Chapter 23
As the snow melted, puddles appeared everywhere on the ground. A group of people galloped in, trampling the reflections of their figures in the water.
Ji Wanshu leaned against the wall, watching her disciples approach, and asked, "Where is he?"
One of the disciples dismounted and respectfully said, "We've found out; it's outside the city."
"Look closely, it's definitely Wen Chaoyu?"
"It is undoubtedly her. She is also leading a group of subordinates and protecting a carriage, heading towards the headquarters of the Ziwei Sect."
Who is in the carriage?
"I didn't see them, but they all looked wary and moved cautiously. If it weren't for the disciples returning to the city on their mission, we might not have been able to spot them."
The person who could get Wen Chaoyu to personally escort them must be no ordinary person. Ji Wanshu took the reins, spurred his horse to the front, and said, "Let's go!"
Meanwhile, in the deep, dark forest, a convoy of carriages and horses was slowly traveling along the mountain road. Wen Chaoyu, riding a horse with her straw hat pulled low, turned her head to look at the faintly visible city gate and said to her subordinate beside her, "It's been so long, why haven't they arrived yet?"
“Don’t be impatient, protector, let’s wait a little longer,” the subordinate said, craning his neck to look. “We deliberately showed ourselves earlier, so they must have reported to Miss Ji immediately. They’re probably already on their way to catch up with us.”
Wen Chaoyu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll be going now."
The subordinate was taken aback: "Leave?"
Wen Chaoyu stretched and said, "I'm injured and can't beat anyone, so I'll leave this place to you."
The subordinate, both amused and exasperated, said, "Protector, are you joking? How could the few of us possibly defeat your disciple?"
“Pick the softest persimmon to squeeze,” Wen Chaoyu said. “Apart from her, kill everyone else as you see them, but don’t forget to put on an act. Protect the person in the carriage at all costs. I’ll just keep an eye on things from the shadows.”
After she finished speaking, she spurred her horse to the carriage, knocked on it, and said, "You'll know what to do in a moment."
The curtains were pulled back, revealing a female subordinate in disguise sitting inside. She replied, "Don't worry, Protector, I remember everything."
The female subordinate was wearing a light blue dress and her face was partially covered by a veil. At first glance, she did indeed resemble Shen Mandong somewhat.
Wen Chaoyu had been lying low in Yunhua Palace for many years, and he saw Shen Mandong all the time. He was very familiar with her clothes and appearance. Wen Chaoyu had put a lot of effort into choosing this female subordinate to impersonate Shen Mandong. However, all they needed to do on this trip was to deliberately attract the attention of Yunhua Palace. They didn't need to make it too real. The female subordinate didn't need to say anything. If the people from Yunhua Palace came, they could just kill them all. It wasn't a difficult task.
Moreover, Wen Chaoyu also wanted to see if the fake Shen Mandong from Yunhua Palace could outdo her real self.
“Keep the sword case on your back,” Wen Chaoyu said. “If we really can’t win, just throw this thing over there. Escaping is the priority.”
The female subordinate did as she was told.
Before Ji Wanshu arrived, Wen Chaoyu did not want to linger. After giving a few instructions, she dismounted and concealed herself, secretly following and observing their movements. Sure enough, her subordinates had not gone far when a group of Yunhua Palace disciples suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their way.
Upon seeing the woman on horseback with a cold expression, Wen Chaoyu concealed her presence even more deeply, silently hiding in a clump of weeds, only peeking out her eyes.
·
"Senior Sister Ye, the disciples have all inquired, and there are no guests with the surname Chen in this inn," a disciple said hurriedly as he came from the lobby.
Ye Zhilan frowned, looked into the inn, and pondered, "How could that be? They clearly said the person was right here."
"Could the information be wrong?" the disciple asked. "Who told Senior Sister that the person we were supposed to pick up was here?"
Ye Zhilan didn't answer, but instead asked, "Are you sure there's no one with the surname Shen?"
The disciple said solemnly, "Indeed, no, but... could you tell us who it is? We only know the surname, not what the person looks like. What if this person is inside? We wouldn't even recognize them if we just passed by them."
Man Jiangxue had instructed them early on not to tell them that the person they were going to pick up was Shen Mandong. Ye Zhilan naturally wouldn't easily tell them the truth, so she said, "You wait here, I'll go and see for myself."
Ye Zhilan went back into the inn. She first asked the innkeeper and the waiter, and then pushed open each room door to check. She couldn't find Shen Mandong anywhere.
What happened?
Ignoring the curses of the guests, Ye Zhilan leaped down from the second floor. Just as she was about to order her disciples to search all the inns in Jincheng, a disciple rode up from the main street and said, "Senior Sister Ye, something's up!"
