La cúspide del mundo de las artes marciales

Capítulo 11

“Su Xie…” Leng Baichun looked at me in astonishment.

I grinned at her, "No need for further explanation, you understand. I hope you and your child will be safe and sound next time we meet." I had just handed Leng Baichun to the person supporting Gu Shaoting when, before I could step back, the Alliance Leader grabbed my wrist.

I was taken aback. "What does the Alliance Leader mean by this?"

The alliance leader's usually cold face showed a rare slight smile as he said, "As Miss Su also said, Protector Zhao is leading men to guard the outside. We still need Miss Su to lead us out of here."

I quickly laughed and said, "Alliance Leader, you're joking. Su Xie is just a nobody from the Demonic Sect. Protector Zhao won't show any mercy..." Seeing that he showed no sign of letting up, I added, "I think kidnapping the young master is more reliable... Chang Huan, quickly bring the young master over!"

Chang Huan agreed and pulled Ruan Lianhua over.

Ruan Lianhua smiled and said, "Don't worry, Su Su, Brother Ruan is a good person."

I really wanted to slap him across the face. He may be a good person, but I'm a villain everyone wants to kill! Who can guarantee they won't kill me as a righteous act after they escape? Besides, if Old Man Zhao can't bear to kill his daughter, would he be reluctant to kill me? What if swords have no eyes...? Have I ever had a hard time surviving this long?!

"Alliance Leader, please reconsider..." I grinned wickedly at the Alliance Leader, struggling all the while, "Actually, I have many enemies within the Demonic Sect, and I might ruin your plans... You should just kidnap the young master..."

The alliance leader pulled me into his arms, the cold blade of his sword pressed against my throat, and whispered in my ear, "Miss Su, rest assured, I, Ruan, will do my best to protect you." He looked up at Ruan Lianhua, "I believe Young Master Ruan won't let anyone harm you, will he?"

Ruan Lianhua smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Brother Ruan, are you just going to take back what you promised me?"

A deal? I couldn't see Ruan Bicheng's expression, but I heard him say, "This sudden turn of events was beyond my expectations. Please forgive me, Young Master Ruan." He turned around, holding my waist, and said, "Please help me open the door, Young Master Ruan."

I don't know if I was seeing things, but I saw Ruan Lianhua's face turn cold for a moment, and then he suddenly flung open the cell door. I heard Old Zhao's voice, filled with a mixture of surprise and joy, "Young Master, are you alright!"

He's alright, but I'm in trouble... I was deeply moved by my act of risking my life to save him, and I just prayed that Old Man Zhao wouldn't get stubborn and try to stop me.

The leader pushed me forward, and Changhuan called out "Miss!" I whispered, "Stay and wait for me to come back."

I was pushed out by the leader of the alliance. The bright sunlight outside made my eyes blur, and then I heard the sound of swords clashing and people shouting. I was so frightened that my legs went weak. The leader of the alliance whispered in my ear, "Don't be afraid."

How touching, how tender, if he hadn't held a sword to my throat at that moment.

"Get out of the way." Ruan Lianhua shouted from the front. His voice wasn't loud, but the authority and imposing manner surprised me. He then said to Old Man Zhao, "Have everyone step back. Don't hurt Su Su."

“But…” Old Zhao hesitated.

Hesitate my ass, you little monkey! I'm doing this to save your daughter, after all!

“I said I’d step down,” Ruan Lianhua shouted at him, then added calmly, “I will bear all the consequences.”

Old Zhao bowed respectfully, prompting his eager subordinates to make way for him.

Ruan Lianhua turned to look at me, her dimples slightly visible, and said, "It's alright, Su Su."

I was deeply moved. Although it was somewhat unethical of him to conceal his identity and deceive me, I couldn't be so petty. So I smiled at him and said with a righteous air, "You...you have to save me, my darling! It hasn't been easy for me to survive until now..."

Ruan Lianhua smiled, her eyes crinkling, "Okay, you have to wait for me."

Ruan Bicheng pushed me forward again and said coldly to Ruan Lianhua, "Thank you."

Without giving me any time to prepare, they forced me into the thicket of swords and spears. I was terrified that some hot-blooded youth would swing his blade at me, and I walked with trepidation. Suddenly, I heard Ruan Bicheng whisper, "If you're scared, just close your eyes. You'll be out of here soon."

His breath tickled and tingled on my earlobe; the feeling was... subtle. I used to admire and revere him like a god, and I would be overjoyed to receive a smile from him or hear a word from him. Now, my status and position are different, yet I am increasingly afraid to get close to him, afraid of becoming the same pathetic Lu Ning I used to be.

I felt a little sad and said with a wry smile, "Alliance Leader, you are joking. I am Su Xie."

