Chapter 403 - Ridge of the Fallen Drake (2/2)
He continued explaining hopelessly about how their clothes were still intact which attested to both their dignities preserved and nothing inappropriate had taken place. But it did little to calm Su Lianyue’s shaky nerves now bucking like a wild stallion. Her cheeks were flushed red, he saw before he saw her slamming a pillow into him.
He raised a hand just in time to shield himself from the flying pillow and raised a finger at once to gesture for silence. “Shhhh…” There was no telling if anyone could be listening, with or without the magical sound barriers.
Su Lianyue’s cheeks were still rosy and her breath racing and her chest pumping for breath. I must have been a fool, she mused, Or it must be the accursed cold that addled my mind… How could I have called a man to share my bed! Dread crept up her shoulders although it was gone just as quickly as it came. I should be thanking the stars that nothing had happened…
Xiao Chen peered at her wordlessly. He sighed a breath of relief finally when he saw her regaining her composure. But he could not quite shake off the sweet breath from the woman when he found himself hugging her and found the sensation insatiable.
“Juniors,” a male voice called from outside just then, “Are you up and ready?”
Xiao Chen quickly signaled for her to be quiet before he dispelled the magical barrier. With his True Qi to disguise his voice, he barked at the door, “Yes. We’ll be there in just a minute!” And he scrambled to disguise himself.
With a night’s rest behind her, Su Lianyue was looking more refreshed and renewed. She put on her shoes and weaved a spell around her face and changed back to Han Yu’s appearance.
They went out once they were ready and felt the chilly morning air belting at their faces. The other two acolytes who came with them were already waiting for them at the yard and Xiao Chen smiled benignly, “Good morning, Seniors.”
The other pair of fellow orderlies of theirs looked as Xiao Chen and his companion filed out together and acknowledged his greeting with a curt nod. “And a good morning to you too, Juniors,” one of them smiled in return. But the smile quickly waned into a frown as they sniffed into the air. Why was there a whiff of female scent coming from the room?!
Xiao Chen quickly feigned a cough and shut the door. He swiveled to face them and steered the subject away from the olfactory oddity, “Has Senior Shen Qing got out?”
“Yes. Senior Shen Qing came by to inform us that he still has business to attend to here. We are required to return first.”
“Of course.”
The four left the yard and were led by two other orderlies of the Internal Sect down the slopes of the Summit of Mystics before they continued on their own back to the Tai Yin Cavity. As soon as they reached the foot of the mountain that the Tai Yin Cavity resided within, Su Lianyue gave Xiao Chen a knowing look. Xiao Chen quickly caught the gist and said, “We’ll see you later, Seniors.”
“And why is that?” The two acolytes turned to face them with puzzled looks.
Xiao Chen hastily thrust his finger to nowhere in particular, mumbling hurriedly, “We’ll be going this way. The way is shorter here.”
“Ah, I see. Very well. Good fortunes to you both and may we meet again!”
Xiao Chen waited until the two were out of sight before he looked at Su Lianyue who stared back at him. With no need to maintain their disguise, they reverted back to their own appearance and began tracing their way back towards the Summit by following their memory, reaching the Summit when the sun was almost down.
“Shhhh…” Xiao Chen raised a finger to his lips. “We’ll follow the plan we’d made that night in the cave. We’ll move in at midnight,” he whispered.
Night came swiftly and cast a dreary blanket of darkness and creepiness across the entire Summit. The night’s mists and fogs came not long later and so came the stabbing chill.
The time has arrived, Xiao Chen realized and he looked at Su Lianyue who looked back. With a tacit signal, they crept towards the foot of the Summit and found the two sentries guarding the way up. Fatigue and complacency, the bane of any watcher’s duty. The pair of sentries were yawning sleepily when Xiao Chen and his companion charged, and all they saw were dark figures, two of them, before they were taken down quickly.
The two sentries were merely drugged and would wake up in no time. But they would be none the wiser about any intruders as Xiao Chen used a magic that removed their memories before continuing uphill with Su Lianyue. They reached the Chamber of Chills they arrived at yesterday, the first waycastle of the Summit where members of the External Sect are received. The actual stronghold of the Internal Sect perched further uphill.
Under the cover of the night and the shadows of the landscaping, they darted quickly up the slopes like a pair of apparitions, adroitly avoiding the heavy patrols.
They reached the Ridge of the Fallen Drakes before long. The Ridge housed the next waycastle after the Ridge of Chills whereupon the Chamber of Chills sat, having a stronger military presence to guard the passage up to the main stronghold.
But to the surprise of the intruders, the grounds and terrain seemed oddly familiar to them. They ducked into a thick coppice for cover and waited for a group of patrolling sentinels captained by a warrior of the Nascent Soul Realm to pass by. As they hid patiently, Su Lianyue whispered, “The flint I gave you, do you have it with you?”
Xiao Chen nodded a tacit response. “Good,” Su Lianyue remarked, “Go to the Elders’ chambers to steal the pass. I’ll go to the Rock. Remember, you have only one hour. The patrolling guards here change every hour so make sure that you’re not been seen lest we’ll never be able to make it out alive.”
“Be careful,” Xiao Chen nodded grimly. Su Lianyue looked deeply into him, “You too. Elder Long possesses powers of the later stages of the Nirvana Realm. Don’t be reckless.” With a dip of her head and a kick of her heel, she disappeared into the night.
Xiao Chen watched her back melting into the darkness. Then he waved his hand and conjured a flint. The very same that Su Lianyue had given to him when they first met.