Fengcheng Flying General

Chapter 11

A casual voice sounded behind him. Pang Ban turned around in fright. Jun Yu was still standing on that open ground, looking up at the new crescent moon in the sky, and suddenly sighed.

"Such a beautiful day, yet it is a day of cruel fate." A voice followed the sigh, the connection seamless, as if it were uttered by the same person.

Junyu continued to gaze at the crescent moon: "Zhu Yu, you've finally come."

Under the moonlight, Zhu Yu, dressed in flowing white robes, stood with an arrogant expression: "If I don't come and test my skills against the legendary invincible 'Five-String Hand', how can I not sleep or eat in peace?"

“Young master, you…” Pang Ban said somewhat nervously.

"Why aren't you leaving?"

Pang Ban lowered his head and took a few steps back with the group of assassins, but did not leave.

"Get out of here!" Zhu Yu shouted. Pang Ban and the others had no choice but to turn around, help up the wailing assassins on the ground, and leave in a hurry.

Once everyone had completely disappeared from sight, Zhu Yu said arrogantly, "Junyu, we're bound to have a fair fight sooner or later. Why not do it right here and now?"

"It looks like it won't work today..." Junyu laughed, "because other friends have come to greet me."

Zhu Yu's expression changed slightly. Suddenly, he heard an extremely shrill scream, emanating from one of Pang Ban's guards. This was followed by several muffled groans. He leaped forward, exiting the banyan grove. Ahead lay a wide path, with only a few sparse small trees lining either side. The moon was high in the sky, casting a bright light. The air in Hanjing Garden was thick with the stench of blood. A dozen or so corpses lay scattered on the grass on either side of the path, their brains splattered, chests sunken, the cause of death unreadable. Especially the seven who had been wounded earlier; though their brains were spilled, their eyes were wide open, their pupils revealing boundless terror, making them appear utterly bizarre.

The dead were all assassins from the Prime Minister's mansion. Pang Ban and the others were not among the corpses, presumably they had escaped. Under the moonlight, Zhu Yu's face was deathly pale. Jun Yu closed his eyes slightly; the stench of blood and brains filled his nostrils, making him want to vomit.

A dozen or so enormous figures swiftly and silently approached, all dressed in loose robes. Judging from their attire, they were members of a highly mysterious sect from the vast lands of the Western Regions.

Many of the people in the group wore tall hats. The one at the front carried a staff two zhang long, while several others held golden wheels inlaid with golden bells, which jingled with each step. The man in the middle had a wrinkled face and held only a pair of unremarkable golden cymbals. His gaze was not particularly sharp, but for some reason, when he swept his gaze over them, both Jun and Zhu felt a chill.

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Chapter 16: Chapter Sixteen

The man holding the short staff spoke in broken Chinese, his voice sharp: "Anyone who trespasses into Hanjing Garden will be killed without mercy. You two, please make yourselves at home." His voice was booming, like the sound of metal piercing the air, so sharp it hurt one's eardrums, clearly indicating that his internal martial arts skills were already highly refined.

Hearing his arrogant tone, Junyu laughed and said, "As far as I know, this Hanjing Garden probably doesn't belong to you masters, does it? Since you've all trespassed into Hanjing Garden, why don't you take the lead and commit suicide to set a good example?"

Zhu Yu sneered and continued, "Since you've all committed suicide, perhaps this young master will perform a ritual to help you pass on to the afterlife."

A cultist on the left cursed and swung his staff at Zhu Yu, who drew his sword "Zhaodan" and thrust it forward. The cultist's staff was not very long, while Zhu Yu's "Zhaodan" was a famous sword forged by Emperor Wu of the Southern Liang Dynasty, three feet long, about the same length as his staff. Upon exchanging blows, both men took a step back.

Junyu was secretly alarmed. One follower was already so powerful, and there were more than a dozen other followers eyeing him menacingly, not to mention the old man with extraordinary internal strength who was leading them.

The slightly shorter man in the far corner was the guest manager, very familiar with the outside situation, and had been thoroughly investigating the various forces that had broken into Hanjing Garden in recent days. When they came in, they heard the fleeing Pang Ban and others mention "Flying General of Fengcheng". Upon seeing Junyu, they looked at him with surprise and suspicion, then suddenly stepped forward and whispered, "Master Danba, that young man..." He only managed to say a few words of broken Chinese before switching to a string of Western Region dialect.

The elderly man, known as "Master Danba," raised his head, sized up Junyu a few times, and said, "So you are the famous Flying General of Fengcheng. Today, this old monk has come to meet this legendary young hero." He spoke, and although his voice was rather stiff, it was Chinese, but it was so loud that it hurt people's eardrums.

