Jianghu Demolition Squad

Like a Fish Transforming into a Dragon (Part Fifteen)

Ye Sheng failed to secure the hairpin and was left in disarray. He assessed that the woman’s skills were formidable, and even if he exerted full effort, he likely could not match her. With such a character appearing in Wujin City, he realized he must be wary.

He returned to the riverside, and after Yu’er and Jun Sixue had released their lanterns, he escorted them back to the inn. His mind was not on other matters; he was focused solely on returning to his sect to instruct his disciples to keep an eye on the wulin heroes coming and going from Wujin City.

Yu’er said, “Sect Leader Ye, you can leave us here. Thank you for your company tonight, I will visit tomorrow to express my gratitude.”

Sect Leader Ye replied, “Young Mistress, there’s no need to be so formal…”

Before he could finish, a shout erupted from the crowd. A figure leaped from the rooftops, moving swiftly and gracefully, landing in front of the inn, making the bystanders think they had seen a celestial being.

Yu’er said, “Hua Lian.”

Hua Lian hurried past, casting a quick glance at Ye Sheng, then whispered something to Yu’er.

Yu’er looked towards Ye Sheng, who understood and said, “I’ll take my leave now. Young Mistress, please get some rest.”

Jun Sixue was planning to return with Ye Sheng, but seeing the urgency on Hua Lian’s face, she decided to stay.

After Ye Sheng left. Yu’er frowned, “With so many skilled martial artists in the Wenwu Sect, and with you and Uncle Qi here, how could someone have kidnapped him? Was it her?”

Hua Lian shook his head, “There’s a traitor within the Wenwu Sect. She snuck in tonight to assassinate Qin Feng and fought with two elders. Meanwhile, a group used the opportunity to abduct Qin Feng and also kidnapped Miss Ye Wushuang from the sect. The sect’s people have already informed Sect Leader Ye, and he will find out shortly.”

Ye Sheng had already walked far, reaching the street corner. From a distance, the three saw someone running up to him, gesturing animatedly. Shortly after, Ye Sheng quickly left with that person.

Yu’er turned to Jun Sixue, “Second Sister, go and call Tang Linzhi and Yang Chun.”

“Alright.”

Yu’er glanced at Hua Lian, who stepped forward to lead the way. Yu’er followed and asked, “You and Uncle Qi didn’t intervene?”

Hua Lian pulled several plum blossom darts from his sleeve and with a flick of his wrist, embedded them deep into the wall.

These were the darts Tang Linzhi had given him, specifically used for marking. He left a trail for Tang Linzhi and the others to follow.

Hua Lian explained, “She was single-handedly facing off against the two great elders of the Wenwu Sect. I was worried that something might go wrong, so I stayed on the sidelines. Brother Qi engaged with that group, but we didn’t expect there to be a traitor within the Wenwu Sect. We were caught off guard when that person secretly took Qin Feng away. Now, he and the two young brothers have gone to pursue them.”

Yu’er paused, then his eyes sharpened, “Were those people from the Xuanji Tower?”

Yu’er and Hua Lian exchanged looks. Hua Lian nodded, sharing the same suspicion.

Outside Wujin City, locust trees rustled in the summer night, filled with incessant cicada sounds. The area was cool and eerie, and a breeze made it feel even more ghostly.

Figures stood silently among the trees, their shadows mingling with the trees to form grotesque shapes, as if summoned by the locust trees themselves.

A person arrived silently, a willow leaf-saber hanging at his waist, standing before the leader, his expression indifferent: “Jun Zhen.”

Jun Zhen coldly responded, “Feixu.”

“Did Lingyun send you to capture me and take me back?”

Feixu spoke, “The Tower Master possesses a divine ability to predict events. Ever since Jun Ruoyu took the Qiushui sword and left Jiuxiao Manor for Jiangnan, he had already anticipated your actions. Jun Zhen, last time you acted without permission and nearly killed Lin Zigui before the Tower Master could interrogate her about the Fenghou Sword. The Tower Master spared you once.”

