The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 516 Seeing Fang Yaning Again

The reason it took three days was because Li Geda had already sent a message back that Hong Niangzi had led an army of 30,000, traversing the Qinling Mountains, entering Western Xia through the Ziwu Ridge secret passage, and then advancing westward along the newly opened marching route of Western Xia. They had already arrived at that moment.

More than five months had passed since he and Hong Niangzi parted ways. The journey was extremely long. If it weren't for Hong Niangzi's military leadership, it would have been impossible for 30,000 troops to march thousands of miles across the Jin territory without alarming the Jin and Western Xia kingdoms.

Hong Niangzi had already arrived at the outer perimeter of Bright Peak, while the Ming Cult's higher-ups were currently focused on internal strife, and no one had time to look beyond Bright Peak.

Even more coincidentally, the Five Elements Camp, which was neglected and lacked the trust of its superiors, became the main defenders of the outer perimeter of Bright Peak. The 30,000-strong army easily surrounded the key roads near Bright Peak under the guidance of the Five Elements Camp.

The reason for taking three days was simply to give the long-distance-traveled army a little time to catch its breath, as the Ming Cult's plan to devour them, which had been in the works for more than half a year, was about to come to an end.

After Wu Chengyu met Yang Xu and promised to kill Fang Yaning within three days, on the first night, on a small mountain peak next to Bright Summit, which was the headquarters of Fumingtang.

Among the remnants of Nangong Luan's faction under the command of Xiong Wang and Hu Wang, several prominent figures were hiding inside. Their upper echelons lacked sufficient military strength and usually focused on defensive tactics, while secretly stirring up trouble within the Ming Cult.

That night, several screams were heard inside the headquarters of Fumingtang, but the screams were only fleeting and the headquarters was not even in a state of turmoil. All the noise quickly disappeared until Wu Chengyu's figure flashed by in the darkness.

The next morning, everything in Fuming Hall was as usual, and no news came out. The leaders in Fuming Hall were all safe and sound.

On the second night, Fang Yaning was alone at a secluded hot spring atop Shouxiu Peak. Dressed in a thin veil, she soaked in the hot spring, gazing at the moon outside the window for a long time without saying a word, seemingly lost in thought.

As the saying goes, one's appearance reflects one's heart. When Fang Yaning was in Jiangnan, she was still the noble young lady of the Ming Cult, full of arrogance, looking down on everyone else, with a cold and aloof expression, like a plum blossom braving the snow.

Fang Yu died in battle, and his enemy took over as leader. When Fang Yaning was imprisoned, she was extremely haggard and filled with hatred, as fragile as an unnamed white flower in the mountains.

However, Fang Yaning now holds some power, and after a series of power struggles, she has begun to resort to any means to seek revenge. In recent days, in addition to Li Geda killing people everywhere, she has also personally killed quite a few others.

Fang Yaning's temperament has changed again, just like those villainous female characters in ancient costume dramas. For a moment, it was hard to find a flower to describe her. She was a bit like Jiang Yuyan, who killed off all but the title of "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws".

Another pitiful woman whose heart is blinded by hatred. Wu Chengyu silently watched Fang Yaning's back as she soaked in the hot spring, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

Despite his sighs, Wu Chengyu quietly slipped into Fang Yaning's room and tilted his head to survey and admire her from head to toe.

The woman's back was snow-white, with a swan-like neck and a slender waist that could be encircled with one hand. Her reflection in the water was just as graceful and captivating as the real woman, the two complementing each other perfectly.

The only downside is that she is too thin; you can tell from the front that she is flat-chested, and there may even be slight grooves due to her protruding ribs.

While others have slender branches bearing abundant fruit, this woman looks like a skeleton demon draped in human skin; she wasn't this thin when I first saw her.

Fang Yaning used a wooden ladle to scoop water and poured it over her shoulders and neck. The water flowed smoothly over her skin, slowly tracing her delicate lines, instantly adding a touch of allure to the steamy hot spring, causing the breathing behind her to become slightly heavier.

