Among those who participated in the hunt for Yuan Ting Shan were Yang Qing Feng, whose martial arts knowledge was vast and eclectic, specializing in unorthodox techniques and skilled in commanding beasts. Shu Xiu, a sorceress from the southern frontiers, was no less formidable, possessing many secret scrolls and arcane techniques. Keeping a hundred paces distance from Yang Qing Feng, they advanced side by side. Ning E Mei abandoned his iron halberd and carried two throwing axes in a quiver on his back, leading over a dozen light cavalry who dismounted and entered the forest, forming a fan-shaped formation with crossbows to press forward. Meanwhile, the elderly Taoist priest Wei Shu Yang, moved like a mountain sprite, leaping between branches, coordinating with Ning E Mei from above and below. These three forces spread a net of pursuit, hunting down the young swordsman.
After entering the forest, Yang Qing Feng occasionally crouched to examine the faintest traces on the ground. At first, the footprints were spaced evenly and deeply, making the chase effortless. But soon, the tracks grew fainter and the steps widened abruptly. The fugitive no longer simply stepped on the ground but placed his footing on tree trunks and stones. Yang Qing Feng halted, half-squatting, extending two pale fingers to pick up some soil, sniffing it. With his other hand, he retrieved three black mice with red claws from a small pouch at his waist, sprinkling the soil near their noses. The little creatures darted swiftly into the depths of the forest. At some point, Shu Xiu appeared beside Yang Qing Feng, speaking casually, “Didn’t expect this kid to have some skill. I think we should split up and widen the distance. Otherwise, we might both end up hanging from the same tree, and that would be embarrassing to face the Young Lord.”
Yang Qing Feng, with his gloomy disposition, nodded. He had no desire to work with this woman anyway; acting alone was best, allowing him to employ his covert techniques freely. Shu Xiu, not daring to neglect the important task assigned by the Young Lord, waved her sleeves and changed direction, soaring like an eagle, lightly stepping on branches like a dragonfly skimming water. After several leaps, she reached the treetops, not looking into the distance but closing her eyes and slightly wrinkling her small nose. Suddenly opening her eyes, a smirk appeared on her lips. Her body dove swiftly downward like a swift bird, changing direction within the forest, following a trail of scent relentlessly. The swordsman was cunning, deliberately concealing his footprints, but Shu Xiu could still track him by scent against the wind, murmuring seductively, “You naughty boy, making your sister work up a sweet sweat. When I catch you, I’ll skin you alive.”
Half an hour later, Shu Xiu twice caught sight of the swordsman’s back. Once, the swordsman didn’t flee but instead ambushed her, his entire strong body clinging like a gecko to the back of a tree trunk. Had Shu Xiu not sensed the heavier presence and deduced that this little bastard was nearby, she would have been split in two by a sudden slash as she passed. After skillfully dodging the deadly strike, Shu Xiu retreated, her hands and feet sticking to a nearby tree trunk as she looked down at the grinning young swordsman. She gently patted her ample bosom, batting her eyes coquettishly, “Oh, little brother, don’t you know how to cherish a beauty? I’ve been worrying about you all this way for nothing.”
Yuan Ting Shan, relentlessly pursued by this woman but showing no signs of anger, sheathed his sword and chuckled, “My little brother isn’t that small. If you don’t believe me, just wait until it’s just the two of us. Yuan Ting Shan will make sure you reach the heavens in ecstasy.”
Shu Xiu, clinging to the tree like a spider, replied with a sultry gaze, “You’ve got such a sweet mouth.”
Yuan Ting Shan’s ears kept a slight tremble as he tapped his legs with his sword, the heavy lead weights wrapped around his calves shattering and falling to the ground. He laughed, “Your lover is about to arrive, brother. I don’t have the taste for a battle between two dragons and one phoenix. I’ll take my leave first. If your mother were still around, I’d invite her to join us in a big bed. With a beauty like you, your mother must still be charming. With both peaks in sight, attacking from front and back, brother would have no choice but to surrender. Too bad it’s only you today. I’ll have to decline!”