“And now, once again, you’re disobeying orders and acting on your own, even bringing Xin Chou out with you…”

“Jun Zhen, do you know the consequences of defying the Tower Master’s orders?”

A massive figure nearby turned around, like a mountain shifting, stirring a gust that swayed the surrounding locust tree branches. Despite its monstrous size, the creature spoke with a human voice, “Chou… didn’t disobey. Yes… Jun Zhen told Chou to come out…” Its tone was timid and fearful.

Jun Zhen shouted fiercely, “Stay still! Do you want to reveal our ambush?”

The giant creature let out a low, pitiful whimper and obediently retreated.

Jun Zhen continued, “That girl from the Jun family wants to use Qin Feng to find Xuanji Tower, she also wants to kill him. The one wielding the Fenghou Sword also came. Regardless of whether she is Lin Zigui or not, we’ll use Qin Feng to lure them here. Then the Fenghou, Qiushui, and Chini swords will all fall into our hands. He wants the divine weapons, doesn’t he? After Lin Zigui cut off his hand years ago, he’s been too scared to do it himself. Why shouldn’t I do it for him?” He finished, kicking a person at his feet.

The person by his leg was Qin Feng, curled up, muttering to himself.

Feixu warned, “You might be letting the wolf into the den instead of trapping a turtle in a jar! The Tower Master hasn’t made a move because the time isn’t right. The people you’re dealing with are not simple; you underestimate them. If you fail to obtain the divine weapons and use the secret pawns of the Wenwu Sect without permission, do you know what your end will be?”

Jun Zhen’s face contorted grotesquely, “I don’t care. They’ve all gathered today; it’s a rare opportunity. I will take them all down at once to avenge my son! If you insist on stopping me today, then it’s either you die or I live!”

As they were talking, a scout returned and reported to Jun Zhen, “They are coming, just a kilometers away.”

Jun Zhen smirked, nodded to a man beside him, and commanded, “Go!” The man immediately hoisted Ye Wushuang on his back and left the forest.

On the forest path under the moonlit night, Qing Jiu moved with swift and graceful steps, her mask shimmering in the silver light.

Two figures were hot on her trail, shouting, “Where do you think you’re running?”

It turned out to be two elders from Wenwu Sect chasing after Qing Jiu.

Qing Jiu glanced around, unbothered by the two, just as a man carrying someone emerged from the forest. She paused briefly, and the elders quickly closed in.

The elders also spotted the man running from a distance, and upon a closer look, they recognized him as a disciple from their sect, carrying Ye Wushuang. “Shuang’er?!”

The man looked at Qing Jiu with a terrified expression and retreated. But upon seeing the two elders approached, he cried out, “First Elder, Second Elder, save me!”

The two elders, ignoring Qing Jiu for the moment, swiftly moved to check Ye Wushuang’s vitals. Finding her breathless and dead, one of them shook violently, let out a pained cry, and embraced her, “Shuang’er!”

The other elder, seeing Ye Wushuang lifeless, his eyes reddened with rage, grabbed the man by his collar and demanded, “What happened! Who! Who is the murderer!”

The man squeezed out two streams of tears, his voice trembling with emotion as he recounted the tragic tale, “Those people kidnapped the young mistress and this disciple. The young mistress refused to comply, so they beat her on the way, and she passed away halfway through the journey. They found it troublesome to carry her corpse, so they discarded her body by the roadside. I took the chance to escape when they were unprepared, and I managed to retrieve her body. Fortunately, wild beasts hadn’t devoured the young mistress’s body, so I carried her and fled back…”

As he spoke, the man pointed at Qing Jiu, “I heard those thieves calling her their leader on the road, saying she was holding off the two elders and they would wait for her return before leaving…”

The two elders let out a cry of anguish, their eyes brimming with fury as they looked at Qing Jiu, “Heaven-cursed traitor, If I don’t flay you alive, how can I face my Shuang’er after her tragic fate!”

They lunged at Qing Jiu, their intent no longer just to capture. The loss of their niece had driven them beyond reason, desiring only to kill Qing Jiu to appease their grief.

