Chapter 111: Cut into pieces
Six or seven days passed in the blink of an eye as I served tea and water to the master.
The disciples of Zongxun Sect all live in a Taoist temple on the top of the mountain. It seems that that is the Zongxun Sect’s headquarters.
They must have taken Mu Jin to the mountain, she thought to herself, and she must find a chance to sneak to the top of the mountain.
"Zhou Zhi, the head of Huiying Sect, is here!"
"Huiying Escort Agency, right?" someone asked.
Song Xiaoshan and his fellow disciples were practicing martial arts when they saw the people from Huiying Sect coming down the mountain. He approached Jiaoran and said, "Look, those are the allies of Zongxun Sect."
"Master Zhou, the conference will start in three days, why is the woman named Jiaoran still not here?" a disciple of the sect asked angrily.
"Yeah, she arrogantly issued a challenge herself, so why is she acting like a coward now?"
…
Jiaoran thought, she had simply gone to their sects and defeated their leaders or respected figures one by one, yet they were so unwilling to accept defeat. However, she still couldn't understand why Fenghuangchu had summoned all of them for some ridiculous martial arts conference in her name. Even the four major sects of Kongtong, Shaolin, Emei, and Wudang had sent representatives, and now even the second-, third-, and third-rate sects had all arrived.
Seeing Jiaoran staring intently at Zhou Zhi, Song Xiaoshan pushed her forward and said, "Get closer so you can better admire the grace of these masters."
Zhou Zhi wore a green dress on the lower body, a short round-necked jacket made of coarse cloth on the upper body, and a horn-bone hairpin on her head as she walked through the crowd.
There were countless stone bricks paved between the Taoist temples in the mountains. She carried a sword behind her and walked slowly on the stone bricks.
These people have been making trouble for several days. If she doesn't come down to calm things down today, she's afraid there will be trouble.
"Jiao Ran is naturally in the Taoist temple on the top of the mountain, but she won't show up until the martial arts conference."
Hearing that familiar voice, Jiaoran was afraid that she would recognize him if they made eye contact, so he lowered his head, his heart pounding.
She had been inadvertently pushed to the front of the crowd by Song Xiaoshan, and even if she turned her head, she could not avoid Zhou Zhi.
She really wanted to cover her ears so that she wouldn't be able to hear her voice.
Even at such a close distance, she could smell the familiar scent on Zhou Zhi. When she was at Huiyingmen, she could always smell the fragrance of soapberry on her body.
"Are you here to kill Jiao Ran as well?" That familiar voice appeared beside her ear. "Which sect are you from?"
Jiaoran's blood froze in an instant, and her heart even stopped beating.
A pair of invisible hands seemed to break open her chest, then go deep inside her body, stirring her flesh and blood.
Jiaoran raised his head.
No longer avoiding her, "Yes, I want to kill her, even in my dreams. I want to ask her how can someone be so cruel."
As soon as she said this, everyone around her was incited and said that they wanted Jiaoran to die in the martial arts conference.
"Let me ask this young man," Zhou Zhi said to the crowd, "Why do you hate her so much?"
The crowd whispered to each other.
Jiaoran was like a wooden man, motionless and gritting his teeth.
Zhou Zhi suddenly placed her hand on her head and said, "It seems that you do have a lot of hatred."
The people around him responded faster than Jiaoran, shouting, "Jiaoran killed our fellow disciple. How can we not avenge our brother!"
Jiaoran looked stiffly at the person who had just said that.
She trembled violently, and Zhou Zhi's hand fell on her shoulder again, patting her gently, "She also killed the one you loved?" Zhou Zhi moved closer.
At this critical moment, Jiaoran suddenly calmed down and regained his composure. He even smiled at Zhou Zhi and said, "Indeed."
A young man walked out from the crowd.
Jiaoran recognized him as one of the disciples of Golden Crane Hand Changxing. He was particularly vicious and said that he would be the first to go to the arena and kill Jiaoran in three days.
Zhou Zhi shook his head. "Even so, you have to calm down. You all have to compete according to the draw."
"Master has been so kind to me, raising me up like a mountain. I consider him my father. My father's killer is right here on the mountaintop, so close. How can I possibly remain calm?"
Jiaoran also wanted to ask Zhou Zhi this question, and the cold wind from the mountain made his teeth chatter slightly.
Zhou Zhi said solemnly, "Then she will soon atone for her sins."
The young man just now said, "Everyone, listen! This evil ghost Jiaoran killed our beloved master and fellow disciples. We will never forgive her sins and will tear her into pieces!"
After a brief silence, people shouted loudly, "Tear into pieces! Tear into pieces!" one after another.
Jiao Ran raised his eyes and softly echoed the loud shouts, "Tear into pieces."
After Zhou Zhi left, Song Xiaofeng came over, hugging the person next to him as usual, but he tripped over something and almost fell. After he regained his balance, he touched his nose embarrassedly and said, "You are quite brave. You dared to look Zhou Zhi, the head of Huiying Sect, in the eyes and speak to her."
