Chapter 21

The east began to pale. The night watchmen in the small town also ended their shifts and went home to rest.

Lu Nanzhu silently leaped down from the ancient tree, looked deeply once at Xia Qinyi’s window, then turned and left.

She retrieved the wooden box hidden in the ruined temple, changed back into women’s clothing, and headed north. It was time to go home.

Lu Nanzhu traveled without stopping for several days before finally slowing her pace. Once again, she had successfully protected Tianshan. Although her method had not been as awe-inspiring as her master’s, Lu Nanzhu was satisfied.

There were still more than fifty taels of silver in her bundle. Thanks to Xia Qinyi, she could buy more winter supplies to bring back.

But for some reason, she could not feel happy…

Lu Nanzhu arrived in Qingzhou and bought a mule cart. Then she went to a general store that sold goods from both north and south to choose winter supplies.

Thick cotton quilts were necessary. She also needed five baskets of silver charcoal. Tianshan’s winter was cold and long. There were five households, so one basket for each household.

There was also essential salt, and pig iron.

Five dan of fine rice and five dou of white flour. The villagers of Shiyin Village almost never got to eat refined grain. Now that she had enough silver, she would let the whole village indulge once!

Lu Nanzhu simply bought five strips of cured meat as wide as a palm, pastries, writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, two chi of lamp wicks, two buckets of lamp oil, needles and thread, five bolts of thick cloth, ten jin of cotton batting…

“That will be all. Shopkeeper, how much is it in total?”

The general store shopkeeper smiled until his eyes narrowed. He handed the written list to Lu Nanzhu with both hands. “Miss, the total is forty-six taels and one string of cash. I will waive the string of cash for you. This is the list. Please look it over and check everything.”

Lu Nanzhu looked at the list in her hand and the goods arranged on the ground, then sighed softly. “Shopkeeper, please remove one basket of silver charcoal. The cured meat too. Remove half a dan of fine rice, one dou of white flour, and also… make it four bolts of cloth.”

“Of course!” The assistant quickly carried out the few items Lu Nanzhu had removed. The shopkeeper flicked his abacus and smilingly quoted a price.

After Lu Nanzhu heard it, she breathed out, paid the money, and the assistant moved the goods onto the mule cart.

Lu Nanzhu counted the remaining silver. Exactly ten taels. She curved the corner of her lips, wrapped the silver properly, placed it inside the carriage, and drove the mule cart slowly out of Qingzhou City.

After returning to Shiyin Village, Lu Nanzhu kept half a dan of rice, one cotton quilt, some lamp oil, salt, and pig iron. The remaining things were divided equally among the other households in the village.

The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone were bought for Little Huzi. Now that his sight had been restored, Lu Nanzhu decided to teach Little Huzi and Little Bean Sprout how to read and write.

Seeing the villagers’ happy and grateful expressions, Lu Nanzhu felt warm in her chest.

Old Uncle Ding from the west side of the village lit the village’s only forge. A smile he could not suppress deepened the wrinkles on his face. He called out as he happily swung his hammer, forging the pig iron Lu Nanzhu had bought into kitchen knives, pots, sickles, and axes, then divided them among the households in the village.

Lu Nanzhu stepped through the thick accumulated snow and walked around the village. Shiyin Village was not small. Looking at the many abandoned houses in the village, she imagined the prosperity Shiyin Village must have had back then.

When she was young, there had still been more than ten households here. Later, she had run back to the village with an extremely ugly face and disheveled hair. The villagers had mistakenly thought she was a man-eating monster from Tianshan. Just like that, by the time she mastered Heavenly Demon Art and returned, only five households remained in the village.

They were all elderly households with no savings. stolen contentThey could only continue living on this barren land while risking being eaten by the “monster.”

Lu Nanzhu felt the weight on her shoulders. Perhaps in another ten or twenty years, this village would become completely desolate. But before that, she had to protect this place well.

