Upon hearing this, the Zhan brothers were furious. Zhan Zichen glared at Li Feiqing and suddenly realized, "I heard from the disciples of the Kongtong Sect that Brother Mingyu was defeated by a courtesan. This Zuiyufang is a brothel. So it was you, you vixen, who harmed Brother Mingyu!"
Li Feiqing suppressed her anger and raised her sword, saying, "Even if you two don't believe I'm a disciple of Shadow Mountain, you should still recognize this Gathering Shadow Sword."
Zhan Zichen rolled his eyes and said, "You think you can pass off a broken sword as the famous Juying Sword of Yingshan? Who in the martial world doesn't know that the Juying Sword belongs to Yi Feng, the eldest disciple of Yingshan? How did it end up in your hands? Even if what you have is the Juying Sword, it was stolen!"
Li Feiqing was usually pampered by everyone in her sect, and she had never suffered such humiliation before. Her anger surged, and she said coldly, "What do you two need to do to convince me that I'm not an imposter?"
Zhan Ziyang looked at the Gathering Shadow Sword in her hand with some hesitation, but Zhan Zichen said arrogantly, "If you can defeat me, then whatever you say will be the answer."
Li Feiqing said, "Alright!" and leaped into the air. At that moment, Zhan Zichen's hidden weapons were already in motion, two small, dark balls shooting out one after the other.
When Zhan Ziyang saw that his younger brother immediately used the Sulfur Fire Pearl, a secret weapon crafted by the Zhan Family Fortress, he frowned slightly, thinking to himself: "The sword in this woman's hand looks quite extraordinary. If she is truly a disciple of Shadow Mountain, it would be disastrous if Zichen seriously injured her." But it was too late to speak up and stop him.
Li Feiqing dodged the first sulfur fire bead, but as she fell, it suddenly reversed and shot back. The second sulfur fire bead was already upon her. She was in mid-air with no way to avoid it and was about to be injured by the sulfur fire bead. At the critical moment, she suddenly darted to the side for about ten feet. With a loud bang, the two sulfur fire beads finally collided and exploded. Li Feiqing landed lightly on the ground.
Zhan Ziyang recognized that the movement technique of using the force of the air to leap horizontally was the secret lightness skill of the Yingshan Sect. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Li Feiqing's face turn ashen, and she leaped up like a bird. In mid-air, her long sword spun several sword flowers and fell towards Zhan Zichen.
Zhan Zichen only saw flashes of cold light before his eyes, unsure of their reality or illusion. He hurriedly leaped backward, his hands flashing wildly. A dense barrage of hidden weapons—sleeve darts, throwing knives, iron lotus seeds, darts, silver needles, and flying stones—seemed inexhaustible, raining down on Li Feiqing. Li Feiqing, anticipating the weapons' trajectory, swiftly struck them with her sword. The Gathering Shadow Sword was the bane of all hidden weapons; small ones were instantly absorbed by its blade. After a series of clattering sounds, the ground was littered with hidden weapons, and Li Feiqing's longsword was now in front of Zhan Zichen.
Zhan Zichen felt a wave of discouragement and closed his eyes to await death, but then he felt a chill on his neck. Li Feiqing had placed her longsword against his neck and laughed, "Well? Do you believe me now?"
Zhan Ziyang's heart finally settled, and he raised his hands in a fist salute, ready to speak. Murong Wuhen, who had been watching with a smile, suddenly laughed, "Since you've dealt with one, leave the other to me." Zhan Ziyang felt a sudden gust of wind hit his face, and his heart skipped a beat. He tried to use his strength to resist, but the wind had already vanished. Instead, a sharp pain shot through his lower abdomen, as if pierced by a small hidden weapon, and his vision went black. Murong Wuhen appeared like a ghost, placing his palm on Zhan Ziyang's abdomen again, and laughed, "I already apologized to you brothers earlier; how could I not apologize in return?" As he moved away, Zhan Ziyang collapsed to the ground.
Zhan Zichen was shocked. Ignoring the sword at his neck, he rushed over and found his brother already unconscious. He turned and glared at Li Feiqing and Murong Wuhen, hissing, "You two demonic cultists, you attacked me with a sneak attack!"
A gentleman is like jade.
Li Feiqing wanted to step forward to check on Zhan Ziyang's injuries, but Murong Wuhen grabbed her arm and said, "We have other things to do. Let's spare this kid's life for now and teach them a lesson another day when we go to Zhan Family Fortress. Hey, kid, get lost!"
