Chapter 1133: Exposing My Identity (Part 1) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]
Despite the complaints, the identities of these individuals still need to be determined.
It's not necessarily that they were sent by Zhai Xiaofang.
unless--
A thought flashed through Shen Tang's mind, and a guess formed in her head.
[Could it be that I gave myself away somehow? Did Zhai Xiaofang guess it was me? No, that's unlikely. If he really guessed, he wouldn't be stupid enough to send so many low-level thugs to their deaths. Hmm—it can't really be here to steal back this money, can it?]
Shen Tang thought about hugging the box even tighter.
There's no reason for a piece of fat meat that's already in your mouth to fly away.
Similarly, how could money that's in her pocket possibly be stolen?
Shen Tang quickened his pace, ignoring the strange looks he received along the way—although the wooden box containing the reward money was unassuming and lacked any fancy patterns, it was, after all, something used by the royal court, and the wood was of the highest quality. Holding it in his arms, Shen Tang appeared to be in a hurry; how could these street thugs not be tempted?
Immediately, some clueless individuals exchanged glances and followed.
Shen Tang: "..."
What are these petty thieves doing here? Are they looking for death? Isn't it better to be alive? They might have made it this far, but they probably won't make it back alive! In the past, Shen Tang might have had the time to teach them a lesson, but now he had no interest whatsoever.
She quickly turned into an alley.
The thug, afraid of losing her, hurriedly jogged up, but the alley was deserted: "Pah, you little bitch, you run pretty fast, catch up!"
They may not be good at much else, but they have plenty of inside information.
They immediately grabbed a nearby beggar and interrogated him. The beggar, fearing for his life, confessed everything—Gu De and Shen Tang had taken the "thief's" body away in broad daylight. The two men had distinct appearances, and Shen Tang had been out and about more than once, leaving a strong impression on the nearby beggars, who also knew their approximate whereabouts. Having obtained the answers they wanted, the thugs shoved the beggar hard, kicking away a broken bowl.
"You're smart enough to get lost."
Caught off guard, the beggar tripped and fell on his backside. To the beggar, the thug's words were like a pardon. Ignoring the pain in his backside, he hurriedly kicked the begging bowl into his arms and scrambled away, still expressing his gratitude.
Several thugs followed the direction and crept over.
Little did they know, a shadowy figure was secretly following them.
The dilapidated courtyard gate creaked open as someone pushed it open.
Gu De was squatting beside the well, wringing out the strips of cloth he had washed. Hearing the noise, he looked up and saw Shen Tang holding a wooden box. He glanced at it and then looked away uninterestedly. He put the strips of cloth into the wooden basin, preparing to spread them out to dry. This courtyard had been abandoned for too long; the walls had collapsed, and the wooden furniture was almost completely rotten. He had no choice but to sacrifice another piece of clothing to make a clothesline.
Unexpectedly, Shen Tang came up and snatched the strip of cloth away.
He said, "Stop sunbathing, let's go."
Gu De looked around first, then followed Shen Tang.
"Big Pear, what happened?"
"Zhai Xiaofang can't afford to play this game!"
Hearing the noise, Xiahou Yu tried to struggle to get up: "What?"
Shen Tang said, "The matter is complicated, let's talk about it on the way."
Xiahou Yu's injuries were severe, and moving him carelessly would only worsen them. Shen Tang could only take temporary measures: "I will first use my spiritual energy to protect his wounds to prevent them from aggravating his injuries while traveling. The situation is urgent, so let's deal with it first and then move him to a safe place."
Gu and De exchanged a glance and had no objection.
“I’ll carry Zikuan on my back.”
Gu Degang crouched down, and Shen Tang's eyes suddenly sharpened as she reached out with lightning speed. Xiahou Yu only saw a blur, followed by a cool "breeze" that ruffled his hair. He looked again and saw that Shen Tang's hand was less than a finger's width from his earlobe, her fingers tightly gripping an arrowhead. Following the direction the arrow had come from, Xiahou Yu saw a fist-sized hole in the earthen wall.
The crack extended outwards along the round hole, and dust fell from above.
Boom!
The small, dilapidated house collapsed, raising clouds of dust several meters high.
Before the smoke and dust had even cleared, a cold light followed its path and streaked through the air. The light was so fast that the archer had no time to defend himself; the arrowhead had already pierced his shoulder. The assassin was startled, realizing he had been exposed so quickly.
What terrified him even more was that someone emerged from the smoke and dust.
It's that skinny, sallow-faced, bald girl!
Her face, already gaunt to the point of being unrecognizable, with sunken eyes and skin and bones, was now filled with a chilling, icy expression, a terrifying sight that would make even ghosts tremble. The girl said calmly, "Considering you're Zhai Xiaofang's people, I'll give you a way out—disappear from my sight immediately! Don't be so stubborn! Even Zhai Xiaofang couldn't save your dog lives!"
The assassin lurking in the shadows was speechless for a moment.
They were sent by the Lord!
Naturally, no one took Shen Tang's warning seriously.
