Chapter 73: The Aura’s Chill

Ouyang Xiyue, following the traces of a struggle on the ground, discovered an unusual sight.

Not far ahead, beneath the earth, were indentations resembling carriage wheels.

Intriguingly, these tracks led directly into the heart of the Land of the Undead forest.

This struck him as peculiar, for no sane individual would court death by venturing deep into the Land of the Undead on the eve of a blood moon.

It was as if they were tired of living, eager to hasten their reincarnation.

Ouyang Xiyue found himself utterly perplexed.

Yet, the carriage tracks, leading further into the dreaded land, remained his only clue.

With no other recourse, he resolved to press on, albeit reluctantly.

Should he find Chi Congyu, he would immediately whisk her away, hoping there was still enough time.

Ouyang Xiyue slapped his own face, steeling his resolve, then dashed towards the carriage tracks with renewed vigor.

Having followed the wheel tracks for approximately fifteen kilometers, Ouyang Xiyue noticed they grew increasingly distinct, as if a carriage had only just passed.

This suggested that their pace must have slowed considerably.

Ouyang Xiyue gradually reduced his speed, carefully concealing his aura.

After another ten minutes of cautious advancement, he spotted a remarkably eerie carriage not far ahead.

The carriage body was crafted from dark, mottled wood, bearing the deep, twisted marks of time and weather, resembling a grotesque, distorted specter.

Its aged planks were a deep, almost decaying brown, their edges curling as if poised to crumble at any moment.

Mysterious and sinister runes covered the carriage, glinting with an eerie green light under the faint illumination, like countless malevolent eyes scrutinizing their surroundings.

‘Hmm? There’s a very strange feeling, but I can’t quite pinpoint what’s odd about it.’

‘Why has the carriage stopped? Someone is speaking inside.’

Ouyang Xiyue, keeping his aura hidden, cautiously approached the carriage.

When only a few steps away, he held his breath, slowly crouched down, and concealed himself directly beneath the vehicle.

Only upon drawing closer did Ouyang Xiyue realize that the runes carved onto the carriage could actually mask the auras within.

No wonder he hadn’t detected any presence from a distance.

Now, however, he could distinctly sense two auras inside: one immensely powerful, the other somewhat frail and erratic.

“Well, have you made up your mind?”

A man’s voice, barely audible, drifted from within the carriage.

“In half a day, we’ll reach my territory. I told you, marrying me is your good fortune; I am the lord of this entire region.”

“I’ve already told you…” a weak girl’s voice responded from inside.

“I already have a fiancé… I love him dearly. You should abandon this notion! Even if I die, you will never succeed!”

As the faint voice of the girl echoed from within, Ouyang Xiyue’s eyes, from his hiding spot directly beneath the carriage, instantly brightened.

That voice was far too familiar; it belonged to none other than Chi Congyu.

Ouyang Xiyue acknowledged that while time was pressing, it wouldn’t hurt to indulge in a bit of gossip.

Considering Chi Congyu’s attributes – fair skin, stunning beauty, long legs, and an impressive figure – coupled with her status as a top-tier talent among the younger generation and the Pope’s granddaughter, she was undeniably a paragon of wealth and influence among contemporary noble descendants.

‘Tsk, tsk, no wonder,’ he thought.

Ouyang Xiyue nodded, realizing he hadn’t considered it deeply before.

Now, reflecting on it, Chi Congyu was truly a prize wherever she went, and he had certainly gotten the better end of the deal.

‘If that’s the case, then that guy Night Xuehui is also…’

‘No, no, why am I thinking about that annoying Night Xuehui?’

Ouyang Xiyue shook his head vehemently, casting the strange thought aside, and resumed eavesdropping on the conversation inside the carriage.

“My little beauty,” the man purred, “I’ve always preferred to subdue people with virtue. I dislike forcing anyone.”

“Don’t worry, little beauty, there’s no rush. Once we reach my territory, we can take our time.”

“Cough… cough, cough… take your filthy hands off me!” Chi Congyu choked out.

“I will not yield! You wait… cough… cough, cough… Xi… ‘er… wait for me… to return…”

Chi Congyu coughed violently inside the carriage.

Her latter words were uttered very softly, yet Ouyang Xiyue, still hidden beneath, distinctly caught them.

Perhaps it was because Chi Congyu was likely slumped over within the carriage at that moment.

Sensing the opportune moment, Ouyang Xiyue slowly emerged from beneath the carriage.

He then walked to its side, realizing why there were no hoof prints on the ground.

