Chapter 1465: Sword Master (Part 2)

Xu Mubai indeed had no intention of attacking the two again; he watched them leave, then turned his gaze to Liang Yinghao.

Liang Yinghao clasped his hands and bowed, expressing deep gratitude: "Thank you, Sir Xu, for your righteous aid; today's kindness I will keep in my heart. I still have pressing matters, so I take my leave." Although Xu Mubai had just rescued him, Liang Yinghao still harbored wariness toward him.

Xu Mubai smiled and said, "Brother Liang, are you just leaving like that? Are you planning to abandon Princess Yingyue?"

Liang Yinghao's steps, just set in motion, halted again; he slowly turned, faced Xu Mubai, and with a full smile said, "I don't understand your meaning, Sir Xu."

Xu Mubai said, "If I'm not mistaken, the Princess is hiding among the Arhat statues—but which one? Do I have to throw flying daggers at each one to test?"

Liang Yinghao's heart was instantly shrouded in fear; Xu Mubai's appearance was surely no coincidence—this visitor bore ill intent, clearly not coming to aid their side.

Xu Mubai said, "Actually, I don't need to go through all that trouble. I've heard Princess Yingyue is kind-hearted; she would surely not bear to watch you die for her. I'm confident one strike can put you in mortal danger—let's try."

Liang Yinghao glared at Xu Mubai: "Aren't you afraid my lord will learn of today's events?" The only recourse was to invoke Hu Xiaotian, hoping to frighten the opponent away.

Xu Mubai replied, "Afraid! But if everyone who knows the truth is dead, who would tell him about tonight? You agree, don't you?" His tone was gentle and refined, yet his words were utterly vicious.

Liang Yinghao resolved, even if it meant sacrificing his life, to hold Xu Mubai back—but the opponent's martial skill far surpassed his own, leaving him with virtually no chance of victory.

Xu Mubai whispered, "One!"

Liang Yinghao drew his steel spur and lunged forward, shouting at the same time, "Go!" That cry was naturally aimed at Long Xi Yue; Xu Mubai had already guessed her hiding place. Long Xi Yue no longer needed to stay concealed, and Liang Yinghao only hoped to detain Xu Mubai, buying Long Xi Yue some time to escape.

"Two!" Xu Mubai still smiled.

"Stop!" Long Xi Yue's voice rang from behind the statue of the Long-Eyebrow Arhat; she stepped out from the Buddha image, her face pale, biting her lip as she said, "You're after me. Why trouble others?"

Xu Mubai smiled, "Princess, you are indeed kind-hearted—alas, in this world the good often die young, and you, so beautiful, are fated to a short life despite your beauty."

Liang Yinghao shouted, "Princess, flee quickly—don't worry about me!"

Xu Mubai picked up a flying dagger, murmuring, "You think you can escape?" He shook the dagger, a cold light flashing, and shot it like a gust chasing lightning toward Liang Yinghao's chest.

Seeing him act, Liang Yinghao swung to block with his steel spur, but the thrown dagger's speed was too great—he had no chance to deflect it. As the dagger seemed about to pierce his heart, a sword light slanted in; it was Long Xi Yue who timely struck the dagger away.

Liang Yinghao had thought himself surely dead, never expecting Long Xi Yue to draw her sword at the brink of death and save his life. Although he knew she had followed Hu Xiaotian and learned some martial arts along the way, he still believed it was merely imitation, lacking real power—moreover, this pampered princess had no actual combat experience.

Long Xi Yue actually deflected the flying dagger with a single sword stroke and saved Liang Yinghao's life—Liang Yinghao was stunned, and even Xu Mubai wore a look of astonishment, for he knew this frail princess understood no martial arts.

Long Xi Yue held that soft sword in her hand; her beautiful eyes flashed with astonishment, as if even she hadn't expected it. She told Xu Mubai, "Leave quickly—considering you are Hu Xiaotian's cousin, I won't kill you." Though the words were firm, she spoke in a timid, weak tone, devoid of any killing intent, making people want to laugh; even her threats were gentle, unsurprising since she had no confidence.

Xu Mubai almost thought he'd misheard; such words from Long Xi Yue's mouth were utterly absurd, the greatest mockery of him. He said, "It seems you've truly learned quite a bit from Hu Xiaotian." He then stepped slowly toward Long Xi Yue.

Long Xi Yue's eyes showed a hint of fear, but she immediately gathered courage and said, "I don't want to hurt you—go on your way."