Ye Zhilan said, "Speak."
"When I was investigating just now, I discovered traces of the Ziwei Sect outside the city," the disciple said without dismounting. "And Senior Sister Ji, she led people out of the city, I'm afraid something bad is going to happen to her."
Ji Wanshu is also in Jincheng? Ye Zhilan was slightly surprised and quickly asked, "Did you see how many people from the Ziwei Sect came?"
The disciple replied, "There aren't many people, but they all seem troublesome. Moreover, they are all carefully guarding a carriage, and we don't know who is in that carriage."
The Ziwei Sect suddenly arrived in Jincheng, and they were escorting someone... Ye Zhilan pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked up and said, "This is bad!"
Could it be that Shen Mandong was kidnapped by them beforehand?
"Meet with Wan Shu immediately!" Ye Zhilan mounted her horse. "The person we're picking up is likely in that carriage. Hurry!"
The group spurred their horses and hurried toward the city gate. At the same time, a figure emerged slowly from the corridor on the second floor of the inn after they had left.
The dark clouds had dispersed, and a sliver of light crossed the horizon, gently illuminating the woman. She wore a cool blue dress with a brocade robe over it, the hem of her skirt and her black hair swaying together. Her face, half-veiled, revealed only a pair of exquisitely beautiful eyebrows and eyes, which shimmered slightly in the soft sunlight.
She stood there for a while, gazing at the mountains and forests outside the city, then picked up the sword box from the corridor, slung it over her shoulder, and turned to disappear into the inn.
·
A cold wind swept through the forest, blowing away the snow piled up at the top of the trees. The two groups of people stood facing each other, the atmosphere heavy.
"Good dogs don't block the way, everyone from Yunhua Palace, get out of the way!" a member of the Ziwei Sect shouted first.
Ji Wanshu narrowed her eyes slightly. She recognized the person who spoke. He was Wen Chaoyu's subordinate and had been by Wen Chaoyu's side for many years. Since he had come and Wen Chaoyu was nowhere to be found, it meant that Wen Chaoyu must have hidden away and not too far away.
Ji Wanshu snorted coldly and said, "Jincheng is the territory of Yunhua Palace. How dare you Ziwei Sect trespass? Where is Wen Chaoyu!"
The believer looked disdainful and said with his hands clasped, "Our protector is not here. If you want to find her, go look for her elsewhere. Don't get in our way!"
Seeing the rude attitude of these lackeys, Ji Wanshu sneered, stomped on his horse, and immediately charged forward with his sword.
With her taking the lead, the disciples of Yunhua Palace quickly drew their swords and followed. The two sides clashed instantly, and in an instant, the forest was filled with flashing swords and the sounds of fighting.
After all, the Ziwei Sect is a sect that can directly confront Yunhua Palace. Although the number of Ziwei Sect members is not large, each one of them is a capable fighter and is no weaker than the disciples of Yunhua Palace. Moreover, they are ruthless and fight with a desperate spirit. After a fight, Yunhua Palace did not gain much of an advantage.
Ji Wanshu, with her sharp eyes, noticed that although these believers were ruthless in their attacks, they were only on the defensive and did not take the initiative to attack. They stayed around the carriage, clearly protecting the people inside.
"Broken carriage!" Ji Wanshu gave the order, and the disciples rushed straight for the carriage.
Upon seeing this, the Ziwei Sect members all showed expressions of panic. They immediately used their bodies as shields to firmly surround the carriage and raised their swords to defend themselves.
Ji Wanshu didn't take them seriously at all. She lightly touched the ground with her toes and leaped onto the roof of the car. She stabbed her sword into the car, but failed to draw blood. Ji Wanshu had no patience and swiftly withdrew the sword. She then used her inner energy to slap the roof of the car hard.
In an instant, the carriage shattered, wood flew everywhere, and invisible true energy spread out, sending the surrounding cultists and disciples flying.
The next moment, a blue shadow flashed past her eyes and fled backward at great speed. Ji Wanshu followed closely behind, her long sword already poised to strike. Just as she was about to pierce the man's chest and back with a single blow, another silver long sword suddenly attacked from the side, striking her wrist and dangerously interrupting Ji Wanshu's action.
The sword carried no killing intent, yet it possessed considerable power, causing Ji Wanshu's hand to go numb.
"Junior Sister Ji, please show mercy!"
Hearing the shout, Ji Wanshu turned her head and saw Ye Zhilan, who should have been in the palace, rushing over with her people. She couldn't help but say coldly, "What are you doing here!"