As he teased her, Yuan Ting Shan, freed from the weight of dozens of pounds on his feet, moved backward with exceptional agility, vanishing instantly. Unhurried in her pursuit, Shu Xiu slowly descended, extending her delicate tongue to lick her lips, chuckling, “Daring to tease me, huh!”
After this brief clash, the clever Yuan Ting Shan began fleeing with the wind, no longer leaving clues against it, which greatly enraged Shu Xiu. When she reunited with Yang Qing Feng by a stream, she saw him crouched, picking up a heavy iron inner coat from the ground. Nearby, a black rat was pinned to the earth by a branch. Her mood improved slightly as she looked across the stream, sniffing the air and frowning, “This kid’s martial arts aren’t too bad, but he’s as cunning as a fox. This chase won’t end well. His lightness skill is clearly the foolish path of carrying heavy burdens, estimating at least twenty pounds of weight. In a footrace, neither of us would fear him, but his sword strikes will only get faster. Don’t you dare to fail here, Yang. If Lü Qiantang died, you shouldn’t fall here too. I’d be so lonely.”
Yang Qing Feng grunted coldly, stepping onto a stone preparing to leap across the stream. Although Shu Xiu seemed to be chatting idly, she was continuously sniffing for Yuan Ting Shan’s scent. The scent drifted from afar, and the wet footprints on the stream bank pointed to him having crossed the stream and entered the forest. But as Shu Xiu sniffed, her expression suddenly changed drastically, “Watch out! This kid turned back and is hiding in the water!”
As her words fell, water erupted violently from the center of the stream, a blade thrusting out, calculating Yang Qing Feng’s flow of energy. At the precise moment when Yang Qing Feng’s body angled downward between breaths, the ruthless blade struck perfectly. Fortunately, Yang Qing Feng slammed his feet together, rising like a cloud, lifting his body a full zhang higher. But if he had stopped there, Yuan Ting Shan’s determined strike would still have severely wounded Yang Qing Feng’s legs. Shu Xiu’s mind raced instantly, gritting her teeth as she kicked a stone, shooting toward Yuan Ting Shan’s temple like a green dragon emerging from water. In this rapidly changing situation, Shu Xiu, an outsider to the clash, seized the initiative. If she didn’t interfere, Yang Qing Feng would almost certainly suffer. Shu Xiu’s kick created two subtle possibilities: the stone hitting the blade would best help Yang Qing Feng escape, but this stone aimed directly for Yuan Ting Shan’s fatal spot. Shu Xiu’s strategy of watching the tigers fight was timed exquisitely.
Without hesitation, Yuan Ting Shan withdrew his blade to block the stone, his body sinking into the stream, then exploding from the water, leaping to the opposite bank, laughing as he departed, “Little sister, you’ve got a new lover but haven’t forgotten your old flame. So greedy! Be careful not to ruin your appetite!”
Yang Qing Feng, expressionless, lightly touched the water’s surface with his toes, a swallow skimming water as he glided to the opposite bank, saying indifferently, “I owe you one.”
Shu Xiu narrowed her eyes but said nothing.
Yuan Ting Shan ran desperately through the forest, twice having carefully set ambushes taking full advantage of terrain and timing, yet failing to kill the pair. Though not disheartened, he still felt some frustration. As Shu Xiu had said, he practiced lightness skills by carrying burdens, unlike the privileged children of martial families who were often trained from infancy by masters in their clans. Martial cultivation should begin early, for young minds are free of distractions, aligning with the clarity and purity required for martial cultivation. Training at a young age not only shapes the body and builds a solid foundation but also allows for easy mastery due to flexible bones and joints. Yuan Ting Shan came from the lowest rungs of society, never having the advantage of early opportunities. Without support, he had spent over a decade pursuing martial arts, enduring humiliation and hardship. He had joined a second-tier sect, training with iron weights even while sleeping, treating every fight as a life-or-death struggle. When his sect was destroyed, he waited two years for revenge, slicing his enemy, a second-tier expert, into two plates of meat to retrieve a secret manual. If he were born into a martial family, even a minor one, he wouldn’t have to risk his life for a half-finished manual. Thus, he must make Xu Qing Feng his woman, even if it meant becoming a son-in-law to the Xu family. Once accepted by the Xu clan, he could focus on cultivation at Gu Niu Gang, aided by Long Hu pills, combining internal and external training to reach the peak of martial cultivation! Whether the Xu family treated him like a stray dog or not, when the day came that he controlled Hui Mountain, not only would every Xu woman in Gu Niu Gang become his plaything, but even the Taoist immortal mountain of Long Hu would fall to his blade!