This was more humiliating than slapping Xu Mubai across the face; his nature had always been proud, yet now a frail princess dared to look down on him, leaving him torn between laughter and tears. Yet seeing how Long Xi Yue's casual strike had deflected his flying dagger, her swordsmanship seemed not weak—he had shown no mercy earlier, intending to cleave Liang Yinghao in one blow, a blow even Liang Yinghao could not withstand, yet he never expected Long Xi Yue's light flick of the wrist to knock the dagger away.

Liang Yinghao still hadn't come to his senses—how could Long Xi Yue possess such formidable swordsmanship? Could it truly be that an excellent teacher produces outstanding pupils, with just a casual pointer from Hu Xiaotian making her a sword master? Or perhaps this princess has always been a hidden sword expert, concealing her depth while outwardly appearing frail.

Xu Mubai nodded and said, "Then let me learn the Princess's sword technique." He slowly drew his long sword from his waist, left hand forming a sword seal, right hand pointing the blade at Long Xi Yue's chest.

Although Long Xi Yue had learned some self-defense from Hu Xiaotian, this was her first time using it in actual combat; she shook the soft sword Hu Xiaotian gave her and thrust with the "Spirit Snake Spear" at Xu Mubai's right wrist—an offensive move, with no thought of defense.

Seeing Long Xi Yue act, Xu Mubai inwardly smirked, thinking she had merely fluke-deflected his dagger earlier. Liang Yinghao, seeing her lack of defense, muttered, "Oh no," realizing that with Xu Mubai's skill, he could take her life at any moment.

Midway through Xu Mubai's thrust, his elbow suddenly felt as if pricked by needles, sharp pain forcing him to slow his strike; meanwhile, Long Xi Yue's thrust had seized the moment, her tip landing on his wrist with a clang, and his long sword fell to the ground.

Liang Yinghao stared agape, thinking Long Xi Yue had pierced Xu Mubai's wrist, causing him to drop his sword. Only Xu Mubai knew the truth: had his elbow not suddenly ached, Long Xi Yue could not have struck him; he was secretly alarmed, his elbow still throbbing as if a steel needle had pierced it.

Long Xi Yue thrust again at his throat.

Xu Mubai, gritting his teeth, reached with his left hand to seize her wrist, aiming to snatch her soft sword, but as his left hand extended, his shoulder flared with pain, causing a pause; in a life‑death struggle where instants shift, any hesitation could cost one's life—Long Xi Yue's soft sword had already reached his throat. Being kind‑hearted, she could not bring herself to kill, and the blade hovered an inch from his throat, yet his elbow suddenly flared with pain, sending the sword uncontrolled forward; Xu Mubai instinctively jerked his head back, but the edge still pierced his throat.

Long Xi Yue let out a frightened cry, hastily letting go—had she not, the thrust would have pierced his throat. Xu Mubai felt the icy chill of the blade entering his throat; in his life, death had never been so near.

Although Long Xi Yue's thrust had wounded Xu Mubai, it frightened her; she stood helpless, gazing at him as his neck bled, instantly staining his immaculate white robe red, and anxiously asked, "Are you all right… I… I didn't mean to hurt you…"

Xu Mubai was nearly breathless; he said nothing, gave a resentful nod, turned and left, realizing that Long Xi Yue's skill could not possibly have hurt him—there must be an expert aiding from the shadows, fitting the saying "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind"; he had thought himself the oriole, but the oriole had someone else behind it.

If Xu Mubai could still keep some composure leaving the courtyard gate, once he stepped out and lost Long Xi Yue's sight, he immediately became like a startled bird, his feet slick as oil, sprinting wildly, feeling death's threat on all sides.

Liang Yinghao came to Long Xi Yue's side, helped her pick up the blood‑stained soft sword from the ground, and looking at her pale face, he said joyfully, "Your Highness, thank goodness you acted in time—otherwise my lowly life would be gone. I never expected you to be a sword master as well."

Long Xi Yue, still shaken, shook her head and said, "I don't know what happened either; just now someone whispered in my ear, directing me to stab him. I didn't want to hurt him, but I couldn't stop my hand."

Only then did Liang Yinghao grasp the truth: it seemed almost certain that an expert lurked behind the scenes. He looked around, seeing no trace of anyone; since the unseen party could command Long Xi Yue to wound Xu Mubai from the shadows, their skill must be unfathomable—unless they chose to reveal themselves, Liang Yinghao could not detect them with his own level.

Xu Mubai fled the ruined temple at full sprint, no longer caring for appearances, avoiding the main road and taking forest trails; his robes were shredded in places by thorny brambles as he rushed to the woods at the foot of Lianyun Mountain. Turning, he saw no pursuers and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He tore a strip from his sleeve, simply binding his neck. Even while doing so, he kept scanning, and just as he thought he had escaped danger, a voice came from above: "Are you looking for me?" (To be continued~^~)