Chapter 53 The Young Master is Injured
The following afternoon, when she saw the raging fire burning from the Prince Cheng's mansion, Bai Hua, who was far away in the teahouse, paced back and forth anxiously, unable to calm her mind.
The tea shop's staff acted as planned, positioning themselves near the four gates of Prince Cheng's mansion, pretending to pass by and spying on the situation. However, even with thick black smoke billowing out, no one returned to report.
Bai Hua was getting restless.
Just then, Guo Zhong, the tea shop owner, was also getting impatient. He craned his neck and peered out from the doorway for a while, intending to investigate himself.
Bai Hua asked to go with him. Guo Zhong thought for a moment and figured that he would just be a passerby on the outskirts of the street, watching the excitement. He figured that he wouldn't give himself away, so he nodded in agreement. At the same time, he told Bai Hua to stay close to him and never leave his sight.
Bai Hua agreed, knowing full well what was going on, and naturally wouldn't act rashly and cause trouble for the young master.
Before leaving, remembering the young master's earlier instructions, Bai Hua went back to her room to retrieve her sword, hoping to bolster her confidence.
Guo Zhong also brought his own weapon; like Zang Fan, he used black iron throwing darts.
The tea shop owner stood at the door, holding Hong Gu in her arms, watching the two leave. A look of worry appeared in her eyes, and she silently prayed that things would go smoothly.
...
On the other side, after the Prince Cheng's mansion caught fire, the guests scattered and the scene was chaotic.
Ning Jue, who was hiding among them, paid close attention to the movements of Jiang Shen'er, the head of Tianji Pavilion. When he saw her leading her subordinates to escape the chaos and head towards the west gate, he immediately gave Chen Fu a look and followed closely.
Jiang Shen'er was known for her caution. In addition to the subordinates she brought into the Prince Cheng's mansion, she also left many trusted confidants outside the mansion. After leaving the west gate, the heads met up. Ning Jue and the others followed behind and roughly counted that there should be about twenty people.
More than I expected.
Chen Fu's undercover network, even mobilizing trusted individuals, could only gather a little over thirty people.
But there is no doubt that after Jiang Shen'er was ordered by the court, her trusted confidants were all highly skilled in martial arts.
The two acted according to plan. After leaving the main street of Prince Cheng's Mansion, Chen Fu, masked, led the other men in black out of the street and made a feigned attack. Jiang Shen'er's men reacted hastily and, seeing that there were many assassins, had no choice but to cut off the tail and leave most of the thugs behind.
After Jiang Shen'er escaped again, she had fewer than five confidants left. In the deserted, narrow alley, Ning Jue lay in ambush, standing solemnly in the middle of the street, intercepting the carriage.
The man driving the horse had a fierce face and a wary expression. He rushed forward and shouted, cursing, "You damned dog, how dare you block the Pavilion Master's carriage? Don't you value your life?"
That foul mouth, its tongue should be pulled out.
Ning Jue casually crossed his arms, snorted coldly, and, too lazy to waste words, immediately drew his sword, its cold blade gleaming as it hurtled forward.
The white-clad swordsman moved with the speed of the wind, changing his sword techniques almost six times within ten steps, making him impossible to defend against.
The driver was startled, and before he could even react, Ning Jue pierced his left shoulder where he was holding the reins.
He cried out in pain, his body swaying and tumbling off the carriage. His large body curled up, and large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead instantly.
After Ning Jue revealed his strength, he aroused the fear of the opposing group.
Two white-haired men wearing ghost masks stood side by side in front of the car. They were probably Jiang Shen'er's henchmen, acting as a protective barrier. They were currently channeling their power into their palms, their imposing aura indicating their formidable strength.
"Who goes there? You attack without giving your name. Do you think my Tianji Pavilion has no one to rely on?"
A clear, crisp female voice drifted out from behind the carriage curtain. It wasn't intimidating; instead, it carried a hint of feminine charm, but not in a seductive way. Rather, it was like a venomous tongue spitting out its tongue, hissing and dripping with a sticky, wet quality.
Ning Jue instinctively disliked the voice, frowned, and said, "Senior, as one of the four great masters in the past, you wielded the Nine-Colored Spirit Rhinoceros Severing Thought Umbrella with unparalleled skill. I have long admired your name and have come here today to learn a thing or two from you."
