Chapter 58
"Have you memorized the route?"
Man Jiangxue stood atop Ziwei Mountain, dressed in black with a black bamboo hat, her gaze calmly fixed on the buildings below.
Ji Wanshu quickly glanced at the drawings in her hand and nodded: "I've memorized them all."
After a heavy rain, the night sky was clear, and the cold wind in the mountains carried moisture. A small patch of both of their skirts was damp and clung to their ankles, feeling somewhat cold.
Since obtaining the map, they have come here many times to survey the terrain. Although they cannot easily enter the Ziwei Sect, it is not a problem to avoid those watchtowers and compare the view. After two days of repeated observation, the map is indeed very accurate. The routes and layout drawn in it are very similar to the Ziwei Sect headquarters. Even many easily overlooked details have not been omitted. It is evident that the mapmaker is extremely familiar with the Ziwei Sect.
“That’s Nangong Min’s bedroom, Maple Tower,” Man Jiangxue stretched out her hand and pointed to a small building surrounded by red maple leaves below. “Yin Qiu is very likely in that building.”
Ji Wan gazed into the distance for a moment and said, "The secret passage marked on this map is in the Magnolia Hall, which is not far from the Maple Tower. My concern is that Nangong Min may have hidden Yin Qiu. If we head straight for these two places, we may find nothing. We should first grab someone and find out where Yin Qiu is being held."
Man Jiangxue said, "I think Nangong Min might not necessarily lock her up." She paused, then added, "Not only that, she might also take good care of Yin Qiu and give her some freedom."
Ji Wanshu asked, "Why is that?"
"Leaving aside who delivered that letter for Yin Qiu, the fact that Yin Qiu was able to find someone to help her shows that she is not helpless," Man Jiangxue said. "Besides, Yin Xuan and Nangong Min have a sibling relationship; they grew up together. Even if Nangong Min currently wants to obtain the Holy Sword, because of her relationship with Yin Xuan, she won't mistreat Yin Qiu. She might even try to win Yin Qiu's trust and let her know that the Ziwei Sect is not a dangerous place."
It seems that the mystery of Shen Mandong's life or death cannot be solved in a short time. However, as long as Shen Mandong is not confirmed dead, and with Yin Qiu in hand, Nangong Min is half confident that he can lure Shen Mandong out. At that time, he will know whether the Holy Sword is in her hands or not. In short, if Yin Qiu can stay in the Ziwei Sect willingly, it will not do any harm to Nangong Min.
Rather than scheming against Yunhua Palace, it would be better to play the emotional card with Yin Qiu to stabilize her; that's the priority.
If even Yin Qiu herself doesn't want to return to Yunhua Palace, then their best efforts to save her will be in vain.
Ji Wanshu thought it made sense and pondered, "In that case, Nangong Min will definitely keep Yin Qiu by his side, so the chances of finding Yin Qiu are actually higher if we go directly to Fenglou and Yulan Palace."
“That makes sense,” Man Jiangxue said. “As long as nothing unexpected happens tonight, and we follow the plan we agreed on beforehand, there shouldn’t be any major problems.”
Ji Wanshu asked, "When shall we go in?"
Man Jiangxue glanced at the sky, pondered for a moment, and said, "We should not delay any longer. We have already dragged on for so long. Let's split up. You go to the Jade Orchid Palace to find the secret passage, and I will go find Yin Qiu. No matter how smoothly things go, we must prioritize our own safety."
Ji Wanshu nodded in agreement. The two exchanged a glance and walked to a cliff they had chosen beforehand, intending to use their lightness skills to fly down. However, before they could move, they suddenly heard a rustling sound from all around, as if many people were quietly approaching.
Man Jiangxue paused, then immediately slipped into a thicket of bushes to hide. Ji Wanshu quickly hid behind her as well. Peeking through the gaps in the branches, they saw a large group of men in black emerging from the forest at incredible speed, like ghosts that vanished without a trace. The scene was strangely eerie.
As soon as they rushed out of the forest, they quickly split into several small teams and headed towards the watchtower on the cliff.
Before long, screams suddenly rang out, only to be deliberately suppressed in an instant.