Junyu smiled, sword in hand, "Of course, I'll ask the master for guidance today."

“Master…” The short steward glanced at Junyu a few more times, then mumbled a few words in the local dialect to Master Danba, seemingly trying to dissuade him, his expression quite uneasy.

The abbot of Danba glared at him and said a few words in the local dialect. The short steward dared not say anything more and hesitated before taking a few steps back.

Without a word, Master Danba launched a palm strike, a strike imbued with the force of thunder and wind. A chilling gust of wind swept through the opposite woods. Although Junyu was prepared, he still felt an overwhelming force wash over him. He drew his sword, "Chasing Flight," and unleashed "Feeding Horses on Mount Hua," also carrying the energy of wind and thunder. Master Danba dodged to the side, and Junyu swiftly followed with "Fishing Along the Long River." Master Danba seemed startled, letting out a muffled cry as a long tear appeared in his robe.

Over there, Zhu Yu was surrounded by three people. Although these three people were not as skilled as Danba Shangren, with three against one, Zhu Yu's "Zhaodan" technique was gradually becoming less effective.

Jun Yu thought to himself, "Such a large number of skilled fighters have gathered at Hanjing Garden and intend to kill all the intruders. There must be some great secret hidden in Hanjing Garden."

After only two moves, Master Danba's robe was torn by a young man, enraging him. He unleashed a powerful palm strike at Junyu. Knowing his strength, Junyu dared not meet the attack head-on. Instead, he executed a sword flourish, combining "Flying Chase" and "Five-String Hand" into a single move, swiftly thrusting towards Master Danba's shoulder. Even with Master Danba's exceptional skill, a bloody hole was pierced in his shoulder.

"Such superb swordsmanship, I have truly learned a thing or two today." Master Danba smiled instead of being angry. Junyu knew that he had already decided to fight with all his might. Looking at Zhu Yu's side, who was already in danger, she had no desire to fight anymore. She shouted "Retreat!" and dodged Master Danba's palm strike. She floated up like a phoenix. Just as Zhu Yu was about to respond, another monk from the Western Regions charged into the camp with an iron staff. Zhu Yu was unable to dodge in time and was hit on the shoulder. Her arm went numb immediately, and "Zhaodan" almost fell to the ground.

Junyu had already retreated in the best direction when he suddenly swooped down from mid-air and unleashed nine consecutive sword strikes without making a sound. As everyone took a step back, Junyu was already behind Zhu Yu.

"Why aren't you leaving yet?" Zhu Yu said coldly. "Don't think that I'll appreciate your kindness just because of this."

Before Junyu could reply, Master Danba had already walked over and sneered, "No one is leaving today."

Junyu smiled wryly and said, "I'm actually eager to leave, but do you think we can leave like this?"

The entire group of believers surrounded him. Master Danba stepped forward, and all was silent. Zhu Yu suddenly laughed: "I never thought I would die with you, you annoying brat."

“But I don’t want to die with you.” Junyu blinked, her voice becoming lighter. Zhu Yu’s heart stirred, and she also heard a clear whistle sound.

Master Danba said sternly, "You little brat, how many helpers have you gathered? Call them all here, and I'll deal with them all at once."

Junyu chuckled lightly, and the two younger men shot towards the direction of the whistle, but they were too late. Under the pale moonlight, two faint lights, one red and one yellow, appeared so bright. The combined power of the two swords was immense. The two men each took a step back and groaned. Suddenly, two bloody arms appeared on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Junyu and Meng Yuanjing were standing back to back. The monks from the Western Regions stepped back a few paces. Junyu and Meng Yuanjing brandished their swords, forming their own sword formation. Meng Yuanjing asked, "Junyu, are you alright?"

Junyu smiled and replied, "Today, we have met a formidable enemy."

Meng Yuanjing said loudly, "That's great, let's test the power of this sword technique again."

Zhu Yu had just narrowly escaped death thanks to Jun Yu's help. He and Meng Yuanjing had always had a grudge, and the incident with Xiang Hongye had only exacerbated their mutual dislike. Now, hearing Meng Yuanjing's arrogant tone, he felt extremely hurt. Zhu Yu snorted coldly and leaped more than ten feet away, thrusting his sword at the crowd on the periphery, thus distancing himself from the two men.

With a wave of his hand, Master Danba roared loudly, and five people rushed out at the same time, attacking three of them separately. The other seven people then stacked up on top of each other like a human pyramid. Instantly, an aura like mercury covered the sky. After two moves, the three of them felt tightness in their chests and shortness of breath, and could not breathe at all.