Zhan Zichen picked up his brother, glared at the two of them hatefully, and staggered away. Li Feiqing felt his gaze was filled with venom, and was secretly alarmed. She forcefully shook off Murong Wuhen and angrily said, "What nonsense were you spouting just now!"
Murong Wuhen blinked, his expression innocent: "What I just said was the truth, not a single word of it was false."
Li Feiqing said resentfully, "Why didn't you let me explain things to them? And you even used a hidden weapon to injure Zhan Ziyang."
Murong Wuhen said, "They attacked us first with hidden weapons. That kid was extremely rude. Aren't you angry? I helped you fight them, and that made me wrong?"
Li Feiqing stared at him intently, seeing his aggrieved expression and open gaze, which didn't seem malicious. Besides, she had just witnessed his attack, and his skill was only superior to hers. If he wanted to harm her, he wouldn't need to go to such lengths. Despite this, a sliver of doubt remained in her heart.
Murong Wuhen met Li Feiqing's gaze for a long while, then suddenly waved his hand in front of her eyes: "Miss Li, if you are interested in me, you can just tell me directly. There is no need to look at me so longingly."
"Huh?" Li Feiqing was a little confused and asked blankly, "What did you say?"
Murong Wuhen said seriously, "I am handsome, skilled in martial arts, and knowledgeable. It is normal for you to be attracted to me, and you don't need to be embarrassed to admit it."
Li Feiqing was speechless for a moment.
Murong Wuhen smiled slightly: "If you want to watch me in a daze, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future. Now, why don't we go to Qifeng Inn and see if that fake Lou Yan is still there?" With that, he darted out like an arrow and ran towards the east of the city, leaving Li Feiqing standing there in a daze.
"I...I like Senior Brother, who has feelings for you..." Li Feiqing was on the verge of tears, but she couldn't care less about anything else. She used her lightness skill to chase after him.
As expected, after all this time wasted, Room 1 of the Heavenly Class at the Qi Feng Inn in the east of the city was completely empty. Fortunately, as far as Murong Wuhen knew, there was only one grove of trees nearby outside the city. Judging from Lou Yan's tone, it seemed that she had arranged for people to ambush someone in the grove beforehand. In that case, going to that grove of trees would surely yield some results.
When the two arrived, it was already dawn. The trees in the forest were quite dense, and the lush shade blocked out the light, making it appear gloomy and quiet from the outside.
Li Feiqing couldn't help but say, "This forest is so quiet, I can't even hear a bird chirping."
Murong Wuhen said softly, "Be careful, there might be something strange going on."
As the two approached the dense forest, a strong smell of blood assaulted their nostrils. Sensing something amiss, they exchanged a glance, held their breath, and cautiously ventured into the woods. After only a few steps, a bluish shadow flickered ahead, and a person rushed towards them. Upon closer inspection, Li Feiqing recognized the person as Lou Yan, dressed in a light blue dress with a patch of blood seeping from her left shoulder.
Lou Yan clutched her chest, her expression uncertain. Upon seeing the two, she paused slightly, managed a weak smile, and said softly, "Little girl, we meet again." She nodded and, without stopping, hurried out of the forest.
Hearing her trembling voice and rapid breathing, Li Feiqing was secretly amazed, thinking: Lou Yan's martial arts skills are unfathomable, and there are also people lying in ambush in the forest, yet she is still seriously injured. What kind of ruthless character is she?
Murong Wuhen said, "I'll go take a look," and followed Lou Yan away. Li Feiqing wanted to follow, but heard some noise in the forest, like something falling to the ground. She hesitated for a moment, then continued walking into the forest.
Upon seeing the scene before her, Li Feiqing gasped in shock. The ground was littered with corpses, no fewer than twenty. All the dead were dressed in black, their faces covered with black cloth, and strangely shaped weapons, mixed with blood, lay scattered everywhere, clearly indicating a fierce and brutal battle had taken place.
Li Feiqing was usually fearless, but even so, seeing so many corpses in this eerie forest made her heart pound. Forcing herself to remain calm, she walked to the nearest body and bent down to examine it. She noticed a faint red glow around the corpse's sleeve. A thought struck her, and she quickly tore open the man's shirt, looking into his chest. Sure enough, there was a small, crescent-shaped reddish-black crescent pattern—the unique mark of the Xuan Yi Sect. Li Feiqing thought to herself: It seems the Zhan brothers were right; the Demonic Sect has indeed reappeared in the martial world.
