Chapter 83: Who Is Outwitting Whom

The location displayed on the magical device was actually inside the old residence of the Xuanyuan family. Tang Wei and Zixuan were utterly incredulous, both stunned into silence, neither daring to speak first. Xiao Ling, unable to remain outside for long, had already vanished into the inner space, leaving the two of them to stare at each other—no, it was more like big eyes staring into big eyes! Tang Wei mulled over the situation for a long while in silence. Seeing that Zixuan also hadn’t made any move, she assumed he, like her, was reluctant to make the final decision. Suddenly, she sprang to her feet, exclaiming, “Xiao Xuan, let’s go! We’re bringing Yaya back no matter what. Who cares about the Xuanyuan family—they dared to make fools of us! With our current cultivation, we could wipe them out if we wanted to. This is outrageous!” Without waiting for a response, she grabbed his hand and was about to charge down the mountain.

Zixuan hastily caught her, calling out, “Wait! Weiwei, don’t be rash. I don’t think it’s that simple!”

“How could it not be? Yaya’s locked up in their old house. What, are they going to deny it? Besides, who else could have the power to hold someone captive right in their own stronghold?” Tang Wei, sensing Zixuan’s concern wasn’t about that, angrily shook off his hand and shouted.

“Besides that, nothing else adds up. There are still so many doubts about this matter—don’t you want to find out what’s really going on? My intuition tells me it’s not that straightforward,” Zixuan said, steadying her by the shoulders and trying to comfort her.

“Intuition! And what if your intuition is wrong? I’m not interested in all that. All I know is Yaya’s locked up at the Xuanyuan old house, and I’m going to rescue her!” Tang Wei was unmoved by his reasoning, forcefully brushing off his hand.

Suddenly, a thought seemed to strike her. With a suspicious scowl, she asked, “Xiao Xuan, why are you stopping me? You’re not thinking of helping them, are you? I remember you weren’t even that close to them. Or have you taken a fancy to one of them—Yun Qian? Or Yun Shuang?”

“What are you talking about? How could that be? Who else could I like but you? Don’t get any wild ideas—I only have eyes for you. I just think something’s off and don’t want to be used as someone’s pawn,” Zixuan hurriedly explained, worried that suspicion would mean nothing but trouble for days to come.

“Is that so?” Tang Wei shot back, still skeptical.

“Of course! I just think it’s complicated. And besides, you’re so close with Yun Qian—you wouldn’t want someone driving a wedge between you, would you?” Zixuan quickly brought up Xuanyuan Yun Qian as a shield, knowing Tang Wei had always liked her. Surely she’d agree with him; Tang Wei was always weak to those cute, innocent girls.

Indeed, the mention of Yun Qian brightened Tang Wei’s mood. She pinched Zixuan’s arm and said, “Fine, I’ll trust you for now. So, what’s your plan? Since you think something’s off, where are the doubts?”

“Well, I can’t say exactly what’s wrong. But according to Long San, I feel like someone’s using us as their tool. I think we should sneak in and check on Yaya ourselves. First, we make sure she’s safe. That way, you’ll feel more at ease. Then we can return and wait for Long San’s news,” Zixuan whispered his plan with a fawning smile—a far cry from the image of a dignified cultivator, more like a sycophant.

Tang Wei couldn’t stand it, smacking him on the head and scolding, “Don’t grin at me like that, it’s disgusting!”

Zixuan immediately straightened up and tried to put on a serious face, awkwardly mumbling his assent.

“Alright, then what are we supposed to do when Long San brings back news?” Tang Wei pressed, now that Zixuan had dropped the silly act.

“When Long San finds that demonic cultivator, we’ll help him deal with the guy and see if there are any more clues we can dig up. I want to know whether this is all just a coincidence or if someone’s using us as stepping stones. If they’re scheming against us, then there must be someone in Long San’s group working for the enemy. We’ll pretend to know nothing and see how far things go—openly follow him to hunt and secretly investigate the rest!” Zixuan plotted with mature calculation.

“Will that even work?” Tang Wei doubted whether such a plan could really expose the mastermind.

“Don’t always doubt me—just watch! Besides, if Yaya’s genuinely safe and in no danger, what’s a little lost time? It’s better than constantly worrying about someone pulling strings behind our backs. We’ll root them out once and for all and show them what we’re capable of!” Zixuan declared with confidence, taking responsibility for everything. Then he added, “Come on, let’s go find Yaya now!”

