In the hollow belly of the mountain, Li Guanqi's suppressed, sorrowful cries echoed.
Without hesitation, Lu Kangnian wrapped a broad, heavy hand around Li Guanqi's shoulders and pulled him into an embrace.
At this moment, the man was like a father consoling a bewildered son.
His large hand gently patted Li Guanqi's back, his deep, resonant voice sounding out.
"Don't blame yourself. This was Ye Feng's own choice."
"A man's... decision."
"I believe that had it been you, you would have made the same choice for Ye Feng."
Lu Kangnian did not debate right and wrong, nor did he offer hollow comfort by insisting Li Guanqi had done nothing wrong.
Instead, he stated bluntly that this was Ye Feng's own choice—a man's decision.
Though the guilt in Li Guanqi's heart remained undiminished, his resolve to find Ye Feng as swiftly as possible grew only stronger.
At this moment, Li Guanqi's murderous intent toward Sha reached an absolute peak!
Yet he knew that with his current strength, he could not kill him.
Strength!
All fear and uncertainty stemmed from a lack of strength!
If he were Hong Zhi, he could face Sha alone and withdraw unharmed.
If he were Long Hou, perhaps even wiping out Sha would not be impossible...
Perhaps his next plan needed to be brought forward.
Li Guanqi rose, his primal energy stirring slightly to wipe away the tears at the corners of his eyes, his gaze steadily hardening with resolve.
Carefully placing Ye Feng's life-bound jade slip into his storage ring, he asked softly, "Sect Master, how is Tang Ru?"
Lu Kangnian breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this and replied in a low voice, "He's hanging in there. Barely kept his life."
"Tang Wei and Qian Ze are over at the Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven. Do you want to go over?"
Li Guanqi nodded and said gravely, "I'll go right now."
Lu Kangnian said softly, "Go ahead. Don't worry about the other esteemed guests; I'll entertain them."
Li Guanqi nodded silently, then flickered and vanished on the spot.
Purple Spirit Grotto-Heaven.
Gu Changsheng was here as well. An emerald-green altar stood above a medicinal pool, with the unconscious Tang Ru floating in midair above it.
Countless shimmering emerald lights swirled around Tang Ru, sinking into his body.
The moment Tang Wei saw Li Guanqi arrive, an agitated look flashed across his face, and he rushed forward.
Gripping Li Guanqi's hands, he thanked him repeatedly.
"Th-thank you... Thank you."
"If not for you, Tang Ru would never have made it back alive."
Tang Wei's eyes were red from weeping. He did not know what Li Guanqi had gone through, but Tang Ru had only suffered physical torment; his soul was intact, and his cultivation realm remained undamaged.
It was hard to imagine what price Li Guanqi had paid to prevent Sha from destroying Tang Ru.
Yet looking at Tang Ru, tortured beyond recognition, Li Guanqi felt an ache in his heart.
Turning his head, he remained silent, his lips pressed together, at a loss for words.
"Ugh..."
A pained groan sounded as Tang Ru's consciousness gradually stirred. A hazy murmur drifted from his lips.
"Even in death... I won't let you... threaten him..."
Before the words had completely faded, everyone present was deeply moved.
*Whoosh!*
Li Guanqi flashed onto the altar, took Tang Ru's hand, and said softly, "It's all right. You don't have to worry anymore. We won!"
Tang Ru's eye sockets were hollow, his eyes not yet restored.
Hearing Li Guanqi's voice, he suddenly grew agitated. As his awareness cleared and he felt vigorous life force mending his body, his expression slumped.
"We won?"
"Is he dead?"
Li Guanqi did not answer him directly, only saying softly, "Focus on recovering. Once you're well, we'll become sworn brothers!"
Tang Ru's mouth twitched into a grin uglier than crying, but he was truly happy.
Turning to step down from the altar, Li Guanqi looked at Tang Wei and asked softly, "I found a master for Tang Ru. Uncle Tang, what do you think? Would you agree?"
Tang Wei frowned slightly. "A master? Who?"
Qian Ze pricked up his ears as well. After all, he had rarely interacted with Li Guanqi, and his presence this time was merely icing on the cake.
Li Guanqi made no attempt to hide it, because the master he had arranged for Tang Ru carried enough weight to make Qian Ze treat the Tang family with great respect!
"Yu Shan."
