Chapter 115: The Careless Five-Fold Whip
The sisters were of one mind. After concealing their presence, they advanced toward Prince Horse-rider at an unhurried pace.
Bai Yifei smiled calmly, making no unnecessary movement.
They were only two little girls. They could not even break through his icy aura.
At this crucial moment, Flame Spirit Girl also approached Bai Yifei, her entire body wreathed in fire.
“You will never obtain my heart. Of course, you will not even obtain my corpse!”
If he tried to force her, Flame Spirit Girl’s fiery spirit body would explode with all its might. Never mind who might be burned to death—she herself would certainly be reduced to ashes!
That was why Bai Yifei and Tianze could not simply seize her by force. Even Lin Shu had not truly used force against her in the water prison.
Of course, for some reason, Flame Spirit Girl did not particularly dislike that man’s aura.
“You will agree. For you, I have all the time in the world.”
Gazing deeply at Flame Spirit Girl, Bai Yifei paid no heed to the two slender swords stabbing toward him.
Boom!
The blinding sword aura and the icy energy collided and exploded. Streaks of white light forced everyone present to shut their eyes.
“Damn it! How is this possible?”
In an instant, the surrounding cold erupted in full force, blasting the two sisters away. Bai Yifei was hardly unscathed either. Two small holes had been pierced through his chest, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
“Miss, we must leave!”
Ignoring their internal injuries, the sisters each seized one of Flame Spirit Girl’s arms and fled with her.
“Hehe… You were careless. You actually didn’t dodge.”
Looking at Bai Yifei, who had been sealed in ice, Flame Spirit Girl was exceptionally excited as she retreated at top speed.
Damn it!
The Blood-Clad Marquis lowered his head and sighed. He had indeed been careless. He now had to heal his injuries and could no longer unleash his ultimate technique, the Fivefold Frost Whip.
Although he could disregard his wounds and force himself to strike, doing so would damage his foundations. His future cultivation would then never reach the threshold of a grandmaster.
After running for nearly half an hour, the twins found a small cave and hid inside.
“Miss, please do not wander off. We need to rest and recover as well.”
The sisters’ injuries were not severe, but neither were they light.
Flame Spirit Girl had thought she would never escape. She had never imagined that she would grievously wound the Hundred Yue enemy who had tormented her people.
“Rest assured, sisters. I will not go anywhere.”
She did not want to be imprisoned again. She still had to rescue the Crown Prince and repay the kindness he had shown her all those years ago. She also had to find that bastard and secretly cut off two of his fingers.
As for killing him, Flame Spirit Girl felt that would be extremely difficult—unless she was willing to die together with him.
But the vengeance of Hundred Yue remained unfulfilled, and the people of Yue still had no peaceful home. How could she willingly die at such a young age?
After Bai Yifei was grievously wounded, he sent a signal for his men to carry him back. He also temporarily abandoned his plans to search for Flame Spirit Girl.
With those two mysterious experts present, his subordinates were no match for them.
Fortunately, Tianze was still in his hands. Flame Spirit Girl would eventually have to return to him.
* * *
Early the next morning, Lin Shu also entered Xinzheng quietly. Even Little Dragon Horse wore a hood over its head. With its two horns concealed and its mouth shut, the little creature did not look particularly unusual.
“Do you have a travel seal?”
The carriage was unfamiliar, and the armored soldiers grew cautious.
Fortunately, the carriage looked quite imposing, so even the squad leader did not dare go too far.
Lin Shu naturally had no travel seal, but the coachman, Zhen Gang, did possess a merchant’s pass.
It was merely an ordinary commercial pass, so the squad leader ordered them to open the carriage door for inspection.
“You really want to look?”
Zhen Gang sneered. These people had clearly never seen death.
The squad leader faltered. Could there be some important figure inside—or perhaps a master from the martial world?
Those swordsmen and wandering heroes would hack people down at the slightest disagreement, then flee with astonishing speed. By the time reinforcements had assembled, they would have vanished without a trace.
“Let them inspect it.”
Lin Shu’s calm voice drifted out from within.
“Yes, sir.”
Zhen Gang nodded and withdrew his murderous intent.
The carriage door opened fully, and Zhen Gang stepped down, clearing the way.
“All right. You may enter.”
