Chapter 4: I’m running away from my marriage!

For the sake of the mission’s secrecy, the demonic path held no farewell ceremony for Li Xingruo, assigning only four sedan bearers and the maids to teach her etiquette.

Before departing, Li Xingruo slipped into the sedan and rummaged through it. As Elder Lin had said, her master had prepared a package in a hidden compartment, with documents about the Huangji Sect and the Li family placed on top.

But the items beneath the documents left her dumbfounded.

Skirts? Rouge? Hairpins?

What’s this? Not a single spirit pill or herb—just mundane items for a mortal woman…

And velvet stockings from Jinxiu Pavilion… huh? What are these fishnet-like things? Are these stockings too?

These powders… Jade Lover’s Charm… Rigid Rod… aren’t these the drugs used by the aunties of the Hehuan Sect?

“Master, when you prepared these, did you consult some senior from the Hehuan Sect?” Li Xingruo poked her head out, eyeing her master with disdain.

“Ahem… you never know what might come in handy on the road.”

Her master coughed awkwardly. “I wasn’t going to include these, but a senior from the Hehuan Sect said they might be useful.”

“Fine, whatever.”

Lips twitching, Li Xingruo lowered the sedan curtain, already guessing the Hehuan Sect auntie’s intentions.

They probably wanted her to add some “flair” to charm her way through the Huangji Sect.

Honestly, why do all the demonic path bigshots obsess over these useless, crooked schemes? No wonder the demonic path has been getting pummeled by the immortal sects for years.

“Do you want them or not?” Her master’s face reddened, clearly embarrassed.

“How could I refuse Master’s thoughtful efforts?”

Li Xingruo gave a faint smile and stowed everything away.

These drugs might not be honorable, but they could prove useful on the road.

If some fool crossed her, she’d slip them the powder and toss them into a pack of lions—let them experience a lioness’s wrath.

“Let’s go!”

After a brief farewell, her master gave the order to the four deathsworn bearers.

Watching the unassuming sedan fade into the distance, her master let out a reluctant sigh:

“Alas, my disciple is gone.”

He stared in the direction Li Xingruo left until the sky darkened completely, then turned forlornly back to their usual residence.

As he entered, a faint glimmer flickered. A familiar ring flew out from Li Xingruo’s room, followed by a letter wrapped in kraft paper.

“Hm?”

Her master caught it:

“Xingruo’s storage ring, left behind? She must’ve worried it carried demonic aura. That girl’s sharp.”

“Stinking kid, what’s so important you couldn’t say it to my face and had to leave a letter?”

Chuckling as he opened the envelope, his master’s face darkened instantly, the fond smile vanishing.

[Master, as if meeting you in person.

Thanks to your years of guidance, Xingruo should serve the Radiant Sect…

…Though I’ve become a woman, my heart remains that of a man. Marrying someone is something I cannot accept.

I leave without permission, but not to abandon the demonic path’s great cause.

I will fulfill the Demon Lord’s task in my own way. Please take care, Master!]

“That blasted kid dares to defy orders!”

Her master crumpled the letter into a ball, fuming.

He glanced around, ensuring no one was nearby, then cursed “stinking kid” several more times.

“No, Xingruo’s escape and defiance can’t be reported!”

He quickly realized the gravity of the situation.

Given the Demon Lord and elders’ temperament, if they learned Li Xingruo had defied orders and altered the plan, they’d punish her harshly.

They might even personally hunt her down and annihilate her body and soul.

“Damn that kid, running off so freely and leaving me to clean up her mess!”

Cursing fiercely, her master’s figure flickered as he stealthily left the Radiant Sect’s Holy Mountain.

He resolved to catch the runaway Li Xingruo before the demonic path leaders found out.

Even if he had to tie her up, he’d drag his disobedient disciple to the Li family to follow the original plan.

Only then could her life be spared.

*

Within the Huangji Sect, on Chui Xing Peak.

Si Ruochen was carrying a wooden bucket, scooping water from a lotus pond to water flowers.

Since he, the master of Chui Xing Peak, was crippled by the Heavenly Dao’s backlash from spying on fate, losing his influence in the sect, Chui Xing Peak had grown desolate.

Now, aside from him, everyone had defected to other peaks, leaving him alone on the vast Chui Xing Peak.

Perfect. No need to deal with sect affairs or bother teaching new disciples. Si Ruochen relished the peace.

After watering the flowerbeds and preparing to water the herb garden, a droplet fell from the ladle, splashing onto the rippling water.

Si Ruochen’s outstretched arm froze.

His inky eyes calmly watched the spreading ripples, a trace of confusion lingering in his brow.

As he paused, the water’s ripples quickly faded, returning to a mirror-like stillness in seconds.

Si Ruochen’s gaze fixed on the lotus pond, as if seeing thousands of miles away through the water’s surface.

After a moment of furrowed observation, his eyes flickered. He shook his head, blinked hard, set the bucket down, and murmured:

“Strange. Why would fate guide me to the border of immortals and demons, thousands of miles away?”

“Cough…”

Si Ruochen covered his mouth, coughing lightly. A flush of color rose on his pale face.

“Such a massive karmic thread—merely glimpsing it aggravates my injuries…”

The confusion in his brow deepened.

Normally, even deliberate divinations rarely stirred true karma, let alone a spontaneous spark of insight like this.

Logically, something that triggered a Heavenly Dao backlash must either involve a grand karmic fate or be deeply tied to the diviner himself.

“Forget it. Rather than guessing blindly, I’ll go take a look.”

“After nursing my wounds on Chui Xing Peak for so long, it’s time to stretch my legs.”

Pouring the bucket’s water back into the pond, Si Ruochen brushed the dirt from his robe and smiled warmly at the small animals in the flowerbed:

“Little ones, while I’m away, guard this place well. Don’t let strangers in.”

“Squeak! Squeak!” The rabbits he often fed pawed the ground, as if they understood.

Si Ruochen chuckled, looked up at the lonely sky, and his gaze sharpened, shedding all traces of frailty.

He stepped forward slowly, each step covering hundreds of meters, ripples blooming in the void beneath his feet.

In just four or five steps, Si Ruochen crossed a thousand meters, appearing high above Chui Xing Peak.

Yet, on the desolate peak, no one was there to witness this scene.

Only the rabbits and critters in the flowerbed heard the solitary master’s parting murmur:

“Who is this girl at the center of fate’s vortex?”