Then, something grumbled.
Something terrible seemed to be attacking the walls. War cries were heard from afar.
“No! The demons are here!”
“There are big demons…”
“How dare these damn demons attack Guo City? Do they want a war?”
“Why are they acting so violently as of late?”
All kinds of discussions and screams were heard.
Flowing lights streaked across the sky. Those were the Primordial Realm experts in the city, as they flew to the walls to defend it.
Qi exploded and rumbled everywhere. People could vaguely see monsters as huge as prehistorical animals gliding in the sky outside the inscription cover, bending their heads to blow out iridescent Demon Auras and Demon Lights, which struck the shielding, causing the entire city ground to shake violently…
All the citizens were panicking, hiding in their homes. Some of them who were a little braver stuck out their heads to observe the war being waged in the sky.
The crazy fight continued.
It was bound to be a sleepless night.
Guo City had not suffered any attacks from demons for the past hundreds of years, and it was counted as the biggest city in the Earth Province. It had enjoyed a long time of peace. When something like this happened, ill omens arose in many people’s hearts. Something terrible seemed to be just around the corner.
Earth Tiger Inn.
Flames flickered through the sky and shone on the inn yard, producing a glimmering and weird light.
A black and slim figure quietly showed up in the yard. She tiptoed and snuck near Ding Hao’s room.
She got near the window and poked a small hole with her finger. She got closer and observed carefully, only to hear rhythmic snores slowly flowing out from the room…
“He sleeps like a log, completely unlike a powerful expert. Did I guess wrong?”
Feeling a little disappointed, Gu Xing’er turned to walk toward the center of the yard.
After all the things that happened during the day, she, Gu Shaochu, and Hua Huai’an from the Camel Caravan kept recalling all the things they had experienced recently. However, they couldn’t remember meeting any powerful experts and there was no clue for them to analyze. Who was the mysterious expert? Why would he help the Changfeng Escort Agency?
“Was it that dorky bookworm?”
Gu Xing’er finally arrived at that conclusion.
She knew every worker from the caravan, and every armed guard from the escort agency. The mysterious expert was definitely none of them. In that case, there was only the scholarly Ding Hao left. He had popped out of nowhere and was a lavish spendthrift. He had readily offered a gold bar just to hire a guide. All in all, he was kind of mysterious. Was he a strong expert who concealed his strength?
After everyone went to sleep, Gu Xing’er snuck there to watch him.
She wanted to verify her guess.
However, there was no Ding Hao practicing late at night as she had expected. Instead, he was lying on his back on a messy bed, sleeping like a baby, with his snores being clearly heard.
He was obviously a weak bookworm raised by doting parents. How could he be a strong expert traveling incognito?
Gu Xing’er felt a little disappointed.
It seemed that she had overthought the matter.
She shook her head and was about to leave, but something suddenly alerted her. She looked up, and was startled by a scene not far off.
Two shadows had quietly appeared in the yard at some unknown point in time, like ghosts.
The two shadows were very clear to see thanks to the flaming lights in the sky.
The person at the front was a swordsman carrying two swords. Three long beard strands flew before his chest. He had a square face and wore a vicious expression in his eyes. The other was wearing a square scholar’s hat; he looked young and his eyes flashed with evil lights in the dark. He was none other than the young master of the City Lord’s Mansion, Zhu Hong.
Gu Xing’er subconsciously took a step back and was about to warn the others in the inn…
However, the square-faced swordsman casually poked her using his cultivation. Gu Xing’er only felt dizzy and her throat was tightened; she was unable to make a sound, nor could she move. She could only move her eyeballs while she stood on the spot.
The square-faced man closed his eyes to feel for a moment and slightly shook his head. “I can’t feel the Qi of a Primordial Realm expert. Looks like the man who helped them has already left.”
“Hmph. Pretentious guy. He must have panicked and left early. Lucky fellow. I would have made him suffer if Master Wu would have caught him tonight.” Zhu Hong gnashed his teeth as he spoke. He had been greatly humiliated earlier in the day; it was the first time for him to suffer such affront. How could he take it lying down?
Square-faced Master Wu said a little regretfully, “I thought he was a rare swordsmanship expert, one whom I could exchange moves with. He fled in the end… How disappointing! He’s not brave like a swordsman. I guess he’s not anyone important… Forget it. Let’s go. Are you planning to take this woman with you?”
