9 Linzi (Part 2)
Men in Black
At the mention of these two words, the black-clothed man immediately showed his arrogance and said disdainfully, "You are not from the demon world, are you? You have never even heard of the commander's name."
Li Jintang turned his head and looked at the young man with pleading eyes. After looking at each other for a few seconds, he lowered his arm and put the sword back into the sheath.
"We've certainly never heard of it," Li Jintang said. "I wonder what the difference is between the barrier here and the barrier outside?"
This 'outer barrier' naturally refers to the layer that covers the entire demon world.
"That barrier was set up by the commander himself. You must have hit a weak spot to get in. But if you want to get out," the man in black raised his eyes, scanning them one by one, and snorted coldly, "that's wishful thinking."
After hearing this, the four of them all felt that there must be something fishy going on, so they waited in silence for him to finish.
The man in black said slowly: "Just now you asked about the two superiors. Humph, they are the most, the most..."
He paused for a moment, perhaps unable to come up with any words, and simply said, "He's the best person in the world! Back then, my parents were killed by the demonic cultivators. It was he and his wife who saved me and gave me the name Nangong Xiu. I've followed them for decades ever since."
"Later, when the great war between immortals and demons was imminent, the two commanders went there with the intention of dying. To prevent anyone from invading the demon race after their death, they used all their strength to set up this barrier."
They looked at each other and understood what was going on.
No wonder they were arrested as traitors when they asked about the method to break the barrier today. This is the reason.
Nangong Xiu finished speaking, his voice choking with sobs: "I am useless. If I had been able to go with them back then, today, today..."
"There will no longer be a person like you, Nangong Xiu." Xie Changyan said indifferently.
Nangong Xiu choked, but he knew that what he said was true. Even if he had been included back then, it would have been difficult to break the situation.
"Senior Nangong, could you please…"
"Who is the senior?" Nangong Xiu raised his head suddenly, a fierce look on his face, "Do I look that old?"
After hearing his yell, Li Jintang swallowed back the rest of his words and stood there in a daze, at a loss as to what to do.
"Why are you being so mean to a girl?" Qiuyan stepped forward to protect her. She glared at Nangong Xiu and said, "You said you've lived for nearly a hundred years. Isn't that old?"
Nangong Xiu glared back and said, "You want to know how to break the barrier? Humph, just go ahead and kill me. Forget about the rest."
"We truly have no intention of entering this place." Li Jintang, unwilling to give in, softened his tone and pleaded, "Just let us out and close the barrier later, can't you?"
"Hmph, why should I trust you?" Nangong Xiu sneered, a hint of sarcasm flashing in his eyes. "If you didn't have evil intentions, why would you be here? I really don't trust you."
Li Jintang's heart tightened. This man was suspicious by nature; he wouldn't trust them. She bit her lip and was about to speak again, but Qiuyan, beside her, couldn't contain herself anymore. She rushed over to her and shouted angrily, "Whether you trust us or not is one thing, but losing the competition just now is another. How can you, a man, not keep your word?"
"I told you, other than that, I'll leave it to you," Nangong Xiu said with a sullen face and a cold voice, "Don't even think about coveting the treasures in this room."
"Who wants your treasure..." Qiu Yan was so angry that her voice suddenly rose. When she was about to say more, a hand was placed on her shoulder, signaling her to calm down.
"Your cultivation is quite high. It would be a shame to kill you right here." Xie Changyan wore a sword at his waist, his hands behind his head, and leaned lazily against the wall. "Why don't we have another fight? If I lose, we'll leave. But if you lose..."
Nangong Xiu had already guessed what the other party would ask next. His eyes suddenly turned cold, and his fingers curled up, tightening their grip on the hilt of his sword. He stared at the young man's face and said coldly, "No, don't try to trick me again. This barrier cannot be broken by anyone!"
The young man raised his lips, took a few steps forward, and glanced around: "Before you refuse, you might want to think about it first. Will those treasures be safe after you die?"
"It's no use threatening me," Nangong Xiu said, "you won't be able to find it no matter how much you try, and it's a pipe dream to try to take it away."
