Fragrance rises to dance - Chapter 51
"Your Excellency commands." The handsome man, around thirty-five years old, was Fallen Moon, one of the "Four-Cracked Moon" attendants at Li Ling's banquet.
Liu Jiecui, with her fiery temper, was quick to leave, whipping her sleeves and rushing out. Duoyue bowed to Li Lingyan and followed her out like a shadow.
In the bamboo-shaded courtyard, a figure pruning flowers and trees slowly straightened up. It was a woman with a loosely tied hair bun and flowing clothes. She was probably in her early thirties, but she looked like she was only twenty-three or twenty-four. "Master, do you really think Liu Jiecui can kill Shengxiang?" she asked in a low voice. Her voice was like a bright pearl and a gentle stream. As soon as you heard it, you felt as if you were sinking into it and dying in that tender affection.
“We can’t kill it.” Li Lingyan sighed again. “Huaiyue, I told you not to cut it, why didn’t you listen? Let the flowers and plants grow however they want.”
Huaiyue, with her hair disheveled and cloud-like, said softly, "I like cutting hair." After a pause, she added, "Since we can't kill her, you're sending Duoyue along?"
“There’s someone who’s been on Mount Daming for two months now, but I haven’t been able to find him,” Li Lingyan said slowly. “Do you know him?”
"Yu Cuiwei?" Huaiyue emerged from the flower bushes, scissors in hand. She was the kind of woman who was particularly delicate, and when she came out of the flowers, she looked as gorgeous as a fairy.
"Hmm..." Li Lingyan said slowly, "The burning of Bingzhu Temple by Xiyue didn't hurt many people in Bingzhu Temple, but it greatly damaged the temple's prestige, didn't it? Yu Cuiwei defected on the Han River, causing many temple members to die or be injured. I heard that the temple is very dissatisfied with him. He has to do something that can win people over, right?"
"Is he coming to kill you?" Huaiyue didn't even blink.
“I don’t know.” Li Lingyan smiled. “I only know that if Shengxiang is in danger, he might come out to save her.” He said softly, “Yu Cuiwei’s weakness is that he is too obsessed with the feeling of being treated like an ordinary person. Few people besides Shengxiang can do that, especially since he is so beautiful, it is easy for people to have evil thoughts about him.”
"You're sending Duoyue to protect Liu Jiecui?" Huaiyue sighed softly. "I don't like that woman."
“But she is very useful,” Li Lingyan said with a smile.
“She’s a fool who’s easy to take advantage of, isn’t she?” Huaiyue sighed gently and continued to bend down to trim the flower bushes she had her eye on.
“She’s not stupid.” Li Lingyan sighed with regret, “It’s just… she fell in love with the wrong person.”
Shengxiang and Pan Yu'er sat for most of the day, but in the end, Pan Yu'er couldn't resist his nagging and had to get up and return to Qingzhu Hongqiang. She was only skilled in medicine and didn't know martial arts, otherwise she wouldn't have been helpless against Shengxiang. Shengxiang followed her slowly with a smile, while she felt annoyed but helpless.
As they entered the mountains of Daming, Shengxiang, who had never wandered in such desolate wilderness before, pulled Pan Yu'er along and asked her all sorts of questions. What kind of tree is this? What kind of flower is that? What kind of stone is this? Pan Yu'er couldn't understand this person at all. He was clearly an enemy, yet he acted as if he were closer than a friend.
After walking around a small grove of trees, Shengxiang pointed to a strange-looking plant under a tree and asked her, "What kind of plant is this? It looks so strange."
It was a short, solitary flower, emerging from the ground like a bamboo shoot. It had only one large, thick leaf, and the flower itself was strangely shaped, displaying three colors: yellow, white, and purple.
“That’s turmeric,” Pan Yu’er replied. “It’s a medicinal herb.”
"Can it bring the dead back to life?" Shengxiang asked with a smile. "It looks so strange, it must be a very special medicine. Shall we pull it back?" As he spoke, he squatted down on the ground to look at the turmeric with great interest.
