Hua Ye, who had been all smiles, screamed at this moment: "Watch out!"
Before she could finish speaking, the lantern fell to the ground with a thud. Jue Ye flew back to her side, blood gushing from one of his arms.
Gong Feicui grabbed one of his torn sleeves and said coldly, "What a pity, what a pity, such fine fabric..."
Hua Yehua, her face pale, supported Jue Ye and asked anxiously, "How are you?"
Jue Ye said angrily, "I think my arm is ruined."
The little devil, who had been observing coldly, suddenly spoke up: "This is what happens when you underestimate your opponent." With a leap, he lightly landed from the top of the sedan chair without making a sound.
Upon seeing this, Gong Feicui took a half step back.
The reason she injured the lecherous ghost was not because her martial arts were superior to his, but because he underestimated her. The little ghost, with just a light leap, displayed a speed and agility far surpassing the lecherous ghost, clearly demonstrating a higher level of martial arts skill.
Moreover, even if she could defeat the little devil, the Ghost King remained seated in his sedan chair, never showing himself, and countless other ghosts lurked around, watching with predatory eyes. The outcome of this battle was already predetermined; it was only a matter of time.
From my angle, I could see her eyelashes trembling incessantly. Finally, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly turned to me and said, "Sister Qiansu!"
I reflexively replied, "Yes, Miss."
"Even if members of the Gong family are to die, they should not die at the hands of despicable and shameless scoundrels. Do you understand?"
I lowered my eyes and replied, "I understand."
"Very well." She smiled sadly, then suddenly snatched the long sword from Jin Zhao's hand and slashed it at her own neck.
I suddenly opened my eyes wide. Her action was magnified countless times in my vision, repeated over and over again—
Suicide?
Suicide!
A strange feeling welled up in her heart, but before it reached its peak, with a "whoosh," a white feather pierced through the air and struck Gong Feicui's wrist squarely. Her longsword immediately slipped from her hand, and she groaned as she clutched her hand. The white feather fell to the ground; it was a headless arrow.
A commotion arose among the ghosts, and Du Sanniang exclaimed, "Look!"
Without her calling out, everyone could see it: in the distance, bright lights were being lit one after another, stretching into a continuous expanse in the pitch-black night, growing ever closer.
Much like the scene when the hundred demons appeared, a flute melody drifted through the air, melodious and clear, like the vast, flowing Yangtze River. Amidst the flute music, a person clapped their hands and sang: "On the water lies a city, named Baili, its trace unseen, its name only heard. There is a phoenix, sharpening its feathers and flapping its wings, riding the wind and swiftly passing the moon, galloping far and wide. You sing by the river, seeing only my heart; let us return, and together we shall find refuge..."
Baili City?
Could it be—Baili City?!
Volume 1, Chapter 9: Returning Home (1)
Section 1 New Master and Old Acquaintances
"Bai Li City!" Feng Qiansu suddenly exclaimed.
Before I could even raise my eyes, I heard the Ghost King suddenly shout, "Kill her!"
A figure immediately rose up in response; it was the little devil, who pounced on me from mid-air, waving his flute with unpredictable and lightning-fast movements.
The incident happened suddenly. Although I moved quickly, my retreat was no match for his swift forward lunge. In the blink of an eye, he had overtaken me.
I was exhausted. My wrist was still unable to lift after being struck by that headless arrow. I could only watch helplessly as the silver flute flashed with a blinding light and headed straight for my face.
Just then, the delicate sound of the flute that had been playing continuously in the air suddenly intensified, turning from melodious to angry, from gentle to roaring, like a dragon soaring with a storm, or like thunder and lightning striking down.
My blood surged, and I could barely stand. The little devil's face also turned pale, and he swayed several times. He couldn't care less about attacking me anymore. Suddenly, he crossed his hands and put the flute to his lips—a sharp flute sound suddenly pierced the night sky and traveled far away, intertwining with the sound of the xiao.
The flute and xiao, played with internal force, were like two wild and untamed dragons, tearing at each other in the pitch-black night. The flute's sound was sharp and invincible, like a blade, but the xiao's sound had the power of thunder, and even the heavens and earth seemed to change color.
This battle between the flute and the xiao, though intangible, plunged everyone present into an abyss of pain.
Feng Qiansu, who knew nothing of martial arts, was the first to fall to the ground. Next were the ghost soldiers with slightly weaker martial arts skills. Then, ghost heads including Jue Ye and Du San Niang all fell to the ground, using their internal energy to protect their heart meridians in order to save themselves.
I never cared about martial arts from a young age, but under my father's pressure, I became quite proficient in the authentic internal martial arts techniques, laying a solid foundation. After circulating my internal energy for only one cycle, my mind would be completely at peace.
At this moment, the balance of power between Xiao and Di had begun to shift.
The flute's sound grew weaker and weaker, losing its initial sharpness. Even the melody it played involuntarily echoed the sound of the xiao (vertical flute), managing to change the key twice to resist it, but was quickly absorbed back into the tune... This repeated two or three times until suddenly a "ding" was heard, and the flute sound disappeared instantly. It turned out that the little devil had lost control and smashed the silver flute on the ground, and he also suddenly sat down.
In the moonlight, his still-childish face was deathly pale, living up to his nickname—Little Devil.
He struggled to prop himself up on one side, and said haltingly, "It's...it's very good..."
Before he could finish speaking, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Two giggles suddenly rang out in the night sky, followed by a crisp female voice that spat out, "How dare you compete with my young master in internal strength! You are truly overestimating yourself! If my young master hadn't taken pity on someone in the arena and refused to use his full strength, would you have been allowed to act so presumptuously until now?"
Another, more composed female voice chimed in: "Sister Liuyun, don't underestimate this person. His martial arts are not only the highest among all the ghosts, but his skill in using a flute to wield a sword is also unmatched in the entire martial arts world."
"Is that so..."
The woman named Liuyun was about to say something when she was interrupted by a faint male voice.