Chapter 1 Bianliang City
In the autumn of the 32nd year of Tianchong, there was heavy rain in Bianliang that lasted for three days.
A swift autumn rain trickled in, accompanied by the dimming light. Wen Yao's eyes were slightly damp, and a large patch of her clothes was soaked, leaving a cold feeling clinging to the back of her neck. She stood by the wall, sword in hand, and took a step back, half tempted to close the window.
But it’s not possible, the other party hasn’t finished speaking yet.
"Qiongyulou's Fengyue wine is unique in the world. My young lady is coming to the capital, and my master has specially sent me here to bring it to you. Please try it." The woman in her nightgown smiled sweetly, her wrists white as frost, the mark of a red plum blossom gleaming on her wrist. She held a heavy porcelain wine jar in one hand, the other on her knee, half-kneeling steadily on the palm-width window frame. She spoke softly and sincerely, "There will be a banquet in three days. My master has prepared fine wine, delicious food, and snacks. It's been years since we last met, and I hope you will honor me with your presence."
"Okay, okay, I'll definitely be there." Wen Yao took the jar of wine and patted the girl's shoulder. Warm, soothing internal energy surged in, like a large, dry, soft cloud, gently covering the person and instantly dispelling all the cold.
The girl was stunned.
Wen Yao: "It's cold, don't get wet in the rain, go back."
The girl let out a cry, her eyes curved into crescents, and she smiled and left.
Wen Yao held the wine jar and reached out again to close the window.
“Crack—”
A small wooden stick reached out and rested firmly against the crack in the wood. A man in night clothes and a mask emerged from underneath. Under Wen Yao's gaze, he pulled out a green token. In his other hand, he held an ornately carved wooden box. He said respectfully, "The Pavilion Master heard that the young lady had arrived, so he personally roasted a chicken for her. Please eat it while it's hot."
"Oh, thank you for your hard work. Thank you for the chicken." Wen Yao quickly put down the wine jar, took the wooden box, and passed on some internal energy to the man to keep him warm: "Thank you for your help."
The man in black looked at her, then nodded steadily, turned around and left.
Wen Yao closed the window, turned around, and placed the chicken and wine on the table. Her hands hadn't left the surface when she suddenly stopped moving. She listened to the noises below and rubbed her face fiercely. Her dark hair, tied high in a red silk bun, was pushed aside, leaving only a few sticky strands clinging to her temples.
I don’t know how many waves of men in black have been trying to knock on the window with food boxes on their backs, but before they could touch it, the window in front of them was pushed open by someone.
Wen Yao's sharp eyes swept across the man in black, finally stopping at the black lines on his index finger: "...Chu Yutang?"
The man in black nodded, raised the food box in his hand, and opened his mouth to speak.
"Thank you for the trip." Wen Yao had no idea how many spies this group had on the Bianliang City Inspection Office. She had only just passed through the city gates and settled down two hours ago, and now, people from all sides were huddled together in the windows and porches of this restaurant.
Wen Yao picked up a piece of coarse cloth beside her and tied the Xingyi Sword to her body. With a flick of her foot, she hugged the chicken and wine she had been drinking earlier.
The secret guard's eyes blurred, his side felt cold, his nose twitched, and then he smelled a sweet and mellow aroma of wine and the tempting aroma of meat. He turned his head and met Wen Yao's pale eyes.
The two of them squatted on the window frame, looking at each other with bags in their hands. Wen Yao shook the chicken and wine in his hands, raised an eyebrow and smiled: "Let's go, let's go see him."
Bianliang City, divided into four major markets by the Bian River and the North and South Imperial Streets, was a vibrant and vibrant city. At sunset, amidst a drizzling late autumn rain, paper umbrellas swirled across the slate-stone streets of Thirteen Miles Street, a scene of unending prosperity.
Wen Yao stepped forward, light as a willow leaf, and floated steadily across half a street. The secret guards behind her were supported by a powerful internal force, and they felt like a kite, floating in the sky with Wen Yao in a trance.
After a while, the two of them approached a magnificent restaurant.
Wen Yao flicked her fingers and launched an attack, her internal force hitting the window just right, opening a gap just wide enough for one person to enter. She and the small secret guard behind her flipped in one after the other, landing on the roof beam.
