"Wait, Ci Sheng and Bai Yan haven't come out yet..."
Before he could finish speaking, another loud bang rang out from somewhere. Ning Xian felt anxious and was about to go into Bai Yan's room when he saw Ci Sheng helping Bai Yan out from inside the thick smoke.
"Alright, they're fine, let's go!"
"etc!"
—Still waiting? Feng's face immediately fell.
"Kinnara! He's still in his room!"
Feng really wanted to say... why did he have to go save the people of Youmingtian? But after looking at Ning Xian, he compromised—"I'll go find Kinnara, you all get out of here immediately!"
Ning Xian nodded vigorously, helped Ci Sheng support Bai Yan, and the three of them ran towards a flat and wide area.
However, before they even left the Bai residence, several people suddenly jumped in from outside the wall and began hacking at the three of them.
"Ci Sheng, take care of Bai Yan!" She drew her long whip, its barbs extended, hooked onto the opponent's knife, and with a forceful twist, flung several knives away. Without pausing for a moment, ignoring the fact that the opponent was unarmed, she lashed the barbed whip fiercely at the group, blood and flesh splattering everywhere, leaving their pink and purple clothes mottled.
Bai Yan stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what he was seeing—his young and charming "sister-in-law," whose appearance was as fragile and easily damaged as a hibiscus flower—
"she--"
"Don't speak, come with me!" Ci Sheng repeatedly dodged attacks from enemies, fortunately or unfortunately, most of their attention was focused on Ning Xian, and they paid little attention to "small fry" like them, which allowed him to temporarily protect Bai Yan. He had to get him to a safe place as soon as possible—
But at this moment, where in the Bai residence is there any place that is safe?
Several men had been attacking for a long time without success, indicating they were not highly skilled in martial arts. Ning Xian only wanted to escape quickly and take the two away, so he showed no mercy. However, suddenly, the attackers all stopped and leaped towards the door. Behind them, a man dressed in a gray-black outfit walked in—
"The Great Protector of the Xuanlang Sect?" Ning Xian was still smiling, but he had lost his confidence.
"My name is Chu Zheng. I originally thought that Kalavinka of the Ninth Division of the Netherworld was just a figurehead, but now it seems that's not the case. So let me play with you for a while and send you on your final journey—"
Chu Zheng's broadsword whistled as it fell, and Ning Xian's heart sank. Her whip was useless against such a heavy weapon. She quickly used her whip to pick up a knife from the ground to meet it, but the impact made her arm go numb, and the blade was already chipped.
Within a single move, the disparity in strength became apparent.
………………
Feng rushed to the backyard, regretting that he never interacted with Kinnara and had never paid attention to which room he lived in. After several explosions, half the house had collapsed, so he decided to abandon the collapsed rooms and only search the intact ones—if Kinnara was unfortunately in one of the collapsed rooms, then it was just bad luck!
After searching several rooms, he finally found Kinnara in a half-collapsed room. Kinnara was still lying on the bed, wrapped in a quilt and fast asleep, completely unaware of the dust and pebbles that had fallen on him.
He clenched and unclenched his fists, wishing he could just sleep and die here!
Gathering his inner strength, he shouted, "King Kinnara!!" The sound resonated directly in his mind, and Kinnara suddenly sprang up from the bed, his eyes wide with confusion, asking, "What's wrong? What happened!?"
—Huh? Why is this room "ventilated"? Where's that half-wall over there?
………………
"Ning Xian!"
Ci Sheng tossed a longsword to Ning Xian, who caught it, drew her sword to avoid a direct confrontation, and attacked Chu Zheng. Watching her movements, a cold smile appeared on Chu Zheng's usually stern face, "It seems that Jia Ling is not only good at whip techniques, but also at swordsmanship."
"You talk too much nonsense!" Ning Xian stubbornly tried not to let him see her panic—yes, panic. She had never felt panicked towards an enemy before. Even if she was weaker, she would only fight with all her might, never feeling fear. Only this person, from the first moment she saw him, she felt a strange unease—she hated this person, both hated and feared him. Chu Zheng smiled coldly, "Everything's almost ready outside—the game ends here."
He attacked, his broadsword whistling through the air. Ning Xian barely dodged it, but he hadn't expected a follow-up move: a kick that struck Ning Xian squarely in the back of the heart.
She suddenly lost all strength and flew several feet away, crashing in front of the pavilion. Chu Zheng did not continue the pursuit. With a wave of his hand, he led his men out of the courtyard. Ning Xian realized what was happening and was horrified, but she was already unable to get up. She could only shout to Ci Sheng, "Get out of here!!"
In an instant, several lit gunpowder barrels were thrown in from the air, exploding with a deafening roar—
In an instant, she felt that slender and gentle body come to her, forcefully grab her under the armpits, pull her up, and drag her away desperately.
Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ci Sheng's Thoughts
"This is...?" Ci Sheng looked at the white eagle, which seemed quite intelligent. Ning Xian patted the feathers on her hair and replied, "It's the dead bird the sect leader keeps! Because the sect members often travel around without a fixed place, the carrier pigeons often can't find their destination, so the Right Envoy uses the sect leader's dead bird and its offspring, both dead, as carrier pigeons." She couldn't tell which one it was; she called anything white "White Feather." This dead bird certainly knew how to find its target, always aiming for the head!
Ning Xian reached out and grabbed it, untied the paper tube from its paw, glanced at the words on it, and said to Ci Sheng, "I'll be right back." Then he flew away with the white fur.
"Wooden Kite!"
Mu Yuan turned around upon hearing the voice and saw Ning Xian arrive. She teased, "Why do you miss me so soon after just leaving with me?"
"I don't miss you, it misses you!" Ning Xian tossed the white feather out, which swirled in the air in a beautiful arc before landing precisely on the wooden kite's head. The wooden kite, not wanting its image to be ruined, dodged to the side and caught it.
"Why is White Hair here? Is something the matter?"
Ning Xian handed over the note, "It's a warning talisman from Yanyu Pavilion, but it doesn't say what's going on."
“That’s strange. When did Ni Chang start doing such vague and unpredictable things? Something’s odd. It seems we need to go and find out more… I’ll find someone to come with me. You stay here.”
"Huh? Why do I have to stay here?"
"You haven't received your divorce papers yet, huh?"
"..." Don't leave her alone in such a boring place, so unloved by her fellow disciples...
Mu Yuan quickly went to find Kinnara, who was still hungover and vaguely aware that his plan had been ruined, though he wasn't quite sure how badly it had gone wrong. He agreed when Mu Yuan asked him to go, and then went back to sleeping soundly.
"You think you can get him drunk with that little alcohol tolerance?" Mu Yuan scoffed.
He simply ignored Kinnara and turned to find Feng—although he didn't know what had happened at the Misty Rain Pavilion, that they didn't even have time to properly send a message? He just wanted to go and see, and the two of them were enough.
Youmingtian had hidden sentries throughout Zhanzhou, and Yanyu Pavilion was the largest of them. It was responsible for gathering information and relaying news from various places. Because it always acted discreetly, and most of the people in Yanyu Pavilion were ordinary people from the entertainment industry, it was well hidden and had never had any problems. Therefore, Mu Yuan didn't pay any attention to it, or rather, he never paid any attention to it at all.
Dongfang Qingming had once told him that he would eventually be killed by his own carelessness, but he had never taken those words to heart. Yet now, for no apparent reason, he suddenly remembered them. Was he getting old, becoming prone to remembering trivial things?