My bright future cannot end here!
Yuan Ting Shan’s face contorted with fury as he ran madly through the mountains. The madder he became, the more meticulous his mind grew. He smeared his body with leaves and dirt to mask his scent, moving with the wind. As long as he lived, he would crawl to the pinnacle of power, where the second strongest in the world, Wang Xian Zhi, the sword immortal of Peach Blossom, Deng Tai A, and the unbeatable strategist, Cao Chang Qing, stood. There were countless secret manuals, divine weapons, and countless beauties who looked down on him, waiting to be trampled. Such a wondrous martial world, how could Yuan Ting Shan bear to die!
In Zhi Zhang City, Murong Tong Huang sat on a poor straw mattress, the inn walls plastered with bamboo and lime, offering little soundproofing. The mud walls bore many crude poems written by poor travelers or vulgar insults from coarse guests. Though the Murong family was not of high status, they were a proper scholarly clan, a respected literary family in Jian Zhou. Murong Wu Zhu clearly found the simple room uncomfortable, filled with anxiety. Murong Tong Huang, however, seemed resolved to stay in this dangerous place, calmly examining the inscriptions on the walls. There was a writing desk with the four treasures of the study, and he asked his distracted sister to grind ink, taking a low-quality soft brush to comment on the crooked poems and vulgar writings on the walls. Murong Wu Zhu gazed at his back, trembling as she asked, “You really plan to betray that benefactor?”
Too timid to break the final barrier, she dared not speak the truth outright.
Murong Tong Huang continued writing, scoffing coldly, “Benefactor? Do you believe he’ll ask us to warm his bed tonight? Do you think any of these military aristocrats are truly good people? Even if that man holds back for a day or two, will you soften your heart? Slowly boiling tofu, he’ll strike when you’re least expecting it, devouring you until not even your bones remain. Murong Wu Zhu, let me make this clear: that dagger is for you to kill yourself with. If you dare to become that man’s concubine, I’ll find a chance to stab you dead!”
Murong Wu Zhu wept, “Even now, you still think of going to that Phoenix Tree Palace?”
Murong Tong Huang suddenly turned, his face dark. Murong Wu Zhu, frightened, stepped back, leaning against the opposite wall, trembling.
Murong Tong Huang gritted his teeth, “I just want to live a little better than a dog!”
Murong Wu Zhu, eyes brimming with tears, ran to Murong Tong Huang and tightly embraced him, sobbing uncontrollably. Years ago, if her younger brother hadn’t stabbed a dagger into the eye of a relative within their clan, she would have been violated at the age of ten. So no matter how timid or weak she was, whatever he said, Murong Wu Zhu would do it. Murong Tong Huang hesitated slightly, gently patting his sister’s frail shoulders. These two siblings, born into a family where even their scheming and cold-hearted parents could not be relied upon—who else could they turn to? What kind of parents would constantly think of selling off their children? Who would openly say, “Our boy and girl are rare goods”? If not for the loyal old servant who had died helping them escape after their grandfather’s death, they wouldn’t have even made it out of the Murong estate! If not for his years of planning and the secret help of three scholars who claimed to be upright but were actually lustful men, they wouldn’t have escaped Jian Zhou! One of those self-righteous scholars had once secretly intercepted them, only to be swiftly stabbed to death by Murong Tong Huang, who feigned cooperation. Throughout their journey, Murong Wu Zhu could cry and cry, but Murong Tong Huang could not! Gently pushing his sister away, he playfully drew mustaches on his face with the brush, finally making her laugh through her tears. Murong Tong Huang then wiped away her tears, his eyes resolute, “No one in this world will ever care for us. So if we must die, let’s die together, okay?”
