TDCDE 18

18. Rescued, But Utterly Embarrassed

Bai Yuanxiu sat on a protruding rock, staring off at the drifting clouds for what felt like half the day, unmoving.

A deliberately loud set of footsteps stopped behind him. After a moment, a sigh followed:

“I mean, come on. It’s been ages. Don’t you think you’re overdoing it a little?”

Bai Yuanxiu silently turned his head away and focused intently on a squirrel rolling a pinecone nearby.

Ye Nanxun’s forehead twitched with frustration at his attitude. He strode over and smacked Bai Yuanxiu on the back.

“So you bawled your eyes out. Big deal!”

That day, Bai Yuanxiu had thought Xiao Qing was going to die. Desperate and furious, he clutched Xiao Qing in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably. His emotions always ran deep—once they flared, the tears came easily. And back then, he’d felt like his heart was splitting in two. No matter what, he just couldn’t stop crying.

Just when he was about to recklessly blast inner energy around, hoping sheer luck might break open the trap’s sealed entrance so they could force their way out, he’d looked up—and seen Gongsun Chou’s stone-cold face staring back at him.

As the Master of the Black Tortoise Hall, Gongsun Chou almost never left the Demonic Sect and rarely acted personally. Few in the martial world knew much about him. But of the few who did, most agreed: Gongsun Chou was probably the greatest lightness skill expert alive.

And not just that—he was absurdly strong too. After all, you had to be to even lift his pair of massive maces.

They weren’t ordinary maces, either. A gift from the Sect Master, forged from a mysterious black gold—ten times heavier than refined iron. Just one of them could probably leave a crater if dropped on the ground.

That day, all Gongsun Chou said was “Stand back,” before pulling out those twin maces and slam slam slam—hammering away like thunder.

Bai Yuanxiu had wanted to object, thinking there was no way brute force would work here—when suddenly crack, the supposedly indestructible stone wall split open.

Gongsun Chou didn’t look pleased or triumphant. Still expressionless, he swung his maces with such speed they became a blur, and about half a stick of incense later, the entire prison collapsed.

Luckily, Su Wusi had been locked up far enough away; otherwise they would’ve had to dig her out next.

Su Wusi had been fed heavy doses of sedatives and didn’t wake up until the next night after being returned to the Sect. Without the herbal smoke Ye Nanxun concocted, it could’ve taken three or four times as long.

That sedative was fascinating. Once ingested, it plunged the body into a hibernation-like state—Ye Nanxun speculated that, for martial artists like them, even ten days without food or water wouldn’t be fatal.

But Xiao Qing was different.

He’d also been fed the sedative, but his body developed resistance to drugs unusually fast—so it never took effect.

And the medicine wasn’t harmless just because it failed. When it couldn’t knock him out, the side effects hit full force. That’s why Xiao Qing had ended up with internal injuries.

Everyone understood Bai Yuanxiu’s reaction. Xiao Qing had been in real danger. Just a few more hours, and they might not have saved him in time. It made sense he was devastated.

But Bai Yuanxiu couldn’t get over the humiliation.

As he put it, crying in front of Xiao Qing was one thing—Xiao Qing was special, they had a relationship. He’d cried in front of him before.

But in front of the entire Demonic Sect?

All those years of carefully built image, gone. Up in smoke. These past few days, aside from occasionally checking on Xiao Qing in the Azure Dragon Hall, Bai Yuanxiu had gone full hermit mode. No one could find him.

Ye Nanxun had staked out his hiding spot all night just to catch him this morning, and now he didn’t even bother arguing—just casually said,

“Left Protector’s healed.”

Bai Yuanxiu, who had been frozen like an immovable boulder this entire time, shot up like he’d been electrified and sprinted toward Azure Dragon Hall.

Ye Nanxun was speechless. He turned slowly and strolled back at a normal pace.

When he reached the room, Bai Yuanxiu was already inside, glaring at him like he wanted to murder someone.

Ye Nanxun raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? That fast a face-change? What now, you gonna beat me up?”

Next second, Bai Yuanxiu’s whole expression did a 180—like a sunflower suddenly basking in sunlight, he beamed,

“Come on, no way! I was just anxious, okay? My bad, my bad!”

Ye Nanxun knew exactly how much Bai Yuanxiu cared, so he didn’t press it. Instead, he said directly,

“His internal injuries are fine now. But those sedatives are starting to rebound through his system. His body can’t handle any more stress. I’m going to let the effects fade naturally.”

According to Su Wusi, that boy had feared the drugs wouldn’t be effective on Xiao Qing because he was a man, so he kept increasing the dosage during the journey—likely more than she’d received herself.

Bai Yuanxiu had kept vigil all these days. Now that he was finally sure Xiao Qing would be okay, another thought rose up in his heart—one he could no longer suppress.

After leaving Azure Dragon Hall, he headed straight up toward the mountainside.

The Ten Great Scenic Views of Dajing ranked “White Cranes Dancing in the Snow” at Yunhua Mountain as number one. But now the weather had warmed, and the winter snow had melted. To see that scene again, he’d have to wait another year.

