Just as Yang Kai's mood grew heavy, a faint moan suddenly came from behind him. He turned his head and saw Ye Qinghan sitting crookedly on the wooden boat, brow furrowed, her expression blank and bewildered.
She still seemed unable to grasp her current situation.
However, she quickly recalled what had happened before she lost consciousness and shot to her feet with a cry: "Young Master Yang!"
"You're awake!" Yang Kai glanced at her and said calmly, "Don't move around too much. Check whether you've sustained any serious injuries."
Ye Qinghan nodded at his words, closed her eyes to examine her own condition, and after a moment opened them again. "I'm fine."
She had only been knocked unconscious by Hua Qingsi. Although she had previously been caught in the backlash from Lei Gui's self-detonation, she hadn't suffered any serious injuries—only some mild instability in her blood and qi that could be restored with a few medicinal pills.
"Yang Kai, what happened to that woman and that big stone man?" Ye Qinghan looked around but couldn't find any trace of Hua Qingsi or the Dharma Body, and couldn't help but ask suspiciously.
"What woman and stone man?" Yang Kai replied.
"That is to say…" Ye Qinghan was about to describe what she had seen, but suddenly her delicate brows knitted together and her expression turned strange. "Could it be… that really was an illusion?"
As she now recalled the scenes of Hua Qingsi and the Dharma Body appearing, everything felt unreal. She immediately began to suspect that she had been caught in an illusion, and that neither the young woman nor the stone man had truly existed.
"Just now I used a type of eye technique to deal with the Four Ghosts. You were probably caught in an illusion," Yang Kai answered.
"So that's how it is!" Ye Qinghan let out a breath and laughed self-deprecatingly. "Young Master Yang is truly extraordinary in his abilities, while I was completely useless. How embarrassing!"
"It's nothing. The Blood Blade Four Ghosts were no trivial opponents. If you had truly forced your way into that fight, you'd most likely be dead by now."
Ye Qinghan broke into a cold sweat at his words, once again recognizing the vast gap between herself and Yang Kai.
The Blood Blade Four Ghosts were Dao Source Third Stage powerhouses. With the four of them combining their forces to execute a synchronized secret technique, even an Emperor Sovereign realm cultivator could be given a run for their money—yet under Yang Kai's hands, they had been virtually annihilated.
Such a feat was something to be proud of.
Both of them were at the Dao Source Second Stage, yet Ye Qinghan found that the disparity in their strength was like that between clouds and mud. A wave of melancholy washed over her as she found herself yearning for the day when she might possess power on par with Yang Kai's. How wonderful that would be.
She smiled bitterly, then reached up to touch the back of her neck and discovered a slight tenderness there. She froze on the spot.
Recalling the scene of that woman knocking her unconscious, Ye Qinghan felt deeply unsettled. She truly couldn't tell whether what she had seen before was an illusion or reality.
The journey continued in silence.
Ye Qinghan seemed to have noticed that Yang Kai's mood had been rather poor ever since encountering the Four Ghosts, so she didn't bother him. She simply pointed out the direction, and during idle moments sat cross-legged on the wooden boat to rest.
After a full ten days or more, the two of them finally caught sight of a vast, undulating mountain range in the distance.
Ye Qinghan rose from the wooden boat, her face lighting up with excitement as she pointed ahead. "Young Master Yang, those are the Thousand Leaves Mountains. Our Thousand Leaves Sect is situated within them. We'll arrive in less than half a day."
"Mm," Yang Kai replied absently.
Ye Qinghan smiled. "Let me send a message to Father first, so he doesn't worry."
This trip away from home had taken several months. Being alone out in the world would naturally cause one's family to worry, so now that she was safely returning, her first thought was to send word that she was all right.
Yang Kai paid her no attention, simply sitting at the front of the wooden boat and quietly observing their surroundings.
Ye Qinghan took out a message compass and infused it with a thought. Before long, the compass emitted a faint hum, as though receiving a reply.
After checking it, Ye Qinghan's delicate brows suddenly furrowed, and a displeased expression appeared on her face.
Yang Kai noticed the change in her expression and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ye Qinghan pouted. "Father actually wants me to represent the Thousand Leaves Sect and attend the Sky Crane City Lord's concubine-taking ceremony! It makes me so furious." She grumbled, "I knew I shouldn't have told him I was coming back. Would've saved me this whole mess."
"You don't seem too keen on going," Yang Kai said with a smile, looking at her.
Ye Qinghan let out a cold snort. "That kind of person who betrays those who helped him? I couldn't care less about getting involved. He can take all the concubines he wants. And Father—why give him that face? Why even send someone to attend that ridiculous ceremony?"
Yang Kai's expression shifted slightly. "Does your Thousand Leaves Sect have some grudge against this Sky Crane City Lord?"
Ye Qinghan's face turned cold. "That man is nothing but an ungrateful wretch. He was able to sit in the City Lord's chair entirely because of our Thousand Leaves Sect's support. Now that he's grown powerful enough to spread his wings, he's found himself a new backer and thinks nothing of us anymore. He's even been squeezing our Thousand Leaves Sect's various businesses out of Sky Crane City. The man's a complete snake!"
Yang Kai wasn't particularly interested in these matters, so after a casual remark he said nothing more.