"In just a few months, your skills have deteriorated to a subpar level, and you can't even utilize your internal energy anymore!"
Internal energy? Xie Lanzhi's mind twisted with disbelief. No wonder his attack was so powerful; it made her doubt her own strength. It turned out to be internal energy at work!
But how do I access this thing?
She had absolutely no idea that she possessed any internal energy!
"Why aren't you saying anything? Have you become mute? Or are you scared?" Xie Yan saw that she had a cold and aloof demeanor. Her body had clearly betrayed her, but she still appeared calm and composed.
Xie Lanzhi had no way to persuade the enemy not to use internal energy. She didn't say anything, but just found the direction of the door, took a few steps, but unexpectedly Xie Yan blocked the door.
"What a disgrace! Trying to run away before even fighting! Luckily, only you and I are left here, otherwise, the Xie family would have already despised you for this!" Xie Yan spun his Mo Dao, shaking the hilt to the ground, causing it to shatter into pieces.
"She's mute!" Xie Yan leaped three meters, his gray cloak billowing, and swung his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) at Xie Lanzhi with the power of a mountain-splitting axe.
Xie Lanzhi barely managed to dodge, then fell to the ground. She then poked her lips with her hand and whistled: Whoosh!
Whoosh! The horses outside the mansion neighed and then charged into the mansion like wild elephants, crashing directly into Xie Yan.
Xie Yan freed one hand to hold down the horse's head and pushed it forcefully to the side, causing the horse to instantly veer to the other side.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Xie Lanzhi grabbed the throwing knife from her waist and flung it at Xie Yan's face. Xie Yan immediately lowered his waist at a 180-degree angle, and then, using the long knife as a fulcrum, he leaped up and kicked Xie Lanzhi in the chest.
When Xie Lanzhi's throwing knife missed, she panicked and used her halberd to block it in front of her chest. As a result, she and the weapon flew directly into a pillar, and a piece of tile was shaken off the roof.
"Pfft!" Xie Lanzhi spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling as if her internal organs were about to fall out, but she did not give up. Taking advantage of Xie Yan adjusting his posture, she quickly leaped out of the mansion gate, rolled over, and ran quickly towards the alley entrance on the right.
"Where do you think you're going!" Xie Yan gave chase without hesitation.
Xie Lanzhi didn't run far. She took a breath and waited until the tightness in her chest eased before quickly thinking of a solution.
The opponent possesses internal energy, granting a power boost to every strike; a single blow against her is equivalent to the strength of two of hers. Now, the only option is to rely on external forces and the environment to increase one's chances of victory.
Although the odds of winning were slim, the longer it dragged on, the worse it would be for her. Unless absolutely necessary, she... Xie Lanzhi thought of the thing tucked into her waistband, and Wu Qiu's words echoed in her mind.
In the Golden Palace, Xie Lanzhi ordered Wu Qiu to prepare a letter of intent, in order to deal with those vagrants who refused to submit to her because of her use of force.
At that time, Wu Qiu said to her, "Marshal, I dare to say something. Since I have been in contact with you for a few days, I have noticed that you do not take martial arts seriously and have been a little lax. If you fight against any member of the Xie family in the future, it will be detrimental to you."
Xie Lanzhi then asked him, "The Xie family values martial prowess and respects martial arts. I have won the trust of my clansmen with my wisdom and strategy, but not everyone will trust me. If something happens to me, I would like to ask you, my strategist, to protect Si Xitong first. Even without me, with her, you can still have a leader and advisor to help you stabilize the land."
Wu Qiu sighed and said, "Marshal, why belittle yourself? You are simply unable to mobilize your internal energy, not that you have lost your martial arts skills. You have only fallen to inferior techniques. In fact, with your brute strength and skills alone, you might not be unable to fight back."
"If that doesn't work, then this is the only option."
Xie Lanzhi asked cautiously, "What is your plan?"
Wu Qiu said, "The Emperor of Xicheng once had a treasure in the national treasury called the flintlock gun, which is the most sophisticated flintlock gun in the world today, costing ten thousand taels of silver. Each flint is worth five thousand gold coins, so the Emperor of Xicheng used thirty thousand gold coins to forge a half-foot-long flintlock gun and four flints."
Xie Lanzhi later asked Wu Qiu to find it, and Wu Qiu lived up to expectations and found it. Just a few days after she left Lanzhang Palace, the flintlock pistol was delivered to her.
Therefore, when she encountered Xie Yan, she had to strike decisively; otherwise, she would never be able to return today, never see Little Phoenix again, and without the antidote, Little Phoenix would not survive.
