Safety

Chapter 34

"The Right Envoy is indeed exceptionally intelligent," Elder Qing replied with a smile, waving his fan.

Was Wen Su also involved in this matter?

"The Left Envoy only knows that we want to stop you from taking this woman back to the main altar. We will take our leave immediately after sending her here. The Left Envoy's sincerity towards you has moved even us old men. Right Envoy, you must not let him down. If the Right Envoy chooses another wise master in the future, the Left Envoy will surely follow you. It is not too late to tell him the truth then."

Mo Li sneered, "So you even fooled Wen Su. The elders planted their confidants by my side three years ago. They were very shrewd."

Elder Huang laughed heartily, "Xiao Wei also admired the Right Envoy and went there. How can we make decisions about a young woman's feelings?"

After I awoke, everyone in the hall treated me as if I were dead, completely ignoring me. Although I was tormented by excruciating pain, my mind remained clear, and I heard their words clearly. When Elder Qing spoke of the war and national upheaval, my heart pounded with fear. I immediately thought of those black-clad knights who died in bloody carcasses. They were so similar to the soldiers of the Mo Kingdom that I remembered. If this matter was truly related to the Mo Kingdom, then even if I died, my body could not remain here and walk into a trap. Otherwise, no matter whether the truth reached my brother or the Mo Kingdom, not only those who had saved me, but even the people of both countries might face a bloodbath.

I was frantic and was about to use all my strength to pull Mo Li away when Mo Li's long laughter suddenly rang out in the hall. "You old fogies, have you pledged allegiance to some dynasty? Become someone else's lackeys? Who is your sovereign? If he is among those gentlemen who were with Elder Bai behind the manor just now, perhaps I have already had the honor of meeting him once."

"What did you say?!" Elder Huang was the first to challenge.

"The third brother hasn't returned yet?" Elder Lan turned to Elder Qing, his voice changing slightly.

"Eldest brother, fourth brother, don't let this brat distract us." Elder Qing said in a deep voice, truly the most cunning and treacherous of them all.

"I admire the deep brotherhood among the elders. I had a chance encounter with Elder Bai just before entering the manor. We had a pleasant conversation and even shared a drink. He and his friends are waiting for me to return with my men in the back mountain. If you are interested, why don't you join us?"

Elder Huang slammed his hand on the table beside him, sending splinters flying as he jerked to his feet. "Boy! What have you done to my third brother?"

...

Looking for majia, wulai, yinsui, and caoxixi, you four friends who wrote long reviews of over 600 words under "How Much Love Can Be Relived," please send your contact information to my Weibo. A sample copy will be sent to you! Hetaoyanchang, I've received your address, but I still need your phone number. Please send it again. A friend named Liu Yan sent her address to my email, but I don't have your ID number and don't know which long review you wrote. Please send me your ID as soon as possible. Also, like ants living like silk and silk, please wait for my private message. (laughs)

Chapter 83

Mo Li is indeed formidable; he even uses the dead, not sparing any corpses. Fortunately, those people died in secluded places, and it was still dark outside the hall. Judging from their reactions, they were completely unaware of Elder Bai's death. As long as we can escape unscathed, I have no objection to whatever method he uses.

Elder Lan clapped his hands with a cold face. Suddenly, a sharp and melodious sound came from outside the hall. I opened my eyes wide and saw a bright light rise into the sky, and then suddenly explode, illuminating the night sky as bright as day.

Who is he trying to send a message to using fireworks? The dead?

Elder Qing rose to his feet amidst the white light and bowed to Mo Li. “Right Envoy, you are too kind. However, we are old and it is inconvenient for us to leave the manor so late at night. Please forgive us. The friends of the Third Brother are honored guests of this manor and should not be entertained by the Right Envoy. Since it is late and the dew is heavy, why not invite the Right Envoy’s subordinates to the manor for a chat? We will prepare a grand feast, and then everyone can gather together and get drunk. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

"Elder Qing is right. However, Ping An has been poisoned by the Heart-Eating Gu. Her skills are weak, and if this drags on for too long, her life may be in danger. I see that she looks sickly and is not enjoying her drink. How about Elder Lan bestows the Heart-Eating Gu Mother Gu upon her, and I will send someone to escort Elder Bai and all of you back together? The elders and brothers can reunite, and I will no longer need to worry about her. Let's not talk about trivial matters and just get drunk. What do you say?"

