Making a Move

Chapter 279: Making a Move

“A good friend? Could this friend be the one you wanted those spiritual herbs to save?” Han Li asked, his tone deceptively casual. Internally, he was pleased. He had been pondering how to steer the conversation toward the array master, and this seemed like the perfect opening.

Qi Yunxiao was taken aback by Han Li’s question and hesitated for a moment.

But then, as if remembering something, he seemed to make a decision and nodded.

“Senior is correct. This spiritual tea was indeed made by that close friend of mine. In fact, it is thanks to the thousand-year-old spirit herb you provided that her life was saved. Though she is out of mortal danger now, her injuries have yet to fully recover. So… this junior was hoping to be bold enough to ask if Senior still has any aged spirit herbs? Even if you don’t have another thousand-year herb, a seven or eight-hundred-year-old one would still give my friend a great hope of recovery. This junior is willing to trade various array flags for the herb.”

With these words, Qi Yunxiao looked at Han Li with earnest anticipation, his full attention fixed on him.

Han Li was a bit surprised by this request, but he breathed a heavy sigh of relief internally. Since the other party still needed something from him, it seemed that asking him to repair the teleportation array would be a straightforward matter. However, he still needed to put on a somewhat reluctant expression on his face to make sure the man owed him a favor.

With this in mind, Han Li adopted a thoughtful expression. After a long pause, he spoke with great hesitation.

“I do still have a bit of spiritual herbs on me. But these, I was planning to use to refine a batch of pills. It really is…”

Although Han Li didn’t finish his sentence, his thoroughly troubled expression clearly conveyed the difficulty of the matter to Qi Yunxiao. After all, anyone would understand what a top-grade batch of pills meant to a cultivator.

Upon hearing that Han Li indeed had more spirit herbs, Qi Yunxiao’s face lit up with wild joy. But after hearing the latter part, he became extremely anxious. He couldn’t even wait for Han Li to finish before speaking in a tone that was half-begging.

“This junior knows that asking Senior to part with his spirit herbs is a stretch. But seeing my close friend suffering in pain day after day truly breaks my heart! If Senior is willing to cede the herb, this junior is willing to let you choose freely from all of my array tools. Even if you take them all, I would have no complaints.”

Han Li’s heart was deeply tempted by these words.

Even if Qi Yunxiao’s other array tools weren’t as monstrous as the “Reversed Five Elements Formation,” they were surely rare, high-quality items. Having a few more sets in hand would significantly increase his defensive capabilities. Moreover, some formations had powerful offensive capabilities. If he could trap a strong enemy within one, it would be a deadly means of killing.

However, his main goal this trip was to get the man to repair the damaged teleportation array. If he took the array tools now, it would be hard to bring up the matter later. It would leave the man with the impression that he was insatiably greedy, and Han Li had no intention of souring his relationship with these two right now.

After weighing the options, Han Li decided to refuse this exchange and instead bring up the teleportation array. But just then, a young woman’s frantic voice suddenly sounded from outside.

“Young Master Qi, something terrible has happened! Please, come save my mistress at once!”

As soon as this voice entered the room, Qi Yunxiao’s face changed dramatically.

He immediately stood up and rushed outside, not even having the time to excuse himself to his guest, Han Li. The shopkeeper standing beside him also followed, his face a mask of panic.

Han Li’s brows twitched slightly. His expression remained unchanged, but he felt a flicker of doubt. He clasped his hands behind his back and slowly walked out.

In the open space outside, Qi Yunxiao and the shopkeeper were listening tensely to a young woman who appeared to be around eighteen or nineteen.

This woman had fair skin and a pretty face. As she spoke, her face was full of anxiety. But when she saw Han Li, a stranger, emerge from the house, she was startled into silence, a wary look flashing in her eyes.

Seeing this, Han Li smiled indifferently and stopped where he was, not approaching any further.

But Qi Yunxiao, upon seeing Han Li, acted as if he had spotted a lifeline. He rushed over to him in a flash and spoke with agitated pleading.

“Senior, my close friend has been trapped by a group of malicious cultivators. Only you can save her now! If you are willing to help, this junior will repay you handsomely!”

“Could you be a bit more specific, Fellow Daoist Qi? Could this young lady’s mistress be that close friend of yours who is proficient in formations?” Han Li frowned slightly and asked slowly, a hint of surprise in his voice.

“Exactly right! The Reversed Five Elements Formation array tools Senior used were jointly created by myself and Lady Xing!” Qi Yunxiao said hastily, staring at Han Li with pleading eyes.

