“Swoosh!”
Shen Xiuhan was like a gray shadow skimming the ground, hurtling down the winding ancient path.
Ancient trees on both sides flew past him as the wind roared in his ears.
With light taps of his toes against the stone steps, each bound carried him over a dozen zhang away.
Before long, he reached the mountainside.
The winding ancient path was growing increasingly crowded.
Many martial artists who had just ascended the mountain caught sight of the caves and pavilions hidden along the path and plunged straight in without hesitation.
Sounds of rummaging, angry roars, and fighting echoed endlessly.
Yet, there were also those who completely ignored the temptations along the way, keeping their heads down and charging straight for the summit!
No one was a fool. Everyone understood that the higher they went, the more valuable the treasures would be.
Right at that moment, several figures wearing identical clothing hurriedly appeared around the corner at the end of the ancient path.
Shen Xiuhan's eyes flickered, and he instantly recognized two of them!
They were the two members of the Han family who had retreated when they saw things going south during his earlier confrontation with Zhao Zhiqian and the Nether Yellow Springs Four Demons!
The older one had a slightly dark complexion and composed features; he was Han Wu, the very person Shen Xiuhan was currently disguised as!
The younger one kept his hand on his sword hilt, scanning his surroundings warily. His name was Han Qing.
“Brother!” Han Qing whispered. “I just saw the forces of the Four Sects of Nanxiang. They seem to be tailing us not far behind.”
“The Huajin experts of the Longxiang Army and the Raging Sea Sect have already gone up the mountain, but our young master has yet to arrive. If we face them alone, we will likely suffer a disadvantage.”
“Perhaps... we could do as the Clan Head suggested and try to join forces with the Four Sects of Nanxiang?”
Han Wu didn't stop his pace. He pondered for a moment before shaking his head. “No rush!”
His gaze swept over the crowd of people surging up the mountain path, a hint of shrewd calculation flashing in his eyes.
“The Four Sects of Nanxiang have strength in numbers. There are more than twenty of them here alone, while our Han clan has only five.”
“Pei Heng of the Raging Sea Sect is arrogant, and Wang Xuanliang of the Longxiang Army has always been overbearing.”
“Neither of them will tolerate too many people sharing the treasures at the summit.”
“Once they start fighting, the first ones they'll drive out and kill will be the Four Sects of Nanxiang, who have the most people!”
“Our Han clan only needs to stand aside and watch the situation unfold.”
He paused slightly, a cold gleam passing through his eyes. “If they only target the Four Sects of Nanxiang, we will look on without lifting a finger. But if they treat our Han family the same way...”
“...then we will join forces with the Four Sects of Nanxiang and resist them together!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the eyes of the other Han family disciples brightened, and they began to praise him one after another.
“Second Brother, this plan is brilliant!”
“Indeed! No matter how the situation changes, we won't miss out on our share of the treasures!”
“We can advance or retreat at will. Having fewer people might not necessarily be a disadvantage! Wonderful! Simply wonderful!”
“...”
Han Qing listened to everyone's words, his expression somewhat conflicted. He felt that something was amiss, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
He opened his mouth, intending to persuade them further.
Suddenly! Out of the corner of his eye, a familiar face flashed past on the opposite side of the ancient path.
Han Qing stopped mid-sentence and instinctively looked up.
However, when he took a closer look, he was slightly dazed.
The person was a bald man with a large black mole next to his nose. Two coarse hairs grew from the mole, trembling with every step he took.
He hunched his shoulders, his face filled with panic as he stumbled down the mountain.
“Strange...” Han Qing couldn't help but rub his eyes, suspicion growing in his heart.
Just now, I clearly saw that person with my brother's face. How did he turn into this in the blink of an eye?
Could it be that the spiritual mist on this mountain is too thick, playing tricks on my eyes?
“Brother Qing, what's wrong?” Han Qing's strange behavior caught Han Wu's attention. He slowed his pace and turned his head to ask with concern.
“It's nothing, just now I...”
Before he could finish, Han Qing's expression changed drastically. His pupils contracted, and his long sword snapped forward as he barked, “Watch out!”
Whoosh! A bag of lime powder was dumped right over Han Wu's head.
It was like a sudden blizzard of pure white, completely covering the unprepared Han Wu.
In an instant, his entire head and face were covered in the sticky white powder. His eyes burned with a searing pain, looking as if he had plunged headfirst into a flour barrel—an utterly pathetic sight!
Swoosh! Han Qing thrust his sword!
The fierce sword-glow aimed straight for the bald man's throat.
However, the bald man was as slippery as an eel. With a nimble twist and turn, his figure easily brushed past the sword tip and evaded it. His sheer agility was staggering.
With rapid taps of his feet, his figure drifted like a specter. In just a few bounds, he left the Han family members far behind, disappearing around the corner of the ancient path in the blink of an eye!
“You bastard! You're looking for death!!” The disheveled Han Wu finally reacted.
The lime powder might have blinded his eyes, but it could not hide his face, which was twisted in absolute rage.
His eyes were blood-red, veins throbbing on his forehead. Trembling with fury, he kicked off the ground to give chase.
The other Han family disciples were quick to react, immediately swarming to hold him back and pleading earnestly:
“Brother Wu! Don't pursue a desperate enemy!”
“The bigger picture is more important! The treasures at the summit are what matter most!”
“Han Wu! Calm down! We can settle the score with him after we leave the Blessed Land. Why be in such a rush now?!”
Han Wu was held fast by the crowd, his chest heaving violently and his teeth grinding with a grating sound.
With nowhere to vent his boiling rage, it finally erupted into a roar that echoed down the mountain.
“Run! Just run!”
“I've already memorized your face!”
“Just you wait!”
“I will turn this entire Blessed Land upside down to drag you out of your mouse hole!”
...
“Faster! Any later, and they will have divided all the treasures among themselves!”
Cui Xiangyang led the forces of the Four Sects of Nanxiang, marching rapidly up the winding ancient path.
Everyone was breathing heavily, their footsteps echoing in unison against the stone steps.
Suddenly! A bald-headed man darted down from the mountain path above, swift as a startled sparrow.
Swoosh! The moment they brushed past each other, a bundled object flew out from the bald man's hand.
Uncannily accurate, it flew straight toward Cui Xiangyang's face.
Smack! Caught completely off guard, Cui Xiangyang was hit square in the face by the object.
Utterly bewildered, he pulled the bundle off his face.
Looking down, he saw that it was a robe.
When he looked up again, the bald man had already surged over a dozen zhang away. Only his retreating back remained, on the verge of disappearing.
Cui Xiangyang's mouth twitched. A sudden surge of rage rushed to his head, and he barked, “Run! Just run! I've already memorized—”
“Senior Brother Cui!” Next to him, a sharp-eyed Tingquan Academy disciple suddenly pointed at the robe and gasped. “This robe... why does it look like the livery of our Tingquan Academy core disciples?”
“Huh?” Cui Xiangyang stopped mid-curse and looked down to examine it closely.
Sure enough, it was a brand-new blue livery.
The stitching was fine and the fabric crisp, matching the exact specifications exclusive to the core disciples of Tingquan Academy.
Among the core disciples of our academy who entered the Blessed Land, apart from me, there is only First Senior Brother and Junior Brother Shen.
This livery is brand-new, still retains body warmth, and has no bloodstains or damage. This rules out the possibility of him being killed and robbed.
First Senior Brother never likes wearing the livery... so that person just now could only be Junior Brother Shen!
Why did he throw this livery to me?
Rate on N.U.
