Chapter 37: The Price of Evasion

“I’m so tired. Why not just let everything be destroyed?”

Fighting was clearly out of the question. Any one of these three formidable beings could crush her eight hundred times over with a flick of their pinky.

Shen Zhaoqing’s eyes stared blankly at the most chaotic and twisted region where the three domains converged.

There, sword qi, demonic energy, and fiendish qi intertwined and annihilated each other, inadvertently forming an extremely narrow, highly unstable void.

‘There’s only one chance. I have to run,’ Shen Zhaoqing thought. ‘It’s also a good opportunity to test out my newly learned move.’

Just as the three forces collided violently once more, erupting in a blinding flash of light, Shen Zhaoqing moved!

She channeled every last bit of spiritual energy remaining in her body into her legs, activating her ultimate life-saving technique, the final profound mystery of the Drunken Hidden Evasion.

Broken Wine Slash · Modified · Flash!

Her figure left a blurry afterimage as she, in a manner incomprehensible to mortals, forcibly squeezed through that turbulent spiritual energy, which was less than half a foot wide!

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted out.

The raging energy instantly tore through her protective spiritual aura, leaving dozens of bone-deep wounds on her body. Icy sword qi froze her meridians, searing demonic energy scorched her internal organs, and sharp wind blades sliced open her flesh.

Excruciating pain!

An indescribable agony instantly swept through her entire body!

Yet, Shen Zhaoqing didn’t even whimper. Using the momentum from the impact, she stumbled and scrambled, plunging headfirst into the only relatively intact building nearby.

It was a tavern.

The Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the largest, most prosperous, and most familiar establishment in the entire Hundred Herbs Market.

Bang!

With her last ounce of strength, she slammed open the tavern’s heavy, solid wooden doors and tumbled in, utterly disheveled.

The tavern was already in utter chaos. Patrons and waiters alike huddled in terror beneath tables, trembling uncontrollably.

Shen Zhaoqing’s sudden intrusion didn’t draw much attention.

Propping up her almost collapsing body, she climbed to her feet, her gaze darting swiftly around the tavern.

‘The main hall is out; it’s too conspicuous.’

‘Upstairs is a no-go; too easy to get cornered.’

‘The backyard… the backyard leads to a dead end.’

That left only one place!

Following the rich scent of wine, she staggered towards the tavern’s back kitchen and shoved open the wooden door leading underground.

A rich aroma, a blend of fermented grains and oak barrels, wafted out.

It was the wine cellar!

Shen Zhaoqing’s eyes lit up, as if she had spotted a life raft.

She scrambled down the stairs, tumbling into the basement filled with enormous wine barrels.

Outside, the auras of the three powerhouses had already locked onto the direction of her disappearance, and terrifying pressure rapidly approached the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

No time left!

Shen Zhaoqing gazed at the massive wine barrels, taller than herself. Using her last vestiges of strength, she climbed on all fours to the deepest corner of the cellar, where several rows of barrels were stacked, forming a natural alcove.

She squeezed inside, then reached out, struggling to drag several half-full barrels around her, clanking and clattering as she sealed herself off completely.

Finally, she even pulled a thick, heavy tarpaulin used to cover the barrels and wrapped herself tightly from head to toe.

Only after completing all of this did Shen Zhaoqing finally breathe a sigh of relief. Her entire body went limp, curling up between the cold, hard wine barrels.

Dark, cramped, and filled with the comforting scent of wine.

Perfect.

Shen Zhaoqing closed her eyes, diligently suppressing her aura, making even her breathing as light as possible.

‘Come on then.’

‘Fight to your heart’s content.’

‘If I interfere again, I’m a dog.’

‘Keep fighting until the sky darkens and the seas dry, preferably until you all perish together.’

‘Once you’re done, I’ll crawl out of here, find a new place, and continue to hide.’

Suddenly, the wooden door to the wine cellar was shattered by an immense force. Three divine senses, like boundless nets, instantly enveloped the entire Drunken Immortal Pavilion.

****

In the wine cellar, Shen Zhaoqing huddled into a ball, wishing she could undergo cellular division on the spot and slip into the cracks of the wine barrels.

The three divine senses clashed and tore at each other wildly above the small Drunken Immortal Pavilion. The entire wooden structure of the building groaned and creaked, as if it would fall apart at any second.

Hugging her wine gourd, Shen Zhaoqing trembled, her aura completely suppressed.

‘A high-level fight. I didn’t check the almanac today. Should’ve known not to come out.’

