Mu Jiaoman stepped down from the sky, and imdiately the clan shamans below kneeled down, respectfully calling out,
"Great Marshal."
Mu Jiaoman paid no attention to the people around him, looking sideways for a while. Li Jingtian slightly lowered her gaze, and only then did Mu Jiaoman notice that his left eyelid was twitching.
He had been practicing Qi cultivation for over a decade, and his body was always steady and as compliant as Ruyi—never having involuntary movents, let alone the state he was in now, where he could not take his eyes off her and his breathing was irregular.
"She..."
Mu Jiaoman uttered the word stiffly as the surrounding clan shamans nodded repeatedly, smiling obsequiously and saying in unison,
"We understand, we understand, Great Marshal!"
Having been with the clan for so long, Mu Jiaoman knew exactly what these people ant. He looked at Li Jingtian, who was indignantly raising her head, and was about to explain, but the words reached his lips and were mysteriously swallowed back.
The clan mbers below hurriedly took Li Jingtian away. Mu Jiaoman turned his head coldly and rose into the air amid the stares of the crowd.
Stepping lightly into the air, Mu Jiaoman suddenly felt so joyful that he wanted to dance. Fortunately, he controlled himself this ti and kept walking towards the tent without stopping.
Naturally, Li Jingtian was pulled into the camp, freed from her bonds, washed the mud from her face, and used the common berry and leaf pignts of Shanyue to paint various patterns on her neck and face.
She was then dressed in a Shanyue outfit, adorned with nurous feathers of birds, teeth of beasts, and here and there, pieces of Jade Stone—decorations full of wildness. Combined with her spirited and fair face, she looked unexpectedly dignified, making the few elders attending to her pause, their movents becoming much gentler.
After the ticulous procedures ended and the sky had darkened, Li Jingtian was led into a military tent lit by dim yellow lanterns. Approaching the curtain, she heard a robust male voice saying,
"The king has given the orders and gone west, saying he needs to guard against the movents within the sandbanks, instructing the Great Marshal to organize the troops in the rear. Taking these human slaves, proceed to the Great Jue Court first, and I will lead a thousand soldiers to pursue that human army..."
"What was the result?"
The voice was deep and hoarse—a voice Li Jingtian recognized as that of the Shanyue Great Marshal from earlier in the day.
"...I went to pursue, but saw them leading the soldiers, not turning back toward the depths of Li Mountain. Fearing to startle the great demon within the mountain, I led the soldiers back..."
Mu Jiaoman frowned, his fingers tensing around the bone cup in his hand, and spoke doubtfully,
"You personally led the chase, and you let that person escape? Wasn't it said that person only had Fetal Breathing cultivation level?"
The kneeling Shanyue clan mber hurriedly looked up, about to speak, when they saw Li Jingtian being pushed into the tent from outside, the collision of beast bones and Jade Stones making a pleasant chiming sound.
The man turned his head warily to look, but for a mont, both he and Mu Jiaoman were stunned upon seeing her.
Shanyue people, accustod to living in the mountains, were used to seeing Shanyue won who were rough and tough, covered in hair and mud, with tangled and unkempt hair. They had never seen a woman with bright eyes, white teeth, and glistening twin pupils before. Both n were stupefied, thinking to themselves,
"Damn, no wonder generations have passed down stories of the beauty of human won!"
Yet Li Jingtian just looked quietly at the two n, causing them to avert their gazes. The dagger hidden on her had been confiscated during washing, and she was anxious after vaguely overhearing news of her father outside the tent. Being pushed in now, the two n stopped talking,
"Gurgle."
The clan mber on the ground swallowed, and the sound awakened Mu Jiaoman. He stared at the man irritably, coughed forcefully to regain composure, and was about to dismiss Li Jingtian when he ended up saying,
"You may step aside."
Seeing Li Jingtian turn to leave the tent, the clan mber then stamringly responded,
"I... I he... he."
Calming himself, the clan mber finally mustered the courage in the face of Mu Jiaoman's annoyed gaze to say,
"That man seed to have divine assistance, as he circumvented every trap we set up, and even lured a ferocious beast to us. That beast didn't care about the several hundred people, it just kept attacking us..."
"Enough! Get out!"
Mu Jiaoman had no interest in his excuses, waved his hand to dismiss him, and seeing the man exit the tent with a reluctant look, snorted coldly. The Qi Cultivation of the fourth level flooded forth, causing the man to flee in panic.
Watching Li Jingtian being pushed into the tent by the clan's shamans, Mu Jiaoman quickly stood up, then sat back down stupefied, feeling as uneasy as he did when he was seven during a test for the presence of a shamanic aperture. Looking at Li Jingtian, who raised her head to et his gaze, he hesitantly spoke:
"You..."
Li Jingtian, on the other hand, was not at all afraid, her gaze calm as she stared at the large-bodied Mu Jiaoman and gritted her teeth, saying:
"If you touch , I will dash my head and die right here in this tent."
Once she said this, she felt sowhat relieved. Li Jingtian thought to herself:
"Once I'm dead, Xuanling won't have to worry about , and he can escape alone much more easily..."
Mu Jiaoman hastily waved his hands, speaking in a pleasant tone:
"What is your na?"
Li Jingtian beca alert imdiately upon hearing this, her delicate eyebrows furrowing as she softly replied:
"Ye Tian."
Of course, she couldn't use her real na, so she had to make up one to use. Li Jingtian looked at Mu Jiaoman, who seed expressionless, and wondered to herself:
"Why is this Shanyue leader breathing like this..."
However, Mu Jiaoman, as he observed Li Jingtian's furrowed brows, had a complex and insane thought flash through his mind, one he had been devoted to for thirty-six years. It made him feel alard and unable to stay calm.
"I cannot, must not let Ganixi see this woman."
————
"Young Master! The Shanyue have all retreated!"
Li Xuanxuan was anxiously gazing at Lijing Mountain when he heard the clan soldiers shouting from below. He overjoyed, looked up at the people around him who were eagerly looking towards him, and suddenly felt a jolt.
"Uncle has already gone west to search for my father's whereabouts, and everyone at ho can only rely on
now. Now, during this critical mont, Li Xuanxuan! You must not be careless!"
He clenched his fists but realized the situation was extrely grim. Li Qiuyang and Chen Donghe had gone with Li Xiangping to Shanyue territory, leaving at ho only a few children who had just embarked on the path of cultivation and Uncle Li Xuanfeng, who was at the fourth level of Fetal Breathing.
"First, send soone to Lichuan Entrance and Lijing Town to soothe the people, count the casualties and the losses."
Liu Rouxuan, now in her thirties, still looked to be in her twenties thanks to cultivating the Immortal Path, her face full of concern as she looked westward. At his words, she nodded and said:
"I'll take care of Lichuan Entrance."
"Tianchou."
Wan Tianchou stepped forward upon hearing his na, listening as Li Xuanxuan instructed:
"You've been stationed at Lichuan Entrance for many years and are familiar with the situation. You will accompany my aunt on this trip."
Seeing Wan Tianchou nod and step back, Li Xuanxuan exhaled, his voice grave:
"As for Lijing Town, I will go there myself."
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