CH 45

Settle the bill? The Changjian Sect fellows were rather stunned. They originally thought that these were people hired by King Lu as reinforcements, and had never dreamed that they were actually here to ask him to pay up! However, it did make sense; the Cloud Palace did all sorts of funny business, but it never involved itself in seeking revenge. They usually pointed people who wanted help with getting their revenge to the Bloodblade Tower. The Cloud Palace never accepted any requests to kill someone.

The leader of the sword-wielding camp was a swordsman who looked to be around thirty years old. He took a look at Chen Ziqi’s two savage-looking subordinates, then clasped his hands respectfully in Chen Ziqi’s direction. “I am Ge Hong of the Changjian Sect. My companions and I have a private matter to settle with the other people here. If you do not intend to interfere, then I respectfully invite you to leave this place first,” he said. 

Chen Ziqi had already walked under the eaves of the house, and was very near to Chen Zimo. One of the Suxin Sect women’s whips flashed out toward Chen Ziqi to stop him from going any closer.

The nine-jointed steel whip looked like it was about to lash Chen Ziqi’s face. He nimbly leaned back to avoid it, then countered by grabbing hold of the end of the whip. He used the Roving Dragon Follows the Moon to wrap the whip quickly around his arm and pulled hard on the whip. The sixteen-year-old maiden at the other end of the whip lost her balance and plunged forward toward Chen Ziqi. “Miss, whips should not be used on people’s faces. I still need this face of mine to find a good spouse,” he said jovially.

Chen Ziqi’s sparkling peach blossom eyes always made him look like he was smiling faintly, and up close, he was so breathtakingly handsome that the girl nearly forgot to breathe. Her face reddened immediately, and she loosened her grip on the whip before pulling it back into her hands.

Tu Buxian had originally taken half a step forward to assist Chen Ziqi, but he stood back when he saw that the latter had it all under control. 

Chen Ziqi actually was having deep regrets about his rash actions earlier. He was very good at Roving Dragon Follows the Moon now, but his hand wasn’t made of iron, and using it to catch hold of the whip earlier had been very painful. His whole arm was throbbing dully in pain even now, and he still had to maintain a relaxed, casual expression on his face. It was so hard.

He hid his smarting hand in his sleeve and smiled. “I’m afraid I can’t stay away from this matter. If you caused the death of my customer, who would I look for to settle the payment? Why don’t you tell me what happened, and I’ll try to mediate,” he suggested calmly.

“This has nothing to do with you, you little brat. Get lost,” the leader of the Suxin Sect women said. She was a woman who looked to be in her late thirties or early forties, and her clothes were the colour of yellow gosling down. The two ladies next to her looked much younger, around their late teens or early twenties, and they all wore pale pink luoqun.

Chen Ziqi thought back to the first time he’d met Cheng Jieyu. She had also been wearing a full set of gosling yellow robes. He guessed that the leader of the Suxin Sect women was probably from the same generation of disciples as Cheng Jiazhen.

“This aunty over here, how may I address you?” Chen Ziqi asked, clasping his hands politely in her direction.

“You…” Zhao Surou was so angry at being addressed as an “aunty” that she was lost for words. She was one of the Suxin Sect’s core disciples, and was accorded great respect wherever she went. She had dedicated herself fully to the pursuit of martial arts excellence, and had not married for this reason. The people in the martial arts world always addressed her as “miss” or “xianzi”. No one had ever called her “aunty” before.

“I’m Yu Quan, and this is my martial arts master, Zhao Surou. The people in the martial arts world usually address her as Wan Rou Xianzi,” the maiden right in front of Chen Ziqi said in her young, sweet voice. She was the one who had tried to attack Chen Ziqi earlier.

Pa kjr bynlber ab Itjb Vegbe atja Jtfc Ildl kjr tfgf ab tfiq Jtfc Ilwb. “Jtfc Ilwb, lo sbe tjcv bnfg Vesjb cbk, kf’ii ifa atlr wjaafg ub abvjs,” rtf rjlv atgbeut mifcmtfv affat. “Tbe mjc mbcalcef ab yf atf olgra-gjcxfv Blcu atja sbe jgf joafg atlr, jcv ifjnf Vesjb ab atf mjgf bo atf Vezlc Vfma.” 

