After the brief fierce battle, countless green bamboos in the central area of the bamboo forest were damaged by the saber's air current, revealing an open space. Broken bamboos and scattered leaves were everywhere.
Shasha sha~~
The rain of bamboo leaves drifted with the wind and gradually covered Huang Yulong's body.
Not far away, Pei Xiangjun held a long spear and pressed down on Xiao Shichen, who was covered in blood.
Yejingtang squatted down beside him and took out the medicine bottle again:
"It's really too late if you don't take it now. You were just the second in command. You had to follow the arrangements of the sect leader before and weren't the mastermind. Now that your boss is dead, he'll bear all the crimes. I'm not saying I can let you get away without any punishment, but at least I can save you from death. You're only in your forties and have at least thirty more years to live. Why sacrifice your life for the Prince of Wu?"
"Cough..."
Xiao Shichen kept coughing up blood and, looking at Huang Yulong, who had already stopped breathing, said hoarsely:
"You should go after Bai Siming. People in the Jianghu are all turncoats. How could the Prince of Wu tell us his hiding place? Cough... If you want to kill me, just do it. I've already made up for what I've done... Cough..."
Yejingtang frowned, raised his hand, and ended Xiao Shichen's life. Then he stood up and looked towards the depths of the bamboo forest.
Luo Ning came over with her sword in hand. Just as she was about to speak, she saw bloodstains on Yejingtang's虎口 (the webbed area between the thumb and index finger). She quickly held Yejingtang's hand to check.
Pei Xiangjun took out the Jinchuang medicine from behind her waist and handed it to Yejingtang, looking quite displeased:
"Why didn't you use the good big spear? You had to use a saber to get close to the spear. What were you thinking?"
Yejingtang wasn't actually injured; only the skin on his Tiger's mouth was broken from the shock. He clenched his five fingers and shook his head:
"I just wanted to try how powerful the Dragon-Slaying Order is. What a lousy saber technique. It didn't work at all and almost made me dizzy."
Luo Ning took out a handkerchief and helped Yejingtang wipe his hands. She frowned and said:
"If you had used the hundred-jin heavy saber from Junshan Terrace, Huang Yulong wouldn't have been able to stop the saber with his spear-breaking move. He would have been knocked away along with his weapon with the first strike. It's clearly that you used the wrong weapon..."
Seeing that Luo Ning, with an imposing manner of a master, was criticizing Yejingtang, Pei Xiangjun interrupted:
"Ning'er, you were jumping back and forth more than thirty times just now. What kind of move was that? A confusing formation?"
Luo Ning's words stopped abruptly. She looked at Sanniang, who was mocking her:
"What kind of confusing formation? That was the Nine Palaces Step!"
"The Nine Palaces Step is a close-combat footwork. Would you use it when you're four or five zhang away from the opponent?"
"I was holding a soft sword. If I didn't look for a chance to sneak attack, should I charge head-on like him? You were using a big spear and only stabbed once from start to finish... Woo~!"
Luo Ning was arguing angrily with Sanniang, who was teasing her. But halfway through her words, a handsome face suddenly appeared in front of her.
Then a warm touch came from her red lips, blocking her words completely.
"Eww~"
Pei Xiangjun saw that the seductive woman was being kissed and quickly turned her head away.
Luo Ning was very angry at being sneakily kissed by Yejingtang. She raised her hand and hit him on the shoulder, turning her face away:
"You little rascal, you're taking sides, aren't you? When she said something about me, you didn't say a word. When I said something about her, you blocked my mouth?"
Yejingtang took the Minglong Spear and put on a serious look:
"I just wanted to take advantage. How can you say I'm taking sides? Let's go quickly and chase after Bai Siming."
Luo Ning felt that Yejingtang was indeed taking sides, but since the important matter was at hand, she didn't say much. She put away her sword qi and walked ahead angrily.
Pei Xiangjun carried the long spear that didn't match her figure at all on her shoulder. As she walked, she thought for a moment:
"By the way, the government troops suddenly came just now, and then we came to chase after them without stopping. I forgot to tell you. When I was keeping watch on the roof, I saw the confidant of the Prince of Wu come, and there seemed to be someone following behind him."
Yejingtang took the Overlord Spear and carried both spears on his shoulder:
"Following? Who was it?"
"I'm not sure. Their lightness skills were very powerful, and their insight was astonishing. When they found out that someone was keeping watch near Xianyue Alley, they ran away directly. Then, not long after, a woman in white came to the town. It seemed that she was chasing the master with excellent lightness skills in front..."
Luo Ning slowed down and asked:
"What kind of woman was she?"
"I'm not sure. It was too far away. I only saw that she was wearing a veiled hat and a white dress. Her lightness skills were definitely better than mine..."
Just by hearing this, Yejingtang naturally couldn't figure out the identity and stance. However, judging by the principle that "the enemy of my enemy is my friend," the person who could chase after the one following Bai Siming was most likely someone on the side of the Prince of Wu.
After thinking for a moment, Yejingtang noted this down and left the bamboo forest with them, chasing in the direction where Bai Siming had left...
