Ming Feizhen didn’t share Lian Zhuiyue’s profile with Teng Ji. In their long exchange, fighting in eight places already, Lian Zhuiyue still kept Teng Ji at bay using his bare hands. Teng Ji presumed he had more experience than his opponent, so he tried to use feints and mind games. The plan didn’t work since Lian Zhuiyue was able to adapt as needed, be it rhythm, soft or hard. Lian Zhuiyue had yet to utilise his finger technique a second time since catching Teng Ji’s sword in the first exchange, demonstrating a clear gap in their levels.
Seeing as there was no way to technically win, Teng Ji counted on physical attributes. Alas, Lian Zhuiyue was too elusive for Teng Ji to force him into a trading game. A war of attrition wasn’t going to work, either, as Lian Zhuiyue had yet to even break a sweat. Most importantly, the swordsman had yet to even draw his sword.
What happened to me easily demolishing them? I can’t even make this guy draw his sword!
“What the devil do you want?” Teng Ji ceased his offence but remained in his fighting stance. “You still haven’t even drawn your sword. Are you looking down on me?!”
Lian Zhuiyue politely pulled up the corners of his lips. “This one’s swordplay is very advanced. Once he draws his sword, there is very little room to hold back. You are too skilled for this one to hold back against you. As we have no enmity between us, this one does not wish to use his sword.”
In other words, I’ll get hurt once you unsheathe your sword? Okay, hot shot!
Teng Ji squeezed his scabbard, setting his mind on forcing Lian Zhuiyue to draw his sword, because he wanted to see if it was a bluff. Howbeit, the gales generated from someone uprooting grass with his approaching speed put a damper on the plan.
Tianfeng Xuanyuan pulled over when awareness of his surroundings returned to him. “Huh? What am I doing here?”
“Your senses acted up, what else?” Sima Huai responded. “You ran here on your two legs. Now, check again: are you sure it’s close by?”
Tianfeng Xuanyuan closed his eyes. While his senses weren’t as sharp as before, he could sense a faint presence; he opened his eyes to notify, “It’s nearby. It’s the same as the ones on the mountain.”
“Got it. Fifth, tell everyone to be ready for battle. Use plan bing. Deploy Southeast Stone Gate Formation. Escorting Hero Li to safety takes priority. Don’t brush it off just because we’re not one of them. We can only give it everything we have if Hero Li is safe.”
As soon as Xia’er caught up to them, she sped back in the opposite direction.
“Wait.”
“What?” Xia’er had already ran twenty-five metres back.
“Remind them: be ready for sacrifices.”
“Got it.”
“Third Brother, I detect abnormal qi in that direction,” Tianfeng Xuanyuan informed.
“Let’s go!”
Not long after Mount Daluo’s duo set off, someone clothed in back glided through the forest, remaining just an inch off the ground. The blades of grass bent to the side to clear a path for the man with his face wrapped up in black cloth. He stopped around fifty metres away from Teng Ji and Lian Zhuiyue. Without concern for giving off his location, he, in a raspy voice sardonically questioned in Mandarin with a Nanjiang accent, said, “Do you two gentleman realise you are disturbing people with your fight in the middle of the night? It is a sin.
Lian Zhuiyue placed his fist and palm together. “This one is a twenty-ninth generation disciple of Mount Daluo, sixth direct disciple of Hua of the World. This one apologies for making a ruckus at night.”
“I see the rumours that Lian Zhuiyue is a polite gentleman and the future of the Central Plain’s orthodox sects are true.”
“You flatter this one, Elder.”
Teng Ji, a man who disdained the long-winded type of conversation, erupted. “What’s it to you? What are you doing out here in the middle of the night? What sin are you babbling about now?”
“Disrupting this old one from letting his cattle out to graze is obviously a sin,” the elder hiked up the corner of his lip as he showed his eyes, “that incurs the death penalty!”
“Sixth, watch out for the beast!” Sima Huai yelled from the forest.
An extremely long, strange-shaped silhouette at the man’s feet leapt at Lian Zhuiyue. The brown silhouette belonged to a snake over fifteen metres long. The reason its owner appeared to glide through the forest and part the lawn was due to the snake carrying him whilst remaining camouflaged thanks to its brown colour. The horrendous stench it oozed all the way to the high heavens came from its venom.
The snake made a beeline for Lian Zhuiyue’s chest faster than any wild beast could by a large margin. Lian Zhuiyue drew his sword and started slicing away. In spite of its speed, Lian Zhuiyue hacked into eighteen parts in no time at all without staining his clothing.
“Fantastic! Fantastic ‘Hero Has No Regrets’! That’s what I call advanced swordplay!”
Sima Huai and Tianfeng Xuanyuan finally arrived, boxing the man in between them, Lian Zhuiyue and Teng Ji.
The man shook his head. “I just praised you for being polite, only for you to kill my pet without any explanation.”
Lian Zhuiyue whipped the blood off his sword and, wearing a straight face, responded, “The snake was malicious. This one learnt swordplay to execute evil. If he lets evil go, he would have lived a life in vain.”
Glossary
Plan bing – Just in case of confusion, “bing” is one of several words that, in this context, are best understood as words that function similar to the words “Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta” etc. You could just think of it as “Plan A”, “Plan B” and so forth. More on the origin of the word in coming chapters. Don’t worry about memorising them; just know that they aren’t words chosen at random (explained next chapter).