Beneath the beams lay redwood, white jade, coral, and silk, a scene of sheer luxury. The seven or eight people standing there, breathless and sweaty, watched the ghost market owner suddenly throw open the window and stand before it, hands behind his back, in the rain. Their hearts trembled with fear, and eight hundred thoughts raced through their minds in an instant.
From the recent income from Fanlou to the canal transportation from the dock outside the city, from the arrangements made by the Inspection Office to the placement of goods - after calculating, they sadly found that everything was fine, and the breath of relief in their hearts did not let go, but instead tightened.
There's nothing wrong, so what's wrong with this person?
Chu Yutang was handsome, with long eyebrows reaching her temples, eyes like stars, a high nose and thin lips. She wore a crescent-white brocade dress with cloud patterns, and a jade crown to hold her hair together. Even the rain blowing in her face made her look solemn and refreshing.
The bustling scene of Sixth Street in the distance was shrouded in mist, and Chu Yutang was also drenched in rain. He glanced at the beam overhead and slowly twirled the jade ring on his right thumb: "...There are more people in the city."
"Yes, yes." One person said quickly: "After ten years of alliance, the city is full of people from the underworld."
The ten-year alliance meeting was a grand gathering for the underworld. Seize this opportunity to distinguish yourself and become a prominent figure in the underworld. The alliance meeting was held ten miles away at Cunying Mountain. Bianliang was bustling with merchants, and the night market was decorated with lights and colorful decorations. It was inevitable that there would be more underworld figures these days.
Chu Yutang's lips curved slightly, and he waved his hand to tell everyone in the room to get out.
Everyone turned around and hurried out as if they had been pardoned. Unexpectedly, someone suddenly stopped, walked in the opposite direction, and actually turned around and rushed towards Chu Yutang!
"Ignorant boy!" The old man in ochre clothes had white hair and beard, and a ferocious expression on his face. He twisted the hidden weapon in his arms towards Chu Yutang and shouted, "The Huaihe River waterline is the blood and sweat of half my life. I am the elder of the Third Hall. How dare you bully me so many times!"
The arrowhead gleamed faintly, revealing at first glance that it was coated with a deadly poison that killed the enemy instantly. The hidden weapon was also expertly crafted, bearing a dark lotus seal. It flew from the iron eagle-beak hook, splitting into three before swiftly striking Chu Yutang's vital point.
At such a close distance and such a tricky angle, under normal circumstances, no matter how high Chu Yutang's internal strength was, he would have to draw his sword to block.
But things in the world are just so coincidental.
Chu Yutang pulled out the jeweled fan from his waist and placed it against his chin, staring at the person who suddenly attacked him with a half-smile.
The suddenness of the incident left no one reacting. The guards nearby paled, their faces etched in stone. They gritted their teeth and leaped forward, ready to pledge their lives in devotion to their master. Suddenly, an irresistible force, as immense as a mountain, pressed down upon their shoulders, forcing them to halt and stumble back.
In a moment of eerie silence, a strangely shaped dagger slashed from above, piercing the gap between the figures. Its cold light streaked past everyone's peripheral vision, swift as snow streaking across a thousand-foot mountain, whirring like a meteor. The blade's tip held a formidable force, and at a strange angle, it cut three simultaneously launched hidden weapons in half, annihilating them completely!
Everyone felt a pain on their face, their heart skipped a beat, and they were covered in goose bumps from the domineering and sharp internal force.
The dagger, having absorbed the force of the hidden arrow, did not fall with it. It continued to slice through the air until it sunk deeply into the floor. The metal blade was firmly fixed to the ground, leaving a finger-width of cold light exposed in the air. The end of the dagger did not tremble at all.
What an accurate aim and what a powerful internal force.
Still dazed, everyone looked up to see a woman appear beside Chu Yutang. She was dressed in black, wearing a gilded bronze crown, her black hair tied high, her brows clear and sharp. In one hand she held a long sword, its silver veins covering it, giving off a sinister aura.
There was a sudden movement outside the window, a series of piercing sounds. Seeing the situation was dire, the men ambushed in the teahouse across the street decided to go all out. Poison arrows stirred up the autumn rain and attacked the two men standing by the window.