Just then, a very faint breathing sound reached Li Feiqing's ears. She looked up abruptly; the sound came from behind an ancient tree some distance away, as thick as two people could encircle it. Could there be someone still alive behind that tree? Li Feiqing gripped her Shadow Gathering Sword tightly and floated over as if her feet hadn't touched the ground.
Sure enough, there was someone behind the ancient tree.
A strikingly handsome young man lay leaning against a large tree, eyes closed, in a pool of blood. His black robe, though stained with blood, did not conceal his noble and refined air. His delicate, pale face was like a work of jade, long eyelashes casting hazy shadows beneath his eyelids. His thin, chapped lips, furrowed brow, and the cold sweat beading on his forehead all indicated that he was enduring excruciating pain.
Li Feiqing was stunned, thinking to herself: There are still such handsome men in the world, my third senior brother should come and see for himself!
The man breathed softly again, and Li Feiqing realized that the stunning beauty who had captivated her was now on the verge of death. Seeing that he was also dressed in black, she wondered to herself: Could he also be a member of the Demonic Sect? After a moment's thought, she stepped forward to examine the man's wounds.
Although the man was covered in blood, there were no fatal wounds, only blood continuously flowing from his right chest. Li Feiqing forcefully ripped open his collar, revealing his chest. She saw five small bloody holes on his right chest, bleeding profusely, but there was no crescent moon mark of the Xuan Yi Sect.
Just as she was about to stop the bleeding, the man suddenly opened his tightly closed eyes and stared silently at Li Feiqing. Despite his serious injuries, his cold gaze still possessed a certain intimidating power. Li Feiqing met the man's scrutinizing gaze and froze. Then, seeing the man's gaze shift slightly downwards and fix on her hands, she suddenly realized that her actions were somewhat inappropriate. Her face flushed, and she quickly loosened his collar, coughed, and said, "Um... brother, let me stop the bleeding from your wound."
He reached out and pressed several acupoints on the man's chest, then took out wound medicine from his bag and applied it to the wound. After a flurry of activity, the wound continued to bleed, and the freshly applied wound medicine was immediately washed away by the blood. Just as he was at a loss, the man uttered a few words in a hoarse voice: "Clothes bag... medicine..." After saying that, he closed his eyes again, as if he had used up all his strength.
Li Feiqing reached into the man's open robe and groped around until she finally found a small jade bottle. She quickly pulled out the stopper and poured the powder inside onto the wound. The moment it touched the wound, the blood that was flowing out turned black. Her heart skipped a beat, but then she saw the black blood quickly turn red and gradually stop flowing.
Li Feiqing was both surprised and delighted. She took out a clean handkerchief and applied it to the wound, then tore a strip of cloth from her clothes and wrapped it around the wound several times. After bandaging it up, she took out a water pouch and fed him a few sips of water. The man slowly regained some strength and softly said, "Thank you." His gaze swept over the Shadow Gathering Sword that Li Feiqing had placed aside, and he asked softly, "Are you a disciple of Shadow Mountain Sect, young lady?"
Li Feiqing replied, "That's right." She thought to herself: Even when seriously injured, she could still notice that I was a woman disguised as a man, as well as details like the Gathering Shadow Sword, which shows that this person has sharp eyes.
The man closed his eyes again, a blush spreading across his pale face, and said, "I have a favor to ask, please forgive me, young lady."
Li Feiqing quickly said, "Brother, please don't be so polite, please speak."
The man paused for a moment before speaking softly, "This place is quite dangerous and not suitable for lingering. I wonder if you could escort me to the Qifeng Inn in the city?"
Li Feiqing's eyes lit up: "Is it the number one room in the Qifeng Inn in the east of the city?"
The man looked surprised, nodded, and then hesitated before saying, "If it's inconvenient, that's fine too..."
Before he could finish speaking, Li Feiqing interrupted him: "Convenient! Very convenient!"
Li Feiqing carried the injured man with both hands, hurrying eastward towards the city. She was extremely careful, afraid of aggravating his wounds, and felt a growing anxiety. Although the man's bleeding had stopped, he had developed a fever and had fallen unconscious along the way. She needed to reach the inn as soon as possible to find a doctor to treat him. As for the proper conduct between men and women, she paid no attention. Firstly, the situation was urgent, and secondly, she had always played with her senior brothers since childhood, and her mischievous nature meant they treated her like a boy. Forcing her to strictly adhere to propriety would be torture for her.
