Late at night, when all was quiet and still, Han Li slipped out of his room. Without a word to anyone, he flew alone toward the imperial palace on his Divine Wind Boat.
Standing atop the artifact, Han Li gazed at the vast, pitch-black silhouette before him—the colossal gate of the imperial palace—and smiled faintly before soaring directly over it. As far as Han Li was concerned, the ban imposed by the seven sects forbidding any disciple from setting foot in the imperial palace was not worth the breath it took to utter. He would obey only those rules that served his interests; as for the rest, expecting a mere empty proclamation to restrain him was utterly absurd! He had never been one to bow and scrape.
As Han Li sneered inwardly, he had already flown to a height of over a hundred zhang above the palace grounds. Under the cover of the dark night, he surveyed the area in silence, his gaze sweeping over every secluded and unremarkable corner. Suddenly his eyes lit up, and he flew toward an imperial garden overgrown with green bamboo.
Once above the bamboo grove, Han Li cautiously looked around in every direction before withdrawing the spiritual energy from his body and descending slowly. He understood clearly that although the Black Fiend Sect controlled the entire palace, it was impossible for them to station informants in every corner. And even if there were many sentries, with his fully mastered nameless qi-concealing technique, he had nothing to fear from the Black Fiend Sect's detection. Moreover, he had long since extracted every detail of their usual patrol arrangements from the young prince. Even if things had changed somewhat, as long as he did not blunder into some heavily guarded stronghold, Han Li was quite at ease!
This spot was clearly one of the palace's forgotten corners. Not only was the bamboo grove choked with withered branches and rotting leaves that gave off a faint stench of decay, but the foliage, untrimmed by any hand, had grown extraordinarily dense and lush.
Looking at the grove, roughly an acre in size, Han Li showed a look of satisfaction. He formed hand seals and released a sound-isolation barrier that enveloped the entire grove, then solemnly withdrew a stack of formation flags and a formation plate from his storage pouch—Qi Yunxiao's improved Inverted Five Elements Formation, gifted to him.
"With this Inverted Five Elements Formation, even if the Black Fiend Sect Master is as formidable as they say, I should be able to hold my own!" Han Li murmured to himself, gazing at the set of magical artifacts in his hands.
He then gathered his resolve and stepped into the dark bamboo grove.
Two hours later, Han Li emerged with a look of fatigue on his face. Because time was tight, he had managed to set up only a small portion of the formation, but it should suffice.
He surveyed his surroundings—still no sign of anyone having come here—and only then did he safely put away the sound-isolation barrier, summon his Divine Wind Boat, and fly off.
Han Li's solitary venture deep into the palace to deploy the great formation had been utterly silent, without alerting a single member of the Black Fiend Sect. The four great Blood Attendants, following the Black Fiend Sect Master's orders, were indeed on high alert. But just as Han Li had anticipated, they had concentrated dense sentries only around the Cold Palace where the Black Fiend Sect Master was in seclusion. Everywhere else was actually more lax than usual. This was one reason Han Li had been able to enter and exit so smoothly.
By the time he flew back to the Qin residence, dawn had not yet broken. Han Li simply did not bother sleeping. He sat on his bed in meditation, nurturing his spirit until daylight.
When morning came, he walked out of his room with an air of nonchalance and joined the others in the main hall, chatting and laughing as usual. They discussed the coming battle, and Han Li made not the slightest mention of the Inverted Five Elements Formation. In his heart, such a life-saving trump card naturally worked best the fewer people knew about it. If they could win without even using the formation, that would please him all the more. This Inverted Five Elements Formation could remain his killing move.
Liu Jing and the other fellow disciples from Yellow Maple Valley, of course, had no idea what Han Li was thinking. But when the conversation turned to the battle that night, every one of them showed eager expressions, their faces tinged with excitement. Among them, aside from Liu Jing and perhaps two or three others, most had never fought a cultivator at the Foundation Establishment stage. This was precisely why Han Li did not hold high hopes for this operation.
Han Li had always believed that a cultivator who had never been baptized by the crucible of bloodshed, no matter how high his cultivation, would inevitably suffer greatly when facing an experienced opponent. It would not be strange at all if such a one lost his life on the spot. And so, as he watched these people laughing and chatting, his eyes occasionally betrayed a strange expression. After all, every cultivator who had reached the Foundation Establishment stage had endured untold hardships to achieve even this modest level of cultivation. Yet after tonight's battle, it was entirely possible that many of them would be buried here. When he thought about it, it was truly a great pity!
"Junior Brother Han, could you walk with me for a moment?"
