Editor: Larkspur
It was the middle of the night when Mu Yunjin heard sounds in her room, yet again.
When she lit a candle and turned to look for the source. What she saw this time weren’t the pair of mother-child gu worms, but snakes. They were but a few fingers thick, marching vigorously across the floor.
Mu Yunjin instantly froze. She was so terrified that she got goosebumps all over. But she quickly recomposed, pulled out the dagger she placed under her pillow, and vigilantly eyed the slithering serpents drawing close.
Crash!
The sound of a tile being kicked to pieces came from the roof
She gritted her teeth, and despite the rapidly approaching snakes moved quickly towards the window to head out. She flew to the roof and spotted a dark shadow scurrying away.
Mu Yunjin gave chase.
At the same time, Chu Li heard movements and went out of his room. The lanterns outside were barely enough to let him see the things happening before him.
Perceiving the oddity, he frowned. “Ding Xian!”
Ding Xian immediately appeared, and upon seeing his master’s heavy gaze he was reflexively on an alert. “I’ll go check.”
“No need.”
Chu Li then brought out the jade pendant, and in an instant, the courtyard was as bright as day.
The jade pendant is really mystical, hasn’t it gotten brighter? Ding Xian sighed in wonderment. Back when he had seen this jade pendant for the first time, its intensity was similar to that of a lantern. But today, those white rays could probably give a dozen or so lanterns a run for the money.
Chu Li didn’t linger, he quickly left.
♚
Mu Yunjin chased the black-robed intruder all the way to the city outskirts. As she sped, their gap narrowed. She could tell from the darting back that it was a woman.
Qin Muyue?
Seeing how she wasn’t able to catch up, Mu Yunjin pulled out her silver needles and hurled them towards her quarry.
The person appeared to be prepared, as she was able to avoid her silver needles while also throwing back some poison darts.
Mu Yunjin too dodged.
When they got closer to the dense bamboo forest, the black-robed figure paused and entered the thicket.
It was already midnight, other than the hazy moonlight, there was only vast darkness. Mu Yunjin stood at the edge staring at the densely packed forest. She was cautious now and did not dare to rush in recklessly.
Woosh…
Woosh, woosh, woosh…
Suddenly, several secret guards stormed in from all directions. Armed with a bow and arrow, they kept pouring in, their arrows all aimed at Mu Yunjin.
Damn, it’s a trap!
Mu Yunjin inwardly scolded herself, swiftly entered the bamboo forest, and blew her jade whistle.
In a blink of an eye, the guards with the bows and arrows were subdued by the Zijia Secret Guards. And just as their commander was about to follow Mu Yunjin into the forest, a white light flashed.
Chu Li had arrived.
His solemn gaze swept over the dead bodies lying on the ground. “Song Chun, where is Huangzi Fei?” He looked at the commander of the Zijia Secret Guards.
Song Chun bowed and said, “Huangzi Fei went inside the bamboo forest, this subordinate is about to follow.”
His words had only landed when he saw his master quickly enter the forest. Just as he was about to follow, feather arrows rained from all directions. When they looked carefully, they were taken aback.
“It’s the Lujia1 Secret Guards!”
Instantly, the air was thick with murderous intent.
♚
Mu Yunjin threaded her way into the bamboo forest looking for the black-robed figure. It was a dense forest, she tried to rely on her hearing to determine the location of the person, but the sounds of ruffling leaves kept interrupting her.
A moment later, she stopped moving. As silence settled in, Mu Yunjin stilled her mind and carefully looked around.
Her face suddenly sank!
A strong wind blew, she narrowed her eyes, and countless bamboo leaves, like sharp blades, flew straight at her.
She immediately unwound the phoenix tail whip on her wrist, poured in qi, and swept the approaching bamboo leaves. She continued moving swiftly, her lips dyed with a bloodthirsty smile.
It’s been a while since I’ve been out to kill, will I be satisfied tonight?
Mu Yunjin chuckled, her eyes cold… she swung the whip towards the right, hitting past the bamboo trees. She was so fast that the black-robed figure climbing the trees failed to react in time and suffered a solid lash.
“Ah…!” the person softly yelped.
Mu Yunjin was startled at first, but then a playful smile bloomed on her face. “Ha, I did not think the Fifth Princess would hide so deep.”
The black-robed figure ignored Mu Yunjin and continued to fly forward.
How could Mu Yunjin give her the chance to escape again? Tonight’s snakes, the mother-child gu worms last night… and those archers just then, should definitely be her doing. If she did not avenge this wrong, her life would have been in vain!
With a sneer and greater force, she flung the phoenix tail whip, wrapped Chu Qingqiang’s waist, and heavily dumped her towards a pile of bamboo.
The forest was dense; the princess was tossed mercilessly, bounced back, and finally fell to the ground spitting blood.