Jiaoran was silent and did not respond to his words.
After a moment, Jiaoran asked him, "Why did you push me in front of her?"
Song Xiaoshan spread his hands. "Shouldn't you thank me? Just now, when Zhou Zhi passed by, your eyes seemed to be fixed on her. I saw that you wanted to move forward, so I helped you."
Jiao Ran said, "Don't do these inexplicable things next time."
Song Xiaoshan said, "How can this be considered inexplicable? Do you think that they are more glorious than others at the Yingmen School? Seeing Zhou Zhi surrounded by so many disciples, do you admire them for being able to attend the Yingmen School?"
Jiao Ran said slowly but firmly, "I don't admire you."
Song Xiaoshan secretly glanced at Afeng. His expression was stiff, but because his face was dark and flat, he did not notice his stiff expression. Seeing his cold face at this time, he felt a little scared for no reason.
Something happened that night. Dozens of skilled fighters sneaked to the top of the mountain and fought with the Zongxun faction members, trying to force Jiaoran to show up.
Although Jiaoran was lying there, she never relaxed at night, practicing the "Gao Shan Shou" mental method again and again, neither slacking off when sitting or lying down. As the internal force continued to collide with her body, she was gradually able to control the true energy, and she also felt more energetic than before.
Song Xiaofeng was chosen by his master to support the Zongxun Sect in the next few days, because among these sects, only a few of them only wanted to participate in the martial arts conference. They did not come with the intention of killing Jiaoran, but purely to gain experience in fighting. The martial arts conference held by the four major sects is only held once every three years. Although the Zongxun Sect is only a small sect, many famous masters have come this time.
After a day on duty, Song Xiaofeng went down the mountain and returned to his room, only to feel sore all over.
Jiaoran took the opportunity to ask, "How is it in the mountains? Is the food better than here?"
Song Xiaofeng felt a pain in his waist. "Don't even mention whether to eat or not. They asked us to go and protect them. We haven't eaten anything all day."
"Is the Zongxun Sect really that stingy?"
"Yes! There are too many people who want to sneak in and kill Jiaoran. The number of people drawn from other sects is too small, so we are too busy to handle it. We are patrolling around the perimeter."
“Isn’t the Taoist temple on the top of the mountain bigger and more luxurious?”
Song Xiaofeng said no, seeing that there was no one around, he looked around and whispered, "It's not very big, like a dilapidated temple. You can see through it at a glance. There are only four or five rooms in total."
"Are all the people from the Trace Search Sect inside?"
Song Xiaofeng wasn't sure. "We don't know how many people there are in the Zongxun Sect. Plus, there are people from the Huiying Sect. Apart from them, no one else can get in."
"How mysterious! Is the one called Jiaoran inside?"
He said he was not sure, "I have never seen that woman once, but..." He looked around again.
"After those sect's disciples were captured, the Zongxun sect said they would release them, but they didn't. They kept them captive. Guess what I saw? Corpses. I've seen a few of them before. When we were on patrol, I thought I saw them carrying one of them towards the backyard."
"You mean the people from the Tracker Sect killed them?"
"Why would they do that?"
Song Xiaofeng didn't know either, "Maybe I saw it wrong."
Jiao Ran asked, "Will you still go on patrol tomorrow?"
Song Xiaofeng said that he definitely couldn't get away with it. "Our master just likes to meddle in other people's business. I wonder what benefits the Zongxun Sect's people gave him."
Jiao Ran said, "How about I go for you? That sounds like fun."
Song Xiaofeng quickly said that it was impossible, "You don't have martial arts skills, so don't go."
"The patrol won't start a fight, right? Didn't you not fight anyone today?"
Song Xiaofeng frowned, "You are the disciple that Junior Brother Yuan brought into the sect. If something happens, how am I going to tell him?"
"How could this happen?"
Song Xiaofeng sat on Jiaoran's bed. "They're very strange. Not only do they practice swordsmanship, they also meditate and recite mantras while meditating. Have you ever seen such a formation?"
"How many people are there?" Song Xiaofeng asked, "I saw only seven or eight people, but I don't know how many people live inside."
Jiao Ran then asked, "Are there any beautiful girls or boys?"
Song Xiaofeng couldn't help laughing, "You kid, it's ok to ask me about my daughter, but why are you asking about my master? Could it be..."
Jiao Ran moved aside and pulled the clothes out from under his buttocks. "Hey, now that I have something to say, if I ask the girl instead of the gentleman, won't it seem like I'm being lustful?"
"No, you've miscalculated. There aren't many good-looking girls. There are a few in Huiying Sect, but not many. They're average looking, and they don't come out, so you can only admire them from afar. Zongxun Sect also has more men than women, and the women aren't particularly beautiful either."