She's ranked number one among the top ten shameless vixens in the martial arts world, I can't let Su Xie down.

The alliance leader remained silent for a long time before finally speaking softly after leaving the crowd: "You're not quite the same as what I've heard before..."

Chapter 14, Part 13

"You're not quite the same as what I've heard before..."

My face twitched, and I pretended not to hear, keeping my eyes down. I could roughly guess what the leader of the alliance was thinking of Su Xie. I figured he was the same all over the Central Plains: lewd and utterly wicked.

Neither of us spoke, and we endured the silence until we were almost out. Seeing the Demonic Sect's gate not far away, I grinned wickedly and said, "Once you're out of the Demonic Sect's gate, you'll be safe. Let's part ways here..."

The leader of the alliance remained silent.

"Alliance Leader, I feel like I'm just a burden to you..." I persisted in trying to persuade him, "Look, now that you've escaped the Demonic Sect, I'm no longer of any use to you..."

The leader suddenly stopped, pulled me into his arms, and said coldly, "I don't think so."

I was forced to lean back, and following my gaze, I saw two groups of people suddenly pouring out of the door, surrounding it from both sides. A man in white robes and a feather fan swaggered out from the middle of the group and said with an extremely flamboyant smile, "Oh my, what a coincidence."

I gasped for breath. I had planned everything perfectly, but I hadn't managed to catch that bastard Yan Shu! He actually brought men to ambush me here. How could he be so discreet?

The alliance leader pressed the sword against his throat again and said, "Please excuse me, High Priest Yan Shu."

Without saying a word, Yan Shu tapped his folding fan, and both teams of soldiers drew their bows and aimed them directly at me.

I smiled bitterly. The Alliance Leader is completely out of touch with the situation. My relationship with Yan Shu is like dry tinder and a raging fire, ready to ignite at any moment. If I hadn't been used as a hostage, there might have been a slight chance of escape. But now, the Alliance Leader and I are doomed.

"Alliance Leader," I kindly reminded him, "I have some disagreements with the High Priest..."

The leader gave me a deep look, then sealed my acupoints, pulled me behind him, and said to Yan Shu, "Priest Yan Shu only wants me alone, why make such a big fuss?"

Yan Shu idly unfolded his fan, his eyebrows and eyes full of smiles. "If you were willing to obediently surrender, there would be no trouble like this." He looked up at the Alliance Leader with great resentment. "I thought you had captured the Young Master, but I didn't expect it to be Little Su Xie instead. The Alliance Leader's judgment has really disappointed me."

I don't like hearing that. Although I'm not as useful as Ruan Lianhua, I'm still an important character, one of the more prominent figures in the Demonic Sect. Is it necessary to discriminate against me so openly?

The alliance leader, however, remained unperturbed and said with a blank expression, "Release them, and I'll go with you."

Holy light shone upon the earth! The leader truly lived up to his name; in that instant, I almost felt the light emanating from him flash before my eyes.

Gu Shaoting, who was beside me, and the burly man supporting the unconscious Leng Baichun said in unison, "Alliance Leader! Let's fight our way out!"

That's very fitting for his status. Back when I was still Lu Ning, I often heard my father say that. According to the usual pattern, the Alliance Leader should then say, "Don't worry about me, you guys go first."

The leader turned around, patted the two of them on the shoulder, and pushed me to Gu Shaoting, saying, "Take her away, I have my own way."

Concise and clear, righteous and awe-inspiring, at this moment I wanted to say, ignore him, let's retreat first, every escape is a chance... But when I was pushed into Gu Shaoting's arms, the hairs on my body stood on end, and all danger warnings were activated.

I blurted out in an instant, "Let them go first, I'll stay and keep you company!"

The alliance leader seemed taken aback, staring at me for a long time before his tightly pursed lips suddenly curved into a slight smile as he said, "I'll be fine, Miss Su, don't worry..."

I'm in trouble! Didn't you see the look on Gu Shaoting's face, like he wanted to tear me apart?! I reckon he'll stab me to death the moment I step out that door!

Just as I was about to express my strong desire to stay, Yan Shu suddenly chuckled and tapped his folding fan against his palm, saying, "I'm afraid you won't have a choice. You will all die." He raised his fan to give the order to fire the arrows.

I blurted out, "Wait! Wait!"

Yan Shu smiled and squinted at me, "Does Little Su Xie have any last words? I will report to the sect leader that you bravely sacrificed yourself for the Salu Sect."

A despicable person who uses public office for private gain and settles personal scores!

"I have something to say to the High Priest," I said to the Alliance Leader. "May I step aside and say a few words?"

Gu Shaoting thrust his sword towards my waist from behind and shouted, "Dream on! Trying to escape!"

