Wei Li remained silent.
When he looked into the arena, he realized that Kongshanling was probably doomed today.
"In fact, these people have long harbored rebellious intentions, haven't they?" Wei Li said slowly, looking at the leaders of the various sects in the arena.
Fu Ming replied without turning his head, "You, the 'Master of Empty Mountains,' are indeed utterly unqualified."
Upon hearing this, Wei Li couldn't help but smile wryly. Although he was the master of Kongshan Ridge, he rarely interfered in the affairs of Kongshan Ridge. After Wen Moyin grew a little older, most of the affairs of Kongshan Ridge were handled by this young lady.
Wen Moyin appears gentle but harbors great ambitions, determined to further expand Kongshanling's influence in the martial world. However, she is arrogant and ruthless, often resorting to unscrupulous means, which has drawn criticism from many martial arts sects. Over the years, Kongshanling has made quite a few enemies. Most of these enemies, however, are wary of Master Kongshan and his ten secret guards, and have maintained a facade of harmony. Now, the Longmen Sect has seized the opportunity presented by the Kongshan Festival, instigating several sect leaders to openly stand atop the South Peak under the guise of participating in the festival, awaiting the Longmen Sect's arrival.
Wei Li felt a heavy weight in his heart. This was the first time in his life he had encountered a gamble with absolutely no chance of winning. He watched as Cen Ji gradually exhausted his strength, unable to make a move. And those heavy coffin lids were like a guillotine hanging over Ban Lan's head.
Fu Ming had his back to Wei Li, seemingly unguarded, but in reality, Wei Li's path was firmly blocked by Fu Ming. As the only leader of the Dragon Gate Sect who could rival Master Kongshan, Fu Ming's skills were in no way inferior to Wei Li's. Given his cunning nature, the fact that he dared to leave his back to Wei Li meant he wasn't afraid of Wei Li attacking him from behind.
The sun overhead had long since shifted from its original position, and the shadow grew longer and longer, seemingly able to travel all the way to the horizon with the sun.
Finally, Cen Ji swayed as a long blade slashed at him from the side, cutting his arm.
There was no blood left to see, because blood was everywhere, or perhaps, he had no more blood left to bleed.
Wei Li looked down at her feet and finally said, "You want the secret manual hidden in Kongshan Ridge, is that it?"
*******
On the South Peak, the wind and clouds surged, while Banlan staggered up the mountain from the bottom.
She swung a withered foxtail grass in her hand, strolling leisurely, looking even more carefree than those dashing poets riding donkeys to admire the mountains and rivers.
She walked slowly because she walked hesitantly.
She really wanted to see how arrogant Cen Ji would be after becoming the Master of Kongshan, but she was also afraid that it would be embarrassing if he saw him.
To put it bluntly, she simply changed her mind suddenly and wanted to see what it would be like to see her beloved being fawned over by a crowd of heroes. Although she was very resistant to Kongshan Ridge, the fact that the glorious position of Lord Kongshan was occupied by someone she loved and who loved her in return made her, as a woman, feel a sense of vanity, pride, and honor.
With such mixed feelings in her heart, she turned back halfway. But she had only reached the foot of the mountain when she hesitated again due to fear, and after dawdling for a long time, she finally reached the middle of the mountain.
"Alas, how can heroes be troubled by love!" Ban Lan had only heard this from a storyteller in the teahouse yesterday, and she put it to use today.
"I'm just going to take a look, it's not like it's anything shameful!" Ban Lan threw the dry grass in his hand to the ground and strode up the mountain.
As she neared the summit, she finally noticed something amiss.
She found the empty mountain ridge unusually quiet today.
Or rather, it was deathly silent. This oppressive silence made her even breathe cautiously.
Ban Lan was puzzled. She hurried up the main peak, passed through two courtyards, and arrived at the main hall. She found the hall in a mess, with bloodstains on the floor and walls that had turned black, indicating that a fierce fight had taken place.
Ban Lan was increasingly alarmed as she looked. Just as she was about to leave, she suddenly stopped, held her breath, and listened intently. She then heard a faint breathing sound a few steps away, but the sound was so weak that it was barely audible.
Ban Lan followed the sound and slowly walked over, finding Zhai Huan lying on the ground behind a large mahogany chair.
His face was deathly pale, his eyes closed, as if he had already breathed his last. Ban Lan rushed forward, helped Zhai Huan up, and called out, "Zhai Huan, Zhai Huan!"
Zhai Huan slowly opened her eyes, initially looking dazed, but after a moment, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes.
Ban Lan hurriedly checked him over, but found no wounds. It was clear that Zhai Huan had suffered extremely severe internal injuries.
"You...you..." Zhai Huan's voice was muffled and hoarse, as if his throat was smeared with blood.
"What's going on?" Ban Lan asked anxiously, grabbing Zhai Huan's shoulder tightly.
"Betrayal..."
Ban Lan was about to ask more questions, but seeing Zhai Huan's pale face, she decided to find a doctor for him first.
"Wait a minute, I'll go find Doctor Sun!" Ban Lan was about to get up without thinking, but then she glanced around the hall and felt that it wasn't safe to leave Zhai Huan here.
"Hey, do you know where there's a safe place?" Ban Lan asked, looking down.
Zhai Huan raised his hand with difficulty, as if pointing in a direction.
After sustaining severe injuries, he originally planned to go to Bitan through the tunnel entrance to inform Rong Fu about the Dragon Gate Sect's surprise attack. However, due to his severe injuries, although he escaped the pursuit, he was too weak and collapsed in the hall. Fortunately, no one from the Dragon Gate Sect returned to check on him, otherwise he would have suffered the same fate as Chu Ba, with his limbs severed.
Ban Lan stood up and walked halfway around the wall of the main hall. Finally, she found a tunnel behind a painting. She didn't bother to ask Zhai Huan if this was the place. She just walked back quickly and tried to pick Zhai Huan up. Unfortunately, she was a woman and couldn't lift a man who was much taller than her. She could only half-drag and half-carry him, trying to hide him in the tunnel.
"You...you don't need to...don't worry about me..." Zhai Huan managed to say, barely managing to catch her breath.
Ban Lan supported Zhai Huan from behind with both hands. Zhai Huan was much taller than Ban Lan and was a man, so Ban Lan struggled to drag him for more than a few steps.
"You...you go..." Zhai Huan felt like she was about to breathe her last.
Ban Lan clenched her teeth, ignoring Zhai Huan's words, her pretty face turning red from the strain.
"I'm saying you..."
"You, you, you, you, you!" Ban Lan was suddenly filled with anger. She stomped her foot and scolded, "You can talk your way out of a breath. Do you even want to live? You're such a nagging man, you talk more nonsense than you spit!" After saying that, Ban Lan glared at Zhai Huan and continued to drag him toward the tunnel.
While Ban Lan was dragging Zhai Huan along, Zhai Huan wished he could just die.
He vividly remembered his sarcastic remarks to Ban Lan, which had utterly ruined her image in front of all the heroes, making her a laughingstock in the martial arts world. Now, he was severely injured.
She disregarded past grievances and saved his life, which truly made him, a grown man, feel ashamed.
After finally settling Zhai Huan in, Ban Lan took a moment to catch her breath and said, "I'm going to find Doctor Sun. You must hang in there! You may be annoying, but at least having someone you can't stand makes things less boring."
Zhai Huan leaned against the mud wall, slowly turned her head, and weakly curved her lips into a smile. "Thank you."