Working Together with One Heart - Part One
Su Yishan flew out heavily, his blood falling like raindrops.
Lying down on the sloping rock at the summit of Cloud Peak, you can see the Milky Way stretching towards the distant horizon. It doesn't even require much effort to crane your neck.
At this moment, in Xin Ruien's eyes, this poetic place was a mountain of knives more dangerous than the "Samadhi Sea Classic".
Looking at Li Letian again, Zhao Zheng's offensive rained down on him like a storm. Overwhelmed, Li Letian could only watch helplessly as Su Yishan flew toward the edge of the cliff.
In that brief moment of distraction, Li Letian sustained six or seven more wounds.
Fortunately, Su Yishan did not fly directly to the outside of the cliff, but eventually landed near the edge.
Xin Ruien raised her hand, once again deflecting the attack from the treacherous sword. She staggered back a few steps, a piercing pain shooting through her right hand. Looking down, she saw that her thumb and forefinger had been split open, and gushing blood flowed down the hilt of the sword, passing through the three hollowed-out holes on the blade.
At first, she considered moving forward and taking the long sword hanging on the pine branch. But she soon realized how impractical her idea was. She was already struggling to maintain her current distance from the pine tree, let alone launch a counterattack and seize the treacherous sword.
Looking up, the few clouds that were already there had long been dispersed by the gale unleashed by the treacherous sword.
Regardless of which side falters first, she and Li Letian will be caught in a pincer movement, with devastating consequences. Maintaining their current one-on-one situation is their best option.
Xin Ruien was filled with regret. Overwhelmed by guilt and shame, she had chosen to go to the appointment alone, without consulting He and Su beforehand. Now, not only was she in a predicament, but she had also caused Su Yishan to be injured.
The note wasn't left by Li Letian, nor was it written by Zhao Zheng. Who was it, and what was their purpose in guiding her up the mountain?
"If Zi'an were here, the situation would be completely different," Xin Rui'en thought to herself.
Li Letian was equally frustrated. Zhao Zheng's relentless offensive left him breathless, without even a chance to regroup.
He had long known that taking the position of leader would bring him death. He had simply been too careless, not expecting it to happen so quickly. He regretted not taking more precautions, and even more so that he had dragged Xin Ruien into this dangerous situation.
Either way, it's pointless. I shouldn't have confessed my feelings to Miss Xin in the first place; it was a complete mistake. Li Letian thought to himself.
But at this moment, what he was thinking about more was how to get Xin Ruien out of danger. Neither his own life nor Su Yishan's life were that important to him.
Li Letian threw himself into the task, searching for an opening amidst Zhao Zheng's swordplay. He was prepared to die, but he didn't believe he would lose. From an unknown blacksmith to a dark horse that had left everyone else in the dust, he had only taken less than three months, and his confidence was now at its peak.
Li Letian firmly believes that even if they are locked in a stalemate, even if he is temporarily on the defensive, he will definitely be the first to find a way to break the deadlock.
However, the situation soon worsened.
Xin Ruien watched as Su Yishan turned over. Anyone would notice the slightest movement from that well-trained, imposing body.
At this moment, the flames from the pine tree that Shin Ye-eun had personally lit had already spread to the neighboring vegetation. A second and a third pine tree were then set ablaze. The golden flames illuminated the people under the night sky, threatening to overshadow the glittering starlight.
Su Yishan rolled over twice. Xin Ruien quickly realized that Su Yishan was not awake, but had completely lost consciousness and was rolling down the slope toward the edge of the exposed cliff.
That well-trained, imposing body was tumbling towards the abyss.
Su Yishan's proudly defined, powerful chestnut-colored physique was accompanied by a weight that most women could hardly match. This very strength he was so proud of became the greatest force that would ultimately lead him to his demise.
The tumbling speed increased.
He couldn't hear Xin Ruien's shouts at all. In the blink of an eye, they had reached the edge of the cliff.
Xin Ruien swung her sword one last time and charged towards Su Yishan without regard for her own safety.
New wind blades followed in quick succession. Two strikes landed squarely on her back, throwing her off balance. But it was precisely the impact of these wind blades that propelled her toward Su Yishan at an even greater speed.
A mouthful of blood spurted from her mouth, staining Xin Ruien's clothes red. But now, all she could see was Su Yishan and the distance to the edge of the cliff.
Zhao Zheng seized the opportunity and shouted, "Typhoon!"
The malevolent sword hanging on the pine branch was summoned and became even more violent. Nearby pine trees were cut in half, branches flew everywhere, and the direction of the flames was changed. The stone beneath the sword shattered with a crash.
The crack rapidly extended towards Xin Ruien. It was a giant net woven from wind blades, tearing through the mountain winds under the starlight, heading straight for Xin Ruien.
At this point, whether Su Yishan would fall off the cliff was no longer important. Because not only Xin Ruien, but Su Yishan would also be cut to pieces by this invisible sword net before he fell off the cliff.
Xin Ruien still grabbed Su Yishan's hand. "Brother Yishan!"
Su Yishan stared wide-eyed ahead, completely unfocused. His astonishing weight dragged Xin Ruien toward the edge of the cliff.
The wind blades, accompanied by the sound of shattering stone, approached Xin Ruien.
