Being the lady of the High Duke’s Public House, not only was she beautiful and kind, but she was also outstanding in martial art skills and she was extremely righteous. The fact that all of these virtues could be seen from a lady like her had gained the people’s admiration.

　　 Despite that, Xiao Qi was unbothered. She ignored the looks from the crowd and looked only at Chu Li.

　　 After returning her sword to her scabbard, she refilled Chu Li’s cup with drinks. “Don’t let petty fellas like them ruin our mood.”

　　 “It can’t be helped.” Chu Li took a sip of his drink. After that, he shook his head as he smiled. He then turned to say to the people around them, “Everyone, move along. I advise you, dear friend, don’t speak too much of Du Feng. After all, he’s in the limelight now. Careless talks will only lead to trouble!”

　　 “Thank you, Head Chief Chu.” The sturdy man gave him a fist salute and he was slightly embarrassed. “It’s just my temper, I can never hold back on my words. I say whatever I want to say.”

　　 Chu Li commented, “We’re currently in a critical period as the Emperor mourns the death of his son and is extremely enraged. It’s tough for his subordinates as well, so it’s inevitable that they’re doing things impulsively. If one is careless, one might just become the black sheep. So it’s best to be cautious.”

　　 “If that’s the case, one might as well die,” the sturdy man expressed.

　　 Chu Li chuckled as he shook his head. “That’s true, but different people have different ways of living, I shall not suggest further. Please!”

　　 He signaled the man with his cup and took a sip of his drink.

　　 With that, the sturdy man no longer refuted. Instead, the man downed his drink and nodded at Xiao Qi as well before he sat down.

　　 All of a sudden, someone asked, “Head Chief Chu, didn’t you go to the Imperial Mausoleum? Why are you here?”

　　 Chu Li smiled. “I’ve returned to Fairy’s Capital on imperial order, so I left the Imperial Mausoleum.”

　　 “Ah, that’s great news, it’s worthy of celebration!”

　　 Chu Li waved his hands. “It’s nothing to be celebrated. The Imperial Mausoleum is nice in its own ways — it’s simple and quiet. Being in Fairy’s Capital has its own perks too, it’s flourishing and lively. Nevertheless, while the Imperial Mausoleum may be too quiet, Fairy’s Capital is too clamorous. It’s tiring when people fight and scheme against each other.”

　　 “Haha, Head Chief Chu, that sounds emotional.” Someone else laughed. “We can’t enter Fairy’s Capital even if we wanted to.”

　　 Chu Li simply returned him a smile. “Fairy’s Capital is a place where one will likely get into trouble. It’s best that you don’t go there.”

　　 “If I want to go to Fairy’s Capital, will I be able to settle down?” Another person stood up and asked.

　　 Chu Li glanced at him, then shook his head. “If you’re not, at least, at Grandmaster’s Boundary, it’ll be very difficult for you to settle down in Fairy’s Capital. I suggest that you stay in your hometown.”

　　 “Hehe…” Disappointed, that man sat back down.

　　 Afterward, Chu Li made a gesture to the crowd before he turned back around to look out the window again. Clearly, he did not want to engage in another conversation.

　　 Since the people were sensible, they had stopped bothering him too but instead, they looked at him sympathetically.

　　 ‘Even when the top-notch youth champion in the world has become a cripple and is humiliated by those whom he could order about easily, he can still smile. He really has a positive spirit. Sadly, as positive as his spirit can be, he’s useless without his martial art.

　　 ‘Secret Guardians Hall is used to being overbearing that they won’t tolerate the fact that their secret guardians have been crippled of their martial arts, no matter if he’s still the centurion or not. Speaking of which, someone mentioned that the Emperor has stripped his position as the centurion when he left Fairy’s Capital.

　　 ‘Looks like it’s true, or the secret guardians from Secret Guardians Hall won’t behave like this, right?’

　　 Chu Li was aware of their thoughts, but he could not be bothered at all. Nonetheless, he knew that Secret Guardians Hall was not going to just let this situation be; the new Deputy Commander Gu must not want him to return to Fairy’s Capital.

　　 ‘Gu Yu’s not an open-minded person, and he might not think much of what I’ve become now. He only wants to vent his anger, so he’ll make the secret guardians stir up trouble or try to trip me up.

　　 ‘If everything goes smoothly for Gu Yu, everyone will soon find out about the whereabouts of Xiao Qi and myself.’

　　 Xiao Qi said, “Our whereabouts are now exposed. I’m afraid we won’t be able to live peacefully for some time.”

