White-Robed Chief
Chapter 168: Departure

Xue Ling returned to the small courtyard to find Su Ru standing by the door in her apricot colored gown. Her slender and elegant frame pushed the door open to enter the premise.

"Chief!" Xue Ling called out before walking towards Su Ru to greet her.

"You went to the Hall again today, Xue Ling?" Su Ru asked as she smiled.

"I helped Master to thank Sun Jun and Wang Xuanyi. He gifted each of them a Spirit Blessing Pill," replied Xue Ling.

"How generous." Su Ru shook her head as she broke into a smile.

Xue Ling scoffed. "No one can stop my Master once he has decided on something."

Su Ru pursed her lips and smiled. "Look at how unwilling you are, don't worry. Do you think that Xiao Tieying actually lacks Spirit Blessing Pills?"

Both of them chatted as they pushed the door open to enter the courtyard.

Chu Li was sitting cross-legged on the short couch under the Spirit Blessing Tree. He was focused on channeling his spiritual force. He looked like an old monk meditating with his solemn features.

Chu Li slowly opened his eyes and smiled at Su Ru. He then looked at Xue Ling.

Xue Ling quickly reported, "I have already given it to them as you requested. Don't worry, I was polite."

Chu Li nodded with satisfaction.

"Chu Li, you need to heal even quicker. We've already found traces of the Thunder Guiding Blade. Lady Xiao wants to start her journey tomorrow!" said Su Ru.

"You've found him already? That fast?" Chu Li was surprised.

'How was the Grandmaster's hideout snuffed out so easily? Even if it was the work of the Public House, it was still a little quick.'

Su Ru smiled. "We were sort of lucky. We didn't expect to find it so quickly."

"How did you find it?"

"A Protector heard about it along his journey while on a mission. He simply asked around and someone told him the location of the Thunder Guiding Blade. It's at Phoenix Mountain."

"We're still unsure of his exact location, but he's most probably living in that area. Lady Xiao plans on finding the place right after we reach there. This is to prevent them from alerting any enemies," said Su Ru.

Chu Li said, "Such a coincidence… ?"

"Maybe even God wants to help Lady Xiao." Su Ru smiled.

Chu Li shook his head as he furrowed his brows. He then kept silent.

"Are you not happy to hear this news, Chu Li?" Su Ru tilted her head and looked at him. "Why are you looking like that?"

"I'm afraid that we might be celebrating over nothing," Chu Li replied.

"We need to hide the news from Lady Xiao Shi. We'll wait until after we have actually retrieved the Thunder Guiding Blade. When will you be healed? Can you make it by tomorrow? If you can't, Lady Xiao will travel by herself," said Su Ru.

Chu Li furrowed his brows.

Su Ru said, "Don't worry. Of course, we'd bring along a few more Grandmasters."

Chu Li muttered for a moment, then said, "Alright. We'll start our journey tomorrow!"

"Will your wounds be cured by then?"

"Hmm, I'll try to heal them as best as I can."

"You better not do anything stupid," said Su Ru. "Lady Xiao said your wounds need to be healed gradually. You can't rush it!"

"I have my ways." Chu Li reassured her.

"Alright then, I'll report back to Lady Xiao." Su Ru looked at him, worried. She stood up and bid him farewell before she left.

The sun shone brilliantly the following morning. Its golden rays painted the courtyard with a lustrous yellow.

Chu Li then slowly awakened from his meditation under the Glory's Will Tree.

After a night's effort, the Perishable Touch was removed.

Chu Li slowly recovered from his injury because he wanted to assess the mysterious power of the Perishable Touch. He wanted to experience the meaning of death but was worried about Xiao Qi going off to find the Thunder Guiding Blade alone. So he unwillingly gave up on the task and completely cleansed himself of the Perishable Touch.

Chu Li wanted to follow Xiao Qi not because he was worried about her wit. She was definitely no fool as she has the ability to decipher one's inner thoughts. Deceiving her was not an easy task and anyone would be needing luck just to trick Xiao Qi. However, with Chu Li as her companion, he would be able to divert any dangerous situation to their advantage.

Fleeing definitely was their best option but Chu Li was counted on as assurance for Xiao Qi's safety.

Xiao Qi and Su Ru arrived at the small courtyard. Xiao Qi was clad in white and exuded a lovely aroma. She looked shyly at Chu Li. "Have your wounds healed?"

Chu Li nodded.

Xiao Qi sat on the side of the couch. She then placed her soft fingers on Chu Li's palms to check his vitals. She felt the fierce, raging inner energy within him and nodded in satisfaction.

As Xiao Qi placed her hands on him, Chu Li became half numb. He tried to control his manic heartbeat. He did not want Xiao Qi to sense anything odd.

"It's much better now." Xiao Qi withdrew her delicate fingers. She lightly nodded. "Do you want to follow me to Phoenix Mountain?"

Chu Li smiled. "Of course."

"The Tempest Temple is still probably looking for opportunities to kill you," said Xiao Qi.

