Chapter 8 The Three Heroes Gather; Chief Bingyi's Whip is Called "Seeing Ghosts"
They both had the unsettling feeling that they had boarded a pirate ship. Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin thought the same thing.
The largest port in Zhuanglan was built with funds from the Zhang family, and the largest cargo ship at sea also belongs to the Zhang family. Therefore, unlike the city lord who holds absolute power in Liyang, the Zhang family is the real local tyrant in Zhuanglan.
The Zhang family started their business in maritime trade, which was not initially well-regarded. Firstly, the seas were often stormy, and it was extremely dangerous to be unable to determine a route. Secondly, Zhuanglan was already on the border of the Went dynasty, and there were countless pirates from other countries. They could not even guarantee their own safety, let alone escort goods.
The Zhang family hired many martial arts figures to protect their ship, which somewhat resolved their second predicament. However, what truly made the Zhang family incredibly wealthy was the arrival of Xu Yi, the Broken Goose Blade.
About four years ago, Zhang's ship found Xu Yi, who was on the verge of death, at sea. They rescued him and brought him back to Zhuanglan. After giving him a bowl of hot porridge, Xu Yi thanked them for saving his life and wanted to leave Zhang's company.
But not long after, Xu Yi's originally immature Broken Goose Blade Technique reached a high level of mastery. Perhaps it was because he had just experienced the pain of losing his family and people, and in extreme grief he finally understood the true meaning. So, in order to repay the life-saving grace, Xu Yi stayed with the Zhang family to protect their ships.
With the protection of the Broken Goose Blade, no pirates dared to attack Zhang's unique and world-renowned fleet, and Zhang ushered in a period of great prosperity.
The desolate and cold mountains, the hurried footsteps of departure—Zhou Ziheng glanced back at the tiny Liyang City and vaguely felt as if they were two fugitives, homeless and drifting aimlessly.
The closer they got to the summit, the colder it became. Zhou Ziheng was covered in sweat, which quickly dried in the cold wind, leaving a sticky feeling on his back that was extremely uncomfortable.
With a "crack," Zhou Ziheng snapped a dead branch under his foot, making a slight sound, but on the deserted mountain, it sounded like a loud signal.
Zhou Ziheng stopped in his tracks, with Huo Qin following behind him. The sudden stop made him gasp for breath, and just then, another heavy breath came from behind, like an echo.
Huo Qin tensed up. He clearly realized that the other sound was coming from the other side of the mountain. They were close to the summit, which meant that there were also people climbing the mountain on the other side!
Zhou Ziheng heard it more clearly. The panting sound came from a man, along with lighter, more cautious footsteps—two people attempting to climb the mountain. Behind them, there were more rustling sounds, like insects or snakes. Zhou Ziheng quickly understood the situation—
These two people are being chased.
As they drew closer to the summit, and the two voices grew stronger, the two sides were about to meet!
Zhou Ziheng and Huo Qin reached the summit first. There were very few dead trees here, and no messy bushes to block the view. He could easily look down at the two people climbing.
The man's right hand was hanging limply, indicating he was injured, while the other was a woman who was supporting him and occasionally looking back, seemingly trying to evade pursuers.
Zhou Ziheng had already grasped the mortal world. As they entered the mountains, where few people ventured, the mountain paths were rugged, steep, and uneven. No one would go up the mountain for no reason. Although these two people seemed to be being chased and had no choice but to go wherever they wanted, they could not be careless.
However, the woman turned her head and met Zhou Ziheng's gaze. Zhou Ziheng quickly lowered his hand from his sword.
The woman wore a typical high ponytail adorned with a jeweled hair crown. A few drops of blood were splattered on her small, delicate face. She was dressed in light clothing, with a whip tucked into her waistband, the end of which was dripping blood.
This person was none other than his junior sister, Xi Bingyi.
Zhou Ziheng rarely showed a hint of surprise; why was she here?
Huo Qin stood beside Zhou Ziheng and clearly sensed his momentary lapse in composure, which piqued his curiosity. Huo Qin's gaze shifted to the two people who had stopped climbing. The injured man was panting heavily, looking like he was in bad shape, while Xi Bingyi was looking at them with a look of surprise and delight.
"Senior brother, what a coincidence!"
Zhou Ziheng: "..."
It's really unfortunate.
