No matter how small "Life and Death Together" was, it was still an arrow.
Far surpassing the range of Yu Konghou's "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms," the "Bow of Sorrow and Joy" held the advantage.
And so, Ren Qingchou entangled himself with Yu Konghou once more.
Yu Konghou's expression turned completely cold.
The shimmering silver "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" coiled around his wrist as he pinched the tip of the small sword between two fingers, pointing it directly at Ren Qingchou's black longbow.
Killing intent seemed to solidify, condensing around Ren Qingchou's left hand as it gripped the bow.
While his right hand intercepted the flying sword, Yu Konghou's left hand moved unimpeded—something rolled out from his left sleeve and was grasped firmly in his palm.
Ren Qingchou couldn't see what it was, but his heart skipped a beat—whatever it was, it was something he could hardly withstand. Though he was confident, he wasn't arrogant. Having harassed Yu Konghou for so long, he had already accomplished the task Hong Guniang had assigned him and should have withdrawn.
Yet Ren Qingchou raised the Bow of Sorrow and Joy, his expression resolute, nocking the "Life and Death Together"—carefully tempered with potent poison—and loosed an arrow aimed straight at Yu Konghou's brow.
This arrow was called "Gazing at the Moon."
When Qu Zhiliang created this arrow, he was still young, not yet having abandoned the bow to focus solely on the sword. He was still filled with hope and curiosity, believing he could overturn rivers and shake the heavens. One day, standing atop a height and gazing at the moon, he was suddenly struck by inspiration. He shot an arrow toward the bright moon in the sky, imagining himself riding the arrow upward, soaring straight to the moon, stepping into the Moon Palace, treading upon the osmanthus tree, and questioning Chang'e—how exhilarating would that be?
Though he never met Chang'e that night, this arrow, "Gazing at the Moon," became the farthest-reaching shot in Qu Zhiliang's "Bow of Sorrow and Joy."
In Qu Zhiliang's hands, this arrow was like a stroke of wild calligraphy—bold and unrestrained, its momentum spent once the passion faded.
But in Ren Qingchou's hands, this arrow carried no whimsical fantasies of ascending to the heavens or chasing rabbits on the moon. He was solely focused on shooting Yu Konghou.
The glint of "Life and Death Together" flashed as it tore through the air toward Yu Konghou.
Ren Qingchou's hand was steady, and the "Gazing at the Moon" arrow was swift—almost the moment Yu Konghou blinked, the arrow was already before him.
At the same time, a faint ding sounded as "Life and Death Together" struck something Ren Qingchou had never considered—Yu Konghou didn't reach out to intercept the small black arrow, nor did he dodge. With a slight shake of his head, the arrow, just as it reached his face, was deflected by something and veered off course, grazing past Yu Konghou's cheek.
With a thunk , "Life and Death Together" embedded itself into the trunk of a distant tree, the force of Ren Qingchou's full-power shot nearly piercing straight through the thick trunk.
Yu Konghou didn't let Ren Qingchou's arrow slow him in the slightest. After deflecting "Life and Death Together," he tapped his foot and lunged forward, while the object in his left palm flicked lightly toward a spot several feet behind Ren Qingchou.
As Yu Konghou rushed toward him, Ren Qingchou froze for a moment—the thing that had deflected his "Gazing at the Moon" arrow was a hairpin from Yu Konghou's own bun. It was a greenish-blue hairpin, faintly inlaid with pearls, and after being struck by the arrowhead, it had fallen from Yu Konghou's head, its whereabouts now unknown. But how could an ordinary ornament withstand a strike from "Life and Death Together"? That hairpin was undoubtedly no ordinary object. Ren Qingchou felt as though there was something he hadn't yet recalled—something critically important.In that moment of hesitation, Ren Qingchou pondered where he had heard of this hairpin before, while simultaneously leaping back to evade Yu Konghou's sudden lunge.
Yet the moment his feet touched the ground, something coiled around him, binding him tightly. Ren Qingchou swung his sword at the thing wrapped around his right leg—it was an extremely thin, elongated serpentine object. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether it was a living creature or a mechanical trap.
The blade flashed like snow, slicing downward. The object was severed by his sword, flesh and blood splattering. A chill ran through Ren Qingchou’s heart—it was actually a living snake! His right leg, where the snake had coiled, had already gone completely numb. Before he could figure out how to free himself, a soft thud sounded in his ears, and his chest suddenly burned with pain—a small silver sword had pierced through his chest, then flew back out, landing in Yu Konghou’s hand.
Yu Konghou stood a few yards away, his pink robes untainted by blood, his expression cold. The gleaming silver of Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms coiled around his wrist, as if it had never been stained with Ren Qingchou’s blood.
Ren Qingchou looked up. Yu Konghou tilted his head slightly and gave him a radiant smile.
Ren Qingchou’s face showed no shock, regret, or pain. He merely glanced at Yu Konghou, pressed two acupoints on his chest to stop the bleeding, and then quietly sat down on the ground.
He shouldn’t have fired that arrow.
But he had wanted to.
He was no match for Yu Konghou.
