Translator: Transn Editor: Transn
Old Man Mu turned on Shangguan Ru in an instant, intending to kill the one who had vowed to protect him.
Even though she was accustomed to betrayals, Shangguan Ru could not help but be slightly annoyed by it. However, she ignored Old Man Mu behind her and continued to keep her gaze on Maid Lotus’ every move, looking for any trace as to when Maid Lotus would draw her sword.
This was a duel between the two of them and had nothing to do with others.
Maid Lotus did not answer and Old Man Mu grew impatient, so he urged, “Answer me, do you agree or disagree with what I suggested?”
TAs the sun was rising from the eastern horizon, the thin night was already frantically retreating.
Maid Lotus answered with the sword in her hand.
Her fourth blow was still as fast as lightning and her target remained on Old Man Mu. This time, it was the tendons on his left wrist that was damaged by the sword.
Maid Lotus did not retreat back to her original spot, however. She deviated five steps to the right and looked at Shangguan Ru in surprise.
Shangguan Ru had finally caught up with Maid Lotus’ blow. Although she had been unable to stop Maid Lotus, she had managed to force her to change direction.
Old Man Mu heaved helplessly, “Sister Maid Lotus, Aunt Maid Lotus, my Grand Aunt Maid Lotus, just what are you thinking? If you want to speak your mind, feel free. I am like a lamb being led to slaughter, I am the most obedient person in the world. You don’t have to cut me into pieces, right?”
For the first time since her first blow, Maid Lotus seriously sized Shangguan Ru up. But her words were directed to Old Man Mu, “Your Kung Fu is out of this world and you can go back on your word at any time. No one can restrict you. I have no choice but to destroy your Kung Fu.”
Old Man Mu’s face was as pale as a sheet of paper, partly due to the pain and partly due to fear. “If you destroy my Kung Fu… I… I will kill myself!”
Her gaze shifted away from Shangguan Ru as she continued to pace slowly, circling Old Man Mu, “Without your Kung Fu, you cannot die as you wish. You should know that better than me. You have tortured many helpless people, Old Man Mu. It is time for you to pay your debts.”
Sweat began to trickle down Old Man Mu’s forehead. “Can’t I repay my debts in my next life? Let me reincarnate as a pig, I will be slaughtered at birth and then eaten as a roast suckling pig.”
Maid Lotus did not speak further, she had no interest in sparring with words. Both Golden Roc Fort and New Moon Hall had taught her the same principle: Always be in control of the situation as much as possible.
The promise of the strong was not credible. No matter how sincere his promise was, once Old Man Mu regained his Kung Fu, the first thing he would probably do was to kill Maid Lotus in revenge.
Furthermore, the weak had no conditions to speak of. Old Man Mu, whose limbs and tendons were damaged was at the mercy of others; there was no need for her to promise him anything.
One more move and the tendons on Old Man Mu’s right leg would be damaged as well.
Old Man Mu’s gasps were getting heavier. He had met his match. New Moon Hall was full of crazy people indeed , he thought. He had endured for more than ten years and returned to Jianghu only to be ruined at the hands of a New Moon Hall disciple again. “Hey, good girl, If there is still a trace of kindness in you, just turn around and kill me, yeah? I rather go to hell and fall into the hands of the King of Hell than suffer under this crazy woman.”
Shangguan Ru did not respond to Old Man Mu’s plea. All her energy was focused on Maid Lotus. Even her breathing and heartbeat was in synchrony with hers.
Maid Lotus stopped in her tracks, she said, “Are you really willing to die for a devil who is a stranger to you?”
Shangguan Ru still did not respond. She was afraid of losing her judgment toward Maid Lotus once she opened her mouth. She knew in her heart that she would not die for anybody, and Old Man Mu was frankly not important for her to protect with her life.
Maid Lotus’ fifth blow was no longer targeted at Old Man Mu.
It was time to end things anyway. She had already done everything that she could. The Tenth Young Master was not her master and she had never been. Killing her was just a job that had been delayed for too long. Years ago, the few killers had already planned to kill their master, but Slave Huan had ended up giving many reasons to abort the plan. That plan would be realized today.
Through the four blows exchanged just now, Maid Lotus had learned how Shangguan Ru moved and was very confident in her next move. Therefore, she was taken aback when the sword completely missed the target. Shangguan Ru had disappeared.
Old Man Mu had already forgotten about his pain and injuries, he was staring the situation in front of him with a fixed gaze. Whether or not his carefully thought plan would come through would depend on their next moves.
Just one more day, he thought, even if it was just a few more hours if Shangguan Ru could have more time to practice that two sets of kungfu more, their odds would be better as well.
Shangguan Ru had dodged Maid Lotus’ sword using the Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills.
Old Man Mu was right. Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills was a Lightness Skills that was dedicated for fleeing, it would not stop the opponent from attacking the third party and was only effective when Maid Lotus changed her target to Shangguan Ru.
Chasing and being chased were two different things. Even if Shangguan Ru failed to catch up with Maid Lotus, that did not mean that Maid Lotus would able to catch up with her either.
Maid Lotus struck five to six blows in total, each blow skimming Shangguan Ru’s clothing, but always half an inch away from hitting the target.
Old Man Mu was nervous. It was no use just trying to avoid the opponent, Shangguan Ru would always be at a disadvantage if this continued. Once she slipped up, she would be struck by the sword.
She must defeat Maid Lotus with the Finger of Immobilisation.
“Just one time, just once…” He whispered aloud, unconsciously.
Subtle Shadow Lightness Skills was a rare Lightness Skills in the martial arts world. Even when Old Man Mu had exchanged his Kung Fu in return for the specially-made pills for his injuries, he had not taught this manual to them. To the Master of Xiaoyue Hall, Han Wuxian, there was no point in fleeing for life.
