilin, surprise flickering in his eyes.

The Qilin, noticing Lin Hao’s awakening, spoke into his mind, “You’re awake. How do you feel?”

Lin Hao immediately replied, “It was you who saved me, wasn’t it?”

“Yes,” answered the Qilin.

“And my junior brother?” Lin Hao asked, suddenly remembering Mo Ming.

“He’s right beside you.” At the Qilin’s reminder, Lin Hao looked behind him and saw Mo Ming lying there.

A sheepish smile appeared on Lin Hao’s lips as he went over to check on Mo Ming. Seeing his pale face, Lin Hao felt his pulse and realized Mo Ming had suffered serious internal injuries. But Lin Hao had no pills to heal him, and could only gaze at him with worry, considering whether to consult the system.

The Qilin, observing Lin Hao’s distress, said nothing and slipped out of the cave.

Lin Hao noticed this movement and wanted to call out, but before he could speak, the Qilin was gone. He swallowed his words and stayed quietly inside.

Before long, the Qilin returned, carrying several spirit herbs in its mouth. It dropped them in front of Lin Hao and said, “Apply these to your wounds, and give some to your brother.”

With that, the Qilin turned back to lie at the cave entrance.

Lin Hao stared blankly at the Qilin, then at the herbs in his hand. Realization dawned—Qilin had gone to find medicine for him and Mo Ming. Gratitude flooded his heart, and he smiled warmly at the Qilin.

He quickly administered the herbs to Mo Ming. As for himself, the ice spike in his shoulder had not yet melted.

Lin Hao gripped the spike with his right hand, closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and pulled hard.

A muffled cry escaped him. The spike, mixed with blood and fragments of bone, was wrenched free.

Sweat soaked his body, his face pale, but he managed to apply the herb to his wound.

Whatever spirit herb the Qilin had found, it began to scab the wound almost immediately, though his internal injuries remained severe.

Looking at the melting ice spike in his hand, Lin Hao’s eyes burned with resolve. “This debt will be repaid. One day, Lin Hao will return it tenfold!”

He closed his eyes and sat in meditation to heal.

The Qilin said nothing, but quietly guarded the entrance.

Lin Hao meditated for two days and nights. On the third day, he remained unmoving.

At noon, the Qilin had gone out to hunt.

Suddenly, a woman’s cry rang out from outside the cave.

Startled, Lin Hao opened his eyes, exhaled deeply, withdrew his spiritual energy, and rotated his shoulder—it was nearly healed.

He rose, looking toward the cave entrance, confusion in his eyes.

“Where has the Qilin gone?”

At the entrance, several feral beasts were chasing a winged woman, who fled desperately among them.

The beasts roared furiously, jaws wide, lunging at her.

Terrified, she cried out for help.

Seeing the winged woman, Lin Hao concluded she must be a native of Tianyu Mountain.

Watching the beasts and the native, Lin Hao decided to ignore them. He’d already made enemies among the mountain’s inhabitants—better to avoid further entanglement. He turned to retreat into the cave.

But the woman had spotted him and shouted, “Young master, save me!” She ran toward him, bringing the beasts in tow.

Lin Hao cursed under his breath, “Damn it!”

Before he could react, the woman had grabbed his sleeve, hiding behind him and leaving him no chance to evade.

Helpless, Lin Hao drew his Cloud-Swallowing Sword to face the beasts.

Fortunately, after two days of healing, he’d recovered enough to handle a few low-level beasts.

With swift flashes of his sword, he dispatched the beasts in only a few moves.

He collected the beast cores from their bodies before turning to the woman, frowning, his gaze wary rather than compassionate.

The woman noted his vigilance and thought, This boy is cautious.

Her expression shifted instantly to one of pitiful vulnerability. She bowed lightly to Lin Hao. “Thank you, young master, for your rescue. Without you, I would have been torn apart by those beasts.”

Lin Hao was not convinced. He stepped forward, grabbed her hand to test her.

She did not resist, but Lin Hao regarded her with surprise.

No trace of spiritual energy? Does she have no cultivation?

The woman, seeing Lin Hao’s silent probing, blushed. A fleeting murderous intent flashed in her eyes, but she quickly remembered her mission and calmed herself.

“Why does young master do this?” she asked, her tone unfriendly.

Broken from his thoughts, Lin Hao released her hand. “Oh, nothing. Forgive my offense. Now that the beasts are slain, you may leave.” He turned coldly away.

Seeing Lin Hao was about to return to the cave, the woman hurriedly grabbed his collar.

Impatient, Lin Hao said, “Is there something else you need?”

“Will you really leave a weak woman to wander alone in these wild mountains?” she said plaintively, inwardly cursing, What kind of man is this? So heartless!

“You survived alone before you met me, didn’t you? What’s the problem?” Lin Hao replied, clearly indifferent to her fate.

“I don’t care. You saved me, so you must take responsibility!”