Knowing Xi Bingyi as he did, if she found out he had deliberately withheld her invitation, the first thing she would probably do upon seeing her was lash out with that whip called "Damn It"—
As expected, the moment Xi Bingyi finished speaking, Zhou Ziheng turned to the side, dodging the whip that was being lashed out at him.
Having witnessed everything, Huo Qin remarked, "You two, fellow disciples, really have a unique way of expressing your feelings."
Xi Bingyi flicked her ponytail and then noticed Huo Qin speaking. She asked curiously, "Who are you?"
Before Huo Qin could even begin to introduce him, Zhou Ziheng eagerly chimed in, "This is one of the three heroes, young hero Huo Qin."
Upon hearing this, Xi Bingyi's eyes lit up, and she was itching to see something. Huo Qin had no doubt that if the timing hadn't been wrong, that whip would have been lashed out at him as well.
Huo Qin quickly changed the subject: "Who is the person behind Junior Sister...?"
Zhou Ziheng and Xi Bingyi said in unison:
"How dare you call me 'Junior Sister'?"—This was a derogatory remark from Zhou Ziheng.
"A young master I rescued along the way." — This is Xi Bingyi's explanation.
Meanwhile, the injured man said weakly, "Thank you everyone for your concern, but isn't this occasion a bit inappropriate..."
As they talked, the pursuers behind Xi Bingyi drew closer and closer, and Zhou Ziheng could already hear the clash of their weapons.
Zhou Ziheng frowned, turned his body slightly, and gestured for Xi Bingyi to come up to the top of the mountain first.
Xi Bingyi silently lowered her hand that was touching the whip, carefully helped the man up to the top of the mountain, and helped him sit down in a slightly flatter place.
Xi Bingyi came to Zhou Ziheng's side and blinked: "When you're out in the world, you give yourself an identity. Call me Mei Le from now on."
Mei Le. Zhou Ziheng smiled inwardly. Using his mother's surname and making up a "gone" was really in line with Xi Bingyi's personality.
Huo Qin glanced at the young lady again. Even though her hair was disheveled and her face was splattered with blood, it couldn't hide her cheerful and bright eyes.
With the pursuers closing in, Xi Bingyi gripped the whip again and sighed, "I found that person on the road. He said there were pursuers behind him, and in his panic, he lost his way and we ended up in the deep mountains."
As she spoke, Xi Bingyi glanced at the man who was about to faint.
"Who is he?" Zhou Ziheng asked.
Xi Bingyi paused for a moment, then said, "He said his name is Zhang Er."
“There were five people who came to kill him. I took care of two of them, and there should be three more left.” Xi Bingyi’s eyes brightened. “I can take care of two more. Can you help me kill the other one?”
Zhou Ziheng glanced at her: "Just say you look down on me."
Xi Bingyi curled her lips and immediately became the one to wash her hands of the matter: "Then kill them all. I see you have plenty of free time."
Huo Qin chuckled and volunteered to do the work: "It's alright, we can each kill one, right?"
In the blink of an eye, the fate of the pursuers was decided. Confident and arrogant, these were the three heroes of the martial world!
They spoke with a hint of smugness, but in reality, the three of them had reason to be proud.
Before long, three figures appeared on the mountain. They covered their faces with black cloth and held different weapons. They appeared in front of the group in a very open manner.
The leader and the other two exchanged glances. They had thought that Zhang Erxi Bingyi was already at her limit, which was why they were teasing her so slowly and deliberately. They hadn't expected that these two would bring reinforcements, which suddenly made things difficult.
The three assassins remained silent, exchanging knowing glances before moving with lightning speed. Once they abandoned their initial contempt, they became like wild beasts ready to tear their prey apart.
Xi Bingyi drew her whip, lashed it sharply, and the gleaming leather whip cracked as she charged forward.
Huo Qin moved even faster, drawing his bow and nocking an arrow in one swift motion. Before one of the masked men could react, an arrow had already pierced his forehead, and he was dead beyond any doubt.
Just after Huo Qin finished dealing with her, Xi Bingyi's enemy was also whipped around like a spinning top, letting out painful howls.
Huo Qin raised an eyebrow at Zhou Ziheng: "Only yours is left."
Zhou Ziheng's expression was indifferent. He exchanged a glance with the remaining people. The man felt something was wrong and quickly slipped away from where he was. In just a moment, Zhou Ziheng appeared behind him!
If he hadn't dodged just now, he would be taking a heavy punch right now.
