Everything happened so suddenly that no one had time to react.
It wasn't until Bing Die had been sent flying for a full three breaths that a Law Enforcement Hall disciple finally snapped back to her senses and shouted sharply, "Who goes there!"
At the same time, she looked toward Yang Kai. When she saw the face of the person who had struck, her expression froze.
"A man?"
"When was a man ever allowed on Bingjue Island?"
"Where did this guy come from? He actually forced Bing Die back with a single blow—and even injured her!"
"Huh? Isn't that the person we were ordered to go out and search for a while back? So they've already found him. No wonder the elders told us to withdraw."
……
A group of Ice Heart Valley female disciples first stared at Yang Kai with the curiosity of people encountering something novel, their expressions odd. But once they realized he was the very person their senior and junior sisters had been scouring the outside world for an entire year to find, they immediately became brimming with interest.
They had spent a grueling year fighting and laboring out there, all to track down Yang Kai's trail. Now that they had finally laid eyes on the man himself, many of them naturally wanted to know what was so special about him that the Ice Heart Valley had invested such enormous manpower and resources in finding him.
Yet no matter how they looked, they couldn't discern anything remarkable. The only thing notable was that Yang Kai appeared rather furious at the moment—his face was cold to the extreme—as he stood alone in front of Qingya like a towering mountain shielding her from all the raging wind and rain.
This scene made the Ice Heart Valley disciples furrow their brows in speculation, wondering what kind of relationship existed between Yang Kai and Qingya.
The pain she had anticipated never came. Instead, a muffled grunt from Bing Die rang out. Qingya opened her eyes in puzzlement and immediately caught sight of Yang Kai's back.
"How did you get here?" Qingya asked in astonishment.
"I came to have a chat with you—I didn't expect to walk into this," Yang Kai replied, turning his head to give her a concerned look. "Are you alright?"
Qingya shook her head and smiled bitterly. "Nothing serious."
"Who hurt you?"
Qingya bit her red lip and did not answer.
Yang Kai let out a soft sigh, produced a jade vial from his spatial ring, and held it out to her. "Take this to heal your wounds."
Qingya reached out and accepted it, thanking him. But she didn't take it on the spot. Instead, she gazed at Bing Die in the distance with a complicated expression.
Having taken the full force of Yang Kai's furious palm strike, Bing Die looked utterly wretched, but in truth her injuries were not severe. Otherwise, given Yang Kai's current strength, that single blow would have ended her life on the spot.
This was, after all, the Ice Heart Valley—Su Yan's sect. Yang Kai had no desire to escalate things too far.
Hearing the exchange between Yang Kai and Qingya, a sinister look crept onto Bing Die's icy face. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and sneered, "Heal her wounds? She won't get the chance! Openly defying an elder's orders and injuring a Law Enforcement Hall disciple—Qingya, an outer island disciple, will die today!"
Qingya's delicate frame shuddered. She clenched her fists, her knuckles turning white.
Yang Kai whipped his head around, his gaze locking onto Bing Die—eyes cold as blades, radiating lethal intent.
"I'm the one who hurt you. Take your grievance up with me. What crime has Qingya committed?"
"You won't escape either. I don't care where you come from—dare to cause trouble on Bingjue Island and you won't leave in one piece. As for Qingya… she's dead for certain. Colluding with an outsider—and a man at that! Tarnishing the pure reputation of our Ice Heart Valley, staining our sect's honor. You two, a pair of adulterers—what exactly are your intentions in infiltrating our Ice Heart Valley?"
Qingya's body swayed. Her face went pale as she stared at Bing Die, her voice trembling. "Senior Sister Bing Die, how can you say such things? There is nothing between me and Yang Kai, and I have never done anything to sully the Ice Heart Valley's reputation or stain our sect's honor! Yang Kai is here entirely because—"
"Shut up! You have no right to speak here!" Bing Die snarled through gritted teeth, cutting Qingya off without giving her any chance to explain. She then sneered, "The way you address him so intimately—and you still dare claim there's nothing between you?"
At this, many of the onlooking Ice Heart Valley disciples wore peculiar expressions.
Although Yang Kai and Qingya had exchanged only a few words, anyone could deduce from their demeanor and tone that their relationship ran deep—at the very least, they were no strangers.
Could there really be something more going on behind the scenes?
Qingya's face was filled with anguish. "Senior Sister, you may beat me, you may kill me, but you absolutely may not insult me. Since the day I entered the valley, I have never done anything to wrong our sect."
And this matter concerned Yang Kai as well. Yang Kai was Su Yan's man. No matter how muddled Qingya might be, she could never have any kind of improper relationship with him.
"Never done anything wrong?" Bing Die fixed her with a venomous stare. "Inciting this man to ambush me—does that not count as betraying our sect?"
"I did no such thing!" Qingya shot back urgently.
"Still you dare quibble!" Bing Die barked. "If you hadn't incited him, how could he have appeared at exactly the right moment!"
Qingya opened her mouth, but no words came.
"What a convenient accusation—you can condemn anyone however you please!" A look of disappointment surfaced on Yang Kai's face. "Qingya, since this place won't tolerate you, then there's no reason to stay."
After speaking, he let out a long sigh, as if muttering to himself. "I had thought that with Su Yan here, she would be well looked after. But now it seems it's time to bring her away. A filthy place like this will only soil her pure soul."
Su Yan?