Guide sur le vent et la fumée

Chapitre 6

Lou Lou pinched her cheek and smiled gently: "Why don't you believe me? Your mother's power-dissolving powder is indeed powerful. I have no choice but to send you back to get the antidote."

So that's how it is. Hmph, she knew her mother's Dissolving Power Powder was unparalleled; how could a mere lackey like her possibly neutralize it?

But I still have some questions: "What do you need to do today?"

Lou Lou shrugged: "I went through so much trouble to snatch the Seven Return Spirit Sand, of course I'm going to sell it."

Well, she had never imagined that he was actually very poor.

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Published on 2013-06-13 12:21 Show only posts by this author (on the bench)

2. Celestial Beings in Purgatory

Lou Lou led Yun Chan to a desolate, wild place.

Everywhere here are ruins and rubble, even the open spaces are covered with gravel, barren of everything. Several withered trees are perched with crows, their occasional eerie cries echoing through the air. Yet, amidst these ruins stands a complete...

The pavilion was perfectly intact. There were people inside, who seemed to have been waiting for them for a long time.

Lou Lou led Yun Chan toward the man, holding a medicine bottle and saying, "I brought the Seven-Return Spirit Sand."

The man turned around, revealing a gaunt face with sunken eyes that blended seamlessly with the surrounding scenery. A sinister glint flashed in his eyes as he reached out to Lou Lou, saying, "Give it to me."

Lou Lou put away the medicine bottle, spread his hands and smiled: "How can that be? We have to exchange money for goods."

The man gave a twisted laugh, his voice like that of a damp, crawling insect from the ground: "Fine. You'll come with me to see the Pavilion Master."

Looking at that person, Yun Chan felt a chill run down her spine; she felt uneasy no matter how she looked at him, so she unconsciously moved closer to Lou Lou. Lou Lou sensed her movement and chuckled softly, "Scared?"

Yun Chan shook her head, stubbornly clinging to her pride.

"If you're scared later, just close your eyes."

"Who's afraid? I already said I'm not afraid."

Lou Lou chuckled upon hearing this and took her hand.

The man in front tapped twice on a stone wall in the ruins, and an entrance quickly appeared in the ground, clearly leading to a secret passage. However, he blocked the two from entering the passage, pointing to the knife at Lou Lou's waist and saying, "Give me this for now."

.

Yun Chan immediately felt uneasy and tugged at his sleeve, trying to signal him to refuse. However, Lou Lou didn't care at all and deftly untied his knife and handed it to the man.

After confiscating their weapons, the man finally led them into the secret passage. The underground was dark and damp, and Yun Chan quickly became disoriented by the winding, branching passages. Growing increasingly uneasy, she glanced at Lou Lou, and seeing his composed expression, she relaxed slightly.

Relieved, Yun Chan walked for a long time before finally seeing stone steps leading upwards, which seemed to lead to the outside. Seeing the person climbing the steps, Yun Chan quickly followed behind and climbed out of the dark passage, where her eyes were suddenly opened to a bright light.

In stark contrast to the desolate scene just now, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call this place a paradise.

A dark green forest filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, with a jade-like lake nestled in the middle, and a grand and exquisite pavilion on the water, with white gauze curtains fluttering lightly, making one think of a fairyland.

There was no bridge across the lake, and the guide poled a small boat carrying the two towards the pavilion. Yun Chan's unease grew, and she quietly tugged at Lou Lou's sleeve: "Can you swim?"

This place is surrounded by water on all sides; if something happens, it seems like there's nowhere to escape.

Lou Lou didn't answer, but instead laughed at her: "Oh, it seems you can't swim."

Yun Chan, who valued her reputation, got annoyed, snorted, and stopped talking. Anyway, she was his antidote to the dissolving poison; if she couldn't live, neither could he.

In no time, the small boat had reached the pavilion in the center of the lake. Climbing the wooden stairs to the pavilion, it was even more magnificent up close, with railings carved from the finest white jade. However, as beautiful as it was, the group of people standing inside the pavilion were quite an eyesore.

The people stood in neat rows at various corners of the pavilion, and without exception, they all had gaunt, withered faces. Their only sign of life was their sinister eyes, which, upon catching sight of Lou Lou and Yun Chan, all radiated a fierce light, like wild beasts eyeing their prey.

A radiant, excited light.