The orders from above were to kill Xiahou Yu and Gu De, without mentioning anything about Shen Tang. Based on experience, it would be best to avoid killing her if possible, but since she insisted on obstructing the mission, there was no choice but to comply.
Their response consisted of only one word.
"kill!"
The assassins split into two groups.
One group held off Shen Tang to buy time, while the other pressed on to Xiahou Yu and Gu De! This place was too close to civilian houses; a large commotion was unwise to avoid causing panic among the common people, so a swift victory was necessary. Three men surrounded Shen Tang, while the remaining seven pursued and killed him.
Gu De, carrying Xiahou Yu on his back, couldn't even run two steps away, as the sharp edge of death was about to approach his vitals. In that instant, the world seemed to slow down countless times, and Gu De saw the light slowly magnify before his eyes. The aura of death, like a cold, venomous snake, coiled around his feet, body, and neck, tightening little by little, leaving only intense suffocation.
Heaven is going to destroy me!
bite--
The deadly blade slammed heavily against a barrier. At the same time, a force as powerful as a mountain struck the assassin's vest!
Gu De's pupils suddenly contracted!
He watched as "Shen Xingwu" expressionlessly stomped the assassin into the ground, his body exploding in the crater, limbs and remains flying everywhere. Before the nearest assassin could react, a white light magnified before his eyes, and two heads flew into the air, rolling to the ground with a thud.
The three assassins who intercepted her were already lying in pools of blood.
"I told you to get out!"
Shen Tang's tone remained unchanged from before.
"This is the final warning—"
She stood calmly atop the corpse.
"Anyone who crosses the line dies!"
The assassins exchanged glances, their shock beyond words—in the blink of an eye, five of their companions had perished. These were all martial arts masters, even if their martial arts level wasn't high; each was proficient in assassination and self-defense.
Even if they can't complete the mission, they can still escape.
But this person didn't even get through a single round!
Seeing that Shen Tang only issued a warning and did not resume the killing spree, the lead assassin clutched his arrow wound on his shoulder and asked, "May I ask your name?"
Shen Tang snorted: "Get lost!"
Knowing the mission was unsuccessful, the assassin had no choice but to give up.
Seeing that they were sensible, Shen Tang did not kill them all.
Just as she was about to turn around, a thought struck her, and sensing something, she looked up in a certain direction in the sky. The next instant, a jet-black arrow, with the force of tearing through the sky, silently streaked across the heavens, heading straight for Chen Tang. This arrow was silent, yet its power was astonishing!
The aura contained within the arrowhead completely locked onto Shen Tang.
Despite the deadly move, Shen Tang neither dodged nor yielded, but caught it with his bare hands.
His fingers clenched so tightly that the arrowhead shattered, and blood trickled down his face. A figure had silently appeared atop the ruins. The assassin, seeing the newcomer, knelt and begged for forgiveness. The newcomer ignored them, his gaze fixed on Shen Tang.
He exclaimed, "It was you!"
Er Ya's information was misleading! The person who took her arrow wasn't Gu De or anyone else, it was the "monkey" she mentioned! However, Shen Tang interpreted these words differently. She laughed angrily, "So what if it was me?"
It's been over ten years since I last saw her; Zhai Xiaofang's brain has really deteriorated.
Now that they've recognized her, why send these lowly thugs?
Damn it, who does he think he is?
Heh, he sensed the commotion and belatedly realized that these assassins couldn't handle him, so he took matters into his own hands.
Zhai Le glanced at the nearby houses.
This place has been ravaged by war, with nine out of ten houses empty, leaving many homeless beggars and refugees to take refuge here. To fight here would have far-reaching consequences. He glanced indifferently towards the direction outside the city and said, "The fact that those five men survived your attacks shows you held back. In that case, let's settle our scores outside the city to avoid implicating innocent people."
Shen Tang sneered: "That's exactly what I was thinking."
Gu De and Xiahou Yu certainly couldn't stay here.
Shen Tang raised his hand and made a hand seal, summoning a figure.
"Take these two with you and follow!"
Having said that, he transformed into a beam of white light and hurtled directly at the inky light that had gone ahead.
The five assassins had quietly retreated, leaving only Gu De and Xiahou Yu, who had narrowly escaped death, and the young man summoned by Shen Tang, staring at each other in bewilderment. Gu De looked at the strangely dressed young man—whose appearance was exceptionally striking, with black hair braided with pearls and tied up with an elegant silver crown, giving him a distinctly exotic air. He asked uncertainly, "Are you Shen Dali?"
Is this what Shen Dali really looks like?
The incarnation of a literary figure usually looks the same as the original. In other words, Shen Dali is not a female ruler, but a young man?
The young man paused for a moment upon hearing the form of address, then smiled and said, "No."
"Aren't you the embodiment of his literary talent?"
The young man said, "I am His Highness's martial spirit totem."
Gu De: "..."
Xiahou Yu said weakly, "Lord Shen is in trouble..."
