Chapter 267: Encountering a Clear Day Chapter 243: The Most Perfect Match

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Protagonist:

Shaowei

Liu Qi

The gale snapped the mountain peaks, thunder and rain struck the leaves, and the great mountain, swords drawn and bows strung, covered the slaughter of living beings.

The merciless firmament watched this hunt targeting variables, and fueled its momentum, washed away its traces, and silenced its sounds.

The cruel encirclement in the mountain valley continued; that pair of knife-wielding girl and boy were both drenched in blood, the enemy's blood seeping in from outside their clothes, their own blood seeping out from within, both mixed with rainwater and dripping along the hems of their clothes, pooling into blood water beneath their feet, dyeing the entire mountain valley, gradually accumulating water, into a huge blood basin.

The person sent by the mole Du Shulin spoke of to silence him, and the "Yellow Sparrows" arriving with great momentum, also clashed, indirectly reducing the pressure on Shaowei and Shan Gu.

But everything was just as Du Shulin said; the number of people the mole could temporarily mobilize in Taishan Commandery was limited, and the premeditated "Yellow Sparrows" held an overwhelming advantage in numbers—in the dim rain of the mountain, vision was obstructed, and Shaowei could not determine how many "Yellow Sparrows" were in her sight, roughly estimated at no fewer than five or six hundred.

In such a harsh deep mountain, this was already an extremely terrifying number, and in the course of fighting, Shaowei gradually discovered that these people were not ordinary death warriors; nearly half of them had strange skills, their moves and weapons all different, as if they originally came from various places in the martial world, learned different martial arts, but ultimately served the same person, both tamed into loyalty close to death warriors and retaining their respective advantages.

Shaowei thought of the wandering subordinates under her command, but in numbers they were not comparable to this; she determined that behind this there must be at least five years of operation and extremely considerable financial support.

Who is the master of these "Yellow Sparrows"? And who is the secret mole who let Du Shulin in but wanted to kill Du Shulin?

Shaowei gradually formed a guess in her heart; blood in her throat refused to be swallowed, and in her chest surged unwillingness and ferocity more severe than before her death in her previous life.

Today not only was there the calamity of assassination, but also the calamity of human hearts, and heavenly intent also came to meddle; yet it was unknown whether calamity was concentrated and triggered by heavenly intent, or heavenly intent took advantage of danger, or the qi mechanism between man and heaven interacted, weaving this soul-gathering banner, this life-taking array.

The more Shaowei killed, the angrier she became; human nature dissipated, beast qi and ghost qi revived within her body, her knife-wielding became more brutal and fierce, stubbornly advancing and charging toward a pitch-black direction.

The mole's men were pecked and devoured by the Yellow Sparrows; the encirclement targeting Shaowei and Shan Gu gradually became tighter.

A tall, sturdy figure wearing a bamboo hat approached, blocking the front; the weapon in his hand was actually an iron hammer—carrying such a heavy weapon into the mountain must be laborious, showing this person possessed extraordinary strength.

He squinted at the figures of the slaughter, and said in surprise to his companion: "This is our first time going out together, just for such a girl? I thought the heavenly mechanism spoken of in rumors would be born with three heads and six arms; looking at her, she isn't even this tall—I can't bear to raise my hammer."

As the man spoke, his left hand made a height gesture at his chest; but before he could say more, he felt a sudden gust of wind before his eyes—the girl slew two people, stepping on corpses and leaping through the air to approach, both person and knife fast beyond imagination—

The man stared wide-eyed in surprise, his thoughts numbly realizing one thing: now she was far taller than him; he suddenly felt short, needing to look up at her in the mud.

The man whose head rolled into the mud had a blood-spurting torso that remained upright for a short while; his head watched the girl, whose face had only blood and no expression, pass by his side, snatched the hammer about to fall from his hand, raised it with one arm, lowered his body, and suddenly swung it down, opening a path ahead filled with mournful cries.

The youth stepped over his fallen body, holding his knife and closely following the girl, guarding her back, like a loyal wolf-dog baring its teeth, fur bristling, drenched in blood; the two relied on each other for life with extreme ferocity.

Shan Gu felt no fear in his heart, but his body began to feel cold.

In a daze, it was as if he had returned to the Broken Dao Temple where he first met A Jie in his youth.

Back then it was truly cold, and he was about to die of illness; it was the wolfskin coat A Jie threw to him that saved his life; later, when he was a bit older, he hid in a cave to wait for death, and again it was A Jie who found and rescued him; then there was the matter of Zhu Zhi...

