Chapter 12, The Twelfth Awakening

Before dawn, the sky was a hazy, pale blue, which made everyone sleep even more soundly.

A pale, bony hand reached out from the tent, allowing sunlight to peek into the tent.

Perhaps he was too tired, for Lu Huantang, who was usually alert, did not react at all.

Jiang Linzhi, who had suffered a three-finger-deep wound from her right shoulder to her left waist, was the first to wake up. Her complexion wasn't bad, but it was so pale it was almost reflective. Her dark, hollow eyes looked like those of a paper doll used in a ritual, which was quite eerie.

At this moment, she propped herself up and looked at the two men who even slept with an air of importance, and coughed lightly.

The two exhausted people opened their eyes at the same time. Lu Huantang, who was closer, quickly put a cushion under Jiang Linzhi's arm, moistened her lips with warm water, and asked, "Would you like some porridge, Miss?"

Jiang Linzhi raised his hand behind Lu Huantang to stop Qi Lingjun from getting up, and said wearily to Lu Huantang, "You can decide what to do."

No sooner had Lu Huantang left than a bodyguard appeared in the room with the assassin's confession from the previous night. Jiang Linzhi's eyes darkened, and after reading it, he got up and walked to the soft couch, handing the document to Qi Lingjun.

Qi Lingjun was no longer as nervous as before. After all, if the ointment, which cost a hundred taels per ounce, didn't work, it would ruin the doctor's reputation. Qi Lingjun carefully examined the secret letter, his expression remaining calm regardless of what was written on it.

Jiang Linzhi glanced at it and noticed that Qi Lingjun's hand holding the paper was trembling. She gently pressed her hand on Qi Lingjun's wound. Even through his clothes, she could feel the life escaping from there. She couldn't help but ask, "Does it hurt?"

The wound on his chest tingled and itched, and after a moment Qi Lingjun felt much better. He looked up at Jiang Linzhi and said in a coquettish tone, "It hurts."

This wasn't the first time Qi Lingjun had shielded Jiang Linzhi from an arrow. He was a frail scholar, usually battling with his pen in literary pursuits; how could he possibly endure the excruciating pain of a sword piercing his chest? Yet he always took the hit, truly... hopeless.

Thinking of this, Jiang Linzhi did not comfort her. Instead, her face turned cold, and she shoved Qi Lingjun hard. After hearing Qi Lingjun groan, she said fiercely, "I remember how painful it was for you, so don't try to shield me next time."

Perhaps it was because he hadn't received any comfort, but the fact that he had been injured while saving his master emboldened Qi Lingjun. He smiled faintly and climbed onto Jiang Linzhi's thin, pale arm hidden in her sleeve, looking into her clear eyes, "If I were to die for you, would you remember me for the rest of your life?"

The fire that day spread instantly in the corner of Jiang Linzhi's memory, with flames filling the sky and blood flowing everywhere.

The person she trusted most had half their neck chopped off, and even with their head drooping as it was about to fall, she didn't forget to utter the most vicious curse upon them.

That was a nightmare from which she could never wake up.

Her heart burned like charcoal. Jiang Linzhi bit her lip to suppress her trembling, stroked Qi Lingjun's flawless face, and said with captivating charm, "No, so many people have died for me, what does it have to do with me?"

Jiang Linzhi sat back on the bed. "You need to set off back immediately in a bit. There are quite a few people in the Chamber of Commerce who are 'thinking about' me. You need to go back and thank them properly for me."

When Lu Huantang returned with the food box, Qi Lingjun had already left. Looking at the empty couch, Lu Huantang couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Qi's injuries haven't healed yet, where did he go?"

Jiang Linzhi stared longingly at the food box in front of him, completely disregarding Qi Lingjun's injuries. "The Chamber of Commerce needs him to oversee things, so he left first."

As Lu Huantang bent down to serve the dishes, he quickly glanced at the contents of the paper. The assassin came from a Jianghu organization made up of vagrants, so it didn't seem like a big deal. After a while, Lu Huantang asked casually, "Isn't Miss going back?"