The young man noticed the injured man, but showed no sign of urgency. He even gestured for Gu De to put the man down, as he had some medical knowledge and could help make Xiahou Yu feel better. Normally, Gu De would have been overjoyed, but now he was only anxious, glancing frequently in the direction Shen Tang and the other had left: "That person was quite strong. Can Shen Dali handle him?"
He thought it was a sure thing.
The young man said, "I trust Your Highness."
Gu De couldn't believe it at all, but the next moment he saw Zi Kuan stand up, his face rosy, no longer the deathly pale man he had been. Xiahou Yu stared at his hands in disbelief: "I...!"
"You're 90% recovered, but you still need to rest."
Gu De: "..."
Xiahou Yu: "..."
The same thought arose in their minds—
Who exactly is Shen Dali?
Judging from the few words Shen Tang just said to the assassin, he seems to have some connection with Zhai Xiaofang. Moreover, I've never heard of anyone's Martial Spirit Totem being a person! It's one thing if it's a person, but a Martial Spirit Totem even has treatment methods that are almost like those of a traditional Chinese medicine doctor!
Isn't this outrageous?
Little did they know, Zhai Xiaofang was expressing the same sentiment in her heart.
The two arrived fifty miles outside the city, stopping in perfect unison. Zhai Xiaofang, who landed first, leaped forward and charged at Shen Tang. The blade in her hand almost grazed Shen Tang's brow; a fraction more and it would have slit her eyeball!
Shen Tang dodged away.
One strike misses, and the next strike follows immediately.
"Byakuya!"
Above the sky, the bowstring hummed.
A hail of arrows rained down like a sudden storm, countless streaks of light and shadow completely blocking Shen Tang's escape routes, creating a deadly trap. Shen Tang, however, was not one to back down easily. She retaliated in kind, conjuring a silver longbow and plucking the string for a counterattack of equal power. Bang! Bang!—a series of explosions rang out as the arrows canceled each other out, bursting into a dazzling display of fireworks!
"Captain!"
"Captain!"
Shen Tang and Zhai Xiaofang spoke in unison.
The arrows were aimed at each other's vitals almost simultaneously.
In the next instant, Shen Tang was one step ahead and used "Well Instrument" before Zhai Xiaofang, but Zhai Xiaofang's arrow arrived first despite being fired later.
Shen Tang: "..."
If the Mother's Sword weren't unusable, Gao would have stabbed Zhai Xiaofang several times over! However, the Martial Warrior's fighting style is quite flexible; if the Mother's Sword doesn't work, there are other swords! With the longsword in hand, the feeling of beating up the unfilial son suddenly surged up!
With a quick shift of his feet, he nimbly circled behind Zhai Le.
Flowing like clouds and wind, sword moves as smooth as flowing water.
The sword tip, sharp as a venomous fang, is about to kiss a vital spot!
Ding-dong—
The sword's edge was deflected by the immense force.
The familiar force and sword moves startled Zhai Le.
He blurted out, "Brother Shen?"
Shen Tang withdrew his next sword strike.
"Brother Shen? What Brother Shen? Don't you know whether I'm a man or a woman?"
If he doesn't even know this information, then Zhai Xiaofang shouldn't be the ruler of the country. Why is he calling me "Brother Shen"? He should call me "Sister Shen"!
This sentence made Zhai Le's facial features contort.
Even her peach blossom eyes lost their charm and began to twitch incessantly.
He gritted his teeth and said, "Why is Shen Jun here?"
Why wasn't she the ruler of Kang Kingdom in the Northwest? How did she end up like this, appearing in her own Qu Kingdom territory? Many questions swirled in Zhai Le's mind; he didn't know which question to ask first. He said, "King Shen, you'd better give me an explanation."
The ruler of a country came here without knowing the proper route...
They clearly have ulterior motives!
Shen Tang shrugged: "It was an accident. I didn't want it to happen either."
His original appearance was both beautiful and handsome; I couldn't get enough of looking at him every day.
Did Zhai Le think she wanted to be bald?
"Believe it or not, I believe it. Tsk, Zhai Xiaofang, are you still going to fight or not? If you're going to fight, then fight quickly; if not, then break up!"
This question stumped Zhai Le, who chose to avoid the topic and instead asked, "What is your relationship with Xiahou and the other man?"
“These two are destined to be my future rulers and ministers,” Shen Tang replied. It was Zhai Le’s turn to answer, “Why kill them?”
"You want to bring them both under your command?"
Zhai Le's tone was strange, and his eyes held a different look.
Shen Tang: "No way? I didn't come here specifically to snatch you two away, Zhai Xiaofang, you can't be that petty, can you?"
"Shen Youli, let me give you a piece of advice—"
"What?"
Zhai Le said calmly, "Don't dig your own grave."
"If I take in two people, it'll be like digging my own grave?"
These words almost made Zhai Le laugh in anger.
How dare you recruit people when you know nothing about them?
"This is the Southeast Continent, not the Northwest! Xiahou Zikuan and Gu Yourong both come from Quqing, did you know that?"
|ω`)
Mushroom is giving away a new keyboard; feel free to participate if you're interested.
P.S.: No one questioned Quqing Academy in the previous chapters...
(End of this chapter)
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