"Who?" Fang Yaning scooped up a handful of water and shot it behind her. At the same time, she leaped up from the water and grabbed the brocade robe next to her, draping it over herself.

With the water ball imbued with her internal energy, it was powerful enough to pierce through a human body. Her movements were even faster, and after turning around, she was completely covered, so much so that Wu Chengyu could not see anything. Of course, he was also certain that he could not see anything in the first place.

Fang Yaning launched her attack as soon as she finished dressing. She had been assassinated several times in the past few months, but no one had ever been able to enter her room. So, in her anger and frustration, she made her moves even more ruthless. Her Heavenly Serpent Piercing Cloud Hands bared their fangs like a venomous snake.

"Senior sister, please calm down and stop. I was being considerate."

In this world, perhaps only Wu Chengyu, disguised as Zhou Dao, would call her "senior sister." However, after confirming that the other party was indeed Zhou Dao, Fang Yaning's attack became even more fierce.

To this day, Fang Yaning has preliminarily confirmed that this so-called junior brother was deceiving her. He took advantage of her shared hatred of the enemy and persuaded her to pretend to speak for Yang Xu when she returned to Bright Peak, so that Yang Xu could smoothly take over the position of sect leader.

At the time, I thought it was a temporary measure to save my life and get out of house arrest, and then look for opportunities later.

But to everyone's surprise, after returning to Bright Peak, the initial plan succeeded. Fang Yaning became a saintess and was no longer guarded. It was inevitable that there would be spies around her, but at least she was no longer living in constant fear.

Zhou Dao also used her words to demote himself to the position of deputy banner chief of Houtu Banner. Originally, it was thought that this guy also wanted to temporarily get away from Yang Xu's sight to make things easier.

And then? Everything came to an abrupt end without any warning. Fang Yaning never expected that this thoughtful person would never appear in front of her again.

All she heard were reports of this guy drinking and gambling in Houtu Banner, but he didn't do anything to help her get revenge, as if nothing had happened.

In Fang Yaning's eyes, Zhou Dao is now almost like a heartless person. Although he didn't deceive her out of her feelings, he at least deceived her out of her trust, which she once thought was a lifeline.

Seeing Zhou Dao suddenly appear, and not even knowing how long he had been spying on her while she was bathing, Fang Yaning was immediately overcome with shame and indignation.

Fang Yaning's lightness skill is excellent. Her Butterfly Dance Lightness Skill was something that even A-Ku had to be careful to deal with. In this room, she is even more agile and swift, as if she is more suitable for performing it in a small space.

But the faster she attacked, the more Zhou Dao seemed to be one step ahead, causing all her attacks to miss. After several moves, she couldn't even touch the hem of Zhou Dao's clothes. "Senior Sister, I came here tonight to help you. Please stop. If we continue, it will attract attention."

Fang Yaning was shocked to realize that she had previously thought Zhou Dao had only just entered the second tier, but now his lightness skill was even better than hers, which could not be described as merely second tier.

"You liar, you even have to hide your martial arts skills, I will never believe you again."

"Senior sister, you are wise. I am only good at light footwork. If it really comes down to a fight, I am definitely no match for you."

Seeing that she couldn't win over Zhou Dao in a short time, Fang Yaning had to stop. For some reason, she always subconsciously didn't want outsiders to know about her relationship with Zhou Dao.

Furthermore, regardless of the resentment I harbored over Zhoudao's sudden disappearance over the past few months, I now feel a strange sense of anticipation or even dependence whenever I see Zhoudao reappear.

This state was not only due to the thoughtful appearance that gave her a foothold and hope when she was most helpless, but most importantly, when she was overwhelmed with grief and lost her composure, every conversation she had with this thoughtful person was like being tricked by his persuasive words, and her subconscious was affected.

Just like now, after discovering that the other party's martial arts skills were not what she had previously known, she subconsciously assumed that the other party's lightness skill was really good based on just one explanation from Wu Chengyu, and even filled in the blanks in her mind.