The fireworks outside the hall had faded, and darkness returned. There was no response in the night sky. Elder Huang's expression changed, and he said angrily, "Brother, it seems that Third Brother and the others have run into trouble. Why are we still arguing with him? Let's just take him away and demand his people back. I don't believe that his underlings would dare to disregard his life and hold our people hostage."

Elder Lan raised his hand, "No."

Elder Qing spoke up at the same time, "How can we disregard the life or death of the third brother?"

I was moved by what Mo Li had said, and upon hearing these two sentences, I realized that these two old men weren't entirely without merit. Suddenly, a sharp wind blew in my face, and two cold beams of light were almost upon me.

The two men suddenly launched a vicious attack while they were talking. Before I could react, Mo Li had already leaped up in the blink of an eye. The two hidden weapons grazed past his feet, which was extremely dangerous.

Mo Li, still in mid-air, seized the opportunity when the others hadn't drawn their weapons after throwing their hidden weapons. Without hesitation, he pounced on Elder Lan, who was standing directly in front of the hall, and unleashed a powerful whip strike. The whip was as fierce as a rainbow, and it looked like it could cut Elder Lan in two.

Elder Lan was caught off guard when Mo Li advanced instead of retreating after dodging the hidden weapon. He was momentarily stunned, his hand already gripping the hilt of his sword, but before he could draw it, Mo Li's whip was already upon him. However, Mo Li was in mid-air when a sudden gust of wind approached from both sides. It was Elder Qing who counterattacked with an iron fan, and Elder Huang was not far behind, drawing his golden pipe from his waist to join Elder Qing in the attack. The two of them moved with lightning speed, and if Mo Li did not fight back to protect himself, he would be pierced through by the iron fan and the pipe at the same time.

As Mo Li attacked, the true energy he had injected into my body naturally disappeared, and a surge of intense pain overwhelmed me. I was in so much pain that I felt dizzy and disoriented, as if my internal organs were being torn apart by sharp claws. But I knew that if I groaned, it would disturb his mind, so I gritted my teeth and endured the pain without making a sound. But at that moment, Elder Qing's iron fan and Elder Huang's golden pipe were about to pierce his body. I was terrified and finally couldn't help but scream.

"careful!"

My body was lifted into the air, but Mo Li threw me out of the battle with a backhand throw.

While I was in mid-air, I saw Mo Li's whip continue its trajectory, but suddenly the handle of the whip grew longer, a cold light flashed, and it split in two in an instant, revealing a short sword.

A flash of cold light appeared, and with a clang, the iron fan was blocked. Then, the hand slashed back, and blood splattered. Elder Qing was unable to stop in time and screamed as the hand holding the fan was severed at the wrist and fell to the ground with a thud.

Although Elder Lan retreated hastily, there were tables, chairs, and high walls behind him. Mo Li's long whip surged forward like a raging dragon emerging from its cave, carrying the power of ten thousand waves. With nowhere to retreat, Elder Lan roared and raised his hands to grab the whip tip. Unexpectedly, the whip tip was not targeting him at all. It turned around instantly and struck the iron box on the table with a snap.

In a flash, Mo Li used his whip to force Elder Lan back, shattered the iron box, and injured Elder Qing with his short sword, but Elder Huang's pipe still pierced his body with a muffled "hiss".

This lash had the power of a thunderbolt; the iron box shattered on the spot, and the excruciating pain in my body disappeared along with it. All I heard was Mo Li's deep voice, "Go!"

