Jianghu (un mundo de artes marciales) - No te cortes

Capítulo 49

He saw her face fly past his and fall in another direction.

Shuangjing's eyes were already closed; she couldn't see him.

Suddenly, someone shouted in a loud, angry voice: "Fire the arrows!"

The sound of bows being drawn in unison.

"No—!" Xuan Sheng rushed forward in a frenzy, trying to plunge down the mountain, but suddenly countless chains were thrown out from behind him, grabbing his limbs and making him unable to move.

"preparation!"

Shuangjing's body fell down the mountain.

"put!"

"No—Double clean!! Double clean!!"

Teng—!!

Thousands upon thousands of arrows gathered into a dense, dark cloud, and then rained down upon the falling figure.

"No--!"

Thousands of arrows pierced the solid mountain wall, and thick, dark red blood dripped onto the ground.

"Shuang Jing—! Shuang Jing—!" A voice filled with grief, anger, and despair echoed through the valley.

—Double clean…!—

"Huh?" She turned around in the long corridor, looking around at the silent, deserted surroundings with a puzzled and bewildered expression: "Who's there?"

The corridor with its red-lacquered pillars was quiet, with the afternoon sun lazily casting its rays, casting faint shadows on the ground from the railings and swaying flowers.

Shuangjing looked around curiously, her mind elsewhere, and gazed at the place with a somewhat dazed expression.

I don't know why I'm here.

She only remembered falling into a deep sleep on Xuan Sheng's back, and then waking up to find herself lying on a comfortable, soft bed in an exquisite room.

Could it be that they've already cleared the other challenges? That shouldn't be possible; Master wouldn't give up unless he saw me coming to challenge him. Therefore, I can't help but feel a little worried.

Perhaps this is one of the challenges in the deep valley. The Thousand Heroes Tower is incredibly mysterious, and the Beautiful Valley is full of hidden talents. Perhaps it's best to be careful. She unconsciously clenched her fists and slowly walked forward.

Lost in thought, she walked to the end of the corridor when she suddenly heard the continuous sounds of festive music and firecrackers in the distance, along with shouts, laughter, and the loud voices of children playing. Curious, she walked over and saw high walls and deep courtyards all around, with blue brick walls, carved railings, and jade steps. Although the architecture was noble and unique, it also exuded a grand and majestic aura within its elegance.

She was engrossed in looking at the exotic flowers and plants around her when she absentmindedly turned around and bumped into someone.

"Ouch, that hurts so much!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention!" Shuangjing covered her head and helped the person up. Before she could even see who it was, she heard him cheer loudly:

"Oh my, isn't this the leader of the Seven Stones Sect?" A middle-aged man dressed simply greeted her with a smile, "Leader of the Seven Stones Sect, it's an honor to meet you..." He then turned to her and said, "Tell the master and madam that the leader of the Seven Stones Sect has arrived!"

"Ah...you...you are...?" Shuangjing searched her memory for a long time but couldn't find this person. He looked to be about forty years old, tall and strong, with a full beard, a loud voice, and rosy cheeks. She had never seen him before and looked at him with curiosity.

"Ah, Sect Master, don't you remember? I am Qiao Xu. We met at Master's wedding banquet!" Qiao Xu said enthusiastically.

Just as Shuang Jing was about to ask who your master was and where this place was, a calm, aloof, yet familiar voice came from behind: "Ah Xu, I heard that Sect Master Ye has arrived?"

"Ah, Master! That's right!" Qiao Xu immediately turned around to greet him, saying excitedly, "Master, Madam... you were just talking about it, and now Sect Leader Ye has arrived. I don't know which clueless person greeted him at the door without even announcing it!"

Shuang Jing was startled and turned around to see a couple coming out hand in hand. The woman was beautiful and graceful, with a face like a lotus flower, a lithe figure, and bright, white teeth. Upon seeing her, the man's eyes lit up, his face beaming with joy. There was not a trace of gloom in his eyes, only pure happiness. He immediately went to greet her: "Oh my, it really is Sect Leader Ye! I never expected you to come, I...I...I..."

"Shao Hua." The man behind her chuckled softly, gently taking his wife's hand and pulling her behind him. He whispered, "You're just recovering, be careful not to fall." Seeing Shao Hua stick out her tongue shyly, he smiled at her, then bowed respectfully to Shuang Jing, saying, "I, Xuan, respectfully welcome the Sect Master. The journey here is long, and the Sect Master has gone to great lengths to come. Half Moon City is deeply grateful."

Shuangjing stared at him with wide eyes, her gaze fixed on the man before her ever since she heard his voice.

His demeanor remained composed yet proud, and his smile remained gentle yet tender, but the pampering, tenderness, and admonitions were no longer directed at him.

