Peng peng——
In the pine forest, two loud explosions rang out almost simultaneously.
The originally silent mountain forest suddenly set off a crosswind and waves in an instant. Countless pine needles were lifted up by the robes of the two figures.
The woman in white was suppressing all kinds of strange poisons, yet her movement skills were still astonishingly fast. She tapped on the tree trunks and flashed back and forth. In an instant, she had fled several zhang away.
She had originally thought that the handsome official behind her would be intimidated when he saw her starting movement.
But the strength of this young arrestor behind her truly exceeded her expectations. Just as she flew out not far, the young arrestor behind her pressed forward at an astonishing speed and in an instant, closed the distance to two or three zhang.
Swoosh——
The woman in white's dress fluttered in the wind. As she flew, she looked back and saw that extremely focused and handsome face. She was quite surprised. When she stepped on the tree trunk again, her slender legs bent and then suddenly straightened:
Boom——
The pine tree as thick as a waist trembled violently under the huge force!
Amid the explosion, the woman in white broke through the air, and her robe made a whistling sound of breaking the wind.
Wherever her figure passed, all the fallen leaves and pine needles on the ground were swept up by the crosswind. From a distance, it was like a white dragon suddenly emerging from the world, crossing through the pine forest. In an instant, she reached the edge of the pine forest.
?!
Even though Yejingtang had a strong psychological quality, he was also shocked by this incredible explosive power. He knew that this woman's martial arts skills were far higher than he had imagined. He landed and stopped suddenly while running, creating a long groove in the soft forest land.
Ca——
The woman in white, who had instantly distanced herself and fled, regained her ethereal posture. She rose and fell above the treetops and even looked back when she was leaving.
Although her face was covered by the veil and couldn't be seen, Yejingtang could still feel the teasing meaning from the woman, as if she was saying to him —— Are you still going to chase?
Yejingtang didn't know the other party's background. Forcing himself to chase such an unfathomable opponent carried too much risk. So he just stood there and watched her leave, frowning and guessing her identity.
Under the silver moon, the woman in the veiled hat, like a white ghost, rose and fell and soon reached the end of his field of vision.
Seeing that the other party didn't come back to attack, Yejingtang wanted to quickly leave this place full of trouble. But before he could turn around, he suddenly heard:
Hua la la~
Looking carefully, he saw that about one li away, the woman in white, who had been looking ethereal just now, stumbled when she stepped on the tree trunk, and then she missed her step and fell down in circles. There was a sound of branches and leaves being broken, and she disappeared from sight.
??
Yejingtang's movement of turning around stopped. He frowned slightly, feeling a bit confused.
After waiting in place for a while, there was no movement in the distance, but two slight footsteps came from behind.
Pei Xiangjun walked beside Luo Ning, paying attention to the slightest movement in the dark pine forest, and asked:
"What happened just now? Who did you meet?"
"I'm not sure. It seems I met a powerful master..."
Yejingtang didn't know whether to say that the other party was powerful or just bad at martial arts but liked to pretend. After waiting in place for a while and not seeing the woman in white appear again, he said:
"You two keep your distance and be careful. I'll go over and take a look."
Luo Ning threw the Minglong Spear to Yejingtang and, together with Pei Xiangjun, followed at a distance, paying attention to the movement behind.
Without the bird as a scout, Yejingtang was afraid of being ambushed by this woman of unknown origin, so he advanced cautiously step by step.
It took about a quarter of an hour for him to pass through the rugged mountain forest and come near the place where the woman had fallen.
By the light of the stars and the moon, he could see that the bushes in the forest had been pressed into a small pit. There was a white figure lying inside. A veiled hat was still hanging on the nearby branch, and a bright sword was stuck in the ground not far away.
Yejingtang held the Minglong Spear and came to a distance of ten zhang to look carefully. He could see the woman in a snow-white dress lying on her side among the bushes, silent. He could only see her long hair reaching down to her buttocks, as well as her legs, waist, shoulders, and back, but not her face.
"Hello?"
Yejingtang called out, but the woman didn't respond at all.
Not knowing the situation, for the sake of safety, Yejingtang took out a golden needle and gently raised his finger from a distance of ten zhang.
Shu~
The thin "Soul-Severing Needle" broke through the air.
Yejingtang didn't often use hidden weapons. At a distance of ten zhang, he couldn't guarantee his aim. The Soul-Severing Needle was also poisoned. If he didn't control the force well and it stabbed too deeply, it might pierce the artery of the internal organs and cause death.
Therefore, this needle was aimed at the relatively large and easy-to-hit and safer part on the back of the woman in white.
Although it was difficult to see clearly from such a distance, judging from the trajectory of the golden needle, it still hit the target accurately.
The Soul-Severing Needle was a powerful weapon developed by Divine Doctor Wang. Even Qiu Tianhe would have to kneel on the spot if he was hit by it. The Eight Champions might have a way to force out the golden needle, but they definitely couldn't act as if nothing had happened after being hit.
After waiting for a while and seeing that the woman still didn't move, Yejingtang held his saber and walked around to the side to look at the woman's face.