As Qi Tianzhu and two others arrived, they saw the man accusing Qing Jiu of being the mastermind. Seeing the two elders were bent on a fight to the death, Qi Tianzhu hurried to intervene, not taking sides but trying to prevent the fight, “Elders, there must be some misunderstanding. Let’s clarify the situation first…”

“What’s there to explain, Master Qi, step aside! I must avenge this wrong personally, and if you obstruct me further, don’t blame me for not recognizing our past acquaintance.”

As they tried to push Qi Tianzhu away, Qing Jiu seized the moment to dart past them toward the man.

One of the elders exclaimed in alarm, “No, she’s going to take her rage out on that disciple and kill him too!”

Seeing Qing Jiu approaching, the man, fearing she would capture and interrogate him, tried to commit suicide to frame Qing Jiu for murder, leaving her no chance to clear her name.

Just as he was about to bite into a poison capsule, he underestimated Qing Jiu’s skills, which was far greater than he had imagined.

Qing Jiu attacked with incredible speed, reaching him in an instant. She struck the side of his face with the hilt of her sword, not only dislocating his jaw but shattering his teeth.

Before the pain could even register, Qing Jiu had immobilized him with a acupoint, rendering him unable to move.

When the two elders caught up, ready to shout, “Traitor, do not harm him!” they saw that Qing Jiu had only immobilized the man. She bent down, picked up the poison capsule from the ground, and tossed it to them with a cold laugh, “Foolish man. Interrogate him properly, then ask who the murderer is.”

One elder examined the poison capsule in his hand, noting that such items were typically hidden in the mouth only by those prepared to die; it was not something their sect disciple would carry.

The elders, seasoned and wise from their experiences in the Jianghu, were no fools. Realizing the truth after being subdued by Qing Jiu, they flushed with rage, exclaiming, “Clever spy! Wretched beast!” As they pressured him to reveal his identity and the power he represented, the man was solely focused on seeking death.

Qing Jiu placed her hand gently on the disciple’s shoulder, “Though a dead man may not fear death, he might still fear pain. You wish to die, but I will not grant you that relief.”

As her words fell, there was a sharp crack, and the man’s body trembled violently, his face turning deathly pale. His shoulder bone was crushed, sending searing pain through him.

The man gritted his teeth, refusing to speak. Qing Jiu continued, “Speak, and you’ll have a quick death. Stay silent, and you’ll die in agony. Since death is inevitable, why not suffer less?” With that, she intensified her grip, and the man’s entire arm shattered.

Teeth chattering from pain, the man gasped, “A kilometer ahead, in the locust tree forest, Xuanji Tower…” Unable to endure the pain any longer, he confessed.

Qing Jiu immediately left the crowd behind. With a light tap of her foot, she shot forward like an arrow released from a bow, leaving Qi Tianzhu and the others far behind. After some distance, she suddenly darted into the woods. In a single breath, she drew the Fenghou Sword and swiftly eliminated a scout.

The scout, eyes wide open and clutching an unlaunched signal flare, fell dead.

Covering one kilometer took Qing Jiu no more than the time to drink one or two cups of tea. She paused, listening to the sounds of insects that filled the air.

The Fenghou slid from its sheath, the moonlight turning its dark blade into a dense, blood-red hue. Her expression wild, she shouted, “You wanted the Fenghou sword, didn’t you? Come and take a good look at it!”

With a surge of her internal energy, the sword sang out, its resonance fine and continuous, piercing through every limb and bone, inducing a sense of submission in those who heard it. The sword’s hum continued, driving those who listened for too long into madness.

Those lying in ambush with lesser skills were already kneeling on the ground, trembling violently.

When Qin Feng heard Qing Jiu mention the Fenghou Sword, his madness intensified. He recklessly ran out from the woods, his eyes bulging with desperation, screaming, “The Fenghou Sword, give me the Fenghou Sword!”

Qing Jiu, glancing sideways at the woods, ran her finger along the blade of the Fenghou Sword. The sword vibrated in response, humming resonantly. She scoffed coldly, “You think you can trick me with the same trick twice?”