Meister der Mehrdeutigkeit

Kapitel 52

Lian Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and was about to sheathe his sword when suddenly, a broken arrow flew towards him. His brow furrowed, and he swung his sword to slash at it. Unfortunately, the arrow was too fast; upon touching the blade, it bounced and flew straight towards his throat. Lian Zhao reacted quickly, narrowly avoiding it, but a bloody gash still appeared on his neck.

The broken arrow fell to the ground, making a few abrupt sounds in the quiet, dark passage.

Lian Zhao looked up at Wen Su beside him.

Wen Su did not sheath his sword; the coldness in his eyes sent chills down one's spine.

Lian Zhao stood up, his grip on the knife tightening.

Wen Su lowered his eyes, smiled faintly, and said, "The secret passage is dangerous; please be careful."

"What exactly do you want?" Lian Zhao asked.

Wen Su sheathed the knife in his right hand, but his left hand remained unyielding. "I do not understand what Young Master Lian is referring to."

“You know it in your heart,” Lian Zhao said.

Wen Su shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't know. ... However, I've advised Young Master Lian many times already. Young Master Lian was born into an official family, why bother getting involved with us martial arts people? Besides, Xiao Xiao is still young and inexperienced. Young Master Lian, you shouldn't act impulsively and go too far..."

Lian Zhao wanted to refute, but after thinking it over, he remained silent. After a while, he spoke: "Whether Lian Zhao is good or bad, she will decide for herself. There's no need for you to worry, Uncle."

Wen Su frowned. "Arrogant." After saying that, he drew his sword and attacked.

Lian Zhao was not surprised at all by the sudden attack. He blocked it with his sword and then kicked Wen Su in the waist.

Wen Su sheathed his sword, flipped over, and landed behind Lian Zhao. He then thrust his sword forward, undoubtedly using a killing move.

Lian Zhao dared not relax for a moment. He turned around, lowered his body, and blocked the blade.

Wen Su raised his right palm and struck straight at Lian Zhao's chest.

Unable to dodge, Lian Zhao had no choice but to raise his palm as well, taking the blow head-on.

The force of their palms clashed, and Lian Zhao's knife slipped from his hand in an instant, forcing him to stagger back several steps.

Wen Su chuckled, "The Daoist Shaoyang Flow Internal Force, 'Pingyan Zhengzong'... indeed powerful and substantial. It's just a pity that without twenty years of cultivation, it's difficult to achieve anything significant."

Lian Zhao's breathing was erratic, and his pulse was quickening. He frowned and said, "The Mysterious Moon Heart Sutra..."

Most people in the martial arts world practice Daoist internal energy cultivation. The Shaoyang School's "Pingyan Zhengzong" is one such lineage. As Wen Su stated, the Shaoyang School's internal energy is peaceful and gentle, requiring gradual and time-consuming cultivation. However, the Taiyin School's "Xuanyue Xinjing" from Wen Su's East Sea sect is different. Although it is yin, cold, and stagnant, which is detrimental to the body, it only requires three to five years of practice to achieve a minor level of mastery.

At Lian Zhao's age, he would be no match for Wen Su in terms of internal strength.

A smile played on Wen Su's lips as he gripped his knife in a backhand grip and charged forward. Lian Zhao had nowhere to hide but a wall behind him.

Just then, the walls on both sides of the secret passage suddenly shook, and then the two walls began to close rapidly.

Lian Zhao and Wen Su were both startled. They immediately abandoned their original struggle and tried to stop the wall from pressing down on them.

Even with profound inner strength, how could they compare to a thick wall? The wall pressed closer and closer, completely restricting their movements, and they were about to be turned into mincemeat.

Suddenly, a soft "click" was heard, and the wall stopped. The stone door in front slowly opened, and a small peek was made, then the person froze in place in surprise.

She was terrified and stammered, "I...I pressed the wrong button...I'm so sorry, so sorry..."

The two seemed angry, yet not angry; in short, the strange atmosphere left Xiao Xiao feeling somewhat bewildered. She swallowed hard and glanced at Lian Zhao. Lian Zhao's face was pale, and his breathing was shallow and rapid, clearly indicating that his internal energy was damaged.

She reached out and pulled him out of the crack in the wall, asking with concern, "Are you alright? Did you get crushed?"

Lian Zhao looked up at her, then shook his head with a smile.

Xiao Xiao breathed a sigh of relief, but then noticed the still-bleeding wound on his neck. She immediately took out a small paper packet from her pocket. "I have some hemostatic medicine. You can apply it first." She was about to hand the packet over when she realized something was wrong, so she took it back and said, "You can't see the wound. Let me do it."

Lian Zhao was stunned and at a loss for what to do.

The little finger had just touched the medicine and was about to apply it when Wen Su spoke, "This place is not safe to stay for long."

Her small hand froze, and she glanced timidly at Lian Zhao.

Lian Zhao nodded and said, "Let's leave here first..."

Xiao Xiao carefully packed away the medicine bag and was about to suggest that everyone go back.

Wen Su looked at the people on the ground, squatted down, woke one of them up, and asked, "Where is Ling You?"

The man gritted his teeth and remained silent.

Wen Su snorted coldly, gathered his strength in his thumb, and pressed his finger against the Tianchong acupoint next to the man's ear.

The man screamed, choking on a mouthful of blood. Then, pointing to a hidden door, he said in a trembling voice, "...Go left after that door..."

Wen Su nodded, then tightened his fingers slightly. The man let out a muffled groan, his body convulsing violently before he died.