Murong Wu Zhu nodded.
As the knock came and the door opened, Xu Feng Nian looked at the unfortunate siblings, speaking gently, “Do you really want to go to that Phoenix Tree Palace in the capital?”
Hearing his innermost thoughts, Murong Tong Huang, furious and ashamed, pulled the dagger from Murong Wu Zhu’s sleeve, ready to fight this despicable man to the death.
Xu Feng Nian looked at the pretty young man’s mustaches and said calmly, “What if I could send you to the imperial palace? Would you really go? Or what if I could offer you a life slightly better than a dog’s? Would you accept?”
Murong Wu Zhu’s eyes sparkled with hope.
Murong Tong Huang sneered, “Who do you think you are?”
Xu Feng Nian remained calm, “Aren’t you curious why I have crossbowmen guarding me? Don’t you wonder where those repeating crossbows came from? Or what kind of swords those elite guards carry? Murong Tong Huang, you’re supposed to be smart. What region does my accent come from? Why do I know Chu Lu Shan?”
Murong Tong Huang, still resentful, spat, “What do I care what a mule like you has to say?”
Xu Feng Nian smiled, “That crossbow is called the Huang Shu Crossbow. In the empire, handheld and foot bows aren’t rare, but the Huang Shu Crossbow is uncommon. You were the concubines of the old Xu, but this crossbow is exclusive to the Bei Liang army.”
Xu Feng Nian continued calmly, “As for the standard swords, they have a rather grand name—Bei Liang swords. Have you heard of that?”
Bei Liang swords.
Murong Wu Zhu was still somewhat dazed, but Murong Tong Huang’s face turned pale, the soft brush in his hand dropping onto the bed.
Xu Feng Nian walked over, picked up the brush, smiled, and drew two strokes on Murong Wu Zhu’s face, nodding approvingly, “You look better than your brother. He’s got a bad temper and a stubborn mind, not at all lovable. When you, the older sister, have grandchildren all around you, he’ll still be alone and pitiful. He deserves it.”
Murong Wu Zhu’s face turned rosy red, her delicate skin seeming to drip with water.
Xu Feng Nian handed the brush back to the tense Murong Tong Huang, speaking softly, “Believe me or not, just accompany me to Gu Niu Gang, and I’ll prove it. Honestly, if I had any ill intentions toward you, would I have gone through the trouble of killing twenty Xu riders first? Would I be here enduring your cold looks?”
The old man with one arm and a sheepskin coat stood at the door, leaning lazily, picking his nose with one finger, speaking indifferently, “Don’t believe this little bastard’s lies. That one with the male parts is okay, even if he looks too feminine, at least he’s a man. But you, sister, better watch out. Who knows when you might end up in his bed. This kid’s skill at seducing innocent girls rivals mine from back in my prime.”
Xu Feng Nian, annoyed at being undermined, retorted angrily, “Go to hell! On this journey, have I touched anyone? Fish You Wei, Pei Nan Wei, or even Shu Xiu? I’ve been more monk-like than a monk!”
The old man smirked, patted his butt as he walked away, and indeed let out a loud fart.
Even Murong Tong Huang was left speechless.
Xu Feng Nian, not wanting to stay and make a fool of himself, cursed and stormed out, planning to visit the grave of Xun Ping outside the city.
Murong Tong Huang suddenly asked, “What do you want?”
In a foul mood, Xu Feng Nian snapped, “Fine! I admit I’m lusting after your sister’s divine beauty. Warning you, if you dare to encourage your sister to hide knives again, I’ll slap your little bird so hard it’ll turn you into a woman for good!”
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