Chapter 319 - Journey To The West

“Are you cold?” The wind howled past them, but Long Chen blocked it with his back. He was sitting backwards on Xiaolang to shield Ling Xi from the cold wind. She was huddled inside his embrace, her face pale. She was indeed cold.

“Emm ...” Ling Xi nodded listlessly, staring at Long Chen tearfully.

“Xiaolang, is there a way to raise your body temperature?” Long Chen shouted at Xiaolang.

He soon felt Xiaolang’s body temperature rise. Ling Xi felt much better, but the cold wind was still biting into her body. All Long Chen could do was use his body to block as much of the wind as he could.

It had been half a day since they started fleeing, so the imperial palace must have learned of the Ninth Prince’s death. He was certain that there would soon be people chasing after them. Long Chen dared not slow down and asked Xiaolang to continue running!

But if he ran any faster than this, Ling Xi would not be able to hold on with her mortal body.

“Brother Chen, where are we going?”

“To Yuanling City. We need to go back. Since the Biyang Imperial Capital is at the center of the Cangyang Kingdom, it doesn't matter which direction we run towards. We need to head west for now.” Long Chen patted her head lovingly.

“Why west?” Ling Xi was confused. Her inquisitive nature and cute face were nothing short of breathtaking.

If it wasn’t for her beauty, Long Chen wouldn’t have had to risk his life along with Xiaolang to escape. Thankfully, Xiaolang was more than happy to do so since the imperial family were the people he wanted to kill the most. Long Chen had killed the Ninth Prince, a member of the imperial family, and Xiaolang was more than happy about it. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to thank Long Chen yet.

“The only faction capable of fighting against the imperial family is the Heavenly Demon Palace. Their headquarters is located towards the west, at Demon Emperor Mountain. The closer we get to them, the weaker the influence of the imperial family. If we can get past Demon Emperor Mountain and enter the Western Sea Kingdom, we will be safe,” Long Chen explained calmly to Ling Xi.

“Can we really escape?” Ling Xi wasn’t sure. She saw the Biyang Imperial Capital becoming smaller in the horizon as she doubted their fate.

Fate worked in mysterious ways. They had just arrived at the capital no more than a month ago, and Long Chen had already killed the Ninth Prince because of Ling Xi’s beauty. Now they were on a path of no return. They would either survive or die.

“Of course! Don’t worry about it. You can sleep for now. I fear that the journey ahead will be arduous to you. I can’t let you fall sick and become ugly because of that.” Long Chen pinched her nose and chuckled.

“Brother Chen, you are so mischievous.” Ling Xi gently pushed away Long Chen’s mischievous hand. Even though he had assured her that nothing would happen, her doubt wasn’t dispelled at all.

“Sorry. This is my fault. If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve obtained a lot of resources for your cultivation. And you wouldn’t have had to suffer so much because of me. Our lives are so uncertain now.” Ling Xi was sad.

“Stupid girl. What are you saying?” Long Chen huffed and raised her head gently with his hands. He looked at her with conviction, and Ling Xi felt for the first time that everything would be alright.

“Ling Xi, never say those words again. You did not make me suffer. Your troubles are mine too. I’m a man, and I will protect my woman. If you say anything like that again, I will just treat them like the fart of a dog[1], understood?”

“You’re the dog fart! Hmph!” Long Chen was uncouth to use such vulgar words to describe a lady. She extended her arm to pinch his cheeks, but she didn’t have the strength .

“I’m so useless.” Ling Xi sighed.

“You are thinking too much. The skin on my face is thick, so you can’t do anything to it,” Long Chen said with a laugh.

Even though they were running for their lives, Ling Xi felt better after Long Chen cracked a few jokes. She soon smiled from his antics. She was like a blossoming lily that radiated a pure and sacred energy in Long Chen’s eyes. He swore to himself that he would never let her get injured.