“Ha,” Chen Zimo laughed coldly. “Why should I?”

Cheng Jiazhen was still Chen Zimo’s mother in name. Now that the previous Emperor had passed on, it was only right that Chen Zimo bring his “mother” to his fief to live. The Suxin Sect had no right to stop him from doing so.

“You vicious, cruel creature!” Zhao Surou shouted, moving forward to lash him with her whip as she spoke.

“Shijie…” Cheng Jiazhen cried out weakly. She had been lying down on the straw mat in the temple, and was now trying to crawl toward the door. 

“I see what’s happening – you’re trying to kidnap the Taifei!” Chen Ziqi said, putting on a look of astonishment. He turned to look at the Changjian Sect fellows. “Are you also here to try and take the Taifei with you?!”

Kidnapping the Taifei – this was a crime no one wanted to be associated with. The Changjian Sect men all shook their heads vehemently. Ge Hong’s primary objective had been to stall for time, and he thus started talking about how this whole situation came about.

Three days ago, Zhao Surou and company were in Jianyang City, and they had killed two of the Changjian Sect’s people after having a small disagreement. By the time Ge Hong rushed there with his men, the Suxin Sect people had already left, and they had pursued the latter as such. He knew they were headed to Lu City, and wanted to waylay them on the road there. Berry Brown was just unlucky. Ge Hong had seen the two women in his carriage, and had mistaken them for the Suxin Sect’s people, which was why he had taken Berry Brown, Chang Er and Cheng Jiazhen into custody.

Thereafter, Chen Zimo had injured three Changjian Sect disciples with his axe whilst trying to escape. They were battling hard with Chen Zimo when the Suxin Sect people arrived. 

“Our Changjian Sect is only a small sect, and we don’t have any power to deal with the great Suxin Sect’s revered disciples. That’s why we asked them to go with us to Lushan Sect…” Ge Hong became angrier and angrier as he spoke. They couldn’t defeat Zhao Surou with their level of skill, but they were also unwilling to let her get away scot-free. If they did, what reputation would the Changjian Sect have to speak of after this? They wouldn’t have any face left in Jianyang City!

After a few standoffs, neither sect was willing to give way, and the Changjian Sect men had no choice but to try to hold the Suxin Sect people in this dilapidated temple whilst waiting for the Lushan Sect people to arrive. Chen Zimo still couldn’t leave because Cheng Jiazhen had awoken on the way here, seen Zhao Surou, and had desperately begged Zhao Surou to save her.

As Chen Ziqi listened to Ge Hong’s tale, his eyes swept over the scene, taking in everyone’s relative positions.

From where Zhao Surou was standing, she could easily barge into the temple building if she made a sudden move. She wouldn’t care who she hurt with her steel whip in the process, and Chang Er would certainly suffer a few lashings. As such, Brown Berry couldn’t move a step from where he was. 

If they waited for the Lushan Sect people to arrive, it might become even more complicated. Chen Zimo had injured the Changjian Sect’s people, and would certainly not be able to walk away scot-free. With this in mind, Chen Ziqi suddenly let out a loud, clear laugh. “Hahaha! Brother Ge, you are truly a man of loyalty and righteousness! If you killed someone, then you must prepare to be killed yourself – this is the way of the world. Killing people willy nilly, and snatching other people’s mothers just because your sect is powerful? I can’t stand watching this injustice. Brother Ge, I will help you today,” Chen Ziqi declared.

With that, he signalled to Tu Buxian. Tu Buxian suddenly produced two palm-sized hooks from his sleeves. The sharp metal gleamed coldly, then flew directly toward Zhao Surou’s throat. Wu Bujian picked up the two swords that Tu Buxian had taken earlier and threw them back to the Changjian Sect men. “Catch!” he shouted.

