Chapter 19
The owner of the Jinmi Restaurant in Xixian, Sichuan, Mr. She, was smiling happily at the influx of customers, even though it wasn't mealtime.
Was that all?
He didn't know which family's daughter she was, but a woman of outstanding beauty had visited his restaurant, so there was no better eye candy than this.
Although she was a flower that had not yet bloomed, that alone was enough to be called a beauty that could topple a nation! The sword at her waist was an eyesore, but it was no trouble at all to steal a glance carefully.
But the well-bearded old man with the girl kept catching his eye.
Judging by the physiognomy he had polished while running the restaurant, he was old, but he clearly had the look of a lecher.
Whether they knew Mr. She's heart or not, the two, a man and a woman, seemed to be having a rather serious conversation.
"Honey! The food is here!"
Even the beauty's frown was more than enough to melt Mr. She's heart.
Ah! But at the sudden sharp voice of his wife, didn't the woman's gaze indifferently sweep past him?
Although it was a fleeting moment, feeling the lingering impression of her as she turned her head, Mr. She turned back to his lion-like wife.
"I'm coming."
The world is truly unfair.
There are people like his own wife, the world's worst woman, and then there are flower-like beauties that can topple a nation...
Meanwhile, the girl Mr. She was glancing at put down her chopsticks with a displeased expression.
"Miss, what's wrong?"
"The surroundings are so sticky with killing intent that I can't swallow my food."
Although it was a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft, the atmosphere of the restaurant definitely changed with that one word.
Hearing the woman's words, Liu Yezhi's expression turned sour. Who would have expected to be caught in such a remote place?
"Let's at least have a bite."
[Old Master, if we fight here, innocent people may get hurt, so let's get out of here quickly.]
A telepathic message was heard. Liu Yezhi, also conscious of his surroundings, answered with a telepathic message.
[Are you planning to fight?]
Their identities were unknown, but it was clear that they were somehow related to the Black Contemplation Fortress.
[They've followed us all the way here and are openly revealing their killing intent, aren't they? Even if we try to shake them off, it's impossible here.]
They must have done their own investigation, so it was clear that they knew the purpose of the princess and Liu Yezhi.
If so, it was even more unlikely that they would let them go easily.
[Then we'll have to lure them to a secluded place first.]
[It would be best to just subdue them and avoid a fight, but...]
In reality, that was nearly impossible.
Although Liu Yezhi's martial arts were powerful, how could he deal with opponents who used killing techniques carelessly?
[The elders wished that you would not mix hands with the evil sects as much as possible.]
[How is that even a reasonable thing to say?]
[Miss Xichang...]
Although the girl was young, she was Xi Xichang, the sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect, one of the sword sects of Sichuan at the time.
After her father, the Qingcheng Sect Leader Xi Jili, had died in the righteous-evil war against the Black Contemplation Fortress, and even her first elder brother had passed away, she had taken on the position of sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect in place of her younger brother.
[Let's get up. If we stay like this, their patience will run out.]
Xi Xichang and Liu Yezhi, who had ordered the waiter to bring their horses, left the restaurant.
"Well, they have some sense, so they're not ambushing us right away."
"They will surely wait for an opportunity and attack in a deserted place."
Liu Yezhi was right.
As long as the rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress had not yet begun, it was clear that they would try to avoid a major conflict.
When the waiter brought the horses, Liu Yezhi and Xi Xichang immediately mounted them.
"It would be best to go to the mountain path like this."
"Do so. Hiyah!"
Xi Xichang spurred her horse, fed up with the ridiculous play-acting.
The righteous path martial world of Sichuan had completely forgotten its vigilance against the Black Contemplation Fortress after the righteous-evil war.
They were the ones who were closing their eyes and ears and denying reality, even at the rumor that the Black Qilin, who was concluded to have gone into seclusion, was returning.
"Hurry up, Old Master."
"I understand."
At Xi Xichang's words, Liu Yezhi pulled the reins tightly. He didn't know when the pursuers would chase after them again.
"I tried to move carefully, but this matter seems to be proceeding with more difficulty than I thought."
"I never thought it would proceed easily. I was just surprised that the ones chasing us appeared so quickly."