The other party seemed to chuckle, and when he spoke again, his tone lost its gentleness and became cold and disdainful: "It seems that I have been out of the public eye for too long. Nowadays, any Tom, Dick, or Harry who can't even name dares to come here and seek death. Well then, since you have gone to such lengths to die under my umbrella, I will grant your wish."
As soon as he finished speaking, the curtain at the front of the carriage was pushed open by a surge of true energy from inside the carriage.
As the carriage curtain opened, a beautiful woman in a bright red dress stepped out. But no matter how young she dressed or how heavy the face powder and rouge were, her eyes easily revealed her true age.
Those were eyes that had seen much of life; the whites of their eyes were dark and yellowish, not clear at all.
The Umbrella Fairy possessed excellent lightness skills. With a light touch of her toes on the carriage shaft, she leaned forward and leaped over the two thugs wearing ghost masks with ease. As she gracefully soared into the air, she slowly unfurled her magnificent umbrella. Each rib was adorned with nine-colored tassels, but the more beautiful it was, the more dangerous it was. Hidden beneath those pretty tassels were sharp spikes that, when spun, were incredibly powerful, capable of piercing the throat with a single blow.
She stopped, her posture unsteady and swaying, and looked Ning Jue up and down with a flirtatious tone, saying, "I never expected you to be such a handsome young man. Are you married?"
"You talk too much nonsense."
Ning Jue's patience ran out, his eyes flashed, and he drew his sword to confront her.
Amidst the flashing swords and shadows, he used only five-tenths of his strength to test the waters. However, Jiang Shen'er did not confront him head-on. Whenever she faced his attacks, she would simply use her umbrella to block and dodge, without revealing her true skills.
Ning Jue was determined to break through her defenses head-on, his sword techniques changing and his power increasing.
After several rounds, Jiang Shen'er became much more serious, and her gaze towards Ning Jue became more meaningful.
Ning Jue felt uncomfortable meeting Jiang Shen'er's gaze. He felt as if the snake's tongue was eager to lick his face. He simply swung his sword and cut the snake's body in half, forcing the flashy snake to retreat and lose its will to attack and provoke him.
With a swift movement to dodge the sword, Jiang Shen'er retreated and closed her umbrella, the handle resting lightly on her shoulder, her steps graceful and elegant.
Upon seeing this, her two masked henchmen immediately appeared on either side in perfect unison, blocking Jiang Shen'er's path and completely protecting her.
Jiang Shen'er, standing behind, raised her voice and said, "Your skill is far from being worthy of being my opponent. Beat up my men first, and then come and fight me."
Ning Jue said coldly, "When Xie Tan, the Whip Demon, sparred with me, he couldn't gain the upper hand. Senior, there's no need to feel ashamed of losing to me. We should settle the score fairly. Why run away in fear halfway through the fight and hide behind someone else? Wouldn't that tarnish the reputation of the 'Umbrella Immortal' in the martial world?"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Shen'er narrowed her eyes, making the wrinkles around her eyes even more noticeable, which even powder couldn't cover up.
"You little rascal, your face is pleasing to the eye, but your mouth is really annoying."
After saying this, Jiang Shen'er waved her hand to signal.
The masked man immediately obeyed the order and began a two-pronged attack on Ning Jue.
After several exchanges, Ning Jue quickly discovered that the two masked men had excellent lightness skills, even surpassing his own.
Swordsmen are supposed to have an advantage in their quick changes of moves, but now, his opponent is skilled in light footwork and can strike the sword faster than him. So even if Ning Jue's sword moves are mature and powerful enough, his opponent has more time to react and is not so difficult to deal with.
If you can't take shortcuts, then go for it head-on.
Ning Jue no longer focused on the speed of his sword strikes, but instead used the Lone Goose Sword Technique to change his moves, applying what he learned to other situations, and making each strike unexpected.
Having found this entry point, the masked man found it increasingly difficult to fight him.
They couldn't predict where or who the next sword would strike, and even with the fastest reaction, it was difficult to defend against. As a result, they were forced into a series of retreats.
There are specific rules and techniques involved in martial arts battles.
Whether it's one-on-one, one-on-two, or one-on-many, it's fine, but it must be made clear in advance.
However, Jiang Shen'er disregarded the rules and, taking advantage of Ning Jue's focus on dealing with the masked man, stepped forward with both hands holding the umbrella, preparing to launch a sneak attack and suppress him.
