The blade split the cup into pieces, sending ceramic shards flying everywhere.
It was at this moment that Xiao Jin finally saw clearly. To be precise, what shot out from the silver light was not just one blade, but… many blades.
Several flying knives with cold glints were shot out from the woman’s slender fingers.
Their target was unexpectedly the embroidered screen that was pierced by the arrow, and Empress Ning, who was lying on the ground.
Sitting in a wheelchair, Xiao Jin felt the overwhelming killing intent rushing towards her.
Her fingers moved slightly, and without hesitation, she pulled the trigger of her sleeve dart.
Clang!
The black dart hit the blade aimed at Empress Ning.
Three consecutive shots collided with the sharp and harsh sound of metal scraping against each other.
Seeing this scene, the woman in blue who held the flying knives exclaimed in surprise, while Empress Ning looked at the blade deeply embedded in the floor, also stunned.
On Xiao Jin’s side, Ye Juege and Chu Shao drew their swords at the same time.
The blades stirred up a gust of wind, and with lightning speed, they cut down the flying knives.
Without absolute speed and strength, it would be impossible to block these flying knives.
At the same time, if it weren’t for Xiao Jin’s complete trust in the two people standing beside her, she would not have made the resolute decision to save Empress Ning in the face of life and death.
The woman in blue stood in the shattered porcelain, holding her knife and raising her eyebrows slightly, seemingly surprised by the seamless cooperation of these people.
But the next moment, she didn’t have time to stay in place and marvel.
Because Chu Shao picked up the long sword and in the blink of an eye, came to her behind her.
Although there was still a gentle curve on her lips, the trembling fingers revealed Chu Shao’s inner feelings.
After all, it had been a long time since she had met someone so eager to die.
So much so that even though Chu Shao sensed that there was another person outside, her swordsmanship was still sharp and ruthless, leaving no room for error.
The gentle smile on her face was warm and shallow, but her moves showed decisiveness and determination.
The woman in blue found herself in the midst of it all, feeling a sudden chill on her back and sensing a sky-shattering killing intent.
The most terrifying thing was not the terrifying sword moves, but that when she tried to move her feet to avoid it, she found that there was nowhere to hide.
Chu Shao had not been so excited for a long time.
With one stroke of her sword, she displayed a killing move that had never been seen before, leaving her opponent with no way out.
Standing by the side, Shangguan Xun became anxious: “Hey! Princess, that is our family’s heirloom sword…”.
The heirloom sword of the Shangguan family had always been hung on the wall as a decoration.
Today, however, it was taken out by Chu Shao and had gone through a lot of danger.
If it were only to cut through Xuan Iron, it would have been fine, but now it was being used by Chu Shao to harm people.
Shangguan Xun was so anxious that he almost bit his silver teeth.
However, Chu Shao had gone completely crazy and completely ignored his presence.
Seeing the opponent swing a sword move that was almost invisible, Shangguan Xun not only felt distressed for the family heirloom sword but also thought that the lifespan of this sudden appearance of swordsman was probably only between one finger snap.
The only one who didn’t think it was that simple was Xiao Jin.
Because she had read too many online novels.
In any online novel trope, the swordsman in blue clothes was a person who would survive for a while.
There was no reason for this, but any supporting character who had been rendered and described in detail in online novels would not only live for a few sentences.
As expected, Xiao Jin’s premonition came true.
The blue-clothed woman was careless and underestimated Chu Shao’s strength.
However, there was still another person hidden in the shadows.
The white-haired swordsman hiding in the corner had not made any move since shooting that arrow at the beginning.
But now, he acted.
His weapon was a knife.
A very ordinary, unremarkable knife.
However, it made Xiao Jin frown.
If the opponent had carried a gorgeous and exquisite treasure knife with them, Xiao Jin would not have been so vigilant.
But if it was a plain, ordinary knife, then the situation was somewhat serious.
Moreover, the person’s hair was all white. In online novels, nine out of ten people with white hair were peerless experts.