I watched it all unfold before my eyes. The dull thud of the pipe piercing his body felt like a direct blow to my heart. The intense pain inside my body had subsided, but my heart suddenly clenched into a ball, the feeling of suffocation a thousand times more intense than the torment inflicted by the Heart-Eating Gu.

Elder Lan roared and shouted towards the outside of the hall, "Take her down!" With that, he drew his sword and counterattacked. Blood gushed from Elder Qing's severed hand, and his face showed an extremely ferocious expression. He did not retreat, but stretched out his foot to pick up the iron fan on the ground. The fan tip pointed directly at Mo Li. Countless small hidden weapons shot out with a cold light. Elder Huang, having succeeded in his attack, took advantage of the momentum and increased his strength, as if he wanted to pierce Mo Li's body with his pipe in one go.

As Mo Li's force in throwing me gradually dissipated, my body began to fall. Outside the hall, shadows darted about, and I didn't know how many people were rushing towards me. But apart from Mo Li, I could see no one else. As soon as my feet touched the ground, I bent over, turned around, and leaped back into the hall, completely disregarding the many people around me.

The Heart-Eating Gu had disappeared, but the true energy that Mo Li had injected into my body earlier still remained. With a leap, I flashed past like a shadow, passing over everyone's heads, and in the blink of an eye, I entered the hall again.

Without hesitation, Mo Li severed Elder Qing's right hand with his short sword. He then swung his hand back to slash at the pipe that was already embedded in his waist. The pipe, made of some unknown material, was incredibly hard and remained undamaged even after being struck by the short sword. A flash of cold light flew from Elder Qing's iron fan, and Mo Li suddenly bent over, performing a near-ground-hugging iron bridge. Elder Huang cried out in surprise and hurriedly pulled back his pipe to block. Mo Li's short sword followed the pipe's trajectory, slicing across Elder Huang's wrist. Amidst a scream, blood splattered again.

Seeing that Mo Li had injured two of his brothers in an instant, Elder Lan was filled with shock and anger. He roared and slashed down at Mo Li with his sword. Mo Li's body was almost flat on the ground. His short sword had already been swung at Elder Huang, and his long whip had just been pulled back to his side. He didn't even have time to swing it. It looked like he was about to be cleaved in two.

Witnessing this scene, my mind suddenly went blank. When I regained consciousness, I was already flying towards Mo Li. There was a "clang" behind my head. It was Mo Li pulling out his long whip, blocking Elder Lan's sword, and then retreating with the force of the sword. His back was pressed against mine as we slid backward for about ten feet.

I was on top of him, our eyes locked. His eyes were dark and filled with rage. I didn't know if he was angry that I had disobeyed him and turned back halfway, or that I had dared to jump on him. But all I could see was that he was soaked in blood. I didn't care about anything else. I reached out and grabbed him tightly. I touched the ground with my toes and used all my strength to use my cloud-riding technique to pull him away.

The Third Elder, of course, wouldn't let us escape so easily and immediately gave chase. The others outside the hall also joined the pursuit. The sound of hidden weapons whistling through the air was deafening. But Qingcheng Zongyun was the best in the world at light-footed martial arts, and I was running at full speed, my toes barely touching the treetops. With two leaps, I and Mo Li jumped over the high wall. Although the hidden weapons were sharp, they were all swept away by his whip before they could even get close to our backs. Suddenly, shouts rang out again from inside the manor. Someone yelled, "Fire! Someone's setting it on fire!"

We had already landed outside the village when suddenly several galloping horses came rushing towards us, and people rushed out of the village. Seeing that we were surrounded, I panicked and tried to pull him away to run away, but the riders shouted to us, "Your Excellency, quickly mount your horse!"

I looked up sharply and saw a figure in a green robe on horseback. It turned out that Qingyi had come to meet me with his men.

Mo Li leaped onto a black horse in the blink of an eye. I clasped his hands tightly and was pulled onto the horse with him. The black horse was incredibly swift and powerful, and in the blink of an eye, it rushed to the front of the group, leaving Lan Family Village far behind.

