Reincarnation Girl Becomes Immortal

Xi Heng's initial interest and mood for shopping were disrupted by the sudden announcement, and he gradually lost interest.

……

For the next two weeks, Xi Heng stopped going out for fun with her fellow female students.

She just wants to take advantage of this relatively peaceful period in Jinshi City to further hone her martial arts skills.

Half a month later, at dusk, Xi Heng, as always, sparred with Senior Sister Hong Miao in the now deserted sword training ground.

The two swords clashed, producing sparks and clangs.

My touch isn't quite right today.

Senior Sister Hongmiao has always been quite natural and casual when she's sparring with swords.

Whether it's preparing defensive moves, offensive moves, intentionally feeding the opponent moves, or trying to achieve a surprise victory, at the beginning of a sword fight, the senior sister would always use a few peaceful moves to prepare the groundwork.

Only when they get warmed up halfway through the fight and their passion rises will they gradually become serious, parrying and countering Xi Heng's fierce swordsmanship, discovering weaknesses and exploiting them.

But today is quite different from the past.

Senior Sister Hongmiao didn't wait for her to make a move; instead, she immediately lunged forward at the start of the match.

This sudden change startled Xi Heng, who instinctively raised his sword to block.

The two swords clashed, and the force of the blow made her hands go numb.

Xi Heng had no choice but to unleash his strength and power from the very beginning to parry the opponent's relentless attacks.

This time, it seemed that her senior sister was using all her strength. Her movements and swordplay were as fast as lightning, unparalleled in speed, even more so than her own.

She had no choice but to keep attacking and parrying.

Within just a few seconds and a dozen moves, Xi Heng had already fallen into a disadvantageous position.

Although her eyesight allowed her to spot a few openings for a fleeting moment, the moment she noticed them, her opponent's swordplay had already changed, and the openings had vanished, making them difficult to attack. She could only keep parrying with her own counter-attacks.

After a few more moves, Hong Miao suddenly thrust her sword upwards. Xi Heng took a half-step back and barely dodged, but a strand of hair at his temple was severed by the blade and fell slowly in the wind like an autumn leaf.

The two of them stopped abruptly the next moment.

The two swords paused, trembled slightly, and a faint clang rang out, plunging the sword arena into silence.

"Senior sister won..."

Xi Heng's heart was still pounding rapidly.

Her swordsmanship was taught by Senior Sister Hongmiao, so it's normal that she couldn't withstand such a sharp and aggressive move from her opponent.

But... why did Senior Sister suddenly change her attitude and demeanor when facing the sword today?

Normally, he would teach the sword as if he were giving instructions, but today it seemed like he was venting something, and he attacked with all his might.

"Sister?"

Furthermore, after stopping her swordplay, Senior Sister Hongmiao still didn't say anything.

Then, the other person planted the sword blade in the ground and slowly squatted down.

His eyes were fixed on the long sword in his hand, staring at the face reflected in the cold glint of the blade.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, its golden rays reflected off the sword blade and fell upon the hair that obscured her face.

Hongmiao finally let out a slow sigh and murmured to Xiheng in a low voice, almost as if talking to herself:

"Your enemy is dead."

"Me?" Xi Heng wasn't sure if her senior sister in this strange state was actually speaking to her.

"Zhao Qianyuan is dead."

“Oh…” Xi Heng had already guessed it half a month ago.

Now that I've actually heard my senior sister say it, I feel completely calm.

"Shouldn't this be considered a good thing?"

"He was killed on the spot by three experts at the peak of Dark Force, who used the Bloodline Forbidden Technique to break through the Xuan Gate and reach Dark Force." Hong Miao's voice was a little hoarse.

"Elder Honglianzhan also died in this assassination attempt."

She turned her gaze to the side, her dark eyes lowered as she looked at the bamboo forest swaying in the wind, listening to the rustling of the bamboo leaves, her mind filled with countless thoughts.

"...My condolences, senior sister." Xi Heng wasn't good at comforting others, so he only said this one sentence.