She raised her head. At some point, goose-feather snow had begun falling again. Lu Nanzhu opened her palm, and the snowflakes silently melted in the center of her hand.

After the happiness of sharing faded, that inexplicable feeling from before returned again. This feeling made Lu Nanzhu very uncomfortable.

It was as if she had left something important outside the village, yet could not think of what it was. Her heart could only hang empty.

Thousands of li away in the southwest, the jianghu figures drawn over by Lu Nanzhu arrived one after another below Tianqiong Mountain. Not only was Tianqiong Mountain full, even the inns in the small town were packed.

The jianghu people searched the entire town but could not find any trace of the Ugly Hero. Instead, Situ Kong, the sect master of Tianqiong Sword Sect, joined with Hou Rulie, the sect master of Raging Saber Sect, and the Third Old Master of Huaxia Manor to establish an alliance against the Demon Cult.

Among them, many people were unwilling. The Demon Cult was ruthless and vicious; one careless mistake could cost them their lives. But since they had already come, they could only brace themselves and agree.

The Demon Cult seemed determined to take Tianqiong Mountain. Frictions between both sides grew frequent.

A great battle was on the verge of breaking out!

The Demon Cult sent out all its elites. Not only the Demon Cult’s followers, but even the cult master of the Five Poisons Cult, the cave master of Ten Thousand Snakes Cave, and even the sect master of the Ghost Gate Sect—who had always been rumored to be at odds with the Demon Cult—brought elites to assist.

Finally, on New Year’s Eve, war broke out!

The Demon Cult Master fought Master Jueyuan of Faguang Temple.

The cult master of the Five Poisons Cult fought Situ Kong, the sect master of Tianqiong Sword Sect.

The cave master of Ten Thousand Snakes Cave fought Hou Rulie, the sect master of Raging Saber Sect.

The sect master of the Ghost Gate Sect fought the Third Old Master of Huaxia Manor.

The juniors below fought even more fiercely. The Demon Cult’s Jade-Faced Fox, Gongsun Qing, brought the two envoys Huanghuo and Xiuluo to fight Xia Qinyi, the Young Miss of Huaxia Manor; Su Mubai of Tianqiong Sword Sect; and Monk Jieku of Faguang Temple.

The eight leading figures of the righteous and evil sides fought decisive battles atop Tianqiong Mountain, while the remaining people used the small town below the mountain as their battlefield.

“When enemies meet, their eyes blaze especially red.” Xia Qinyi had nearly fallen into Gongsun Qing’s hands twice before. Without hesitation, Xia Qinyi chose Gongsun Qing as her opponent, while Su Mubai fought Huanghuo and Monk Jieku fought Xiuluo.

Gongsun Qing’s mood was about the same as Xia Qinyi’s. Twice, she had let the Phoenix Blood Saber slip past her. She could not defeat the Ugly Hero, but there still had to be someone she could settle the account with properly!

With a “ding,” saber and sword collided.

Gongsun Qing pressed her sword down against the Phoenix Blood Saber, lowered her head slightly to look at Xia Qinyi, and said with a disdainful smile, “This time, without him helping you, let me see how you protect the Phoenix Blood Saber!”

Xia Qinyi had not expected the Jade-Faced Fox to suddenly mention the Ugly Hero. In that brief daze, Gongsun Qing kicked Xia Qinyi heavily in the lower abdomen.

Xia Qinyi retreated in pain. Tongues of angry flame surged out of her. With a sharp cry, she used the Thirty-Six Heavenly Dipper Saber Techniques. For a moment, fiery red blades swept down like a net from heaven.

Gongsun Qing’s pupils shrank. She had seen this move before. At the time, she had been below the arena. ​bailiantales.com​Only now, facing it herself, did she truly experience this move’s power.

Gongsun Qing retreated several steps in succession, but the saber’s edge was even faster, rushing straight toward her face!