——
The afterimage obscured the moon. In the dense forest of the deep mountains, withered vines and old trees were intertwined, and from time to time, there were some indistinct howls of beasts:
"Awoow ~~"
The bird spread its wings and circled in the night sky. Its bright black eyes reflected the mountains and fields within a few li around, locking onto the figure of the person who was quickly fleeing in the forest.
Bai Siming, dressed in a scholarly robe, walked on the mountains as if walking on flat ground with his astonishing movement skills. His speed was extremely fast, yet there was not the slightest sound. Occasionally, he would lightly leap onto the treetops and carefully observe the slightest movement behind him. He was extremely cautious.
But no matter how cautious a martial artist was, it was difficult to notice a flying bird circling at a high altitude at night.
Finding that the Black Yamen's Hell's Judge had been held back by Huang Yulong and the others and didn't catch up, Bai Siming no longer cared about hiding and began to speed through the mountains.
Shua shua shua～
Although the movement was small, when he was running at full speed like this, it still caused a row of swaying tree crowns and branches in the deep mountains and old forests, extending towards the northwest, as if a beast was running through the forest.
The bird followed at a high altitude. After chasing for several mountains like this, it suddenly found that on the top of a mountain, there was a black shadow standing at the commanding height, looking out over the mountains.
The movement caused by Bai Siming wasn't large, but it was quite noticeable if one looked carefully. The black shadow quickly locked onto Bai Siming's position and then quietly followed behind.
The bird tilted its head in the air. Just as it was feeling puzzled, it found a white figure floating over from beyond the field of vision at an astonishing speed and chasing after the two of them.
The three people were at a great distance from each other, moving through the mountains in a pattern of "the mantis stalks the cicada, but the oriole is behind."
The woman in white at the back kept closing the distance. After reaching a cliff, the black shadow sensed something and turned around and fled far away.
At the same time, the woman in white burst into action and leaped down from the cliff.
Swoosh——
Then plants and trees were flying everywhere in the mountains, and the black and white shadows scurried around like a cat chasing a mouse.
Bai Siming, who was fleeing ahead, was obviously alerted by the movement. Without any hesitation, he fled towards the distance.
The bird was full of questions. Since its target was clear, it ignored the two outsiders scurrying around and continued to chase after Bai Siming...
——
It was already late at night.
In the deep mountains and old forests, the three of them moved forward silently. Yejingtang carefully observed the clues on the ground to judge the direction in which Bai Siming had fled.
But for a top-notch master to flee, the footprints left behind were almost invisible. To catch up with Bai Siming, they still had to rely on the bird, which was acting as a scout. The three of them walked slowly in the mountains, mostly resting and recuperating, waiting for the bird to come back and report the position of the target.
After walking like this for two quarters of an hour, without seeing the bird return or send a signal, Yejingtang's ears twitched slightly, and he looked towards the towering mountains ahead.
Pei Xiangjun lowered her breath and looked towards the depths of the mountains:
"Is there a situation?"
Yejingtang stood up, leaped onto the top of a big tree, and looked towards the depths of the mountains:
"It seems that there are people fighting in the mountains. The movement is quite big."
"Did Bai Siming get into a fight with others?"
"It's possible."
Now that the court had come to pursue the people of the Prince of Wu, Yejingtang wasn't the only one.
The Prince of Wu had rebelled and fled. Being the first to discover and capture him was a great merit that was enough to get promoted and receive a higher rank. In recent days, arresters from various places and even government masters had been rushing to Wuzhou.
In case other people searching for clues in the mountains ran into Bai Siming and had a conflict, the opportunity he had in his grasp might just slip away.
Thinking of this, Yejingtang didn't hesitate and began to move quickly towards the depths of the mountains. Luo Ning and Pei Xiangjun also got up and followed behind...
———
The flowing clouds covered the full moon, and the deep mountains and old forests became darker, leaving only a faint starlight.
In the depths of the mountains, in a pine forest.
The yellowish-brown pine needles had accumulated thickly on the ground. The ground was slippery, and it would make a soft sound when stepped on.
The woman wearing a snow-white long dress and a white gauze veiled hat walked slowly in the dim pine forest. Her white shoes embroidered with plum blossom petals stepped on the pine needles, seemingly without any weight, without making the slightest sound.
The woman in white held a long sword. The sword was three chi and three cun long. The four-sided blade was as bright as a mirror, and the guard was in the shape of the Taiji Yin-Yang fish. Its name was quite special, called "Hehuan" (literally meaning "joyful union," from the meaning of the union of Yin and Yang), which was the third-ranked sword among the Ten Great Famous Swords.
The reason for its high ranking wasn't that the material and craftsmanship of this sword were particularly special.
Just like the Minglong Spear, the material and craftsmanship of the Minglong Spear were not inferior to those of the Ten Great Famous Spears, but its reputation in the Jianghu might not even rank among the top hundred.
After all, the status of a famous weapon in the Jianghu had never been determined by its quality but by the person using the weapon and their past battle achievements.
