Chapter 2 Flowing Frost Sword Technique? Falling Flower Sword Technique, as the name suggests, is used to...
Wang Yan was quite surprised. Without thinking for a moment, he heard Shen Minghuai continue.
"Contact Liu Danian, and he will give you three ransoms."
Chu Rushuang immediately became wary. "Liu Danian? Who is he to you?"
"teacher."
Chu Rushuang still couldn't believe that a poor scholar like Liu Danian could have such wealthy students.
"Pretty boy, tell me your name in the underworld."
Shen Minghuai calmly replied, "Gu Wei'en."
Wait a minute—wasn't Gu Wei'en my brother's teacher at the Imperial Academy? If this person knows that name, he must also be from the capital. At his age, he might even be my brother's classmate. But why would he lie about his teacher's name? And who is this Liu Danian he mentioned? Before Wang Yan could figure these things out, Chu Rushuang had already led everyone away from the dungeon.
This bandit stronghold is so lavish, yet they won't even feed us. Wang Yan arrived early this morning and is now starving. If she doesn't have a backup plan by tomorrow, he'll have to gamble tonight. Just then, the aroma of food wafts from not far away.
The bandits had just unlocked the cell when Ying Ming knocked them unconscious. Wang Yan stared blankly as the two of them strolled out of the cell, then glanced at the food on the ground. It turned out she wasn't the only one who had come prepared.
"Aren't you going to eat before you leave?"
Shen Minghuai strode ahead, very politely saying, "Please make yourself at home, my lady."
The dungeon wasn't large, holding only the three of them. They reached the entrance quickly, and before the bandits guarding it could even call out, Ying Ming had knocked them unconscious. The bright moon hung high, and the bandit camp was dimly lit by candlelight. Most people were drinking in the main hall; avoiding the few distracted patrolling bandits was easy. The path down the mountain was on the east side of the daylily slope. The two of them retrieved their swords from the western storeroom and headed towards the sleeping quarters on the north side.
Although Wang Yan had suspected that the master and servant hadn't been kidnapped without cause, she was now certain of her suspicions. She had a habit of being curious. Changing her pace, she quietly followed them.
The word "quietly" was used inappropriately, and Shen Minghuai spotted her after she had only taken two steps. Ying Ming turned around and shouted to stop her, but this shout attracted two patrolling bandits.
"who!"
Wang Yan drew his soft sword from his waist in an instant, straightening it in a flash. But in the blink of an eye, his muscles and bones went limp, and he barely managed to stay upright by supporting himself with the sword.
Cartilage-inducing powder?! There was actually medicine in the sack; she had been careless… This was the first time she'd been ambushed like this, and Wang Yan was furious. She wanted to see what kind of schemes were hidden in this stronghold. After taking the antidote handed to her by Shen Minghuai, the bandits on the other side had already collapsed.
Strangely, Shen Minghuai did not chase her away. Wang Yan then leisurely walked behind the two of them and entered Chu Rushuang's bedroom.
To rummage through a woman's room so brazenly is truly indecent. Wang Yan muttered under her breath, "It's true what they say, you can't have two kinds of people sleeping together."
Shen Minghuai, who was opening the box, stopped and glanced at her. Wang Yan quickly moved to the other side of the room. This room could not be described as magnificent; it was far more luxurious than her own Yunqiju. It was filled with gold goblets and bowls, pearls and jade. She was engrossed in looking at them, removing pearls from her jewelry and secretly calculating their prices, unaware that the two men, master and servant, had already finished.
Ying Ming, carrying a stack of papers, walked out of the bedroom first. Shen Minghuai lifted the beaded curtain to look for her, but before he could speak, she covered his mouth and pinned him against the wall. Chu Rushuang and a drunken man entered the room.
