"If you've got the guts, stop fighting me!"
"You're not worthy of my attention," Lan Wuxie said coldly from inside the railing. "Who exactly are you, and why do you know the martial arts of Lan Ying Palace?"
"Who am I?" Qing Ling grinned maliciously, her voice suddenly hoarse, even more grating than a duck's quack. "You made me wish I were dead back then, and now you don't even know who I am?!"
Hua Chongyang, wielding a short sword, fought and retreated against the man in black, occasionally glancing up to observe the battle between Lan Wuxie and Qing Ling. The moment Qing Ling lifted her human skin mask, Hua Chongyang was so startled that her hand trembled, and she was nearly stabbed by the man in black. She dodged the sword with a sidestep, throwing three willow-leaf darts with her left hand to repel the man in black, then looked up again at Qing Ling on the third floor.
That face could hardly be called a human face at all.
The crisscrossing scars on his face revealed exposed skin and flesh, and his left eye socket was split open, exposing half of his eyeball. Although it had healed, it would still startle anyone at first glance.
Almost half the people in the hall stopped what they were doing and looked up.
Lan Wuxie gave her a cold look:
"You're so ugly, how would I know who you are?"
Qing Ling laughed hoarsely, brushing aside the long hair hanging in front of her forehead, her voice sinister and terrifying:
"Indeed. You've harmed countless people; how could you possibly remember them all, Pavilion Master Lan?"
That tone of voice, that gesture—a flash of inspiration struck Hua Chongyang, and he cried out in surprise:
"...Orchid fragrance?"
The female disciple of Lan Ying Palace who once delivered a message to Ye Qinghua and was later imprisoned and interrogated by Lan Wuxie was later rescued from the painted boat by the martial arts alliance and her whereabouts have been unknown ever since.
When Lanxiang disappeared a year ago, it was also the time when Ye Qinghua died.
Hua Chongyang killed the black-clad man who attempted to ambush him with a single sword strike, then leaped to the third floor:
"You're Lanxiang?!"
"It's amazing you recognized me!" Lanxiang smiled, her lips ripped open by tears. "Hua Chongyang, it's all because of you! If you hadn't instigated me, Lan Wuxie wouldn't have been so ruthless towards me! I won't let you off the hook. Don't worry, I'll make you pay for everything I suffered before!"
She raised her sword and thrust it at Hua Chongyang.
Lan Wuxie, who had been cold and silent all along, suddenly made a move and pushed out a palm.
Lanxiang suddenly leaped away.
This kind of move, which can suddenly change direction halfway through while maintaining the offensive, can only be found in the Yellow Springs Martial Arts Manual. Lanxiang has indeed practiced the Yellow Springs Martial Arts Manual, and it seems that she has already reached at least the sixth move, which is comparable to Bailu.
Therefore, it seems that the secret manual that Bo Feng lost was indeed stolen by the people of Yanzu Valley, and it is very likely that Lan Xiang was the one who did it.
However, Lan Xiang's martial arts skills in the Yellow Springs Martial Arts Manual were no match for Lan Wuxie's. Even without using internal energy, just relying on the moves, Lan Wuxie could easily unleash three-tenths of his power, and Lan Xiang was already unable to defend herself and had to retreat step by step.
Someone in the hall was already calling out to Lanxiang:
"I've got the cultivation manual! Let's go!"
It was Xing Yanshui who had attacked the red double happiness symbol earlier. It seems they had planned this all along; their main objective was the secret manual inside the redwood box. Hua Chongyang jumped down from the hall and winked at Liu Dachu three times:
"Don't let her get away!"
The gray-masked man immediately closed the hall door.
Two of the three doors were closed. At the third door, Xing Yanshui killed the person closing the door with a single sword strike, then used her foot to brace the door and shouted:
"Hurry! Qingling! Otherwise we won't be able to leave!"
Lan Wuxie's offensive became noticeably more aggressive at this point.
Hua Chongyang shouted upwards:
"Don't kill her, spare her life! I want to question her myself!"
The words had barely left his mouth.
Lan Wuxie thrust out a palm strike, and Lan Xiang was hit, staggering back three zhang in mid-air before crashing heavily into the railing and then falling heavily down the pillar into the hall.
Xing Yanshui glanced at her, then leaped out the door.
The hall was filled with corpses, most of them men in black, mixed with people from various sects dressed in different clothes. Liu Da wiped the blood from his face and approached:
"Those who died, unless they were our people, were probably infiltrating various sects within Goose Foot Valley. It's a pity they all became scapegoats."
Hua Chongyang glanced at her, nodded, and then walked straight to Qingling, who was lying on her back covered in blood. Liu Da followed and knelt down to check her breath.
"He's exhaling more than he's in; it's probably not going to work."
Lan Wuxie landed slowly, dusting off her spotless white sleeves:
"I know what I'm doing. Men, drag her away."
Not far away, Situ Yebai, surrounded by a group of guards, looked at Qing Ling and sneered coldly:
"With such strength, I offered to be your backer, yet you refused. A bunch of ungrateful wretch!"
"So what if I followed you?" Lan Wuxie raised an eyebrow, looking at Situ Yebai with a cold smile. "Bo Feng has followed you since he was a teenager, spending half his life with you, and in the end, he didn't even get a whole corpse."
Several disciples of Lanying Palace came up, lifted Qingling off the ground, and dragged her away.
Lan Wuxie didn't turn around. He walked past Hua Chongyang, grabbed her hand, and started to pull her forward without a word. Hua Chongyang couldn't break free, and stumbled a couple of steps on the overly long hem of her wedding dress. Lan Wuxie stopped, turned around, grabbed her red wedding dress, and tore it in half with a "rip":
"How dare you wear such ugly clothes?"