What's going on...?

She looked into his eyes, which held a faint sense of unfamiliarity mixed with a touch of politeness, respect, gratitude, and curiosity, completely lacking the all-encompassing depth that had been present before.

"Xuansheng?" She involuntarily took a step back and murmured, "You... what's wrong with you? Where is this place?"

"?" Seeing her face suddenly turn pale, Xuan Sheng and his wife were both a little puzzled, but Shao Hua still explained with a smile, "Today is my little son's first birthday, and Sect Leader Ye has traveled all this way..."

"What?!" Shuang Jing nearly collapsed. She stared at her with wide eyes, then turned to Xuan Sheng: "Wh...what?!"

“My wife said that today is my son’s first birthday, and I am truly grateful that the sect leader could travel from afar to celebrate with him.” Although he was somewhat displeased with the woman’s inexplicable reaction, he still swallowed his anger and politely replied, remembering that she was the renowned Ye Shuangjing Xuansheng of the martial arts world. However, a hint of coldness appeared in his eyes: “The sect leader is famous throughout the land, and I am truly honored that my son has received your favor…”

"You don't remember me?! Why are you talking to me like that?!" Shuangjing stepped forward and grabbed his shoulders, asking urgently, "Ye Shuangjing of the Seven Stones Sect, Du Cheshui of the Chongchong Tower, Chen Tiansha of the Ziwei Hall... and, and, Lin Meihua of the Tianxia Inn... and!" She frowned tightly, as if trying to remember something, but suddenly her mind went blank. She could clearly see many images and hear many sounds...

But they were all ethereal and blurry, making it impossible for her to grasp them at all.

Shuangjing shook her head vigorously, still holding onto Xuansheng's arms tightly, her expression dazed and her face desolate.

No, no, that's not how it is. They were just... weren't they just... weren't they just... where were they?

Everyone was astonished and looked at each other in bewilderment. The distinguished guests inside, hearing the commotion, also curiously peeked out to look.

Seeing that she had made such a mess of things, Xuan Sheng frowned and his face turned colder, but he still turned to his wife and said, "Shao Hua, you go in and greet the guests first." He gave his wife a look. Although he had no grudge against the Seven Stones Sect, the martial world would never allow him to protect himself. Ye Shuangjing was the youngest and most skilled female knight in the world. If anything happened, his wife and children would be able to escape first.

He turned his head and saw Ye Shuangjing looking at him with clear, bright eyes, both confused and sorrowful. She wanted to say something, but her thoughts were in disarray, and she couldn't utter a single word. After a long while, she shook her head and murmured, "...You're wary of me...you're actually...warning against me..." She shook her head vigorously, and tears fell to the ground with her movements. She looked up and saw that Xuan Sheng was still looking at her indifferently, his eyes full of unfamiliarity and distance. She unconsciously withdrew her hand from his body, taking a step back timidly, still unable to believe it. As if talking to herself, yet also to him, she said, "You don't recognize me...you're actually avoiding me like this...how could you think...think I would harm you...?" Even if it were my life, if you wanted it, I would give it to you, but now you actually think I would harm you?!

"Xuansheng!" She could hardly hold back her tears, but dared not look at his face, afraid that his unfamiliar coldness and severity would break her: "You...forgot me, fine, but Meihua, Tiansha...and Ache...have you forgotten them all too?" She said softly, with an almost pleading tone and sadness.

"?" Xuan Sheng frowned, looking at the woman before him, who was muttering to herself and shedding tears, her voice floating in the air, making it impossible to understand a single word. It took him a while to make out a name. After a moment of silence, he finally understood something, and his tone softened. He looked at her with pity and sighed, "Sect Leader, Half Moon City deeply grieves for the passing of the Tower Master Du. The untimely death of such a towering young hero as Tower Master Du is indeed a great loss to the martial arts world..."

"Wh...what!?" Shuang Jing suddenly raised her head, her face drained of color. Fragments of memories in her mind tried to be pieced together, but she couldn't.

"Although the deep affection that Master Du had for Master Shen is moving and admirable, it is truly... heartbreaking that he took his own life in this way!" Xuan Sheng sighed heavily at the end.

Looking up, I saw Ye Shuangjing's face was as white as snow, and her eyes were unfocused as she stared ahead, as if she were no longer in this world.

Fog is not fog, yet it can still stir up the vast ocean.

"As expected, they can't be woken up." Ning Du frowned as she looked at her sister. The two of them looked at the group of people lying on the ground, fast asleep. They were all slumped over, unable to be woken up no matter what they did. They even splashed water on Xuan Sheng and kicked him a few times, venting their previous dissatisfaction with him, but he remained oblivious, immersed in his dream, and did not react.