Zhao Surou was caught off guard, and nearly had her throat ripped open by the twin hooks. She brought up her whip to defend herself just in time.

The situation had turned around too quickly for Ge Hong to react. He was still staring blankly into space when his two shidi caught the two swords thrown at them. Ge Hong’s body reacted faster than his mind, however, and moved subconsciously into battle. The two pink-clad girls immediately lashed out with their whips and started fighting furiously with the Changjian Sect’s people. 

Chen Ziqi quickly slipped into the temple and pulled Chang Er and Ah Mu out. Chang Er weighed less than Ah Mu, and he gave her to Wu Bujian. “Let’s go,” he said.

Wu Bujian held on to Chang Er firmly, then used the Cyclone Step and shot away in a trice. Chen Ziqi took Ah Mu’s hand in his and they both ran for their lives. Ah Mu knew that the situation was dangerous and didn’t dare to say a word. He just followed his gege and ran as fast as he could. Berry Brown grabbed hold of Cheng Jiazhen and retreated in the same direction Chen Ziqi went.

“Where do you think you’re going?!” Zhao Surou shouted. She glared fiercely at Chen Zimo while lashing out with her whip, catching two of the Changjian Sect’s men and tossing them to one side. She then hit out at Tu Buxian, and leapt forward to grab Cheng Jiazhen from Chen Zimo.

Chen Zimo raised a hand, channeled his neili and countered her blow with his fist. 

“Boom!” The force of the impact caused the muddy water around them to splash high into the air.

“Urk…” Chen Zimo vomited a mouthful of blood. Even though “Open the Heavens” was a high calibre martial art that could be used to hold off three Suxin Sect people with his axe, there was no doubt that he would be the loser in a neili battle against Zhao Surou, who had been cultivating her skills for more than thirty years.

At this critical moment, Tu Buxian charged over and kicked Zhao Surou away. He grabbed hold of Chen Zimo and Cheng Jiazhen and flew over the temple walls.

Tu Buxian’s strength was clearly much greater than Wu Bujian’s. He could still move as if he were flying even when carrying two people whose total weight was more than his own. 

Right now, Chen Ziqi and Ah Mu were the slowest of the lot. Zhao Surou slammed her hands angrily onto the ground, pushed herself up, then lashed out at Ah Mu with her steel whip.

“Shing!” Swords flashed as a few men descended from the sky, blocking Zhao Surou’s whip in a trice. A man dressed in a narrow-sleeved, indigo-coloured martial outfit landed firmly in front of Chen Ziqi and Ah Mu, a three-foot long sword gleaming coldly in his hands.

“Li Yuhan!” Zhao Surou exclaimed when she saw who the man was. She instinctively took two steps back, then grit her teeth before speaking again. “I’m dealing with an internal matter of the Suxin Sect right now. After I’ve dealt with this, I’ll speak with you regarding the Changjian Sect’s complaint!”

The blue-clad swordsman’s sword hummed as he flourished it elegantly in the air, getting into position for the Lushan Sect’s signature Three-Layered Sword Stance. The tip of his sword pointed toward the ground, and he didn’t seem to have any intention of giving way. “I, Li Yuhan, greatly detest people who attack children!” he declared in ringing tones. 

Ah Mu stared at that person’s back, thinking that it looked very familiar. Chen Ziqi, on the other hand, couldn’t be bothered with who this person was, and dragged Ah Mu off to continue running away whilst Li Yuhan and Zhao Surou were having a standoff.

Just as they were about to leave the temple gates, Ah Mu turned to look at the man. The swordsman had coincidentally looked in Ah Mu’s direction, and he froze on seeing Ah Mu’s face. “Ah Mu…” he said in a low voice.

The author has something to say: Mini-theater

Birdie Gong: I didn’t appear in this chapter. I’m not happy 

Qiqi: What happens when you’re not happy?

Birdie: Poof, I’m now an angry bird

Qiqi: →_→