"If we can't find it, the same can't be said for others." Xie Changyan's smile faded, and he deliberately kept him in suspense: "You're not stupid, so you should understand what I mean, right?"
Nangong Xiu's hair stood on end - if they could break in once, they would definitely be able to do it a second time. If he was gone by then, would they just let this place be trampled upon?
Thinking of this, he became even more furious. He put his hand on the hilt of the sword and had made up his mind to fight these people to the death. However, someone suddenly pressed his shoulder, and a sharp pain instantly spread throughout his body.
The young man looked down at him and suddenly smiled. "Don't worry, I haven't finished what I just said. If you lose, just take us away. From now on, no one will know what's hidden under the swamp. Do you understand?"
No matter how much he didn't want to, he couldn't just sit there and wait for the evil villain to invade him after his death. After a moment of contemplation, Nangong Xiu nodded and said reluctantly, "Then tell me, what's the next competition?"
Qu Lingfei and the other two saw them fighting just now and knew that Xie Changyan's martial arts skills were better than that person's. Now that they saw that he agreed, they couldn't help but feel happy.
Li Jintang's gaze wandered between the two of them, and when he caught sight of the faint traces of blood on the young man's arm, his heart tightened. He stepped forward and said, "You were injured just now. Let's try a different fighting method. Don't use the sword anymore."
Before he finished speaking, the boy's fingertips trembled slightly, and a trace of fluctuation flashed in his eyes, but it disappeared in a flash, so the girl didn't notice it.
She was speaking to Xie Changyan. Before he could reply, Nangong Xiu shouted, "If not a sword fight, what else can we fight? Don't try to play tricks on me. I'd rather die than submit..."
"Why do you always talk in such a dead tone?" Li Jintang frowned and interrupted him. She thought for a moment, picked up two similar stones from the ground, and looked toward the rows of ancient banyan trees in front of the house. Suddenly, an idea struck her: "Since we're competing in spiritual power, why not try it? Who can get a stone through the cracks between the trees the fastest without causing any leaves to fall? How about that?"
After he finished speaking, he heard Nangong Xiu laugh loudly behind him, with a hint of disdain in his voice: "I have cultivated for decades, and one day I am going to use it on a stone? How ridiculous."
Li Jintang was stunned, unsure why he found this ridiculous, and a trace of embarrassment crossed her face. She was about to explain when the young man beside her suddenly turned his gaze and said, "Xie, I think this plan is very good. If you're afraid, it's not a bad idea to admit defeat early."
Nangong Xiu's laughter stopped abruptly. Knowing that he was mocking him, he angrily said, "Stones are stones. I advise you not to be so arrogant, or you will lose and it will be difficult to make up for it. Humph!"
"Brother Xie, you are injured. Why don't you let me compete with him?" Qu Lingfei only noticed the wound on his body at this time, and hurriedly walked forward, ready to take action.
Xie Changyan glanced at the other person and thought to himself that even if he were in his place, he wouldn't be able to win. However, he didn't say this out loud. He just smiled slightly and said, "No need. I'm afraid that people will blame me for bullying the minority."
As he finished speaking, a golden light emanated from his fingertips, wrapped around the stone in the girl's hand, and lightly rolled it up.
Nangong Xiu was not willing to be outdone, so he immediately picked up a stone and deliberately bumped into the other party on the way, as if he wanted to knock it away.
Xie Changyan twitched his lips and smiled: "What a pity. Remember to put in more effort next time."
Nangong Xiu's face darkened and he stopped talking.
The other three stood aside, staring at the stone hanging in the air, not daring to blink.
The two men were equally matched, their fingers dancing very quickly. The stone flashed in the air and then fell into the dense leaves.
"How can I see clearly?" Qiuyan narrowed her eyes and nudged the person beside her. "Atang, isn't this idea a bit impulsive?"
Li Jintang pursed his lips, a little bewildered: "They were in a hurry to compete just now, and I couldn't think of anything else, so..."
She glanced at Xie Changyan and saw that the young man had a calm expression and seemed very relaxed in his every move, as if he had everything planned out for himself.
Suddenly, there was a whoosh sound, and a stone flew back like a boomerang. The boy raised his hand and easily caught it between his two fingers.
