"You…" Liu Yan gasped, looking at the current state of Li Xue. Despite having experienced a lot of things, Li Xue's expression was extremely calm as though killing Xiao Jun wouldn't bring her a lot of trouble.
At the same time, the government had informed her that she was a 7-Star Expert when reaching this city. Yet, not only did she recover from her injury, but she also became a 9-Star Expert.
It was clear that Li Xue got a huge opportunity somewhere, allowing her to turn the situation around.
"Is she aware that her existence is enough to incite people's greed?" Liu Yan muttered inwardly, observing Li Xue's behavior. "No. She must have known this if she truly defeated Xiao Jun and the others. And by showing this kind of rapid speed, the Elders would definitely take note of her. Even Teacher would probably be interested in her."
Liu Yan had realized that even if Elder Ren wasn't going to protect her, the moment she returned to the sect, other elders would definitely protect her.
Then, why would she choose Elder Ren? The answer was quite simple. It was because Elder Ren and Elder Biao had a poor relationship.
In other words, if Li Xue wanted to save herself from any kind of danger, she wanted to completely crush Elder Biao. And with her taking all the blame, even the wealthy Li Family coming at her, Elder Ren would simply crush her.
It seemed that Liu Yan had underestimated her. If such a person became her master's disciple, it would be either disastrous or filled with fortune.
Liu Yan thought for a moment before asking, "Li Xue, is it? I have come under the order of Elder Ren to escort you back to the sect. But before that, I have to brief you regarding this matter and question you a few things."
Li Xue nodded nonchalantly while opening the door widely. "Please come in."
The two of them walked inside the room. Liu Yan was in high alert, thinking the possibility of another trap in the room.
Fortunately, there was nothing like that inside, and she finally sat face to face with Li Xue.
"Because of your current history, while it's true that Xiao Jun was the one who struck first, it didn't change the fact that you had killed several fellow disciples. Are you aware of the situation?"
"Yes, I'm aware. And even if I return to the past, I would do the same thing. All I wish is to cultivate peacefully, yet, they're courting death." Li Xue acknowledged it without hesitation. She even sounded a bit arrogant so that no one looked down on her.
"Hence, if you're going to return to the sect, there are two conditions for my master, Elder Ren, to protect you from both the rules and Elder Biao."
"Please." Li Xue nodded, ready to accept everything reasonable.
"First, you'll need to be his disciple. However, I don't have the authority to declare you as his disciple, so we have to go back first and let him assess you. If you become his disciple, it will be easy for him to openly protect you. In fact, he can even go all out against Elder Biao."
"Understandable. I'm ready for it. While I consider myself talented, I'm not arrogant enough to think that this is enough. So, I'll continue to do my best."
"Alright then. As for the second condition, you have to disclose your method in killing Xiao Jun and the rest to me. If you're asking Elder Ren, you should have been aware of me and my personal history. Like you, Xiao Jun was doing some underhanded means. However, I chose to cultivate until my strength surpassed him instead of fighting him directly. So, this is just my personal request. I would like to know how you manage to defeat him."
"Ah." Li Xue didn't answer immediately. After all, she had promised to keep Hao Yu's existence a secret. All the scenes in her mind resurfaced, but she changed it a bit in a way that Hao Yu wasn't in the picture.
"Unfortunately, I have to portray myself as a smart cultivator if I want to protect Hao Yu. Sorry, I have to take all your credits… I'll definitely make it up in the future." Li Xue muttered inwardly before confessing, "Alright. Here is what I did…"
Li Xue briefly explained about Hao Yu's ideas but made it look like it was her who thought about all of them.
Liu Yan was surprised with the entire plan. It was crazy but effective.
If she was as bold as Li Xue, she could probably handle Xiao Jun by herself.
After hearing about Li Xue's story, Liu Yan said, "Thank you for telling me all this. And I can assure you that I will definitely protect you from all harm on the way to the sect. The rest will depend on your performance."
"Thank you. Then, when will we leave?"
"I would like to go right away, but I have to check their bodies and inspect the locations, so tomorrow."
"Understood." Li Xue nodded without hesitation.
After that, Liu Yan continued to the government office and asked for all the details, including their bodies. Fortunately, Li Xue had followed Hao Yu's guidance in destroying the corpses, causing her to have a hard time finding out of the method to kill them. Still, there were a few open wounds that came from Li Xue's sword, so she concluded that Li Xue was indeed the person.
After several inspections, Liu Yan returned to the inn to get some rest and prepare for the long trip tomorrow.
However, when they were about to leave, Li Xue couldn't help but look at the city with a longing expression.
It confused Liu Yan as she couldn't help but ask, "Is there a problem?"
Li Xue couldn't really say that she didn't want to leave Hao Yu, especially after the bond they formed together in the past month. She could only shake her head helplessly, saying, "Nothing. There are a lot of memories in this city…"
Liu Yan misunderstood her, thinking it was because she had killed all her enemies here. "After what happened to you, then yeah. In any case, we have to face the future."
"Indeed." Li Xue cupped her hands politely. "Senior Sister. I'm leaving everything in your hands."
"Mhmm." Liu Yan nodded as they both started their journey back to the Iron Mountain Sect.
Unbeknownst to them, Hao Yu was actually observing them from the top of the wall, smiling.