Chapter 721: A Woman Dressed in Men's Clothes |
Niu You Dao was speechless. He hadn't thought this woman already trusted him so implicitly.
Guan Fang Yi turned her head: "What about the Heavenly Sword Seal? You can't just take my things, can you?"
Niu You Dao returned the seal to her: "How could I dare? If I took it and didn't return it, you'd quarrel with me to the death."
Guan Fang Yi took it, then replied discontentedly: "Fine, still pretending to be modest. When you need something, you just take it without asking."
Niu You Dao smiled bitterly: "It seems you don't understand me."
Guan Fang Yi sneered coldly: "Don't understand? And you say that without even blushing? Fine, your conscience truly is problematic. You say such things and don't even blush."
"Alright, that's enough, that's enough." Niu You Dao sighed and tossed a piece of cloth to her.
"What's this?" Guan Fang Yi flinched: "A blood book? Did Chao Jing write a guarantee for you? No, it doesn't look like it. It looks like a recipe."
Niu You Dao: "The Yan Kingdom Army isn't small. So, a lot of medicine will be needed. Covertly procure all of this. And contact the Morning Moon Palace, give them the recipe. Let them help."
Niu You Dao: "And what could I do to him?"
Guan Fang Yi immediately recalled the grave behind the shack. She asked: "You're just going to let him go so easily?"
Niu You Dao remained silent.
Guan Fang Yi twisted her mouth. She didn't know whether to curse him or not. In the end, she asked again: "Why did the Thousand Beast Sect get involved in the affairs of the kingdoms?"
"The Song Kingdom's Chancellor, Zi Ping Xu, sent someone with threats. Then, the Thousand Beast Sect pursued its own interests. It wanted its own territory. More importantly, the Thousand Beast Sect doesn't feel safe from interstate battles. That's why they seized the opportunity to carve out territory for themselves. It doesn't matter who wins. For the Thousand Beast Sect, it's important that no one bothers them in the future..." Niu You Dao briefly recounted what Chao Jing had told him.
Guan Fang Yi listened, then said: "So that's how it is. That's how several hundred thousand people vanished."
Niu You Dao: "They don't attach much importance to it. The main thing is that it wasn't their people who died."
The body in the gorge had vanished. Chao Jing himself had taken care of it.
He sat for a while in the gorge, sighed, and began to return.
On the way, his senior disciple, Xu Huo Zhao, approached and asked in surprise: "Master."
He wanted to know why his master hadn't given the signal. Then they would have acted: "It's nothing. Send everyone back. But do it quietly."
"Mmm..." Xu Huo Zhao didn't ask many questions. He clasped his hands and said: "Yes, Master!"
Chao Jing, with a cheerless expression, started to leave first.
He now wished he could find Chao Sheng Huai and confront him. But he couldn't do what he wanted right now. He still needed to find an excuse for Chao Sheng Huai's absence.
He understood that the more affairs, the more connections, and the more potential problems there would be. It would already be difficult for him to extricate himself from all of this.
He had heard of Niu You Dao before, but today he had witnessed it himself. From their first meeting, bonds had been cast upon him, allowing no chance for freedom.
They even said to him directly: "If I want you to be a man, you will be a man. If I want you to run like a dog for me, you will!"
He would never have thought that such a rogue cultivator would dare to speak like that in front of him, a high-ranking elder of the Thousand Beast Sect.
And quite the opposite, Chao Jing could say nothing in response.
The important thing was that Niu You Dao was not a simple rogue cultivator whom one could just crush.
Chao Sheng Huai, that scoundrel, picked the wrong person to offend. He could have offended anyone, but he offended Niu You Dao. How could he possibly be Niu You Dao's rival?
And now he had dragged his grandfather into all of it too. Now, Chao Jing could only hope that Niu You Dao would be true to his word. And then, he could cut off his grandson's legs.
The road, surrounded by ruins, shattered villages. The fires of war had obliterated all traces. These were the deeds of the Yan Kingdom Army.
Two ragged figures walked, searching for food. They had separated from the main crowd of people.
Food was impossible to find now. Only in the fields could they feed on the sprouts of recently sown seeds. Which was what these peasants were doing.
A person approached from a distance. He was drawing near to the two peasants who were squatting. Upon seeing this large man with a heroic physique and a sword on his back, the two people fled towards the ruins.
And the newcomer was none other than Yuan Gang.
Yuan Gang didn't chase after the two peasants. He was merely searching for spices in the field. But he hadn't found anything suitable yet. So he headed towards the ruins. Perhaps he would find something there.
He was specifically looking for spices.
Because of Yin Er, that voracious demon who was used to gorging herself in the shack, he needed to find good food. Niu You Dao had been able to calm her somewhat. That was good.
