Chapter 2 Ambush at Drunken Spring Pavilion
Did you think this would make Chu Jianshan give up? Impossible.
He knew where Cheng Yuan was going, of course, and waited at the entrance of Zuichunlou early in the morning. By then, it was already dark, the weather was cold and the road was difficult to travel, and people had all gone home early, making Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi stand out from the crowd.
When they arrived at the entrance of Zuichunlou, Cheng Yuan seemed to have noticed something and turned his head slightly to observe. Chu Jianshan was so frightened that he hid behind the stone lion, not daring to breathe.
"Ah Yuan, do we really have to go in..." Ji Shi hesitated at the door. He had never been inside a brothel before.
Cheng Yuan didn't know how to persuade him, so he could only say, "Since you're here, there's no reason to turn back halfway."
He stepped forward, pushed the door open, and Ji Shi abruptly turned around, covering his eyes with his hands.
"No need to cover it up anymore, there's no one in the building."
"ah?"
Ji Shi turned back and slowly spread two fingers to look into the room. The building was pitch black and didn't look like anyone was there.
Ji Shi finally felt relieved and put his hand down, then walked into the building, feeling slightly embarrassed by his earlier actions.
He cleared his throat and said, "Why is there no one in this building?"
Cheng Yuan looked into the building. The decorations inside were a bit strange. Thin red silk ribbons, as thin as gauze, were tied at one end to the top of the building, while the other end hung down, swaying slowly in the evening breeze outside the door.
Bells were tied to the bottom of the silk drape, and they jingled crisply when the wind blew.
The moonlight was exceptionally bright tonight, and we should have been able to see clearly what was inside the building, but a sudden gust of wind blew the door halfway shut.
With the moonlight blocked out, these red silk ribbons appeared even more black in the night, gently brushing against Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi.
The eerie feeling, coupled with the echo of the bell, sent a chill down Ji Shi's spine.
"Why does this building... feel so eerie?"
Before Cheng Yuan could reply, a dark shadow suddenly swept past the two of them, accompanied by a piercing bell sound. It was moving at a fast pace, and its size was unclear.
"There's a ghost!"
Ji Shi screamed in fright and instinctively tried to hide behind Cheng Yuan.
Then, perhaps realizing that he was the senior brother, he straightened up shakily, stretched out his hand to block Cheng Yuan, and said with a look of fearlessness: "Junior brother... don't be afraid, your senior brother will protect you!"
Cheng Yuan looked at his hands, which were already trembling uncontrollably, and sighed helplessly.
Ji Shi has been afraid of ghosts since he was a child. Even though he has spiritual power and magic to protect him, he doesn't dare to walk alone at night. It's really a challenge for him to still think about protecting himself now.
Cheng Yuan slowly pressed his hand down, then drew the Liuyin Sword from behind him and stood in front of the two of them.
In the darkness, the sword emitted a faint blue glow, which calmed Ji Shi's heart a little, though his heart was still pounding.
As the dark figure passed by them again, Cheng Yuan's eyes shifted slightly as he stared in the direction of the figure. Without hesitation, he raised his Flowing Sound Sword and swung it forward.
A blue light streaked across the darkness, leaving behind a whooshing sound.
In an instant, several strands of silk were torn off and flew along with the sword energy, as if they had come to life, heading straight for the dark figure.
Not long after, a muffled groan was heard, followed by the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.
Cheng Yuan sheathed his sword and walked towards the man, while Ji Shi took out a tinderbox and lit all the candles in the building.
As the candles were lit one by one, Cheng Yuan's vision grew brighter and brighter.
The person lying on the ground was a girl, wearing a thin gauze dress even in the cold winter, with a large red peony flower in her hair, making her look like someone from this building.
With a gentle wave of his hand, Cheng Yuan caused all the silk ribbons binding the girl to slip off.
Then he saw the girl's extremely thin body, with the outline of her bones clearly visible.
On this cold winter night, the girl knelt on the ground, shivering from the cold.
Cheng Yuan didn't speak. He turned around, walked to Ji Shi's side, took off his cloak, and handed it to the girl.
Ji Shi: "..."
He looked at Cheng Yuan with an expression of disbelief and deep sorrow.
"Who are you?" Cheng Yuan finally asked.
The girl took the cloak and, without any hesitation, draped it over herself, then slowly said, "My name is Hua Rong, and I am a courtesan in this Drunken Spring Pavilion..."
Are you the only one in this building?
"yes"
"Where are the others?"
When asked this, Hua Rong suddenly began to sob: "A few days ago, a murder occurred in this building. Several sisters died, and everyone was terrified. After Zhao Mama died, there was no one to control the building anymore, so everyone looted all the gold and silver jewelry in the building and fled in all directions."
Cheng Yuan asked with some doubt: "Then why didn't you run away?"
"I've only been here for a short time, and I have no connections or money."
"Those of us in this line of work, even if we go out to work, no one will want us. It's freezing cold outside, and if we have nowhere to stay, we'll probably freeze to death in a couple of days."
"There's no other way now but to stay here and wait for the weather to warm up before we can figure out how to survive."
Hua Rong's words were flawless, but Cheng Yuan still didn't believe them easily. After all, he would only know if they were true or false by trying it himself.
Cheng Yuan suddenly switched the ends of his sword and thrust it towards Hua Rong.
Upon seeing this, Hua Rong immediately drew a dagger from his sleeve to block, only then realizing that he was testing her.
Cheng Yuan stared at Hua Rong, a wicked smile playing on his lips, and lowered his voice, saying, "Not pretending anymore?"