Not just in martial arts, but in cunning as well.
What more was there to say?
The martial world was treacherous, human hearts fickle, blades merciless—life and death decided in an instant.
He had done his best. He had no regrets.
It was just a shame he couldn’t shoot Yu Konghou one more time.
Yu Konghou was exhilarated to have finally dealt a heavy blow to this slippery opponent, but he couldn’t kill Ren Qingchou. Yu Konghou was no impulsive fool—Ren Qingchou’s martial skills, his status as Qu Zhiliang’s disciple, and his reputation as the "reformed hero" saved by Xue Xianzi made capturing him alive far more valuable than killing him here.
Seeing Ren Qingchou press his acupoints to stop the bleeding, Yu Konghou smiled even more delightedly. Clearly, this reckless fool wasn’t entirely stupid—he knew Yu Konghou might not take his life. But what Ren Qingchou surely didn’t know was that there were countless ways in this world to make a man wish for death. Hadn’t even someone like Pu Zhu sought death with single-minded determination?
First, Yu Konghou fed Ren Qingchou the antidote for the small venomous snake. The snake, which he always carried with him, was called Melting Snow , its venom excruciatingly potent. Even with the antidote, the wound would fester severely. Ren Qingchou had been bitten by Melting Snow —his right leg was undoubtedly ruined.
Just as Yu Konghou was hiding Ren Qingchou in the bushes and preparing to signal Gui Mudan to send someone to retrieve the young man, a faint sound echoed in the distance, accompanied by a scorching wind rushing toward him.
Yu Konghou turned abruptly. At the farthest edge of his vision, amidst the blur of trees, a figure carrying a sword was advancing toward him, step by step.
The figure was small, but the searing wind seemed to emanate from him. With each step, the wind grew hotter, whipping through the grass, dry branches and leaves fluttering violently behind him.
Raging Orchid No Trace!
Yu Konghou gripped Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms , his face as cold as ice.Ren Qingchou couldn't kill him nor stop him—so why had Hong Guniang sent him to harass her? He knew it was a diversion tactic, but couldn't fathom her true intentions.
So... this was it.
That scheme about flooding Piaoling Mei Yuan was likely fabricated. Hong Guniang had Ren Qingchou tie him down while she took advantage of the chaos to rescue Raging Orchid No Trace.
A classic case of driving away wolves to let tigers in.
But who had rescued Raging Orchid No Trace? Yu Konghou found it baffling. "Peach Girl" held such a revered position in the Central Plains Sword Association, and she had gathered many capable followers who were utterly devoted to "her." If there had been even the slightest whisper of this, he would have heard of it. Yet he had received no news at all—and Bi Lianyi had remained by Hong Guniang's side the entire time.
Bi Lianyi, Cheng Yunpao, Zhang Hemo, Liu Hongfei, Wenxiu Shitai, and the others—aside from this one day and night he had been entangled with Ren Qingchou—had all stayed with Hong Guniang, forming daily squads to wage a war of attrition against Piaoling Mei Yuan.
To rescue Zhu Yan, Raging Orchid No Trace, one would not only need to know where he was hidden but also neutralize the deadly poison in his system and heal the severe injuries inflicted by Xue Xianzi. How could all this be accomplished hastily in just one day and night?
Forget about curing the poison and healing the wounds—merely discovering Zhu Yan’s whereabouts and successfully extracting him would be an immense challenge. If Hong Guniang truly possessed such miraculous means, why would she bother setting up camp outside Piaoling Mei Yuan? She could have stormed straight in.
Therefore, the one who had located Zhu Yan, rescued him, healed him, and set him loose to oppose him could not be Hong Guniang. She lacked such capability. The true adversary—the one who had spirited Zhu Yan away and lurked in the shadows—was now Gui Mudan’s greatest opponent! Hong Guniang had conspired with this person, serving as the diversion while putting on a daily charade of flooding, burning, dismantling walls, and digging up earth—all to sow confusion and allow this hidden player to infiltrate and act amid the chaos.
And who else but Tang Lici could have penetrated Piaoling Mei Yuan so effortlessly, working in secret with Hong Guniang?
In an instant, Yu Konghou understood. He had thought he had driven Tang Lici into a corner, leaving him with a legacy of infamy and hunted by the entire martial world. Abandoned by allies and disgraced, Tang Lici should have retreated to bide his time. Yet instead of withdrawing, he had used this to vanish into the shadows—and now stirred the winds and waves from behind the scenes.
Yu Konghou gritted his teeth. The thought of Tang Lici’s ever-present, all-knowing smile—as if no circumstance could ever catch him off guard, as if the entire world were merely pieces on his chessboard—filled him with seething hatred.
Who wouldn’t want to be such a man?
Why was Tang Lici the one who always got to be that man?
It was as if he had never truly suffered defeat.
As Zhu Yan, bearing his longsword, advanced step by step toward him, Yu Konghou faced the scorching heat surging toward him, gripping "Ten Thousand Miles of Peach Blossoms" tightly—yet his mind wandered wildly, his hatred for Tang Lici burning ever fiercer.
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