Xue Qing looked up, her features contorted in pain. "Yan Ming, are you frigid?! Why did you come here?!"
Kidnapped
"Are you sure you didn't hear wrong?" Bai Xichen asked, frowning.
“It’s absolutely true, I’m sure I didn’t mishear. The Domain Lord’s coachman said he’s going to the Blissful Peak in the Central Plains, he’s definitely going to cause trouble for Miss Xue,” Zhi Qiu said quickly.
Bai Xichen lowered his head and pondered: "He just broke through the bottleneck of the Evil Charm Divine Skill. I knew he would make a move, but I didn't expect Miss Xue to be the first to suffer."
"Young master, will Miss Xue be in danger?" Zhi Qiu asked with some concern.
"How many of the people he went to are still alive?" Bai Xichen said calmly.
"Young Master..."
"Have you forgotten what I told you? Don't meddle in other people's business." Bai Xichen glared at Zhi Qiu and said.
"But... Miss Xue... sigh." Zhi Qiu continued doing her own thing, looking unhappy.
Bai Xichen was preparing medicine, but he kept making mistakes due to his restlessness. When he learned about Xue Qing's relationship with Yan Ming, he was also taken aback. Yan Ming was indeed an unfathomable man; even the junior sister of the Lingyu Sect's leader was his henchman. Hearing that Xue Qing had betrayed Yan Ming, Yan Ming would never let those who betrayed him go unpunished. Bai Xichen's medical skills were irreplaceable in the desert, and even if Yan Ming discovered anything, he wouldn't be too harsh on him. He remembered that in Changsheng Town, Xue Qing had pulled him away from a flying cleaver, and she had said she considered him a friend. If he were in trouble today, she might not necessarily abandon him. Oh well, he'd just have to run an errand.
Bai Xichen summoned Zhi Qiu and instructed, "Prepare the carriage; we're going to the Central Plains."
"Long time no see, you seem quite relaxed." Yan Ming said, looking at Xue Qing sitting on the snow with a wicked and unrestrained air.
Xue Qing looked at Yan Ming nervously, stood up from the ground, and placed her hand on the hilt of the Qingyun Sword: "You! How did you get here..."
"Don't be nervous, I've come to see you. Aren't you happy?" Yan Ming's handsome face was adorned with a smile, but it was hard to tell whether the smile was mocking or contemptuous; in any case, it wasn't friendly.
Xue Qing drew the Qingyun Sword from its sheath and held it horizontally in front of her, her eyes fixed on Yan Ming's every move. Small animals often display their armor to intimidate predators, and Xue Qing's tension and Yan Ming's casualness were a stark contrast, indicating their different positions in the food chain.
"Happy? Do you believe that?" Xue Qing said sarcastically.
Yan Ming still wore an arrogant smile: "I heard you've started practicing martial arts again. Why struggle so much? Why not just be a cripple?" With that, he reached out to Xue Qing, as if to grab her sword.
In Xue Qing's eyes, Yan Ming's beautiful hands looked like demonic claws. Her mind was tense with fear, or even more terrified with tension, and she swung her sword to slash at Yan Ming's hands.
Yan Ming stopped in time, unleashing a powerful palm strike with his inner force. Xue Qing blocked the palm strike with her sword, and the two stared at each other in a standoff.
"How dare you treat me like this?" Yan Ming's eyes showed surprise. He never thought that Xue Qing would turn her sword against him one day.
"What else can we do but stand here and wait to die?" Xue Qing's reaction was instinctive.
"Give me the Spirit Pivot," Yan Ming said.
What if I don't give it to them?
"I'll take it myself." Yan Ming said as he attacked Xue Qing, his hands hooking like eagle claws. It was his most proficient claw technique. The strange claw technique combined with the powerful internal energy cultivated by the evil divine skill allowed him to tear anyone's body apart with his bare hands.
Although Xue Qing wielded a weapon, she gained no advantage against him. The Remnant Flower Sword Technique was renowned for its speed, and Yan Ming's claw techniques also emphasized speed. As the two clashed, sparks flew as their fingernails rubbed against the blades. Gradually, Xue Qing felt herself struggling to passively parry Yan Ming's attacks. Yan Ming's strength was formidable, forcing Xue Qing to infuse her sword with internal energy to counter him.
"Why not use Ling Shu?" Yan Ming's eyes held an inscrutable smile.
"What's it to you?" Xue Qing said coldly. How could she say that she couldn't control the Spirit Pivot? That would only make Yan Ming more arrogant and make her seem easier to bully.
"Is it because my internal energy is insufficient to control the Spirit Pivot?" Yan Ming asked himself, answering his own question.
"What's it to you?" Xue Qing said angrily after being guessed.