The other one was the protagonist who was troubled by love and turned evil.
Since the protagonist is Chu Shao, then this white-haired man must be a highly skilled expert.
With this intuition, Xiao Jin firmly believed that the other party had a big background.
In fact, it was not simple at all, because he had caught Chu Shao’s sword with his very ordinary-looking crude knife.
If it were only one sword, it could be said to be a coincidence and nothing surprising.
But after receiving the first move, the white-haired man casually blocked with his crude knife.
He effortlessly caught Chu Shao’s second sword.
Who is this person?
Except for Xiao Jin and the woman in blue, everyone present was amazed.
As the leader of the defense army, Ye Juege naturally knew the various heroes in the martial world according to the martial arts list.
Based on the white-haired man’s facial features and the too ordinary knife in his hand, she had already deduced who he was.
It was precisely because she knew his identity that she was even more shocked: How could this senior appear here?
On the other side, the clash of swords and knives produced sharp and intense sounds.
The two weapons were very different, and their techniques were also not similar.
Sometimes they would take a step, and sometimes they would dodge.
The clash of swords and knives continued for a long time, mixed with the flicker of blades and shadows of swords.
It seemed that there was no difference between them, but in fact, Chu Shao was already slightly inferior.
The reason was simple: the person she was fighting against was a senior who had been in hiding for many years and had long been a legend in the martial world.
The moves this person had learned were probably more than Chu Shao had eaten in all these years.
Chu Shao had already recognized who he was.
So she frowned, took a small step back, and held her sword with a smile, saying, “Senior Liu, the Tianya Sect has always ignored worldly affairs. Since you have already rebuilt the sect in Xin Yao, why do you have to come down the mountain?”
Senior Liu, Tianya Sect…
Xiao Jin was taken aback.
If she remembered correctly, this was the hermit who assisted the female protagonist in ascending the throne in the original story, right?
Why did she come on stage and immediately start fighting Chu Shao with a big chopping knife?
Liu Tianya had white eyebrows and beard, but his face still maintained the appearance of middle age.
For such a master, to him, whether he looked good or not was irrelevant.
But obviously, even as the head of the Tianya Sect, he was still a person living in a routine.
As the ceiling of Tianya Sect’s combat power, it was naturally impossible for him to walk in with a bamboo cane and look old and feeble.
The art of looking young was a must-have for big shots.
At this moment, Liu Tianya stood still and silently looked at Chu Shao.
It was a long time before he uttered a word: “To be entrusted by someone, and to do loyal deeds for someone.”
But Xiao Jin felt that the plot was starting to become magical.
Master, have you got it wrong?
You are the strongest trump card of the female protagonist.
Who can entrust you and whom can you be loyal to?
Obviously, Shangguan Xun also felt it was not quite reasonable.
He shook his folding fan and smiled, “So it turns out to be Senior Liu, I was rude.”
Liu Tianya still remained silent, even sparing a glance for Shangguan Xun seemed too much.
But Shangguan Xun continued to ask: “It’s just that there’s one thing that the junior still doesn’t understand. Senior Liu, as the head of Tianya Sect, has long abandoned the world, so who can find you and force you to come out?”
The woman in blue looked at the kneeling Empress Ning and coldly sneered, “She killed my senior sister and ruined Yao Country. Does she still want to live?”
Listening to the woman in blue, Xiao Jin could roughly deduce that the other party was probably Shen Ronglian’s junior sister.
But isn’t Tianya Sect only accepting male disciples and not female ones?
Shangguan Xun and Xiao Jin had the same doubts: “Senior Liu, when did you start accepting female disciples?”
Liu Tianya’s expression darkened, as if he had touched on a painful topic.
The woman in blue glared at Shangguan Xun and spoke up for Liu Tianya: “Since Senior Sister Shen’s death, the sect leader has abolished the ancestral rules and recruited disciples from all over the world.”
At this point, Xiao Jin understood completely.
It seemed that Shen Ronglian was Liu Tianya’s favored disciple and had come to avenge him.
