Chapter 57: "Breeze Elixir"

Hearing this, Yan Chivalric could hardly contain his rage, thinking to himself, “She Meier, do you have no shame at all? I really want to kick you into the sky!” Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Pinecone stood nearby listening to She Meier’s so-called “three rules,” gritting their teeth in secret fury. Yet, since they needed her help, they dared not voice their anger.

Unexpectedly, She Meier’s expression changed, and she suddenly giggled sweetly at Yan Chivalric, “Hehe… Yan Chivalric, I was only teasing you. We’re comrades, bound by deep friendship—I trust you completely; why would I need any ‘rules’ between us? But truly, Yan Chivalric, that pendant you wear is formidable—it nearly cost me my life just now! So, while you travel with me this time, you shouldn’t wear it, lest any accidents occur and our journey be delayed…”

“No!” Yan Chivalric immediately gestured to She Meier, “It’s not a pendant—it’s a Buddhist bead, called the ‘Solar Pearl.’ It is my life’s guardian, inseparable from me, and I cannot part with it under any circumstances!

She Meier, you may not know, but this ‘Solar Pearl’ was given to me by Master Lingkong on my hundredth day after birth… It is no ordinary thing and has saved my life more than once!

But you needn’t worry, She Meier—the ‘Solar Pearl’ and I are connected in spirit, united against our enemies; it would never harm the innocent. In other words, only those who harbor ill intentions or seek to hurt me will trigger its sword-like rays in self-defense. You are not my enemy, nor do I bear any malice toward you, so naturally, the ‘Solar Pearl’ will not react to you. It will not lash out without cause—this I promise! If you don’t believe me, I’ll take it off and let you touch it…”

With that, Yan Chivalric removed the ‘Solar Pearl’ pendant and offered it to She Meier.

“Ah?!” She Meier shrieked in fright, hastily stepping back a few paces, and stood there trembling as she eyed the glowing red ‘Solar Pearl,’ her heart still pounding. “Yan Chivalric, I believe you… But just in case, you should leave it behind!”

Yan Chivalric hesitated for a moment, then said, “Very well, She Meier, I agree.” Turning around, he handed the ‘Solar Pearl’ to Bai Xiaoyue. “Sister, keep this safe for me.”

Bai Xiaoyue replied, “Of course,” and took the ‘Solar Pearl’ from him.

Yan Chivalric then faced She Meier again. “She Meier, can we finally be on our way?”

She Meier nodded lightly, then waved her right hand, and at once, a pair of exquisitely crafted, strangely-shaped bracelets shimmered into her palm.

Yan Chivalric was astonished—he knew She Meier had summoned these from her ‘storage ring’ using her mystical arts, and he felt a surge of secret envy. He couldn’t help but look at her anew. “I never imagined, She Meier, that your powers were so advanced! But tell me, what do you need these bracelets for now?”

Flushed with pride at his praise, She Meier replied gleefully, “Hehe, thank you for the compliment! Yan Chivalric, these bracelets are supreme tracking artifacts, called ‘Shadow-Pair Mandarin Duck Bangles.’ So long as you and I each wear one, no matter where I go, you’ll follow close behind, like a shadow that never leaves.”

With that, she put one bangle on her right wrist and handed the other to Yan Chivalric.

“Here, you put this on too.”

Without a word, Yan Chivalric took the ‘Shadow-Pair Mandarin Duck Bangle’ and fastened it to his own wrist.

She Meier murmured a few incantations, and both bangles flashed with golden light, then vanished without a trace.

Seeing this, She Meier smiled with great satisfaction. “Good, the ‘Shadow-Pair Mandarin Duck Bangles’ are now in tracking mode… Yan Chivalric, I’m about to perform the Clear Breeze Scatter evasion technique—brace yourself! Master, farewell!”

With these words, She Meier chanted her spell and unleashed the Clear Breeze Scatter technique. In a blur, both her and Yan Chivalric’s figures vanished before Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, and Pinecone’s eyes.

“Wow, She Meier is amazing!” Tu Xiaomeng gasped in awe. “First the magic bracelets, then vanishing into thin air—how does she do these things? I’m so jealous!”

But the ethereal voice of Fairy Jiuxiao cut in coldly, “Mere parlor tricks,” and she, too, disappeared.

In front of the Pure Void Temple, only Bai Xiaoyue, Tu Xiaomeng, Pinecone, and the Pure Void Master remained.

……………………………

She Meier sped toward Death Valley using the Clear Breeze Scatter, with Yan Chivalric close behind, unable to leave her side due to the ‘Shadow-Pair Mandarin Duck Bangles.’ In the blink of an eye, they had traveled over a thousand miles.

The Clear Breeze Scatter was swifter than lightning itself, and as Yan Chivalric accompanied her, he felt the wind roaring past his ears and his vision swimming—he couldn’t make out any of his surroundings. Just as he was feeling utterly lost, She Meier suddenly spoke.

“All right, Yan Chivalric, this is as far as we go today.”

“What?” Yan Chivalric asked in confusion. “She Meier, we’ve only just set out—why stop so soon? Could it be that you…”

“What?” She Meier interrupted before he could finish, her tone less than cordial. “Yan Chivalric, we’ve already traveled five thousand miles! Isn’t that enough for you?”

“What?” Yan Chivalric was stunned. “Is that true?”

“If you don’t believe me, look around…” She Meier withdrew her technique, and with Yan Chivalric, ‘Crimson Hero Sword’ in hand, stood atop a mountain peak.

Yan Chivalric looked about—lofty peaks surrounded them, endless seas of clouds rolling as far as the eye could see. The scene was magnificent and awe-inspiring. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “Heavens, where are we?”

“Where we are doesn’t matter,” She Meier replied wearily, her face pale. “What matters is that I am exhausted—completely exhausted! So I need to rest.”

With that, she plopped down, stretched out, and lay back in utter laziness.

Seeing her so pitiful, Yan Chivalric felt a wave of sympathy. “She Meier, weren’t you full of energy back at the Pure Void Temple? How did you end up like this so suddenly?”

Tears welled in She Meier’s eyes, and she spoke in a plaintive, delicate voice, “How could I not be like this? Yan Chivalric, search your conscience—think about it: I’m a delicate, lovely young woman, carrying along a strong, robust man like you, and in a blink, we’ve covered five thousand miles with the Clear Breeze Scatter! Five—thousand—miles! Do you know what that means?”

“Five thousand miles?” Yan Chivalric was half incredulous. “She Meier, how can you be sure we’ve really traveled that far?”

“Experience!” She Meier replied languidly, stretching her exquisite form as she gazed up at Yan Chivalric. “To tell you the truth, Yan Chivalric, I’ve done many experiments in my spare time:

When I use the Clear Breeze Scatter and burn up a tenth of my inner strength, I can travel five hundred miles;
At two tenths, a thousand miles;
At three tenths, fifteen hundred miles…
If I use up half my inner strength, I can go twenty-five hundred miles…
And if I expend all my true power, the distance is exactly five thousand miles!”

“Is that so?” Yan Chivalric asked, intrigued. “Then, seeing how utterly spent you are, we truly did cover five thousand miles just now!”

“Of course!” She Meier gazed at Yan Chivalric’s chiseled, handsome face, her eyes dreamy and her voice sweet and coy. “So now my limbs are weak and I have no strength left… Yan Chivalric, lend me a little of yours, won’t you?”