Seeing that Xie Changyan was one step ahead, Qiu Yan immediately clapped her hands and cheered: "The winner is decided. You can't deny your debt now, right?"
"It's true," Nangong Xiu said coldly, "but he lost!"
The three of them were shocked and looked up together, only to see a crow flying from somewhere and hitting the branch, causing it to shake and shake off a few leaves.
Nangong Xiu said smugly, "You were the ones who proposed the rules just now. Doesn't this kid lose now?"
"How can this be counted?" Qiu Yan said unconvincedly, "The game is over, don't try to deny it."
"You're so numerous and powerful, I can't get a word in," Nangong Xiu said muffledly, his arms folded in front of him. "But I won't be fooled by such an unfair competition again."
"Brother Nangong, why do you say that?" Xie Changyan smiled faintly, "My skills are inferior to yours, so I admit defeat in this round."
Qu Lingfei exclaimed in surprise, "Thank you, brother..."
Xie Changyan raised his hand to stop him from speaking, looked at the angry man in front of him, and waited for his reply.
Nangong Xiu hadn't expected him to give in just like that, but he remained composed and snorted, "Then what are you waiting for? Leave now."
"Please open the barrier," Xie Changyan said, bowing to him, "We'll leave now."
"Are we really going to leave like this?" Qiuyan kicked a stone lying on the ground away and angrily reached out to cut through the vines blocking the road. "That person is so unreasonable. He clearly knows how to break the barrier, but he won't let us out."
Li Jintang moved aside to stop her: "There are thorns on the vines. You can't hit them. It will hurt your hands."
But when the young man in front paused, several others also stopped. Before they could say anything, they heard a roar from behind them: "The barrier has been opened, what are you still doing here?"
Xie Changyan smiled and replied, "You don't have to rush to send me away. I'm tired from fighting just now, so let's rest here for a while."
The three of them didn't understand his intention, so they squatted down beside him. When they turned around, Nangong Xiu had already retreated back into the house.
"Brother Xie, I know you're unwilling to give up," Qu Lingfei suddenly stood up and drew his sword, saying, "I'm going back to fight him to the death. No matter what, I'll force him out."
"You don't have to risk your life," Xie Changyan said, looking away, with an ambiguous expression, "He'll show up in no time."
Suddenly, bursts of whistling sounds seemed to ring in my ears, and after a long time, no one came.
A chill instantly spread throughout his body - the person was still far away, but his voice could be heard so far away, which proved that the other party either had unfathomable spiritual power or had an overwhelming advantage in numbers.
Suddenly, I felt a gust of wind brush my face, followed by a dark shadow flashing by. When I looked closely, Nangong Xiu had rushed to the front. His expression was stern, and he raised his head and shouted: "Who is playing tricks here? If you don't show up, don't blame me for being blind under my sword!"
Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from far away and circled above their heads. Before everyone could see clearly, there was a loud bang and layers of dust were rolled up on the ground.
"How are you, little brother?"
Before anyone could even look up, they had already drawn their swords. A figure dressed in black and wearing a veil stood before them, followed by a large group of demon soldiers.
The man in black narrowed his eyes and said, "I never thought you would hide in such a filthy place just to avoid me. This really opened my eyes."
"It's you?" Nangong Xiu gripped the hilt of the sword tightly, his voice trembling unconsciously.
Without wasting any more time talking to the man, he drew his sword and attacked the man's vital points.
Only a few clanging sounds were heard, and the sword light flashed past before their eyes. The two men had fought from one end of the grass barrier to the other, and it was quite difficult to separate them.
If only the two of them fought, it would be difficult to determine the winner even after dark. However, there were still a group of demon soldiers behind them, and even if Nangong Xiu had three heads and six arms, he would be unable to defeat them.
"Let's go," Qiuyan said anxiously, grabbing Li Jintang's hand and preparing to step out of the barrier. "What if those people think we're in the same group?"
"Didn't you ask him for help?" Xie Changyan did not waver. He moved his fingertips and shot out several silver needles, instantly overwhelming several demon soldiers.
He said calmly, "When asking for help, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"
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