Xiao Xiao gasped in horror. What a ruthless method! Her master had demonstrated this killing technique when teaching her acupoint striking. However, back then, her master used a wooden dummy for practice. Moreover, her master had repeatedly warned her: This method is insidious; just observe it. If it is used on a living person, there will surely be retribution in the future.

At that time, she even asked her master out of curiosity if he had ever used this move.

The master just smiled helplessly and said nothing.

This method is insidious and will surely be punished. These words were deeply imprinted in her mind. As she was thinking about this, she saw Wen Su make his move, about to use the same method to deal with the remaining people.

Xiao was startled and was about to step forward to stop her, but someone beat her to it.

Lian Zhao grabbed Wen Su's hand and said, "They are already powerless to resist. I will not allow you to use poison."

Wen Su frowned, about to say something, when he saw Xiao Xiao beside him. He reluctantly withdrew his hand and said, "Young Master Lian is kind-hearted, I admire him."

Seeing this, Xiao Xiao immediately stepped forward and said, "Let's hurry up and go, it will be terrible if Ling You and the others get too far away!"

Wen Su stood up and strode forward with an icy expression.

She let out a small sigh of relief and wiped the sweat from her brow.

“Xiao Xiao!” Lian Zhao suddenly spoke, his tone full of tension.

I was slightly startled, not understanding why.

Lian Zhao pulled Xiao Xiao up and said, "You have the Three Corpse Divine Needles on your back..."

She froze, then gasped! The situation was urgent; she'd forgotten to unplug it!

She immediately put her hands behind her back, quickly pulled out the needle, and said, "It's okay, it's perfectly fine!"

In her haste, she pulled too hard, and the needle ripped open her coat. She was even more surprised. "Ah, it's alright, I have another coat. We shouldn't stay here any longer, let's go!"

After she finished speaking, she ran away quickly.

Lian Zhao stood there, slightly puzzled, then something suddenly occurred to him. He had seen that silver-white undergarment before. Once, her left shoulder was torn, and underneath was also this silver-white undergarment. She had been struck by the Three Corpse Divine Needles, yet remained completely unharmed. Could it be protective armor?

Fragments of memories instantly connected in her mind: her left shoulder, the armor, the arrow in her hand…

"Lian Zhao?" Xiao Xiao stepped back when she saw that he didn't move. "Are you... alright?"

Lian Zhao looked up and shook his head.

Xiao Xiao smiled and reached out to help him. "I'll help you."

Lian Zhao watched her quietly and followed silently.

...

The three remained silent the entire way. There were no traps or hidden weapons along the route, and the atmosphere was eerily quiet.

Xiao Xiao frowned. Along the way, Lian Zhao's breathing had become increasingly erratic, definitely indicating internal injuries. But the secret passage they'd just been in only traps; any injuries should have been external, not internal. How could his internal energy have been damaged? Unless…

Xiao Xiao raised her eyes and glanced at Wen Su's retreating figure. No way… no, it's not entirely impossible. The East Sea and the Imperial Court are sworn enemies, and her martial aunt is known for her ruthless nature. Good heavens… how could she have let these two be alone together?!

Xiao Xiao immediately reflected on her actions.

“Xiaoxiao…” Lian Zhao began, his tone hesitant.

She looked up at him with a guilty expression.

Lian Zhao hesitated, then finally just smiled and said, "Could you please slow down a bit..."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" Xiaoxiao quickly apologized.

Lian Zhao smiled and said nothing more.

“Young Master Lian, if you are not feeling well, there is no need to force yourself,” Wen Su said, turning around.

Lian Zhao didn't answer and continued walking in silence.

Wen Su frowned slightly, his eyes filled with displeasure.

The atmosphere was tense when the three of them suddenly heard a burst of wildly joyful laughter.

"Hahaha... It's a success! It's finally a success!"

The voice was old; it must be Ling You.

“Five years, I’ve waited five whole years…and this day has finally come…” Lingyou’s voice was mournful, like a sob.

“Master Lingyou, it’s too early to relax. The female Gu hasn’t fully formed yet, I’m afraid…” Another voice rang out; it was the manor lord, Shen Chen.

"Oh, it's alright. We only need two more girls to breed a female Gu," Ling You said.

"Hmph, two young girls... If it weren't for that Silver Owl's interference, the female Gu would have already been cultivated!" Shen Chen's voice was full of anger, completely lacking his usual weak and gentle demeanor.

“Master, there’s no need to worry. I’ve already planned this out. Haven’t two new maids arrived in the manor? These two are no ordinary women. They’re more harmful than helpful to our plans. Using them to refine Gu worms would be killing two birds with one stone, wouldn’t it?” Ling You said.

Xiao Xiao felt utterly helpless upon hearing this. Heavens above… practicing Gu cultivation? What had she done to deserve this?

“Those two are both quite influential. If anything happens to them, I'm afraid my Jiyu Manor can't afford it,” Shen Chen said after a moment's thought.

“The lord’s performance yesterday has already fooled everyone. Besides, that Miss Zhao Yan is from Hero’s Fortress. If she can speak up for the lord, we can easily extricate ourselves from this matter with a little trick,” Ling You said.

The two fell silent at this point, seemingly having reached a consensus.

"Why haven't those people come back yet?" Ling You suddenly asked, asking about something else.

Shen Chen was also somewhat surprised, "It really has been too long..."

Wen Su smiled, reached out and pushed the door open, then went inside.

Shen Chen and Ling You were both greatly surprised when they saw who had come.

"I'm sorry, those people won't be coming back," Wen Su said slowly, his hand lightly resting on the hilt of his sword.

...

Three people make a crowd

"I'm sorry, those people won't be coming back," Wen Su said slowly, his hand lightly resting on the hilt of his sword.