However, Xiao Jin did not want the Empress Ning to die, as she held the whereabouts of the half-jade seal, which Xiao Jin didn’t want to let go of.
Chu Shao would need it in the future.
Upon hearing this, Shangguan Xun appeared indifferent, shrugging his shoulders and saying, “If that’s the case, please proceed.”
He had no hope of prying any information out of Empress Ning’s mouth, and only wanted her to die in the villa so that Princess Zhao Yang could hear the news and put her mind at ease. As long as Liu Tianya did not kill the Prince Yan, he had nothing to do with this matter.
Chu Shao paid no attention to these people, turning her head to smile at Xiao Jin, “What does Your Highness think?”
Meeting Chu Shao’s gaze, Xiao Jin became even more determined in her thoughts.
Empress Ning was Chu Shao’s enemy, and undoubtedly, she wanted her dead.
Just not now.
Xiao Jin looked into Chu Shao’s eyes and said calmly, “I don’t want her to die.”
The woman in blue drew out her flying knife and chuckled, “Even if you are the Prince Yan of Qi, can you stop Master from killing whoever he wants?”
Xiao Jin didn’t even look at the woman in blue, speaking in a calm tone, “You threw two knives at me earlier, which means we are already enemies. And your master took the bow and arrows of the Prince Yan’s guards. This means at least one of my men is dead.”
Xiao Jin looked at the woman in blue seriously, “So, young lady, please understand one thing. I am not here to stop you, but to kill you.”
….
The room fell silent for a moment.
After a while, a faint smile appeared on Liu Tianya’s face: “I didn’t intend to take your life with that arrow just now.”
Just as Liu Tianya had casually bought a wooden knife in the inn at Qingzhou, he had also casually taken a bow and arrow from the waist of a guard at the door when he faced the person who destroyed Yao Country. Then, he aimed at the embroidered screen.
Liu Tianya didn’t kill the guard, nor did he intend to kill Xiao Jin. He was just very dissatisfied.
He was dissatisfied that his talented disciple had died, and even more dissatisfied that his disciple’s daughter had married an enemy general.
All kinds of dissatisfaction had accumulated until today, and it was not a matter of being unable to bear it anymore.
After all, Liu Tianya had already taken a detached view of the world.
He came here this time just to repay the kindness of Marquis Pingcheng back then, to kill the Empress Ning for him, and also for his own talented disciple.
The arrow he shot at Prince Yan was not a very funny joke.
He just wanted to see what Chu Shao would do.
Now that Liu Tianya knew, he was very disappointed: “I didn’t intend to kill you with that arrow just now.”
Xiao Jin said coldly, “Mr. Liu, does this prince have to thank you for sparing my life?”
Liu Tianya frowned slightly and said frankly, “But now, I really want to kill you.”
“Because I always hate people who pretend to be someone they’re not.”
Xiao Jin was stunned, not because Li Tianya openly declared his intention to kill her, but mainly because Li Tianya said that he hated people who acted pretentiously.
This reminded her of the phrase “Damn it, I hate people who act cool” which she liked to use. But unfortunately, she liked to act cool.
As the saying goes, people with different values can’t work together.
Xiao Jin sighed lightly and didn’t say anything extra.
She simply raised her hand, took off her jade ring, and said concisely, “Let’s fight then.”
This was the same action she had done before fighting the Fourth Prince. It was also a signal to start the current hunt.
Bai Zhu, who was lurking on the roof, opened a tile and peered through the gap, staring fixedly at the room.
When he saw Xiao Jin take off her jade ring, he decisively lit the signal flare.
The night was dark.
A firework bloomed in the sky above Qingzhou, although small in size, it caused a great commotion.
In the bamboo forest, there was a crisp clang of swords being drawn from their sheaths in an orderly manner.
The hunt had begun.
…
The disciples of Tianya Sect quickly broke into the room through the broken window.
However, the guards rushed in on their galloping horses and quickly drew their bows.
