Time ticked by. Finally, with a loud bang, the door swung open.
Rong Hua emerged slowly, his face ashen, his expression haggard, and his steps unsteady.
At the sight of him, Ji Yunyi rushed forward impatiently. "Master Rong Hua! How's my sister?"
Rong Hua swallowed hard. He opened his mouth but couldn't utter a word. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he waved his hand and said, "She's out of danger for now."
Everyone heaved a sigh of relief. The spiritual power that had been pressing down on Zhao Qingwan suddenly vanished. She slumped to the ground and fainted.
Bai Youmu's eyes turned cold. He glanced at her and then turned back to pull Rong Hua. "Alright, she's safe. You don't need to stay here anymore. Rong Hua, come with me."
However, Rong Hua shook his head. "I'll talk to you later. Let me rest first."
Bai Youmu wanted to say something more, but seeing Rong Hua's exhaustion, he held his tongue and left.
Rong Hua motioned for Ji Yunyi and the others to follow him to the side room. Then he began to explain, "Ji Yunxi's sword wound looks terrifying, but it's not actually life - threatening. She's unconscious because there are two types of spiritual power in her body."
Seeing that none of them showed any surprise, he realized they already knew. He couldn't help but feel a bit angry and laughed bitterly. It seemed he, the master, was the only one kept in the dark.
Li Jiuge cleared her throat and continued along Rong Hua's train of thought. "Then, Master, do you have any good ideas?"
Rong Hua sneered. "Now you think of me?"
Ji Yunyi paused. He lifted his robe and knelt on one knee. "Please, Master, save my sister."
Rong Hua looked at him for a while and then smiled. "You're a good brother. Get up. The solution is simple in theory. We just need to separate the extra spiritual power from her body as soon as possible."
Everyone's faces lit up with hope.
But the next second, Rong Hua poured cold water on their enthusiasm.
"Don't get too excited. I can't perform the separation. This time, I could only seal the extra spiritual power in her body. And this alone has consumed most of my divine power. If this happens again, I'm afraid even if I exhaust all my energy, I won't be able to save her."
Ji Yunyi was shocked. His lips trembled. "Is it that difficult to solve? Then what should we do? I'll set off right away."
"Wait. She knows how to solve it. Ask her when she wakes up."
Taking a deep breath, Rong Hua stood up and tried to walk out. But suddenly, his vision went black, and he almost fell. The others quickly rushed to support him.
Qing Xuan, who was beside him, helped him to the side hall to rest.
When Rong Hua's vision cleared, he saw a face he had never seen before. Curiously, he asked, "Who are you?"
Qing Xuan lowered his eyebrows. As the one facing his master's benefactor, he was willing to be polite. "I'm Ji Yunxi's contracted spiritual beast."
Rong Hua immediately recognized his primordial spirit as that of a black - bird. He nodded in understanding. "Good. Take good care of her."
He had thought Qing Xuan might ask why he was on Kunlun Mountain. Now he realized his previous prejudice was unfounded.
Ji Yunyi watched Rong Hua's retreating back and murmured, "I didn't expect Master Rong Hua to be so good to Yunxi. I used to have many prejudices against him because he didn't help Yunxi during the competition. It seems I was narrow - minded."
However, Li Jiuge had a complicated expression. Although she also thought Rong Hua was a good person, she was more worried that Rong Hua might have feelings for Ji Yunxi beyond the teacher - student relationship.
If that were true, it would be a big problem.
Thinking of her cousin's self - deprecating nature, how he had loved Yunxi so much but still let her go for her sake and watched her marry Su Ningyuan. If there was now a powerful person who could clearly protect Yunxi...
Li Jiuge didn't dare to think further. She felt increasingly uneasy.
"Should we go in and take a look?" Lu Shu finally found an opportunity to speak and whispered.
"Let's not go."
Although they were worried about Ji Yunxi, Li Jiuge and Ji Yunyi didn't dare to go in rashly. They decided to continue waiting outside.
Qing Xuan saw Zhao Qingwan lying limp on the ground. With a dark look in his eyes, he stepped forward to pick her up and motioned to Lu Shu with his eyes.
"Take her to the dungeon in the stronghold first. We don't want anyone in Kunlun Mountain to interfere blindly."
Lu Shu nodded. "Don't worry. When our Dream - China Pavilion wants to deal with someone, we won't allow anyone to interfere."
He took Zhao Qingwan down the mountain. Only then did Qing Xuan come back to the door and continue guarding.
Ji Yunyi saw Qing Xuan and suddenly realized that Lu Shu was missing. He casually asked, "Where's Lu Shu?"
Qing Xuan pointed in the direction Lu Shu had left with his chin. "He's taking Zhao Qingwan to the dungeon in the stronghold. Kunlun Mountain is a complex place. This incident happened suddenly. Zhao Qingwan's backers haven't shown up yet, but at the foot of the mountain, the Dream - China Pavilion doesn't care about Kunlun Mountain's rules."
Li Jiuge suddenly had an idea. "Zhao Qingwan is so paranoid because of us. She lost her title of the number - one noble lady. I bet her family values that title very much. We should investigate this. If it's true, we can find a way to force Zhao Qingwan to reveal the mastermind behind this."
Ji Yunyi paused and frowned. "Mastermind?"
Qing Xuan and Li Jiuge looked at each other helplessly. It seemed this guy still didn't know the reason...
"Zhao Qingwan couldn't even beat me before. How could she easily harm Yunxi like that?" Li Jiuge glanced at the evil - looking sword on the ground. "Master Rong Hua said this is a divine object. How could she have obtained it? Someone must have given it to her!"
"I see..." Ji Yunyi immediately told Qing Xuan, "Go and tell Lu Shu not to kill her. We must find out the mastermind!"
The sun was setting in the west, and the moon was rising.
Feng Xingzhi finally walked out. His snow - white robe was stained with blotches of blood.
"How is she?" Ji Yunyi asked softly, afraid of waking his sister.
Feng Xingzhi had been holding his breath. Now he finally exhaled. "She's still sleeping, but she's definitely out of danger."
"That's good, that's good..."
"Where are Master and Lu Shu?"
Qing Xuan stepped forward. "Master Rong Hua was probably exhausted. He wasn't feeling well, so I helped him to rest. As for A Shu, he took Zhao Qingwan to the cell at the foot of the mountain."
Feng Xingzhi nodded, satisfied with Qing Xuan's handling. "It's getting late. You guys go and rest first. I'll call you when Xixi wakes up."
They looked at each other. They knew waiting here was useless, and Feng Xingzhi might not want to see them at the moment.
"Master Rong Hua's disciple said there are side halls for rest. We'll go there first and come to relieve you later at night."
Feng Xingzhi refused. "No need. I'll guard her."
Ji Yunyi saw how self - blaming he was and comforted him, "Brother - in - law, don't think too much. This was the work of villains. It has nothing to do with you."
Feng Xingzhi looked up at Ji Yunyi and forced a smile, the first one of the day.