Hua Rong asked, "You figured it out a long time ago?"
Cheng Yuan didn't answer her question, but went straight to the point and asked, "The people who died in Zuichunlou, you must be involved, right?"
"I killed them all! I bled them dry, one by one, with my own hands!" Hua Rong smiled, looking smug, showing no sign of remorse.
"Why!" Ji Shi demanded, his voice filled with anger. "They are all living, breathing people!"
Hua Rong's smile vanished, replaced by an expression that betrayed her impending tears. She added, "Yes, they are all living, breathing people..."
Ji Shi initially thought she was still scared, but the next moment he saw her eyes flash with a fierce light, and she said with a wicked smile, "That's why it's more interesting to kill each other."
"You!" Ji Shi was so angry that he lost his balance and turned to draw his sword, but the next second, Hua Rong threw the dagger in his hand straight at Ji Shi.
"Seasonal Season—"
Cheng Yuan hurriedly raised his sword to block, but it was too late. Fortunately, Ji Shi reacted in time, dodging to the side. The dagger barely grazed his arm, leaving a bloody mark.
Before the two of them could react, Hua Rong broke free from Cheng Yuan, instantly cut her palm, and used her blood to conjure a dart, which she then threw forward.
"Ah Yuan, be careful!" Ji Shi hurriedly shouted.
However, Cheng Yuan did not move, because the dart was not aimed at him at all, but flew past his ear and cut a red silk ribbon straight through.
The bells tied to the bottom of the silk curtains fell to the ground, echoing loudly in the spacious lobby, creating an eerie and sinister atmosphere.
"Run!"
Before Ji Shi could react, Cheng Yuan pulled him away. No wonder this woman was not flustered at all and even insisted that she was the murderer. She had been lying in wait all along.
No matter how fast they reacted, it was too late. Before they even reached the door, Cheng Yuan and Ji Shi were surrounded by a group of men in black who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Although they were dressed in black, their attire was indiscriminate, with uniform blue jade pendants hanging from their waists. Large black hats covered most of their faces, while the remaining half was shrouded in shadow.
This doesn't look like an ordinary assassination organization, but rather a group of people with a sect or faction. However, Cheng Yuan couldn't think of any sect in the martial arts world that could appear in this form.
"Um... let's talk this out... okay!"
Ji Shi originally wanted to stall for time, but he never expected that these people would not give them a chance to catch their breath and would charge over with their swords drawn.
The group's imposing presence was so strong that several red silk ribbons were startled into the air, swirling around like seaweed before slowly descending, their bells at the bottom emitting a series of clear sounds.
Just as the first person was about to rush over, Cheng Yuan shoved Ji Shi away, causing the enemy's sword to miss its mark.
Two people having too big a goal is less flexible than one person.
Cheng Yuan was initially worried that Ji Shi might not be able to handle the situation, but during the fight he discovered that the group's main target seemed to be him, while Ji Shi's side was actually having an easier time.
Cheng Yuan swung his sword backhand and stabbed the black-clad man who had attacked him from behind into the chest, causing blood to gush out instantly.
What puzzled him was that despite such a serious injury, the man did not groan in pain, and the lower half of his face, which was not covered by the hat, did not change expression at all, as if the injury was not on him.
The man was knocked back a few steps by Cheng Yuan, but he did not immediately lose his strength. Instead, he let the blood splatter and then quickly raised his sword and charged at him again.
Cheng Yuan grabbed a silk ribbon and used it to lean back, barely dodging the attack. The man seemed to have lost all his blood and collapsed, too weak to stand up.
This was the first time Cheng Yuan had ever seen such a reckless fighting style. Despite having no prior interaction with these people, they seemed to harbor a deep-seated hatred and were frantically trying to kill him.
Cheng Yuan was gradually losing his grip. There were too many opponents, and their ruthless fighting style made it impossible for him to win.
Another wave of attacks came, this time with too many people and swords coming from all directions, leaving him nowhere to hide.
In a flash, he grabbed the silk ribbon, used the momentum to leap into the air, and in the second he was suspended in mid-air, he threw out the Flowing Sound Sword and silently recited the incantation.
In an instant, a whirlwind arose, and countless silk threads were swirled together before being severed by the Flowing Sound Sword.
These silk threads intertwined, forming a dense net that trapped the men in black below, giving Cheng Yuan a chance to catch his breath.
"Ah Yuan! Are you alright? You..." Ji Shi ran towards him.
"Senior brother, listen to me."
Cheng Yuan interrupted him, saying, "This group of people came for me. When you get back, tell the sect leader what happened today. This case is definitely not as simple as it seems on the surface."
"What do you mean..." Ji Shi gradually came to his senses. He was willing to trade his life for another's.
"I don't……"
Before Ji Shi could finish speaking, the formation over there could not hold on for long and began to crack.
Without the slightest hesitation, Cheng Yuan pushed Ji Shi out the door with a palm strike and then covered the door with a seamless seal. Ji Shi would definitely not be able to open it if he didn't learn the seal well.
The moment the door was closed and the lights were turned off, the array shattered, and the silk curtains were torn to shreds, scattering all over the ground.
Cheng Yuan, sword in hand, eyes bloodshot, poured all his spiritual power into the Flowing Sound Sword, preparing for a desperate fight.
The man in black moved swiftly; he immediately took a step back and drew his sword.
Just as the Flowing Sound Sword was drawn three-tenths of its length, he suddenly felt someone press down on his elbow and push the sword back into place.
"If you really draw your sword, all your cultivation will be ruined."
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