At this moment, Murong Xi leaned against Jing Zhe's chest. Perhaps out of fear, her shoulders trembled slightly. Jing Zhe could feel the sweat on her palms as he held her hand.

Jing Zhe gently squeezed her hand and comforted her, "Don't worry, I'm here, everything will be alright."

Murong Xi nodded, feeling slightly better, while Jing Zhe frowned, thinking of a way to escape.

At this moment, the man in the straw hat spoke up: "I am here on someone's behalf, and I am doing my duty to take this girl's head!"

According to the man in the straw hat, taking someone's head was as easy as taking cabbage or radish, which left people speechless.

After listening, Jing Zhe smiled and said, "Entrusted by someone? Senior, you're probably being paid by someone to do something for them, aren't you?"

"Bah! When has my Soul-Severing Fan ever lacked money? Kid, you dare think that about me? Looks like you don't want to live!"

"The Soul-Severing Fan? What's that?"

"..."

After Jing Zhe finished speaking, the scarred face of the man in the straw hat became extremely angry, as if he could go berserk at any moment.

Murong Xi, standing before him, was somewhat dazed: "The Soul-Severing Fan...it's actually the Soul-Severing Fan..."

"Hehe, this little girl has a good eye. She's heard of me, and I'll leave you a proper burial later. As for this kid... hehe..."

The man in the straw hat chuckled coldly twice, but Jing Zhe ignored him and asked curiously, "Who is the Soul-Severing Fan?"

He is…

So Murong Xi began to explain in a low voice, while the man in the bamboo hat seemed to want to see how frightened he would be after hearing his name, so he did not make a move, but just watched them.

After hearing Murong Xi's explanation, Jing Zhe realized that the Soul-Severing Fan was an assassin, and an extremely skilled one at that, because his weapon was an iron fan in his hand. Legend has it that once the iron fan is opened, the dead will come, hence the name Soul-Severing Fan.

No one knows which school or sect the Soul-Severing Fan came from. All that is known is that he was from the Southern Qi Dynasty and was an assassin in his youth. He would kill for anyone who promised him something he liked.

As the number of people killed by the Soul-Severing Fan increased, his martial arts skills also became more and more advanced, making it increasingly difficult to persuade him to join the fight. Thus, his legend still lingers in the martial arts world.

So he was a professional assassin. But who would send him to kill Murong Xi? Jing Zhe pondered this in a low voice.

Seeing Jing Zhe frown, Duan Hun Shan assumed he was afraid and sneered, "Afraid?"

"..."

Before Jing Zhe could reply, Murong Xi asked, "Who exactly wants to kill me?"

The Soul-Severing Fan glanced at her and said in a deep voice, "One question is only enough for me to kill one person. There are two of you, so I have enough reason to kill you both. Do you think I would tell you?"

"Whatever they promised you, I'll give you double!"

After hearing this, Duanhun Shan sneered, "What they can give me, you can't!"

"I am Empress Yueyao, is there anything I cannot give you?"

"The Immortal Transformation Pill, can you give it to me?"

Duanhun Shan looked at Murong Xi and said coldly.

"The Immortal Transformation Pill..."

Murong Xi stared at the Soul-Severing Fan, reciting it several times. Suddenly, she understood the whole story and smiled helplessly, "So it turns out my good sisters wanted me dead!"

"Heh, so what if you're an empress? Does being an empress mean you'll give me the Immortal Transformation Pill? If you agree to give it to me, I might spare your life!"

Murong Xi bit her lip and said, "This Immortal Transformation Pill belongs only to our Empress of Yueyao Kingdom. Can you guarantee that if you kill me, they will give you the Immortal Transformation Pill?"

"Heh, you'll only know after I kill you!"

Seeing that Murong Xi wouldn't mention giving him the Immortal Elixir, Duanhun Shan was already certain that he had no chance with her. He had originally thought that if she got scared, she would just agree to give it to him, which would save him the trouble, but now it seemed that wouldn't work.

“Senior, since you are a member of the martial arts world, and I happen to be one as well, let’s discuss this according to the rules of the martial arts world—”

"Who do you think you are, a member of the martial arts world?"

The Soul-Severing Fan sneered, "Although I don't concern myself with the affairs of the martial world, I've been in Jingzhou for a few days now. You're clearly an official of Anguo, so why are you calling yourself a martial arts person?"

"Senior, you may not know this, but although I am an official of the imperial court, I also have another identity—the Right Protector of the Heaven and Earth Sect. This year's newly elected leader of the martial arts alliance is none other than our Heaven and Earth Sect!"

Jing Zhe nodded slightly, somewhat pleased with himself.

Everyone says that all sects under heaven are one family. Since this guy is also a member of the martial arts world, he should at least give me some face, right?

"The Heaven and Earth Sect? What kind of sect is that?"

"The leader of the martial arts alliance? What is that anyway?"

"..."

Jing Zhe's face flushed red, and considering that the Soul-Severing Fan was from Southern Qi and might not be familiar with the martial arts tournament in Anguo, he patiently explained, "Senior, this martial arts alliance leadership was initiated by the four major sects of Anguo, and the other sects—"

"I already know that, do you think I need you to tell me?"

The Soul-Severing Fan interrupted him: "A martial arts tournament? Besides Pei Chunjing and Ming Ji, that pair of scoundrels, who else has any martial arts skills worth watching? You don't even know a little bit of kung fu. It seems that your Heaven and Earth Sect is a third-rate sect. This shows that the sects in Anguo have probably declined as well!"

"..."

Jing Zhe had originally planned to bring up Pei Chunjing and Abbess Mingji to build a relationship, but after hearing what the Soul-Severing Fan had to say, he decided against it.

Duanhun Shan looked up at the sky and said impatiently, "I haven't wasted so much time talking to anyone in a long time. I'm so tired. I'd better kill you all so I can go to Yueyao Kingdom to get the Immortal Transformation Pill!"

Jing Zhe also became very interested in what this Immortal Transformation Pill was, but unfortunately now was not the time to ask. He could only brace himself, because it seemed inevitable that he would have to fight the Soul-Severing Fan next.

What puzzled him was that although their Heaven and Earth Sect's internal cultivation method could prevent others from seeing their cultivation level, the Twin Monsters of Tongtian had seen it back when they were at the foot of Changsheng Mountain. He thought that this kind of cultivation method would not work against a Grandmaster.

But now the Soul-Severing Fan can't be seen—could it be because his current skill level is so much higher than when he encountered the Twin Monsters of Tongtian, so the Soul-Severing Fan can't be seen?

But that's fine too, it'll catch him off guard!

Perhaps because neither Murong Xi nor Jing Zhe knew martial arts, Duanhun Shan didn't take it seriously and attacked directly, the black iron fan in his hand flying towards Murong Xi.

In Murong Xi's eyes, the iron fan was incredibly fast, so fast that she couldn't even blink before it was almost within reach. Yet, she felt no fear, because she knew that Jing Zhe was right behind her and would protect her.

Unlike her, this iron fan seemed too slow to Jing Zhe. He didn't even have the idea of ​​holding Murong Xifei. He simply helped her turn her body slightly and dodged it.

"Huh..."

The Soul-Severing Fan cried out in surprise when its attack missed.

————