Liu Yezhi calmly fell into thought. He and Xi Xichang had decided on this ordeal alone in order to not stand out.
The reason they had pushed ahead despite the extreme opposition of the elders was because they believed that this method was the only hope for the Sichuan martial world.
'It's a dilemma.'
He couldn't go back now, and it was also very dangerous to push ahead, as it was clear that the Black Contemplation Fortress had caught their scent.
How on earth had their movements been leaked to the Black Contemplation Fortress?
"It's not that I can't guess..."
The previous rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress was the signal for a long and bloody battle over the hegemony of the Sichuan martial world.
The appearance of the peerless master of the evil path, Mo Guangdi, had the effect of uniting the Sichuan martial world, and in the end, they were able to successfully block the rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress.
The peace at the end of a long war was very sweet.
But in contrast to the Black Contemplation Fortress, which was growing in power day by day, the righteous sects of the Sichuan martial world were gradually losing their light.
The martial artists who had once prioritized ideology and justice gradually disappeared, and only those who prioritized their own safety in fear remained.
They were the ones who feared the coming rise of the Black Contemplation Fortress and desperately dreamed of this false peace.
Moreover, the Qingcheng Sect had suffered a great disaster in the past, and Xichang had the weakness of being young and a girl. But since her younger brother, Xifa, was still too young to take on the duties of the sect leader.
Since Xichang was acting as a temporary acting sect leader with a good-sounding title in place of Xifa until he grew up and inherited the Qingcheng Sect, within the Qingcheng Sect, they were wary of any major incidents happening until at least Xifa was old enough to lead the sect.
It was an open secret that some of the elders of the Qingcheng Sect, who felt fear in confronting the Black Contemplation Fortress, did not approve of her actions and interfered with her in every little thing.
But even so, she did not want to believe that there was someone who would sell out a major issue that could determine the future of the sect, and furthermore, the Sichuan martial world, to the Black Contemplation Fortress, which could be called an enemy.
Sssss!
Although she had deliberately chosen a rough mountain path and spurred her horse, her hair stood on end at the grim killing intent flowing on the wind.
It also meant that the pursuers had stuck to their backs as soon as they left the restaurant.
[It seems it will be difficult to shake them off.]
When Xichang turned her head and looked back, she couldn't see the figures of those chasing them.
But in the rapidly passing scenery, the wildly moving grass and trees were a very unnatural sight for anyone to see.
The fact that they were closely following them without even showing their figures, even though Xichang and Liu Yezhi were riding horses on a mountain trek, meant that the skills of the pursuers were not ordinary.
"Whoa! Whoa!"
Xi Xichang chose to break through head-on rather than give up her back and engage in an unfamiliar mounted battle.
In any case, she was the acting sect leader of the Qingcheng Sect, and Liu Yezhi was also a renowned master of the Qingcheng Sect.
There was a good chance of winning.
"Show yourselves!"
In front of Xi Xichang and Liu Yezhi, who had dismounted and composed their posture, about ten men in black martial arts uniforms soon revealed themselves.
Each one's presence was extraordinary, and as expected, they were clearly martial artists who had trained in considerable martial arts.
"Who on earth are you to be targeting people with your faces covered in broad daylight!"
Liu Yezhi stepped forward in front of Xi Xichang and drew his sword as if to protect her.
"You give up quickly."
At that, the one who seemed to be the leader of the men in black martial arts uniforms drew a large sword and stepped forward in front of them.
Although his face could not be seen, his confident voice and steps, and his ferocious momentum, showed that he was an extraordinary master.
"Are you doing this even though you know who I am?"
"If you quietly leave everything you have, I will spare your lives."
Xi Xichang let out a smirk.
"Are you trying to pretend to be a mountain bandit now?"
"Hmm... then you both die."
As soon as the man's words fell, the men in black martial arts uniforms around them began to move from side to side.
Seeing their organized movements, a sense of tension appeared on the faces of Xi Xichang and Liu Yezhi.
It seemed that the fight would not go as easily as they had hoped.
"You bastards!"
Liu Yezhi flew at the men in black martial arts uniforms who were closing in on the encirclement.
Through many experiences, he had instinctively known that if they were to display a joint attack technique, the situation would turn for the worse.