It turns out that this was their "Iron Wall" formation, which consisted entirely of the sect's top experts. Once inside the formation, not to mention two or three people, even a thousand troops would find it difficult to break through.

Master Danba realized that the combined power of Jun and Meng's swords was formidable, which made Zhu Yu's position relatively weak. He decided to eliminate Zhu Yu first, and then concentrate his forces to deal with the two of them.

Danba Shangren suddenly leaped from the ground; despite his large size, he moved with incredible speed, grabbing the golden cymbals and striking Zhu Yu directly on the head from the left.

In one-on-one combat, Zhu Yu's skill was originally no less than the others, but under the combined attack of the three, he was gradually falling into a disadvantageous position. At this moment, Zhu Yu was entangled by the three men, his longsword was dry, and smoke was rising from his head; his situation was extremely critical. Danba Shangren was the leader of this group, and his martial arts were even superior to the other three. When his golden cymbals slammed down, Zhu Yu ducked, but he had no time to dodge. His left shoulder was struck heavily, and his body swayed as a staff swept across his right leg, instantly fracturing it.

Junyu and Meng Yuanjing's combined swordsmanship was incredibly powerful, but unfortunately, the "copper wall and iron wall" formation was like heavy dark clouds looming over them. Although they remained undefeated, they couldn't find a way to break through it in their haste.

Suddenly, Zhu Yu let out a muffled groan. Jun Yu looked up amidst his busy schedule and saw that Master Danba was swinging his golden wheel at Zhu Yu again.

A powerful force struck, and Zhu Yu had nowhere to dodge. Suddenly, he felt his vision vanish. Danba Shangren roared, and Junyu's longsword was already piercing towards his brow.

Junyu's move was extremely risky. She and Meng Yuanjing's combined swords were enough to protect themselves, but now they suddenly flew out of the sword formation, leaving their bodies wide open. However, the situation was critical. Zhu Yuruo was hit by the golden cymbals again and was about to die on the spot.

Ignoring the profound inner strength of Master Danba, she thrust out another sword with unparalleled speed. The three Western Region monks on the periphery rushed forward, their staffs sweeping in from three directions with a whoosh. Junyu leaped up, and Master Danba, unable to attack Zhu Yu again, threw his golden cymbals and struck Junyu's shoulders with both palms. Junyu staggered back several steps, her body swaying, before she regained her balance.

Meng Yuanjing was shocked, but he was already surrounded by seven or eight cultists. How could he escape in time? Seeing Junyu in danger, he was distracted and was struck hard on the back by an iron hook, causing blood to gush out.

Jun Yuqiang steadied herself, brandished her longsword, and soared into the sky like a phoenix, unleashing forty-nine consecutive sword strikes. Even with the impenetrable defenses of the crowd, they couldn't contain her in time, and she landed right next to Meng Yuanjing and Zhu Yu, the three of them surrounding her once again.

Zhu Yu hissed, "Jun Yu, why don't you get out of here..." Before he could finish speaking, he was surrounded and a chaotic fight broke out, leaving him unable to utter a word.

Before Junyu could even regain her footing, Danba Shangren's golden cymbals flew towards her. He was struck by Junyu's sword three times in succession. He was filled with extreme hatred for her, and every move he made was aimed at killing her. He was determined to take her life.

Junyu was already severely injured and had fought for nearly 50 moves. Her movements had slowed down considerably. When she saw the golden cymbal flying towards her from Danba Shangren, she could not dodge it in time. Instead, she swung her sword. In mid-air, "Chasing Flight" collided head-on with the golden cymbal, producing a loud "clang". The sharp edge of the golden cymbal almost grazed her face and struck the chest of a Western Region monk opposite her. The man screamed and fell to the ground, a fountain of blood gushing from his chest.

Junyu felt a numbness in his hand, the longsword almost slipped from his grasp, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. He reached up and touched his face, finding it covered in warm, wet blood.

Master Danba, who had dominated the world for half his life, had never once let the golden cymbals slip from his grasp, let alone in such a situation where he was outnumbered and outmatched. Yet, he was completely outmatched and forced into a sorry state by a mere youth. His eyes glowed red, and with a strange cry of "Ura!", he slapped his palm towards Junyu...

Junyu did not dodge. She gathered all her strength in "Chasing Flight". She knew that this was what it meant to be on the verge of death. Just as she was about to swing her long sword, Danba Shangren let out a strange cry and staggered a few steps, as if a huge internal force rebounded back at him.

Jun Yu was startled. He saw a huge black shadow leap onto Danba Shangren's shoulder. Danba Shangren screamed as his entire arm was forcibly torn off. On the other side, an equally huge black shadow roared. Judging from the voice, it was an unknown monster.