Inside the carriage were one man, two women, and a little girl. The squad leader had already determined that none of them appeared dangerous.
The small carriage was plain to see from end to end, and no goods were being smuggled inside.
With a cold snort, Zhen Gang cast a disdainful glance at the soldiers before continuing to drive forward.
“My lord, this is hardly your usual style.”
Flame Consort looked at King Lin with an amused smile.
Normally, Lin Shu would have made the armored soldiers kneel and crawl away on their own. But this was the setting of the grand performance of The Nine Songs of Heaven’s Path.
“This time, we are merely an ordinary family in Xinzheng. We only need to watch the show in peace.”
Flame Consort smiled. “As expected, my lord had already made arrangements.”
Shaoshao was also looking forward to seeing what kind of spectacle Xinzheng would offer—one grand enough for their king to take such precautions.
The carriage entered the city quietly, causing the spies stationed along the roads to overlook them. If they had truly been powerful figures, they would never have allowed the soldiers to inspect them.
…
The twins remained in the small cave for a day. They then escorted Flame Spirit Girl in search of her companions.
As it happened, the Hundred Poisons King and the Corpse-Driving Ghost had left several secret signs along the mountain road. Two days later, Flame Spirit Girl found the stronghold of the Nameless Ghost and the others.
When they were still a hundred paces away, the two sisters stopped.
Flame Spirit Girl turned around and sighed.
“Sisters, will you not stay a few more days?”
Zhuanhun shook her head and replied silently, “Miss, our mission is complete. You also need not inquire further about that man. We merely accepted payment to do a job; we know nothing about our employer.”
“Please go on ahead, Miss. Once we are certain you are safe, we will leave.”
Miepo transmitted the words through her inner power.
“Thank you, sisters.”
Flame Spirit Girl said no more. During those past few days, the twins had not dared utter a single word aloud.
Hmph. Did they really think silence alone could conceal them? She had already memorized their auras.
That was her innate gift, and no one else knew of it.
Even from a hundred paces away, she could sense any unusual aura.
After watching with their own eyes to ensure that Flame Spirit Girl had reunited with the others without incident, the sisters immediately departed.
Once their auras had faded into the distance, Flame Spirit Girl knew they were gone.
I hope they are not leaving Han.
The world was vast. Without fate bringing them together again, she might never encounter them another time.
After they had exchanged their stories, the Corpse-Driving Ghost spoke calmly.
“Flame Spirit Girl, how did you escape?”
The Hundred Poisons King was startled before adding, “We have also been investigating your whereabouts. We only just found a lead.”
Flame Spirit Girl frowned.
“Hmph! Do you suspect me?”
“No, that is not what we mean!”
The Corpse-Driving Ghost hurriedly explained.
He was merely curious. He had no children of his own, and he had watched Flame Spirit Girl grow up.
“I do not know the exact circumstances myself. Two mysterious female swordswomen rescued me. The night before last, they even joined forces to grievously wound the Blood-Clad Marquis, Bai Yifei. He was careless, certainly, but their strength was formidable.”
The Corpse-Driving Ghost immediately recalled the disturbance from two days earlier.
“So that was it! No wonder the Blood-Clad Marquis’s men have begun gathering and preparing for battle.”
“Flame Spirit Girl, do you know which faction those experts belong to? If we could cooperate with them…”
Flame Spirit Girl gave a bitter smile and shook her head.
“They would not even speak. They clearly intended to conceal their identities.”
Why had that lecher rescued her? Flame Spirit Girl was deeply puzzled. Had he done it merely to toy with her and touch her body?
Or had he simply happened to encounter her and rescued her along the way?
No… He seemed to know a great deal about her.
That man had actually assumed she was a wanton woman. She was not someone who gave herself away lightly. That was what enraged her most.
She had once loved Tianze, but after seeing his true nature clearly, her heart had grown cold. She had rescued him and continued to follow him only for the sake of Hundred Yue’s future.
Bai Yifei was handsome as well, but he was her enemy. She could not bear his icy, revolting aura.
“All right. I believe Flame Spirit Girl.”
The Hundred Poisons King spoke, signaling the Corpse-Driving Ghost to stop being suspicious.
The silent Nameless Ghost also nodded repeatedly. Everyone treated him as a shield. Only Flame Spirit Girl ever looked at him as an equal.