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Capítulo 74

"My surname is Lian, Lian Junchu," he said in a cold voice, then left her without looking back.

It wasn't until his figure disappeared at the end of the road that Yue Ruzheng, who had been standing in the wilderness for a long time, seemed to be awakened.

But she couldn't take a step, and even forgot how to leave.

After a long while, she dragged her heavy steps to the foot of the city wall. The marks that Lian Junchu had made with the tip of her sword were still faintly visible, and the city bricks revealed their pale faces. Yue Ruzheng slowly reached out her hand, her fingertips touching the sword marks.

Icy cold, penetrating to the bone.

Despair overwhelmed her, and she pressed herself tightly against the weathered city wall with all her might, unable to suppress a sob. The sound was extremely low, yet it contained boundless pain and desolation.

Author's Note: The interaction between the two kids, the kind of rivalry and heart-wrenching scenes you've been waiting for, won't be shown right away. If you're really impatient, you can save up a few chapters to read at once, so it won't feel like a long wait. I don't mind!

Chapter 51 Where Does the Footsteps in the Empty Valley Go?

On the road leading south of the city, Chongming spotted Lian Junchu in the distance and noticed his heavy steps, as if he had exhausted all his strength. He hurriedly went to meet him and asked, "Young Master, are you injured?"

"No..." Lian Junchu replied wearily, slightly surprised to find only himself and another rider remaining. "Where are the others?"

The rider dismounted and replied, "I asked my third brother to take the two wounded brothers to the south city first. Danfeng has some hemostatic medicine, and I was also worried they'd get impatient waiting there."

Lian Junchu nodded, and they helped him onto the horse. The rider held the reins for him, and the three of them slowly headed towards the south of the city.

Upon arriving at the agreed-upon location, Yinglong had already bandaged his injured companion's wounds. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lian Junchu and the others return. Chongming looked around, then lifted the carriage curtain to peer inside. Seeing this, Yinglong patted him on the shoulder: "Don't bother looking, Danfeng isn't here."

"What's wrong with her?" Chongming asked anxiously, gripping the hilt of his sword.

As Yinglong helped Lian Junchu dismount, he replied, "After she learned that you were alright, she thought about the two brothers who were still near Yinxi Xiaozhu and couldn't wait until dawn to meet them, so she rode off to find them herself."

Lian Junchu had barely stepped onto the ground when she heard this, her face darkening: "Why send her alone? Don't you know the people from Bliss Valley are still nearby?"

"She...she heard from the returning brothers that the people of Bliss Valley have already withdrawn." Yinglong's voice trailed off nervously. "Young Master, you know her temper; I can't stop her."

Lian Junchu frowned, wanting to say something to him, but Chongming had already mounted his horse and said, "Young master, I'll go and meet him. Anyway, it's not too far from Yinxi Xiaozhu."

"Don't be alone again. Do you think Mo Li will leave so easily?" Lian Junchu climbed onto the carriage. Ying Long, realizing his mistake, carefully jumped onto the front of the carriage and turned the carriage around towards Yinxi Xiaozhu.

They didn't travel quickly along the way. Judging from the time, Danfeng should have turned back after finding the two riders. But after walking for a long time, they still hadn't seen the three of them.

After a while, as dawn broke, figures moved along the road ahead, accompanied by the sound of horses' hooves. Chongming exclaimed joyfully, "They're our people!"

Yinglong was relieved, but at that moment the sound of horses' hooves drew near, and there were clearly only two swordsmen, with no sign of Danfeng.

"Where is Danfeng?" Chongming had also noticed something was wrong and quickly spurred his horse to meet them.

The swordsmen looked surprised, and one of them said, "We just came from Yinxi Cottage. Did Danfeng come looking for us?"

"Oh no!" Chongming spurred his horse hard and rushed back to the carriage. Before he could speak, Lian Junchu inside the carriage sighed, "If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have brought you off the island at all."

After leaving Yinglong and the others, Danfeng hurried towards Yinxi Xiaozhu without stopping. The road was lined with lush pine and cypress trees, casting deep shadows. Like Chongming, this was her first time leaving Seven Star Island. Although she outwardly appeared fearless, she felt a vague unease inside. But at this moment, all she wanted was to find her two other companions as soon as possible and return to the island, avoiding further trouble.

The path she was taking was not the same one she had come by. There was a low hill there, which she could also walk on. Halfway there, she suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves in the distance, as if they were coming from this direction.

Danfeng was startled, thinking it was the young master arriving with his men. Looking back, in the dim light of dawn, she could vaguely see a group of men in black riding towards her on the low hill.

A chill ran through her, and she quickly dismounted, hiding under a tree and clinging to the slope. The group of people hurried over, without a word exchanged, heading straight ahead. Danfeng held her breath, waiting until they were far away before mounting her horse and continuing on her way. They seemed to be heading to Yinxi Cottage as well, and fearing she might cause trouble again, Danfeng dared not approach, only slowing her pace and following them at a distance.

Upon reaching the Da Shu Mountain area, Danfeng couldn't find any trace of the two riders. She was secretly worried, wondering if something had happened to them. Continuing her search along the stream, she gradually approached Merlin, which she had visited before. She saw dark shadows moving in the distance, heading towards Yinxi Xiaozhu.