Still, Yunhua’s flora had always been lush. With spring barely begun, the plants were already bursting with life, transforming what had been a snowy stage for cranes into a kind of earthly paradise.

As Bai Yuanxiu stepped into the clearing, he caught sight of a massive tiger—tall as a grown man—stretching its hindquarters in the middle of this enchanted grove.

The beast yawned, then lowered its head and nudged the sleeping figure curled up on the grass.

Bai Yuanxiu walked over and crouched beside them, watching his awe-inspiring, mighty Sect Master blink himself awake from a daze.

Leaning against the giant tiger, the Sect Master rubbed his eyes. “What is it?”

“I’m heading down the mountain,” Bai Yuanxiu said.

The Sect Master found it a little odd. “If you want to go down the mountain, go. It’s not like this is your first time running all over the place.”

Back when the Demonic Sect was still located in the far western reaches of Dajing, the area was so remote and surrounded by mountains that most disciples, once they went out and came back, wouldn’t want to leave again. But Bai Yuanxiu had always defied that trend—scaling mountains, crossing rivers, running all over. In just a few short years, he’d climbed to the top of the contribution rankings.

In recent years, the Sect Master had practically let Bai Yuanxiu roam freely. As long as he didn’t stir up anything too big, there was no need to report every little trip out of the sect. To him, going out was no big deal.

But Bai Yuanxiu’s next sentence made the Sect Master pause mid-stroke while petting the tiger.

“I’m going to Nanyang,” Bai Yuanxiu said.

The Sect Master withdrew his hand, stared at him for a long moment, then finally nodded. “Got it. You leaving today?”

“Today.” Bai Yuanxiu smiled. “Don’t know when I’ll be back, so I’ll trouble the Sect Master to tell a little lie for me.”

The Sect Master waved him off. “Sure. Go on, then.”

Bai Yuanxiu really was in a hurry about this. With the Sect Master’s go-ahead, he didn’t delay further—reached out to pat the giant tiger’s head once, then turned and took a shortcut down the mountain.

The Sect Master watched him disappear into the distance for a few seconds, then rolled over and sprawled flat onto the tiger’s belly.

It was noon, and the sunlight was just right. One man and one tiger, lying together in a meadow scattered with tiny wildflowers—it was beautiful enough to be a painting.

Under the rule of Dajing’s wise emperor, the country was prosperous and strong. Merchants from every nation traveled freely, creating a thriving economy in the southern regions.

One of those southern cities was called Nanyang. With its well-developed roads and booming markets, it had even been granted special privileges a few years ago: no nightly curfews, no lockdown orders.

By the time Bai Yuanxiu arrived, it was well past midnight, yet the city was still brightly lit. Even from outside the gates, he could hear the shouting and bargaining of vendors from the Four Corners Market—lively and full of people.

This was his second time in Nanyang. The last time, he’d been just a little child and remembered almost nothing.

Following the flow of foot traffic, he made his way to the bustling East Market, then slipped through a few back alleys to avoid the crowd and arrived in the northeastern residential district before dawn.

Guided by the information he’d gathered beforehand, he walked straight to the most secluded corner of the area—and found the house.

The gate had been freshly painted, the walls and roof tiles new and pristine. There wasn’t a single trace of the “haunted house” rumors attached to it.

Sixteen years ago, the entire family of the merchant surnamed Zhai had died tragically here. Since then, the residence had remained vacant. After the murderer was caught and punished, the house was once again available for rent or sale. But in all that time, no one had taken it.

It wasn’t for lack of buyers. The house was cheap enough to tempt anyone. But every single person who moved in suffered the same fate: they were plagued by nightmares that very night and would fall seriously ill afterward. Eventually, no one dared to live there anymore.

Bai Yuanxiu stood at the gate for a long time.

A middle-aged man wearing a bright orange satin jacket hesitated for a moment, then walked over.

“Young Master, are you here to buy the house?”

Bai Yuanxiu turned his head, putting on that usual warm, approachable smile. “I just heard this house was… unsettled. Thought I’d come take a look.”

The man looked a little annoyed at first, but then his gaze caught sight of the sword at Bai Yuanxiu’s waist. His expression lit up immediately.

“You’re… You’re Hero Bai, aren’t you?”

“Not at all,” Bai Yuanxiu replied modestly. The two exchanged a few pleasantries before Bai Yuanxiu found an opening and slipped in the real question.

“Would you mind telling me a bit about this house?”

The man was more than willing. As soon as he started talking, his brows furrowed with unease.

The incident had happened sixteen years ago, but ever since, the strange happenings had never truly stopped.

The man had taken over the property two years ago, but just like the rumors said, everyone who stayed there had suffered nightmares and eventually fled.

Some even claimed they’d heard faint weeping coming from the house in the middle of the night—enough to make your blood run cold.

At first, the man had thought it was all just talk. But not long ago, when he’d hired workers to repaint and repair the place, he himself had seen something—a white figure in the storage room in the corner of the yard.

As he began describing that terrifying encounter in detail, he suddenly turned to see Bai Yuanxiu—and froze.

The man’s face was full of confusion.

“Hero Bai… what’s wrong?”