"It must be another maze, right?" An Xing examined the surrounding stones, then jumped onto one and touched its surface, trying to find something amiss, but found nothing. He frowned and said, "The only thing that could be used to stabilize this maze is these stones, right? Where are they?"

“But it could be anything else…” Ning Du sighed, looking around at the woods, weeds, and wildflowers, feeling a surge of irritation: “If it’s something else, how long will it take to break the formation?” He paused again: “Luckily we didn’t fall asleep while guarding this place, otherwise everyone would be dead here in three days.”

“However…” An Xing suddenly remembered something, and a smile crept onto his face as he glanced at his sister: “In any case, the array-stabilizing object is within this range, right? If that’s the case…”

"Ah..." Ningdu immediately understood her sister's meaning and chuckled, "Then, why not just destroy everything?"

The sisters exchanged knowing smiles, all revealing a sly look in their eyes similar to Shuang Jing's.

"But what about the sect leader and the others?" Ning Du asked, pointing to the group of people sleeping like logs.

"Let's go up that rock and take a look!" An Xing leaped up, and the two stood side by side on the highest boulder, looking around.

All around were ruins of stones. The white rocks looked like lotus leaves floating in the dark green forest under the moonlight. The flames that still flickered in the middle emitted wisps of smoke. A group of people were scattered around sleeping. Xuan Sheng and Shuang Jing leaned on each other, Mei Hua and Che Shui slept back to back, and Bai Yun and Jin Guan stood guard on either side of Che Shui, seemingly protecting him even in their sleep.

"Let's split it into two circles," An Xing said after examining the situation for a moment. "I'll be responsible for destroying all of this, and you'll form a shield in the middle to protect them from harm. How about that?"

"Alright." Ning Du shrugged, and just as he was about to jump, he involuntarily turned back to look at the person beside him. For some reason, he blurted out, "Sister..."

"Don't worry." An Xing still had his back to her, his calm tone reassuring her: "The sect leader said we'll all go back together. So..." I won't die here, and neither will you.

Ning Du remained silent, her profile, illuminated by the faint flames and moonlight, suddenly taking on an unusual seriousness and coldness. She carefully examined Shuang Jing, who was lying asleep on the ground, curled up in Xuan Sheng's arms, her brows furrowed as she murmured something anxiously, seemingly having some kind of nightmare. Ning Du sighed, then chuckled softly, her usual nonchalant and playful expression returning to her face.

"It's just a pile of rocks, right, sister?" She turned to An Xing and smiled brightly.

"You know that much." The other person also proudly raised their head, lightly leaped up, and instantly landed on another boulder, spear in hand.

The long, slender silver spear seemed like a ray of moonlight slipping into her hand, radiating a sharp, icy light.

"Ready?" An Xing asked his sister. "The lives of the sect leader and everyone else are in our hands!"

"Hmm!" Ningdu stood among the crowd, grinning. "Let's begin, destruction!"

Before she could finish speaking, An Xing had already leaped high into the air, spear in hand. With swift and agile movements, a loud shout rang out. As she landed, a gust of wind arose, and the spear, upside down, plunged violently into the rock, shattering with a resounding crack. As the fissure opened, she had already leaped to another spot, the spear spinning and thrusting with the force of a tornado. The flames at the center were extinguished by the sudden gust of air, and ash, rocks, and pieces of wood were swept far away. An Xing lightly touched the ground with her toes, letting out a sharp cry and a furious shout, gripping her weapon tightly and cleaving it at a larger rock. The earth was torn open, cracks appeared, sand and stones flew, leaves swirled, and the wind howled, creating a massive vortex and storm around them.

Suddenly, two bronze rings flew into the air. Ning Du stood resolutely in the middle of the crowd, wielding his weapons with both hands to form an invisible shield. All the flying fragments and stones were blocked outside and did not get close to Shuang Jing and the others.

"!" As if realizing something, Ningdu suddenly turned his head and saw two figures weaving through the surrounding stone and sand curtain. He frowned and leaped up, immediately charging forward. He swung his right hand and blocked the flying knife that was aimed at Anxing.

"Drink!" Two more weapons came flying through the air. As Ningdu dodged, she saw a sizable piece of stone about to hit Cheshui and the others. She immediately threw her copper ring to shatter it. As she slightly turned her body, a flying knife grazed past her. With a tearing sound, a cut appeared on her arm.

"Damn it!" She picked up her weapon and flung away several more stones that were about to fall on the group. She put away the chain lock, secured the copper ring to her wrist, pressed the gate, and the edge of the blade immediately opened outward. She took a few steps back, then leaped forward with all her might.