He was long ago a prefabricated corpse that the King of Hell had sent back many times; it was A Jie who saved him time and time again; A Jie seemed to know true witchcraft of raising the dead, continuing his life again and again, forcing him to grow bit by bit, until now he was already taller than A Jie and could fully stand guard behind her.

Shan Gu dreamed of properly repaying A Jie once; A Jie was skilled in lightness arts, and he proposed that he hold some people back while A Jie used lightness arts to escape, but A Jie seemed not to hear, still bringing him forward to fight and kill.

And at this moment Shan Gu could also see that this proposal was not easy to carry out; A Jie's strength had been drained too much, and those people, layer upon layer, high and low, surrounded the mountain valley like an array, a hunting ground to hunt the most spirited tiger in this world.

People bullied A Jie; heaven bullied A Jie.

Shan Gu felt unprecedented anger, feeling he could not die with peace even in death, so he dared not die, dared not fall.

He followed Shaowei killing all the way; at this moment he suddenly saw a figure to the side using lightness arts, lightly stepping on companions' shoulders to approach; the person's figure was light and agile, quickly closing in, a sharp long spear in hand drilling through the rain curtain to stab.

At this moment Shaowei's knife blade was bound by an iron chain; the end of the chain split into two, held tightly by two men cooperating in combat, gnashing their teeth; Shan Gu shifted his steps, in an instant blocking A Jie's side, holding his knife with both hands to block the spearhead; under this impact, Shan Gu found it hard to steady his body; his strength sank, and he knelt heavily on one knee, feeling his kneecap cracked by the jagged stones, still desperately blocking with his hand.

However, behind Shaowei, whom he was originally defending, someone seized the opportunity to swing a knife down; Shan Gu, straining, heard a buzzing in his mind, and could no longer accurately judge whether A Jie could dodge; he dared not take any risk, almost without hesitation freeing his right hand, gathering palm strength to strike the knife hilt, causing the blade to leave the loosened left hand and fly toward the knife-wielder.

Without the blade to block, Shan Gu fell heavily backward; the spearhead chased urgently, about to pierce his chest!

Before Shan Gu's eyes seemed to flash a cold star whistling past, but it actually severed the long spear outright; the spearhead, losing its killing power, rolled and fell; the source of the cold star appearing across the sky was a three-foot sword.

The three-foot sword, humming and trembling, plunged into the dark red mud; the sword body was of dark metal, the hilt and guard inlaid with white jade and coiled with a Chi Dragon.

This object entered Shaowei's peripheral vision, as if it had broken out of reincarnation from that night in her previous life.

Shaowei suddenly exerted more force, forcibly pulling the iron chain a large step closer; as the two men staggered, Shaowei lifted her leg to step on the briefly loosened iron chain, her left hand drawing the three-foot sword; leaning in, cold light swept across, leaving connected blood lines between the two men's necks.

As the knife blade broke free of the iron chain, it drew a domineering horizontal arc; flesh and blood flew; as the enemies were forced back, she circled out a momentary space of safety; only then did Shaowei dare to lean on her knife and turn, protecting Shan Gu, looking behind.

In the rain, a figure ran swiftly; the figure's posture and bearing were straight and sharp, like another seven-foot dark sword, forcibly cutting through the slaughter array of heaven, earth, and man encircling them, running toward her.

In his previous life on this day he had once stepped into a dead end, for what he hated in his heart; in this life on this day he willingly entered a dead end again, for something completely opposite to hatred.

He charged to the very front, with Imperial Guards following behind; amidst them, wind lamps flickered, finally bringing a little light with a sense of the human world, illuminating Shaowei's eyes; she could see raindrops hanging on his eyelashes, while tears surfaced in his pupils; his expression was extremely grateful—he had clearly just walked into this calamity, yet felt the luck of surviving after the calamity.

Treading on blood, Liu Qi knelt down on both knees before Shaowei, who was slowly squatting and kneeling with hands propped on knives, to support her shoulder; the Imperial Guards surged forward beside them to fight; Liu Qi looked at Shaowei with utmost seriousness, and said to her with utmost seriousness: "Shaowei, I heard it, I heard it!"

He was anxious and caring to the extreme, with rigid seriousness and repeated expressions.

Under the cover of thunder, he caught the short signal sound she had not hoped for; even if it was an auditory hallucination, he had to come as fast as possible—he was not coming to save people, but to save himself; this was absolutely not her calamity alone; he must be there together, even if dying together.

Such a bond, Shaowei naturally understood; her eyelashes trembled from the rain; she opened her mouth and spoke as if making a vow: "Liu Qi, this time we won't die."

After speaking, the blood in her throat finally spilled out; Liu Qi couldn't bother with much; his hand reached into her collar—her survival skills were unmatched by anyone; she had always carried hemostatic pills on her person.

She had killed her way here without a moment's distraction to take medicine; she had killed too many people, shed too much blood, been in the rain too long; her nerves were stretched to the extreme, her thoughts frozen; Liu Qi fed her the medicine, listening to her speak without restraint, wildly accusing: "Your Imperial Uncle, he said I resemble the Marquis of Changping..."

—She would indeed fall into this seemingly unchangeable dead end of heavenly punishment.

"Perhaps he alarmed the heavens, prayed to the heavens to protect the heavenly mechanism and the heir; now it's fine, bringing such protection..." Shaowei's mouth corner was still overflowing with blood; Liu Qi wiped it for her; her teeth chattered; she wanted to look fierce and evil, but her expression was insufficient.

Liu Qi actually wanted to laugh a little, but his expression only held heartache; her resentful and angry wild blaming might not be without reason; the Son of Heaven performed the Fengshan sacrifice to communicate with ghosts and gods; this time especially sincere; perhaps this power of thought truly awakened some qi mechanism, prying open the inescapable fate in the dark.

Amidst the bloody wind and rain, Liu Qi suddenly and devoutly kissed Shaowei's forehead, responding to her: "Alright, we won't die."

"Don't be afraid either," Shaowei said to him, pushing his sword toward him.

"Not afraid; I was very afraid on the way here, but seeing you, I'm not afraid anymore."

The two, along with Shan Gu who had also taken hemostatic pills, stood up one after another.

Liu Qi came very quickly; also because of the unusually fast speed, the men he could temporarily bring were all that could be mobilized at the time, including Deng Hu, totaling one hundred and thirty Imperial Guards.

This was not enough to kill off all the "Yellow Sparrows"; the mountain path would become even more difficult to traverse due to the rain; reinforcements would need at least an hour and a half to arrive here; Shaowei and the others could of course choose to hide in a place easy to defend and hard to attack, using these hundred-plus Imperial Guards to wear down and delay until reinforcements arrived—

But Shaowei could not wait; she had to go to the Immortal Shrine; this was not her calamity alone; many important people whose fates she had changed also seemed to be in this calamity; some losses were more unacceptable than her own death.

As Du Shulin had said, it truly was a struggle against the mountain, the heavens, and time itself.

Liu Qi looked in the direction Shaowei was gazing: "Then we'll kill our way through."

Shaowei gripped her blade, regulating her breath: "I'll lead the way."

Though injured, she still possessed the unyielding spirit of a beast king; Liu Qi and Shan Gu flanked her, charging forward together.

Behind Liu Qi, a second variable was suddenly torn open from the front side—a drifting Grey Shadow slashed forth with a blade, his grey Daoist Robe stained with mottled blood, several wanderers following to protect him.

Shaowei was astonished by the appearance of the household slave; this journey had been hard, he had suffered many injuries, yet his words remained as usual: "She sent me to receive you."

Shaowei immediately countered: "Then where is she! Did something happen at the Immortal Shrine too?"

"When I came, those people had not yet approached; there are still some people in the Immortal Shrine. She said there is no need to worry, another Array has been activated to protect it."

Shaowei was deeply wary; Jiang Fu had indeed set up an Array at the Immortal Shrine, dragging her along, but...

"Wind and rain rage, the items for setting up the Array cannot be stabilized, the Array cannot hold for long—you've been tricked by her again!" Shaowei nearly blamed her, speaking urgently.

The household slave fell silent for a moment, but accepted it well; being tricked by her was also a form of obedience, essentially no different, and besides—

He looked at the scarred household beast, speaking in a muffled voice: "You are also very important."

"I can handle it myself..."

"She won't be at ease." The household slave interrupted Shaowei's words: "Don't be angry, you've been received, once you're received we'll go back together to find her."

He was always so carefree; the word "receive you" that he repeatedly mentioned brought uncontrollable tears to Shaowei's eyes. Jiang Fu still loved to deceive people, but one thing had finally improved: unlike the time at Taoxi Township, where she would have the household slave take her far away at the first sign of trouble, this time at least she was coming to receive her.

Having experienced so much, they already understood each other this well and should live on together; thinking of Mother as well, Shaowei's Combat Intent burned even fiercer, and at this moment Liu Qi spoke, making a proposal regarding tactics.

"Once these people bite down, they won't let go easily. Shan Gu and I will lead half the people with the Ling Family Army Formation at the rear to trap and hold them as much as possible, waiting for reinforcements to arrive—Shaowei, you and the wanderers lead half the people first, so we can move faster."

Since he had come, he could not come for nothing, nor merely follow at her left and right; when he could be of more use, opening the fastest path for her, only then could he be worthy of being one of her variables.

He was originally the worldly variable she brought; they should naturally be variables for each other. This was the rightful repayment and return, a willing mutual dependence.

Shaowei looked at him, listening as he continued: "I can only slightly block your rear worries for you; the battlefield further ahead still requires you to charge and kill."

After only a moment, Shaowei nodded, but only agreed to take forty people, and said to him: "Just hold them for now, don't overextend, don't let them surround you; if you can't stop them, flee. I move very fast; once I start moving, they won't catch me."

She finally said: "Liu Situi, I want a living Liu Situi."

Liu Qi, blood on his face, smiled: "Alright, definitely a living one."

After speaking, he immediately mobilized the people with Shan Gu; Shaowei did not delay, raising her blade and charging forward to kill.

The household slave arrived a step late; in this situation fraught with the danger of life and death parting, he inexplicably spoke the most socially intelligent sentence of his life:

"You two are the most well-matched in the world."

After speaking, he did not look at that brat's surely smug expression, turning and leaving, like a blood-stained Leaf, sweeping through this low mountain hollow in the wind and rain, following the household beast to kill up this pitch-black mountain peak as lofty as the Nine Heavens.

About a quarter of an hour after the household slave left the Immortal Shrine, Feng Zhu felt a vague unease in her heart. She walked out of the Immortal Shrine's Gate and gazed distantly toward Dai Summit.

Pei Qing, holding an umbrella and supporting her, said in a low voice: "Miss, rest assured. Just now, the Jiang Family Female Monarch sent Zhao Shu to receive her."

"That's good. Night falls quickly, the wind is so strong, and it's raining; she has always been too impatient when walking." Feng Zhu felt somewhat reassured and couldn't help but smile: "The Female Monarch loves to tease her the most, but when it comes to true concern..."

Feng Zhu had not finished speaking when she suddenly saw a shadow wearing a Cloak coming quickly through the wind and rain. Upon seeing clearly, she couldn't help but say: "Quan Shan, why did you come out in the rain? I said the other day—"

Yan Mian, however, said: "Zhu'er, come down the mountain with me."

He reached out and took hold of one of Feng Zhu's wrists. His dark green Cloak was blown up by the wind, his clean and upright face bearing the dampness of wind and rain.

Feng Zhu did not move, looking at him and asking: "It's already late. Why come down the mountain overnight in the rain? Shaowei is still on the way here; I can't put my mind at ease about her—Quan Shan, has something happened?"

Yan Mian said: "I heard that Consort Shentu has fallen ill in the Xing Palace at the foot of the mountain. Zhu'er, we'll go down the mountain to see the old lady."

Feng Zhu couldn't help but feel nervous and worried. Pulled by Yan Mian, she took two steps, but then suddenly stopped and withdrew her hand.

Yan Mian turned back, only to see Feng Zhu's face change color. She spoke sternly: "Quan Shan, you were busy with official duties during the day. You could only have come from Dai Summit or the Zhongguan Camp. The news couldn't have reached you faster than me—Mother falling ill is ultimately a private matter. Why didn't Father send someone to deliver a message to the Immortal Shrine? Instead, he publicized it so that you, a grand Xiang Gong, learned of it first?"

The wind and rain intensified, and the feeling of unease spread rapidly. Feng Zhu steadied her voice and asked: "Quan Shan, tell me, what exactly is the important matter?"

?? The flag of finishing around New Year's ultimately became New Year's after after after after after due to my incompetence. There are probably about forty-five chapters left (probably).

? But on the last day of '25, I must solemnly summarize and thank everyone. 《Meeting a Sunny Day》 was started in March. The update speed is average. Thanks to everyone's love, it actually ranked seventh on the annual list! It's the annual list! Thank you for everyone's indulgence, wuwuwuwu! Kowtowing to everyone!

?'26 is approaching. I wish everyone health, happiness, and prosperity!

? (Babies, no update on the 1st, couldn't write a full chapter, updated on the 2nd)