I looked back from my horse and saw that the fire was spreading extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, the village was engulfed in flames, which brightly dyed half of the dark sky red.

...

Hai: Yesterday, I had a welcome dinner for You Tu (a popular internet celebrity). I met two handsome guys. The first one was on subway line 2; he had stubble and looked like a younger version of Takenouchi Yutaka. He was communicating with his female companion using sign language. At dinner at a vegetarian restaurant, the guy at the next table was a handsome young man from northern China with tattoos on his arm. He was a photographer and mentioned having a history of insomnia and depression for several years, including a six-day sleepless night... Indeed, men are better off silent; the speechless version is even more invincible.

Narrator: Actually, I don't say much, elbows crossed...

Chapter 84

The man in green rode up and spoke as he galloped, “Your Majesty, the man in red burned down the manor as planned. They discovered that the elders had stockpiled gunpowder behind the manor, and it has now been completely destroyed.”

"Where's the woman in red?"

"They have already left and will meet us in Jinshan Town, which is not far from here."

Mo Li only hummed in response and didn't say anything more. I sat behind him, still feeling the fear from before. I held onto him tightly with both hands, our bodies pressed together. I gradually felt the cold dampness under my hands, and the smell of blood became stronger with the bumpy ride.

My throat tightened, and it took me two tries to make a sound, "Mo Li, stop first, stop and bandage your wound before you go..."

Mo Li didn't answer me, not even moving his head. It was Qingyi who asked, "Your Excellency, is Ping An injured?"

Dawn was approaching, but as we walked along the forest path, the shadows were heavy. Mo Li was dressed in crimson, and no one noticed that he was covered in blood. My hands were soaked, and I was so worried that I was at a loss. Just as I was about to ask Qingyi for help, a breeze suddenly came from my side, and a sliver of light pierced through the air, as if it was about to pierce straight into my body.

The man in green cried out, "Your Excellency, be careful!"

The faint light turned out to be an arrow. Mo Li reacted quickly, striking the arrow down with a whip. But the whooshing sound continued, and after the arrow was shot down, countless more flew towards us. In an instant, a rain of arrows filled the sky, as if to engulf our small group of riders.

Mo Li turned around, grabbed me and pulled me to his side, spurred his horse to gallop, and the others followed closely behind. All the people in the group had martial arts skills, and they all drew their weapons to defend themselves as they rode. However, the arrows rained down like locusts, and they could not deflect them all. In the blink of an eye, two screams rang out, and it was unclear who had been shot off their horse.

Mo Li held me down, and all I could hear was the rapid hoofbeats and the sound of arrows piercing the air. Then the red horse suddenly leaped up, and a bright light appeared before my eyes. We had already galloped out of the jungle and arrived at a cliff. A long iron chain bridge spanned the valley, swaying slightly in the wind. The terrain was extremely dangerous.

As dawn approached and the first light of day appeared, a series of whistles echoed through the woods, startling countless crows into flight, as if a vast number of people were pursuing them.

"Qingyi, take them onto the bridge, let's go!" Mo Li shouted, reining in his horse and turning around. Qingyi, who had been following behind us, was now close to Mo Li as his horse stopped. Mo Li said in a deep voice, "Catch Ping An." He then lifted me up to carry me away.

My mind was in complete chaos, but my hands moved on their own, gripping him tightly, my fingers almost digging into his flesh. He couldn't pull me off him, and the man in green didn't take another step forward. He turned his horse around and said urgently.

"No, Your Majesty, you should go first."

The others also reined in their horses and stopped, and not one of them went onto the bridge first.

I have always known that these people have great respect for Mo Li and would never leave first. I am the same. As long as I am not separated from him, I am not too concerned about life and death.

The forest was still dark. The archers hid in the shadows, and none of them followed us out of the forest. We could only faintly hear the bowstrings, and soon another rain of arrows would fall. By this time, it was already dawn. We stood in an open space, the enemy was in the dark and we were in the light. There was nowhere to hide, and we were like the best targets.