Upon seeing what these people had done, Ji Wanshu was greatly surprised and lowered her voice, asking, "Who are these people? Are they also here to deal with the Ziwei Sect?"
Man Jiangxue tried her best to identify their clothing and weapons, but couldn't figure it out. They were just ordinary night clothes and longswords, with no distinguishing features that could help people guess where they came from.
After killing all the cultists stationed at the watchtowers, a man in black leaped out of the forest and whistled in the direction of the forest. Soon, a rumbling sound was heard, and not long after, wheelbarrows were pushed out of them. The wheelbarrows were piled with many earthenware pots, as well as many bows and arrows and quivers.
Ji Wanshu stared intently, then frowned and said, "That is..."
“It’s wine,” Man Jiangxue said. “The arrowheads are all wrapped in cotton cloth. It seems they want to set fire to the Ziwei Sect.”
Ji Wanshu was taken aback at first, then her face lit up with joy: "What a brilliant plan! How come I didn't think of that?" She turned to look at Man Jiangxue, her tone brimming with excitement, "The Ziwei Sect is located in the center of a basin, surrounded by high mountains. Although it's difficult to attack head-on, setting fire to it is a piece of cake. Once the area below is ablaze, everyone will have to leave through the sect's gate. Then we'll block the entrance and kill them one by one. No matter how skilled they are, not everyone can have unparalleled lightness skills and climb over walls to reach the top of this cliff."
Man Jiangxue glanced at her and chuckled for no reason: "You can only say a few words when it comes to these kinds of things." She stared at the people pushing the wine jars down the mountain one by one and said in a low voice, "I had already thought of this method, but it is not something that the two of us can do alone, so I did not mention it to you."
Some strategies are brilliant when done by one person, manageable with two, but become difficult to control when done by many. Other strategies require a lot of manpower. If Ji Wanshu and Man Jiangxue were to act in this way, they would not be able to make a ripple.
A large number of wine jars were pushed down the cliff, the jars broke and the wine spilled out. With the help of flaming arrows, the fire spread rapidly, almost at a speed visible to the naked eye, and rose into the sky with an undeniable plume of smoke.
Seeing the main altar below instantly engulfed in flames, and many followers rushing out to fetch water to put out the fire, Ji Wanshu was overjoyed and immediately said, "Let's not worry about who these people are. Their chaos will help us. Uncle-Master, let's go down quickly!"
Man Jiangxue stood up and frowned as she witnessed the scene below: "But their arrival has disrupted our plans. Nangong Min will definitely move Yin Qiu elsewhere."
Ji Wanshu was taken aback: "Oh no, Nangong Min will definitely think it was us, and she will definitely hide Yin Qiu in an even more secret place."
That would make it even harder to find someone.
“Never mind,” Man Jiangxue glanced at Ji Wanshu, “No matter what, we must rescue Yin Qiu tonight.”
Ji Wanshu hummed in agreement. The two avoided the men in black and immediately drew their longswords, flying through the air. Using their lightness skills, they stepped on the hilts of their swords and swooped down towards the bottom of the cliff.
·
There were no lights in the dark room, only a ray of light shining through a narrow skylight. Yin Qiu groped around in the dim light for a long time but couldn't find any other exit, so he had no choice but to sit down against the cold wall.
Footsteps echoed overhead, mixed with shouts from many people, suggesting a chaotic and urgent scene. More than a dozen cultists stood guard outside the iron gate. Yin Qiu, unable to contain his impatience after sitting for a while, peeked through the doorway and saw Wen Chaoyu slowly walking over.
"Uncle Wen!" Yin Qiu quickly shouted to her.
Wen Chaoyu stopped at the doorway, looking down at Yin Qiu: "What are you doing?"
The outside was a dark passage, unlit, so Yin Qiu couldn't see Wen Chaoyu's face clearly. He could only try to get closer to the window in the iron gate and ask, "Is that your martial aunt? Have you seen her?"
Wen Chaoyu glanced at the surrounding followers without showing any emotion and said calmly, "No, you stay put. The people who came tonight are not disciples of Yunhua Palace, and they have nothing to do with Man Jiangxue."