Wang Yan leaned halfway against him, peering through the beaded curtain to observe the activity outside. Chu Rushuang's laughter was deafening; she and the man were clinking glasses and drinking merrily. The pungent smell of alcohol wafted into the inner room, causing Wang Yan to frown. She heard rustling sounds above her head and realized her rudeness. She took two steps back and softly apologized. From now on, she would have to keep a nine-foot distance from Jiang Wan's lover to avoid being tainted by his bad luck.
The noise outside gradually subsided, but her head began to feel dizzy, not from sleepiness. Oh no!
Wang Yan hurriedly took out an antidote from her waist and swallowed it, just as Shen Minghuai pressed down on her. His eyes were glazed over, undoubtedly from the incense in the tent. Those outside had fallen asleep, while they were the ones suffering…
He was very strong, holding Wang Yan so tightly that she couldn't move. Her subconscious seemed to be constantly resisting, but this incense wasn't something that could be sobered up by simply shaking her head!
As Shen Minghuai pressed down on her, his breath on her neck, getting closer and closer.
In a moment of quick thinking, Wang Yan slammed his fist against the man's head, and the man, in pain, released his grip. Both men's foreheads were red, and Wang Yan swiftly fed him medicine, preventing a serious accident.
No matter how handsome he is, as Jiang Wan's lover, how could she possibly be interested in him!
Seeing that he was gradually regaining consciousness, Wang Yan quickly took a few steps back, accidentally bumping into a chair leg. She lost her balance and fell backward, but fortunately Shen Minghuai caught her in his arms in time, so as not to wake the two people outside.
Just now, as he leaned in, a sweet fragrance wafted into her nose. Now that she was lying on his chest, the scent was even stronger, and...it smelled quite nice.
"I apologize for what happened earlier. Thank you for the antidote, but please, my lady, have some self-respect."
This is utterly incomprehensible… Wang Yan pursed her lips and took four steps back. The mole on her lip fell off, and she hurriedly picked it up and tried to stick it back on, but she couldn't get it to stick. How hateful that she had left home in such a hurry today; everything had gone wrong. Shen Minghuai stared at her for a moment, said nothing, turned and left through the curtain.
Perhaps it was the sweet aroma that stirred Chu Rushuang's consciousness, for Shen Minghuai was grabbed by the hem of her robe as he passed by. He couldn't pull it off with a little force, nor dared to use any force. Without a word, Wang Yan cut off her robe and, ignoring Shen Minghuai's astonished gaze, quietly left the room.
Seeing her head south, Shen Minghuai kindly reminded her, "Going down the mountain from the south will take an extra hour."
The granary was also located to the south. Wang Yan turned around at the sound, eager to try, "Why don't we set it on fire before we leave?"
"Please feel free to do as you please."
It seemed their purpose in coming here was just to get that stack of papers, and they didn't want to cause any other trouble. But she hadn't done anything yet; if she didn't teach these bandits a lesson, wouldn't her trip have been in vain? Lost in thought, she headed towards the granary when suddenly a shout rang out like thunder in the quiet village.
"Oh no! The hostage has escaped!"
Then, another sound—
"Oh no! The grain depot is on fire!"
People were approaching, so Wang Yan had no choice but to turn back. A sharp-eyed bandit nearby spotted the three who were just escaping and immediately called over dozens of his accomplices, who then pressed towards them.
Wang Yan drew her soft sword in an instant and attacked the bandits before the two could react. Her sword moves were swift and unpredictable, catching them off guard. She easily dodged the incoming blades, and in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the dozens of bandits were at a disadvantage, kneeling on the ground as if they had been given a muscle relaxant.
Ying Ming stared wide-eyed, exclaiming in surprise, "The Flowing Frost Sword Technique?!"
Shen Minghuai was also somewhat surprised. It did indeed bear some resemblance to the Flowing Frost Sword Technique. The moves, defenses, and offenses all emphasized speed, and Li Changling's Flowing Frost Sword Technique was renowned for its speed. Although it couldn't be considered the true Flowing Frost Sword Technique, it could be said to have deeply grasped its essence.
