The moment Li Guanqi parted the blocking crowd and clearly saw the scene within the room, an explosive roar erupted in his mind.
Blackness flooded his vision, and he nearly collapsed to the floor.
When he flashed to the side of the table and looked upon the dying little girl, the surging blood in his body rushed straight to the crown of his head!
His pure white eyes became crisscrossed with bloodshot veins!
Clenching his fists tightly, the youth looked at Yu Sui'an's tragic state, his mouth open, uttering unintelligible sounds.
Origin energy surged around him, and lightning flared uncontrollably from his body.
Qin Xian swiftly stepped in to seal off his lightning, saying in a heavy voice, "Go back immediately and calm your emotions! The little girl is still in mortal danger—don't distract us and make us worry about you! You ought to understand what's more important right now!"
Sensing the life force slowly draining from Yu Sui'an, Li Guanqi stood frozen in place, unable to help in any way.
He watched the elders bustling back and forth, cleaning her wounds.
Li Guanqi watched Yu Sui'an—her face contorted in agony yet unable to utter a sound, violently coughing up mouthfuls of fresh blood.
Her chest was slightly caved in, and her limbs had been brutally snapped!
Ghastly white bones pierced through her skin, and her face was utterly ruined...
On her right leg, there was even a patch of bruised, blackened purple flesh that looked several days old.
This sight struck Li Guanqi's heart like a hammer—no wonder the last two times he held Yu Sui'an, she had unconsciously flinched away from that spot!
Each time they cleaned a wound, the little girl's body twitched unconsciously.
The medicinal power of the pills could not dissolve inside her at all; moments ago, Li Guanqi had even felt her life force slipping away beyond control.
The qi sea in her dantian had been mostly shattered as well...
Struggling to open her eyes, the little girl saw the youth beside her, and tears instantly welled up.
Her voice trembling with sobs, she spoke.
"Little Blindie... it hurts... Sui'an hurts..."
Hearing Yu Sui'an's voice, Li Guanqi felt a searing pang in his chest, as if a giant hand were crushing his heart.
He closed his eyes in agony, an irrepressible killing intent running rampant within him!
A hoarse voice slowly slipped from his lips.
"Do you know... who did this...?"
Li Nanting turned toward the youth and said in a deep voice, "We don't know."
"Don't let this affect your finals the day after tomorrow!"
"Leave Sui'an to us. Just focus on cultivating in peace!"
"Whoever it is, I will definitely make them pay the price!"
Li Guanqi looked at the elder's pained eyes, then turned around without a word and slowly walked back into his room.
Suddenly, Ye Feng's jade slip flickered faintly. Ye Feng stepped slowly out from the crowd.
Channeling origin energy into the jade slip, Li Guanqi's frigid voice drifted out.
"Do you know who did it?"
Ye Feng fell silent, then sent a soft voice transmission: "Old Li... don't be rash. As of now, we truly don't know who did it."
Yet, recalling Yu Sui'an's horrific condition, Ye Feng hesitated for a moment before advising softly, "We all suspect disciples from Ziyang Palace did it, but there's no evidence. However... that fat guy from Ziyang Palace, Tang Ru, should know something. Old Li, I urge you to endure a little longer. The sect will definitely investigate thoroughly! Whoever it is will pay the price they deserve!"
Yet Ye Feng's voice transmission received no reply at all.
Inside the room, Qin Xian looked at Yu Sui'an with a grim expression, then turned to Li Nanting.
"You should go keep an eye on Li Guanqi. I'm afraid he might do something reckless."
The old man pondered for a long moment, then reluctantly turned and went outside Li Guanqi's door.
Seeing the youth forcing himself to cultivate inside the room, the elder could not help but sigh softly.
After dispersing the disciples, Yu Sui'an's condition finally stabilized somewhat.
Yet this state only lasted until late at night!
Just after the hour of the Rat, the life force within Yu Sui'an suddenly began to rapidly dissipate!
The girl slipped into a deep coma, unresponsive no matter how they called out to her.
In a panic, Qin Xian lifted Yu Sui'an onto his back and barked in a deep voice, "No! We have to find Shen Lan!"
"At the earliest, their group won't arrive until late tomorrow night—she won't last until then. Tu Kui and I will go ahead to meet them!"
Li Nanting said anxiously, "I'm coming too!"
Qin Xian turned and snapped, "Nonsense! If we all leave, what about the disciples? And seeing the state Li Guanqi is in, can you afford not to watch over him?"
Wasting no words, Qin Xian and Tu Kui took the little girl, reached out to tear open the void before them, and stepped into the pitch-black spatial rift.
Watching the two depart, Li Nanting grew increasingly uneasy.
He paced restlessly in the center of the courtyard, pulling out his pipe and taking puff after puff.
Glancing once more at Li Guanqi in the room, the elder finally felt a sliver of relief.
Inside the room.
Li Guanqi's heart was equally tormented.
On one hand was the sect that nurtured him; on the other was Yu Sui'an, whom he saw as a younger sister, hanging between life and death.
Worse, she had been abused for an entire night with such unspeakably cruel methods!
Opening his eyes, the youth rubbed his face hard and slowly rose to his feet.
The murderous intent in his heart could no longer be contained!
Leaving a body-mimicking talisman behind, he slipped silently out of the room.
Within the room's defensive array, a spiritual talisman bearing an aura identical to his own flickered with faint light.
For some reason, heavy snow as thick as goose feathers suddenly began to fall over the night in Tianyu Pass!
The torrential blizzard draped the mountains in silver.
Through the dark night, a ghostly figure flickered and vanished along the streets, leaving not a single trace upon the knee-deep snow.
Dark skies, heavy snow—a night for killing!
Before long, Li Guanqi arrived outside Ziyang Palace's courtyard.
Leaping silently into the yard, he suddenly looked up toward a corner of the roof.
A chubby figure sat on the roof, raising a wine jar toward him.
Li Guanqi flashed to his side and asked in a hoarse voice transmission, "Are you going to stop me?"
The fat youth was indeed Tang Ru, a disciple of Ziyang Palace, but right now he was dressed in a golden brocade robe rather than the disciple robes of Ziyang Palace.
Tang Ru looked at Li Guanqi and transmitted softly, "I won't stop you. I just wanted to ask... is the little girl dead?"
"Grievously injured, on the verge of death."
A flash of heartache flickered deep in Tang Ru's eyes. Then, with a flash of light in his hand, he produced a jade vial.
The walls of the vial were so thin that the spiritual liquid within was clearly visible.
"Inside this is century stalactite marrow. It can keep her alive."
"I quite like that quirky little girl. This jade marrow won't cost you a coin."
"As for why I'm here, it's because I gambled that you would come."
Li Guanqi narrowed his eyes, his voice icy as he looked at Tang Ru, whose face bore bruises. "Why are you doing this?"
Tang Ru slowly stood up, letting the white snow fall from his body.
"No particular reason. I've always wanted a younger sister, but my old man couldn't deliver, so I took a liking to that little girl in the floral jacket."
"I couldn't stop them, and I even took a beating for it."
"I'm not staying in this damn Ziyang Palace anymore. Have you... truly thought this through?"
Chapter 151