"There's nothing to lament. The elder is growing weaker, and his lifespan is already short... To be able to end his heart's desire with this short lifespan can be considered a martyrdom, which is quite good for a martial artist." Hong Miao said softly, then sighed softly:

"Although I understand, hearing this news today still leaves me somewhat unsettled... The elder has been gone for over twenty days, and I only learned of it today; it is truly disheartening..."

She shook her head, her words lingering there, before changing the subject:

"Let's end our sword duel here for today. There's not much more I can teach you, junior sister."

Having said that, Hong Miao sheathed her longsword, turned around, and left towards the west.

As the sun sets, her lonely figure grows smaller and smaller.

The faint red and yellow light flowed past her back, stretching her shadow several meters long, and landed right at Xi Heng's feet.

The girl behind her watched quietly, keeping her senior sister's back in her eyes. She seemed to be affected by her senior sister's mood, and her heart also felt a little heavy.

Xi Heng also put away his Qingfeng sword and, a moment later, followed Hong Miao to her side.

"Senior sister, there's no need to be too disappointed. The elder probably wouldn't want to see you like this..." she still wanted to comfort her.

"Indeed." Hongmiao gazed at the deep red sunset slowly sinking in the far distance and exhaled softly.

“Every time the elders saw me like this, they would scold me, saying that martial artists must not be weak or shed tears, especially those of us who practice the killing sword, who must not beg for mercy.”

“She once said that she would do this even when she died… It seems that there is a wall in the elder’s heart that even I am separated from.

She shook her head and said:

"It was probably because she knew she would die young and was afraid I would be sad, so she was unwilling to be close to me and never allowed me to become her disciple again, only letting me address her as 'elder' instead."

"Now, it has come to the elder's wish... After her passing, I felt only bewildered, without much grief."

Xi Heng listened silently from the side.

This is, after all, a matter between my senior sister and the elder, and I don't know what to say, so I'll just be a listener.

As they were talking, Senior Sister Hongmiao turned her gaze and chuckled softly, "And you, too."

"Me?" Xi Heng tilted his head.

“Although you appear cheerful and understanding, you are actually extremely proud and aloof, unwilling to reveal your true feelings to anyone… This is a common problem among martial artists like us. Cultivating this kind of killing sword naturally leads to disregard for others and increasing arrogance,” Hong Miao said simply.

"……Yeah?"

Xi Heng, however, was not quite aware of this.

“You are just like the elder, someone who doesn’t treat others with sincerity,” the senior sister said.

"Sincere?" Xi Heng blinked. "Shouldn't I have that?"

"I didn't see when you ever showed any affection for me."

"Moved? What are you saying, Senior Sister?" Xi Heng still didn't understand.

"Yes... what am I saying?" Senior Sister shook her head, as if realizing she was talking nonsense because of sadness, and then said to Xi Heng:

Just pretend you never heard that.

"Oh……"

"That's enough for now. I'm going back to my room to meditate and relax."

After speaking, the senior sister walked across the flower bed with her hands behind her back, opened the door and went into her small attic.

Xi Heng said "oh" again, then obediently turned and left.

However, she didn't get to see it. As she turned around, Hong Miao suddenly looked back and saw Xi Heng leaving. A trace of resentment flashed in her eyes.

Finally, this elusive melancholy transformed into a sigh, which was slowly exhaled from his lips.

……

Three days later, outside the south gate of Jinshi City, the Tianliang army arrived at the city gates.

Heavy white clouds drifted down with fine snowflakes, and snowflakes, carried by the east wind, lashed against the faces of soldiers in full armor on the broad city walls.

A cold wind was blowing, and the temperature suddenly dropped today, making even the strong and healthy soldiers feel quite uncomfortable.

Outside the city walls, the ground was covered in a blanket of white snow. The Tianliang army was cutting down trees around the city, either to build siege ladders or to gather firewood to keep the poorly clothed soldiers warm.

The war drums did not sound; although it appeared to be a confrontation between two armies, both sides remained silent.

Among the Tianliang army scattered across the mountains and plains, there were few elite soldiers wearing armor. Most of them were militiamen who had only been trained for less than a month before going to the battlefield. Their clothes were unkempt and not thick enough, and they were shivering in the cold wind.

Within the city, the scene of civilians fleeing in panic, just like during the siege in the previous life, began once again.