The cultists were terrified and scattered in all directions. The two who were closest to the monster couldn't escape in time and were grabbed by the monster with one hand each. There was a sound of bones shattering. The monster then lowered its head and began to suck out their brains. In a short while, the two corpses were thrown to the ground. The huge black monster even made a "hoarse" sound, seemingly satisfied with its meal.

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Chapter 17: Mysterious Spells and Monsters

The followers had already scattered and fled, leaving only Jun, Meng, and Zhu, who had somehow huddled together in the field. Even the three of them, who were usually incredibly bold, couldn't help but look at each other in horror.

As the night deepened and the moonlight gradually sank, the two black monsters became clearer and looked remarkably like dogs.

But where in the world could you find such a huge and terrifying black dog?!

Junyu's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Cunni!"

Her voice was very soft, but the other two heard it clearly. The two monsters a few feet away also seemed to hear it, their huge eyes emitting a ghostly green light as they stared at the three of them without moving.

Junyu recalled that Young Master Nongying had once mentioned a type of creature called "Cunni," a large dog-like monster that lived at the foot of Mount Nanga Bawa. It was swift in movement, fed on lions and tigers, and especially enjoyed sucking the brains of various animals. The three of them suddenly understood that the dozen or so assassins from the Prime Minister's residence standing by the roadside had all perished in the mouths of this monster.

Young Master Nongying once traveled to Nanga Bawa in his early years and encountered this monster, barely escaping with his life.

Young Master Nongying spoke lightly of it back then, but now Junyu truly understands what his "nine deaths and one life" meant.

But how did this monster from the foot of Mount Nangabawa end up in Hanjing Garden?

Meng and Zhu had never heard of this strange name before. Although they were puzzled, they dared not even breathe under that eerie green gaze, let alone ask a question.

All three knew that at this moment, even the slightest sound would trigger the attack of the two enormous monsters that had been gathering their strength for so long. The three of them were locked in a stalemate with the two monsters, who surprisingly remained calm, standing there quietly one in front of the other, only emitting loud, bloody "whoosh" breathing sounds.

They didn't know how long the stalemate lasted, but the three of them felt their hands and feet were slightly numb. Zhu Yu had suffered two serious injuries and was trapped here by these two beasts, not daring to move at all. He was already furious, and when he remembered the deaths of the guards in the Prime Minister's mansion, he could no longer hold back. He roared and raised his sword to stab the monster on the left.

Before Jun and Meng could stop him, the monster let out a huge roar and stretched out its hairy forelimbs like fans to grab Zhu Yu's head.

At that moment, a cloud drifted by, and the slowly sinking moonlight gradually dimmed. Suddenly, "Niejing" and "Zhuifei" emitted a bright yellow light. The monster seemed to be startled by this light. Its furry paw was cut by the sharp sword, and it didn't have time to grab Zhu Yu. It immediately took a step back. However, soon, the other one immediately leaped up. The wounded monster suddenly shook its furry paw, as if the pain had aroused its ferocity. It let out a deafening roar and abandoned Zhu Yu. The two beasts attacked Jun and Meng from the left and right.

Junyu felt a sudden sway, and then everything went black. The monster on the left struck with unparalleled speed, its palm slamming towards him...

“Mahaghama Ula, Chabasamstaya…”

A strange incantation suddenly rang out, and the two monsters were struck as if by lightning. They turned around abruptly, no longer able to attack the two people, and retreated several steps in fear, causing the stone slabs on the sidewalk to creak and crack.

"Mahaghamama Wula, Chabasamsdingya," the newcomer chanted another strange incantation, and the two monsters trembled all over, tucked their tails between their legs, and fled at top speed.

The person chanting the incantation had a clear, peaceful voice with an indescribable sense of tranquility.

All around was silent; even the sound of each other breathing could be clearly heard. Under the moonlight that had once again pierced through the clouds, the corpses of the two Western Region monks lay there in a horrifying manner.

Junyu leaned against a small tree beside the roadside trees, and Meng Yuanjing asked anxiously, "Junyu, how badly are you hurt?"

Junyu couldn't catch her breath, forced a smile, leaned against a small tree, and couldn't speak.

Meng Yuanjing also suffered several injuries, but fortunately they were all external and nothing serious.

Zhu Yu was struck in the shoulder by a palm strike and his right leg was hit by a golden cymbal. Although the injuries were not fatal, they were still quite painful. He limped over, disheveled and pale, looking nothing like the dashing young master he once was.

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Chapter 18: The Demon of Love