The pretty young woman, only now realizing that she couldn’t even sense the depth of Han Li’s cultivation despite her own being at the fifth layer of Qi Condensation, gaped in shock and looked at him with a trace of fear.

But Han Li turned to her and spoke in a deep voice.

“Miss, could you please recount the events again? I need to understand the full context.”

Although Han Li knew this was the perfect opportunity to bestow a favor, he also needed to ascertain the number and strength of the enemy. He had no intention of saving someone only to get himself killed in the process.

“…Oh! It went like this. Today, my mistress and I went to gather some…” The pretty young woman, flustered by Han Li’s direct question, stammered as she recounted the incident again.

It turned out that the young lady the girl referred to had run out of high-quality tea leaves used to make spiritual tea a couple of days ago. Following her usual habit, she went to a nearby mountain called Biyun to collect some more. There, she ran into a group of male cultivators, also at the Qi Condensation stage. Seeing so many cultivators appearing, the mistress and her maid felt something was amiss and immediately decided to head back down the mountain.

But unexpectedly, one of the men in the group recognized her as the array master who had set up a formation for a certain small family. He immediately informed his companions, and the group’s intentions turned malicious. They planned to capture her alive and force her to teach them about formations.

However, the lady was clever. Before they could make a move, she and her maid fled the mountain first, taking the same path back. But halfway through the escape, she realized the men were in hot pursuit and were getting closer. At this rate, she would surely be caught.

Forced into a corner, she used a set of array flags she had brought along to hastily set up a simple formation in a patch of woodland to protect herself. She then sent her maid to flee before the enemy arrived and come to Qi Yunxiao for help.

Han Li listened to her account in silence, lost in thought.

According to the young woman, the enemies were merely seven or eight Qi Condensation stage cultivators. It seemed there was nothing to worry about. This was a favor he absolutely had to do.

With this in mind, Han Li nodded and said:

“Miss, you’ll need to guide us. Let’s go now!”

With that, under Qi Yunxiao’s grateful gaze, Han Li flicked his sleeve. A small white boat appeared before them, growing in size as it materialized.

“Everyone, get on! A rescue waits for no one. Though this magic tool is small, it flies extremely fast and can easily carry four or five people.” Han Li’s form flickered, and he was standing at the prow of the boat. He turned his head and said to the others.

Qi Yunxiao and the young woman, snapping out of their shock, leaped onto the boat together. When the shopkeeper tried to follow, Qi Yunxiao stopped him.

“Uncle Lin, your cultivation is too low! It would be too dangerous for you to come. Stay here. We’ll be back as soon as we rescue them!”

The shopkeeper hesitated at this, but knowing Qi Yunxiao was right, he reluctantly stayed behind.

And so, Han Li and the others steered the small boat, transforming it into a streak of white light that vanished into the horizon.

The Divine Wind Boat flew south at top speed. With Han Li pouring all his power into its control, it was so fast that the other two were left utterly astounded. In no time at all, they were flying over the woodland where the formation had trapped the lady.

On the side of the woods below, the group of seven or eight men had not yet left. They were commanding various magic tools in a fierce attack on the formation. The thin layer of azure light covering the trees was already weakening precariously.

Seeing this, Qi Yunxiao’s eyes turned red, and he was about to jump down immediately. But Han Li grabbed him and said calmly:

“Hold on! Looking at the magic tools these men are using, they seem to be from some cultivation clan. Since they now know this lady is an array master, even if we repel them today, they’ll just keep pestering her in the future. It’d be better if I just clean them up for you, once and for all.”

Hearing that these men would continue to cause trouble later, Qi Yunxiao’s heart filled with rage, and he nodded without thinking.

Seeing this, Han Li gave a faint smile. Then he looked down at the unsuspecting cultivators below, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He suddenly raised both hands, and in the same instant, two streaks of black light and six streaks of golden light shot out. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived before these men. Before the cultivators could even open their shields, the lights simply swept around them in a gentle circle. One by one, they collapsed to the ground, instantly slain by Han Li.

Qi Yunxiao and the maid watched this scene in horror. Though they knew a Qi Condensation cultivator was no match for someone at the Foundation Establishment stage, they never imagined Han Li could kill them all so effortlessly. After all, the highest among those men had a cultivation base at the eleventh or twelfth layer of the basic technique. Qi Yunxiao himself was only at the ninth layer.

Ignoring their expressions of awe and fear, Han Li flew his magic tool down.

Before the Divine Wind Boat had even fully touched the ground, Qi Yunxiao, unable to contain himself, jumped off and rushed frantically into the woods.

“Yin’er! Are you alright? The enemies have all been wiped out! You can come out now!” he shouted, his voice filled with extreme tension.