But after Niu You Dao left, Yin Er's temper had become terrible. She got angry easily. She would quarrel with Yuan Fang.
Wherever Yuan Fang was, he would immediately give her something delicious.
Now Yuan Gang had to deal with Yin Er. But the situation was starting to change. Yin Er was getting angrier and angrier, so angry that patterns would appear on her face.
And Yuan Gang knew well the consequences if Yin Er lost control. So he was searching for ways to calm her.
It was good that Yuan Fang had learned to calm her with delicious food.
Yuan Gang had come here for ingredients that Yuan Fang needed. But they weren't in the field. Now he hoped to find something in the ruins.
However, the soldiers had already searched thoroughly in the village. And if they found anything, they immediately took it. Yuan Gang went into the ruins, and those two ragged peasants immediately got scared. They fled.
Just then, the sound of horse hooves echoed from outside. Yuan Gang looked and saw a rider galloping in that direction.
The two people, seeing the rider, began to flee from him as well.
But that rider drew his sword and shouted: "Stop!"
One couldn't outrun four legs with two. In the end, those ragged figures fell to their knees and, raising their hands, pleaded.
The rider stopped. It was a slender man. He looked over the peasants, pointing his sword at them as he asked: "Who are you? Yan Kingdom spies?"
The two peasants lifted their heads: "We're not infiltrators, we're not spies. Just ordinary peasants who couldn't escape in time. Sir, please spare us, spare our lives..."
They began to plead. The rider lowered his sword and, seeing how emaciated the peasants were, with bones protruding from their skin, he understood they weren't spies.
He sheathed his sword and dismounted. Untying a bundle from behind his back, he squatted before the peasants and took out provisions. He offered them food.
Besides the provisions, he also took out sweets.
Seeing the coveted food, and with delicacies too. And realizing the person had no malicious intent. The two peasants fiercely snatched the provisions.
They devoured what was offered to them. But because they hadn't eaten in so long, the food got stuck in their throats.
Tears flowed from the man, and suddenly a female voice rang out: "Slow down. Don't rush. Eat slowly. It's all yours." She began taking everything out of the traveling bundle. All the food she had, she gave to the peasants.
Yuan Gang froze. It turned out to be a girl disguised as a man. A woman dressed in men's clothes?
The two peasants were also surprised. One of them asked in astonishment: "It's a lady, then?"
The rider regained his male voice and, standing up, said: "The Song Kingdom Army failed to protect our homeland. That is why you suffered. We are at fault before you. You shouldn't stay here. The Yan Kingdom Army might return. Take the food and head towards the capital. Leave."
She reminded them of the Yan Kingdom Army. As the peasants pointed to the ruins, they said: "Sir, there's a Yan Kingdom infiltrator inside the ruins."
The rider grew wary. And indeed, she sensed someone observing them. She immediately waved her hand and released hidden arrows. (Translator's note: Hidden arrows are arrows concealed within sleeves.)
Yuan Gang reacted immediately. He dodged the arrows, which embedded themselves in the wall behind him.
Swish! The rider drew his sword and ran towards Yuan Gang. Seeing Yuan Gang, he attacked with his sword, intending to pierce him.
Yuan Gang realized that his opponent was not a cultivator. However, this opponent was well-trained. The rider's arm movements were precise.
But he didn't fret. He simply grabbed the sword with his hand.
The rider was startled. So this sharp sword, the Yan Kingdom man had caught it with his bare hands?
But what frightened him more was that he couldn't move the sword at all now.
He merely wanted to kick Yuan Gang. But Yuan Gang deflected the sword and punched the rider in the abdomen.
"Pffft!" The rider coughed up blood and flew backward, smashing through a crumbling wall behind him.
It was clear that the opponents were not on the same level.
Yuan Gang walked emotionlessly through the shattered wall. And the two peasants, seeing all this, said nothing, abandoned the rider, and fled.
The rider tried to stand, but one leg was firmly pressing him down. He couldn't move.
Swish! Yuan Gang took the sword and held it to the rider's neck. He tore off the mask. But upon seeing the face, Yuan Gang said in shock: "Su Zhao!"
However, a moment later, he realized he was mistaken. It wasn't Su Zhao, but a girl who looked very similar to Su Zhao. Only even more beautiful.
"Who are you?" Yuan Gang asked her.
"If you want to kill me, then kill me!" The girl turned her head away and coughed up blood again. She spoke as if she feared nothing.
Yuan Gang was puzzled. Then he lifted her and struck the back of her neck with the flat of his sword. She lost consciousness. He then approached the horse, threw her onto it. Then he jumped on himself, and so they rode away.
A short time after they left, more riders galloped here.
The riders seemed to be searching for something. Qi emanated from them, and on their belts were pouches with Little Moon Butterflies. Thus, it was clear that these were cultivators.