Under the moonlight, the woman in a white dress was lying on her side in the depression formed by the pressed trees. Her eyes were closed, her red lips were very calm, and there was a touch of blush on her fair face. She looked as if she had been drinking too much for a moment and casually lay among the flowers and plants to rest.
The woman's long hair should have been coiled on her head originally, but it had spread out when she fell. A few strands of jet-black hair slightly covered her face. Her distant mountain-like eyebrows made her look as if she were a painting. Her appearance was very delicate, but her temperament wasn't gentle and elegant.
Even though she seemed to have lost consciousness, her naturally revealed expression still gave people a strange feeling of being carefree and indifferent to life and death...
Yejingtang looked at her from a distance. He couldn't even hear her breathing and felt that she was already dead. So he walked over and poked her shoulder with the end of the Minglong Spear:
"Hello?"
The woman still didn't respond.
Seeing this, Yejingtang stuck the spear into the ground, walked up to her with his left hand on the saber handle, and reached out his right hand to touch the woman's wrist.
But just as his hand reached halfway, the woman opened a pair of peach-blossom eyes!
Her clear eyes were as bright as stars. Although she didn't say a word, one could understand her meaning —— You've caused big trouble by daring to stab me with a needle!
Hua~
Yejingtang instantly stepped back a few steps and looked at the woman. Just as he was about to speak, he found that the woman closed her eyes again. Then there was the sound of her breathing. Her breath was unstable, and it sounded like she was seriously injured.
After waiting for a while and the woman completely lost all reaction, just as Yejingtang was hesitating, he heard a sound:
Shua——
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ning'er, dressed as an arrestor, rushing over from the forest and running towards the unconscious woman.
Yejingtang quickly stopped Luo Ning:
"Be careful! What are you doing?"
Seeing the woman in white looking as if she were dead, Luo Ning was obviously flustered:
"What did you do to her?"
Seeing Luo Ning's expression, Yejingtang was a bit confused:
"Do you know her?"
Luo Ning didn't know what to say. She quickly walked up to the woman, checked her breath and pulse, and found that she had been poisoned with a lot of poison and wasn't dead yet. She quickly took out the Baihuang Pill, stuffed it into the woman's mouth, and patted her face while calling out:
"Shuishui?..."
Pei Xiangjun came over with the spear and, seeing Luo Ning in a hurry to rescue the woman, was a bit puzzled:
"Jingtang, who is this?"
Yejingtang didn't know who she was originally, but this woman was estimated to have the strength of a Martial Champion. She ran away when she saw the official, and Ning'er cared so much about her...
Who else could she be but the leader of the Pingtian Sect?
Thinking of this, Yejingtang's heart sank. He quickly came over and checked the woman's pulse.
But before he could touch her wrist, the back of his hand was slapped by Luo Ning.
Pa~
Luo Ning checked the pulse and breath and found that the situation was very wrong. She asked anxiously:
"What kind of medicine did you give her?"
"I just used a Soul-Severing Needle. I didn't give her any medicine."
"Where did you stab her?"
"Stab..."
Yejingtang gestured at the woman in white's buttocks.
?!
Luo Ning's eyes widened a bit. She knew this crazy woman's temper very well and knew that Yejingtang had gotten into big trouble. She quickly reached out her hand to pass through the woman in white's legs and picked her up horizontally:
"Let's go back to the town quickly. If she's seriously injured, even the Queen Princess won't be able to protect you."
Yejingtang took out the cloth strips for wrapping the long spear, tied them to the two long spears to make a temporary stretcher, and asked:
"Who exactly is she..."
Luo Ning put the woman in white face down on the stretcher. After thinking for a while, she took out a face towel and covered her own face tightly. She also changed her voice:
"Such a powerful woman. Can't you guess who she is?"
Pei Xiangjun pulled out the Hehuan Sword from the nearby tree and looked at it. Her eyes showed a bit of surprise:
"It seems to be the True Person Xuanji... Jingtang, didn't you ask before you made a move?"
Yejingtang naturally knew who the True Person Xuanji was. But he had heard that the True Person Xuanji was a highly accomplished and virtuous person who had been living in seclusion and cultivating for a long time and never came out of the mountain. Moreover, when he came here, the court didn't say that the True Person Xuanji would come to Wuzhou. It was really unexpected to meet her here and find that she had been injured.
Yejingtang and Sanniang lifted the stretcher together and walked towards the outside of the mountain. He shook his head and said:
"I didn't even touch her. She just turned around and ran away without saying a word, and then she fell down on the flat ground..."
Pei Xiangjun's eyes were cautious: "She must be injured. Be careful. There should still be a powerful master in this place. The person who can injure the True Person Xuanji is definitely not an ordinary person."
Hearing this, Luo Ning also reacted and carefully observed the surrounding mountain forest:
"The person who came is a top master in using poison. If they can injure her, the three of us together may not even be able to last one round against them."
Yejingtang was half-believing and half-doubting: "Is she really that powerful?"