Even though this guy had just peeked at her while she was showering, he was an absolute lecher, but Fang Yaning didn't seem to care that he had taken advantage of her.

Fang Yaning returned to her seat, staring intently at Wu Chengyu, but unconsciously tried to defend him.

"Before becoming the Dharma Protector, Uncle Fox King was known as Flying Fox and was the number one master of lightness skill in our Ming Cult. As the son of Fox King, you have such lightness skill, so you have not disgraced Uncle Fox King."

Wu Chengyu muttered to himself, "What Flying Fox? That Fox King isn't Hu Yidao, and he's not Hu Fei either." But Fang Yaning's answer confirmed to Wu Chengyu that the effects of his verbal sparring on Fang Yaning were still present.

Wu Chengyu chuckled, sat down next to Fang Yaning, poured himself a cup of tea, and then secretly glanced at Fang Yaning's figure again.

After being wrapped in a brocade robe, she actually became more graceful. No wonder, with such a bony frame, even the most beautiful figure would be wasted.

In a daze, Wu Chengyu felt that this woman seemed to have drawn black eyeliner, and her eyes held a hint of malice and indifference, making her even more like Jiang Yuyan.

Fang Yaning seemed completely oblivious to Wu Chengyu's furtive glances at her, and she didn't care about them at all, immediately launching into complaints about Wu Chengyu.

"You said you would help me get revenge, but what have you done these past few months? You left me alone on Bright Peak while you just drank and gambled."

The tone sounded somewhat like that of a wronged woman, and Wu Chengyu chuckled inwardly, but spoke with great sincerity.

"It was my fault, junior brother. But I am fortunate to be here today."

Fang Yaning looked up in confusion, but didn't immediately ask any questions. However, her eyes showed a hint of concern.

"I am different from my senior sister, the son of the Fox King. My father has little influence in the Ming Cult and is completely alone with no foundation."

Previously, Yang Xu needed me to persuade my senior sister. After I succeeded in persuading her, I was no longer of any use. My father died at his hands. Does my senior sister think that Yang Xu would really trust me?

I went to the Five Elements Flag with my senior sister's help to protect myself, but Yang Xu and the others still wouldn't let me go.

From the very first day I arrived in Houtu Banner, Yang Xu's informant in Houtu Banner poisoned me. It wouldn't kill me immediately, but it would gradually weaken me over the next few months, eventually causing me to die suddenly as if I were terminally ill.

Fortunately, I met an old beggar when I was in the Beggars' Sect. It turns out that some members of the Beggars' Sect also handled snakes. This old beggar taught me a few remedies for snake venom. Although they weren't the right treatment, they could still alleviate the symptoms of snake venom, which is why I'm still alive today.

In the past, I hovered between life and death every day, so how could I dare to go to my senior sister? Until recently, I finally recovered from the snake venom, which allowed me to come and lend her a helping hand.

It's true that Wu Du poisoned Wu Chengyu, and that's a fitting explanation for Fang Yaning's situation. After all, Fang Yaning subconsciously trusts Wu Chengyu more and is also deeply impressed by Wu Du's poisoning skills.

Although the three factions of the Ming Cult all knew that most of the assassinated Ming Cult members died at the hands of a force hidden within the Ming Cult, Li Geda had been the one to carry out the assassinations. Since he didn't know how to use poison, the deaths of the thirty-odd guards who were guarding the sacred flame were always attributed to Wu Du.

“I had no idea that my junior brother had encountered such a dangerous situation. That Wu poisoner is skilled at poisoning, it is truly remarkable that my junior brother survived. I was wrong to blame you.”

"Senior sister, enough of the small talk. I've come to see you tonight because you're facing a great calamity."

"Senior Sister's move to take away the personal guards while Yang Xu was injured, and then join forces with the Elders' Hall, was indeed a brilliant strategy. Our original plan was to lie low, but Yang Xu's methods are quite good. If we hadn't had this opportunity to get injured, given time, he would have secured his position as the sect leader, and our chances would have been even slimmer."

However, my senior sister made two mistakes.

(End of this chapter)