Wen Yao didn't even look. She raised her sword hilt and pointed it horizontally, sweeping her inner energy across. The light raindrops outside suddenly felt heavy, weighing down the poisonous arrows. She watched Chu Yutang raise a finger and, feeling like she was exorbitantly asking, "One hundred taels each."
Chu Yutang was wealthy and didn't care at all: "Add another hundred taels and bring back the head. I don't need a live one."
"As expected of a wealthy man, so generous." Wen Yao's eyes curved, and her austere demeanor instantly melted away. She praised Chu Yutang generously, then took a deep breath, lightly tapped the window sill, and flew away.
This tavern was prominently located, surrounded by numerous pedestrians and vendors. As the chaos erupted, the people on the street screamed and scattered. Some of the people in the private rooms of the nearby restaurants gradually reacted. Several young men, dressed like wandering knights, saw that someone had dared to commit a crime in the streets of Bianliang, right under the emperor's feet. They dropped their tea bowls and stood up with swords in hand, ready to retaliate. But before they could do anything, a figure stepped out the window, its acrobatic movements striking everyone's gaze.
Qiuyu stayed away. Wen Yao followed the direction of the hidden arrow and was in an alley two blocks away. Every movement was amplified in her perception, and the scattered footsteps seemed to follow the distinct beat of a drum.
Qinggong and tracking skills are means of escaping and being hunted down. Wen Yao didn't put much effort into practicing them. He could reach where he is today thanks to his good physique. God has been chasing him and feeding him in the path of martial arts.
This body wasn't like this at the beginning.
Wen Yao was someone who had lived her life over again. In her previous life, she traveled extensively, camera in hand, watching hippos baring their teeth in the Congo River. Unfortunately, she encountered civil unrest in a small country, and was killed by a shotgun blast while transporting supplies using her passport. She opened her eyes again, and found herself sitting in a dilapidated alley in a remote town in Tianshui.
The little girl was frail and weak, with a chipped bowl beside her. It was a snowy year, a poor harvest, and she couldn't get any rotten rice. She died near dawn.
Bai Jianlai's body was extremely weak, with layers of bruises and corpse spots on his legs.
Wen Yao was so exhausted that he almost ended the game with his eyes rolled back.
Fortunately, Tianshui didn't suppress commerce, and tea and horse caravans were constantly coming and going in this frontier town. She leaned on a stick and stood before the woman who was boiling water for the caravan. The caravan leader was kind enough to toss her a bowl of solid wheat rice. Unexpectedly, Wen Yao, having eaten her fill, effortlessly lifted two large bags of goods, stunning a group of sturdy men and successfully staying with the caravan.
There happened to be an old man in the army who knew some Kung Fu. Wen Yao served him tea and water, and he taught Wen Yao the internal breathing technique. The old man's technique was ordinary, but Wen Yao was gifted. He immediately opened up his Ren and Du meridians, and he had an epiphany, and understood how he should live in this life.
Doing business is not realistic and she doesn't have the talent for it, so she might as well learn some martial arts and work as a bodyguard.
From the tea-horse caravan to the major trading houses, she made friends and traversed the plank roads of Tianshui's frontier. This infernal world of internal energy, secret manuals, and the martial arts world, Bai Xiaosheng's list of the world's top masters sparked countless heroes into a life-and-death struggle. Wen Yao's rise from a mid-career beginner to a top-five ranking took twelve years.
That year, she grew tired of the constant barrage of battlers, so she thrust the Xingyi Sword against Bai Xiaosheng's neck, forcing him to cross out his name. From then on, she lived a carefree life, free and unfettered by her sword. If Wen Yao hadn't received a bloody letter from her old friend ten days earlier, she'd probably be riding a camel west to the Gobi Desert with the Daluo caravan.
The world's top-notch lightness skill, able to leverage power even from eaves or treetops.
Wen Yao frowned slightly, and moved as fast as a ghost. It took only ten breaths for him to come out of the building. With a flick of his thumb, the Xingyi sword was unsheathed. A cold light flashed, and the sword body was as smooth as before without a drop of blood.
The masked assassin in front of him opened his eyes wide and covered his neck. He ran forward a few steps uncontrollably and then fell to the ground with his head and body separated. A bloodstain as thin as a hair was extremely eye-catching on his neck.
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