Jiang Linzhi poured the side dishes into the porridge and shook his head, saying, "I was attacked yesterday. I suspect there are spies among my men. I'll stay here and see who did it."

Lu Huantang's eyes sharpened, knowing this was going to be a fierce battle, and he said, "I have already ordered men to guard the village entrance. Is there anything else you need, Miss?"

"If I find out that Nasir let them in yesterday as well, I will confront him personally."

Everyone said Jiang Linzhi didn't know martial arts, and Lu Huantang had personally tested her; her limbs were weak, which certainly didn't seem like she knew martial arts. Seeing her full of confidence, Lu Huantang guessed that Qi Lingjun had left someone behind. He asked, "Did Miss bring any secret guards?"

"I brought them, but their martial arts skills are just so-so. It's because of you that we have them. Aren't you very good at martial arts?"

Lu Huantang's face darkened. He had prepared to trap them like turtles in a jar, but instead, he had let the wolf into the house without any preparation. If they discovered the gold mining operation, it would be like throwing good money after bad.

Jiang Linzhi felt no danger whatsoever, and excitedly added to Lu Huantang's dark face, "I can help too."

In that instant, Lu Huantang once again truly understood Qi Lingjun. Qi Lingjun wasn't trying to control Jiang Linzhi, but rather he had no choice but to. With such an unreliable master, it was already difficult enough to survive.

Seeing that Lu Huantang didn't believe him, Jiang Linzhi rolled up his sleeves, revealing his skinny arms, and said confidently, "Look at all those people that day, we all survived. Now, with you added to the mix, we're even more amazing! Besides, although I don't know martial arts, I do know witchcraft!"

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers, and a flame appeared out of thin air at his fingertips, which then lit the candle.

In an instant, a faint hope arose in Lu Huantang's heart, and he asked, "Can it burn people?"

“Of course not,” Jiang Linzhi said with a hint of smugness, “but it can still be done like this.” Then he waved his hand and opened a window in mid-air.

Lu Huantang then asked, "Can I hit someone?"

Jiang Linzhi took a few steps back and slapped Lu Huantang.

Apart from a slightly stronger breeze, Lu Huantang felt nothing. He gritted his teeth, trying to suppress his urge to curse, and said with a smile, "Miss, eight of the guards who accompanied you yesterday died, leaving only three. Never mind, as long as you can protect yourself, that's fine."

After saying that, Lu Huantang felt stupid. Jiang Linzhi, now wrapped in thick bandages, nodded confidently at him.

Who would believe what she said!

Lu Huantang sighed, "Miss, change your clothes in a bit, find a place to hide, and leave everything to me."

Jiang Linzhi smiled and nodded, "Okay!"

As Jiang Linzhi had predicted, once Qi Lingjun, who was impersonating Lu Huantang, left, the group secretly sneaked into the nameless village under the cover of night. They thought that "Lu Huantang" was going to get reinforcements and that their plan was going very smoothly. Little did they know that the real Lu Huantang had already led his men to ambush them, and they had just fallen into one trap after another.

The sound of weapons slicing through flesh suddenly exploded in his ears. Jiang Linzhi was eating a ghee cake in the shop, watching the nearby fight as if he were watching a play.

Outnumbered, Lu Huantang swung his cloak and slashed the throats of the leading assassins with a single sword stroke. The cloak remained intact, but the assassins had already fallen, blood seeping from beneath the black cloak, which instantly became their shroud.

No one could see what was happening under the cloak, but the assassins behind were already scared and took a step back.

Lu Huantang didn't give them much time to hesitate. His sword drew up clusters of blood blossoms, which bloomed in the night, sometimes dense, sometimes sparse, much like blooming rosy cheeks.

They are all flowers that bear the stench of blood and grow on withered bones.

Yesterday's flowers were watered by Jiang Linzhi's people, but today they are watered by someone else.