Ning Jue caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of his eye and was startled. He quickly dodged, but the other party was, after all, an umbrella fairy, and was very fast. He couldn't dodge completely and was scratched on the back of his shoulder by the tip of the umbrella rib, leaving a long bloody mark.
Without even hissing, he swung his sword down, slicing Jiang Shen'er's Nine-Colored Spirit Rhinoceros Umbrella in half, his eyes dark and sinister.
Ning Jue was disgusted by this sneaky behavior, and at the same time, he was surprised that Jiang Shen'er, such a renowned senior in the martial arts world, did not care about gossip at all. She did such a shameful and disgraceful thing as a sneak attack without hesitation.
No wonder she was ranked among the top four martial arts masters; it turns out her character dragged her down.
Jiang Shen'er stared at the broken umbrella in her hand with heartache, unable to come back to her senses for a long time. When she looked up at Ning Jue again, her expression was solemn and angry.
She commanded, "Everyone! Step forward and seize him!"
"yes!"
...
Bai Hua was traveling halfway with Guo Zhong, the owner of the tea shop, when she heard a message from the shop assistants that Jiang Shen'er had left the Prince's Mansion through the West Gate, and that the young master was leading Chen Fu and his group to intercept her along the way.
So Guo Zhong immediately changed direction with her and hurried towards the west gate.
From afar, many people could be seen fleeing the chaos. Guo Zhong grabbed a passing vendor and asked, "What happened over there? Why is everyone running?"
The vendor looked worried: "Don't go that way either. There's a fight between some people and the Tianji Pavilion. They're wielding knives and guns and there's blood. Both groups are fighting desperately. If we don't run, are we going to risk our lives to cheer them on?"
After saying that, the vendor brushed Guo Zhong's hand away, quickened his pace, and continued to move towards the safe area with the flow of people.
Bai Hua was anxious and worried about the young master's safety, but Guo Zhong hesitated whether to take her forward.
“Miss Apeng, it may be dangerous to go any further. Young Master Ning instructed me to protect your safety. If you are in danger, I will not be able to explain myself.”
If it were before, Bai Hua might have listened to the persuasion, but just now, after hearing the vendor describe the battle in such detail, with blood and gore, she was horrified and feared that Ning Jue was in danger.
"Mr. Guo, please take me there. I just want to see the situation from a distance and I won't do anything risky, okay?"
Guo Zhong understood her intentions. Not to mention her concern for Young Master Ning's safety, he himself was also uneasy at this moment, fearing that Chen Fu would be at a disadvantage. The two had been brothers for so many years and had gone through life and death together. Now, seeing his brother in danger while he could only watch from the sidelines, he felt very bad.
Thinking of this, Guo Zhong agreed, "Alright, let's go take a look together, but let's make it clear beforehand that the young lady must not put herself in any danger."
Bai Hua nodded seriously.
The two continued moving forward against the flow of people.
Chen Fu and his brothers blocked the Tianji Pavilion's reinforcements, which was the first obstacle. However, Ning Jue went alone to fight Jiang Shen'er, which was the key to the plan.
Bai Hua followed Guo Zhongxian to see Chen Fu.
Seeing that he and his brothers were handling the situation reasonably well, Guo Zhong's serious expression eased slightly, but Bai Hua's did not.
She reminded him, "Mr. Guo, let's walk a little further. I'm really worried about the young master fighting alone."
Guo Zhong hesitated. At this moment, Chen Fu instructed from afar, "Guo Zhong, take a few brothers and go to support Young Master Ning. I can still handle things even with a few fewer men."
Upon hearing this, Guo Zhong made up his mind and replied to Chen Fu, which also served as a reply to Bai Hua: "Okay, we'll go now."
When they rushed over, they saw Ning Jue fighting against overwhelming odds.
Seeing him wielding his sword and exchanging blows with the two masked men, when a hidden umbrella-shaped weapon came straight at him from the side, Bai Hua couldn't help but shout a warning: "Young master, be careful!"
Ning Jue successfully escaped the vortex of attacks from three sides and took two steps back.
His gaze followed the sound and turned around, confirming that it was indeed Bai Hua. He was first surprised and stunned, then demanded aggressively, "Who told you to bring her here? Who did this?"
Guo Zhong stood behind, eyes lowered, too ashamed to speak.
Bai Hua looked at him with concern, her eyes slightly red: "Young Master, you're injured..."
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