When they finally arrived at Qifeng Inn, even with Li Feiqing's superior martial arts skills, she was drenched in sweat. She rushed inside, and before she could even greet anyone, she heard someone exclaim with a mixture of surprise and joy, "It's the Master!" Immediately, a group of people surrounded her, chattering all at once: "We've finally found the Master..." "What happened to the Master... Ouch, he's so hot..." "Huh? The Master is injured! Who dared to injure the Master?"
In her confusion, Li Feiqing realized that the man in her arms had been snatched away and she had been pushed out of the crowd. She weakly said, "Um... quickly find a doctor..." but no one paid any attention to her.
Suddenly, a clear voice, filled with anger, shouted, "What are you all standing here for! Get out of the way!"
The voice was clearly much more powerful than Li Feiqing's, and everyone immediately fell silent, making way for him. A young man with a grim face hurried through the clearing, reached out to check the injured man's pulse, his expression darkening further. He then took a pill from his pocket and placed it in the man's mouth before turning back, his gaze sharp as lightning, staring at Li Feiqing and saying, "Young lady, please explain in detail how my young master was injured, and why you brought him back. Please provide a thorough and accurate account." His tone was aggressive, almost as if he were about to accuse her.
Li Feiqing narrowed her eyes. What kind of luck was this? Not only did she encounter the Zhan brothers, but now this unreasonable man had appeared. The man had a fair complexion and a scholarly air, but his deadpan face was extremely unpleasant. Thinking of meeting up with Murong Wuhen, she didn't have the time to entertain him, so she said, "I don't know your young master at all. I saw him injured in the woods outside the city and offered him a small helping hand. That's all."
The man remained expressionless, but his tone grew even more hostile: "If it were really that simple, how could you be so coincidental as to happen to be passing through the woods when my young master was injured?"
Li Feiqing grew increasingly impatient and chuckled, "It's just that simple, such a coincidence. I am a woman of limited experience, but to be interrogated like a thief after offering my help is something I've never heard of before. Is this a unique rule of your manor?"
The man's deadpan face grew even more gloomy as he coldly said, "There's no such rule for others, but I have to ask you, people from the Shadow Mountain Sect."
Li Feiqing raised an eyebrow, about to ask him, "What about the Shadow Mountain Sect?" when she heard a cold voice from outside the inn, "What about the Shadow Mountain Sect?"
to demand an explanation
Under everyone's gaze, a young man in brocade robes pushed open the door and entered.
Li Feiqing froze for a moment, then suddenly burst into a beaming smile and threw herself into the man's arms, exclaiming, "Third Senior Brother, it's you!"
The man had long, narrow eyebrows, a straight nose, and an elegant appearance, making him even more beautiful than the woman. When he saw Li Feiqing, a smile flashed across his eyes, but then he reached out and pushed her away with a look of disgust, frowning as he said, "Hey, move aside, or you'll get my clothes dirty."
Li Feiqing stuck out her tongue, tugged at his sleeve, and asked with a smile, "Third Senior Brother, what are you doing here?"
The man pulled out his sleeve, elegantly dusted off his clothes, and his face darkened. He said, "Without me here, someone as clumsy as you would only be bullied." He then turned his gaze to the deadpan man opposite him: "I would like to ask you, sir, what about the Shadow Mountain Sect?"
The deadpan man remained expressionless for a long while before finally uttering a few words: "You are Shen Luo, the 'Jade-Faced Swordsman' of Shadow Mountain?"
The man in brocade robes said, "Indeed, why?"
The deadpan man seemed to think for a moment, then said, "Seeing is believing, but meeting is not as good as hearing about."
Shen Luo sneered, "Since you think I am not worthy of being called a swordsman, you must have unique skills in swordsmanship. I hope you can give me some pointers."
But then the dead-fish-faced man said in a gloomy voice, "I meant the words 'Jade Face'." He looked at Shen Luo and then shook his head.
Shen Luo's face twitched. Li Feiqing thought to herself, "That dead fish face is so insidious. Third Senior Brother cherishes his appearance the most, yet he insists that he is not as handsome as the legends say. He's really stirred up a hornet's nest."
Sure enough, Shen Luo said angrily, "Enough with the nonsense. Since you look down on our Shadow Mountain Sect, then step forward and have a match."
The deadpan man said coldly, "I don't know martial arts."
Shen Luo was taken aback, but then heard a middle-aged man next to the dead fish-faced man say, "Although Young Master Hua does not know martial arts, since you have set the terms, Fei Hua Manor will have someone to accept them."