I continued to look at the alliance leader and calmly said, "You don't want us all to die here either. Now, besides trusting me, is there a better way?"

The alliance leader remained expressionless and silent.

"Trust you, you witch? Even if we were all dead, we wouldn't need you, you witch, to save us!" Gu Shaoting's words were stern, leaving me once again wondering what the Right Protector of the Demonic Sect saw in him.

Helpless, I said to the leader, "Please take out the small celadon bottle from my pocket."

The alliance leader was slightly surprised, said "I apologize for the intrusion," and reached into my robes to pull out a small celadon bottle. I then asked, "Could you please release my pressure points first?"

Gu Shaoting objected, and the Alliance Leader released my pressure points. I took the small celadon bottle, poured out a black pill, swallowed it, and then handed the bottle to the Alliance Leader, saying, "You must have heard of the Demonic Sect's Intestine-Piercing Pill. One pill is poisonous, but another one within half an hour will cure it."

"This is..." The leader stared at the small medicine bottle in astonishment.

I nodded and said, "This is the poison. Now that you have the antidote, can the Alliance Leader rest assured?"

The leader gave me another deep look, and I heard Gu Shaoting sneer behind me: "Who knows if the poison is fake?"

I fucking want to spit a mouthful of phlegm in his face!

"Why don't you try one?" I sneered.

Gu Shaoting opened his mouth to retort again, but the Alliance Leader said in a deep voice, "Enough, Shaoting." Then he looked at me with his dark eyes, pressed the small medicine bottle back into my hand, and said, "I trust Miss Su, and I entrust my life to you."

I paused for a moment, clutching the medicine bottle, then nodded and smiled at him. I walked past him, heading towards Yan Shu, and said, "High Priest, please allow me to say one thing, just one thing. You will definitely not regret it."

"Little Su Xie." Yan Shu waited for me patiently, then asked with great interest, "I'm really curious what you can use to impress me." He waved for the archers to make way.

I scurried over and tugged at Yan Shu's sleeve, "Please come closer, my lord."

"What kind of tricks are you playing?" Yan Shu frowned slightly.

"How dare I play tricks in front of you, sir?" I said shamelessly with a smile, and he finally relaxed his brow and lowered his head.

I whispered something in his ear, and he frowned slightly, letting out a cold laugh, "What do you think?"

I then muttered something under my breath, and he tapped his folding fan lightly against his palm, saying with a half-smile, "Oh?"

I pressed my advantage and whispered to him softly.

"Hmm?" He seemed thoughtful, tapping his palm with his folding fan, and said, "How can you be sure he will definitely save you?"

I smiled shyly and whispered something in his ear in a coquettish manner.

Yan Shu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "You're willing to do that?"

"I'd give up anything for the High Priest!" I flattered him confidently, then added with a sly grin, "Of course, it's also for my own life. Everyone looks out for themselves, right?"

"Smooth-tongued~" Yan Shu glanced at me sideways, "How come I never knew you were such a coward?"

"You're not afraid of death? Go ahead and die!" I chuckled and asked, "Does the High Priest agree?"

Yan Shu straightened his clothes, then swiftly opened his white feather fan and laughed, "Sounds interesting, I'll play along for once, but..." He lowered his smiling eyes to look at me, "...if you can't keep your promise..."

"You can kill me at any time, sir!" I looked at him with utmost sincerity and sighed, "You know I've been hit by the old cult leader's 'Life and Death Bond,' so where can I run?"

He closed his folding fan with satisfaction, and with a wave of his wide sleeve, said, "Let them go."

"Thank you, High Priest!" I bowed and then turned and ran over to the Alliance Leader, pulling him outside.

The alliance leader was quite surprised and asked me in a low voice, "What did you say to him?"

"Hurry up, hurry up!" I urged impatiently. Yan Shu, that pervert, is unpredictable and changes his mind faster than turning the pages of a book. If we don't leave now, who knows what interesting things he might come up with in a little while? "Let's leave first."

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I clung to the leader the whole way, not daring to look back, wishing I could use both hands and feet to keep up, until I could no longer see the gates of the Demonic Sect before I finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, I heard footsteps in the woods. My heart skipped a beat, and I heard a soft, timid voice call out from not far away, "Cousin!"

I turned around at the sound and saw a vibrant green shoot leap into Ruan Bicheng's arms beside me, burying her face in her hands and saying in a tearful voice, "I was so worried, I thought something had happened to you too..."

She's so lovable! Even though I've never met her, I can probably guess who she is. She must be my rival in love from a past life, my little cousin, no doubt.

Ruan Bicheng patted her little cousin's back affectionately and comforted her, "It's alright now. Look, I rescued everyone."