Chapter 41 Ling Fu [Has Xu Qingning been found?]

"When your natal sword is handed over to someone else, it is like being stripped of your armor, meaning you have no power to fight back."

When Zhou Fuling was in Dongzhou, she heard the sword cultivators say something like this.

"Then why give your natal sword to someone else? You used the wrong word, it should be 'steal'!"

— "It means 'handing over'. Handing it over to someone else means, in certain special circumstances, to reassure the other party that you will never take action yourself."

In the pitch-black night, Zhou Fuling followed the firelight and left the cave carrying the "Changming" sword.

Yu Shi and Ning Chengsong and others have already reached the plank road.

Deep in the valley, the chirping of insects echoed on both banks. The Rain Master toyed with the Mirror that imprisoned immortals.

From within the bushes, Zhou Fuling glared coldly at him and raised an arrow.

The bow is drawn and the arrow is suspended, ready to be released!

The sound of taut strings could be heard.

Zhou Fuling's indifferent gaze fell on the arrow tip.

The arrowhead was aimed at the Rain Master.

One breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

She slowly put away the arrow.

No.

Since she and Xu Qingning had broken off their relationship, there was no need for her to help Xu Qingning anymore.

Zhou Fuling sent a message to the Miao Mountain Master. Kuang Yunchu had previously given her a jade tablet for communication.

[Master Miao, Xu Qingning was captured by the First Division of the Rain Master's Clan in Tongnan Road. He claims to be a disciple of the Fourth Division, which has temporarily fooled him. However, if he is still in the hands of the First Division during the decisive battle at the Cloud Candle Tower, it will likely be detrimental to Master Kuang's grand plan.]

Zhou Fuling gazed deeply at the Immortal Imprisonment Mirror, then turned and led it into the mountain forest.

...

Zhou Fuling headed south.

From the secluded valley where she was, to the first part, one should have taken the southern route, which was the Yangkang Avenue.

However, Yu Shi and his men set up checkpoints along the way. In order to avoid their sharp edge, Zhou Fuling turned to the west path, traversing mountains and crossing rivers for a full twenty miles.

Xu Qingning's guess was correct; Zhou Fuling and Kuang Yunchu had previously agreed to split into two groups and meet at Yunzhu Tower.

What Zhou Fuling didn't tell Xu Qingning was that Kuang Yunchu mentioned that she should pretend to be the personal disciple of the Fourth Division's chief minister to participate in the competition, and the Fourth Division would cover for her.

What is the relationship between Part 4 and the Mountain Gate? Is it believable...?

Zhou Fuling pondered all the way.

She was also thinking about it.

Why does Xu Qingning have a fourth token?

On the way, she grabbed the fourth disciple and interrogated him, only to learn the reason:

Liang Xuyan, the deputy director of the fourth department of Yun Ning, and Miao Jia, the master of the eight major mountain gates in the mortal realm, are Daoist partners.

However, the two resided in the mortal realm of the Immortal Alliance respectively, and rarely publicized their relationship.

After traveling for another half day, Zhou Fuling encountered either chaotic battles and relentless pursuits among the four factions, or treacherous road conditions.

She took out the geomantic map that Xu Qingning had given her.

Xu Qingning's geomantic map was made by the immortal sect. It clearly marks the small paths and road conditions that are not found on ordinary maps, and also has annotations written by Xu Qingning.

Zhou Fuling cautiously probed.

It wasn't a trap, and they continued north for another five miles.

Unexpectedly, bad news arrived that same day.

From Master Miao: [I originally arranged for you to be the closed-door disciple of Minister Liang, Qingling. However, she was ambushed by the subordinates of the Second Master Duo, suffering a persistent high fever and severed meridians. I don't know if she can survive this ordeal.]

What should we do then?

Zhou Fuling asked.

[The fourth installment will feature a different identity.]

Zhou Fuling said: 【Okay.】

She then asked, "Have you found Xu Qingning?"

Not yet.

...

Zhou Fuling climbed high mountains and crossed plains, entering the territory of the second part of Yun'er tribe.

The second part, Yun'er, is located on a plain, without any dangerous peaks, only hills, and is rich and prosperous. However, the second part also has checkpoints, which are even stricter than those on the Tongnan Road that Zhou Fuling had previously traveled.

...She could only continue to avoid their sharp edge and retreat to the mountains and forests.

Zhou Fuling spent the night in the cave.

The next day, she continued her journey, crossing yet another hill.

Although the place is not high, the mountain path is winding and covered with thorny wisteria on both sides, making it difficult to walk and rarely visited by people.

As Zhou Fuling reached the mountaintop, she suddenly heard a woman's soft cry: "Save me, save me."