He wanted to spend all his life protecting the most important person to him. She was the sanctuary for his soul, and his other life. Anyone who dared to lay a hand on her was crossing his bottom line.

Long Chen did not regret killing the Ninth Prince and escaping.

Now that Ling Xi was feeling better, Long Chen felt the weight of the future on his shoulders. He just didn’t show her that.

The imperial family, the strongest faction in the Cangyang Kingdom ... Long Chen had killed the Ninth Prince and essentially declared war on the entire kingdom. There were so many strong cultivators in the capital that served the imperial family. How could Long Chen fight all of them?

What would he do if they chased after him?

Many of the smaller demonic beasts that excelled in passing information and speed could easily catch up to Xiaolang. Long Chen was certain that his warrant had already started spreading to many of the cities. All of the cities were now like beasts waiting for Long Chen to enter their trap.

That was he did not enter any city while they were running. He was worried that his tracks would be discovered. He and Xiaolang chose the quiet roads and tried their best to stick to places where they couldn’t be seen. They even took numerous wrong turns that delayed their escape.

There were many issues that complicated their escape. For example, Ling Xi needed to eat now that she was a normal human. Her frail body could not accept the intensity of their escape. She needed to eat, drink, sleep, and stave off the wind, or she would fall ill. All of the issues were like maggots that stuck to Long Chen’s body and increased his ever-growing list of worries.

Three days and nights had passed. They could not run as fast as they could due to Ling Xi’s body. Without her, their escape progress would’ve been three times faster.

Even so, Ling Xi’s body could no longer withstand the tiresome journey. Her face was growing paler and her body weaker; even her voice was becoming softer. She said that she was fine, but Long Chen definitely noticed the changes in her body.

Long Chen could not find a proper meal in the wilderness, so he could only feed her the beasts that he had caught. She had been eating roasted meat for more than three days, and she had even vomited once. Long Chen felt like his heart was being cut up when he saw her vomiting. He wanted to stop and let her rest, but he knew that if the people from the capital caught up, they would be dead.

“Brother Chen, don’t worry, I’m fine. Let’s continue,” Ling Xi said powerlessly.

Long Chen hesitated before he finally chose to continue their journey. Riding on Xiaolang’s broad back, the wind howled around them. It was nighttime, and Nine Heavenly Rivers covered the night sky and showered the land in faint starlight.

Xiaolang ran tirelessly across the wilderness under the starlight.

“ ... ugh.” Ling Xi had a nightmare and woke up in shock. She saw that Long Chen was still beside her and sighed. Cold sweat covered her pale face.

“What’s wrong?” Long Chen was worried when he saw Ling Xi like this. He tried his best to make her even more comfortable in his embrace.

“Brother Chen ... I saw you dying in my dream.” She cried in his embrace. Her sobs were like ants crawling into his ears.

“I’m afraid of being alone after you die. There are enemies everywhere, and I don’t know what to do ... I don’t want you to die! Uuuuu ...” Ling Xi was helpless.

“Xiao Xi!” Long Chen hugged her tightly. His eyes were resolute and filled with starlight, and there was not a single hint of fear in them.

“You need to trust me. No one can kill me, and I cannot die! I will not die! You can sleep in peace and rest now. I will hold you while you sleep until you are tired of me. I won’t let you go.”

Long Chen’s words showed how much conviction he had. Of course, he wasn’t sure of it himself, but he would continue to shield Ling Xi no matter what dangers they would have to face.

“Okay ...” Ling Xi’s eyes were wide and she nodded.

“Go to sleep. I won’t die,” Long Chen said once more while wiping off her tears and smiling.

The sky lit up when Ling Xi finally fell asleep. Long Chen looked at the wilderness around him with uncertainty.

“Xiaolang, we need to find a smaller city. Let’s see if we can find a map of the Cangyang Kingdom, as well as some daily necessities for Ling Xi.”

1. Insinuating that her words were like the noises of a farting dog, like in a cute yet cheeky way ☜n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om