However, in this life, because the news of the Tianliang Army's attack came half a month earlier, most of the people in the city, whether they were wealthy or had relatives or friends in other places, had already orderly evacuated to the north.

The Tianliang army had not sheathed their swords in Jianchang City for three days, and their fearsome reputation had spread throughout Jinshi. Those who could leave refused to stay, and only a small number of those who trusted the government troops remained in Jinshi. But today, seeing the magnificent and imposing army of the Tianliang bandits, they also began to flee in panic.

There was still some order in the city, with constables and yamen runners patrolling everywhere. At least Xi Heng walked a thousand meters on the road and was not robbed by bandits and thugs like he had in his previous life.

However, it's also possible that the inner city wasn't burned down, thus failing to cultivate a sufficient number of bandits.

Xi Heng, clutching a bulging little bundle, used the key to open the gate of the Sword Academy and walked to the central hall of the courtyard.

Nowadays, almost only she and Senior Sister Hongmiao remain in the Red Thread Sword Academy. Most of the other junior sisters have either been taken away from Jinshi by their families or persuaded to leave by their senior sisters.

She had been persuaded before, but when she said she wanted to help her senior sister get revenge, her senior sister stared at Xi Heng with a strange expression for a while. Seeing Xi Heng's unwavering determination, she finally reluctantly agreed.

Today, it was Senior Sister Hongmiao who sent her to Qinse Pavilion in the inner city to retrieve a package.

Gradually, Xi Heng walked to the front of the Sword Academy's main hall, knocked twice, and then pushed the door open and went inside.

The windows inside were covered with red gauze, making the atmosphere quite dark and strange. Two candles stood on the table in front, flickering constantly, and three incense sticks were placed in a small stove, offering to the memorial tablet of Elder Hong.

On the ground, Senior Sister Hongmiao sat cross-legged, dressed in a neat and clean white and red robe, holding a handkerchief in her hand and slowly wiping the long sword in her hand.

"Senior sister, I brought the things."

Xi Heng placed the bundle in his hand beside the other person, making a clinking sound as the bottles and jars clattered together.

"Um……"

Hong Miao wiped the blade several more times, then placed the longsword steadily on her lap, untied the bundle beside her, and took out a small black bottle.

The bottle contained a thick, dark black liquid. Hong Miao then steadily lifted the longsword, poured the small bottle of black liquid onto the blade, and then gently spread it evenly with a handkerchief.

After pouring out this bottle, the senior sister took out another bottle of deep red, blood-like liquid and continued to pour it onto the sword blade.

"This method can cause the enemy to die quickly from the poison after a wound is created," Senior Sister Hongmiao explained with her back to Xiheng. "Do you need it?"

"I have my own methods, so I don't need to use my senior sister's."

"Oh?" Hong Miao seemed somewhat interested.

"It can be considered a kind of poison." Xi Heng didn't explain further.

"Is that so?" The other party didn't ask any further questions.

As bottle after bottle of poison soaked into the sword, the blade of the Red Magic Hand quickly changed from dark black to scarlet, then gradually transformed into seven colors, and finally returned to pure white.

After applying the poison, the extremely dangerous longsword was slowly sheathed by the senior sister. At the same time, she turned to Xi Heng and said:

"Today, regarding the assassination attempt on General Tianliang, you only need to provide support from the outside. If things go wrong, escape immediately."

"Okay, okay," Xi Heng replied perfunctorily.

If she didn't agree to this, her senior sister wouldn't let her join the operation at all.

"If anything unexpected happens... there's no need to seek revenge for me," Hong Miao said softly.

"There won't be any surprises, don't worry, senior sister."

"You always seem so indifferent, as if nothing can affect your mood. Why is that?" Hong Miao suddenly asked.

Because Xi Heng has experienced too many things, big and small, over these lifetimes, his mood is no longer disturbed by them.

Now, although the early arrival of the Tianliang Army was somewhat unexpected, the matter of helping her senior sister take revenge was within her expectations, so Xi Heng was not too surprised.

"Because I am willing to live and die with my senior sister."

This wasn't exactly a lie; Xi Heng had become increasingly indifferent to matters of life and death.