Meanwhile, the members of the Blood Rain Pavilion who were lurking in the manor looked at each other and donned their masks, choosing to join the battle.
For a moment, the sound of neighing horses and clashing weapons echoed throughout the manor, spreading from the bedrooms to the bamboo forest.
The entire manor was permeated with a strong smell of blood.
Inside the house, there was also a chilling atmosphere.
Chu Shao held her sword and stepped forward to meet Liu Tianya’s knife.
Seeing his subordinates fighting against the disciples of Tianya Sect, Shangguan Xun knew he could not stay out of the fray.
Since Chu Shao had taken his weapon, he could only sigh and pick up his folding fan, running towards Liu Tianya with an extremely hypocritical smile, “Senior Liu, I’ve offended you!”
Xiao Jin picked up a feathered arrow and drew her bow, aiming at the woman in blue who was about to help Liu Tianya.
The message was clear: “Don’t go over there, come fight me instead.”
The woman in blue’s path was blocked by the feathered arrow, so she had to pinch her flying knife and turn to rush towards Xiao Jin.
However, before she could throw the knife held between her fingers, Ye Juege’s sword swept towards her.
Without any superfluous movements, Ye Juege aimed her sword at the critical meridians around her body and slashed down.
After narrowly avoiding Ye Juege’s sword, she was immediately hit by the feathered arrow.
Her sleeve was cut off, and she dodged in a miserable manner.
She couldn’t help but get angry and said, “Prince Yan! You are a Prince of Qi, how can you intervene when others are practicing? Is it ethical for you to use your numbers to bully the weak?”
Xiao Jin thought it was strange and hypocritical of her to say that, considering that just moments ago, her master and disciple had joined forces to throw arrows and knives at her.
She thought to herself that she didn’t need to be a gentleman, and neither was she a Confucian scholar.
She cleared her throat and said blandly, “I am not a gentleman, just as you are not Confucius, young lady.”
“In the face of life and death, it’s better to say fewer preaching words, otherwise, if you are distracted for even a moment, it won’t be good,” she continued, as if to confirm her point.
The next moment, the feathered arrow cut through the woman in blue’s arm, causing blood to gush out.
She let out a sharp cry of pain, and her anger was evident as she covered her injured arm.
In the midst of the chaos, she shouted to someone in the distance, “Second Brother, how long do you plan to stay in the corner?”
Xiao Jin frowned slightly.
It seemed that Tianya Sect still had a trick up their sleeve.
Just as Xiao Jin was thinking this, she suddenly realized that something was wrong.
She turned her head and saw Empress Ning crawling out while dragging the chain that was shackled to her ankle and using her hands to pull herself along the ground step by step.
However, Empress Ning did not notice that someone was already behind her.
A man dressed in indigo robes was holding a sword with an expressionless face and stabbing towards her back.
In a moment of desperation, Xiao Jin shouted, “Juege!”
Ye Juege understood and stopped fighting with the woman in blue.
She raised her sword and intercepted the attack from Liu Er.
The swords clashed, and Liu Er frowned slightly, showing some impatience, but he could only continue to fight Ye Juege.
At this time, the woman in blue realized that the defensive strength of the villa was far greater than they had imagined.
It was not advisable to linger in battle.
The only wise course of action was to take Empress Ning’s life and retreat quickly.
While Ye Juege was fighting with Liu Er, she grabbed a flying knife with her hand.
With a slight movement of her fingers, she threw a knife at Xiao Jin and another one at Empress Ning.
The main purpose of throwing it at Xiao Jin was to prevent her from paying attention to Empress Ning’s side.
Unexpectedly, this throw caught the attention of Chu Shao, who was fighting with Liu Tianya.
Catching a glimpse of the hidden blade, Chu Shao’s eyebrows furrowed.
She did not care about the incoming blade from Liu Tianya and jumped away, her white clothes fluttering in the wind.
Liu Tianya saw a glimpse of the white sleeve and, in a moment of confusion, saw the shadow of his former disciple on Chu Shao.
