Excessive ferocity due to caution

After Zhao Yi and his two companions left, one of the assassins who had been lying on the icy river pretending to be dead slowly got up and hurriedly stumbled away in the opposite direction...

...

In the bamboo forest, Su Xingcan got three horses.

The snow stopped briefly.

The three headed towards the capital city inside Lu.

On the way, Su Xingcan said to Zhao Yi:

"By the way, I wonder which school or sect Brother Zhao studied under?"

Zhao Yi calmly said:

"A minor sect, not worth mentioning."

Su Xingcan's eyes narrowed mischievously.

"Small sects and minor schools could not produce a peerless master as powerful as Brother Zhao."

Although Zhao Yi never made a move.

But Su Qingyao's strength is undeniable.

Su Qingyao calls Zhao Yi the sect leader, which at least proves that Zhao Yi's abilities are superior to Su Qingyao's!

Moreover, how could someone with no real strength dare to make such a bold statement, claiming they could single-handedly stop the pursuing Qi army?

They exchanged a glance, and Zhao Yidao said:

"It's such a small, insignificant sect; you've definitely never heard of it."

Su Xingcan cupped his hands in greeting:

"May I ask?"

Zhao Yi:

"The Intercepting Sect".

Have you heard of it?

Su Xingcan searched her memory for a moment.

From a young age, he studied under the Tianji Tower, the most mysterious organization in the six kingdoms, where he learned about various doctrines and the cultures of the various schools of thought. However, he had never heard of any organization in the world called the "Intercepting Sect".

Helpless, he sighed:

"Brother Zhao's sect is not even recorded in the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, so it must be a reclusive sect."

"However, Brother Zhao, you'll probably become famous in the martial arts world after dealing with those assassins."

Zhao Yi smiled and said:

"You can become famous by killing a few henchmen?"

Su Xingcan said seriously:

"The martial world of the six kingdoms isn't that bad... but Brother Zhao also knows that those people are from the Qi Kingdom's Fish and Dragon Guard..."

"By killing the Fish and Dragon Guards, you are going against the King of Qi."

Zhao Yi remained noncommittal.

Su Qingyao suddenly said:

"I heard the sound of cicadas chirping."

Su Xingcan asked in surprise:

"In the midst of a heavy snowfall in the State of Lu, where would the cicadas come from?"

Su Qingyao:

"So that's not a cicada."

Su Xingcan's gaze sharpened, and she turned to look.

There was no one in sight.

Only the hoofprints left by horses on the snow remained.

Not too deep, not too shallow.

It's just the right moment to be seen by someone.

Su Qingyao's eyes narrowed, and her fingers traced the green umbrella at her waist.

The murderous aura spread out with a gentle breeze.

"Master, Mr. Su...you go first."

"I'll be right back."

After saying that, she stood up and disappeared into the bamboo forest like a ghost.

Gazing in the direction where Su Qingyao disappeared, a subtle shock flashed deep in Su Xingcan's eyes.

He had no idea that Su Qingyao was a ghost. He only knew that Su Qingyao's lightness skill was so unpredictable that there were only a handful of people in the six kingdoms who could match her skill!

This made him even more interested in the Jie Sect that Zhao Yi mentioned!

Looking at the light snowflakes gradually falling from the sky, Su Xingcan said again:

"I observed the celestial phenomena last night, and it will be some time before the star chart showing the alignment of the seven planets appears."

"We can first go to Shangyi Xiaozhu outside the capital of Lu to 'take refuge'."

"There is a huge star-gazing platform on the top of Cliff Mountain, and all kinds of heroes and warriors will go there."

"At that time, everyone will be crammed together, and people who already have grudges will inevitably clash."

"Fish can hide more easily in muddy water."

"only……"

Su Xingcan hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but then stopped.

"Just what?"

"The road up the mountain is difficult to walk on."

"With strong guards protecting the pass, those who are not strong enough can only be stopped at the foot of the mountain."

"After all, at least 100,000 martial arts practitioners went to Yai Mountain, but probably only one in a hundred actually made it up the mountain!"

Zhao Yi replied:

"It's alright."

"I'll take you up the mountain."

...

Snow Forest, Teahouse.

The steaming hot tea had just been poured into the cup and hadn't even been drunk in one gulp when stumbling footsteps came from not far away.