Not from Yunhua Palace? Yin Qiu was stunned, then shouted at Wen Chaoyu, "Don't lie to me, it must be my martial uncle who sent someone to rescue me."
Wen Chaoyu's expression was grim. He said in a deep voice, "Why would I lie to you? Even if Man Jiangxue came, you wouldn't be able to escape. With me here, she won't be able to get you out of here."
Yin Qiu was impatient and easily agitated. Upon hearing this, he couldn't help but retort fiercely, "What nonsense are you spouting? You clearly can't beat your martial uncle!"
Wen Chaoyu rolled her eyes: "This iron gate is made of refined iron. No one can open it without a key. So what if she's stronger than me? Does she think she can smash this gate to pieces with one palm?"
Yin Qiu bared her teeth in anger: "You wicked woman! Let me out!"
Wen Chaoyu ignored her and ordered the followers to bring over a wooden chair. She leaned back in the chair and began to close her eyes to rest.
Seeing that she was still in the mood to doze off, Yin Qiu was so anxious that she paced around in circles. She kicked the iron gate several times, making a loud noise, but Wen Chaoyu was like Guanyin in meditation, unmoved at all. The dozen or so followers also remained motionless, treating Yin Qiu as if she were invisible.
Helpless, Yin Qiu had to quiet down after making a fuss for a while, but she just couldn't calm down. She stayed in the dark room listening to the commotion outside, her mind filled with thoughts of Man Jiangxue. Before long, Yin Qiu ran to the skylight and shouted at the top of her lungs, "Uncle-Master!"
"Uncle-Master, did you hear me? It's me, Yin Qiu!"
"I'm in a dark underground chamber! Uncle-Master, come save me!"
"Wen Chaoyu is injured, she can't beat you! Come and take me out of here!"
...
The childish voice echoed repeatedly in the empty, dark room, accompanied by a continuous echo, sounding just like an angry little dog barking wildly at a villain.
At first, Yin Qiu only called out Man Jiangxue's name again and again, but in the end, she shouted more and more enthusiastically and became angrier and angrier. Almost all the words she uttered were cursing Wen Chaoyu as a bad woman and cursing her for being seriously injured and no match for Man Jiangxue. She shouted for a long time without stopping.
Wen Chaoyu's forehead twitched as she listened.
Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing. Wen Chaoyu's eyes widened instantly, and she yelled, "Laugh again and I'll tear your mouths apart!"
The cultist's face stiffened, and he quickly straightened up. The other cultists who wanted to laugh also hurriedly swallowed their laughter, standing straight and not daring to make a sound.
Yin Qiu was still shouting, "Uncle-Master!"
Wen Chaoyu, unable to bear it any longer, stood up abruptly and said, "Shut up! Do you believe I'll come in and beat you up?"
Yin Qiu shuddered, glanced back at Wen Chaoyu, hesitated for a moment, then angrily shouted towards the skylight, "Uncle-Master! Wen Chaoyu is going to beat me up, come and hit her!"
Upon hearing this, the believers couldn't help but burst into laughter once again.
"You think I can't handle you?" Wen Chaoyu sneered. "Do you have any cloth strips? Gag her!"
Yin Qiu quickly ran to a corner and curled up into a ball.
"If you've got the guts to curse me, don't hide!" Wen Chaoyu snatched the strip of cloth handed to him by the cultist, cursing as he pulled out his keys. "You just wait!"
Seeing that Wen Chaoyu was really about to open the door and come in, Yin Qiu immediately sensed something was wrong and hurriedly stood up, trying to hide everywhere.
Seeing her like this, Wen Chaoyu laughed in exasperation, but didn't actually intend to hit her.
She was just trying to scare Yin Qiu; she wasn't stupid enough to open the iron gate on her own. What if Man Jiangxue heard Yin Qiu's cries for help outside? Wouldn't that give her a chance to save her?
Wen Chaoyu chuckled, stuffed the key back into her bosom, and sat back down on the wooden chair, clutching the strip of cloth.
Realizing that she was just bluffing, Yin Qiu breathed a sigh of relief and stopped shouting.