Although his sword was already in motion, he withdrew his hand at a critical moment and retracted it.
If not for this, it would have been certain that Chu Shao would have been seriously injured.
Xiao Jin saw everything.
Seeing Chu Shao running towards her side without regard for her life, with a silent and murderous black blade following behind her.
The finger that held the bow trembled for an instant, and a few drops of blood oozed from the fingertip.
Before those few drops of blood had even fallen, Chu Shao had already landed on the ground.
Turning around, her slender fingers held two flying knives. “You’re giving me a bit of trouble,” Chu Shao said with a gentle smile on her lips, even her spoken words were light and floating.
Looking up at the woman in blue, she said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t like trouble, so I have to solve it quickly.”
In the next moment, Chu Shao held the flying knives and threw them back to the woman in blue.
The most painful thing in the world is not being bad at something, but rather being skilled in swordsmanship and dying by the sword, or being skilled in knives and dying by the knife.
Those who are skilled with a knife will die by the knife.
The woman in blue looked at the two flying knives, her eyes widened but she didn’t have time to dodge.
Even though Liu Tianya acted in time and brushed away the flying knife aimed at the woman’s forehead, he couldn’t stop the other blade, which stabbed into her chest with lightning speed.
Clearly, the rule that supporting characters don’t die when they first appear didn’t apply to Chu Shao.
“Wushuang!” Liu Er’s eyes were about to burst with rage, and he cried out in alarm.
Trembling, Wushuang covered her chest with her hand and touched the flying knife that had pierced into her chest, wiping the blood off her hands.
But she also knew that if her master had not taught her the Flowing Cloud Step, she would have already become a corpse.
Even with the protection of the Flowing Cloud Step, Wushuang still had a pale face and sat down on the ground, holding her injury and looking like she had suffered a severe internal injury.
Seeing Wushuang injured, Liu Tianya and Liu Er were furious and picked up their weapons to attack Chu Shao.
Before meeting the enemy, Chu Shao raised her eyebrows.
With a gentle smile on her lips, she whispered to Xiao Jin, “Your Highness, since you want to save Empress Ning, you should take her and leave first.”
Ye Juege also tightened the blade of her sword and said, “Your Highness, you should take the Empress Ning away first. I’ll stay with the Princess to face the enemy. You don’t have to worry.”
In other words, they wanted Xiao Jin to take the Empress Ning away first, and they would be responsible for holding back Liu Tianya and Liu Er.
Xiao Jin looked at the two people standing in front of her in silence for a long time.
She really wanted to say that she didn’t want to take the risk of saving Empress Ning.
She was only doing it for the sake of the future, for them.
However, it was not appropriate to talk too much at the moment.
In an instant, Xiao Jin had made a decision.
Let’s walk down this road together until the end.
Just as Xiao Jin was filled with grief and excitement, she suddenly realized a problem and looked down at her disabled legs.
They wanted her to leave first, but how could she walk when she was in a wheelchair?
….
The boundless night sky, endlessly mournful.
Tonight, the most distressing thing is not the Tianya Sect, not the Bloody Rain Pavilion, nor the defending army fighting fiercely in the bamboo forest.
It is Bai Zhu.
Bai Zhu, an ordinary child, but with a life full of misfortunes and disasters.
Perhaps it is fate that has led him to this absurd path.
From the moment he jumped off the roof, his tragic fate was sealed.
Chu Shao and Ye Juege stared at her as if she were a meteor falling from the sky, a comet on a collision course – just so happened to hit them.
As they say, it’s better to be lucky than good.
Normally, Bai Zhu had some skills that made people hate him, but at that moment, he was surrounded by love and a sense of duty.
So much so that at this moment, Bai Zhu was pushing a wheelchair with Empress Ning on his back, the heavy weight of love and trust making it difficult for him to breathe.
Empress Ning was ravaged by a gu poison, as light as a piece of paper.
But the mysterious iron chains wrapped around her limbs forced Bai Zhu to move forward step by step, bearing the weight of it all.