Yan Ming smiled, a handsome smile playing on his lips. He grabbed Xue Qing's sword hilt, trying to take the sword away, but Xue Qing held on tightly. Her brute strength was not to be underestimated. Yan Ming grabbed her sword blade with his other hand, and suddenly his inner force surged. With a forceful pull, the Qingyun Sword snapped in two in half. Xue Qing stumbled back two steps, still clutching the hilt of the Qingyun Sword. Only half of the sword remained; the tip had broken off and fallen to the snow.
"Damn it! I'm not good at palm techniques!" Xue Qing said angrily. She had only learned the Yi Jin Jing at Shaolin Temple. She should have bought more roast chickens and asked Abbot Chan Kong to teach her Luohan Fist.
Tragically, Xue Qing only learned swordsmanship. She finally understood why it is said that the sword is a swordsman's life. The Qingyun Sword was broken, and she held the broken sword in her hand, with no chance to resist. All she had learned was swordsmanship.
Yan Ming knew this all too well, and became even more smug: "You were smarter before, you knew that those who obeyed me would prosper and those who defied me would perish."
"Those who obey you will prosper?" Xue Qing almost laughed out loud. She hadn't forgotten how miserable the Xue Qing who used to obey you in everything ended up. Those who oppose you will perish, and those who obey you will also perish. So what is there to worry about? The fish is bound to die, so why not fight to the death?
Xue Qing used the broken sword to stab Yan Ming again, but Yan Ming didn't take it seriously. A broken sword has no tip, so how could it pierce a person's body? Yan Ming grabbed the top of the broken sword with one hand, and Xue Qing continued to exert force forward, the warm force in her body flowing to her hand.
"Drink!" Xue Qing used all her strength to pull back the sword. With the push of her internal force, the broken sword with a clean cut actually pierced into Yan Ming's hand. Blood flowed out from the wound. Ignoring the pain, Yan Ming still held the sword and pressed the acupoint on Xue Qing's neck with his other hand, making her unable to move.
"Your internal strength has improved very quickly," Yan Ming praised, throwing the broken sword to the ground and pressing an acupoint on his wrist to stop the bleeding.
Xue Qing was unable to move, and now only death awaited her. Having anticipated the end, she was not so afraid. "A head lost is just a scar the size of a bowl. Eighteen years later, I'll still be a wildflower." Xue Qing closed her eyes and said, "Kill me quickly if you want."
Yan Ming opened the luggage Xue Qing had placed on the ground, and the Ling Shu sword was inside. Yan Ming picked up the Ling Shu: "I will definitely kill you, but not now. Didn't you go to great lengths to get the Ling Shu? I am a sentimental person, so I will grant your wish and let you die together with your beloved Ling Shu."
Xue Qing thought Yan Ming would pierce her chest with the Ling Shu Sword, but Yan Ming did not do so. He held the Ling Shu Sword in one hand and carried Xue Qing on his shoulder with the other, saying, "I'll take you to a good place."
Liu Ying led the carriage back, but Xue Qing was no longer there. On the ground were scattered luggage, the broken Qingyun Sword, and a small pool of blood.
Liu Ying threw down the horse's reins and ran to the spot where the two had just fought: "Uncle-Master... Uncle-Master!" he called out loudly, but no one responded.
The Paradise Peak is a remote place, so how could someone be fighting Xue Qing? Ordinary bandits and robbers are no match for Xue Qing, so how could she be so strong as to break the Azure Cloud Sword? Could it be... that he has come!
Melting people and melting swords
The pool of blood on the snow was a glaring crimson. Liu Ying's mind was almost blank, with only one voice constantly telling him that if even she was gone, he would have nothing left! If she died too, what would be left of this world for him? The soul within that body could not bear to lose it again. The bloodstains on the ground were covered by newly fallen snowflakes. The closest place to Bliss Peak was the Qilin Pavilion. Liu Ying immediately rushed to the Qilin Pavilion to notify all the martial arts sects to search together. "Hold on! I will come to save you! You must wait for me!"
At this moment, Xue Qing was dragged onto the carriage by Yan Ming. The two expressionless twin sisters sat in front driving the carriage. Xue Qing was thrown into the carriage by Yan Ming. Along the way, the fear in Xue Qing's heart had faded a lot, replaced by a "what's the worst that can happen?" attitude. However, thinking about the wonderful ending that Yan Ming would have if he lost the Ling Shu Sword, Xue Qing felt very unhappy.
Yan Ming casually placed Xue Qing inside the carriage and jumped in as well. He was very interested in Xue Qing's expression and asked, "Are you glaring at me? Do you want me to gouge your eyes out?"
"We're going to die anyway, what does it matter if we have eyeballs or not?" Xue Qing continued to glare at him.
"I'm curious, what caused you to change so drastically from before?" It was rare for Yan Ming to have something he couldn't understand.