Still have to think about Song Xiaofeng, "Brother, you are a very busy man. I eat and sleep here every day, and then I follow those people on patrol and take a walk. I don't think there will be any danger."
"Okay, but Master needs to agree... Wait, I'll talk to Master."
Jiao Ran was afraid of being suspected, so he hurriedly said, "Hey, Senior Brother, please don't say that I volunteered to help you, otherwise it would just make those people from the Zongxun Sect suspicious of our sect."
Song Xiaofeng thought so too.
Not long after, Song Xiaofeng came back and said, "Master has already agreed. He originally just wanted to find a few people to mess around and give some face to the Zongxun Sect. It doesn't matter who goes, you go."
Thinking that the people on the mountain were a little strange, Song Xiaofeng said, "Patroling is very tiring. You can only come down the mountain at night, and you have to go hungry. Can you really endure it?"
Jiaoran said it was okay, "Suffering a loss is a blessing. Senior brother has always taken care of me. How can I just sit there and enjoy the blessing and make him so tired?"
Song Xiaofeng was so touched that she wanted to hug this little brother, but Jiaoran dodged him flexibly.
"Brother, remember to save some food for me tonight."
After we climbed up the mountain and were almost at the top, a gust of cold wind blew, and the people who were traveling with us were blown so hard that they couldn't open their eyes.
The wind didn't die down until they were completely up the mountain, near the top.
Jiaoran looked around but did not see Zhou Zhi or the Phoenix Chick. She was not completely sure that Mu Jin was here.
Compared to the houses on the mountainside, there are even fewer courtyards here. I wonder how Huiyingmen and Zongxun Sect managed to squeeze into such a small Taoist temple.
There were thirty-nine people on patrol.
There are thirteen people in a team, one team is composed of disciples from Zongxun Sect and Huiying Sect, and the other two teams are composed of disciples from the remaining sects.
Following the patrol team, Jiaoran began to walk around and observe the surroundings.
As she walked, she secretly looked at the people in the Taoist temple. Strangely, Jiaoran didn't recognize any of these people. Among the people Zhou Zhi brought that day, none of them were old acquaintances from Huiyingmen.
Seeing her constantly looking around, a companion beside her whispered, "Look less at things you shouldn't look at."
Jiaoran said, "Just curious?"
"What are you curious about?"
Jiao Ran said, "I'm curious about who their leader is."
As he was speaking, a young man came out of the Taoist temple, pointed at Jiaoran and said, "Come here."
Jiaoran's heart was pounding. Could it be that she had been seen through? She secretly gathered strength in her hands. There was a special charm in this man's eyes. Jiaoran couldn't help but look at him several times. She felt that he was very familiar, yet very strange.
He walked up to Jiaoran and asked, "I don't recognize you. You weren't here yesterday?"
Jiao Ran said yes, "My senior brother is sick, so I am patrolling for him."
There was a faint orchid fragrance on his body, which filled Jiaoran's nose.
"Well, patrol well and don't be distracted."
The man who had just warned Jiaoran not to look around was startled. "See, I told you not to look around, but the Zongxun Sect and Huiying Sect both think they're the masters and are very arrogant. Yesterday they were bossing everyone around. Today they're being polite to you."
Jiaoran was stunned where she was. He thought Jiaoran was frightened and pushed her. "Hey, what are you daydreaming about? It's time to go on patrol."
I don't know what he thought of, but Jiaoran raised a smile, "Thank you for reminding me, big brother. I understand."
"Are you Song Xiaoshan's fellow disciple?"
"right."
"I still don't know how to call you?"
"Afeng!"
"My name is Lin Poyan from Wudang..."
"Nice to meet you." Jiaoran bowed.
He hurriedly held Jiaoran's hand and said, "Be gentle, or they'll tell you I'm unlucky. I followed a few brothers out here, saying they wanted to meet the best in the martial arts world in the past two years and test us new disciples."
"So you took the initiative to participate in this martial arts conference held by the Zongxun Sect?"
"Yes, that woman named Jiaoran never dared to set foot in our world-famous Wudang Sect."
Jiaoran did not respond, actually because Wudang was not on her and Mu Jin's route.
This young Wudang disciple seemed to have a great fondness and admiration for Jiao Ran. "It's said that she defeated all the sects, big and small, in Dongshan within a few months. Sometimes, she would defeat several sects in a matter of hours, so badly that they dared not mention their nicknames in front of outsiders."
Jiaoran secretly groaned in her heart. Her love had been plucked out, and it seemed that her wisdom had also been plucked out. She provoked people every few days, hoping to attract the attention of the Phoenix Young and fight him to the death and kill him as soon as possible. How could she have such courage and spirit?
"I heard she's only in her early twenties, not much older than me."
"I see."
As evening approached, they had to switch shifts with another team. The next day, they would arrive at the martial arts conference.
Just as they were changing shifts and preparing to go down the mountain, an unexpected person appeared.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