Warm blood mixed with strange-colored pus flowed into his clothes.
Empress Ning’s cruel laughter rang in his ears.
Bai Zhu could only stare straight ahead, his brain forcing itself into a state of numbness and calm.
Xiao Jin saw Bai Zhu’s fear and couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.
Because just now, a mechanical voice sounded in her mind.
“Beep! The host is currently in a dangerous situation.”
“Considering that the host may face a life-threatening situation, the system will temporarily open up two hours of freedom of movement for you.”
Xiao Jin completely ignored the first sentence and her attention was completely distracted by the second sentence.
In other words… she could temporarily have the freedom to walk now?
Fortunately, after months of paralysis, Xiao Jin finally had the good fortune to be able to stand up.
But unfortunate events are equally fatal.
Bai Zhu is still here now.
If she stands up vigorously, she might scare the unlucky kid to death.
Therefore, Xiao Jin sits steadily in the wheelchair, still hanging her legs as usual, without moving.
She saw that the road was getting darker and darker.
While Bai Zhu was struggling to move forward, she asked while panting, “Your Highness, where are we going now?”
Without hesitation, Xiao Jin replied, “Wherever there is a secret passage, we will go there.”
After a moment of silence, Bai Zhu said, “Your Highness, I don’t know where there is a secret passage.”
Xiao Jin was stunned, “You don’t know?”
Isn’t a secret passage a standard escape route in online novels?
How come there isn’t one in this book? Bai Zhu hesitated for a moment and slowly said, “I think the shopkeeper is an honest and decent person, and he has never done anything like killing or arson, so… there may not be a secret passage in this mansion.”
After hearing the other’s words, Xiao Jin couldn’t help but ask soulfully, “No secret passage? Then where are we going now?”
Bai Zhu fell silent again.
After a long time, she said with a brave face, “I don’t know.”
…So what do you actually know?
Xiao Jin was speechless
Unfortunately, due to her current physical limitations, she couldn’t suddenly stand up and tell Bai Zhu to move aside and lead the way herself.
So she had no choice but to let Bai Zhu take charge.
Xiao Jin thought to herself that, at the very least, Bai Zhu wouldn’t lead them to the edge of a cliff.
Bai Zhu pushed the wheelchair and carried Empress Ning on her back, and they continued forward for some distance after leaving the forest.
After they emerged, the moon cast a hazy glow over the sleeping city and illuminated their dim path forward.
Xiao Jin fell silent as she looked at the cliff that blocked their way ahead.
In that brief moment, she felt as if her whole life had been an embodiment of Murphy’s Law.
How absurd it all was.
Bai Zhu, you little scoundrel.
You’re worthy of your reputation.
After staring blankly at the desolate scenery atop the smoking mountain for a moment, Bai Zhu felt a little embarrassed.
But fortunately, nobody knew that he had led them to the edge of a cliff – not even he himself knew that he had this ability.
It was precisely because of this that this place was safe enough.
If you ignore the figure that walked out of the mountain forest.
This place is really a top-notch safe haven.
But unfortunately, that person still walked out.
He held an unnamed sword with silver light flowing, stepped through the moonlight, and walked slowly closer.
Looking at Shen Lang standing in front of her and feeling the cold night wind on the cliff, Xiao Jin had cursed Bai Zhu a thousand times in her heart.
But on the surface, she still had to remain calm and asked in a flat voice, “What brings Master Shen here so late at night?”
Shen Lang’s eyes were as cold as the moonlight.
He looked at the Empress Ning on Bai Zhu’s back and said coldly, “To seek revenge.”
Xiao Jin nodded.
Okay, Empress Ning.
Everyone in the world wants to kill you.
You really have it coming.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Translator’s note: Oh! I want to see Xiao Jin walk~ 🤧 I love it! I hope she will walk in the next chapter. SIGH… Bai Zhu, you really is a scoundrel!
That’s all for tonight~
Goodnight ~~~
TO BE CONTINUE…
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