Zhu Hong’s eyes flashed with lust in the dark. He nodded and said, “Of course. No woman I like can escape from me. And it’s all this nasty girl’s fault. I’ll let her know what a living hell is.”
Square-faced Master Wu did not seem to be surprised. He casually said something and was ready to leave, “Okay… But I still want to remind you that women are only playthings, you shouldn’t get obsessed with them. Martial artists should focus on cultivation. Plus, this woman of humble origins has a mixed bloodline; she wouldn’t make for a good cultivation stove.”
At the moment, Gu Xing’er felt shocked and angry.
She had a taste of despair.
It was impossible for her to scream, shout, or struggle. She could only watch Zhu Hong’s hands getting ready to grab her.
If she fell into that beast’s hands, her fate might turn into something worse than death.
“Hehe, nasty girl, who’s going to save you this time…?” Zhu Hong laughed grimly and was about to carry the Black Rose in his arms to walk away.
Just as he was about to lay his palms on Gu Xing’er, he was suddenly struck by horror. He froze, then quickly retreated as if he had seen a ghost. Beside him, the previously calm Master Wu also looked as if he had been haunted. His eyes became as round as saucers and he involuntarily took a step back.
Gu Xing’er was desperate but the outcome she had imagined didn’t happen after she kept her eyes closed for a while.
She opened her eyes, only to find Zhu Hong and Master Wu both looking at her in disbelief… No, their focus was not on her, but somewhere behind her. They appeared to be seeing something unbelievable.
“What happened?
“Is there something behind me?”
Even though she also felt confused, a glimmer of hope still arose in her heart.
“Who… who are you?” Master Wu said lightly. At some time he drew the two swords, which were originally on his back, and looked quite alert.
“You two, break a finger each and I’ll spare you today,” said someone behind Gu Xing’er with a low voice.
“That… sounds familiar.”
It was that mysterious powerful man.
“You’re the one? Fine, I was thinking about meeting you.”
Burning fighting intent exploded in Master Wu’s eyes. He crossed his swords before his chest and then swung one of his hands. Four red flags flew out from his back and silently stuck into the ground in the four directions of the yard. Spheres of hazy air instantly arose to lock up the entire yard, blocking all auras from the exterior.
Master Wu struck out with the long sword in his right hand. A sword light shot past Gu Xing’er’s body.
At that time, Gu Xing’er was finally able to see the mysterious figure who had shown up behind her.
She couldn’t be more astonished.
The cyan figure flew like haze and he carried himself quite elegantly. “Wasn’t he the scholar sleeping on the bed just now?”
Then, the scholar named Ding Hao grabbed something in the air with his right hand; the pinching motion collected moisture from the vicinity. A ball of silver ice emerged from his hand like a creature, instantly turning into a transparent long sword covered in bizarre inscriptions. The sword struck out, swooshing with fierceness and tangling with Master Wu.
Gu Xing’er could easily swear that this was one of the most amazing swordsmanship duels she had ever seen in her life.
The silver ice sword wielded by Ding Hao wasn’t too shiny. Since the very first move, it seemed to have been glued to Master Wu’s two swords. No matter how the square-faced master’s swords moved, they could not get rid of the ice sword.
At first, Master Wu had been able to strike back with a full set of moves. However, moves later, no matter how he set off his Qi or how he changed his stances, the ghost-like ice sword tailed him all the time and he started to fall into its pace.
“What… what’s this evil move?” Master Wu was shocked and could only struggle with all his might.
Ding Hao’s expression was calm. He didn’t defend himself.
Clad in a cyan gown, he swung his ice sword in a pattern. He was elegant and smooth, like an exiled immortal dancing in the moonlight. Master Wu was desperate as he staggered like a drunkard because of Ding Hao’s moves. In the end, he couldn’t even perform a full set of moves.
Not a single sound of swords clashing was heard during the duel, from start to finish.
Gu Xing’er was a somewhat stunned.
“So, the bookworm really is powerful. He was the one who punished Zhu Hong earlier today… He could dominate all provinces with his strength, why would he join the Camel Caravan? What does he want?”
Despite her cleverness, she could have never guessed that Ding Hao had chosen to travel with them because he had no sense of direction.
Unfortunately, Gu Xing’er was still unable to move at the moment. She couldn’t even utter a word; otherwise, she would have shouted long before.
She was unable to express the shock she was feeling.
At that moment—
The staggering Master Wu was finally unable to take it anymore and shouted, “Enough!”