In the center of the pavilion, on an elegant couch, lay a middle-aged man, dressed in extremely luxurious attire. He appeared to be the owner of the place, though his complexion was even more sallow than Yun Chan's, with dark circles under his eyes and purple lips. Yun Chan then realized that this man must be...

The buyer looks like he's about to die, no wonder he wants to buy Seven-Return Spirit Sand to prolong his life.

The middle-aged man looked at Lou Lou with a somewhat terrifying smile: "Hand over the medicine, and you can ask for mountains of gold and silver."

Despite saying that, judging from the expression on the person's face, Yun Chan didn't think he was someone who could be asked for money at will.

But to everyone's surprise, Lou Lou replied even more absurdly: "Forget about mountains of gold and silver, give me your life instead."

Hearing his shocking answer without warning, Yun Chan didn't even have time to react before she felt a gust of wind rush past her.

Lou Lou moved so fast that he couldn't even see his shadow. In the blink of an eye, he had already snatched a knife from the man's hand and was now right in front of him. With a flash of light, the man's blood gushed from his neck, staining the white gauze in front of the windowpane red.

The turn of events happened so fast that no one saw how he slit the man's throat. By the time the people in the pavilion came to their senses and rushed towards him from all directions, Lou Lou had already retreated to Yun Chan's side, sheathing his sword and standing there like a ghost.

Warm, bright red blood flowed down from the tip of the knife, leaving Yun Chan's mind blank.

The man with the knife quickly resumed his slashing, silently slicing open the chests or throats of everyone rushing towards him, while he stood by like an outsider watching a painting. Fortunately, he remembered Yun Chan was nearby, protecting him from the attacks from all sides.

When it affected her, he still had a conscience and would try to protect her.

Lou Lou's sword strike was clean and graceful, as effortless as waving a feather fan.

But the splattered blood still blurred Yun Chan's vision. The surrounding gauze curtains were stained red, obscuring their original white color; the Immortal Abode had become a pool of blood in an instant.

When everything fell silent again, the man's features once more exuded an air of serene purity. He stood in purgatory, but beneath his feet lay not blood, but vibrant red lotuses.

The celestial being in hell smiled and reached out to Yun Chan, saying, "Didn't I tell you to close your eyes if you're scared?"

Seeing that she didn't react, Lou Lou casually threw down the knife, picked up the stiff Yun Chan and looked her over for a while, then frowned and said, "It can't be that bad, you're so scared."

Although Yun Chan claimed to be a member of the martial arts world, she was actually a pampered young lady who had been well protected since childhood and had not witnessed many scenes of killing. Now, smelling the overwhelming stench of blood, her face turned deathly pale and she felt like vomiting.

Lou Lou stroked her head comfortingly, as if he were holding a kitten: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'll take you home in a bit."

A loud voice suddenly rang out above their heads: "You can't go home, but the gates of the underworld are open to you!"

Lou Lou looked up and saw another group of people appear on the second-floor corridor of the pavilion. The middle-aged man in the lead looked exactly like the person whose throat he had just slit.

He put down the cloud cicada and laughed, "No wonder. I thought that even if Elder Yu's martial arts were not good, he wouldn't be able to kill as easily as cutting vegetables. It turns out that what he just saw was a fake."

The man standing above laughed heartily: "That sir was incredibly insightful. My lord, you are indeed not dead."

Lou Lou remained calm: "You took a slap from me on the day you betrayed us, but you're still alive and kicking. As the head of the Ink Pavilion, I can't be worse off than you."

The middle-aged man's expression changed, and he said fiercely, "You think you're still the master of the Ink Pavilion? Let me tell you, the Ink Pavilion is now under my control, Yu Jinzhi! You managed to escape that day by luck, but you won't be so lucky today!"

Lou Lou looked very surprised: "It seems your palm injury has fully healed?"

Yu Jinzhi smiled smugly: "You did indeed inflict a fatal wound on me that day, so I spread the word that I wanted to find the Seven-Return Spirit Sand from Xiaming Manor to prolong my life. If you were still alive, you would definitely use this opportunity to come back and kill me." He became more and more pleased as he spoke, and then laughed with his head tilted back.

He tapped his fingers twice. "As expected, my lord always thinks he's clever. You wanted to lure me out with the Seven Returns Spirit Sand, but little did you know that it was all a trap we set for you. Today, I have laid a net that will surely leave you with no way to escape."

Lou Lou's expression remained unchanged: "I found it strange when you betrayed me. You shouldn't have been able to do this. While today's scheme was barely acceptable, it's still not something you could have come up with." He paused, then suddenly gave a seductive smile.

"It seems you have someone backing you. Tell me, who is it?"

"Ha! You should ask King Yama in the underworld about that!" Yu Jinzhi's face twisted, and with a wave of his hand, many more people poured out from the high pavilion, more than three times the number of the previous ones.

Lou Lou was somewhat disappointed: "That's it? You think you can defeat me by sheer numbers? Elder Yu can't be that naive, can he?"

Yu Jinzhi ignored him and uttered a single word to the crowd: "Go."

The attic, which had barely quieted down, was once again filled with the glint of swords. Lou Lou, holding Yun Chan in one arm, picked up a knife with the other and continued chopping vegetables; soon, more corpses piled up at his feet. After slicing open another person's heart, he even took a moment to turn to...

Yun Chan said, "Be good, close your eyes."

Yun Chan glanced at the mangled limbs scattered on the ground and just wanted to pass out.

Lou Lou, however, was killing with great force. Seeing his hellish appearance, the besieging crowd was terrified, and many of them slowed down, causing their attacks to become chaotic.

Standing on the second floor, Yu Jinzhi sneered, "Don't be afraid, everyone. That lord said he's been poisoned by the 'Power-Dissolving Powder,' and the more he uses his power, the faster he'll die. He's already endured several fierce battles; he won't last much longer. Whoever can kill him today..."

The Lord will surely bestow upon you the position of Elder, and from then on, you will enjoy boundless wealth and honor!

The chaotic offensive intensified once again.

Yun Chan glanced at Lou Lou's neck and noticed that the blue mark had indeed lengthened and deepened considerably, causing her to feel alarmed. As if knowing what she was thinking, Lou Lou comforted her in a low voice, "Don't worry, I can take care of them before I can dissipate my power."

He had barely finished speaking when several more men lunged at him, this time targeting Yun Chan. Lou Lou, holding her, spun around to avoid them, severing one of their heart meridians with a single kick. Seeing this, the others became enraged and charged forward with their blades. In that brief moment, Yun Chan fell into the hands of one of their men.

In his hands.

No wonder my mother used to say when she scolded my father that men are all talk and no action. Xia Yi is just like that, and so is Lou Lou.

Yun Chan thought she was about to be hacked to death by the man who had captured her, but instead, he roughly pulled her up to the second-floor corridor. There she saw a circle of archers who had appeared out of nowhere, firing their weapons at the sluice gate below.

bow.

Yu Jinzhi looked at Lou Lou, who was locked in combat below, and his smile became even more twisted: "My lord, for the sake of our past master-servant relationship, if you obediently hand over the 'Boundless Technique,' I might spare your life."

"Wishful thinking." Lou Lou's voice was devoid of warmth. He swung his sword and killed the last enemy at the bottom of the building, then looked up in the direction of Yun Chan, lost in thought.

Yu Jinzhi's face darkened: "Hmph, you think I can't find it just because you refuse to hand it over? Since you're determined to cut off your own path to survival, I'll grant your wish today. Fire the arrows!"

Instantly, a rain of arrows flew towards the only living person still standing below. Lou Lou sneered and raised his sword to parry.

Yu Jinzhi gritted his teeth: "I don't believe you can hold out for long. Keep going!"

Meanwhile, upstairs, Yun Chan was tightly bound, watching Lou Lou below being attacked by a hail of arrows, her heart filled with terror. Suddenly, her hand touched the dagger at her opponent's waist. In a panic, her mind went blank, and she drew the dagger and plunged it into her opponent's hand.

She grabbed the other person's thigh, and the person restraining her immediately felt pain and instinctively let go, pushing her away.

Unexpectedly, with this push, Yun Chan lost her balance and tumbled over the railing, falling to the first floor.

Mother, now she really is going to die with Lou Lou, pierced by a thousand arrows.

Upon catching sight of the cloud cicada suddenly falling, Yu Jinzhi was greatly alarmed and waved his hand, shouting to the archers, "Stop!" But it was too late; another volley of arrows had already been released.

Lou Lou's expression changed when he saw Yun Chan suddenly fall. However, the arrows were dense and fast, and it seemed that there was no way to save her. Suddenly, a strong wind rushed in from outside the door, knocking away all the arrows.