This was the first time he hadn't spoken to her with a smile. Hua Chongyang knew she'd gone too far this time and didn't dare retort. Tearing her clothes, she reached up and removed the phoenix-wing hairpin from her hair, finally taking off her own snow-white robe and draping it over her shoulders, gently tidying her disheveled hair. Facing him, Hua Chongyang saw Situ Qingliu approaching from behind Lan Wuxie, his hands behind his back.
"You were almost my woman, so why can't you wear the clothes I gave you?"
Lan Wuxie pretended not to hear, and continued to look at Hua Chongyang with a wronged smile:
"Fu Shun keeps crying, and he won't hold me. It's all your fault, father and son, inside. Now he doesn't even recognize me as his father."
As they spoke, Situ Yebai's guards rushed over and surrounded Lan Wuxie, Hua Chongyang, and the brothel patrons of Lan Ying Palace. Situ Yebai stood outside, hands behind his back, chuckling lightly.
"Lan Wuxie, it's not easy to see you. If I weren't planning to marry Hua Chongyang, would you still be willing to meet me?"
Lan Wuxie, holding Hua Chongyang's hand, turned and said coldly:
"Situ Yebai, what's the point of talking to you? You can't kill me right now, but I might be able to kill you."
"Starting from the first month of last year," Situ Yebai said, hands behind his back, as he walked step by step through the crowd along the blood-soaked carpet in the center of the hall, "Lan Ying Palace has been eliminating one person a month, openly or secretly. Rong Zaisheng, Yue Feilong, Yu Qi, Su De from Fujian. Last year it stopped for half a year, until last month when you quietly killed Elder Mingde, who had been living in seclusion. Today it's finally Shu Nanfeng's turn. Are you going to put me next month?"
Lan Wuxie stared at him intently and said coldly:
"The month after next."
After listening, Situ Yebai smiled, raised his hand and slapped his forehead, looking as if he had suddenly realized something:
"Oh, I remember now. The month after next, June 15th, that's Shangguan Ping's death anniversary. You want to use my head to appease that despicable scoundrel who stole the throne?"
Hua Chongyang felt Lan Wuxie tighten his grip on her hand.
Situ Yebai was not about to give up:
"Actually, not really. To be honest, Shangguan Ping was just a good-for-nothing who only knew how to read and write. Even his marriage was led by the nose by his father. In the end, when his father died, he still couldn't protect his wife and son—"
"boom--"
Lan Wuxie raised his right arm and thrust out a palm.
Situ Yebai leaped into the air, and several guards who were blocking his way fell into pools of blood before they could dodge, shattering into pieces along with the doors and windows behind them.
Situ Yebai stood on the second-floor railing, dusting off his red robes and chuckling softly:
"He truly is Rose's son. In terms of cunning, ruthlessness, and cruelty, he far surpasses Shangguan Ping. It wasn't in vain that I played this game with you. However, it's too early for you to kill me today."
He clapped his hands lightly.
Immediately, a figure appeared from the third floor. Hua Chongyang looked up and exclaimed in surprise:
"...Anping?"
Anping was bound with ropes and gagged with a strip of cloth. Two guards were behind him, one of whom held a knife to his neck.
Lan Wuxie didn't even look up, but Hua Chongyang, who was standing right next to him, clearly saw a slight change in his expression.
Having spent that time together, Hua Chongyang knew very well that Lan Wuxie valued Anping highly. She didn't know why before, but now, recalling Anping's actions carefully, she realized that he was probably the loyal person who risked his life to protect Lan Wuxie when she escaped from the palace.
"Zhuo Anping," Situ Yebai said softly, leaping up the second-floor railing to the third floor, "I think highly of you. You've remained loyal to your master until today, which is quite commendable, considering you're a eunuch, much better than Shu Nanfeng. But today, we'll see if Lan Wuxie treats you like a dog or a human being."
Anping whimpered and struggled, the blade pressing against his neck cutting deep into his flesh, blood flowing down his neck.
The entire brothel was quiet and serene.
After a long silence, Lan Wuxie spoke softly:
What do you want?
"He's just a lackey; I don't want to exchange him for anything more. The map to the third treasure cave, really."
"Tomorrow at 5:00 AM, at the Broken Bridge, hand over the map in one hand and the person in the other. No waiting after this time."
After Lan Wuxie finished speaking, she didn't even raise her head, dragging Hua Chongyang as she turned and walked out of the brothel.
A warm breeze swept through the streets.
Following behind were two disciples from Lanying Palace, their white robes stained with blood, as they slowly walked through Anyang Street in Hangzhou and returned to Banlianzui. As soon as they entered, Lancao greeted them:
"Sect Master."
Lan Wuxie nodded:
"Call the orchid tree."
"yes."
Hua Chongyang followed him back to his room.
As soon as he entered, Lan Wuxie released Hua Chongyang, gripped the doorframe with his left hand, and spat out a mouthful of blood. Hua Chongyang was startled and rushed forward to support him.
"What happened? Where are you injured?!"
She had been watching Lan Wuxie all night and hadn't found anyone poisoning or hurting him. How could this happen?
Lan Wuxie was turned away from her, bent over, blood gushing from his lips, the bloodstains on the ground were dark red, almost black, and at first glance looked like he had been poisoned.
But Lan Wuxie's constitution is clearly immune to all poisons.
Just as Hua Chongyang was wondering what to do, the door behind him was suddenly pushed open, and Lan Cao came in:
"Master, I've already sent someone to inform Lan Shu-Tian!"
He was startled for a moment, then turned and ran outside:
"I'll go get Zu Xian right now!"