“Isn't that simple?”
Ye Chang'an's fingertips ignited with a small flame, sending a wave of heat washing over them. A hint of eagerness flared in his peach-blossom eyes. “Why don't we just burn the temple down?”
“No!”
Ming Ran lunged forward, hastily stopping him. “The members of my Ming family are still missing, and several of our senior brothers and sisters haven't been found yet. They might be trapped inside the temple! If we act rashly, we might end up killing them.”
Ye Chang'an cast an impatient glance at her. “Then what do you suggest we do?”
Ming Ran didn't particularly like this Young Master Ye, but now was not the time to argue with him. Suppressing her temper, she said, “We should go inside the Antong Shrine to check first. It won't be too late to make a decision after that.”
Chen Qingqiu nodded and took the lead, walking toward the Antong Shrine.
Her dress fluttered gently in the morning breeze as she stepped onto the stairs.
Ming Ran and the others quickly followed.
Ye Chang'an stood where he was without moving. Watching them enter the doors, he let out an annoyed snort. “What a pain.”
From the corner of his eye, he noticed that Song Yao hadn't moved either. She was lying lazily on a rock with her legs crossed, twirling a blade of grass in her hand and resting her arm over her eyes to block out the light.
After a moment of thought, he walked over and gave her a sloppy bow. “Senior Sister Lin, aren't you going to take a look?”
Song Yao's voice was muffled. “Too many people. It's too crowded.”
A dark gleam flashed in Ye Chang'an's eyes. “This demon isn't weak. Aren't you worried something might happen to your junior brothers and sisters?”
Song Yao finally removed her arm from her face, squinting up at him. “If you have nothing better to do, hold an umbrella for me.”
Ye Chang'an: “...”
Hold an umbrella for her?
He was the young master of the prestigious Taiqing Pavilion. What did she take him for?
An errand boy or a page?
Seeing him hesitate, Song Yao tilted her head, her tone completely flat. “What's wrong? Unwilling?”
Ye Chang'an clenched his back teeth so hard they nearly cracked, but he still had to force a smile. “How could I be? I just don't have an umbrella on me.”
“I do.”
Song Yao thoughtfully pulled a paper umbrella out of her spatial pouch and handed it to him. “You're welcome.”
Ye Chang'an: “...Thank you.”
Accepting his fate, he opened the umbrella and held it over Song Yao's head, blocking out the morning sun.
Song Yao hadn't slept all night and had just been in a fight, so she was incredibly exhausted. Closing her eyes, she fell asleep almost instantly, her breathing gradually turning slow and even.
Beside her, Ye Chang'an glanced at her. Seeing her sleeping so peacefully, his knuckles cracked as he clenched his fist.
There were very few people in this world who dared to order him around.
Yet a mere slip of a girl actually dared to treat him like a servant.
The more he thought about it, the darker his expression became. His other hand involuntarily drifted toward the sword at his back.
While she was asleep, maybe he could teach her a lesson...
However, before he could act, a violent commotion erupted from the Antong Shrine in the distance.
The clashing of metal and the explosions of spells resounded in a series of heavy thuds.
Ye Chang'an's attention was drawn to the noise, and he looked in that direction.
The commotion grew louder and louder.
Flickering light shone through the doors and windows of the Antong Shrine as shadows darted back and forth inside.
Bang!
A Beiyao Sect disciple was suddenly thrown out of the door. He rolled twice on the ground before face-planting, his robes covered in dust and blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
Immediately after, another disciple came flying out, crashing onto the steps. He let out a muffled groan, unable to get back up.
The windows shattered as if something had crashed through them from the inside. Splintered wood flew everywhere, and thick smoke billowed out of the broken frames.
The sounds of battle didn't stop. Instead, they grew increasingly intense. The entire Antong Shrine trembled slightly, sending roof tiles clattering to the ground.
Ye Chang'an was about to head over to see what was happening, but when he looked down and saw Song Yao still sleeping, he forced himself to stop.
This girl's junior brothers and sisters were still inside.
If she wasn't worried, why should he care?
The battle went on for an unknown amount of time.
Cracks began to spiderweb across the off-white walls of the Antong Shrine as smoke poured from the window frames.
A group of disciples stumbled out, fleeing in panic. “Run! It's going to collapse!”
“Get out, quick!”
“Saintess, hurry!”
Chen Qingqiu, Ming Ran, and the others were at the very rear. Just as they retreated in a flurry and escaped the Antong Shrine, the entire building collapsed with a deafening crash.
Dust and smoke shot into the sky, blotting out half the morning light.
In the ruins, something was still moving.
Rubble shifted as it was pushed aside from below, and a pale hand with long, slender fingers emerged.
The statue of the Child-Protecting Goddess slowly crawled out from the debris. The colorful paint covering its body had peeled and flaked off, revealing the grayish-white stone core beneath.
A benevolent smile still graced the corners of its mouth, but against the peeling paint and scars, it looked deeply unsettling and grotesque.
Worse still, its eyes were completely hollow—there was nothing inside the sockets but two pitch-black holes.
An infant poked its head out from behind the statue's shoulder, its eyes darting around with an almost innocent look.
A shrill, wailing cry echoed from the Child-Protecting Goddess's throat. “They wanted children, so I gave them children! Is that not enough?! What did I do wrong?!”
The disciples of the three sects dared not delay. They scrambled up from the ground, pointing their swords at the statue in the ruins, their blade tips trembling slightly.
One male disciple stammered in protest, “Those aren't the kind of children they wanted! And... and how can a man get pregnant anyway?!”
The Child-Protecting Goddess's head snapped around with unnatural speed, her neck emitting a sharp crack.
Her two hollow eye sockets locked directly onto the male disciple, and the infant on her shoulder also turned its head, staring at him with unblinking, pitch-black eyes.
“Whoever wants a child gets pregnant! I have the heart of a Bodhisattva, so how is that wrong?!”
The voice was shrill to the extreme. Under its gaze, the male disciple let out a miserable shriek, crouching down as he clutched his nose. Blood poured through his fingers, dripping onto the rubble.
Cheng Yue immediately frowned and warned, “Don't talk to it!”
Coating her blade in a layer of dense spiritual energy, she kicked off the ground and launched herself forward, slashing her sword against the statue's arm.
The spiritual energy shattered, leaving only a faint white mark, but the impact forced the statue back a step.
Chen Qingqiu followed up instantly. Her sword was so fast its trajectory was invisible. Her figure darted through the ruins, her blade striking the statue's weak joints with every thrust. The statue's movements slowed down visibly.
The others quickly joined the fray, and the battle soon raged fiercely once again.
The statue flew into a rage.
Its movements became completely erratic as it swung its arms wildly, sending shattered rocks flying and forcing everyone to retreat repeatedly.
The infant on its shoulder stopped crying. It stared with its pitch-black eyes, its mouth opening and closing to utter silent, rapid syllables, as if chanting a spell.
The dust over the ruins grew thicker and thicker, and the sky seemed to darken.
Song Yao's sleep was disturbed. Rubbing her eyes, she sat up, her gaze resting on Chen Qingqiu.
As expected of the Saintess of the Beiyao Sect.
Her swordsmanship had been strong back then, but now it was truly superb.
For this demon to hold out so long under the combined assault of Chen Qingqiu and so many others, it was indeed out of the ordinary.
Thinking this, she turned to glance at Ye Chang'an. “Could you last five moves against Chen Qingqiu?”
Ye Chang'an: “?”
Song Yao: “With your background, why don't you just marry into her family?”
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