Chapter 183: Lord Chen Yan, Until We Meet Again!

Moonlight poured over the ruined temple like shattered silver, the gray-clothed woman Dankui Guidi, and her trembling Long Sword was thrust obliquely into her side.

Just now, Lu Cangfeng's fierce slash not only severed the dark silk rope binding her hair, but also sent the gray silk veil covering her face flying and falling to the ground.

Three thousand strands of black hair cascaded down like an ink waterfall, fluttering lightly in the night wind, highlighting her skin that outshone frost and snow.

Her brows and eyes were bright as if hiding two pools of autumn water, the outer corners slightly upturned, and as her eyes flickered they bore both the swordmaster's sharpness and a hint of lingering childishness.

Her delicate, petite nose was flawless, and the vermilion lips bore a few specks of blood, which only added a thrilling, stunning beauty.

Moonlight traced her smooth jawline, intertwining with the faint, winding bloodstain on her neck, a beauty that was both dangerous and captivating, like a thorned rose blooming silently on a cold night.

"She's a woman?!"

"The one who slaughtered everyone of the Jinghong Assembly here is such a young woman?!"

Whether Wang Xiong or Liu Yuanjing, the aristocratic youths present all stared at each other in shock, dumbfounded.

Because this gray-clothed woman who wiped out the Jinghong Assembly, taking dozens of lives, looked to be only in her early twenties, at most how old could they be…

Astonished, they also grew intensely curious about her identity.

"At her age, she can fight Lu Cangfeng to this extent…"

"That talent must be a once-in-a-generation prodigy!"

Zhu Yi, who had originally been watching for fun, became exceedingly solemn the instant he saw the gray-clothed woman's face, murmuring in awe.

He was in his early twenties, far inferior to her…

Her innate talent was beyond description; only the four words 'terrifying as this' could barely depict such a frightening martial aptitude!

"Never expected you to be a woman!"

"And an extremely formidable woman!"

Lu Cangfeng, being directly involved, looked at the scattered black hair and laughed, sighing.

In his eyes lay an indescribable surprise, along with a hint of respect…

Regardless of gender, being able to spar with him for so long at that age earned his respect!

"There's a lot more you didn't anticipate!" the gray-clothed woman coughed lightly, drew the sword that had been knocked down and stuck in the ground, and snorted coldly.

"A Xiong, is your focus a bit off?"

Regaining his senses, Yuwen Ze carefully considered Chen Yan's words, a bit stunned, and reminded.

He paused, then continued: "The more flamboyant the flower, the more poisonous it is!"

When he heard "a very handsome face," Yuwen Ze clearly sensed a hint of intoxication on Chen Yan's face.

A Xiong, who never lets women distract him, how could he be enamored by that female swordswoman?

"Haha!"

"That doesn't matter!"

Chen Yan touched his forehead, grinned broadly, turned his gaze to Lu Cangfeng, and declared loudly: "I've changed my mind; if we can catch her alive, we should catch her alive!"

He looked as if driven purely by desire.

Earlier, saying life or death didn't matter was because he subconsciously thought such targets were usually men…

Who could have imagined she would fall within Chen's own aesthetic?

If circumstances permit, capturing her, nullifying her martial arts, and keeping her as a trophy wouldn't be impossible…

"Everyone heard that, right?"

"From now on, everything should end!"

Hearing the updated command, Lu Cangfeng pointed toward Chen Yan's direction and said in a deep voice.

Immediately, he leapt up and lunged toward the gray-clothed woman.

This time it was for real, with no intention of holding back…

"Is that so?"

"Before the dust settles, that's still premature!"

The gray-clothed woman heard this, remained unflustered, and instead gave a contemptuous smile, savoring the moment.

Speaking, she shook out from her sleeve several Pill-shaped round objects and hurled them forward forcefully.

"Bang!"

Lu Cangfeng, thinking they were hidden weapons, directly blocked them with his knife.

But at the moment of contact, those objects shattered, releasing intense dense smoke that enveloped both figures.

Visibility inside and out was almost zero.

"Damn it!" Lu Cangfeng caught a whiff of Dizzy Drug, instantly held his breath, and cursed.

"Lu Cangfeng, you're truly strong; now I'm no match…"

The gray-clothed woman seized the moment, without hesitation, used her footwork, and fled backward.

"Hahaha!"

"This woman truly is a fellow practitioner!"

Having witnessed the whole scene, Chen Yan couldn't help but laugh aloud, sighing.