A pit had appeared in the ground, and a girl's ankle was stuck in the mud. As she struggled, she exuded a foul aura, as if a demonic energy was lingering around her.

Zhou Fuling initially didn't want to pay attention, had no intention of killing, and didn't want to get close, but she glanced at it...

He paused slightly, slightly stunned.

Although the girl in the ravine was dressed in simple clothes, she was exceptionally beautiful and had a lovely appearance. Half of her body was stained with blood, and she looked quite disheveled.

But what caught Zhou Fuling's attention was—

At the girl's feet lay a broken mustard seed pouch and scattered jewels and magical artifacts.

Her long, slender, snow-white legs peeked out from the torn hem of her skirt.

And the smell of blood on her...

The smell of rust was gone, replaced only by a putrid, rancid odor.

Zhou Fuling immediately sneered.

Blood of the dead.

The girl was lying at the edge of the pit. I looked up with pity and saw that Zhou Fuling, who was sticking her head out, was a girl just like her. My expression changed slightly.

Her eyes darted away: "Go away! You can't save me, and I don't need you to save me!"

Zhou Fuling was already in a bad mood, and she snorted coldly, "I didn't intend to save you. You're sick in the head."

The girl angrily shouted, "You!"

Zhou Fuling had set countless traps like this since she came out of Tianjue Gorge, but none of them were as clumsy as this.

They even chose the blood of people who had been dead for a long time... Using demon blood to mask the smell of human blood wouldn't have made it so obvious...

Zhou Fuling sized up the girl.

Although she was dressed in simple clothes, her skin was delicate and her face was flawless, clearly indicating that she was not an ordinary person and had probably been pampered in the past.

I don't know why they fled to these mountains and set this trap to cheat fellow refugees out of their money.

Zhou Fuling didn't want to get entangled with her, so she turned and left.

If she encountered soldiers on the road, she would then lead them over.

This woman's fate is in the hands of destiny.

Unexpectedly, the girl cursed:

"Fine! You dare say I'm sick, you damn fool!"

Zhou Fuling is not leaving now.

Judging from the girl's cultivation level, which was only at the seventh rank, she jumped into the pit.

Such blind and unpleasant things.

So what if they killed him?

The girl was shocked. Zhou Fuling grabbed her hands and tied them behind her back. She struggled and used her embroidered shoes to kick the mountain wall.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Fuling used a spell to shatter a boulder.

The blue light scattered, indicating that the mechanism had been destroyed, and the thin layer of rock from the mountain wall fell down, sliding towards the wilderness.

Zhou Fuling looked again and saw that the girl had actually created a molten cave in the wilderness, with the acidic liquid inside sizzling and a net lying across the top.

The girl was trembling all over.

"The mechanism is poorly designed."

The girl cursed angrily, and Zhou Fuling kicked out the magical artifact from under her skirt.

"The ritual implements are also fake."

"The blood used wasn't fresh either."

She gripped the girl's hand tightly, feeling the prey tremble in her palm, and pressed down on the girl's fingers, intending to break them one by one.

“Your hands are beautiful, but you must be from a noble family, not an ordinary person. I will break them one by one, twist your limbs, and throw you into the trap I set.”

"Tell me, how long do you intend to struggle before you die?"

Zhou Fuling chuckled.

The young girl was clearly taken aback by Zhou Fuling's ruthlessness. She stared in disbelief, her face paling: "No, no, great cultivator... spare me! You can have all my valuables!"

Her cries were heartbreaking, yet they carried a hint of genuine emotion: "I didn't mean to kill you, I just wanted to extort some money... Please spare me, I'll do anything for you... No, please, please! My mother and sister are sick and are waiting for me to take care of them..."

Zhou Fuling didn't care and was about to make a move.

Suddenly hearing a commotion all around, his expression changed drastically, thinking that the girl was hiding an ambush.

He was just about to kill her and get out.

A voice outside said coldly, "Is Ling Fu here?"

The girl suddenly trembled, closed her eyes in despair, and was even more terrified than before: "Please don't make a sound."

Zhou Fuling asked curiously, "Who is this person?"

The girl remained silent, her stubbornness bearing a resemblance to that of Xu Qingning.

Zhou Fuling fell silent for a moment: "If they bully women and children, don't worry, I have my bottom line. I will never hand you over to them myself."

The girl's breath hitched, her eyes clear: "I never expected, I never expected you to be so kind..."

"I'll just throw you up there. So you'll fall right into those people's hands."

As soon as Zhou Fuling finished speaking, the girl screamed and was thrown out of the pit by Zhou Fuling.

As she tossed it up, Zhou Fuling chuckled three times in her ear.

After regaining her identity, Zhou Fuling, having broken ties with Xu Qingning and whose grudges were extremely complicated, was somewhat restrained in front of him.

