In the woods outside the Hall of Sharp Virtue.
Fu Cui led Shao Yanping toward the prearranged ambush point. However, after running fifty or sixty zhang, Fu Cui suddenly felt a sense of alarm. "Hmm?" She turned to look and realized that Shao Yanping and Dong Hubi had somehow vanished without a trace, no longer following behind her. Fu Cui halted, focusing intently, only to find the surroundings eerily silent. Not only were Shao Yanping and Dong Hubi missing, but even Yu Qifeng and the black-clad figure had disappeared. Her heart jolted—this was bad! The plan to lure the snake out of its hole had backfired, and now she had been drawn away while the real threat remained. If the ambush had failed, Shao Yanping might have some other scheme in play! Another thought struck her—even if Shao Yanping had seen through the trap, once she found him, she could simply abandon the plan and cut him down swiftly. Wouldn’t that be clean and efficient? With a cold laugh, she turned back to search for Shao Yanping’s trail.
Yu Qifeng and Cheng Yunpao fought farther and farther away. Originally, after taking the Ape-Demon Nine Heart Pill, Yu Qifeng’s strength far surpassed Cheng Yunpao’s. However, his severe injuries had not yet fully healed, and Cheng Yunpao was an extremely experienced opponent, wielding his sword with utmost caution. Within a thousand exchanges, Yu Qifeng could not gain the upper hand. By the time they had clashed around five hundred moves, Yu Qifeng suddenly realized something. A hissing sound escaped his throat as he rasped, "You—" Cheng Yunpao replied coldly, "Me what?" His sword followed the wind, thrusting toward Yu Qifeng’s throat—a common swordplay technique known as "Sand and Shadow." Suppressed by the sword’s momentum, Yu Qifeng couldn’t utter another word. Enraged, his blade trembled, sword light erupting as his inner energy surged forth. He unleashed the technique "West Wind Cleaving Wildfire," slashing toward a vital point on Cheng Yunpao’s chest.
Arrows whistled incessantly as Shangguan Fei shot one after another at the black-clad figure. The figure dodged left and right through the forest, but by the twelfth arrow, the black-clad figure abruptly vanished. Shangguan Fei stopped firing, puzzled. This location didn’t match what Shao Yanping had predicted—how could this be? Had Shao Yanping’s calculations been wrong?As he hesitated, a figure in black moved among the trees. With a "twang," he nocked an arrow and let it fly. A black sleeve fluttered in the woods, and the newcomer caught the arrow with a flick of his sleeve. Shangguan Fei was astonished—this was the Shaolin Tattered Robe Skill. Who was this? Then two figures emerged from the trees: one in black with long hair, the other in a pink dress and a white veil covering her face. Shangguan Fei’s heart leaped. "Little monk Pu Zhu..." His gaze shifted to the young woman beside Pu Zhu Shangshi, dressed in pink with peach blossom embroidery. "Who is this girl?"
Pu Zhu held Shangguan Fei’s arrow, bowed respectfully, and returned it. "This is Benefactor Tao, who has been undercover in the Dissolute Shop for three years." Shangguan Fei was even more surprised. "This delicate little girl was undercover in the Dissolute Shop?" Pu Zhu clasped his hands. "Amitabha, Elder Shangguan. We must hurry to the Hall of Sharp Virtue. Tonight, the Dissolute Shop poisoned the well water. They’ve recruited a formidable poison master—Hongchan Niangzi, the 'Thousand Shapes Shadow Shift.' She was once in the Candle Holding Temple and had withdrawn from the martial world for decades. Her return will surely bring a storm of blood."
Shangguan Fei was startled. "That old witch Hongchan isn’t dead yet?" Pu Zhu nodded. "Benefactor Tao knows her face. We must hurry to save lives." Shangguan Fei waved them off. "Go ahead. I’ll clear out the Dissolute Shop’s ambush on the mountainside and return immediately." Pu Zhu and Tao quickly took their leave and rushed toward the Hall of Sharp Virtue.
Shangguan Fei turned and headed for the ambush points Shao Yanping had marked earlier. According to their deductions, this wasn’t the Dissolute Shop’s main force—that would be with Fu Cui. Just as he gathered his energy to leap, a dull "thud" sounded, and a spray of blood erupted before his eyes. Shangguan Fei stared in horror at the branch protruding from his chest, disbelief flooding his mind as he slowly collapsed.
The branch... had come from the direction Pu Zhu had left.
Though just a branch, it was deadlier than a thousand arrows—silent, swift, and nearly soundless even in killing.
"Fine shot..." Shangguan Fei lay on the ground, blood pooling around him. Only as the words forced their way through his lips did he feel the fatal agony in his chest...
Inside the Hall of Sharp Virtue.
Liu Yan searched room by room, finding each empty. Occasionally, a sparrow remained, only to be crushed mercilessly in his grip. Such concentrated resentment could only mean one thing—he was searching for Tang Lici.
From the backyard came the sounds of combat, mingled with a woman’s soft laughter. Liu Yan drew closer. The fight was next door, with three people engaged, and from the sounds, the woman seemed to hold the upper hand. In the adjacent room, he detected faint breathing—familiar breathing. Tang Lici’s breathing.
With a deafening crash, the guest room’s window shattered, the wall collapsed, and bricks and wood tumbled to the ground. A baby’s wail pierced the air. Tang Lici, draped in an outer robe, leaned against the bed, cradling Feng Feng. The infant, terrified by the sudden explosion, clung to Tang Lici’s shoulder, tears streaming as she glared fiercely at the intruder who had burst through the wall.Liu Yan smashed through the wall, his face expressionless as he walked to Tang Lici's bedside. Raising his palm, he was about to strike both of them into a bloody pulp.
"Do you still remember the taste of the eight hundred and sixty-eighth move on Maoya Mountain?" Tang Lici gently stroked Feng Feng's head, slowly lifting his gaze to meet Liu Yan's. As he tilted his head back, the hairpin holding his silver hair suddenly slipped loose, letting his long tresses cascade down. Liu Yan's palm hesitated for a fraction of a second before descending with even greater force. Tang Lici flicked his left wrist, and with a faint chime, the Marrow Cleansing Silver Bracelet clashed against a black jade ring on Liu Yan's finger. The lethal strike was effortlessly deflected, their sleeves fluttering—a perfect match in strength.
"You—" Liu Yan's eyes burned with fury as he snarled, "You've been feigning madness and stupidity ever since arriving at the Hall of Sharp Virtue! Your injuries were long healed, yet you kept pretending to be ill! You—you're good... very good!" Tang Lici cradled Feng Feng in his right arm while his right foot lightly kicked toward Liu Yan's waist, targeting a vital acupoint. In one fluid motion, he slipped through the broken wall and darted away. Liu Yan was forced back a step, and before he could react, Tang Lici had already fled without a backward glance. Liu Yan gave chase, their movements mirroring each other—swift, ruthless, and deadly—until they vanished in the blink of an eye.
Outside, the three combatants turned their heads in unison. The woman in red was stunned that Liu Yan had failed to kill Tang Lici in one strike, while Chi Yun was baffled—where exactly was Tang Lici planning to escape with Feng Feng in his arms? Shen Langhun, seeing the two disappear into the distance, abruptly disengaged. He seized Chi Yun by the back of his collar and vaulted over the wall. The red-clad woman, caught off guard, cried out, "Where do you think you're going?" Her crimson veil lashed out toward Shen Langhun's back. Though startled, Chi Yun was a seasoned fighter—his blade intercepted the silk, and the two made their escape. The woman stamped her foot in frustration, realizing she was too late.
