The Strife of Chaos Chapter Ninety-Eight: Li Qiutong’s Answer

Li Qiutong simply waved his hand without changing his expression, and the Azure Dragon, taking form, shot straight toward the spiked sphere and swallowed it whole in one gulp. The hedgehog didn’t even make a sound before it was utterly gone.

“If you have any tricks left, use them now,” she said.

“I—I… it wasn't my fault. It was Prince Ming, he wanted to harm you!” the spiky creature pleaded loudly for mercy.

But Li Qiutong acted as if she hadn’t heard, striding straight to him.

“Azure Dragon of the Eastern Direction, one of the Four Symbols,” she growled, and her fist slammed into his chest. A dense green light swirled around, enveloping him completely. Without sparing another glance, Li Qiutong turned away with dominating poise, snapped her fingers lightly, and said, “Break!”

A flash of green light, and nothing remained behind her. The spiky creature had vanished without a trace, not even a corpse left behind.

“My apologies, Lady Yun, for frightening you.” Li Qiutong smiled at Yun Luoxuan. Yet before Yun Luoxuan could reply, a mouthful of blood spilled from Li Qiutong’s lips, and her body suddenly slackened, collapsing backward in exhaustion.

“Master Li!” Yun Luoxuan hurried over, catching Li Qiutong just before she hit the ground, and then gently laid her down.

In her haste, Yun Luoxuan’s veil accidentally slipped off. Li Qiutong, eyes half-open, finally glimpsed the face that had haunted his dreams. Although time had altered it slightly, that nose, those eyes, those lips—Li Qiutong could never be mistaken.

“Yun… sister, at last, I’ve seen… you,” Li Qiutong’s lips trembled, but he couldn’t manage to speak the words clearly.

Yun Luoxuan watched helplessly as Li Qiutong’s eyes closed, powerless to do anything.

“Master Li, wake up, please, wake up.” Even the ever-composed Yun Luoxuan was flustered now. It was her first time facing something like this. Though she had long known such partings were inevitable and believed herself prepared, when it truly arrived, it was difficult to accept.

“Young miss, are you all right?” Xu Yang rushed over, great blade stained with blood. His once-white clothes were now crimson, proof of the ferocious battle he and the others had just endured.

Yun Luoxuan looked up at Xu Yang. “Brother Xu, come quickly, Master Li is gravely wounded!”

Xu Yang scanned the surroundings for danger before kneeling to examine Li Qiutong.

“His meridians are badly damaged. I suspect he forcibly raised his martial energy before,” Xu Yang surmised.

“What should we do?”

“His body is at its limit. Normally, he’d already be dead. I can’t help, but Master Hongyu might be able to save him.” As he spoke, Xu Yang glanced back—Rose was helping Qin Shuyu hurry over, with Xu Yue close behind.

When the spiky creature made his move, those by the bonfire had been attacked by dozens of Heaven-ranked assassins. Fortunately, Rose and the Xu siblings, being top assassins themselves, had noticed the ambush early and launched a preemptive strike. In the ensuing clash, everyone’s identities were laid bare—Xu Yang recognized Rose’s signature Azure Dragon form, marking her as the fourth-ranked assassin, while Rose recognized the siblings as the eighth-ranked Yin-Yang Twins.

Together, the two Divine-ranked assassins easily outmatched the Heaven-ranked killers, though they had to slow down to protect Qin Shuyu and Heihei, who were ordinary people. Once their foes were dealt with, Xu Yang rushed over to Yun Luoxuan.

“Madam, Brother Li is badly wounded,” Xu Yang said, moving aside so she could reach him.

Qin Shuyu said nothing, but knelt by Li Qiutong’s side with grave concentration, thoroughly examining his body.

With Qin Shuyu silent, Yun Luoxuan finally asked, “Madam, how is Master Li?”

Qin Shuyu sighed deeply. “It’s not good. His body had nearly recovered from its previous injuries, but the martial energy he just unleashed ravaged his meridians all over again. Fortunately, he used Azure Dragon energy, which has helped repair him to a degree. Still, the damage is too great for his body to recover quickly enough.”

“What can we do? Madam, you must have a way,” Yun Luoxuan pleaded anxiously.

Qin Shuyu glanced at her, then at the Xu siblings. “If we had enough medicinal herbs, I could save him. But we don’t. There’s only one way left: pure yang blood and pure yin blood.”

“Pure yang and yin blood? Where can we find that?”

“Miss, the blood of Xu Yang and Xu Yue is pure yang and pure yin. Madam, how much do you need? We’ll give it right now,” Xu Yang offered.

“Half a liter from each,” replied Qin Shuyu.

“I understand. Xu Yue, let’s begin.” Xu Yang drew his blade and sliced his palm open, letting pale red blood drip into a bowl.