To live and die together sounds touching, but it's actually quite tragic. Xie Lanzhi gave a bitter smile.
She composed herself and chose an open space, near the entrance of the vegetable market.
At the entrance of the vegetable market, execution is being carried out; it doesn't sound very auspicious.
When Xie Lanzhi arrived at this place, she whistled again. Suddenly, a gust of wind rose behind her head, making her scalp tingle. She fell to the ground, and the sharp blade of the Mo Dao fell right past her head.
Her instincts saved her from another attack.
Xie Yan jumped down from the high rooftop, as light as an eagle.
Seeing Xie Lanzhi fleeing to the entrance of the market, as if alluding to Xie Yongxin's death, Xie Yan's face immediately darkened: "What kind of lousy movement technique? What kind of lousy move is that!?"
"Xie Ying, are you looking down on me?!"
Xie Lanzhi: "......"
If she had internal energy, she would have beaten you to a pulp.
"Xie Ying, you don't dare to confront me head-on." Xie Yanren is old but not blind. Just now, he had beaten her so badly that she could only dodge and had no chance to fight back. Moreover, she had escaped to this place.
The thought of the vegetable market entrance evoked a powerful urge in Xie Yan, who unleashed a barrage of attacks, each strike merciless and ruthless, even shattering the ground stones upon landing.
Each time Xie Lanzhi dodged, though it was a struggle, the more focused she was, the easier it became. Then, with a backhand flick of her long halberd and a swing of the handle, she forced Xie Yan back half a step.
Just half a step was enough to greatly boost Xie Lanzhi's confidence.
She wasn't very skilled, but she was quick to learn anything. The flick and swing she just made was very similar to Xie Yan's movements.
Xie Yan finally noticed something strange. He repeatedly tried to strike her, and she dodged awkwardly, but as each strike nearly hit her, she dodged even more skillfully, which annoyed him.
With another strike, Xie Lanzhi quickly retreated, creating a ten-step distance. Xie Yan pursued fiercely, and this time, when he was half a step away, he swung his Mo Dao, cleaving Xie Lanzhi's long halberd away.
Having no weapon in her hand, Xie Lanzhi immediately ran into the market, trying to find places to lean on, such as rooftops and pillars, where Xie Yan could use her for support.
She could tell that Xie Yan possessed internal strength, but he wasn't using any advanced swordsmanship; rather, he was employing a powerful saber technique.
This was the treatment he received as a deputy general, and it was the only treatment he could receive. His longsword had also slashed at a long spear and the floor multiple times; though there were no chips, there were still faint marks.
Chang Jian, however, was different; he left no trace from beginning to end. Therefore, her weapon was the finest of the finest.
The long halberd flew quite far, and Xie Yan had no interest in that weapon for the time being. He directly picked up the long halberd and chased after Xie Ying.
Seeing Xie Ying running directly towards the market square, he chased after her, using his internal energy to speed up his pace. Just as he caught up, he saw Xie Lanzhi running back.
Seeing that she was young and had good physical strength and ran fast, she was able to keep up with his speed.
Enraged, his beard trembled: "Like a rat crossing the street, hiding here and there, is this what Lord Xie is like now?!"
"Absurd, utterly absurd! It is a disgrace for the Xie family to have a coward like you! How could I have been so blind to choose you as my master in the past!"
At this point, Xie Lanzhi suddenly stopped. She turned around and stopped running away. Instead, she put her hands behind her back and gripped the flintlock pistol tucked into her waistband. Just then, Xie Yan flew over quickly. She held the flintlock pistol to his head and quickly pulled the trigger. With a bang, black smoke burst from the muzzle and butt of the flintlock pistol.
Xie Yan was startled by the sound. He instinctively used his Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword) to block the fireball. With a clang, the Mo Dao blocked the fireball, but a round, two-inch-deep mark was branded onto the blade.
"It's a flintlock musket!?" Xie Yan quickly dodged, never expecting that he would have to run away. No wonder Xie Ying chose an open space, so that there would be fewer obstacles and she could shoot him more easily.
"Unfortunately, a false move." The father-in-law's belongings came in very handy. Xie Lanzhi quickly applied the medicine, but applying medicine to a flintlock pistol is slow. Xie Yan dodged the move, seized the opportunity, and threw the Mo Dao at her.
Xie Lanzhi hurriedly dodged, her hands moving even faster as she ran, stuffing gunpowder into the tube. Just as she was about to fire the second shot, Xie Yan suddenly accelerated and circled behind her.
