Chapter 1467

Xu Mubai raised his head, only to see a black-clad person standing on the treetop, his body swaying slightly with the wind, as if merged with the tree, his face wearing a silver mask, his cold, merciless gaze fixed on himself.

Xu Mubai was not seeing this person for the first time; on the Mid-Autumn night of August, he had asked Hu Xiaotian to drink at Deyue Lou, and then this person had extinguished the indoor candles, luring Hu Xiaotian out, and he himself had chased out, but on the way he was blocked by falling tiles like rain. Xu Mubai knew his martial arts were far inferior to the opponent's; gazing at the black-clad person, he gathered his inner energy, ready to meet any attack at any moment: "Who are you? Why do you oppose me?" Xu Mubai did not know the opponent's true identity was Ji Feihua.

Ji Feihua sighed softly and said: "How unfortunate that you count as a Xu family descendant; the lifelong reputation of Old Madame Xu has been utterly ruined by you unworthy offspring—what merit is there in bullying a frail woman? Do you intend to fabricate a blood case and frame others?"

Xu Mubai bit his lip; inside his long sleeve, two flying knives slid silently down his arm to his palm; he suddenly launched, facing an opponent whose martial arts far surpassed his own, aside from a sneak attack he had no chance to win, two shafts of cold light shot forward one after another toward the opponent.

Seeing the flying knives coming, Ji Feihua remained calm, flicked her sleeve, and swept over the two blades; the knives instantly changed direction, shooting toward Xu Mubai's body. The speed of this reflected attack was more than double Xu Mubai's throwing speed.

Xu Mubai secretly thought it was bad; his body spun like a top, shifting through six or seven body techniques, barely managing to dodge the reflected flying knives, but his knee suddenly gave a sharp pain—he had been struck by a steel needle flicked out by the opponent; his right knee went weak and he dropped to one knee on the ground.

Ji Feihua said indifferently: "It's too late to beg for mercy now!"

Xu Mubai, bearing the pain, said: "If you want to kill me, just kill me—why humiliate me!" His bones were indeed sturdy; even in a completely disadvantaged position he did not lose his backbone.

"Killing you would only dirty my hands!"

Ji Feihua remained standing on the treetop, the gaze behind her mask calmly fixed ahead, because she saw a woman appear on the treetop three zhang away—this woman was none other than Xu Fengmei, the steward of the Jinling Xu family.

Ji Feihua smiled faintly and said: "So you are the mastermind behind the scenes!"

Xu Fengmei said: "He's just a child who doesn't understand; please don't quarrel with him over anything. I will take responsibility for him."

Ji Feihua said: "You naturally have to bear responsibility for your own actions; you speak big, thinking you can represent the Xu family?"

Xu Fengmei gave a light smile, her left hand gently shaking behind her back—a gesture only Xu Mubai could see; he understood it meant he should leave quickly.

Xu Mubai had known Xu Fengmei since childhood and had always held her in awe; however, he did not know her martial arts level, and seeing her demeanor now he realized that this young aunt was actually a hidden expert.

Ji Feihua watched Xu Mubai go away, surprisingly without intent to attack. She said softly: "What you are doing now—Old Madame Xu probably doesn't know, does she? Who is really in charge of the Xu family these days?"

Xu Fengmei coldly stared at Ji Feihua and said: "The Xu family's affairs are no business of outsiders! Who are you?"

Ji Feihua said indifferently: "Why don't you follow me and lift my mask to see?" She actually did not launch an attack, but turned and headed toward the ruined temple.

Xu Fengmei frowned tightly; the opponent's unwillingness to linger was certainly not due to fear of her martial arts. Rather, he worried that she still had a hidden move, and while entangling him, he sent people to the ruined temple to strike again at Long Xi Yue. Although she was skilled at scheming, she had not anticipated that today's plan would change midway, and that the opponent had strong reinforcements behind him.

Zhan Peng's shoulders were stained with blood. He had suffered several knife wounds, and his twenty subordinates had lost more than half; Li Honghan was also wounded in multiple places. At this moment, the ten men originally ambushed in the mountain pass, hearing the commotion, came as reinforcements and gradually regained the initiative.

At that moment, a shout suddenly came from afar; Li Honghan heard it and started—it was the signal Zhu Jingyao had sent to call for retreat. Li Honghan knew something urgent must have happened; he dared not linger, glancing resentfully at the opposite Zhan Peng, who was drenched in blood like a killing god, his bow aimed at Li Honghan, having already shot dead seven of the enemy's warriors in succession.

Li Honghan angrily nodded and said: "I'll settle this score with you sooner or later." He waved his hand and led his men to retreat from the forest.

Seeing the enemy retreat, Zhan Peng's taut bowstring finally relaxed; after this bloody battle, only eight warriors survived. Zeng Xiaorou emerged from behind the rock where she had been hiding, trembling with fright. Zhan Peng glanced at the bodies scattered across the ground, but he had no time to bury these brothers; he ordered the troops to be organized and immediately return to the ruined temple.