This sword could rank among the top three because it was the sword worn by the founder of Yuxu Mountain. Now it was in the hands of the woman who was among the top three of the Eight Champions and the strongest woman on the surface in the Jianghu.
The pine forest seemed calm as usual. But if there was enough light and one looked closely, one could find that there were many thin black needles like hair strands remaining on many pine trees, and there were also some sword marks on some tree trunks.
The woman in white's dress fluttered with the faint night wind. After searching in the forest for a long time, she stopped and said:
"Come out. You've been hit by one of my palms. If you hold on any longer, you'll die."
Her voice was that of a rather mature and elegant woman, gentle and soft, unhurried, yet with a hint of carefree and casual attitude. It sounded both righteous and evil, making it difficult to distinguish between good and evil.
With the woman in white's words, a woman's voice also came from the depths of the dense forest, full of anger:
"You witch! You've been hit by my Rotten Bone Needle, and even the Divine Doctor Wang of Nanwei can't save you. Now throw away your sword and beg for mercy, and I'll give you a way out. If you keep chasing me, we'll die together!"
The woman in white turned towards the source of the sound and sighed:
"You've said these words seven or eight times already. What Fiery Heart Needle, Meridian-Breaking Powder, every time you say there's no cure..."
"I didn't want to kill you and showed mercy to you! You witch have been chasing me from last year to this year, from the Western Sea of Daliang to here. Aren't you bored? If you keep chasing me, I'll give you an aphrodisiac and throw you into a brothel..."
Ding~
A thin needle like a hair strand flew silently from the dark place. There was no warning, but when it approached, it was swept away by the Hehuan Sword.
The woman in white strolled leisurely in the pine forest and looked towards the canopy of a tree in the depths:
"Oh~? You still have an aphrodisiac? I really want to try how powerful it is. Don't let it be those cheap things on the market that don't even give any feeling..."
"Pooh! You witch, don't push me. If you dare to take one more step forward, I'll break the killing taboo!"
The woman in white didn't stop walking: "You can't hold on anymore. Hand over the Minglong Map, and I'll let you leave alive..."
"I don't have the Minglong Map. I've told you a hundred times! If you want to find the Minglong Map, go find Jiang Zhahu. Why are you chasing me?"
The Jianghu of Beiliang was quite different from that of Dawei. In Dawei, they were all traditional martial artists, and the only people respected as "Saints" in the Jianghu were the two Saints on the mountain.
While Beiliang highly respected extraordinary people. Martial artists in the Jianghu who didn't follow the usual path also had a high status. The popular poisons, hidden weapons, and even items like telescopes and osmanthus soaps in the world were all made by people from Beiliang. There were a lot of titles like "Poison Saint," "Medicine Saint," "Thief Saint," etc.
But no matter how many there were, among each profession, there could only be one person titled with "Saint."
Being pointed out her identity by the woman in white, the person in the forest wasn't proud but instead said angrily:
"You're the thief! I've never stolen anything..."
"With your excellent lightness skills, you sneak into the study rooms and secret chambers of wealthy families every day. If you don't steal anything, what are you looking for?"
"I'm just stealing to learn martial arts secret manuals."
"Does the Yanwang Mansion also have martial arts secret manuals? A few years ago, the Yanwang Mansion was burglarized. The Prince of Yan didn't make it public but secretly searched for your whereabouts..."
"I didn't do the case of the Yanwang Mansion! There are so many thieves in the Jianghu. After stealing something, they put the blame on me. I've explained it, but you don't believe me..."
"The Wingless Owl didn't even learn three-tenths of Lu Jieyun's skills. After stealing a lightness skills experience manual, he was so scared that he didn't dare to return to Yanzhou. He doesn't have the courage and ability. In this world, only you can sneak into the Prince of Yan's study without making a sound..."
Hua la——
They had only said a few words when suddenly, the sound of a branch breaking came from the pine tree in front.
Then a black shadow fell from the canopy of the tree and landed on the ground covered with pine needles.
Plop——
The black shadow was dressed in a black night suit, with only a pair of eyes exposed. After landing, it tried to get up but let out a muffled groan and covered its chest:
"Cough..."
The woman in white walked slowly to a distance of ten zhang with her sword in hand:
"Every time I'm still half a li away from you, you can sense it and escape in advance. I don't believe that you haven't practiced the Ming Shen Tu (a kind of martial arts secret manual)."
The person in black lay on the ground, glaring at the persistent woman in front of her, and said angrily:
"Is there something wrong with my naturally exceptional ears and eyes? I roam the Jianghu without stealing or robbing. I have no enmity with you, you witch. You keep haunting me and attacking me again and again..."
The woman in white held the sword upside down behind her back:
"If I wanted to kill you, you would have been dead already. I urgently need the Minglong Map. Since you have it, I must take it. Hand it over, and I'll let you go, and I'll also compensate you with a great opportunity. If you don't hand it over... I don't want to be a bad woman either, but I have no choice for the sake of my disciple."
Seeing the other party approaching, the person in black gritted their teeth, and a dagger