Just then, a distant firework signal flared—the prearranged signal for the assault. Outside, countless snakes slithered forth, creeping along the walls and through window cracks. Women in red and white drew their weapons and stormed inside, only to find the Hall of Sharp Virtue eerily empty. Not a single Sword Association disciple, cook, or servant remained—the vast courtyard was a deserted fortress. Not only were there no people inside, but even Liu Yan had vanished. The white-clad women rushed to the site of the earlier explosion—Tang Lici's room—only to find shattered bricks and tiles strewn across the ground, with no trace of anyone. They exchanged bewildered glances.
According to the original plan, Fu Cui was supposed to lure the Hall of Sharp Virtue's main forces into an ambush. After Liu Yan killed Tang Lici, it would be nearly dawn, by which time the defenders would be exhausted—if they had eaten, they would be poisoned; if not, their strength would be depleted. The women would strike at the hour when the human body was weakest, slaughtering everyone in the hall. But now, the attack signal had been launched prematurely, and upon charging in, they found not a soul in sight. Every one of them thought the same thing: We've been tricked. I've fallen for a trap! Fu Cui thought to herself. She had circled Good Cloud Mountain three times without finding any trace of Shao Yanping. Not only had she failed to locate him, but when she returned to the ambush site set by Dissolute Shop, she found only bloodstains and corpses—many red-clad women dead or wounded, with most of the rest having fled to unknown destinations. Whether Shao Yanping had been leading her in circles or the Central Plains Sword Association had another ambush waiting, it was clearly a scheme within a scheme. Yet she refused to give up. That old fox Shao Yanping couldn't have gone far, no matter how much he circled. Even if Good Cloud Mountain was his territory, with hidden passages or caves, she would eventually uncover them.
Once she found him, that old fox would be dead without question.
She kept circling Good Cloud Mountain, and by the tenth lap, she finally realized there truly were no hidden passages or caves—Shao Yanping was indeed no longer on the mountain. In other words, he had left behind an empty stronghold and fled to who knew where. If Shao Yanping could escape, even after killing her ambushers, it meant he had seen through tonight's attack plan long ago. And if he had anticipated it, then his panicked demeanor at the Hall of Sharp Virtue must have been an act. If it was an act, then there must have been an ambush waiting there. Realizing this, Fu Cui turned and sprinted back toward the mountaintop.
The clashing of swords was unceasing—Cheng Yunpao and Yu Qifeng had already exchanged over eight hundred moves. Cheng Yunpao defended meticulously, rendering Yu Qifeng's repeated fierce assaults ineffective. Though each strike of Yu Qifeng's "West Wind Cleaving Wildfire" wounded Cheng Yunpao, the injuries were always shallow—never enough to defeat him. Fighting like this, Yu Qifeng knew full well that Cheng Yunpao was luring him away to stall, undoubtedly for some scheme of Tang Lici's. Frustrated by his unrecovered vitality and waning stamina from prolonged combat, he couldn't unleash many of his deadlier techniques, fueling his rage. Just as his fury peaked, Cheng Yunpao's sword light swept like a dragon cleaving through waves, spinning several times before thrusting straight toward Yu Qifeng's blinded left eye. Enraged, Yu Qifeng aimed his sword at Cheng Yunpao's sword-wielding right hand, only to hear a crisp clang—his blade, which should have pierced through his opponent's hand, somehow struck the hilt instead. Cheng Yunpao's sword was sent flying, and Yu Qifeng, caught off guard, barely managed to dodge. A sharp gust of sword wind roared past his ear, followed by searing pain as something warm and wet flooded his ear canal. When he touched his ear, he realized Cheng Yunpao's thrown sword had severed his left ear. Blinded in one eye, his depth perception had suffered during the prolonged battle, and Cheng Yunpao had seized the opportunity to wound him with a thrown blade. Losing his left ear, Yu Qifeng laughed maniacally in his fury. "You've lost your sword, but I'll defeat you without mine!" With that, he flung his own sword into the distant grass dozens of zhang away and struck out with a palm strike, its force enveloping Cheng Yunpao's immediate surroundings. Forced to block, Cheng Yunpao met the strike—a thunderous impact followed. Yu Qifeng advanced another step, unleashing a second palm strike. Cheng Yunpao blocked again, another explosive collision leaving blood trickling from his lips. Yu Qifeng let out a vicious laugh and raised his hand for a third strike—but just then, someone nearby shouted, "Thunderfire Bomb!" A small object came hurtling toward them. At the sound, Yu Qifeng aborted his attack—the taste of gunpowder still fresh in his memory—and retreated without a backward glance. In his mind, killing Cheng Yunpao was only a matter of time, and Cheng Yunpao's life wasn't worth a single strand of his hair.The person in the grass exhaled in relief and clicked his tongue. "Yu Qifeng's martial arts are truly astonishing. If he hadn't been hindered by the gunpowder and continued his assault, both of us might have died at his hands." The one who emerged from the grass was none other than Shao Yanping. Cheng Yunpao steadied himself, regulating his inner energy, and picked up his longsword. Without mentioning the perilous battle, he asked calmly, "Where's Dong Hubi?"