The group returned to the ruined temple; seeing Liang Yinghao and Long Xi Yue unharmed, they finally relaxed. Liang Yinghao summoned Zhan Peng to the meditation chamber to help bandage his wounds, and recounted in detail everything that had just happened.

Upon hearing that a master had secretly aided them, Zhan Peng felt relieved as well.

At that moment a knock came from outside; it was Long Xi Yue arriving. Zhan Peng put on his clothes and opened the door.

Long Xi Yue asked concernedly: "How is Elder Brother Zhan's injury?"

Zhan Peng smiled: "Just superficial wounds; Princess, you need not worry."

Long Xi Yue glanced at Liang Yinghao and said: "Sir Liang, it turns out you were deceiving me earlier, claiming Xiaorou was a spy, when in fact you wanted to use her to draw away the people of Xichuan."

Liang Yinghao said: "Princess, please don't blame us; we too were considering your safety. Our lord entrusted you to our care, and if any mishap occurs, we can only atone with our lives."

Long Xi Yue said: "I don't want you to die for me, and you shouldn't think that way either; actually, in Xiao Tian's heart, you are just as important as I am."

Liang Yinghao and Zhan Peng, hearing these words, felt warm inside, feeling that even sacrificing their lives for Long Xi Yue would be worthwhile.

Zhan Peng said: "Oh no!"

Long Xi Yue and Liang Yinghao both looked at him, not knowing what he meant by "oh no."

Zhan Peng said: "I just frightened Miss Xiaorou and still haven't apologized to her in person."

Long Xi Yue also nodded, feeling that having Xiaorou put herself in danger to protect her was unfair to her.

Liang Yinghao shook his head and said: "This matter might indeed be somewhat suspicious."

The two of them simultaneously looked at Liang Yinghao.

Liang Yinghao said: "Just now I really had no evidence; I only did this to put the princess at ease. Yet we have been keeping a low profile all along, trying to avoid crowds—how could Xu Mubai have tailed us here? I just went to look in front of the ruined temple's gate and found a mark, obviously left deliberately by someone." He was originally a bandit, very familiar with such tactics.

Long Xi Yue said: "But just now the people of the Li clan of Xichuan also passed by." Tonight, besides them, Li Honghan's side had also come to the ruined temple to escape the rain, so relying on a single mark alone cannot determine that Xiaorou was responsible.

Liang Yinghao said: "Li Honghan seems to have no dealings with the Xu family; moreover, the princess herself saw Xu Mubai strike and kill a Li family warrior right away—Li's people would not be so foolish as to leave such an obvious marker for the enemy. As for our twenty subordinates, each handpicked by our lord, utterly loyal and brave, they could never do such a treacherous thing." His implication was that Xiaorou was the most suspect.

At that moment a sudden wail came from outside; the three rushed out and saw a guard stationed at the back door lying flat in a pool of blood, his chest stabbed, blood still oozing out. Zhan Peng squatted down, pressed his hand on the wound, and the guard pointed toward the courtyard wall.

Liang Yinghao hurried a few steps, climbed over the wall, looked into the distance, and saw a petite figure flash briefly and then vanish into the far-off mountains and forests.

Zhan Peng shouted loudly: "No need to chase!"

The remaining warriors searched the ruined temple and found only Zeng Xiaorou missing; thus that guard must have been killed by Xiaorou. Recalling how, along the way, Long Xi Yue and Xiaorou had been like sisters, always together, everyone felt a chill—Xiaorou could at any moment have killed Long Xi Yue, yet for some reason she had not done so.

Fortunately the guard had not been struck in a vital spot; after bandaging, he haltingly described what had just happened: he was in charge of guarding the back door; just now Xiaorou had come over, saying she wanted to go out, but the guard refused, because Zhan Peng had previously ordered that no one could enter or leave without his permission, so he told her to ask Zhan Peng for permission—yet unexpectedly she said nothing, suddenly drew a dagger and stabbed herself at him.

After hearing this, Long Xi Yue's spirits sank considerably; she turned and silently walked back to her room, closing the door.

Zhan Peng and Liang Yinghao exchanged a glance, both looks showing some helplessness; Liang Yinghao sighed: "The princess is kind-hearted; she regarded Xiaorou as a sister, yet she has suffered betrayal—no one would feel good about that."

Zhan Peng said: "We can only wait for our lord to arrive and slowly console her."

Long Xi Yue covered the door with her hand, leaned against it, closed her beautiful eyes, and tears slid silently down her fair, lovely face. Perhaps she had imagined the world too beautifully; despite so many setbacks she still believed most people are good, yet Xiaorou, the sister she had shared day and night with, would betray her—she could not understand. After tonight's great ups and downs, her heart missed Hu Xiaotian more and more; if he were by her side, perhaps none of this would have happened.

The door was lightly knocked.

Long Xi Yue took a deep breath, steadied her emotions, and said: "I want to rest properly; right now I don't want to see anyone."

From outside came a familiar, affectionate voice: "What? You don't even want to see me?"

Long Xi Yue thought she had misheard, hastily flung open the door, and saw Hu Xiaotian appear before the gate like a drowned rat; no matter how disheveled his appearance, his face always bore a bright, sunny smile. (To be continued~^~)