A person covered in blood collapsed at the doorway.

Inside the teahouse, the people drinking tea and chatting suddenly fell silent.

Someone quickly stepped forward and helped him up.

"Weren't you sent to kill the ghost-spirited scholar? How did things turn out like this?"

The blind old man who was pouring tea, with his back hunched, came to the wounded man.

The injured person's speech was slurred and his lips were trembling.

"There's a master..."

The old man squinted.

"An expert?"

"several?"

Injured:

"One...no! That's not right!"

"There are two!"

The old man's tone was displeased:

"How many exactly?"

The injured man swallowed a mouthful of blood and gasped for breath:

"two!"

Upon hearing this, the old man angrily retorted:

"Two people beat fourteen of you to this extent?"

"waste!"

"Drag him out and kill him!"

The injured man hurriedly shouted:

"Master Qin, spare my life!"

"That woman with the green umbrella... is a peerless master of the Mortal Realm!"

The old man raised an eyebrow:

"What about the other one?"

The injured man shook his head:

"No...I don't know, he didn't make a move!"

"Judging by his clothes, that man seems to be that woman's master!"

He described the situation in detail to the old man, who was called Master Qin. The latter remained silent for a long time, his brows furrowed.

In the martial arts world, there aren't many masters at the Transcendent Mortal Realm.

Women were even fewer.

He had never seen or heard of anyone using an umbrella.

After a moment of silence, Master Qin waved his hand.

After a series of heart-wrenching screams, the man, covered in wounds, was buried forever in the snow.

The young man who was brewing tea looked at the fire in front of him and said calmly:

"A master at the Transcendent Mortal Realm... couldn't protect the Ghostly Scholar."

Master Qin said slowly:

"Don't forget the real purpose of rising to power."

"The Ghostly Scholar... is just a facade."

"We absolutely cannot let this pretext interfere with what our superiors are really doing!"

"Send a message to the bird keeper, telling those lying in ambush on the way to the capital of Lu to prepare!"

"No matter what method we use, we must kill the Ghost Scholar before he enters Yai Mountain!"

A tea drinker respectfully clasped his hands in greeting to the old man, then turned and headed into the dense forest.

His lightness skill was superb; he was as agile and swift as a bird in the forest!

With just a few undulations, he vanished without a trace...

Soon after, another carriage arrived on another road.

Inside the teahouse, everyone greeted them.

"How's the soup?"

"Have you found any trace of Fan Qingxue?"

Master Qin asked a question.

No one responded from the carriage.

Everyone realized something was wrong.

One of them stepped forward and pulled back the carriage curtain, and immediately several corpses rolled out of the carriage...

Each body was remarkably well-preserved.

There was only a barely visible sword mark on his throat.

The young man who was preparing the tea stepped forward, examined it carefully, and then said solemnly:

"It's Fan Qingxue."

"No one but him can wield a sword that fast!"

"It seems... he already knows we're watching him!"

Inside the courtyard, a woman holding an infant spoke with a slightly trembling voice.

Even though she tried to remain calm.

"Last year...he helped the King of Qi to kill someone in the State of Wei."

"Because a spy from the Fish-Dragon Guard peeked at him from the roof beam... Fan Qingxue spent seven days finding and killing all the Fish-Dragon Guards hidden in the capital of Wei..."

"For those seven days, Wei soldiers were busy collecting the corpses of the Fish-Dragon Guards in the streets every day..."

"Thirteen thousand people!"

"You all... don't want to follow in their footsteps, do you?"

"Master Qin, please stop!"

"The body inside the car is Fan Qingxue's warning to us!"

"If we don't stop now, I'm afraid..."

Master Qin glared angrily and cursed:

"You bastard!"

"Who exactly is Fan Qingxue?"

"You think my Fish and Dragon Guards, who are in charge of overseeing the State of Lu, are incompetent?!"

"Pass on my order: send a group of men immediately to Yinxia Mountain... to invite Ren Wudi out of seclusion!"

"I'd like to see what kind of trouble this greenhorn who's only practiced swordsmanship for a few years can cause!"

PS: Second update.

I'll be writing the third update soon, so it won't be too late tonight.

Mainly, I want to play games, sigh.

I haven't played games in a long time.