“In the dead of night? There’s not even a car. How do you expect us to get there?” Tang Wei asked offhandedly.

“We’re cultivators at the Golden Core stage—we’ll fly, of course!” Zixuan answered matter-of-factly, gesturing the motion.

Tang Wei’s face turned green. Wasn’t he just making fun of her? He knew perfectly well she hadn’t yet mastered sword flight after two days of practice, and now he was showing off in front of her. She retorted, “Fine, go ahead and fly!” Thinking to herself, “I don’t believe you’re that much of a genius. I’ve been at it for ages and still can’t do it, and you think you can just pick it up?”

Zixuan finally realized why Tang Wei was giving him the cold shoulder. Awkwardly, he coughed and stammered, “Weiwei, um, that’s not what I meant...”

“Then what did you mean?” she shot back, giving him a fierce glare.

“I meant we should wait until we’ve mastered sword flight—taking a car would blow our cover,” Zixuan argued, trying to save face.

Tang Wei’s temper flared at this. She stormed over, yanking his arm and pinching him as she cursed, “You liar! Talking about going to see Yaya—by the time you master sword flight, who knows where they’ll have moved her! Liar!”

“Ow! Ow! Stop pinching, Weiwei! Please, listen to me—ow! That hurts! Let go, Weiwei, I really do have an idea!” Zixuan pleaded as he dodged, but no matter where he went, Tang Wei’s vicious grip followed. He had no choice but to beg for mercy.

Tang Wei stopped, hands on her hips, and barked, “Well? Out with it, or I’ll have to use more persuasive methods!” Truth be told, Tang Wei was ill-suited for such a fierce pose—in Zixuan’s eyes, it only made her more adorable. Of course, he had to pretend to be frightened, or he’d really be in for a beating.

So Zixuan carefully explained, “Well, Weiwei, since I’m a guy, I’m a bit braver and not scared of heights, so I should be able to learn faster. Give me an hour or two to try. Heh, heh...” Zixuan spoke cautiously, knowing he couldn’t boast or mention Tang Wei’s struggles, for fear she’d think he was mocking her.

It took quite a bit of calming before Tang Wei relented, allowing Zixuan to retreat to the inner space and begin learning sword flight. In truth, Zixuan’s mastery over spiritual power was far superior to Tang Wei’s. While she had to devote effort to advancing and practicing spells, he picked up everything instantly, and sword flight was no exception. Not fearing heights also helped greatly. Zixuan had no time to look for a new weapon, so he just used his old battered sword—after all, sword flight was simply an application of spiritual energy, so the quality of the weapon mattered little. As expected, with Xiao Ling’s careful instruction, Zixuan soon managed to perch atop the sword, wobbling in the air for a few moments and even faking a few falls so as not to discourage Tang Wei—what a hardship that was.

After two days of practice in the inner space, Zixuan was just barely able to fly. Outside, it was only two or three in the morning, and since B City wasn’t far, he could reach Yaya within a couple of hours. His plan was to bring Yaya into the space first to show Tang Wei, then release her later to avoid alerting their enemies. Of course, it was necessary to prepare some protective measures for Yaya, just in case anything changed. Once everything was settled, Zixuan could have Tang Wei bring her out from the space—it would only take a moment anyway.

Prepared, Zixuan stocked up on replenishing pills, just in case he ran low on spiritual power mid-flight. Once ready, he exited the space and took off on his sword, carefully prepared for his first real flight.

Meanwhile, after sending Zixuan off, Tang Wei practiced sword flight in the space relentlessly. Zixuan thought she hadn’t noticed his feigned clumsiness—she just cared about saving face and was determined to redeem herself. But control over spiritual energy couldn’t be mastered overnight; not everyone could take shortcuts with the Five Spirit Treasures without facing consequences.

Xiao Ling, worried about collateral damage, had long since vanished to some peaceful corner. But now, she had to reappear, as Zixuan had brought Yaya into the main hall before leaving again on unfinished business, instructing Xiao Ling to find Tang Wei.

In truth, Tang Wei had sensed Zixuan’s return, but pride kept her from going over. She was too embarrassed—after so much practice, she still dared not step onto her sword. Seeing Zixuan now would only infuriate her further. Yet when her spiritual sense swept over and found Yaya inside, and with Xiao Ling offering her an out, Tang Wei’s longing for her friend triumphed over her pride.

Without hesitation, Tang Wei followed Xiao Ling into the main hall.