Frühlingsreise - Kapitel 56
Her compliance made Yang Luoxue glance at her sideways. "Is the person sitting in front of me really Baili Wushuang?"
This person never seemed to speak properly; even a kind word would sound harsh coming from his mouth. But instead of turning away as usual, she quietly said, "It must have been tiring, right? I never expected someone as strange and mean as you to use acupuncture."
Yang Luoxue's expression changed.
"Ten years ago, your master, the Medicine King, used this method to save my father. The Medicine King is the greatest doctor I have ever seen. He was willing to give his own life essence to patients in order to save them. Today, I see the needle marks on your wrist that are exactly the same as those on your master's wrist, and I also see the same signs of weakness... I think I have had some misunderstandings and prejudices against you these past few days. I apologize."
"Don't overestimate me." Yang Luoxue sneered. "I just don't want there to be anyone in this world that I can't cure."
Moreover, he felt a dull ache in his heart—he could only temporarily seal the cold energy in Tang Congrong's hands. Although Tang Congrong could use her internal energy freely, her technique with hidden weapons would be greatly impaired.
He was always arrogant, but this time, even using forbidden techniques like "golden needle acupuncture," he couldn't completely cure his friend.
His hands clenched tightly inside his sleeves, his nails digging into his palms. Nothing could have dealt him a greater blow and inflicted a greater sense of defeat than this. He was almost furious and embarrassed, coldly asking, "What misunderstanding or prejudice? What does it matter to you whether I'm good or bad? Who are you to me?" Baili Wushuang's eyes darkened.
That tightness in her chest, that feeling of suffocation, returned. Even Wuyou had never spoken to her with such sarcasm. Thinking of her master's illness, she held back her words, almost to the point of internal injury.
A commotion erupted on the stairs, and a figure rushed over – it was Jin Ge, one of the maids who had gone to procure quilts for the carriage. She whispered a few words in Baili Wushuang's ear. Baili Wushuang raised an eyebrow; Yang Luoxue could almost see the sword-like aura emanating from her eyes, sharp as a blade. Yes, in that instant, Baili Wushuang was like a sword drawn from its sheath; without the slightest hesitation, she leaped from the window. Jin Ge followed closely behind.
Everyone had left. The helpless sigh that had been suppressed in his chest and abdomen finally escaped Yang Luoxue's lips. He pressed his right hand against his forehead and reached for the teacup with his left—but before he could even bring the teacup to his lips, a red light suddenly appeared before his eyes. A bright red ribbon reached in through the window, wrapped around him, and pulled him out of the window. Just before he hit the ground, the red ribbon tightened its grip, and he landed awkwardly on the carriage shaft.
He was both shocked and furious. "What are you doing?"
His response was a resounding lash of the whip across the horse's rump, followed by Baili Wushuang's cold voice: "Wu Ren's swordsmanship is mediocre; there may be unforeseen circumstances. I'm taking you along just in case."
"I only promised to save your master, when did I become your personal physician?"
Chapter 104
"Get in the carriage!" Baili Wushuang flicked his sleeve, and a surge of sword energy lifted him up and carried him into the carriage. His voice left no room for doubt, "If I don't call you, don't make a sound or get out of the carriage."
"Did you think I'd just come out and meddle in your business?" Yang Luoxue rubbed her sore shoulder, furious. As the eldest disciple of Medicine King Valley and the head of one of the four major powers, how could she have ever been treated like this?
Jin Ge drove the carriage through an alley. "We saw the sword he was holding resembled Qi Feng's, and out of curiosity, we followed. He was about to kill us, but we stopped him. But that man was too powerful; we couldn't disarm him, so I rushed over to report." As he spoke, Jin Ge's face was wet with tears. "Wu Ren... Wu Ren... I don't know what happened to her..."
"Knowing that life is precious, why risk it for a sword?" someone in the carriage said coldly.
He couldn't see Baili Wushuang's expression. Any normal person who saw that wouldn't say those words—of course, perhaps the mean-spirited eldest disciple of Medicine King Valley wasn't a normal person—Baili Wushuang's face was like an ice sculpture, his eyes devoid of warmth, yet possessing an extremely sharp light.
As they drew closer, the rumble of the carriages carried the sounds of clashing weapons. Jin Ge felt a sense of relief; ah, they were still fighting, and Wu Ren was unharmed.
Baili Wushuang leaped away, like a red cloud or a fire phoenix.