He enjoyed both open combat and a touch of the covert; the earlier hidden weapons and now the Dizzy Drug smoke were exactly alike in his tactics.

If given a chance, he'd have to exchange insights with her properly…

"Lord Chen Yan, we shall meet again someday!"

After the gray-clothed woman left that final line, her figure vanished swiftly into the horizon, as if she had never been there.

"Her next hunting target is now the Young Master?!"

Zhu Yi's hand on his sword tightened suddenly, his gaze fixed on the direction the gray-clothed woman vanished, and he exclaimed in shock.

Those words could not have been said without cause…

So, this is the only possibility!

Zhu Yi narrowed his eyes, and at that moment his murderous intent truly flared…

"Chen Yan has been taken notice of by that woman?!" Wang Xiong and the others were startled at the words.

They couldn't understand why she had set her sights on Chen Yan.

It can't be that she wanted to capture him alive just now, can it?

Yet it always feels that the matter isn't that simple…

"She… 'we shall meet again'?"

"This woman is rather interesting…"

Chen Yan's mouth twitched slightly upward as he rubbed his jaw, murmuring.

For some unknown reason, Chen Yan felt a vague anticipation for their next meeting…

After all, "we shall meet again" implies she will appear once more.

What she has set her eyes on will never escape again!

"Lord Chen Yan, Lu neither killed that woman nor captured her alive; this disgraces the mission, please punish him!" Lu Cangfeng returned, bowing and clasping his fists, and said.

"Fine, if we didn't catch her, then we didn't…"

"It's not a big deal!"

Chen Yan heard the words, waved his hand indifferently, glanced toward the person in the corner, and called, "You Xian, come here!"

"Present."

You Xian responded and said, "Sir, at your command!"

Chen Yan clasped his hands to his chest, smiled calmly, and ordered, "Silver Snake Sword Dance, follow this line and probe this woman's identity…"

A great figure holds his head high and doesn't take many disciples, and those with high talent are few, especially like this.

One must know she is far younger than Lu Cangfeng, yet can fight like this…

Following this clue, uncovering her identity shouldn't be too hard!

"Yes," You Xian nodded.

"Gather people based on these guys' tracks, collect the corpses killed by that woman, I need an exact count!" Chen Yan thought for a moment, waved his hand, and said, "Go do it!"

"Understood," You Xian immediately led the embroidered‑cloth emissaries away.

After finishing his orders, Chen Yan went straight to the corpses of the Jinghong Society, first stripping Zhang Xiaofeng's clothes, then Li Shan's, as if searching for something…

"Brother Chen, what are you looking for?" Wang Xiong, seeing this, approached puzzled and asked.

"A special seal."

Chen Yan didn't lift his head, merely answered slowly, his hands never stopping as he kept rummaging.

Dou Luling thought for a moment, asking doubtfully, "Are you referring to the tattoos that represent sect affiliation in the jianghu?"

In the jianghu, some sects, especially the fringe schools, especially like to brand their disciples with sect marks, that is, tattoos.

"Hmm."

Chen Yan responded, and while pulling open the left rear waist of one corpse, said, "Found it, it's actually…"

He said, pulling all the clothing away, fully exposing the tattoo.

Wang Xiong, Dou Luling, Liu Yuanjing and others, upon seeing the mark, their pupils contracted sharply, exclaiming in stunned silence, "Four‑Claw Python Mark?!"

They looked at each other, seeing unparalleled shock in each other's eyes.

The Four‑Claw Python Mark, just one claw short of a true dragon…

"A Xiong, the ambition of this Jinghong Society is truly huge!" Yuwen Ze exhaled a puff of foul air, gritting his teeth.

Yuwen Ze was certain that the Jinghong Society entrenched in Jingzhou was far from a mere bandit trouble…

"Interesting, this Jingzhou is so intriguing!"

Chen Yan stood, took the handkerchief Zhu Yi handed him, wiped his hand, and laughed, "The Jinghong Society that wishes to become a dragon, and the mysterious woman hunting the Jinghong Society…"

"Hahaha!"

Liu Yuanjing's expression grew solemn, and he asked, "Brother Chen, what shall we do next?"

Just from today's events, Liu Yuanjing foresaw that suppressing the bandits wouldn't be easy, but it would be spectacular and not in vain.

"Rest well, replenish your spirit and sharpen your edge…"

Chen Yan smiled lightly, looked up at the moon shrouded by dark clouds, and said, "Tomorrow we ride to Anding to pay respects to the Illustrious Governor!"