Ying Ming asked in a low voice, "Young master, could she be the lady beside Young Hero Li?"
At the beginning of the year, Danzhou was hit by a heavy snowfall, and Shen Minghuai went out of the capital to provide disaster relief on behalf of the Prince of Wei. He distributed porridge outside the city for more than a month, during which time Li Changling also appeared there, accompanied by a beautiful young woman. However, the woman who came to collect porridge that day was wearing a veiled hat, so he did not see her face clearly.
In the direction where the flames soared into the sky, bandits kept darting back and forth, carrying bucket after bucket of water. Saving the granary was far more important than the escape of the three hostages, even waking the soundly sleeping Chu Rushuang. A familiar figure in red instantly disappeared into the bandit group.
Wang Yan walked over, holding a blood-stained soft sword, and said to the two of them with a smile, "It's not the Flowing Frost Sword Technique, but the disciple named Falling Flower, which means to defeat the enemy like falling flowers and flowing water."
Ying Ming scoffed, "Falling Flowers? You've learned a sword technique by stealing chickens and dogs, yet you've given it your own name."
“There’s a saying that goes ‘illiterate,’ but what you’re doing is ‘ignorant of swordsmanship,’” Wang Yan stopped three steps away from Shen Minghuai and pointed with his sword. “Shen Lang, tell me, isn’t my swordsmanship a direct descendant of Liushuang?”
Shen Minghuai did not answer, and walked straight towards the east gate of the mountain. Although his sword was not drawn, the scabbard and hilt were enough to show that the sword was of great value. A white tassel hung from the end of the sword, and there were two pieces of beautiful jade with a warm and smooth texture, just like the jade crown on his head.
But even if it were better, could it compare to the cloud-patterned robe in her hand? The soft sword in Wang Yan's right hand was forged from meteorite iron, thin yet sharp, its blue light gleaming even in the presence of blood. In this world, apart from the Heavenly Water Sword in her senior brother's hand, there should be nothing comparable to it.
The three fled the bandit stronghold in a panic, only to encounter a petty thief who frequented Xuancao Slope. By the time they reached the foot of the mountain, it was past midnight. Wang Yan, sword in hand, stopped Shen Minghuai, who was about to mount his horse, and voiced his doubts.
“Hey, my love, as a reward, I don’t want the hundred taels of gold. You just need to tell me your name.”
Ying Ming immediately stepped in front of Shen Minghuai, saying, "My young master's surname is not Qin. Besides, why would you tell a liar his name?"
"You're the liar!" Wang Yan angrily brandished her sword. If this man truly loved Jiang Wan, how could he have let her spout such nonsense in prison? A person with only a pretty face is utterly repulsive. She was determined to ruin Jiang Wan's plans.
The bloodstains on Yunyi's clothes had dried, but still carried a salty, fishy smell, overshadowing the sweet fragrance. Wang Yan pointed his sword at Shen Minghuai and declared, "If you don't swear to sever all ties here, don't even think about leaving."
Ying Ming was about to speak again when Shen Minghuai stopped her. The usually taciturn man had finally decided to talk to her.
What do you mean?
Wang Yan chuckled lightly, pretending to be ignorant even though he knew the truth, determined to make her spell it out.
"You don't like Jiang Wan at all, so why are you still bothering her?"
Shen Minghuai frowned and asked, "You mean, I'm Jiang Wan's lover?"
"What, are you going to deny it?" Wang Yan looked down on him even more. He dared to do it but didn't dare to admit it! She had never seen such a cowardly person. She didn't want to see him again in the capital.
Shen Minghuai snorted coldly, "Nonsense."
"You're not allowed to leave until you explain yourself!"
Wang Yan placed the sword against his neck, but left it an inch away. Shen Minghuai walked closer step by step along the blade, showing no fear, his dark eyes, devoid of any emotion, reflecting her aggressive demeanor.
"You're welcome to try and kill me."
Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck, my head spun around, and everything went black before I lost consciousness.
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