The crowd around them chimed in, "Exactly! Our Flying Flower Manor isn't afraid of..." "What's so great about the Shadow Mountain Sect? I've had my eye on them for ages..." "I bet the Manor Master's sudden injury and unconsciousness are mostly related to the Shadow Mountain Sect..."
Shen Luo was taken aback again upon hearing this, and exchanged a glance with Li Feiqing. They both had the same thought: No wonder, it turns out to be Feihua Manor.
The disciples of Yingshan Sect all knew that their sect was at odds with Feihua Manor, and they had all been warned by their master not to provoke Feihua Manor when traveling the martial world. Fortunately, Feihua Manor had always kept a low profile, and the disciples had never been involved with them. They never expected that their encounter today would be like this.
Just as the standoff was reaching a stalemate, someone suddenly shouted, "The master has woken up! He says this young lady is his savior and that everyone must not be rude!" Upon hearing that the master had woken up, the crowd swarmed forward again to inquire. The deadpan man said to the two men, "Please, you two, go ahead." He then hurried off to check on his master's injuries.
Shen and Li, bound by their master's orders, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that a fight had been avoided.
The two left the inn, and Shen Luo, sullen and unhappy, suddenly cursed, "Iron-tongued Poison Doctor, I spit on you! He said I'm not as good as I've heard, and he thinks he's so great!"
Li Feiqing chuckled inwardly, but feigned caution, asking, "Third Senior Brother, this kid's nickname is 'Iron-Tongued Poison Doctor'?"
Shen Luo said angrily, "Who else in Feihua Manor could be surnamed Hua and not know martial arts? This kid is called Hua Liran. He knows a few rudimentary medical skills and likes to secretly poison people. People in the martial arts world have given him the title of 'Poison Doctor.' As for 'Iron Mouth,' humph, that naturally refers to his strange personality and his frequent refusal to seek medical treatment."
Li Feiqing secretly added: I'm afraid it's just that he's good at insulting people.
Naturally, Li Feiqing dared not say those words aloud, so she changed the subject: "Third Senior Brother, why did you come down the mountain too? Wasn't Master punishing you to reflect on your mistakes by facing the wall on the mountain?"
Shen Luo rolled her eyes at her: "It's all because of you, you little brat."
It turned out that not long after Li Feiqing went down the mountain, Ying Shan Sect received news that people from various sects had been attacked and killed one after another, and the locations were all near the route Li Feiqing traveled down the mountain. Sect leader Mu Feiyu was worried about his beloved disciple's safety, so he sent Shen Luo down the mountain to find Li Feiqing.
Although Li Feiqing had only been down the mountain for a few days, she had already begun to miss home. She also wanted to tell her master about the resurgence of the Demonic Sect. After discussing it with Shen Luo, they decided to set off back to the mountain immediately.
A few days later, the two returned to Shadow Mountain and went to pay their respects to their master. It was early morning, and all the fellow disciples were gathered in the front hall waiting to greet their master. Li Feiqing glanced around but couldn't find her eldest brother. Her sixth brother, Bai Jun'an, chuckled, and her seventh brother, Chen Bing, said with a smile, "Don't look. Our eldest brother went down the mountain to investigate the attacks on people from various sects and hasn't returned yet."
Li Feiqing blushed and said awkwardly, "Who said I was looking for my senior brother?" Everyone laughed.
A soft cough was heard, and a handsome middle-aged man in his forties entered the front hall. The disciples stopped laughing and called out in unison, "Master." Mu Feiyu nodded with a smile, and Shen Luo and Li Feiqing stepped forward to bow and report, "Disciples have returned and pay their respects to Master." Mu Feiyu smiled and said, "Rise."
Li Feiqing sidled up to Mu Feiyu and smiled, "Master, I've missed you so much these past few days since I came down the mountain." Mu Feiyu chuckled and gave her a light tap on the head, his tone full of affection, "You little devil, did you get into some trouble on the way down the mountain? You're saying all sorts of nice things to make your master happy as soon as you get back?" All the disciples laughed out loud.
Li Feiqing rolled her eyes and said, "I have indeed caused some trouble, but I am telling the truth." Just as she was about to report to her master about what had happened along the way, she suddenly saw her fifth senior brother, Lan Lang, hurrying in from outside the hall and saying, "Master, Lord Zhan Hengye of Zhan Family Fortress has come to visit."