Mo Li looked them over, his gaze finally settling on my face. He was already wearing a mask, so his expression was unreadable, except for his eyes, which were as deep as autumn water. Finally, he said, "Dismount, all of you."

Everyone dismounted in unison, and I landed on my feet as well. He pushed me behind him and called out, "Which elder is it? May I have a word with you?"

There was no response from the forest. The wind grew stronger and stronger, and the morning mist on the mountain made it even harder to see what was happening in the forest.

Everyone stood ready with their weapons raised. A man in green spoke in a low voice, “Your Excellency, the Central Plains don’t produce gunpowder, yet the manor has stockpiled so much. Its origins are suspicious. Do you think the elders might be colluding with other sects? In the martial world…”

I recalled the faces of those knights in black, and a chill ran down my spine.

A voice came from the fog, "Mr. Mo, please." Then someone slowly walked out and stopped about two zhang away from us.

Mo Li narrowed his eyes slightly.

The man spoke fluent Mandarin without any foreign accent, was not wearing a mask, and had a refined appearance; he was indeed a Han Chinese.

I only glanced at him briefly, but suddenly felt that he looked familiar. I couldn't remember where I had seen him before, so I didn't dare to show my face again. I just hid behind Mo Li, wishing I could hide myself completely.

"Our lord cordially invites Mr. Mo to come out of seclusion for a gathering, and we hope that Mr. Mo will not refuse."

"Who are you? State your name and that of your master."

The man shook his head. “Mr. Mo, once you leave the pass with me and meet my master, you will understand who he is. I am of lowly status and dare not speak of my master’s name. Besides, I am just a messenger, and my name is not important to Mr. Mo.”

Mo Li sneered, "A sincere invitation to a gathering? First, you try to undermine me from behind? Then you hide your true identity and don't even dare to reveal your name. This is the first time I've ever seen such a sincere invitation."

"My deputy general had some misunderstandings with Mr. Mo and acted rashly with his arrow just now. He offended me greatly and I hope Mr. Mo will forgive him. I will punish him after this is over."

"Oh? What misunderstanding made him want to kill us?"

The man raised his hand, and immediately another person emerged from the mist, walking behind him and speaking in a different language at an incredibly fast pace, which I couldn't understand at all.

The first man interrupted him, "Speak Chinese, don't you see there are guests here?"

Qingyi spoke up from the side, "Your Excellency, he was speaking the language of the Mo tribe. He said there were corpses of their vanguard behind the manor, and Elder Bai was also dead."

My heart sank. Sure enough, these people were inextricably linked to the Ink Kingdom that emerged from that inkstone.

Mo Li stroked his long whip and smiled faintly, "He didn't misunderstand, I killed those people."

My heart sank, and I was immediately stunned by what he said. In fact, most of those knights were killed by the crazed Dan Gui, but Mo Li's answer at this moment clearly showed that he was deliberately trying to turn against these people and fight them.

The man who had spoken earlier suddenly turned his face toward where we were standing. He was a burly man with a broad back and thick waist. Even when he was kneeling, he was intimidating. His face was covered by an iron mask, and the intense anger in his eyes made him even more terrifying.

The other person also clearly heard Mo Li's reply, but he was not angry at all. He still spoke politely, "I see. Well then, if Mr. Mo accepts the master's invitation, then he is our very honored guest. It is only right that my men, who have offended your honored guest, be taught a lesson."

After he finished speaking, everyone on our side fell silent for a moment, and then a commotion suddenly arose in the woods, which was probably due to extreme dissatisfaction with this person's attitude of not valuing the lives of his own people.

"What if I don't accept your lord's invitation?" Mo Li countered.

"Our lord cherishes talent and is eager to seek out capable people. He is very kind to Mr. Mo. We hope that Mr. Mo will not refuse our lord's good intentions. My subordinates and I have traveled all the way into the pass for you, and we have traveled thousands of miles just for you. If you refuse, then we will have to apologize to you."