Pei Xiangjun carried the stretcher and walked in front, replying:
"She's one of the top three among the Eight Champions. She's proficient in all kinds of weapons and capable of anything. Do you think she's like a small fry like Huang Yulong?"
This was actually the first time Yejingtang had seen a living member of the Eight Champions. Although he knew in his heart that they were very powerful, seeing the True Person Xuanji in such a half-dead state, the invincible image he had imagined before was greatly discounted.
However, thinking of how Benben and Yuhu were both bad at martial arts but liked to act recklessly and ended up getting themselves into trouble, it wasn't strange for the Master to be in this state. They were indeed cut from the same cloth.
Seeing that Luo Ning's eyes were full of anxiety and worry, Yejingtang asked again:
"Ning'er, are you very familiar with her?"
Luo Ning walked beside the stretcher, like a battlefield nurse. She held the True Person Xuanji's wrist and observed the situation all the time, and replied in a low voice:
"When I traveled the Jianghu before, before I went to the Pingtian Sect, I first went to Yuxu Mountain in Tuzhou. At that time, I met the True Person Xuanji and lived in Qingping Temple for a while. She originally wanted me to stay in Qingping Temple, but in the end..."
Seeing that Luo Ning hesitated to speak, Yejingtang asked:
"What happened in the end?"
When Luo Ning talked about these old stories in the Jianghu, there was a bit of complexity in her eyes.
Back then, she had wandered the Jianghu for revenge. She had stayed in Qingping Temple for a while and had a very good relationship with the True Person Xuanji. It could even be said that they were as close as sisters. She had also considered joining Yuxu Mountain.
But Yuxu Mountain was highly regarded by the court. The sect leader, Lü Taiqing, had been granted the title of "National Preceptor." Essentially, it had drawn a clear line from the Jianghu. They had to consider the court's intentions in everything they did. If she joined the sect, it would be very difficult for her to seek revenge freely in the future, so she was very torn.
Coincidentally, during that period, she met Xue Baijin, who had just emerged. Xue Baijin was a rebel of the Pingtian Sect and promised to teach her martial arts and help her destroy Qianfo Temple without any scruples. The two of them hit it off immediately.
Getting involved with the Pingtian Sect meant that she was destined to draw a clear line from the court. The True Person Xuanji would definitely not agree to this relationship. So she could only secretly leave without saying goodbye and elope with Xue Baijin.
Later, when she had a "grand wedding" with Xue Baijin, the True Person Xuanji thought that she had been forcibly abducted by the leader of the Pingtian Sect and even went to Tiannan to try to save her from suffering. She almost got into a fight with Xue Baijin.
She couldn't tell the problem that Xue Baijin was a woman, so she could only say that she and Xue Baijin truly loved each other and that she was now a member of the Pingtian Sect.
Once these words were spoken, it meant that the official and the bandit were irreconcilable, and their friendship was completely broken.
Luo Ning had always felt guilty towards the True Person Xuanji in her heart, but with her family feud on her shoulders, she had no choice.
Now that she met her old friend again...
Thinking of this, Luo Ning suddenly felt something was wrong in her heart —— She was now with the little rascal. If the True Person Xuanji found out, how could she explain it?
First, she abandoned her old love for a new lover, threw herself into the arms of a rebel and became the chief's wife in the bandit stronghold. Then she fell in love with someone else and committed infidelity, having an affair with a young man from the court...
If the True Person Xuanji found out about this, wouldn't she beat this fickle woman to a pulp?
Secondly, Yejingtang was a member of the government, and she, a leader of the Pingtian Sect, was by his side. Wouldn't the matter of her stepping on three boats be completely exposed!
Not to mention the matter of Yejingtang being a double-sided undercover agent, if he was found out to be flirting with both the True Person Xuanji's disciple and her former best friend at the same time, wouldn't the True Person Xuanji castrate the little rascal, which would be in line with her character...
Luo Ning felt that Yejingtang was going to be in big trouble. She quickly came up to Yejingtang and whispered in his ear:
"When she wakes up, you must never let her know that I'm here."
Seeing that they knew each other, Yejingtang naturally knew that Ning'er couldn't be exposed. He nodded and said:
"Then you hide first later, and I'll send her away."
Luo Ning covered her face tightly and galloped in the mountain forest for a while. Then she felt that this matter was a big time bomb that would explode sooner or later, and she had to come up with an explanation in advance. She said again:
"I was originally snatched by you after you pestered me. If it's really discovered in the future, I... I'll say that I was handling affairs in the capital, and you caught me. You took a fancy to my beauty and forced me to stay in your home by both soft and hard means. My body is in Dawei, but my heart is in Nanxiao Mountain..."
??
Yejingtang looked at her in surprise: "Then wouldn't I become a corrupt official who captured a beautiful bandit and took her into his back house to bully her? If the True Person Xuanji finds out, won't she beat me to death?"
Luo Ning frowned: "Will she not beat you to death if you tell the truth? With this explanation, at least you can distance yourself from the Pingtian Sect. It's just a matter of having a flaw in your personal morality."
Yejingtang thought about it and thought it was also true —— He had