Danfeng left her horse behind and cautiously followed behind, swords in hand. The group reached the outer wall of Yinxi Xiaozhu, then hurried along, seemingly carrying a section of bamboo tube. At that moment, a lean man threw several black pellets into the courtyard. Even from a distance, Danfeng could smell the strange, sweet-smelling odor emanating from the pellets. The group then removed the stuffing from the bamboo tube, and clumps of white matter flew out, hovering above their heads for a moment before seemingly catching the scent of the black pellets and flying towards the courtyard.

A short while later, a scream was heard from inside the wall, followed by a commotion. At that moment, the men in black quickly retreated a few steps, took out crossbows from their waists, and aimed them at the wall.

"What is that?!" someone shouted from inside the courtyard. As he spoke, a man leaped onto the wall, but before he could even show half his body, he was struck by a crossbow bolt and fell to the ground.

At this moment, many people rushed out of the main gate of Yinxi Xiaozhu, including disciples of the Hengshan Sect.

Jiang Shuying strode forward, her white robes fluttering, and stood at the forefront of the crowd, angrily shouting at the group of men in black: "Is Mo Li going to cause trouble again?"

A series of low laughs came from not far away. The sound was faint and lingering, like the sound of strings, but to everyone who heard it, it was a buzzing sound that pierced their hearts.

Jiang Shuying calmed herself down and stared ahead. Mo Li, dressed in a long black robe, slowly approached. His eyebrows were long and sharp, and if it weren't for his sickly appearance, he would be considered quite handsome.

"Madam Jiang, there's no need to be angry. I'm not here to cause you trouble." He brushed the dust off his clothes and glanced at the crowd in front of Yinxi Xiaozhu. "I'm looking for Yu Hezhi."

Jiang Shuying's expression changed, and she was about to press for more information when Lan Baichen's deep voice rang out from behind her: "What? Would someone as reclusive and carefree as Brother He really provoke the Valley of Bliss?"

Seeing the situation was unfavorable, Danfeng subconsciously took a step back. Unexpectedly, her feet were on dry branches, making a slight sound. The lean man standing by the wall turned around abruptly upon hearing the sound, his eyes darting to the side, and he immediately chased after her with his knife.

Danfeng turned and ran, a fierce wind whistling behind her. Suddenly, she twisted and spun around, her twin swords flashing horizontally, colliding with the man's curved blade. Danfeng felt a jolt in her wrist, knowing that this man possessed considerable inner strength. She composed herself, held her breath, and with a tremor, her twin swords coiled around his shoulders like nimble snakes.

The man's moves were simple yet incredibly powerful, whipping up fallen leaves. After exchanging a dozen or so blows, the tip of his sword flicked, aiming at the man's throat. As the man leaned back to dodge, the man leaped into the forest. The man hesitated for a moment, then gave chase.

Danfeng darted swiftly through the silent forest; the place where she tethered her horse was not far away. Although her inner strength was inferior to the man's, her movements were light and agile, like a blue butterfly flitting about. At this moment, the man caught up behind her. Seeing that she was about to leap onto her horse, he slashed out with his curved blade, aiming straight for Danfeng's lower back.

Upon hearing the sound, Danfeng swung her sword, and with a clang, the weapons clashed. Taking advantage of the momentum, Danfeng leaped onto her horse, raised the reins, and galloped away. The man flicked his left sleeve, and an extremely fine silver needle flew out, piercing the horse's hind hoof. The horse neighed loudly as it galloped, but Danfeng had no choice but to forcefully whip the injured horse, riding it out of Merlin.

Just as they reached the roadside, the horse could no longer keep up and suddenly overturned while galloping. Danfeng cried out in alarm, and as she fell off the horse, she pushed off the saddle and swung several feet to the side. She had barely regained her footing when the man in black was already close to the roadside, followed by several helpers.

Just then, Danfeng saw a woman riding towards them. In a moment of urgency, she leaped forward, grabbed the woman's shoulder with one hand, swung herself onto the horse, snatched the reins, and cried out, "Excuse me!"

Before the words were even finished, the pursuers raised their arms and fired their crossbows, sending several black-feathered bolts hurtling towards the woman in front of Danfeng. Just as Danfeng was about to raise her sword to block them, the woman whipped her horse, deflecting the bolts one by one. Taking advantage of the moment when the pursuers dodged, the woman snatched the reins from Danfeng's hand, turned her horse around, and galloped back along the same path.

Danfeng gripped the saddle tightly, constantly looking back. The men chased after her for a few steps, and another volley of crossbow bolts whistled out. Danfeng pulled the woman in front of her, and the two quickly bent over and lay prone beside the horse's belly. The wind howled, and the crossbow bolts grazed Danfeng's shoulder.

Ahead lay a fork in the road; one path was relatively flat, leading directly to Luzhou City, while the other was rugged and winding, stretching towards the distant mountains. Hearing the relentless pursuit behind her, the woman hesitated for a moment, then spurred her horse onto the winding path.

Danfeng turned around and looked back. Some of the men in black had already mounted their horses, and the man with the knife was leading the way, closing in steadily. The mountain path was getting narrower and narrower, and Danfeng's clothes kept getting caught on the bushes by the roadside, scraping her face. Just then, they came to a bend; the top of the hill was just ahead. The woman spurred her horse on, trying to rush to the top, but Danfeng heard a whistling sound behind her. Just as she turned around, a black crossbow bolt came hurtling towards her with a sharp whistle.