Mu Qingye remained silent, offering no reply. After a few seconds, he simply turned to leave.
He rode his horse towards the palace prison. Before reaching it, he passed by Consort Ruo Qinxue's residence. Mu Qingye looked without any intention of stopping.
"When the time comes, I will take you out of this hellish prison," he murmured, his focus returning to the main road.
A few miles from here...
"Old man, where is this?" Zhao Mingxuan asked.
"Sir, this is Muzi," the old man said, pointing to a sign in front of his stall.
It read 'Vegetable Noodles, Muzi'.
Zhao Mingxuan snorted in annoyance. "How long does it take from here to Tianxia?"
"Ah, sir, it seems you've taken a wrong turn. At the three-way intersection to the east, turn south, and you'll reach the capital."
"WHAT?!" Zhao Mingxuan's eyes widened in shock, and he fell unconscious.
Just as the old man was about to help him, Zhao Mingxuan sat up abruptly. He briefly closed his eyes, then pulled out some money for the old man.
"Money for wine and noodles, I'm leaving!" Mingxuan exclaimed, instantly leaping onto his horse.
"Thank you, sir!" the old man smiled, returning to his stall.
In Qingyuan village...
"We've been here for days now. If this continues, we'll starve to death," one of the villagers began to voice their complaints.
"Judging by the moon right now, it's not yet full, so they're still hunting us," Su Lianyue said softly. She tried to calm the villagers.
"Silence!" the martial artist commanded, making everyone quiet. He heard many footsteps.
"Are they coming?" Su Lianyue asked, her body beginning to tremble violently.
The martial artist closed his eyes for a moment, listening intently to the footsteps.
"Around 10 people will enter here. I will hold them off; you all get out of this place," he said.
The martial artist ran out and immediately kicked away several people who were about to enter.
The villagers followed him out of the cave and sought a safer place, led by Su Lianyue.
"Hey trash, fighting is useless anyway. This place is already surrounded," one of them immediately charged forward to attack.
The martial artist continuously dodged, and a moment later, he drew his sword and spun it forward.
An unpredictable technique, he fought 10 people at once. This left his hands with painful scratches from the enemies.
That only made the martial artist even more aggressive. He attacked swiftly, bringing down all 10 people instantly.
Blood dripped from his sword. He closed his eyes for a moment.
"I am Wei Qiren, not trash," he said softly, then threw his sword into the air, and it effortlessly slid back into its sheath.
Wei Qiren looked behind him; there were no villagers left. Perhaps they had found a safe place.
He just walked aimlessly. However, a few meters away, he saw them on top of the mountain. The villagers were already tied up there.
On the other side, Su Lianyue cried behind a large tree. How could she have allowed the villagers to be harmed like this? But she had no power to help them.
Su Lianyue saw her mother; it turned out she was just a human puppet of those strange people.
And this place was already full of illusions from the Red Moon Sect; wherever they went, they would surely be caught.
Suddenly, one of the Dark Sect members appeared. Su Lianyue stopped her sobs. She covered her mouth tightly and closed her eyes.
Suddenly...
A hand pulled her, and they flew up into an old, lush tree.
"You?"
Just as she was about to speak, Wei Qiren covered Su Lianyue's mouth.
Yes, the one who saved Su Lianyue was the young martial artist. He looked down; two people from the Red Moon Sect were on guard.
Wei Qiren threw a small blade a fair distance from their location, causing an explosion. This made the two people run to check it out.
At that moment, it was Wei Qiren's chance to escape with Su Lianyue.
"I can't leave the villagers!" Su Lianyue said, refusing to go.
"Don't be foolish, they can no longer be saved. If you insist on going there, you won't survive," Wei Qiren growled, immediately pulling the girl away.
After they were far enough and safe, Wei Qiren released the girl's hand.
"Where will I go?" Su Lianyue asked, her gaze empty.
"Live your life."
"Live, what kind of life? No father, mother, friends in the village. Grandmother Yan," she said softly.
"You should be very grateful," Wei Qiren said, making her turn to look at him.
"Since childhood, I have experienced all kinds of loss."
Su Lianyue couldn't hold back her tears. "So, how do you live your life?"
"I walk through life filled with vengeance, because of vengeance I become stronger to stay alive."
"But, father said vengeance is not good," Su Lianyue said innocently.
"My master also said that, but years of pain cannot just disappear," Wei Qiren stared blankly ahead.
"Who harbored that grudge?"