Chapter 73 Kumārajīva: Where is he?

Chapter 73 Kumārajīva: Where is he?

Li Qiushui was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening.

She pulled out the crystal dagger and, without hesitation, gouged out the scar on her face. Blood gushed out, staining half her face red.

This quiet room naturally had a bed. The two sat cross-legged on it, and as before, Zhang Cheng activated [Iron Cavalry Follows] to begin treating her.

Before long, the old woman pushed open the door and came in.

"Boy, the maids of the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments of Lingjiu Palace have all assembled. When do we set off?"

She was halfway through her sentence when she saw the two people sitting back to back on the bed inside the room, and her tone suddenly rose.

"What are you doing with this bitch?!"

The two were lying on the bed, dressed and back to back, and didn't actually look suspicious. But Tong Lao had a very bad impression of Li Qiushui, and with her prejudiced view, she naturally saw everything as suspicious.

"We're treating our injuries here, please don't cause any trouble, okay?" Zhang Cheng quickly stopped Tong Lao when he saw her about to come closer.

The old woman paused, tilted her head, and glanced at Li Qiushui again.

She hadn't noticed it when she entered because of the angle, but now she saw that half of Li Qiushui's face was covered in blood.

Li Qiushui had now returned to her previous state of feeling uncomfortable if she didn't say a few words to Tong Lao.

She leaned lazily against Zhang Cheng's back and slowly said, "Now that you and I have reconciled, Senior Sister, isn't it impolite not to arrange for a servant to entertain you? I hope you can arrange for your men to bring a basin of clean water so that I can wash up."

The old woman's face darkened, and she glared at her fiercely.

She didn't want to deal with this jerk, but she didn't want to lose face in front of Zhang Cheng. Reluctantly, she turned around and called out towards the door.

Soon, a disciple of Lingjiu Palace brought in a basin of clean water and a clean towel, placed them respectfully on the table, and then bowed and withdrew.

The treatment was completed quickly.

Li Qiushui got up, walked to the table, and slowly began to wash the blood off her face.

The water gradually turned red, and the wound on her face became more and more visible. The flesh that had been gouged out had now healed completely. The new skin was smooth and delicate, indistinguishable from the surrounding skin tone.

Li Qiushui looked at her reflection in the basin again and again, then gently stroked her cheek, her smile growing wider and wider.

She wiped the blood from her face, turned around, and bowed slightly to Zhang Cheng. "Thank you, young man."

Zhang Cheng waved his hand and got off the bed.

Li Qiushui straightened up and looked at Tong Lao: "Then let's set off now. It'll be good to see my senior brother sooner."

The old woman snorted coldly and pushed open the door to leave first. Zhang Cheng and the other woman followed closely behind.

Outside the door, a huge crowd had gathered, stretching far into the distance and seemingly endless.

These people were all women, arranged in nine rows, each wearing a different color of cloak: red, yellow, blue, and purple. The rows were neat and silent, save for the rustling of their garments in the mountain wind. It seemed that all nine departments of Lingjiu Palace were gathered here.

Zhang Cheng's gaze swept over the dense crowd, and his lips twitched.

"Granny Tong, have you summoned all nine disciples? Don't you need to leave some people behind to guard the house?"

Li Qiushui chuckled softly, "My senior sister is so eager to see her senior brother. She figured that having another disciple would speed up the intelligence gathering, so she sent out all her disciples."

She looked at the old woman with a bright smile: "Senior sister, was my guess correct?"

The old woman glared at her fiercely, but did not refute her.

"I feel like there aren't enough of these people."

Looking at the densely packed disciples before her, she said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "I have already sent a message to the servants of the thirty-six caves and seventy-two islands under the Lingjiu Palace, asking them to meet me in the northwest of Beijing."

If they haven't shown up by the time I get there, hmph—"

She gave a cold laugh twice and didn't finish her sentence.

Li Qiushui's eyes shifted slightly: "I also want to do my part. How about you lend me one of your spirit vultures from Mount Tianshan, and I'll send a letter of divorce to Western Xia and transfer some manpower from there as well."

Hearing this, Zhang Cheng finally couldn't help but speak up: "Gentlemen, have you considered how the martial arts forces of the Central Plains will react if such a large group of people marches into the Central Plains?"

"I don't care how they react," the Old Woman scoffed. "If they get in my way, I'll just wipe them all out."

Although Li Qiushui didn't say anything, judging from her expression, she clearly thought the same thing.

Zhang Cheng: "————"

Why do I seem to have inexplicably called a living father to the Central Plains sect?

He rubbed his temples, trying to make a last-ditch effort: "Grandma Tong, don't you think the three of us traveling light will be much faster than a group of so many people?"

Even if we need to gather intelligence, wouldn't it be enough to ask the Thirty-Six Caves and Seventy-Two Islands, located near Northwest Beijing Road, for help?

"No," Granny Tong refused resolutely. "Those servants have always been incompetent; I don't trust them. My mind is made up, boy, you don't need to persuade me anymore."

Zhang Cheng looked around. Li Qiushui, who was beside him, was perfectly in sync with Tong Lao on the matter of finding Wu Yazi, and all the Lingjiu Palace disciples below followed Tong Lao's lead without question. As an outsider, he couldn't very well interfere with her orders.

Never mind. Zhang Cheng sighed silently to himself.

With so many of them, surely none of them will be foolish enough to run into us?

Zhang Cheng and his group quickly set off down the mountain. The vast Lingjiu Palace was instantly deserted.

After an unknown amount of time, the door to the underground passage in the rear hall was slowly pushed open.

Kumārajīva slowly emerged from the underground passage. He had cultivated in the stone chamber for a long time, memorizing all the martial arts techniques of the Free and Unfettered School that covered the walls, and was completely satisfied.

His internal strength and mental fortitude were top-notch, so Li Qiushui's remote broadcast had no effect on him.

The senior shaman responded readily, and he assumed that the matter should be settled by now.

Stepping out of the tunnel, all was quiet.

Did those disciples heed my advice and go down the mountain? That would be a good deed.

He channeled his inner energy and called out from afar, "Senior Li, has your matter been resolved?"

The sound carried far and wide, echoing through the empty palace.

After waiting for a while, no one responded.

Kumārajīva frowned slightly and asked again, "Senior Li?"

Still no one responded.

He sensed something was wrong, and with a swift movement, began searching the entire Tianshan Mountains.

Palaces, corridors, and every corner —

nobody.

There wasn't a single person there.

Kumārajīva stood in the empty front hall of the Vulture Palace, gazing at the deserted courtyard, and fell into silence.

Lingjiu Palace has its own horse ranch on the grasslands at the foot of Tianshan Mountain, which is managed by dedicated disciples.

After descending the mountain and gathering their horses, Zhang Cheng and his group set off towards the northwest of Beijing.

He, Tong Lao, and Li Qiushui walked at the forefront, using their lightness skills, followed by the leaders of the Nine Heavens and Nine Departments whose cultivation was slightly better.

The ordinary disciples, on horseback, slowly followed behind.