Shao Yanping shrank his neck slightly. "No idea where he went once the fight started. We agreed to meet here anyway—it's not like he could have fled to the ends of the earth."
Cheng Yunpao sneered. "He abandoned you to deal with Fu Cui and ran off on his own?"
Shao Yanping gave a dry laugh. "Hard to say. In any case, neither you nor I saw him. How's your injury?"
Cheng Yunpao replied indifferently, "It's nothing. What time is it?"
Shao Yanping glanced around. "Almost time—here they come!" He looked eastward and saw two figures darting toward them like lightning, covering the distance to the hilltop in just a few leaps. The one in front, robes fluttering in the wind and cradling an infant, was Tang Lici. The one behind him was a strikingly handsome man dressed in black.
Cheng Yunpao's expression darkened slightly. This black-clad man was the same masked assailant who had grievously wounded him with a single pluck of a string in the northern snowfields. Though he no longer carried his pipa, the sight of him was still chilling.
Tang Lici reached them and turned with a smile. Liu Yan stopped as well, his gaze sweeping over the three of them one by one. "Ha!" He let out a cold laugh, as if he had intended to say something but ultimately held back.
Shao Yanping laughed along. "This is what you'd call 'inviting the guest into the jar.'"
Cheng Yunpao's expression remained grave. Today, he intended to settle the score for that single-string defeat.
Just as they paused, two more figures rushed over. Once they stopped, the five of them encircled Liu Yan, forming a tight encirclement. Liu Yan's eyes flickered—the newcomers were Chi Yun and Shen Langhun. Slowly, he drew a copper flute from his robes.
The moment the flute appeared, Cheng Yunpao and the others tensed, their focus sharpening as they braced for action.
Tang Lici's gaze fell upon the flute, and he stiffened slightly. It was a broken flute, now pieced back together, adorned with delicate, curling vine patterns. Beneath the patterns was a line of signatures—though Liu Yan held it in such a way that no one could see, Tang Lici remembered it clearly. The signature read "Lavender," a fusion of the four of them's English initials. Years ago, this flute had symbolized a beautiful, youthful time. But now... there was no point dwelling on it. It was Liu Yan's weapon now—a tool for killing.
Liu Yan slowly raised the flute to his lips. His posture was elegant, his snow-white fingers smooth and unblemished as they rested on the flute's holes, resembling flawless jade.
Seeing this, Cheng Yunpao swung his sword with a sharp whistle, aiming for Liu Yan's wrist. Shao Yanping, not daring to be careless, thrust his blade toward a major acupoint on Liu Yan's chest. Shen Langhun flanked them, while Chi Yun unleashed his Moon Crossing Ring, sending a streak of white light flashing through the air. The combined assault of the three was a fearsome sight.
OpenNovel