"It's only used to promote blood circulation, relieve pain, and calm the mind." Pan Yu'er, whose head was throbbing from his nagging, said calmly, "For example, if your heart rate is too slow, taking it might help. It won't kill you, but it won't save your life either."
"Don't you dare curse me!" Shengxiang jumped up unhappily. "I'll try to live to be seventy or eighty and become a thousand-year-old centenarian. Don't you dare curse me."
"It's a pity you didn't have that chance; you're going to die now." A figure flashed, and a woman dressed in tight green stood in front of Sheng Xiang. Her appearance was quite beautiful, but a murderous aura made her completely devoid of any feminine gentleness. Behind her was a man in a moon-white robe, who nodded to Pan Yu'er, "Miss Pan, you've had a hard time."
"Hey, hey, hey," Shengxiang frowned at Pan Yu'er, "you actually led me into a trap?"
Pan Yu'er blushed slightly. "I didn't."
"She was just leading you around the mountain aimlessly. There's no trap for me. Prepare to die!" Liu Jiecui was not a woman who cared about right and wrong. She was infatuated with Li Lingyan and regarded Shengxiang as her enemy. With a "whoosh," she thrust her sword at him. "Lingyan's father was killed by your parents, wasn't he? I heard that I could tell from your appearance that you were Xiaoji's son. I'll kill you first to avenge Lingyan!"
Shengxiang's precious folding fan was broken at Wudang, but he bought a new one along the way. This time, the fan he waved from his sleeve was exquisitely beautiful, even more extravagant than the previous one. Not only was it edged in gold, but it also bore the four characters "A Thousand Years of Elegance" written in black and white on white paper, making one want to secretly curse his ostentatious display. With a flick of his fan, Shengxiang deflected Liu Jiecui's direct attack and said with a smile, "Isn't my new fan beautiful?"
Liu Jiecui ignored him and shouted sternly, "Pan Yu'er, you go back to the mountain immediately! You and I, Duoyue, will join forces and take Shengxiang's life within ten moves!"
With that, she lunged forward, sword and all, thrusting the sword straight into Shengxiang's chest with fierce force and a chilling wind. This lunge was called "Martyrdom," a deadly technique that made Liu Jiecui famous in the martial world. Shengxiang turned and ran, muttering to himself, "Bad luck in leaving home; there are madmen everywhere in this world." His lightness skill was superb; there were truly few in the world who could catch him when he turned and ran.
But Liu Jiecui caught up, and not only did she catch up, her leaping momentum remained, but the increased distance made her attack even more ferocious. Shengxiang turned around and was truly shocked—it was Xiao Jingjing's "Spring Breeze Ten Miles Alone"! Yu Cuiwei had deceived Xiao Jingjing's feelings and her martial arts. This lightness skill was something even the young master Shengxiang couldn't dodge. He immediately dodged to the side, hiding behind a tallow tree in the small grove.
With a sharp crack, Liu Jiecui sneered as the thick tallow tree shattered under her combined thrust, splintering wood everywhere. Undeterred, she continued her pursuit. At that moment, Duoyue swept her sword across Shengxiang's back, silently aiming for a cross-shaped slash across Shengxiang's waist and chest!
In the nick of time, a gust of wind whipped his clothes and hair. Shengxiang hadn't expected that Liu Jiecui, a mere woman, could actually chop down a large tree. Hiding in the woods had only made his path blocked by the trees, leaving him nowhere to dodge. He was naturally lazy, preferring to avoid direct confrontation rather than fight. If he could escape, he would run; if not, he would drag others down with him while he hid behind them. Now, Shengxiang was utterly helpless. His expression changed slightly as he looked up—the large tree that Liu Jiecui had chopped down was slowly, but deadly, falling down on him. In that instant, he had no time to think of a plan. He roared, using his right hand to block Liu Jiecui's sword strike with his fan, while simultaneously snapping off a branch from some unknown tree in the woods with his left hand, and dashed backward.