"This person must not be killed!" Ye Zhilan hurriedly stepped to her side and said in a tone that only the two of them could hear, "She might be Uncle Shen!"
Ji Wanshu was a little slow to react and asked, "Which Uncle Shen?"
Ye Zhilan raised her hand and sheathed her sword, still lowering her voice as she said, "Foolish, how many more Uncle Shens can there be?"
Shen Mandong? Ji Wanshu's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked up. Behind the group of Ziwei Sect followers, there stood a woman wearing a blue dress and with her face covered by a veil.
Even though he couldn't see the woman's exact features, this fleeting glimpse matched the figure he had witnessed every day years ago. Could it really be Shen Mandong?
Ji Wanshu's gaze was complicated as she frowned and asked, "She's not dead?"
“I had my doubts before,” Ye Zhilan said, gazing at the woman from afar, “but now that I’ve seen her, I have no choice but to believe it.”
No wonder the Ziwei Church risked passing through Jincheng in broad daylight; they found Shen Mandong! Ji Wanshu said angrily, "You came down the mountain for this? Why didn't you say so earlier!"
Ye Zhilan said, "It was Master and Uncle-Master Man who gave these instructions. If I hadn't seen that you had murderous intent just now, I would have kept it from you as well."
"Since she is still alive, why would she willingly fall into the hands of the Ziwei Sect?"
"We don't know the details yet. Perhaps the Ziwei Sect captured her and used some kind of method."
"But her skills just now didn't seem like she was tricked."
The disciples were still fighting. Ye Zhilan looked at the battle and said, "Don't worry about that for now. Uncle Man investigated before. Nangong Min went to Uncle Shen because she suspected that the Holy Sword was in her hands. Look, she is carrying a sword box on her back right now. That is very likely the Holy Sword of the Ziwei Sect. We must not let them get it."
"Then stop talking nonsense," Ji Wanshu said with an unfriendly expression, "and take him away!"
·
With Ye Zhilan's timely support, the Ziwei Sect, lacking in numbers, quickly fell into a disadvantageous position. Seeing Ji Wanshu and Ye Zhilan chasing after "Shen Mandong", Wen Chaoyu, who had been watching from the sidelines for a long time, could not help but waver.
Unexpectedly, Xie Yijun's first disciple, Ye Zhilan, also came. Although she was not the most skilled disciple, she was by no means a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, with her and Ji Wanshu joining forces, no one could withstand them. This battle could already be declared a failure. Not to mention killing these Yunhua Palace disciples, I'm afraid few of her subordinates would be able to escape unscathed.
Wen Chaoyu frowned, steadied his sword hilt, and lunged forward, blocking the female subordinate's path. With a fierce slash of his broadsword, he repelled two sharp swords, but in doing so, he himself staggered back two steps, the color draining from his face in an instant.
"Wen Chaoyu!" Ji Wanshu was furious. "You really didn't go far!"
The subordinates hurriedly retreated and formed a protective circle around her. Wen Chaoyu endured the pain in her shoulder and smiled sassily: "Why are you fighting? Can't we talk things out?"
“Since Wen Chaoyu has come in person,” Ye Zhilan said in a deep voice, “then it means that the person on the other side is indeed Uncle Shen.”
Ji Wanshu raised her sword and pointed it at Wen Chaoyu: "If you are willing to release him, I can spare you this time."
Wen Chaoyu's face turned pale, but her tone was as cheerful as ever. She said, "That won't do." She raised her hand and pinched her female subordinate's neck, raising an eyebrow. "Shen Mandong is no longer anyone from your Yunhua Palace. She has already agreed to go to our Ziwei Sect. If you want to take her by force, you have to ask her for her consent."
Just as Ji Wanshu was about to speak, Wen Chaoyu spoke up first: "But there is something I have to tell you. She has taken my mute medicine and power-reducing powder. At this moment, she can not only not speak, but at most she can only use a useless light-body skill. Anyway, we are outnumbered and cannot beat you. But if you want to continue to pester us, then I will kill her first, and you will not get anything."
Ji Wanshu gripped her sword tightly, her eyes filled with hatred. Wen Chaoyu ignored her and turned to Ye Zhilan instead: "What do you mean?"
Ye Zhilan was not to be outdone and looked back at Wen Chaoyu, saying, "It's just a mere retreating skill powder. Yunhua naturally has a cure for it. You're just saying some lies because you see that things aren't going your way. I advise you to stop now. Swords don't have eyes. Do you think we can't see that you're still recovering from serious injuries? You're no threat to us."