Xu Yue hesitated, then gritted her teeth and cut her own hand. Her blood was a deep crimson, and when it mixed with Xu Yang’s, it became indistinguishable from ordinary blood.

When Qin Shuyu saw enough had been collected, she fed it directly to Li Qiutong. After he drank, color gradually returned to his face, and the tension in the group eased.

“He’s safe for now, but he’ll need plenty of rest,” Qin Shuyu said.

“Madam, did you know Brother Li could absorb yin-yang pure blood?” Xu Yang asked curiously.

Qin Shuyu did not hide the truth. “I did. There’s a mysterious force within Xiaotong’s body. Ever since he forcibly raised his martial energy, that force has protected his heart and kept him alive. It’s very similar to your yin-yang power. When your blood entered him, it was absorbed instantly, strengthening that force, which then began to repair his body.”

“I see.”

“Rose, Xu Yang, help carry Xiaotong to the carriage so he can rest,” Qin Shuyu instructed.

“Madam, let Master Li rest in my carriage. It’s more comfortable,” Yun Luoxuan suggested.

Qin Shuyu looked at her and nodded.

The night passed in silence.

The next day, Rose drove Yun Luoxuan’s carriage, while Xu Yang took charge of Qin Shuyu’s.

Inside the carriage, Li Qiutong had just regained consciousness when Yun Luoxuan’s face appeared before him. For a moment, he thought he was still dreaming.

“Yun… Yun sister, why are you here?” Li Qiutong said in surprise.

Yun Luoxuan smiled gently. “Master Li, is that how you address me? Well, never mind. How are you feeling?”

“I’m all right.” Li Qiutong recalled the events of the previous night and realized what had happened.

“I can’t believe I’m still alive. Luck must be on my side,” he sighed.

“Thank you for last night, Master Li—oh, I should call you General Li, shouldn’t I?”

“So you know.”

Yun Luoxuan nodded. “There aren’t many in this world who could, at just over twenty, slay a Divine-ranked assassin in an instant.”

Li Qiutong scratched his head sheepishly. “Sorry, I lied to you before.”

“It’s fine, I understand, General,” Yun Luoxuan replied. She knew she hadn’t told him the truth either, so she couldn’t blame him.

“Don’t call me General, just call me Brother Tong,” Li Qiutong joked.

“Brother Tong?” Yun Luoxuan burst out laughing. “Aren’t I older than you?”

“Just kidding, just kidding, don’t mind me, Miss Yun.”

But Yun Luoxuan seemed to like the idea. “It’s all right, I’ll call you Brother Tong then. By the way, Brother Tong, what are your plans for the future? I’m curious about the ambitions of the youngest four-star Saint Martial Artist in the land. Of course, if it’s inconvenient, never mind.”

Li Qiutong hesitated. How could he say he became a martial artist just to protect her? That would be too strange now.

After a moment’s thought, he replied, “I plan to seek out Prince Liu Bei of Han soon.”

“You can just tell me that?” Yun Luoxuan was surprised. She’d only wanted to learn more about this genius martial artist’s past, but she’d gotten a shocking answer.

“It’s nothing. I was already planning to confront the Emperor of Tang when I reached Chang’an.”

“Why would you want to serve Prince Liu? His situation isn’t promising at the moment.”

“Because not long ago, I spoke with Liu Bei. He told me that the world lacks a ruler who truly loves peace, who genuinely cares for the people, and who hopes to create a world where martial artists exist to protect the people. That’s his vision.” As Li Qiutong spoke, he watched Yun Luoxuan’s expression.

She was surprised. She hadn’t expected anyone in the world to share her own ideals.

“Then he must be a kind and gentle person.”

Li Qiutong nodded. “Pretty much. He’s a very amiable man. And you, Miss Yun? Are you really going to marry someone you’ve never met?”

Yun Luoxuan smiled faintly. “Perhaps. But everything remains uncertain—for me, for you, and for the world itself.”

Li Qiutong looked at her unveiled face. Those confident, clear eyes brought him back to ten years ago, to the first day he met Yun Luoxuan.

“Miss Yun, have you ever been to a city in the former Song state, called Qiuming?” Li Qiutong asked suddenly.

Yun Luoxuan thought for a moment. “Yes, I went there once, I think it was ten years ago. Why?”

Li Qiutong smiled. “I used to live there for a while, but had to move away because of family matters. Still, I know the city well.”

“Oh, yes, you did mention you lived in Song before.”

“When you visited Qiuming, did you go anywhere special? Perhaps we met before.”

Yun Luoxuan shook her head. “I was only there for half a day, and nothing much happened.”

Li Qiutong could only smile awkwardly. “I see, what a pity.”

After that, Li Qiutong never brought up Qiuming again, and Yun Luoxuan didn’t notice anything amiss. The two continued chatting about life and dreams until they finally reached Chang’an.