With a soft "thud," Shengxiang deftly caught the flat edge of Liu Jiecui's longsword with his fan in his right hand. Gritting his teeth, he twisted it forcefully, using the side of the fan to brace the blade and forcefully deflect Liu Jiecui's powerful downward strike in front of him! A sharp "crack" was heard behind him; the branch he had broken off, of unknown origin, was no match for the blade of the Fallen Moon sword and snapped instantly upon contact. However, Shengxiang's plan was flawed. His left hand lashed out with a powerful, forceful strike, snapping the branch and sending it hurtling towards the Fallen Moon's head. Shengxiang flung the broken branch at the sword's blade, then, taking advantage of the moment the sword's momentum faltered, he grabbed it with his bare hand—this was his last, desperate burst of strength—and twisted it sharply, bending the steel longsword. Then, with a sharp sidestep, Shengxiang released his right hand, drawing Liu Jiecui, who was pressing down with all his might, towards him. His left hand was embedded in the curved blade, but he wouldn't let go. He pulled the sword-wielding Fallen Moon closer, ignoring the blood streaming down his hand and the gaping wounds, and suddenly withdrew his grip, opening his folding fan—
With a sword strike imbued with all the power of her life, Liu Jiecui plunged straight into Duoyue's chest!
Pan Yu'er was dazzled by what she saw, but when she saw this scene clearly, she couldn't help but scream in surprise.
At this moment, Liu Jiecui shouted sharply, "Left palm!" She lunged forward with her right palm, sword and all. The sword strike of the Martyr's Sword was fierce and powerful; if Shengxiang had held out any longer, she would have been unable to withstand it, and she herself would have been unable to retract it. Duoyue extended her left palm to block, and the two palms collided in mid-air with a loud "bang," sending them flying backward and crashing to the ground, panting heavily. After regaining their senses, they looked up, but the terrifying Shengxiang had already vanished without a trace!
Liu Jiecui, still panting, stared at Duoyue in utter terror.
She had killed countless people in her life, and countless martial arts masters had been cleaved in two by her sword. But this sword was repeatedly blocked, and in the end, she almost accidentally killed her friend when she lost control. This was something she had never encountered before in her life!
Although Duoyue rarely spoke to Li Lingyan, her expression changed slightly and her eyes widened, clearly still shaken.
What a brilliant move by Sheng Xiang! His true martial arts skills, let alone a two-on-one fight, might not even be a match for Liu Jiecui. However, he was quick-witted and adaptable in battle, utilizing every possible tactic. Although he was a wealthy young master living a life of luxury, he possessed a ruthless streak—he risked a severe injury to his left hand to provoke a clash between their swords, a move that involved first injuring himself and then his enemy—a move that no weak-willed person could execute.
But seeing his escape in the face of danger reveals why Shengxiang is Li Lingyan's enemy—he is simply too agile, agile to the point of being cunning, like a wild rabbit that has sensed danger, changing in an unpredictable manner in the face of life and death.
"Yu'er!" Liu Jiecui finally caught her breath after a long while. "Where did he escape from?"
Pan Yu'er shook her head, her face pale. "I didn't see it. I only saw a flash of sword light, and then the tree fell down."
"He's given it his all. I don't believe he can vanish into thin air," Duoyue suddenly spoke, enunciating each word clearly. "Unless someone comes to his aid..."
“Let’s go back to the mountain…and tell Lingyan that there might still be enemies in the mountains…” Liu Jiecui. Song took a few breaths and stood up. “Let’s go quickly.”
The sacred incense certainly didn't disappear into thin air.
He dragged the two of them together, and when Liu Jiecui and the Fallen Moon Sword Force clashed, he had indeed given it his all. But he was careful and made sure that when he was thrown out, he crashed into the bamboo. The bamboo branches bent and bounced him off, sending him flying to the top of a nearby tree.
Liu Jiecui and Duoyue, unaware that he was right above them, quickly left.
“I thought—Yu Cuiwei would save you,” a voice said softly from the side.
Half-dead, Sheng Xiang hung half-suspended from the tree. "But I know you like ambushes, you like to hide and wait for your chance. Li Lingyan, Li Lingyan, you're the kind of fisherman who likes to stir up trouble and then wait for his opportunity..." He had never suffered such a "serious injury" in his life, his hands covered in blood from a sword cut. He felt like he was about to die. "It hurts so much..."