“Enough.” The voice was not loud, yet it resonated like a morning drum and an evening bell, clear in everyone’s heart.

In the face of this aura, the three previously wild, clashing divine senses, like three mad dogs with bloodshot eyes, were suddenly doused with a basin of ice water by their master, instantly deflating by half.

Ling Shuangjue’s tyrannical demonic might was the first to recede. She let out a cold snort from afar, a hint of displeasure in her voice: “That old geezer from Qingyun Sect.” Before her words faded, the suffocating bloody aura receded like a tide, vanishing without a trace.

Next, Yuange’s wind-like fiendish qi chuckled softly, transforming into a wisp of green smoke and dissipating.

Only Gu Chang’an’s sword intent remained, clinging like a parasitic bone, firmly locking onto the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, though nine-tenths of its outward killing intent had been reined in.

“Uncle-Master Qingxu.” Gu Chang’an’s voice returned to its usual cold clarity as she bowed slightly towards the sky.

“Chang’an, bring your junior sister back. The sect will handle this matter.” After the ancient voice spoke, its vast aura also dispersed.

The world finally quieted down.

Shen Zhaoqing collapsed between the wine barrels, gasping for breath.

She had survived a catastrophe.

Before she could even recover, the curtain to the wine cellar was abruptly thrown open. A white-clad figure walked down against the light, their icy gaze locking onto her, the “barrel-packed salted fish.”

Gu Chang’an observed Shen Zhaoqing, who was huddled in the corner, covered in blood, her clothes tattered, her face smudged with dust and wine stains, looking as pathetic as a stray cat dug out of a trash heap. Her beautiful brows furrowed tightly.

Shen Zhaoqing’s scalp tingled under her gaze. She instinctively shrank further behind the wine barrels, forcing a dry chuckle. “Senior Sister, what a coincidence! Are you here to buy wine too?”

Gu Chang’an ignored her attempt at banter and walked closer, step by step.

Finally, Gu Chang’an stopped before her, her shadow completely engulfing Shen Zhaoqing.

“Come out.” Her voice was as cold as ice.

Shen Zhaoqing silently crawled out of the pile of wine barrels. The wounds on her body, inflicted by the shattered energy, still throbbed faintly, making her wince.

Gu Chang’an’s gaze swept over the hideous wounds on her body, and her eyes darkened further.

“Didn’t you say you were reviewing your cultivation in the sect today, and specifically asked me not to disturb you?” She reached out and grabbed Shen Zhaoqing’s wrist. “Come back with me.”

Shen Zhaoqing stumbled as she was pulled, practically being dragged out of the wine cellar.

Stepping out of the Drunken Immortal Pavilion, the scene outside made her gasp.

The entire Hundred Herbs Market could no longer be called a market.

Centered around Shopkeeper Qian’s ill-fated alchemy shop, an area of a hundred zhang in radius was in utter disarray. The ground was pockmarked, nine out of ten shops were empty, and fragments of various goods and architectural debris were mixed together, as if a tornado had plowed through.

A group of Qingyun Sect enforcement disciples were maintaining order and assisting the injured, all with expressions as if they had seen a ghost.

Shopkeeper Qian was clutching the leg of an enforcement disciple, weeping and sniffling. “Immortal Elder! My shop! The fruit of generations of my family’s labor! Your Qingyun Sect must give me an explanation!”

Seeing Gu Chang’an emerge, pulling Shen Zhaoqing, Shopkeeper Qian’s cries paused, then erupted into an even more mournful wail. He pointed at Shen Zhaoqing, his finger trembling like a Parkinson’s patient. “It’s her! It’s this jinx! Ever since she came, nothing good has happened here! Last time it was the Demonic Venerable, this time it’s even more outrageous—a joint interrogation by the three giants: Immortal, Demon, and Fiend! Whose ancestral grave did I dig up in my last life?!”

Shen Zhaoqing: “…”

‘I’m sorry, it seems… it really is my fault.’

Gu Chang’an’s expression grew even colder. She shot Shopkeeper Qian a glance, and her gaze instantly silenced him.

“Give him this.” A pouch of spirit stones was swiftly tossed into a disciple’s hand. “Distribute it below.”

With that, Gu Chang’an didn’t linger. She pulled Shen Zhaoqing, and amidst the fearful, curious, or sympathetic gazes of the crowd, she rose on the wind, transforming into a streak of light, and returned to the temporary residence arranged by the sect.

Bang!

The room door was slammed shut heavily.