At this moment, she made no attempt to conceal her true nature, and her sinister character shocked the young girl.

The girl, covered in dust, fell to the ground and was surrounded by a group of cultivators in blue robes. Her face turned pale, and she turned and fled without paying any attention to Zhou Fuling.

However, her skills were insufficient, and she was captured in less than ten breaths, bound hand and foot, and thrown to the side of a pit.

The girl roared, "There are still people here!!! If you're so capable, arrest her too!"

"Third Miss, where did you come from?"

The pit was long since empty.

Zhou Fuling had already slipped away to the side and sat on a tall tree to watch the show.

The cultivator said coldly, "Third Miss, what tricks are you playing now? Forgive me, the First Madam is waiting for you."

The young woman trembled.

Zhou Fuling watched helplessly as the girl was tied up and taken down the mountain.

The highest rank among these people is only fifth or sixth grade, so they shouldn't be from any major family.

But Zhou Fuling wanted to test the waters, so she followed him all the way.

The girl was taken to a house at the foot of the mountain.

On the way, Zhou Fuling watched her struggle and stagger, saw her try every trick in the book but still couldn't escape, and suffered a lot, but she never gave up.

For some reason, I thought of Xu Qingning again.

When Xu Qingning was locked in the underground cave, her cold but stubborn eyes somehow appeared before Zhou Fuling's eyes and lingered for a long time.

How can there be such tactless and self-destructive people in this world?

His silhouette as he took the antidote overlapped with mine.

Zhou Fuling made up her mind that if the Miao Mountain Lord couldn't bring Xu Qingning back, she would personally capture Xu Qingning and ask him what he was plotting.

All of these need to be completed before the competition.

Lost in thought, the girl was thrown into the center of the courtyard, covered in dust and dirt, and a group of people surrounded her.

The leader was a noblewoman with a high-piled hairstyle adorned with a jade hairpin, exuding an air of authority, but she was only a fifth-rank official, not someone who held a high position.

Behind this woman stood another woman and a young girl, both with an even more timid demeanor. They were also dressed in fine silk, but in much simpler attire than the noblewoman. Their appearances were very similar to Ling Fu's.

Ling Fu was struck dumb: "Mother, little sister... why, why..."

The lady and the young girl avoided each other's gaze.

"Didn't you... agree to wait for me?"

“I told you I would get some money and continue fleeing east to reach the Eastern Continent… But why are you all following your aunt…”

Her eyes suddenly widened, and she roared:

"You betrayed me?"

The First Madam walked up to Ling Fu and slapped her across the face.

Ling Fu tilted her head, and a red mark appeared on her snow-white face.

Madam: "Ling Fu, do you know what an honor it is to be chosen as the furnace for Young Master Ning Bai! Young Master Ning Bai is the son of Minister Cheng Shan, one of the two prodigies of Yun Er, and his swordsmanship is divine. Everyone knows that after this Yun Ning Grand Competition, he will be the young master. In another hundred years, either he or his sister Ning Hong will be the fourteenth sect master!"

"If you had gone with him, the entire Ling family would have been able to rise above their station! Why did you run away? Why are you so insensible?"

Ling Fu: "A good thing? How ridiculous! Sister Xu from the same county was also sent to Ning Bai as a furnace, and what happened? She was skinned alive by the Lin family, who were allied with Ning Bai through marriage! If it were a good thing, why didn't Aunt send your own sister Xi to them, but only me?"

Ning Bai?

Upon hearing this, Zhou Fuling's eyes widened.

She had indeed heard of this person before; he was the young master of the second part.

—“‘Strategist’ Ning Hong is the young master of the second Yun Er tribe, and she is quick-witted. Her elder brother Ning Bai is skilled in both swordsmanship and formations, and the two are known as ‘the two masters of swordsmanship and strategy’.”

When Kuang Yunchu met with her alone, he said, "Both of them were once the top in the Wanshan Banquet Trial. You should also be more careful with their mother, Ning Chengshan, the second division chief of the 'Tianling Palm'. She won the Wanshan Banquet five times in a row when she was young, and even had the feat of killing a thousand-level demon alone."

"What's the meaning?"

"She single-handedly quelled a calamity in a deep ravine."

"Baby, you need to be extra careful of the people in the second part."

Zhou Fuling snapped out of her daze.

Beside the First Madam stood a handsome man, but for some reason, despite his tall stature and large ears, he had shifty eyes and a cunning expression.

"Ling Fu, you've gone too far with those words!" the man said with a sneer. "Why did Miss Xu die? Wasn't it because she was too aloof and angered the esteemed Young Master Ning Bai?"

"You're so clever! If you can make Ning Bai happy, you'll have a son with every step you take, hahaha! After having a few more sons, you won't have to worry about these things!"

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A note from the author: