“Lu Lang, do you like me?” She approached him step by step, swaying her hips and waist, her voice becoming increasingly seductive. A charming blush appeared on her cheeks, making her look like a shy maiden in love, adorable and enchanting. The fragrance in the air grew stronger, seemingly isolating the two of them from the outside world, leaving only an ambiguous atmosphere.
However, Lu Chengsha remained indifferent.
She bit her lip, laughed softly in a flirtatious manner, then lifted her delicate hand to gracefully untie her clothes.
“Lu Lang, I…”
Before any skin was revealed, Lu Chengsha’s sword was already out of its sheath. It seemed he had no concept of sparing the delicate and beautiful. Just as in countless times before, he did not hesitate for even a moment.
His speed was incredibly fast, full of killing intent, aiming for a fatal blow.
Yin Xiangsi dodged nimbly, showing no expression on her face, but a flicker of anger crossed her mind.
Her powder was infallible. The scent along the way, combined with her own fragrance, should have made anyone see the face of their beloved in hers if they stayed within the aroma long enough.
Anyone would be moved if they saw their beloved approaching them with such affectionate gestures, even starting to undress.
Unless the person had no beloved at all. For a moment, she wondered if Little Two’s information was wrong.
However, Lu Chengsha truly intended to kill her. No matter how much she tried to seduce him, he remained unmoved—damn it, Hua Ran’s daughter couldn’t possibly be some pure, shy noblewoman. The greater the contrast, the more a man should be captivated…
No, that wasn’t right.
Yin Xiangsi suddenly remembered that since Hua Ran’s daughter had been exposed, Lu Chengsha must know he was being toyed with by a demonic cult witch. It made sense that he would be furious and want to kill her in anger. It was just that the recent young disciples had been too useless, making her underestimate the situation.
Immediately, Yin Xiangsi changed her strategy.
She switched to a pitiful, injured expression, tears welling up in her eyes. “Lu Lang, I was forced into this earlier; I never meant to deceive you… I truly admire you…”
Lu Chengsha’s sword halted.
Seeing that it worked, Yin Xiangsi quickly said more, “Being away from you, I miss you every moment, my heart aches from thinking about you… I only hope to see you soon. You must believe me…”
“I was forced by my circumstances and couldn’t tell you… I was afraid that if you knew my identity, you would turn against me…” Her voice was soft and pitiful, tinged with an endearing quality. “Stop attacking me, let’s do something enjoyable instead…”
Knowing it’s false, why deceive oneself?
Lu Chengsha told himself.
Yet, his heart still ached deeply, more painfully than when he endured those hundred lashes. He tried to calm himself, silently reciting his sword incantations to achieve tranquility.
Three months had passed; he should be as calm as still water by now.
The person before him was merely a demonic cult member; all he needed to do was kill her without further thought.
Yin Xiangsi hadn’t expected him to persist, becoming increasingly difficult to handle, somewhat reminiscent of Lu Zhenxing in his younger days, oblivious to romantic matters and solely focused on eliminating the demonic cult.
Recalling that old nemesis of the cult, her eyes turned cold.
Truly ungrateful.
No matter how talented Lu Chengsha was, he was still just a young man in his twenties. To her, he was like an infant. She had been reluctant to waste her energy, but did he really think she couldn’t fight?
Moreover, she had more than one trick up her sleeve.
Suddenly, Lu Chengsha noticed the person before him moving with increased speed.
Earlier, she had only been dodging, but now she had two camel bells in her hands. She gently shook them, producing a clear, magical sound. In an instant, countless buzzing insects swarmed from all directions. Their thin wings fluttered, their eyes glaring red, with a vivid red on their tails. They weren’t quite bees, but under the influence of the bell’s sound, they attacked Lu Chengsha directly.
The insects were too small for him to do anything but raise his sword to block them.
He heard the crackling sound of insect bodies falling to the ground, but more insects kept coming.
At the same time, numerous black Gu insects emerged from the ground, crawling up his boots.
He seemed to be trapped in a poisonous jar.
Lu Chengsha shook his body, flinging the Gu insects away and crushing them underfoot. The sound of something breaking through the air followed, and over ten thin, willow-leaf-shaped hidden weapons aimed at his vital points. Lu Chengsha leapt into the air, flipping backward to dodge them, and swung his sword to cut down the relentless insects with sword energy.
Another wave of hidden weapons came again.
Yin Xiangsi let out a cold laugh. Each Gu insect used meant one less in her arsenal, and even as the master of the Wan Gu Sect, it pained her to lose them. However… she noticed that Lu Chengsha seemed to have unhealed injuries. His back stiffened visibly as he dodged, and sweat beaded on his forehead. Her willow-leaf blade had already left a cut on his arm.
The blade was poisoned, and not with just any ordinary toxin.
She continued to shake the bells, summoning an endless stream of poisonous and Gu insects, while her hidden weapons flew and her figure floated like mist, giving Lu Chengsha no chance to counterattack.
Watching the young man in black before her, Yin Xiangsi felt quite at ease, waiting for the poison to take effect.
Soon, he would be at her mercy.
At that moment, a figure suddenly appeared in the mist. Yin Xiangsi frowned slightly; hadn’t she ordered not to be disturbed?
The figure moved swiftly, followed by a cloud of poison mist attacking her.
What a coincidence.
A sinister glint flashed across Yin Xiangsi’s eyes.
Lu Chengsha saw a Gu insect as large as half an egg crawling toward him. It opened its mouth, glowing golden eyes devouring the other Gu insects voraciously. In no time, it swelled to the size of a full egg but did not attack him.
The person in the mist gradually came into view.
Dressed in men’s clothing, she removed her bamboo hat, revealing a face identical to the previous woman’s.
“Found you.” She smiled, seemingly relieved. Holding something between her fingers, she sprinkled it toward him, saying, “Move aside first.”
Lu Chengsha dodged, and the dust landed on the insect-like creatures, igniting them instantly. One by one, they burst into blood-red flowers, eerily beautiful.
She seemed to want to pull him along, but seeing his cold gaze, hesitated and retracted her hand, whispering, “Come with me first, alright…?”
Lu Chengsha felt heat spreading through his body, his mind sluggish. Instinctively, he tightened his grip on the one thing that gave him a sense of security—his sword.
As they stood in a brief standoff, Yin Xiangsi’s voice reached them.
“Are you two ignoring me?” She smiled slightly, addressing the woman before her, “If you want to take him from me, you better consider if you have the skills to back it up.”
“Snatch? He’s mine!”
Hua Yan was almost beside herself with anger. This old witch was too elusive, making Hua Yan wander through the mist for ages before finally catching up. She only felt reassured when she saw Lu Chengsha’s clothes intact but felt a pang of heartache seeing him injured.
Yet now, Lu Chengsha even regarded her with wariness, his gaze icy.
Although Hua Yan had anticipated this, she couldn’t help but feel a bit hurt and wronged. She reached out to grab him, but seeing him grip his sword tightly as if she were a stranger, Hua Yan’s waist and abdomen throbbed with pain. She felt a bit afraid and dared not approach him further.
—No rush, she had a chance to explain later!
For now, she had to deal with Yin Xiangsi.
“If you haven’t slept with him or married him, how can he be yours? I could say he’s mine…” Yin Xiangsi swiftly closed in on Hua Yan. Seeing her face, which bore some resemblance to Hua Ran’s, Yin Xiangsi had her suspicions. While she might show mercy to her prey, she wouldn’t to other women. “If you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish…”
Hua Yan had already drawn her sword to meet her.
Yin Xiangsi’s poisonous Gu techniques worked on Lu Chengsha but not on Hua Yan.
Hua Yan, not only unafraid, took the initiative to attack. Yin Xiangsi finally drew the long mace from her waist, thinking she could easily strike Hua Yan down. However, she found the young girl’s strength far greater than she had anticipated.
Hua Yan’s mind was calm. Three months of hard training were finally being put to the test.
She acted purely on instinct, attacking Yin Xiangsi, whose deep internal energy didn’t translate into extensive combat experience—Hua Yan’s guess was correct.
Yin Xiangsi could roughly estimate Hua Yan’s age and knew Xie Yingxian’s martial prowess. However, she had never heard of Hua Yan achieving any martial accomplishments and thus didn’t take her seriously. She believed she could easily defeat her, and so she fought carelessly. She soon realized her mistake.
She couldn’t fathom being pushed to such a desperate state by a girl not yet twenty years old.
Lu Chengsha also couldn’t believe it. He felt something stirring within him as he watched two identical-faced individuals fight fiercely.
But neither of them could be her—their martial skills were far too superior.
He should intervene, take advantage of their internal conflict to kill them.
However… Lu Chengsha struggled to suppress the feeling within him with his internal energy, knowing he was poisoned. The wound on his back seemed to tear open, and the pain brought him some clarity. Just then, he heard one of them say, “Why are you still here? Leave! You don’t know where to go, you…”
Hua Yan, panting, noticed Lu Chengsha standing dazedly and sensed something was wrong.
Her Gu King had nearly devoured all of Yin Xiangsi’s Gu insects on the ground.
Taking advantage of the moment, Hua Yan flicked her sleeve and retrieved the well-fed Gu King, then turned her attention back to Yin Xiangsi.
Yin Xiangsi now realized that she couldn’t quickly deal with the young girl in front of her. If Lu Chengsha regained his senses and joined the fight, it would be even more troublesome—and she despised direct confrontations!
With that thought, she decisively retreated. Before leaving, she cast a venomous glance at Lu Chengsha and said to Hua Yan, “Consider yourself lucky.”
Hua Yan, not understanding, watched Yin Xiangsi retreat with some reluctance.
But this was Yin Xiangsi’s territory, and she didn’t dare to pursue further, especially with Lu Chengsha still here. She sheathed her sword and turned to look at him.
“…Are you okay?” she asked, keeping a bit of distance.
Lu Chengsha stared at her without speaking, his mind once again clouding. To stay conscious, he immediately cut his arm with his sword, blood flowing down his hand.
“What are you doing!” Hua Yan exclaimed, stunned. She wanted to approach, but saw that Lu Chengsha’s sword, which was always aimed at enemies, was now pointed at her.
“Stay back,” Lu Chengsha said.
Hua Yan opened her mouth, “Ah… okay.” She thought for a moment, then pulled out a bottle of healing ointment. “Do you want to stop the bleeding?”
Lu Chengsha dared not use her things.
He should kill her, but staying here was too dangerous.
Deciding to leave immediately, he leapt away, only to find her following him. Drawing his sword, they exchanged several moves mid-air. Lu Chengsha’s vision blurred, and he suddenly heard her say, “Be careful.”
The familiarity of that voice shook him. Once, during a disciples’ battle against Chu Jun, he had heard the same warning.
This one imitated her much better than the last.
Hua Yan was genuinely worried. If he was fine, it wouldn’t matter, but seeing him like this, how could she let him wander around alone? Besides… it had taken her so long to find him.
But he was so fierce now!
“…Can you stop running? Just stand still and let me explain, okay?”
Lu Chengsha thought, no need, he had already heard enough.
As they fought and moved, exchanging more than ten moves, Hua Yan noticed the scent of blood. One cut on his arm shouldn’t produce such a strong smell. Was he injured again? But now wasn’t the time to ask. She decided to use her sword’s energy to tear Lu Chengsha’s clothing.
Just as she made a couple of swipes, something fell out of Lu Chengsha’s bosom.
It was a black wooden hairpin adorned with a large red silk flower, clearly a gift meant for a woman, not something fitting Lu Chengsha’s usual taste.
Hua Yan’s quick reflexes allowed her to snatch it up. She was immediately taken aback and looked up, asking, “Who did you buy this for?”
Lu Chengsha reached out to grab it back, coldly saying, “It’s definitely not for you.”
Hua Yan: “…?!”
If it’s not for me, who could it be for???