Chapter 26: The Martial World (7)
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Shangguan Feiyan had met more men than she could count and considered herself an expert on them.
To deal with scoundrels, all one needed was beauty and money.
To deal with heroes, one needed not only a dazzling entrance, but also three parts admiration and a trace of vulnerability, enough to awaken their chivalrous instincts.
Lu Xiaofeng was different. He was not only a hero, but also a rake.
Beautiful women surrounded him wherever he went, yet none had ever managed to capture his heart.
Dealing with him required a more original approach.
After learning Lu Xiaofeng’s whereabouts, Shangguan Feiyan bought up every drop of wine in the entire city, leaving him not a single cup to drink.
Lu Xiaofeng was a drunkard, and sure enough, he took the bait.
When he arrived, Shangguan Feiyan made her entrance.
With an exquisitely beautiful smile, she invited him to drink.
A lovely woman beneath the moon, radiating irresistible charm—her smile was more intoxicating than wine.
Lu Xiaofeng sat down and drank with her.
Confidently, Shangguan Feiyan asked, “Am I the most beautiful woman you have ever seen?”
Any man would have answered yes at a moment like that.
But Lu Xiaofeng’s answer was, “No.”
Shangguan Feiyan was shattered.
After hearing his explanation, she was so furious that she ground her teeth, yet she could not help admitting that he had a point.
What a rake truly loved was not beauty, but endless mysteries and the process of unraveling them thread by thread.
A mysterious woman whom he could never see through was like an unsolvable riddle, possessing a fatal attraction for him.
No matter how breathtaking her beauty, it could never compare with his curiosity.
He would spend his entire life yearning to explore.
Shangguan Feiyan took a deep breath and suppressed her anger.
To lose twice in a row to the same person was nothing less than being slapped across the face again and again.
She had originally intended only to use Lu Xiaofeng to seize a fortune. Now, however, she wanted not only the money, but also the deaths of everyone who had humiliated her.
Hua Manlou, Lu Xiaofeng, and the Miracle Doctor—she would spare none of them.
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Yun Yao had run into a little trouble recently. Someone was always trying to kill her.
Although she dispatched every one of them with a single stroke of her sword, it was truly irritating.
After investigating, she discovered that they had all been sent by the Green-Clad Tower.
She did not know why they wanted her dead, but it made no difference. She had decided to cut her way through the entire Green-Clad Tower.
After considerable effort, she located the tower and went there alone.
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The Green-Clad Tower was reputed to be the foremost assassin organization in the martial world. Anyone they marked for death was certain never to survive.
Such a terrifying organization was enough to make anyone tremble at its name.
Yet today, someone knocked on its door.
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Hearing the knock, the assassins looked at one another.
It was like someone knocking on the gates of the King of Hell—a thing almost impossible to imagine.
Who could be so reckless as to come visiting at the King of Hell’s own residence?
One assassin opened the door and saw a beautiful woman in white standing outside.
With perfect courtesy, she asked, “Is this the Green-Clad Tower?”
The answer came in the form of the assassin’s blade.
In the next instant, the entire door flew outward, crushing the assassin beneath it.
With a thunderous boom, the whole tower shook.
The woman in white stepped over the door and entered, smiling as she said, “It seems this is the place.”
The assassin who had just been beneath the door was still struggling. Then he suddenly fell silent.
She had entered with a corpse beneath her feet, yet her smile remained gentle.
This was no guest arriving at the King of Hell’s home. It was the King of Hell himself come calling.
The assassins rushed forward, wielding every kind of blade and weapon.
Yun Yao could not be bothered to waste time on such insignificant opponents. With a casual sweep of her sleeve, she released a cloud of poisonous mist.
In moments, everyone on the lower floor was dead, their bodies strewn across the ground.
She gathered her energy, employed her lightness skill, and flew upward to the second floor. Then she continued killing her way upward, floor by floor.
When she reached the third floor, the Tower Master, Huo Xiu, could finally sit still no longer.
He sealed Shangguan Feiyan’s acupoints and sent her before Yun Yao.
“She is responsible for everything,” he said. “I am handing her over to you now. Deal with her as you please, and we shall leave one another in peace.”