Lu Huantang had no time to appreciate the beauty of the killing. He not only had to fend off the guards, but also had to keep an eye on whether the guards had stopped the scattered assassins.

Jiang Linzhi had been carefully observing Lu Huantang from the side. He initially thought Lu Huantang was exceptionally skilled in martial arts and had graceful movements, but the more he looked, the more familiar his martial arts style seemed.

It is unrestrained and ruthless, as unpredictable as the wind yet possessing the power of a raging storm.

That's the art of killing, with a terrifying beauty.

Where have I seen her before? I'm sure I've seen her somewhere!

In the blink of an eye, only about thirty of the hundred assassins remained. Though called assassins, most of them were farmers with calloused hands, their moves clumsy, possessing only brute strength.

Lu Huantang's situation is quite good, except that he has seven or eight minor injuries on his arms and legs, and his strength has been somewhat depleted.

However, the guards here can handle these thirty-odd people.

Lu Huantang had already laid ambushes at various points around the village entrance, so even if they wanted to escape, they wouldn't be able to. But what he was more worried about now was whether the scattered assassins might blend in with the villagers and stay behind.

Suddenly, a sentry fell from a high platform in the distance, the loud noise startling many people who couldn't help but look in that direction.

The sentry was disheveled, as if he had only put his clothes on halfway, clearly an assassin trying to disguise himself.

Lu Huantang looked up and saw that there was no one on the platform. Jiang Linzhi's two bodyguards were with her. So who did this?

There was no time to think about it now. Suddenly, a man in red appeared and swung his sword at Lu Huantang from behind. Lu Huantang dodged, but a lock of his hair was cut off.

The man didn't appear out of nowhere; there was a thick crowd between them before, and Lu Huantang only noticed that the man was exceptionally skilled in martial arts.

A layer of heat slowly enveloped the man's sword, distorting everything around it. The nearby grass and trees instantly turned to ash, demonstrating the extreme temperature.

It's the Palm of Zhurong!

He never expected to witness such a divine skill capable of melting everything from such a small martial arts sect!

As temperatures rose, more and more trees curled their leaves, turning them charred black. The air was filled with the smell of burning things.

Lu Huantang shouted, "Back off!"

The assassins, already aware of the governor's move, retreated quickly. But some guards were too late to dodge; the flesh on their hands melted instantly, their fingers stuck together, unable to grip their swords, and they were slaughtered with screams.

Lu Huantang immediately used his internal energy to protect himself from harm.

Even with his internal energy protecting him, Lu Huantang still felt the intense heat every time the man swung his sword. The heat wave hit him in the face, drying out his eyes and probably scorching his eyebrows. If it weren't for his internal energy protecting him, he would probably be burned to death by now.

Taking advantage of Lu Huantang's retreat, the man leaped high into the air and used all his strength to attack Lu Huantang's waist and abdomen.

The sword, still warm, made a loud sound.

Lu Huantang drew his sword to defend, but the man's leap used the force of his body's natural descent, a force as powerful as five horses riding together.

Lu Huantang was no match for him and knelt on one knee, his knee carving a large hole in the bluestone slab.

Although he had internal energy protecting him, the ground was already scorching red from the heat, and besides the burns on his knees from that kneeling, Lu Huantang heard the faint sound of his bones cracking. If this stalemate continued, even an iron man would melt.

If we don't deal with the person in front of us soon, it won't just be our leg bones that are broken!

But under the pressure of force and intense heat, he couldn't break free at all.

Just as a blister was about to form on his forehead, the man suddenly fell backward and crashed heavily to the ground, the intense heat instantly disappearing.

Jiang Linzhi and her two guards appeared beside her at some point, clapping the crumbs from their hands, "What's your name?"

The man fell, but seemed to be seriously injured. He staggered to his feet and said, "Bah! You vile woman, you prey on the people, how dare you know my name?"

As he spoke, he drew his sword and attacked Jiang Linzhi. This attack was far more powerful than the one he had just used! If no one with inner protection had come close, he would probably have been burned to ashes.