Evidently, this carriage had no horses at all; the fellow inside must have been propelling it with spiritual energy.

Ouyang Xiyue politely tapped on the carriage window, then spoke with equal courtesy.

“Hello, excuse me, is anyone inside?” Ouyang Xiyue inquired, his voice sounding remarkably sweet.

As Ouyang Xiyue finished speaking, the carriage fell completely silent.

After a few seconds, a slit in the carriage window slowly opened, revealing a pair of glowing, verdant green eyes.

“Who’s there?!” a sharp voice demanded from within the carriage.

Ouyang Xiyue scratched his head, thinking, ‘It seems my opponent hasn’t let down his guard just because I appear to be a frail young girl. He’s not yet so old and senile as to be swayed by lust.’

With that thought, Ouyang Xiyue shook his head in resignation.

“Ahem, I am merely a passing masked… ahem, that is, a traveler,” Ouyang Xiyue corrected himself.

“May I trouble you to hand over the young lady in the carriage to me? We prefer to conduct business peacefully. It wouldn’t be good if we resorted to violence, would it?”

Ouyang Xiyue wasn’t backing down out of cowardice; he simply wished to subdue his opponent with virtue.

Having said his piece, Ouyang Xiyue no longer concealed his aura.

In an instant, Ouyang Xiyue’s imposing aura erupted, steadily intensifying.

Within mere seconds, the ground around him became coated in layers of frost.

Moments later, as the temperature plummeted, the water vapor in the air gradually transformed into a thick mist, its reach continuously expanding.

Within the visible range, the area centered around the carriage became utterly obscured, a landscape dominated by frost and an impenetrable haze.

It was as if the world itself had been abruptly draped in a colossal white shroud, with dense, inky mist surging and swirling, brazenly consuming every inch of space.

One could extend a hand within this shroud and only perceive a blurred, dark silhouette flickering in the fog, as if the hand itself were being devoured by endless chaos.

Each finger seemed to plunge into an abyss, vanishing within the heavy mist, attempting to grasp some tangible sensation, yet finding nothing but the cold, damp vapor.

“Wait, wait, wait!” the man’s voice shrieked from within.

“Heroine, spare my life! The person is yours, take them, just let me go! I was blind not to recognize Mount Fuji! My entire life, I’ve admired people like you, heroine, who subdue others with virtue! I’ll leave now! Heroine, until we meet again, eh?”

No sooner had the man finished speaking than he vanished in a flash, like a black shadow lost within the chaos.

‘Damn it, what just happened?’ the man thought frantically.

‘My father finally agreed to let me out, and I thought I’d caught a big fish, but it was all for nothing.’

‘How did I run into a plague god? Someone who can change the terrain with just their aura? I’m so unlucky!’

‘They look so young… could they be another Tianshan Child Elder emerging from who knows where? It must be… otherwise…’

No sooner had the man’s voice faded than his legs felt as if they were frozen solid, rendering him unable to take even a single step.

He glanced down, his face a mask of terror, to see his legs completely encased in ice.

He frantically channeled spiritual power to melt it, but it was to no avail; instead, the ice covering his legs rapidly spread up his body.

****

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Ouyang Xiyue had already entered the carriage.

He turned back, watching the black figure disappear into the mist, and shook his head with a helpless sigh.

“What a pity,” he murmured.

“I didn’t even get a clear look at his face, only those glowing green eyes. Still, I rather liked his arrogant tone when he was inside the carriage.”

As Ouyang Xiyue spoke, he channeled spiritual energy into Chi Congyu, who lay unconscious inside the carriage.

He surmised that his sudden appearance had likely prompted the fleeing man to knock Chi Congyu out.

“Sigh… truly troublesome,” he sighed.

“Since you dared to lay hands on my person, your life shall serve as compensation.”

Having spoken, Ouyang Xiyue waved his hand towards the outside of the carriage.

A wisp of white mist drifted past, and shortly after, an unwilling cry echoed from within the fog.

“No! No… no! I’m not reconciled! How could I, a dignified—”

The voice abruptly cut off mid-sentence.

“That’s why villains always die from talking too much,” Ouyang Xiyue remarked.

“They babble on with a heap of useless words, and the only useful thing they say is ‘what a pity’ at the very end.”

Ouyang Xiyue let out a wry chuckle, then bent down to carefully lift the unconscious Chi Congyu.

As his gaze fell upon her wounds, a fleeting tenderness flickered in his eyes, accompanied by an indescribable, enigmatic feeling.

Without further delay, Ouyang Xiyue swiftly mounted his sword, soaring through the air towards the academy dormitories.