Xin Ruien abandoned her sword, grabbed Su Yishan with her left hand, and tried to grip the ground with her right. Her palms were raw and bloody, but the instinct for survival overcame the pain.
In the distance, Li Letian's longsword broke into three pieces. The tip and the middle section of the blade flew into the air, leaving only the section attached to the hilt in his hand.
There was no emotion in Zhao Zheng's eyes. He caught the longsword spinning in the air with both hands at the same time, and with lightning speed, he aimed straight for Li Letian's throat and heart.
Li Letian looked at her, a fleeting look of panic in his eyes.
Behind them came relentless wind blades, far more ferocious than any previous attack.
"If only Zi'an were here," Xin Rui'en thought sadly, "I didn't even have a chance to say goodbye to you."
"The tide rises, the fish sing."
Su Yishan, holding the left arm, suddenly lost all speed and weight, leaving only the tangible feeling of gripping the arm. Not only him, but Xin Ruien herself also lost all speed and left the ground.
However, neither Shin Yee-eun nor Su Yi-san showed any signs of falling.
The wind blades, baring their fangs and claws, had already reached Xin Ruien, carrying a trail of gravel.
A vast expanse of silver light, seemingly alive, twisted and swirled around Xin Rui'en, enveloping her subtly.
The wind blade touched the silver light, and the silver light returned to Xin Ruien's back in a smooth curve, and new silver light immediately filled the gap.
A breeze, filtering through the slender rays of light, gently ruffled Shin Ye-eun's hair.
No matter how many times the menacing wind blades come, they will eventually turn into a chilly spring breeze.
Xin Ruien saw that it was neither light nor fish. It was fragments of a longsword, trembling slightly with her breath.
The fragments gleamed with a cold light.
Shin Ye-eun had seen such a scene once before. It was a school of finfish gathered in the ocean, reflecting the dazzling sunlight—a magnificent and vibrant school of fish.
She and Su Yishan were right in the center of the "swarm of fish".
*
Two guests had been staying in a secluded cave near the summit of Yunxia Peak for several days.
The cave shook violently, and a lot of rubble and gravel fell from the cave ceiling.
The sudden tremor startled Xiang Wu, who sat bolt upright. He quickly stretched out his hands above Lin Zhenna's head to shield her from the falling debris.
Nana sat cross-legged, frowning, her eyes closed as she circulated her internal energy. Her frown wasn't due to the fighting at the summit of Cloud Peak; she had been like this ever since she sat down.
Xiang Wu cautiously glanced at Lin Zhenna, and only after confirming that she was unaffected did he tiptoe out of his cross-legged position, preparing to get up and go to the cave entrance to investigate the situation.
Although he wanted to leave immediately, he stood frozen in front of Nana, not moving an inch.
"Your leg is numb?" Nana suddenly asked.
Xiang Wu turned his head and saw Lin Zhenna staring at him with her almond-shaped eyes.
"I still prefer to kneel." Xiang Wu maintained his half-walking posture and said shyly, "Back on Xieyue Mountain, I could kneel for a whole morning without any problems."
"From now on, you're not allowed to kneel when you're with me," Nana joked.
However, the smile didn't last long, and soon a look of worry crept back onto her face.
"What's wrong?" Xiang asked indifferently. "Is something not going well?"
Nana shook her head. "No, it went very smoothly. It's just..."
"But?" This time, Xiang Wu frowned.
“I still can’t decide which sword intent to use,” Nana pouted and said, “Since we’re together, I think I should try my best to resonate with you.”
“You told me about the seven sword techniques of Yanyu Tower,” Xiang Wu recalled Lin Zhenna’s teachings over the past few days, which distracted him and made the needle-like pain in his feet less prominent. “Wind, smoke, rain, snow, overcast, sunny, evening.”
“What I taught you is ‘Moon,’ which corresponds to the ‘Evening’ style in the sword techniques of ‘Ode to Misty Rain,’” Nana sighed.
“Wind and smoke, rain and snow, sunshine and shadow.” Xiang Wu looked at Lin Zhenna. “Am I right?”
“That’s right,” Nana replied, “but there’s no corresponding word for ‘late’.”
“Logically speaking,” Xiang Wu said, sitting back down next to Nana, “since ‘night’ is ‘moon’, then the corresponding word should be ‘sun’.”
“But this particular style is nowhere to be found,” Nana said, looking up at the cave ceiling where pebbles were constantly falling. “I’ve searched my memory, and I’ve never seen this kind of sword style in the Misty Rain Pavilion since I was a child.”
*
"Look at this mountaintop, it's much more lively than we imagined."
On the path leading to Yunxia Peak, the pedestrians stopped in their tracks.
At the summit of Yunxia Peak, the mournful howl of the wind and the clanging of swords could be heard intermittently. Looking up along the path, one could see the flames growing ever larger, gradually adding unusual colors to the night sky.
The handle of the Big Dipper is almost due south.
“Not only does it possess the Xuanyuan Sword Heart, but it also has the Calamity Sword,” another person chimed in.
"Then let's take this opportunity to bring them all back."
"It won't be long before the people on the main peak notice this fire."
"Cut the Gordian knot and finish this quickly!"
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