"Leave now!" a voice cried out. "If you don't leave, I won't show you any mercy!"
"Qi Feng... cannot be used to kill people!" This was Wu Ren's voice, already panting heavily, with beads of sweat dripping from his forehead.
Her opponent was a tall man with a little girl on his back. The little girl was sleeping peacefully with her eyes closed, completely unaware of the fierce battle around her.
A single glance was enough to determine the difference in strength. The black blade, under the opponent's sword strikes, had lost all its rhythm and was merely instinctively resisting. But the man would pause at crucial moments, clearly showing deliberate leniency.
A man in his forties was left aside, his pressure points sealed. This was probably the man's prey.
Baili Wushuang darted toward her prey, but the man immediately noticed and thrust his sword at her with a "whoosh." Baili Wushuang barely dodged, but had to release her grip. She had underestimated him; she hadn't expected his swordsmanship to be so exquisite, that he was already a first-rate master.
However, the opponent has already been drawn in, and Wu Ren is safe.
"Don't come any closer!" the man roared. "Don't force me to kill you!"
“This is not the person I want,” Baili Wushuang said. “It is the sword in your hand.”
"You'd be better off with my life than with this sword."
"That sword must not be used to kill people."
Baili Wushuang's clothes fluttered without wind, her sleeves billowing – this was the surging of sword energy. Leaves around her fell in droves. She walked towards him, and he was filled with surprise and doubt. Suddenly, his face paled. "You...you are Baili Wushuang?" He glanced back at the little girl sleeping on his shoulder, then gritted his teeth. "No, no, even if it is Baili Wushuang, I cannot delay Xiaoyan's treatment...If you want to take the sword, you must defeat me first!"
He stood firmly in the center, his aura as solid as an abyss, his longsword poised to strike. This was the bearing of a disciple of a prestigious sect, definitely not that of an ordinary master. Baili Wushuang's heart skipped a beat, "You are—"
Chapter 105
With a flash of sword light, he let out a long roar, and the Phoenix Prayer Sword descended from the sky, drawing a streak of light as it slashed towards Baili Wushuang.
This sword strike was dazzlingly powerful, a world apart from the skill he displayed when dealing with Wu Ren. Yang Luoxue, who had only intended to observe from inside the carriage, was slightly startled. She opened the sword case, threw the sword heavily towards Baili Wushuang, and cried out, "Catch!"
The black scabbard flew towards Baili Wushuang with the force of the wind. This throw used all her strength. Yang Luoxue, who was already extremely weak, felt dizzy and lightheaded. When she opened her eyes again, she was stunned.
She did not take the sword.
The Chongli sword fell beside her, but she didn't pick it up.
She was dressed in striking red, tall and graceful like a flying goddess, her face as white as ice and snow. She formed a lotus mudra with her hands in front of her chest, facing the sword.
Even though Yang Luoxue rarely focused on martial arts, and even though he rarely witnessed real life-or-death battles, at this moment, he knew just how dangerous it was—the Qifeng Sword! The ninth-ranked divine sword on the list of legendary weapons in the martial world! How could he possibly catch it with his bare hands?
He subconsciously turned his head to the side, unable to bear the sight of blood and flesh flying everywhere.
But—the imagined scene didn't happen. The overflowing sword energy stopped the moment her hands met Qi Feng's. A faint red glow seemed to emanate from her fingertips, gripping Qi Feng. Veins bulged on the man's forehead as he desperately tried to break free of her hand seal. The two energies clashed fiercely within the red glow formed by her hands. Suddenly, a flash of blood appeared within the red light, and a bloody crack appeared in Baili Wushuang's palm.
Immediately afterwards, another hand appeared.
Blood trickled down her wrist and into her sleeve. Her face, however, remained as white as ice, and the red glow between her brows, as if it had been drinking blood, was dazzlingly bright.
Jin Gewu Ren cried out in surprise.
Along with their gasps came the man's scream. The two intertwined energies reversed course along Qi Feng's sword, striking him heavily. He could no longer grip the sword and fell backward. Just as the girl on his back was about to be crushed to the ground, he struggled to roll over in mid-air and land on his knees.
Jin Ge Wuwan rushed over to check Baili Wushuang's wound. Just as Jin Ge was about to tear off his sleeve to bandage Baili Wushuang, he suddenly remembered that the world's number one divine physician was right beside him. He looked up and saw Yang Luoxue getting off the carriage and walking quickly toward Baili Wushuang, taking her pulse.