Sweat seeped from Gongsun Qing’s forehead. This young miss had a sweet appearance, yet her moves were actually so domineering and vicious!

Gongsun Qing retreated again and again. A flash of inspiration passed through her mind. She sank her qi into her dantian and leaped high into the air, using the exact same method the Ugly Hero had used that day to break the move.

Xia Qinyi knew very clearly that this move only had two methods of being broken. One was to swing out matching sword qi and cancel it out. The other was to leap into the air and avoid its sharp edge.

Everything was within her expectations!

Almost at the same time as Gongsun Qing leaped, Xia Qinyi also jumped up, swinging the Phoenix Blood Saber in her hand horizontally toward Gongsun Qing’s chest!

Gongsun Qing hurriedly copied the Ugly Hero’s posture, holding the longsword upright before her chest. To prevent the sword from bearing too much force, tilting aside, and injuring herself, Gongsun Qing pressed her right palm against the front end of the longsword.

With a “ding,” the Phoenix Blood Saber struck heavily against the longsword. Although Gongsun Qing, copying the Ugly Hero, managed in her panic to dissolve Xia Qinyi’s attack, the weapon in Gongsun Qing’s hand was not the Canglong Sword after all.

Under Gongsun Qing’s gaze, the longsword bent into the shape of a bow, then quickly returned to its original shape. All the force was transferred into Gongsun Qing’s body.

Gongsun Qing let out a muffled groan and flew one zhang backward before landing unsteadily.

Seeing the Jade-Faced Fox use a move almost identical to the Ugly Hero’s, Xia Qinyi felt an inexplicable anger flare up.

She pressed forward with the Phoenix Blood Saber in hand and, using the Jade-Faced Fox’s tone from [stolen content]earlier, said, “Even if you use the exact same method to break it, the weapon in your hand cannot withstand the Phoenix Blood Saber!”

Hearing the hidden meaning in Xia Qinyi’s words, Gongsun Qing thought of that person who had twice stopped her from obtaining the Phoenix Blood Saber, and she hated him so much her teeth itched. “The Young Miss of Huaxia Manor is actually such a petty person who haggles over every little thing. And he actually took a liking to you!”

What Gongsun Qing said had only been an angry remark. She had not expected Xia Qinyi’s movements to become sluggish again.

Gongsun Qing did not let this tiny opening go. She feinted with poisonous needles in one hand, then stabbed toward Xia Qinyi’s chest!

With a “ding,” Xia Qinyi deflected Gongsun Qing’s sword. “Despicable!”

Gongsun Qing opened the distance between herself and Xia Qinyi, secretly thinking: This saber technique is domineering and fierce, and with the Phoenix Blood Saber added on top of it… if I keep clashing head-on like this, I will probably suffer. Better to disturb her state of mind first. Attacking when she is unprepared is the best plan!

After thinking this through, Gongsun Qing was no longer in a hurry to attack. Holding her longsword, she faced off against Xia Qinyi and looked at her with an expression of understanding. Pretending to be frivolous, she said, “Don’t tell me you didn’t know. He helped you because he admires you.”

“What nonsense are you saying?!” Xia Qinyi’s pretty face flushed red. It was unclear whether she was angered, or embarrassed by the Jade-Faced Fox’s frivolous words.

“Yo, so you really didn’t know? For your sake, he did not hesitate to defy the Cult Master’s holy will. On the arena, he helped you block Huanghuo and Xiuluo. Have you forgotten?”

Gongsun Qing’s voice was not quiet. Xia Qinyi nervously looked around. Fortunately, everyone was focused on their own battles, and no one noticed.

Gongsun Qing saw Xia Qinyi’s reaction and knew her scheme was working. While feeling pleased, another surge of displeasure rose in her heart. Perhaps the lie had been spoken too realistically—even she herself was about to believe it.

Thinking of that dull, foolish, silent gourd, perhaps he had truly helped because he admired the young miss before her. Gongsun Qing felt very uncomfortable!