The assassin gritted his teeth and immediately turned around to stab backward, while crouching down to dodge another heavy punch from Zhou Ziheng. In his opinion, Zhou Ziheng's punch was coming from above and could not be stopped. He was holding a weapon and could easily stab him. However, the situation changed in an instant. Zhou Ziheng, who was behind him a second ago, was in front of him the next second!
What kind of speed is that?!
The sword missed its mark, and the assassin's eyes met Zhou Ziheng's cold gaze. He shivered, and suddenly an uppercut slammed into Zhou's chin!
Ouch! That punch hurt so much; it was a pure, raw force that made him see stars and felt like his teeth were about to break!
The assassin coughed up blood, burning with rage!
Zhou Ziheng dodged the assassin's sword strike by sidestepping, then quickly retreated and moved away, making his move decisively and leaving without lingering.
The assassin was enraged by Zhou Ziheng's punch. Despite having a weapon, he still suffered a great loss. A huge sense of humiliation overwhelmed him, making him want to tear Zhou Ziheng apart immediately.
"See that? It's real combat boxing." Zhou Ziheng's light voice was carried to Huo Qin's ears by the wind. Huo Qin was speechless for a moment, then looked at the killer who was obviously more frenzied, and nodded seriously.
The assassin's eyes widened in fury. These two were actually using him as a "teaching material"?!
He drew his sword and lunged forward, slashing diagonally at Zhou Ziheng with a cold light. But Zhou Ziheng was too fast. He only managed to cut through a black shadow. At the same time, a sharp pain shot through his side. It was Zhou Ziheng's fist!
The assassin coughed up blood, but it wasn't over yet. After punching his side, Zhou Ziheng leaped forward and slammed his fist into the assassin's soft abdomen. The assassin was sent flying, only managing to stop himself by embedding his sword in the mountainside.
These punches displaced his internal organs, causing him pain all over his body. He even felt like his bones were about to break, and could only spit out another mouthful of blood while glaring fiercely at Zhou Ziheng.
Zhou Ziheng stood on the mountaintop with ease and composure, his hair perfectly in place and showing no sign of pain, as if he were born to be admired and worshipped.
The assassin sneered, drew his sword, and charged at Zhou Ziheng once again. His eyes flashed with a crazy killing intent, and even the blade of his sword gleamed with a bloodthirsty ferocity!
Zhou Ziheng used the same trick again, dodging the assassin just as he was about to strike him. Just as he was about to deliver the final blow, an unexpected change occurred. The assassin had no intention of killing Zhou Ziheng at all; his target was Huo Qin!
After Zhou Ziheng dodged, Huo Qin was completely exposed to the assassin's line of sight. He was like a raging beast, determined to kill Huo Qin even if he couldn't kill Zhou Ziheng, he would still kill Huo Qin to die with him!
Huo Qin stared at the chilling sword light with disdain.
Zhou Ziheng's face was ugly. This action was undoubtedly a provocation. If Huo Qin also killed this person, where would he put his face?
But there was no time to worry about that now. The assassin drew his sword, but he was faster than the assassin! In an instant, Hongchen was as fast as a streak of red light, and when the tip of the assassin's sword was only an inch away from Huo Qin's eyes, he reaped his head.
The assassin died too quickly and suddenly. He could even feel his head separating from his body. His eyes darted around, and soon his head hit the ground, and his body collapsed with a thud.
Xi Bingyi was still spinning the top, and she glanced with interest at the changes happening to Zhou Ziheng.
"You almost messed up trying to show off."
As he spoke, the ghost coiled around the assassin's neck like a demon and snapped it. The assassin died quickly.
After eliminating the assassins, Xi Bingyi turned around and helped up Zhang Er, who had already fainted. She slapped him, waking him up.
Huo Qin looked at the bright red handprint on Zhang Er's face and silently stepped back a few paces.
"Are you awake? The people who killed you are all dead. Now you can tell me who you really are."
Zhang Er was still a little dizzy when he woke up. He even felt a sharp pain in his cheek and exclaimed in fear, "Those people didn't cut my face, did they?!"
Xi Bingyi smiled awkwardly: "No, no, your handsome appearance is completely unharmed."
Zhang Er touched his swollen cheek with some skepticism, and reluctantly believed Xi Bingyi's words. He coughed a few times and said, "Heroes, thank you for your great help. I am Zhang Yuanhan, the second young master of the Zhang family."
A note from the author:
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