Chen Qiaoqian, who had been laughing and chatting with Zhong Weiniang, suddenly issued this invitation as her gaze happened to pass over Han Li's face. This single sentence not only took Han Li aback, but left several of Chen Qiaoqian's fellow disciples gaping in disbelief. They stared at Han Li and their junior sister—always as cold as ice toward male cultivators—with looks of utter incredulity.
Seeing Han Li standing there looking somewhat stupefied, Zhong Weiniang's eyes darted about as if something had occurred to her. She suddenly leaned close to Chen Qiaoqian's ear and whispered a few words. In an instant, this "Junior Sister Chen's" face flushed crimson. She shot Zhong Weiniang a sharp glare, then strode out of the hall with poise, assuming an air that clearly said she was waiting for Han Li to follow.
"Little Junior Brother, what are you standing there for? With a beauty like Junior Sister Chen waiting outside, what are you hesitating about?" Liu Jing walked over with a grin, lightly clapping Han Li on the shoulder as he spoke in a teasing tone.
Han Li rubbed his nose vigorously, wanting to force a bitter smile, but for some reason the smile would not come. He managed only a dry laugh or two, and then, under the envious gazes of the other male cultivators, he went out after her. If he delayed any longer, would it not seem as though he had a guilty conscience? He did not believe there was anything to fear from the woman.
Once outside the hall, Chen Qiaoqian stood gazing wistfully toward the garden, lost in thought. Hearing Han Li's footsteps behind her, she spoke without turning around, her voice cold:
"Walk with me through the garden. I have a few matters I wish to discuss with you."
Without waiting for Han Li's reply, she walked off on her own, as if certain he would follow.
Han Li watched her graceful silhouette, and before he knew it his brows had furrowed. After a moment's thought, he let out a silent laugh and went after her. Taking a stroll with a beautiful woman was, after all, a most pleasant affair. From a few paces behind, Han Li admired Chen Qiaoqian's elegant figure and felt this outing was well worth the trouble. Moreover, whenever he recalled the romantic encounter he had once shared with this great beauty, he felt a peculiar sensation he could not quite articulate.
"I never expected that both my brother and I had misjudged you back then. We always thought that the only reason you managed to triumph in the Blood Trial was sheer luck. Who would have thought that Junior Brother Han was such a master at playing the pig to eat the tiger? Not only did you deceive the two of us, but even the many experts present at the time were most likely kept completely in the dark."
Just as Han Li's thoughts were wandering, Chen Qiaoqian spoke with her back to him, her voice calm and detached.
Han Li had half-expected this, so he showed no surprise. He scratched his head and said with a light laugh:
"Sister Chen jests. What 'playing the pig to eat the tiger'? I truly was blessed with extraordinary luck back then, and only managed to scrape through by the skin of my teeth!"
There was not the slightest flicker of guilt on his face as he spoke, as though this were simply how things were.
"Junior Brother Han, do you still intend to deceive me even now?" Chen Qiaoqian seemed to grow angry at his words. Her voice turned icy, and she spun around abruptly, her bright eyes cold as frost.
At this, Han Li adopted a look of bewilderment, the very picture of a man who had no idea why she was upset.
This former "Junior Sister Chen," seeing Han Li wear such an expression, grew even more vexed.
"Fine, I will not press you about the Blood Trial any further. But there is one thing, and you must answer me honestly!" Her tone grew even colder, yet there was a peculiar look on her face as she spoke.
"What is it? Please ask, Sister Chen. I will answer with complete honesty." Han Li had a vague premonition of what was coming, and his unease deepened, though on the surface he still wore an expression of utmost sincerity.
A faint blush rose to Chen Qiaoqian's cheeks, and a trace of shyness crept over her demeanor. Then she waited nervously for Han Li's reply, her expression tense.
"Seven or eight years ago..." Han Li lowered his head, appearing to sink into deep recollection. In truth, his heart was pounding like a drum.
How could it be that after so many years, this woman had still not given up on seeking out the person who had saved her? And judging by the shy look on her face, could it be that she had truly developed feelings for the one who had rescued her?
Han Li was genuinely baffled by this. It was not that he was oblivious to matters of the heart—far from it. He did harbor certain normal, natural thoughts about Chen Qiaoqian as a woman. But the moment the matter touched upon genuine emotion or the possibility of becoming dual cultivation partners, Han Li automatically excluded it from consideration. Perhaps it was because he had never been able to forget the scene of this woman and that "Senior Brother Lu" being intimate all those years ago, and to this day he simply could not accept her because of it.