Tang Wei's breath hitched, thoughts racing through his mind. Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that the master Li Guanqi arranged for Tang Ru would be the most mysterious of the Eight Generals of the Seven Domains—Yu Shan!
Li Guanqi bowed deeply to Tang Wei, cupping his hands in an apologetic salute. "I'm sorry, Uncle Tang. As his elder brother, I failed to look after Tang Ru properly."
With complex emotions in his eyes, Tang Wei looked at the bowing youth, stepped forward, and supported Li Guanqi's arms with both hands.
"For Tang Ru to have a brotherly bunch like you in this lifetime, it's all worth it," he murmured. "Don't apologize. You've done right by everyone."
"Had it been you, you would have done the same for Tang Ru."
Li Guanqi froze slightly. He had not expected a second elder today to say nearly the exact same thing to him.
Yes... had it been him, he would have done the same...
Straightening up, Li Guanqi turned toward the true master of the Treasure Pavilion of the Six Domains. Cupping his hands, he said respectfully, "Junior Li Guanqi thanks Senior for your righteous assistance."
Qian Ze smiled and waved his hand, his eyes filled with admiration for the young man before him. He had known Tang Wei might harbor resentment over Tang Ru's plight, but Li Guanqi's prompt and thoughtful handling immediately dispelled any lingering grievances Tang Wei might have felt.
"It was nothing. The Sha organization has committed countless evils; anyone is justified in putting them down. I merely did my part for the common people of the world."
Hearing this, Li Guanqi merely smiled without adding anything. Compared to Tang Wei, Qian Ze carried more of a merchant's calculating worldly shrewdness, which Li Guanqi did not particularly care for.
Pengluo cautiously scrambled up onto Tang Ru's head, plunked his backside down right over one of his eye sockets, and muttered, "Sigh, I was born to work myself to the bone."
"Still, you're a real man, kid. I'm impressed."
Even as he voiced his admiration, Pengluo draped the leaves atop his head over both of Tang Ru's eye sockets and sat right down on them.
"Bear with it, okay? Big brother's about to fix you up with some good stuff to clear your vision."
Tang Ru smiled knowingly, but in the next instant his expression changed, and he mustered what strength he had to curse, "Can't you... squeeze that spiritual liquid out... from somewhere else?"
Pengluo's face turned beet-red, both fists clenched as he strained with all his might, barking back, "It's... easier... for me to... push like this!!!"
*Sploosh!*
Tang Ru suddenly felt his empty eye sockets fill with something, an extraordinarily comfortable, cool sensation washing over them.
Pengluo's face returned to normal. Closing his eyes, he parted his mouth slightly and murmured, "Oh yeah~ that feels good."
Li Guanqi turned, cupped his hands, and said softly, "Uncle Gu, Uncle Tang, Senior Qian, I still have a matter to take care of. If anything comes up, contact me at any time."
Gu Changsheng waved a hand and offered gentle reassurance: "Go on. With me here, you don't need to worry about anything."
Li Guanqi raised his hand and tossed over a purplish-gold jade bottle. With a flick of his finger, a streak of spiritual light shot into Tang Ru's glabella.
"Since you're already in this state," Li Guanqi said softly, "you might as well temper your body while you're at it."
With that, he took a step and vanished on the spot.
After Li Guanqi left, Tang Ru was left momentarily dazed. Tang Wei asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
Tang Ru swallowed hard and muttered, "A... body tempering technique that surpasses Heaven rank!!"
"And... a whole bottle of true dragon blood."
Never mind Tang Wei, even Qian Ze's eyes burned with envy at those two items.
To the side, Gu Changsheng curled his lip and muttered pridefully to himself, *And he's supposed to be the master of the Treasure Pavilion? What a bumpkin. Has he never seen true dragon blood before?*
As for where Li Guanqi was heading, it was a courtyard tucked away in the back mountain of the Great Xia Sword Sect.
Li Guanqi stood outside the gate for a long time without knocking. He did not know how to face the people inside.
*Creak!*
Ye Qing'er, her face weighed down with worry, opened the gate. Seeing the young man standing outside, her eyes instantly lit up.
"Father! Father! Big Brother Li is back!"
Clattering noises echoed from within the courtyard, followed in quick succession by the voices of a man and a woman.
"He's back? Where's Feng'er?"
"Feng'er! Mother was worried to death!"
Chapter 934