Shangguan Feiyan struggled furiously. “Huo Xiu! You are burning the bridge after crossing it! I helped you kill Yan Tieshan and Dugu Yihe, and this is how you repay me—by handing me over?”
Yun Yao ended her life with a single stroke of her sword, then turned and thrust at Huo Xiu.
Huo Xiu flew into a rage. “I have already taken a step back! Must you really fight to the death?”
Yun Yao gave a cold laugh.
Fearing the poisonous mist, Huo Xiu had used the Tortoise-Breathing Technique while fighting her, expending his internal energy at twice the usual rate.
Sword-light flashed before him like a river of stars, each stroke faster than the last, placing Huo Xiu under mounting pressure.
He had trained for decades to attain his present level of skill, yet this young opponent was matching him blow for blow.
Truly, the waves behind drive on those before, and each new generation surpasses the last.
Huo Xiu dared not underestimate her. From the very beginning, he used the full force of his cultivation and struck out with a palm.
The attack was exceedingly treacherous and could only be met head-on. Yun Yao likewise unleashed all her strength and met his palm with her own.
Boom!
Explosions rang out all around them. Tables and chairs split apart.
The two fought their way from the upper floors down to the ground floor, leaving devastation everywhere they passed.
Gradually, Huo Xiu’s internal energy was depleted, and he began to lose ground.
He shouted, “If you do not go save Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou, they will both be dead!”
Yun Yao remained unmoved. With another stroke, she pierced him squarely in the abdomen, and blood immediately poured forth.
By the laws governing protagonists, Lu Xiaofeng could not possibly die. Since he was fine, Hua Manlou would be even less likely to meet with harm.
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Inside the secret chamber, mechanisms fired volleys of arrows, dense as a torrential rainstorm.
Lu Xiaofeng and Hua Manlou fled in every direction, narrowly escaping being struck several times.
Most of their internal energy had already been exhausted. Even breathing had become difficult. If another volley came, they would probably be buried here.
A feeling of despair rose in both their hearts.
At that moment, several sharp clicks rang out, and all the mechanisms came to a halt.
A familiar voice sounded, laughing. “It looks as though I arrived just in time.”
It was practically the arrival of a bodhisattva come to relieve suffering, dispelling the crisis in an instant.
Lu Xiaofeng exclaimed joyfully, “Miracle Doctor, did you come specifically to save us?”
With a sharp click, the thousand-pound stone door slowly swung open. Yet no one stood beyond it. Only a shadow was cast against the side of the doorway.
She was standing right there, but refused to show herself.
She had once said that Hua Manlou must not see her even once in this lifetime.
Hua Manlou understood what she meant. Though she was only a step away—though he need merely cross the threshold to see her—he did not take a single step forward.
His gaze traced the outline of her shadow, as if he wished to carve it forever into his heart.
The voice sounded again from outside the door. “Lu Xiaofeng, come out.”
Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Hua Manlou and went outside.
Seeing his good friend leave, Hua Manlou felt both envy and jealousy.
Why could everyone else meet her so easily, while he could not?
Two figures appeared upon the side of the doorway, standing together.
“I saved your life. Should you not repay my kindness?”
“Indeed, indeed! I would brave boiling oil or raging fire for the Miracle Doctor, without the slightest hesitation!”
“Take this prescription to the Bamboo Grove at Mirror Lake and deliver it to Xie Yu.”
“Xie Yu? Could he be the famed Meteor Sword?”
“That is right. I had him guard the bamboo grove and watch over my home. In return, I promised to treat his injuries after one year. The deadline arrives in ten days.”
“Very well. I will deliver it without fail.”
Hearing their conversation, Hua Manlou could not suppress the faint bitterness in his heart.
Seeing that Miss Yun was about to leave, he called out to her.
The other person replied coldly, “For every gain, there must be a loss. You were born into wealth and cherished beyond measure. Now you are also whole and healthy. How could everything in life be perfect?”
With that, she left.
Hua Manlou emerged from the secret chamber, his heart filled with regret.
Lu Xiaofeng wanted to offer him a few words of comfort, but after thinking it over, he kept silent. Otherwise, it would sound far too much like boasting.
After returning to the little tower in Jiangnan, Hua Manlou once again painted a picture based on the outline of her shadow.
Yet no matter how he painted it, he was never satisfied.
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