She looked out the skylight at the faint firelight in the night and let out a deep sigh.
·
The sect had been breached, and a dark mass of people rushed in, killing anyone they saw. Nangong Min stood under the corridor, calm and indifferent, watching the cultists fight each other in the fire.
Perhaps they could disguise themselves with their clothes, but they could clearly see the martial arts style of those people. It was obviously not the kind of kung fu taught by Yunhua Palace. But what other sect would be so arrogant as to do this?
Moreover, the person behind this is clearly very familiar with the Ziwei Sect, able to directly target the weaknesses in the terrain of the Ziwei Sect's headquarters, setting fire and besieging it. In addition, these people rushed in only to kill, without revealing any clear purpose. They were neither looking for anyone nor stealing anything. Judging from this formation, they came prepared.
What exactly is its origin?
The fire had spread throughout the entire headquarters, destroying many buildings. Thick smoke billowed all around, and the clanging of swords filled the air.
The believers were busy defending against the enemy while also putting out the fire, which was quite chaotic. Fortunately, Qin Zheng led two protectors and their men to meet the enemy and blocked the men in black at the door, preventing them from entering. This bought the believers time to put out the fire.
Despite the somewhat tragic scene before her, Nangong Min did not show any panic or urgency. She simply looked at everyone calmly and did not personally take any action.
A moment later, two dark figures flashed past not far behind her.
Ji Wanshu spotted Nangong Min's back at a glance. She whispered to the person next to her, "Nangong Min is here, and the three great protectors are all outside. Only Wen Chaoyu is nowhere to be seen. Yin Qiu must be with her."
In the dim light, Man Jiangxue was hidden in the shadows, her black dress almost blending into the night. She reached out and lifted the black veil on her hat to look at Nangong Min, and said, "Fenglou has been burned down. Yin Qiu is not inside. I just went to Yulan Palace and there was no one there."
After the two fell from the cliff top, they searched along the palace buildings one by one, but they still couldn't find Yin Qiu. Although they didn't know who the people were, they had to admit that they were a great help. Otherwise, the two would not have been able to come and go so freely without being noticed.
"How do we find her?" Ji Wanshu said. "Although those men in black are attacking fiercely, the Ziwei Sect is not to be underestimated. They are just temporarily at a disadvantage. Judging from Nangong Min's calm demeanor, she is obviously very confident. Perhaps those men in black will be defeated and retreat soon. We must find Yin Qiu before they are finished."
Man Jiangxue looked up at the night sky. At this time, the men in black on the cliff had stopped shooting arrows and most of them had entered the Ziwei Sect to fight head-on. Man Jiangxue said, "Let's find a secluded place to go up to the roof and take a look. At this time, the place with the most guards is very likely to be where Yin Qiu is being held."
Ji Wanshu responded, and the two immediately left the area, searching for a suitable place to observe amidst the chaos.
"Wait a minute," Ji Wanshu suddenly stopped after taking only a few steps. "Uncle-Master, look! Who is that?"
Following her gaze, Man Jiangxue saw a dark figure moving through the courtyard and gardens as if no one else was around amidst the thick smoke. This person was as light as a swallow, and it was clear at a glance that his lightness skill was extraordinary. Judging from his posture, it was as if he was taking a stroll in his own garden, which would almost make people think that he was a member of the Ziwei Sect. However, he was wearing a completely airtight night outfit and a large black robe, which made him look like he was with those men in black.
Man Jiangxue narrowed her eyes slightly, and as she looked closely, the man suddenly stopped and turned to look at her, as if intentionally pointing out the way for her. After looking away, he immediately rushed towards a building and even made a gesture to Man Jiangxue.
Ji Wanshu looked at Man Jiangxue with surprise and doubt: "Uncle-Master?"
Man Jiangxue immediately said, "Let's go!"
Just as the two were about to set off, Nangong Min seemed to sense something and cast his gaze toward the place where they had just been.
The raging fire illuminated his surroundings, and Nangong Min's eyes darkened. After a moment's thought, he immediately headed forward.
Author's Note: Remember what Wen Chaoyu said, you'll be proven wrong in the next chapter, haha.
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