Xuezhi took the gourd, puzzled: "And then?"
"It's gone."
"So you're going to accept this?"
"Um."
Feng She turned around, took two steps, stopped, took out a dagger from his waist, cut off all the small braids on the right side of his hair, and handed them to Xue Zhi: "Take this too."
Xuezhi inexplicably accepted it again.
Feng She left without looking back.
During dinner, Xuezhi pondered for a long time before finally putting down her chopsticks: "No. No."
Shangguan Tou asked, "What's wrong?"
"Feng She is most likely going to Feng Cheng."
How did you know?
"No. I have to go find him." Without saying a word, Xuezhi stood up, went back to her bedroom to get her weapon, and rushed out.
"Zhi'er, you can't go out," Shangguan Tou called out. "You're still in your postpartum period, you can't be exposed to drafts—Zhi'er, come back!"
West Peak of Mount Hua.
A gentle breeze blew, and the world stretched out before them. A crescent moon hung above ancient trees, behind which rose and fell a range of mountains and a bottomless abyss. Led by his disciple, Feng She arrived here.
The man sitting under the ancient tree, enjoying the cool shade, was his uncle.
Feng Cheng held an unsheathed sword in his hand. Behind him lay a huge coffin.
"I haven't even had a chance to look for you, and you've delivered yourself to my doorstep again." Feng Cheng wiped his sword sheath without looking up. "Tell me, what's your purpose in coming here this time?"
"duel."
"Oh, a duel? How does it work?"
"A fight to the death."
"Very well! You said it!" Feng Cheng suddenly stood up and kicked open the coffin lid. "Today I'm going to cut you into thousands, tens of thousands of pieces and feed them all to my son!"
Feng She gritted his teeth, his face contorted with rage: "You killed my parents and broke my bones. I should settle this score with you properly!"
In an instant, both of their longswords were drawn simultaneously.
The wind howled.
Under the cold, silvery moon, only two dark figures remained, accompanied by the chilling, gleaming light of swords, layers of white clouds surrounding the western peak, and the bottomless abyss hidden beneath them.
At the foot of Mount Hua.
Shangguan Tou and Xuezhi mounted their horses. Xuezhi sat behind him, tightly embracing Shangguan Tou's waist, her long coat billowing in the wind.
Suddenly, a figure darted onto the road ahead.
Shangguan Tou tightened the reins, and the horse neighed.
A woman stands in the pale moonlight.
"I advise you not to go." She slowly turned her head and smiled faintly at the two of them. "Feng She is going to die today, why throw two more lives into the fire?"
154
"Liu Hua?" Xue Zhi and Shangguan Tou said in unison.
Liu Hua pursed her lips. In the darkness and moonlight, her crimson lips, like blood-red rouge, were full of tension, yet exceptionally cold and beautiful.
"Hahahaha... Why does everyone react like this when they see me?" Liu Hua laughed exaggeratedly. "In the martial world, some people die and that's it, while others come back to life after they die. What's so strange about that?"
Neither of them spoke.
“You two are going to die soon too.” Liu Hua looked up, a mocking expression on her face. “However, it’s the former kind.”
Xuezhi said, "You... framed Xia Qingmei?"
"Of course not. It's true that he practiced the Hibiscus Heart Sutra. But it's just a lie."
Xuezhi wanted to ask more questions, but she held back: "Never mind, this has nothing to do with us. Please make way, Miss Liu, so we can go up and rescue the person."
“It’s beyond saving.” Liu Hua bowed gracefully. “However, if you insist, I will not object.”
Then she slipped into the woods.
They caught up with West Peak as quickly as possible. Although many people tried to stop them, no one dared to say anything once they saw it was Shangguan Tou. When they arrived at West Peak, Feng She and Feng Cheng were still fighting. Feng She was seriously injured and had been knocked to the ground several times. Clearly, his martial arts skills were far inferior to Feng Cheng's. From beginning to end, he was only fighting desperately out of sheer hatred.
At least, he's still alive.
Xuezhi finally breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Stop!" But Fengcheng showed no sign of stopping. Just as Xuezhi was about to rush forward, Shangguan Tou stopped her.
"I'll go."
After confirming that Xuezhi wouldn't make any rash moves, he ran towards the two men.
But after taking only a few steps, a tall, dark figure blocked his way.
Then, he struck Shangguan Tou with a palm.
Xuezhi saw it clearly; the person hadn't used much force. It was the first time she'd ever seen Shangguan Tou knocked down with a single blow.
Shangguan Tou fell heavily to the ground and slid backward a short distance.
He probably couldn't believe such a thing could happen. He clutched his chest, blood welling up in his throat, but he held it back and swallowed it down.
The strong wind shook the branches and leaves of the ancient trees, making a rustling sound.
At the same time, Feng She was kicked to the edge of a cliff by Feng Cheng.
Several rocks rolled down the cliff.
The man in black took a few steps toward Shangguan Tou, his back to Feng Cheng, and said, "The troublemakers have arrived. Let's finish this quickly."
Xuezhi stared blankly at the man in black.
She remembered that voice.
It was also on Mount Hua, in a secret room in Fengcheng. That voice, whose gender was indistinguishable.
"Yes." Feng Cheng stepped forward and kicked Feng She again.
Feng She had half his body tumbled over the cliff, clinging tightly to the edge with both hands. Only then did the echo of a stone hitting the ground resound between the cliffs.
"Xiao She!" Xue Zhi couldn't care less about anything else and ran forward.
The man in black turned around and struck again with his palm.
Just as Xuezhi was about to be sent flying by his blow, Shangguan Tou stepped in front of her and fell to the ground once again. This time, without even a moment's respite, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
"Tou!" Xuezhi threw herself to the ground and hugged Shangguan Tou. "Why did you—"