Volume One: Entering the City for the First Time Chapter Forty: Helian Xun Makes Her Move

"My apologies, sir, but the master has already been invited elsewhere," said a waiter, closing the door in Lu Yi's face.

Lu Yi's smile lingered for a moment; then, with a few quick steps, he climbed into his car and pounded his fist heavily against the seat.

He took out the black business card that Katerina had given him, but after a moment's hesitation, he shook his head. Katerina had made it clear—the person wouldn't be swayed by money, and he truly had nothing else to offer.

Lu Yi opened his text messages again and muttered, "Let's try the next place."

The car crossed a bridge, winding along an upward road. The beautiful scenery along the way finally calmed his heart a little.

But the peace didn't last long. When he was once again told that the master he sought had already been invited away, Lu Yi smashed his fist against a roadside tree. Now he finally understood why Fang Hao had said that Dong Xingten wanted to win everything for himself. Dong Xingten must have mobilized a large group to secure these experts, while he, acting alone, stood no chance of competing.

With a long sigh, Lu Yi got back in the car and began to drive down the mountain.

He hadn't made many turns when he encountered a convoy of cars coming up the road. The men and women inside were laughing boisterously, loudly discussing how they'd enjoy the party.

Watching the noisy caravan pass by, Lu Yi managed a wry smile. Dong Xingten, don't think you've won just because you took this lead from me.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, his left eye suddenly twitched. He saw smoke billowing from the hood of his car—yet, when he blinked again, the vision vanished, and everything looked as before.

With previous experience in such matters, Lu Yi did not ignore the warning. He immediately realized something was wrong with his car. He hurried to pull over, but all his efforts only saw the vehicle picking up speed, careening faster and faster down the slope.

Lu Yi's expression changed dramatically. He reached for his seatbelt to unbuckle it, but what should have been a simple action felt as though the belt had been welded shut. No matter how hard he tugged, it wouldn't budge.

Meanwhile, the car barreled down the embankment, heading straight for the riverbank. After crashing through the guardrail, the car flipped over and over. Only then, as the vehicle smashed down onto the riverbed, did the stubborn seatbelt miraculously spring free, sending Lu Yi tumbling, headfirst, from the wreck.

As scattered bystanders looked on, Lu Yi, battered and bleeding, began wriggling out through the twisted window. A flicker of golden light shimmered around him several times before vanishing completely.

Lu Yi immediately realized it was Katerina's spell at work—the charm she had left on him had sprung to life at that critical moment, manifesting as a sphere of light that shielded him. Without it, unless the Demon Eye worked another miracle, he would have been doomed.

Just as Lu Yi had half-climbed from the wreck, a cacophony of car horns blared from the embankment. The onlookers screamed and scattered.

From their perspective, an empty, wrecked car was sliding tail-first down the slope. It must have lost its handbrake or suffered some other malfunction after the crash.

Now, that driverless car smashed through the guardrail and rolled straight toward Lu Yi, threatening to crush him. Climbing out would mean getting caught beneath the vehicle, but retreating was impossible—his own car was leaking fuel, and any explosion would spell certain death.

Without hesitation, Lu Yi kicked fiercely against the inside of the car, desperate to escape. At last, he tumbled out, but before he could rise, the other car was almost upon him.

A tremendous crash followed as both vehicles collided.

Sitting on the riverbank, Lu Yi gasped for breath. A metal whip was withdrawn from his waist, and he managed a hoarse, "Thank you," to his rescuer.

It was Helian Xun who had saved him. She nodded, but there was little time for words. With a shriek of twisting metal, Lu Yi's car exploded. Pieces, large and small, whistled through the air toward the pair.

Helian Xun swung her metal whip, sending the largest fragments flying. But the shards, spinning in the air, circled back and came at them from behind. At that moment, the driverless car also exploded, showering them with countless splinters.

Worse still, the solid embankment began to crumble from the double blast, and a work platform truck parked above started to topple toward Lu Yi and Helian Xun. In an instant, its raised platform crashed down upon them, continuing to press downward.

Now, danger surrounded them on all sides. Even if Lu Yi summoned the Demon Hunter, it might be too late. For the first time, a look of alarm crossed Helian Xun's face—her whip, like Katerina's then, refused to obey at this critical moment.

Just then, a hand clad in a black metal glove sliced through the air, and with that gesture, deep purple symbols appeared, glowing in the open space.

A low hum sounded as a protective shield enveloped Lu Yi and Helian Xun. The flying fragments and shrapnel disintegrated to dust upon contact with the barrier, while larger chunks twisted and deformed before falling harmlessly to the ground.

Simultaneously, a beam of black light pierced the supports of the work platform, sending it hurtling further away and splashing down into the river.

"You were careless, Helian Xun," a cold voice called from the bridge above. Lu Yi looked up to see the girl with the strange scarf, standing there with a trace of black energy still flickering at her fingertips.

Helian Ying jumped down from the bridge and strode toward her sister. Only now did Lu Yi notice that Helian Ying, compared to when he'd seen her at Shanier, looked somewhat changed—her clothes were now more suited for action.

At her waist hung a weapon; from his vantage, Lu Yi could see only the hilt, its true form hidden from view.

Helian Ying glanced at the toppled work truck on the riverbank, snorted, and flexed her gloved right hand. Purple electricity leapt between her fingers. With her palm as a blade, she swept upward, and a crescent-shaped wave of violet energy tore through the riverbank and sliced toward the truck.

The violet arc passed cleanly through the truck and, after cutting through a nearby tree, finally faded in the air.

Lu Yi was puzzled—such a display had shown little visible effect. But just as he thought this, the platform truck split in two, then, before his eyes, corroded and crumbled into a pile of scrap, and the struck tree withered and decayed in an instant.

He glanced at the Helian sisters, whose faces remained impassive. To them, it seemed a trivial matter. Lu Yi felt all the more grateful he hadn't accepted that earlier mission.

At that moment, Helian Ying's scarf twitched, tightening as if of its own accord.

Raising her eyelids, Helian Ying drew a short sword from her belt. She traced her finger along the blade, causing a line of runes to appear. With a deft twist, she inserted the sword into a gap in the scarf, softly murmured a syllable, and gave the blade a gentle turn. A wave of black energy rippled out from the sword.

With that done, Helian Ying calmly sheathed her weapon.