　　 Chu Li grinned. “You’ve made huge progress in your Regal Sword Scripture, aren’t you going to use it?”

　　 “That’s true.” Xiao Qi nodded slightly.

　　 She had realized that through her days with Chu Li, not only did her Regal Sword Scripture not weakened, but it had advanced more than ever. Besides, there was something different about her inner state that she could not point out as her cultivation level had improved by leaps and bounds.

　　 Xiao Qi was somewhat in disbelief because it had exceeded her expectations. Hence, she was eager to try the scripture.

　　 Chu Li encouraged, “Just go ahead and kill.”

　　 “Alright,” Xiao Qi agreed. “You have other intentions too, don’t you?”

　　 Since she was closest to Chu Li, she understood him very well. He always did things with a purpose, and more often than not, he liked killing two birds with one stone.

　　 Chu Li answered, “I just want to clear my name.”

　　 ‘Ji Dynasty’s Emperor, Leng Wufeng must be thinking that Du Feng is severely injured. So if I appear in a healthy body, Leng Wufeng won’t be suspicious of me anymore. Should he suspect anything, I’m afraid he won’t even bother looking at any sort of evidence, he’ll just kill me.

　　 ‘Since I’ve come here all the way, Leng Wufeng won’t suspect me.’

　　 …

　　 The next day, both of them left the city and continued their journey through the main road. By the evening, they had missed their accommodation and hence, they made a campfire in the forest to settle down.

　　 It was the beginning of winter, so the forest was chilly. Now that Chu Li had completely lost his martial art skills, although he was not feeling very cold, he still wrapped himself in fur clothing to prevent suspicions. On the other hand, Xiao Qi still wore her white gown as she was unaffected by the weather.

　　 The two of them sat shoulder-to-shoulder by the fire.

　　 Shy and reserved, Xiao Shi normally kept a distance from Chu Li. Only when nobody was around would they get closer to each other, feeling the sweetness and fondness for each other.

　　 Chu Li smirked. “They’re finally here.”

　　 Xiao Qi immediately furrowed her brows as she looked around.

　　 She was rather mad that those people for being so insensible. She asked softly, “How many are there?”

　　 “Four.” Chu Li added, “Grandmasters.”

　　 Xiao Qi nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

　　 “Alright.” Chu Li smiled.

　　 In a flash, Xiao Qi noticed that they had disappeared from the fire and appeared in front of four black-robed elders.

　　 The four black-robed elders stopped abruptly as they looked at Chu Li and Xiao Qi hesitantly.

　　 Chu Li asked, “You’re from Secret Guardians Hall, right? Are you in such a hurry to kill us?”

　　 “We’ve received orders to bring you back, Head Chief Chu!” the four black-robed elders greeted Chu Li and explained.

　　 Chu Li shook his head. “I’m not going with you. Tell Gu Yu to not be so petty and use public assets for personal purposes!”

　　 “Commander Gu has ordered to dismiss you from your post as the centurion. From today onwards, you’re no longer from Secret Guardians Hall and you’re not the centurion anymore!”

　　 After the four men scoffed, they pounced on him.

　　 “Ching…” As the long sword was pulled out of a scabbard, the light from the sword flickered.

　　 Subsequently, the four black-robed elders moved backward in a flurry. By the time Xiao Qi returned her sword to her scabbard, they had moved more than ten feet away and their faces had darkened as their arms and shoulders were slashed. They could not use their martial art skills anymore.

　　 Chu Li waved his hands. “I’ll spare you today since we’re all from Secret Guardians Hall. Next time, if you dare make a move again, I’ll cripple all of you from your martial arts!”

　　 Feeling frustrated, they gave him a fist salute before they fluttered away.

　　 Xiao Qi asked, “Should I have crippled them?”

　　 “There was no need to, but if they come again, just do it,” Chu Li responded.

　　 Of course, his original intention was to cripple the four men. However, seeing that Xiao Qi was merciful, he did not say much, lest Xiao Qi was unhappy.

　　 In the following days, they were hunted by many people.

　　 Every time that happened, Xiao Qi’s sword moved as quick as lightning and it was incredible.

　　 This was made possible with help from Chu Li’s God’s Limbs. While it appeared as if Xiao Qi was protecting Chu Li, Chu Li was the one who was guiding her during crucial moments. In addition to her Regal Sword Scripture, they were invincible.

　　By the time they arrived at Qing Yun Town, the title White Sword Fairy had become famous amongst people in the martial art world.