Chapter 47: Burden

Meanwhile, after the Golden Warrior joined the battlefield, Hu Mei'er found herself handling the situation with increasing ease.

The Golden Warrior single-handedly turned the tide, striking such terror into the hearts of those ancient monsters that they began to panic and consider retreating.

Seeing Lin Chen fall, Yan Ruyu hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and declared, "Today, I will surely avenge my brother!"

With that, she fiercely swung her sword, thrusting it straight at Lin Chen as he lay on the ground.

Just as the blade was about to touch him, Xie Mengmeng moved with lightning speed to block the strike.

At the same time, she unleashed a formidable palm strike toward Yan Ruyu, the giant palm roaring forward with a destructive, overwhelming force.

Yan Ruyu shouted sternly, "Slayer of Evils Sword, strike!"

Before her words faded, a massive sword materialized above her head and collided with the giant palm, sending ripples of energy surging outward.

Boom!!!

With a deafening crash, the surrounding rocks and stones shattered. Seeing this, Mei Xiupei could no longer pay attention to her own enemy.

Without a second thought, she rushed to Lin Chen's side and pulled him away, narrowly dodging the aftermath of the two women's fierce attacks.

"Vixen, it's you again! Truly despicable, actually standing on the side of human cultivators. Your Joy Pavilion is finished!" Yan Ruyu cursed furiously, beside herself with rage.

"I represent only myself. Beyond that, I only do what I believe is right, unlike someone as hypocritical as you," Xie Mengmeng retorted, her words dripping with sarcasm.

At that moment, the white-haired man shouted, "The situation is turning bad, Ruyu, let's get out of here!"

Simultaneously, the human cultivators began fleeing the area. There was no other reason; those fighting in the sky.

were being battered mercilessly by the Golden Warrior. If this continued, death was the only outcome.

Seeing the intruders run off, everyone collectively breathed a sigh of relief. However, the condition of Lin Chen and Su Xiangling plunged them back into deep anxiety.

Liu Ruohan tried everything in her power to save Su Xiangling, yet failed to bring her back from the brink, and ultimately Su Xiangling tragically passed away.

During the days while Lin Chen remained unconscious, the one most worried was none other than the widow from the Li family.

To this day, she still had no idea how her son and Li Baoping were faring. They had searched for the Golden House, but despite exhausting every possible method, they could not open its doors.

She wept bitterly day and night, while the Golden Warrior had vanished into the heavens following the battle, destination unknown.

Aside from them, the one who suffered the most in this war was Xie Mengmeng.

As soon as she returned to the Joy Pavilion, she was cursed out fiercely and placed under confinement.

Fortunately, her natural talent was exceptional, and the Joy Pavilion only did this to give the other sects a proper explanation.

Furthermore, the Joy Pavilion had never been particularly favored by the other sects, but this incident was deemed a war between humans and demons, leaving them no choice but to provide an account.

"Senior Sister..."
"Senior Sister..."
"No, please don't..."

Lin Chen jolted awake from a nightmare, his bed soaked with sweat.

It was already late in the night, and he was completely alone. Lin Chen wanted to ask about Su Xiangling's condition, but there was no one left to ask.

As Lin Chen lifted the blanket to get up, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground, his deep, bone-visible wounds looking terrifyingly severe.

A dark premonition welled up in his heart. If Hu Mei'er were fine,

he wouldn't be bearing these injuries. With this thought, he struggled to his feet and headed toward Hu Mei'er's room.

As soon as he stepped inside, his suspicions were further confirmed.

Staggering clumsily, he then headed toward the dense forest. Unsure of how many days he had been unconscious, he needed to release the Li children as quickly as possible.

"Sob, sob... Brother Lin, you're finally here." Li Baoping threw herself into Lin Chen's arms, crying tearfully.

"Hiss..."

The motion caused him to gasp in a breath of cold air, forcing him to endure the agonizing pain.

He managed a strained smile and said, "Alright, let's go home."

At that moment, the Golden House smelled foul and putrid, indicating that the children had been trapped there for quite some time.

Supporting one another, the three of them returned to the courtyard, where Lin Chen immediately set about preparing a meal.

The two children were so hungry that their faces were pale and their bodies trembled slightly.

Perhaps the sounds of cooking woke Xiao Yunyao, who cautiously cracked open a small gap in the door.

Peeking out and seeing that it was Li Baoping and Li Er, she ran out overwhelmed with joy.

With a radiant smile, she asked, "You two are finally back! Who brought you back?"

Li Baoping weakly extended a hand and pointed toward Lin Chen in the kitchen.

Seeing how frail Li Baoping was, Xiao Yunyao felt secretly grateful that Lin Chen had woken up; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Instead of running straight to the Li widow's house, she called over the widow, who had not slept all night.

Upon hearing the news, the widow burst into tears of joy.

Yet, being a woman of experience, the moment she saw the way Lin Chen was cooking,

she immediately stepped in to make Lin Chen rest, seeing clearly that he was merely forcing himself to endure.

"Hu Mei'er, where is she?" Lin Chen frowned and asked.

Xiao Yunyao shook her head, a trace of worry flashing in the depths of her eyes. "After the great battle outside the town, she never came back. It was a young girl who brought you back."

"Did that girl say anything about the battlefield?" Lin Chen continued to inquire.

"She told me to let you know that she got dragged into a terrible mess because of you, and that you should figure out how to compensate her later. It seemed she was from the Joy Pavilion," Xiao Yunyao answered honestly.

"Indeed she was," Lin Chen offered a bitter smile.

True enough, many people had been implicated by him this time—Xie Mengmeng, Mei Xiupei, Liu Ruohan, and even Su Xiangling...

Which of them hadn't suffered because of him? Their days ahead would likely be difficult.

Yet, matters having reached this point, the only thing he could do now was to prevent a similar situation from ever happening again.

Having said that, Lin Chen crammed for success at the eleventh hour and began cultivating on the spot.

He always believed in one saying: "Hard work does not necessarily guarantee success, but not working hard guarantees failure."

"Good children, you've both had a hard time. Come and eat," the widow said, setting dishes of food on the table with a face full of concern.

The two little ones could no longer hold back and immediately began devouring the food voraciously.

"Slow down... eat slowly... don't choke," the widow reminded them upon seeing their frantic state.

"Oh, Mother... stop nagging, we were almost starved to death," Li Er muttered impatiently.

Inside the Golden House, Lin Chen muttered to the empty air, "System, upgrade the Clear Wind Sword Technique."

"Congratulations to the host, upgrade successful. Clear Heart Mantra Level 1, Clear Wind Sword Technique Level 11, Lifespan increased by nine years, Cultivation: Realm Six."

When Lin Chen stepped out of the house, the sky was already growing bright. Li Baoping had fallen asleep after being washed and cleaned up by Xiao Yunyao.

Only Xiao Yunyao sat by the doorway with a face full of worry, waiting. Seeing Lin Chen emerge,

she hurriedly stepped forward to support him, guiding him to a seat nearby before speaking up. "Don't worry, kind people are blessed with natural protection, Sister Mei'er will be fine. She's probably just recovering somewhere."

"I hope so," Lin Chen nodded in reply.

In truth, he felt that was very likely. Now that Hu Mei'er's identity was exposed and she had made enemies of the major sects, hiding away to recuperate was indeed a viable option.

"Do you know how the blind woman at Peach Blossom Temple is doing?" Lin Chen asked.