Xie Lanzhi turned the gun around and drew her throwing knife. She turned and struck, but Xie Yan caught the knife between his palms. The next moment, however, no gunshot was fired.
Xie Lanzhi's eyes narrowed; the gun had a flaw. Given the level of industrial sophistication of that era, it was already quite good that it fired on the first try; the second shot failing was to be expected.
Xie Yan stopped moving forward, and the two suddenly found themselves locked in a tense standoff.
"Xie Ying, no wonder you're so fearless, you're even too lazy to practice martial arts. It turns out you're focusing your attention on unorthodox methods." Xie Yan sneered, "This thing is hard to make, just like your cannon. It took five years of research and development to barely produce twenty cannonballs. The cost is extremely high. Three cannonballs killed three generals in the Northern Region, and ten can be used to fight me."
"I am truly honored! But how many fires do you have? If I dodge them all, you are completely at my mercy!"
Xie Lanzhi also laughed and said, "Let's try and see how many I have hidden?"
"Now that things have come to this, I'm too lazy to waste any more words with you, because..." She paused, then quickly pulled the trigger again. This time, with a bang, the bullet pierced Xie Yan's shoulder blade, and the bullet left his body.
"Your only fate is death!"
Xie Yan grunted, clutching his shoulder as he quickly created distance and fled towards a rooftop for shelter.
The cat-and-mouse game suddenly switched sides.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 11:36:40 and 18:43:43 on December 2, 2021!
Thank you to the little angel who threw the landmine: 1 Pear;
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Yali (20 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 41 Is this internal energy?
When it was Xie Lanzhi's turn to chase, she turned back, picked up her long halberd, and chased after Xie Yan again. Xie Yan deliberately ran around her, then went into the building, and soon changed into a new long halberd.
Seeing this, Xie Lanzhi began loading her weapon and started thinking. Xie Yan wasn't unprepared either; he had also placed weapons nearby for replacement. Clearly, he wasn't as arrogant as he claimed, but rather prepared.
"It seems that you, Uncle Xie, are not as calm as you appear."
"How come you're afraid of me now, someone you underestimated? How about I give you a break? If you surrender and sing a song of willing conquest, I'll treat you leniently."
"After all, this is the clan's patriarchal law."
Provoking him with words, the old thief doesn't become arrogant; instead, we should be even more wary.
And she also has two fires.
This thing, which cost 20,000 gold, is now going to be wasted on that old thief.
Hearing these words, Xie Yan felt a tightness in his chest. He had been looked down upon by someone who had won unfairly. With her flintlock pistol, he couldn't get close to her easily. He had to think of a way to make her use up the remaining flint.
Xie Yan's eyes were dark. He quickly went downstairs, carrying a long sword, and kept approaching Xie Lanzhi, but always kept a certain distance.
Xie Lanzhi raised the fire starter but couldn't open it. She observed the surrounding environment, pondering how to kill Xie Yan with a single blow.
Suddenly, an arrow from a longbow came flying, making quite a commotion. Xie Lanzhi dodged it easily this time. The next moment, someone else shot an arrow at her from the ground.
This time there are five arrows.
The arrows on the ground nearby indicate that there are sentries everywhere.
Xie Lanzhi couldn't help but frown: "That old thief even secretly sent someone to help him."
"It seems that I was the only one who naively thought I should abide by the Xie family's rules."
When Xie Yan saw the sentry make a move, he immediately whistled as well. The sentry fell silent, and then someone sneaked up to Xie Yan's hiding place and handed him a light steel shield: "Seventh Uncle, as long as you have this, no one can hurt you."
Xie Yan picked up the steel shield, his worries vanishing instantly: "Well done, the matter is settled. I will honor you, my lord, and you shall take the position of Xie Ji!"
Xie Xiaojiang was immediately thrilled: "Thank you, Uncle Qi, for your high regard!"
"I will aim my longbow at Xie Zhu and wait for an opening in her back before I can kill her with a single blow!"
"Very well, remember, this matter is between you and me." Xie Yan's face gradually darkened, but his tone was one of absolute certainty: "The Xie family, it's time for me to make the decisions!"
This time, Xie Lanzhi sensed that Xie Yan was nearby, and that he was deliberately making noise to lure her southward. But whenever she went south, she would be shot from behind.
For a moment, they were at a slight disadvantage.
There were five hidden sentries in total, and Xie Yan's hidden soldiers were secretly shooting Xie Lanzhi like chicks. Even the dignified Lord Xie had fallen to the point of being shot and killed in such a sorry state.