Therefore, when Maid Lotus saw this illusory and elusive Lightness Skills, she was confused all of a sudden. But after 10 more blows, she began to understand the secret behind it, and her sword began to strike closer to Shangguan Ru.
“Hit!” Old Man Mu could not help but let out a cry.
In that instant, Shangguan Ru took an important step forward and she managed to come up behind Maid Lotus from an incredible angle. Turning to face her, she seized that fleeting opportunity and struck Maid Lotus with her finger.
Maid Lotus practiced the Death Scripture swordcraft and even if she was using other types of Kung Fu, she would still follow the principles in the scripture by always attacking and not defending. She did not think that Shangguan Ru would actually reverse her defense into attack and certainly did not expect herself to be attacked by her.
Even though that finger acupoint move was extremely light and only went past her chest, it disrupted Shangguan Ru’s pace. It was then that Maid Lotus took a step back and thrust her sword. She was certain that her opponent had nowhere to run.
However, her strength had suddenly disappeared. Maid Lotus thought she missed a step as the ground under her turned into nothingness. She saw her sword tip touching Shangguan Ru but the sword was no longer under her control and it would not move forward.
Impossible , was what Maid Lotus had on her mind before she collapsed.
Shangguan Ru’s face was pale and her hair was disheveled. There was no joy from the victory she had just won. She did not even understand why she was enemies with Maid Lotus.
Old Man Mu jumped up excitedly as he supported his whole body with his only intact right leg. He hopped over on one leg to Maid Lotus’ side and kicked her with his dangling left leg, “You…”
Even though it was a harmless kick from the frail old man, Shangguan Ru picked him up and put him aside, “You are not allowed to touch her.”
“She wants to kill me… and you, good girl. You should no longer be softhearted.”
“Didn’t you want to kill me as well? I still saved you.”
Old Man Mu hopped around to keep his balance and shook his head repeatedly, “It’s not the same, not the same. I was trying to trick her, I never really wanted you killed. But this little crazy woman is different! I think she is trying to get rid of her love rival so that Dragon King…”
Old Man Mu stopped himself in time. This was a taboo topic and there was no reason to offend Shangguan Ru.
Shangguan Ru looked at Maid Lotus who had collapsed before realizing something was not right. Maid Lotus was not immobilized and still, but had collapsed limply instead, her cheeks were also becoming redder as if she had suffered a serious internal injury.
“What happened to her?” Shangguan Ru asked in surprise. She knelt to one knee to check for Maid Lotus’ breath and realized that her breath was weak and scattered, and even showed signs of qigong deviation.
Old Man Mu had already found the knack of standing on one leg and no longer needed to jump around to balance himself. He bent down to take a look, before curling his lip and said, “I think she was too temperamental and too furious that she was defeated by you…”
“Tell the truth!” Shangguan Ru grabbed Maid Lotus’ sword and held it to Old Man Mu’ chest. She was certain that he was lying.
“Why? Do you want to kill me? Do it then.”
Shangguan Ru was fuming. She was still being used in the end. Even the deepest part of the wilderness was still full of deception and betrayal. She said, “You did not teach me the Finger of Immobilisation.”
Old Man Mu was certain that “good girl” would not harm him, but he was too proud of his plan. After holding it in for a while, he burst out laughing, only stopping when he was trembling and in danger of losing his balance.
“Haha, good girl. Let me tell you. It’s called the Seven Circles Seven Apertures Heart Stopping Finger. It’s almost the same as the Finger of Immobilization. You are blessed to learn it.”
Shangguan Ru had never heard of this Kung Fu before, but since the name was also part of the “Seven Circles”, it must be one of the evil secrets from the Manual of Seven Secret Techniques of New Moon Hall.
“You…” She was so furious that she did not know what to say, so she continued, “Tell me how to save her.” Although she was full of doubt, saving Maid Lotus was what she was most concerned about right now.
“I taught you how to restore the finger acupoints already. Just do it on her, and I guarantee she will spring up immediately, even more energetic than me.” That being said, that delighted expression on Old Man Mu’s face clearly showed that this was yet another lie of his.
Shangguan Ru glanced at the flushed face of Maid Lotus and an uncontrollable killing intent rose up in her. It was like a ball of sparks hidden under ashes that would immediately burst into flames once it came in contact with dry tinder.
Old Man Mu was more than familiar with such an expression, so he jumped back and said, “Hey, sober up. Don’t forget you cannot kill people. I’m already half disabled, you know…”
Shangguan Ru’s dark big eyes showed a hint of crazed desperation, and it reminded Old Man Mu of the crazy women from New Moon Hall.
“Tell me the truth or else… I will kill you and then commit suicide myself. Since I have already killed Maid Lotus, it doesn’t matter if I kill one more person.”
Women are all crazy indeed, no wonder New Moon Hall only accepts female disciples. Old Man Mu thought to himself as he grasped that realization. Then, he looked up at Shangguan Ru, trying to gauge her determination. “Alright, alright. You win, okay? I will tell you how to save her.”
Shangguan Ru’s eyes were moist and almost seemed like she was about to cry. But Old Man Mu did not soften. He said, “There are many ways to save a person, but tears are definitely not one of them. You better wait for her to wake up, then the two of you can hug and weep bitterly together.”
“Speak.”
“Ha, it is actually very simple! Young people like you don’t like to learn and tend to make a frantic last-minute effort…” Old Man Mu still wanted to nag for a bit. Shangguan Ru shifted the sword tip and he immediately went straight to the point. “The two of you practiced the Wayless Qigong and is of the same spirit. Use your Qi to unclog her meridians and it will be fine.”
Old Man Mu’s words were often half-truths and Shangguan Ru did not know whether to believe him this time.