Chu Li smiled but did not answer. He was not afraid of the Temple's pursuit to eradicate him.

However, he certainly needed to be more cautious in the future.

"Very well, it's just the two of us then," Xiao Qi said. "We'll depart and return as quickly as possible. We'll move in secret. Going undetected will cause less trouble for us in the long run."

Chu Li replied, "Lady Xiao, please hire some Grandmaster Protectors."

Xiao Qi furrowed her brows and glared at him.

Chu Li said, "I'm worried if Lu Yurong is connected somehow to all of this. What if the Thunder Guiding Blade was just something made up by Lu Yurong's men?"

"Hmm--?" Xiao Qi was startled.

She may have been smart but she was not great at predicting enemy plans. Xiao Qi was good at seeing through people and countering their maneuvers head on. However, she lacked the skill in deceiving enemies on her first move. She was nowhere close to Chu Li's level in countering Lu Yurong's cunning tricks and plots.

Chu Li shook his head. "Even if Lu Yurong has nothing to do with this, we still need to be careful of the Thunder Guiding Blade. We don't know what their true intentions are and it has been more than ten years. We're not exactly sure if his relationship with the High Duke remains unchanged."

Xiao Qi continued to contemplate.

Since Chu Li mentioned the problem, she realized that she needed to be more careful. Lu Yurong had a lot of tricks up her sleeve. Xiao Qi further contemplated how fragile the situation was. If Chu Li was able to expect Lu Yurong's plans, then so would Lu Yurong.

Chu Li turned to look at her.

After a moment, Xiao Qi shook her head. "I think it's better if we both go!"

Chu Li felt helpless with her decision but gave a forced smile.

Xiao Qi said, "If this really is a trap by Lu Yurong, we'll leave as soon as something feels off. The mission would be jeopardized if Elder Zhao Qingshan and his men followed us."

"Furthermore, they wouldn't be much help in the case of an ambush. If we move quietly, it'll be harder to corner us."

If the both of them moved simultaneously, they could hide their tracks and allow someone to escape to call for backup. If they went with Zhao Qingshan, it would grab too much attention.

Their tracks would then be easily followed by others.

If this really was Lu Yurong's plan, the best possible outcome for the mission would be a stalemate. It was still impossible to pull a win from the Ren Public House. Instead of forcing a draw, there was no point in wasting time against them. They might not have conducted the mission in the first place.

Chu Li could tell that Xiao Qi had already made her decision. He could only nod in agreement.

Xue Ling had just finished the packing. She coldly handed the bundle of materials to Chu Li.

Chu Li stared at her and took it. He exited the small courtyard with Xiao Qi and boarded the

Gaily-Painted Pleasure-Boat located at the deep end of the woods.

Su Ru was already in the Gaily-Painted Pleasure-Boat with two fine horses. She wore a light green gown.

Chu Li could tell that the horses were taken from the Phoenix Tree Faction. They were very fine steeds indeed.

The Gaily-Painted Pleasure-Boat slowly rowed away from Jade Guardian Island and sailed off on to the lake. Chu Li and the other two entered the cabin.

Xiao Qi sat on the short couch next to the window. Chu Li was just a table away, opposite of her.

Su Ru served them two cups of tea and stood to the side.

Chu Li smiled. "Is the Chief coming along too?"

Su Ru rolled her eyes at him. "What's the point? I'd just be a burden!"

Chu Li smiled. He predicted that she was going to complain.

Xiao Qi added, "You only have yourself to blame for not putting any effort into your martial arts. At your best, it's still average. Big missions would be impossible for you."

Su Ru replied with anger, "Who on earth is comparable to the both of you!? I don't have such natural born abilities!"

Xiao Qi stared at her. "Chu Li, Phoenix Mountain is two thousand miles away. If we're fast enough, we can reach it by tomorrow."

"I'm just afraid that it won't be easy to find him after we enter the mountain," replied Chu Li.

"Sister Xiao Shi's condition isn't improving well. We need to speed things up," said Xiao Qi.

Chu Li furrowed his brows. "Is Lady Xiao Shi ill?"

Xiao Qi sighed. "She was afflicted with typhoid fever yesterday. It's because of the current solar flare, it got her by chance. We weren't able to prevent it."

Chu Li's expression turned serious.

Xiao Shi's body was very weak. Typhoid fever was nothing to normal folks, but to Xiao Shi, it was a serious threat.

"She should be able to survive with Elder Mulin's care," said Xiao Qi. "But after this attack, what about the next time? She's getting visibly weaker."

Chu Li nodded slowly. His heart dropped with the news.

The Gaily-Painted Pleasure-Boat quietly sailed. In the time it took to finish a cup of tea, the pleasure-boat had already reached the shore.

Chu Li and Xiao Qi both got off and saddled on the steeds. They waved their hands to bid farewell to Su Ru. They galloped along the small road as they left. In the blink of an eye, they were already out of Su Ru's field of vision, leaving only trails of smoke and dust behind them.