Han Li watched Qi Yunxiao's figure disappear into the woods and smiled with easy amusement.
Seeing him so flustered, Han Li—though he had little experience with matters of love between men and women—saw at a glance that Qi Yunxiao's feelings for this woman versed in formations were anything but ordinary friendship. It most likely involved a bitter romantic longing; otherwise he would never have been so nervous.
The pretty maidservant hurried anxiously after him as well.
After Han Li waited leisurely outside the woods for a while, Qi Yunxiao and the pretty maidservant came out of the forest in high spirits, escorting a woman in blue robes, and walked toward Han Li.
Han Li unceremoniously examined the blue-robed woman closely.
She was of medium height, with a small, delicate nose and a pair of bright eyes clear as water. After exchanging a glance with Han Li, she revealed a faint smile.
It seemed Qi Yunxiao had already told her who he was.
To be honest, the woman's features were not particularly striking; compared to the pretty maidservant, she was even slightly inferior.
But her graceful, composed bearing, the elegance in her every movement, coupled with those black eyes that seemed able to speak, was more than enough to make up for any shortcomings in her looks. Anyone who saw her would not find her appearance ordinary at all—on the contrary, they would be struck by her astonishing presence, and would never confuse her with the maidservant at her side.
Yet when Han Li beheld this peerless grace, he felt a headache coming on.
Without guessing, he knew this was absolutely one of those women who were quick-witted and perceptive, far more intelligent than ordinary people. Dealing with her would likely be exceedingly troublesome—certainly not as easy as negotiating with Qi Yunxiao, where he could keep everything firmly in his own hands.
"Many thanks for coming to our rescue, Senior! This humble woman, Xin Ruyin, is deeply grateful!" The blue-robed woman walked gracefully up to Han Li and offered an elegant bow, her voice exceptionally clear and pleasant.
"There is no need for such courtesy, Miss Xin. It was merely a trifling effort on my part. However, we should hurry back. These people likely have some background. If their elders happen to be nearby, that would be trouble." Han Li waved his hand and said politely, while subtly urging the group to be on their way.
Hearing Han Li's words, Qi Yunxiao nodded in worried agreement beside him:
"That's right, Yin'er! We should leave this place at once. It truly is too dangerous here!"
Ever since Qi Yunxiao had laid eyes on Xin Ruyin, his gaze had never left her jade-white, lovely face, and now he was calling her with utmost intimacy. Even Han Li found it a bit embarrassing to listen to.
Xin Ruyin's cheeks flushed slightly, two patches of color rising to her face.
She shot Qi Yunxiao beside her a mildly reproachful glance. After a moment's hesitation, she parted her red lips slightly and agreed.
"Very well, let us go now. But these corpses..." Xin Ruyin glanced at the several bodies, about to say something more.
"That is easily resolved—just burn them where they lie," Han Li said indifferently. Then he spread open the five fingers of his right hand, and seven or eight fireballs the size of bowls shot out, instantly reducing the corpses to ashes. Only storage pouches were left scattered on the ground.
Han Li's practiced ease in destroying the bodies made the woman's expression change slightly, and a chill rose in her heart!
But she was no ordinary, frail woman either; she soon resumed an air of unconcern and exchanged a few words with Qi Yunxiao.
"The things in these storage pouches are of no use to me. If this young lady does not mind, take them all. It will save them from being left here and betraying any traces." At this point Han Li turned his head and said gently to the pretty maidservant standing on Xin Ruyin's other side.
"Senior, do you truly mean to give them to me?" At Han Li's words, the maidservant's face lit up with wild joy, and she could not help asking again in disbelief.
When she saw Han Li smile faintly and nod in confirmation, she immediately thanked him, then ran over in high spirits and picked up the storage pouches one by one. For her, this was absolutely a windfall fallen from the heavens—the pouches were full of good things!
Xin Ruyin was momentarily startled at this scene, but then her expression returned to normal. After exchanging a polite word with Han Li, she boarded the small boat floating in midair together with Qi Yunxiao.
When the pretty maidservant, excitedly cradling an armful of storage pouches, also boarded the magic tool, Han Li's figure blurred and he was the last to step onto the boat. Spiritual power then flowed out from beneath his feet, and they soared into the sky riding the vessel.
...
Halfway through the return journey, the blue-robed woman proposed inviting Han Li and Qi Yunxiao to her residence so she could formally thank him for saving her life.
Given the chance to grow close to the beloved he had pined for so long, how could Qi Yunxiao utter a single word of refusal? He agreed at once, barely able to contain himself. Han Li likewise felt this was a good opportunity to raise his request about repairing the teleportation formation, so after a moment's thought, he raised no objection.
Thus, under Han Li's control, the small boat turned slightly and sped off toward the northwest.