Chu Qingqiang took off her black veil and struggled to stand, her eyes filled with killing intent. “Mu Yunjin, you know martial arts?”
“Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated*. You don’t know anything about me, yet dare to rashly try to dispose of me, your ambitions are stretching too far,” Mu Yunjin sneered, her face filled with disdain.
[* From Sun Tzu’s Art of War]
Chu Qingqiang wiped the blood off the corner of her mouth and looked at Mu Yunjin in a deadlock, then she smiled. “Do you think that I did not make any preparations tonight?”
As soon as the words were spoken, a red signal stick flew from her sleeves. In the blanket of darkness, a plume of red smoke rose into the sky.
Mu Yunjin watched quietly, she had no fear. Right at this moment, she felt a presence behind her; she assumed it was Chu Qingqiang's people and became even more alert. Then, she heard an indifferent voice.
“Mu Yunjin.”
It’s Chu Li… She was surprised.
She looked back… The man was hurrying over, wearing only a thin garment, gasping for air, frowning.
Mu Yunjin approached him and whispered, “Did you grope in the dark?”
“No.” Chu Li shook his head. Before finding her, he had already put away the jade pendant.
A little worried, she whispered again, “You should leave, she is not alone. There will be a fight soon, and it will be inconvenient. If she discovers you have night blindness, it’ll be catastrophic…”
Chu Li chuckled softly. Although he could not see her, he could tell the expression on her face by the tone of her voice.
This woman ah, such a glib tongue… makes people both love and hate her.
A moment later, a gale surged around them. Mu Yunjin was terrified by the scene before her. A swarm of people with murderous intent surrounded them. Unwittingly, she took a step back. Chu Li clutched her hand tightly as he felt her move.
“Are you afraid?” He looked at her little trembling hand, and his palms held hers closely.
“Are you kidding? Why should I be afraid? I only fear that you will be inconvenienced." Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow; she could feel the warmth of his hand, and it calmed her down.
In a flash, they were surrounded by black-robed people. The night wind blew, filling the air with a murderous aura.
"The Thousand Leaf Assassins from Donglin*? I do appreciate the gesture," Chu Li sneered. "How charitable of you, Fifth Older Sister."
[*Donglin is a country.]
Chu Qingqiang sneered, “Sixth Younger Brother, my grand cause has been seen through by the two of you, today you are not allowed to leave. Even if you are the person Qin Muyue loves, it still won’t do.”
Mu Yunjin sniggered at the mention of Qin Muyue. She was completely fearless, after all, she was the mistress of Huang Yu Pavilion!
Eh? But why didn’t the Huang Yu Pavilion light up tonight? Is it not working?
“Go!” Chu Qingqiang seemed to have exhausted all her patience and suddenly yelled.
The black-robed men brandished their weapons and coldly flashed towards Mu Yunjin and Chu Li.
Mu Yunjin held Chu Li’s hand tightly, despite the imminent danger she still couldn't help but say, “I’ll deal with them first to test them, don’t take the jade pendant out.” Then she angrily stomped her foot. “How could you come alone!”
An amused Chu Li reached out to pull her, placed her behind him, and lightly said, “Benhuangzi does not need your protection.”
Ha? Mu Yunjin scolded inwardly, this dead man is reluctant to admit his mistake. But the next second, her expression stiffened…
Chu Li condensed qi and a purple sphere of light gradually formed in his hand. His eyes were bone-chilling cold but incomparably hollow.
"Ah! "
"Ahhh!"
Shrill cries resounded in the darkness, the guests from Donglin seemed to be in immense pain. The purple sphere of light left Chu Li’s hand, transformed into a powerful true qi, and went straight at the Thousand Leaf Assassins.
The true qi touched the ground, and the dust settled. The once dense bamboo forest had been cut in half. Several of the assassins were thrown into the air before landing on sharp bamboo poles that pierced their hearts and lungs; they died on the spot.
There were still those who fell on clusters of bamboo leaves, they struggled to their feet and attacked the pair again.
“Wow, you have an awesome hand technique, what kind of martial art is that? Can you teach me?” Mu Yunjin’s eyes were full of worship, Chu Li is as good as blind, yet… It's incredible that he can still tell the opponent's position simply by listening!
Now, the remaining Thousand Leaf Assassins regrouped and changed their style. Sword in hand, they silently crept back and forth.
From their nimble movements, Mu Yunjin surmised that it was some kind of an array. It was deathly silent, she couldn’t hear a thing. She was a little alarmed.
Chu Qingqiang crossed her arms and stood there coldly watching the scene. A dagger in her hand, she was waiting for an opportunity to strike.
This was a perfect time to kill them, as long as they were dead she would not have to worry and would be able to win the world — She would become the world’s most respected woman*.
[* an allusion to the empress, she probably wants to be the empress]
♚
Lujia1 – Green armored secret guards under Chu Qingqiang.
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Thank you so much for the update.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the update 🙏
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