The ten or so men in black martial arts uniforms instantly jumped in and began to take a strange movement, surrounding Liu Yezhi, who was displaying his martial arts.
Clang! Clang!
The sword momentum of the men in black martial arts uniforms, who were displaying a wheel formation, was heavy and sharp.
Liu Yezhi, with his dazzling movements, avoided the sword blades that were flying at him, aiming for his life.
Although it was an exchange of moves in a fleeting moment, Liu Yezhi immediately realized that they were not just simple mercenaries.
He had recognized the familiar moves that he had encountered several times while traveling through the Sichuan martial world in the past.
"Black Contemplation Fortress!"
Even though he had guessed that the information had been leaked, he had not predicted that the Black Contemplation Fortress would move directly.
Liu Yezhi tried to convey a warning to Xi Xichang, but Xi Xichang had already drawn her sword and flown at the man who seemed to be the leader of the enemy.
Clang!
'Ugh!'
At the powerful impact that made her studies seem insignificant, Xi Xichang put more strength into the hand holding the sword.
It was an ugly hand that was embarrassing to call a woman's hand, with calluses formed from being torn and healed hundreds and thousands of times, but for a martial artist, it was a proud mark.
"Hmph! Not bad!"
Although the ultimate skill of the Qingcheng Sect, the Nine Valleys Sword Art, was displayed, the opponent did not panic and met Xi Xichang's sword art by moving his sword heavily.
Although she was worried about Liu Yezhi, who was surrounded by numerous enemies, Xi Xichang felt that the opponent's martial prowess was extraordinary and focused all her strength on the enemy in front of her.
"Haaah!"
Clang!
As her move was helplessly blocked, Xi Xichang bit her lower lip hard.
Although she was acting in place of her younger brother, she had never taken her martial arts training lightly for a single moment while performing the duties of the sect leader.
But despite her painstaking efforts, she was greatly hurt in her pride when she couldn't even deal with the opponent in front of her.
She turned her waist greatly and once again displayed a variety of changing moves.
"Miss, be careful! These are the warriors of the Black Contemplation Fortress!"
Hearing Liu Yezhi's voice, Xi Xichang displayed her moves with even more desperation.
Seeing their organized movements and martial prowess, she had a feeling, but if the enemy was the Black Contemplation Fortress, she needed the determination to be buried here in case of an emergency.
"You're quicker on the uptake than I thought."
"Reveal your identity!"
"I am Wu Qian, the leader of the Red Moon Squad of the Black Contemplation Fortress."
"The leader of the Red Moon Squad...!"
The Red Moon Squad was one of the four groups called the Red Annihilation of the Black Contemplation Fortress.
If he was the leader there, it was perhaps natural that she was having such a hard time.
"If you had just stayed quietly at home, this wouldn't have happened. You had to go out and make trouble."
"Even if we fall here, this incident will be a great warning to the Sichuan martial world."
Wu Qian threw off his mask. There was no longer any meaning in wearing a mask.
"The Qingcheng Sect doesn't even know about your movements, so who would take it as a warning?"
"You bastard!"
How could the Black Contemplation Fortress know the affairs of the Qingcheng Sect in such detail? It was impossible without a traitor inside.
"Don't blame me. Didn't the Qingcheng Sect also plant spies in the Black Contemplation Fortress? Blame your own bad luck for today's incident."
Xi Xichang realized that Wu Qian was trying to finish her off with this attack.
"I won't die easily."
Xi Xichang gathered her internal energy.
She thought that if she held on a little longer, Liu Yezhi would help her.
"In your next life, be born as an ordinary woman!"
Wu Qian's strike, which flew with a flash of light, was like lightning. At the same time, Xi Xichang's sword also danced in the air.
'Fa...!'
The young Xifa, who would be left alone in the sect, flashed before Xi Xichang's eyes.
She should have been more careful.
If she died, Xifa would never be able to protect the Qingcheng Sect.
The snake-like elders would also tear the Qingcheng Sect apart and kneel before the Black Contemplation Fortress.
After losing her father and older brother, she had to take on the heavy burden of the household at a young age.
How many tears had she shed and how many sleepless nights had she spent to save the declining sect?
She couldn't lose everything so vainly.
A sword light like a flash of light flickered in the air.
(End of Chapter)