Several silver flying knives came flying at Ning Du, who raised his hand to knock them down. In an instant, he was in front of the man. He had an unusual figure, a hunchback with long arms, slender legs like bamboo, eyes like bells, and thick lips. He knew that this should be the seventh of the Eight Immortals of Flying Eagle Fortress, the Lonely and Strange Man.

Clang—!

The two weapons clashed, sparks flying everywhere. Qi Xian held a crescent-shaped short knife, while Ning Du blocked it with the copper ring blade on his arm. The two were evenly matched, their sharp blades pressing and retreating, neither willing to give an inch.

Suddenly something came rushing in, and Ningdu immediately took a step back. With a loud thud, something incredibly heavy struck the spot where she had just been standing.

Turning her head, she saw a little girl standing quietly on the rock. She looked no more than eleven or twelve years old, with her hair in two buns, a petite and delicate figure, and a fair complexion with a rosy glow, appearing like a delicately carved jade, innocent and adorable. In her hand, she held an extremely thick iron chain, as wide as a young girl's arm, with a steel hammer, as large as a watermelon and as heavy as lead, covered in iron spikes, at the end. It had already smashed a hole in the ground. The girl noticed Ningdu's slightly pale face and couldn't help but giggle, her voice like a clear, silvery bell, sending chills down one's spine in the deep night mountains. This was the leader of the Eight Immortals, known as the Great Immortal Who Pricks the Child.

"Hehe..." The little girl standing to the side smiled sweetly at her companion and said, "Tell me, how should we play?" She blinked and stuck out her tongue: "How about we smash her legs off first? Then, we'll smash her hands off with the ball. Qiqi, you can use a blade to cut off her flesh piece by piece. Then we'll smash her head off with the ball, okay?" She smiled innocently and pointed at Ningdu.

The lonely and eccentric man remained silent, only nodding quietly, a hint of tenderness flashing in his eyes as he looked at the Great Immortal.

Ning Du couldn't help but sneer: "Is it not enough that four people have been crippled by Lord Du? Are the others also coming to their deaths?"

"Oh dear, big sister, why are you so stubborn?" The immortal looked at her with a smile: "Then let's cut off your tongue first..."

Boom! A loud noise came from the side. They turned around and saw that the tallest rock was cracking open from the middle and slowly collapsing and shattering.

"Oh dear, this is terrible..." the immortal said, pouting, and leaped forward with a light touch of his toes.

"Stay away from my sister!" Ning Du was about to chase after her when Gu Ai Guai Zi blocked his way, and he immediately shouted angrily, "Get out of the way!"

The Lonely Eccentric remained silent, a hint of murderous intent flashing in his eyes. He crossed his arms, revealing ten throwing knives. He stepped back, and the silver rain of blades hurtled towards Ningdu! The latter smiled coldly, also taking several steps back. At the same time, he flung out the copper rings in his hands. The weapons of both sides collided in the air, and countless sparks flew out!

On the other hand, Da Xian was in hot pursuit of An Xing. The huge, heavy meteor hammer seemed to have no weight to her, moving back and forth as she pleased, throwing it at him at will.

An Xing frowned slightly, but her body swayed to the side and she couldn't dodge in time. She felt a sudden, burning pain in her shoulder, followed by a tearing sound. A large patch of skin on her right shoulder had been scraped open. She gritted her teeth and endured the pain. She pushed off the rocks with her feet, and with a loud thud, the meteor hammer struck the rock. An Xing was thrown by the shockwave and almost fell to the ground.

"Good girl, don't run away!" the immortal said with a grin behind her, and with a wave of his right hand, he launched another heavy attack.

"Whoosh!" An Xing had already exhausted most of his strength by defeating the array of rocks. He felt a bit strained as he fled, and was grazed in many places while dodging. He glanced to the side and saw Ning Du locked in a fierce battle with another opponent.

In a flash of inspiration, she suddenly sped up and landed on a stone pillar, pausing for a moment before the meteor hammer fell. With a loud crash, the stone shattered into dust.

An Xing smiled slightly, quickly gritted his teeth, covered his wound, and rushed towards the other rocks.

"Don't think I don't know what you're doing..." the Great Immortal said with a smile after smashing many rocks, but a cold and cruel glint had appeared in her eyes. She suddenly swung her meteor hammer, and as the weapon was extended, she pulled hard with her left hand. The heavy, spiked ball suddenly curved perfectly, and An Xing, unable to dodge in time, was struck in the chest. He let out a muffled groan and fell to the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Damn it, there are only a few more pieces left. She gasped for breath, looking at the last few rocks not far away, and gritted her teeth as she stood up.