“That’s no ordinary potion that can reduce your skill,” Wen Chaoyu said, dropping the pretense and wiping the blood seeping from her shoulder. “You two have seen my poison skills for the first time. If you don’t get rid of it within three hours, your Uncle Shen will be a cripple forever, understand?”
Upon hearing her words, Ye Zhilan couldn't help but show a look of hesitation.
If what she said is true, then it will be difficult. Wen Chaoyu is a famous poison master in the Ziwei Sect. Only she can cure the poison she concocts. Even if Shen Mandong is successfully rescued now, it is feared that her skills cannot be preserved. Shen Mandong was famous all over the world in the past, not only because of her appearance, but also because of her excellent swordsmanship. Now that she has finally revealed herself, if she becomes a cripple who has lost her skills, who can bear the responsibility?
"Shameless!" Ji Wanshu cursed angrily. "You're only looking for her because of the Holy Sword, right? Take what you want and get out of here, leave the person behind!"
Wen Chaoyu remained calm as he looked at Ji Wanshu and said, "I can't make that decision. Our sect leader has given the order that we must take both the person and the sword back with us. Nothing can be missing."
"Then I'll kill you first!" Ji Wanshu lost all patience and thrust his sword at Wen Chaoyu. Wen Chaoyu smiled slightly and dodged. The cultists immediately swarmed forward and trapped Ji Wanshu firmly.
"I'm not joking with you." Wen Chaoyu said, and immediately swung his broadsword, striking the female subordinate in the chest with the back of the blade, instantly causing her to vomit blood.
"You saw her?" Wen Chaoyu said smugly. "If you dare to take another step closer, I will kill her immediately, then take the Holy Sword and run away. At that time, you will lose both the person and the sword, and let's see how you explain to Xie Yijun."
With a hostage in hand, she naturally held the upper hand. Ji Wanshu and Ye Zhilan were powerless against her and could only suppress their anger, not daring to make any rash moves.
"You stay here to clean up the mess," Wen Chaoyu said to his subordinates as he carefully backed away. "We must not let them get here, even if it kills us!"
After saying this, she led her female subordinate and fled into the depths of the forest. Ji Wanshu and Ye Zhilan quickly gave chase, but they were entangled by the cultists and could not break free. Seeing that Wen Chaoyu was about to leave, Ji Wanshu was furious and fought her way out of the encirclement with her sword. Ye Zhilan followed closely behind her. When Ji Wanshu cleared a path, she leaped into the air and landed outside the crowd, chasing after Wen Chaoyu without touching the ground.
Wen Chaoyu was injured after all, and she didn't get very far with her female subordinate. In the blink of an eye, Ye Zhilan was right in front of her. She thrust her sword at Wen Chaoyu first, but unexpectedly, "Chen Mandong" suddenly made a move and struck Ye Zhilan on the side of her neck with a palm, causing her to stagger.
Ye Zhilan took the full force of the blow and fell to the ground. She looked up in surprise and finally realized what had happened.
Even if Shen Mandong was poisoned and coerced, she wouldn't have lost her mind and hurt her. This woman is an imposter!
Seeing the change in Ye Zhilan's expression, Wen Chaoyu's face suddenly darkened. The female subordinate realized that she had lost her composure and given herself away, and she couldn't hide her panic.
Wen Chaoyu cursed under his breath and decisively abandoned the female subordinate, fleeing alone. Ye Zhilan reacted quickly, barely managing to steady herself and chased after him again. Ji Wanshu had also arrived from behind and killed the female subordinate with a single sword strike. The two then joined forces to chase after Wen Chaoyu, determined to stop him.
The roars of anger echoed through the forest as the disciples fought fiercely. Wen Chaoyu endured the pain and gritted her teeth as she fled, not daring to relax for a moment. She tried her best to increase her speed and ran forward, but unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, a blurry figure suddenly appeared in front of her, like a wandering immortal descending from the sky, instantly blocking her path.
A sharp sword light rushed towards them, as powerful as a rainbow. Wen Chaoyu hurriedly stopped, but it was too late to dodge. She was struck by the sword energy and knelt down, unable to get up.
The unexpected turn of events left Ji Wanshu and Ye Zhilan, who were behind them, stunned.
At this moment, the three of them displayed an uncanny tacit understanding, all raising their eyes to look at the figure. Amidst the green forest and white snow, a young woman in flowing blue robes slowly descended from mid-air. Her figure was graceful and light, with a heavy sword case slung over her shoulder. Amidst the fluttering of her veil and skirt, only a pair of calm and bright eyes were revealed.
Upon witnessing this scene, Wen Chaoyu's pupils constricted, and she murmured in a trembling voice, "Shen Mandong...?"
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