Several hours later, following Xin Ruyin's directions, Han Li brought them down before a small, utterly unremarkable mountain.
Aside from a faint mist drifting around its slopes, Han Li could detect nothing unusual about it. Like many nameless little hills in the world, it was thoroughly ordinary.
But Han Li knew perfectly well that as the residence of a formation master, there would certainly be no lack of defensive measures nearby. In all likelihood, no small formation had been laid out around it. It was only because his knowledge of the art of formations was limited that he could not perceive any mystery in the vicinity, but he dared not feel the slightest contempt in his heart.
Led by the blue-robed woman, Han Li and his companions stopped before a cluster of bamboo houses halfway up the mountain. This was Xin Ruyin's residence.
Xin Ruyin ushered Han Li and Qi Yunxiao into a larger bamboo house to rest, while she and the maidservant went to another house to freshen up and change their clothes. After all, following the chase and commotion, the garments of the two women were somewhat dusty—and for women who were naturally fond of cleanliness, this was truly unbearable!
Han Li sat in a bamboo chair, watching with some interest as Qi Yunxiao fidgeted restlessly. From time to time his companion would walk to the doorway and steal a glance outside, as if this short stretch of time already felt to him like three long autumns apart—the very picture of a love-struck fool.
Han Li found it so amusing that the corners of his mouth could not help curving upward into a half-smile—which Qi Yunxiao happened to catch the moment he turned around.
At once Qi Yunxiao flushed scarlet, mumbled a few vague excuses, and sat back down in his original seat in embarrassment.
"A fair maiden is a gentleman's rightful pursuit—there is nothing improper about it. What is there to be concerned about, Daoist Qi?" Han Li took a light sip of the fine spiritual tea on the table and said with a calm smile, entirely at ease.
"Senior! It's not... I wasn't..."
Qi Yunxiao grew ever more flustered, not knowing where to put his hands and feet.
Just then, the pretty maidservant came in, finally rescuing Qi Yunxiao from his predicament. Before long, Xin Ruyin also entered, now dressed in white robes with a grace all her own. She was like a snow lotus in full bloom, dazzling to behold.
"This time I owe my rescue to the kindness of Senior Han and Brother Qi. Ruyin will remember it in her heart! Please allow this humble woman to offer tea in place of wine—a toast to you both, as a small token of my gratitude!" As soon as Xin Ruyin entered the room, she took two cups of tea from the pretty maidservant at her side and respectfully offered one each to Han Li and Qi Yunxiao, with a touching, graceful air.
Receiving the cup of tea, Han Li smiled bitterly inwardly and sighed to himself:
"This woman is truly remarkable! Not a single word out of place. Though she promised nothing, one cannot find the slightest fault in anything she says!"
As for Qi Yunxiao, with his beloved offering him tea, he was already so overjoyed he had lost all sense of direction! He drank the cup down without tasting a thing, simply grinning foolishly away.
Seeing Qi Yunxiao in such a state, Xin Ruyin felt a great headache coming on and had no choice but to turn away and strike up a conversation with Han Li, hoping to probe indirectly into his identity and learn whether he was a cultivator of some sect or a great family.
After all, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was surely a person of no small background.
Han Li, of course, would not be so naive as to casually reveal his own details. He deliberately looked this way and that, leading Xin Ruyin around in circles with idle talk.
By the time the conversation wound down, the woman had not obtained the slightest piece of useful information. After probing for a good while, Xin Ruyin grew quite frustrated—and her wariness of Han Li deepened by another degree.
For Xin Ruyin, even though Han Li had rendered her such a great service, that did not necessarily mean he did not harbor the same designs as those other people. To guard against every possibility, she naturally had to summon all her concentration and remain extra careful.
"Senior Han, I promised you that if you could save Ruyin, you could take your pick of the formation flags and formation plates I refined in the past. As it happens, I am carrying several sets with me right now. Why don't you take a look first and see if they please you?" Qi Yunxiao's words took Han Li somewhat by surprise—and delighted him at the same time. At last the conversation had turned to the matter he cared about most.
Hearing this, Xin Ruyin was first taken aback, but then smiled at Qi Yunxiao with deep gratitude, which could only make him giggle foolishly in happiness once more.
"The formation flags and plates can wait! There is actually another matter for which I would like to ask Daoist Xin's help. If you can help me resolve it, we need not speak of any reward at all—on the contrary, I would give Daoist Xin a spiritual herb eight hundred years old, to be used in refining elixirs, to treat her illness." Han Li suddenly said something that left the two of them utterly astonished.
"You are willing to part with a spiritual herb, Senior?" At these words, Qi Yunxiao could not help springing to his feet, asking in joy and disbelief.
Clearly, at this moment he was wholly swept up in the excitement that his beloved now had a spiritual herb to treat her illness—and a great hope of a full recovery.