Chapter 159: Your Mother

A terrifying sound of breaking through the air rang out, and countless crossbow bolts sped through the rain curtain, thundering toward the edge of the bamboo forest, unstoppable.

Ah—

Ah—

The next moment—

Screams of agony rose and fell; the leading dozen or so had not taken a single step into the bamboo forest before bolts pierced their bodies, corpses and blood flying, their deaths lamented amid the heavy rain.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The powerful inertia then hurled the dripping corpses, whooshing as they slammed into the thick green bamboos ahead.

Then the bodies crashed to the ground, splashing a pool of scarlet.

At that moment—

The torches had long been doused by the pouring rain, yet successive bolts of lightning flashed in the night sky, clearly transmitting this grim scene into the eyes of those behind.

For a moment, those intending to break into the forest halted, staring blankly in the rain at the bodies riddled with bolts, a chill ran through their heads and feet.

"Those who trespass the bamboo forest shall die!" Chen Jin'er's cold voice rang again in the downpour, reaching everyone's ears.

The rain was heavy now; she brandished a treasured sword, her gaze lofty, standing between Miss Huang and Han Xiao Ying, all three already clad in raincoats.

In such a downpour, the raincoats were useless, and few in the world could, by merely projecting internal energy outward, keep the rain from touching them.

Thus, Chen Jin'er, Miss Huang, and Han Xiao Ying's garments were already soaked; the raincoats merely concealed their delicate, translucent bodies.

Compared with the prepared trio, the other two women in the crowd ahead, as well as several female disciples beside Ouyang Ke, were far less fortunate.

The serene wanderer Sun Bu'er's clothes and hair were drenched, his face looking quite disheveled.

The thin Daoist robe, washed by rain, clung tightly to her body, fully displaying her mature charm.

Fortunately, the robe was dark, so its endless allure was not exposed to the onlookers.

Compared to her, Qiu Qianchi, the current leader of the Iron Palm Sect, was already mortified beyond words.

Her already thin garments, soaked and now pale, made her delicate frame appear translucent, flesh tones faintly visible, sparking endless imagination.

Feeling the heated gazes around, especially Ouyang Ke's unabashed stare, Qiu Qianchi hurriedly covered her chest with one hand, hiding two protrusions, and shouted angrily to the surroundings:

"Iron Palm Sect disciples, heed the command!"

"All retreat with me!!"

Speaking thus, she did not wait for the disciples to regroup, but rushed back to the village through the rain.

Now her elder brother Qiu Qianren was missing, and she had no backing, so she dared not confront the Five Absolutes' forces on the spot.

Moreover, with so many war crossbows eyeing the area and several unknown masters appearing, she feared she lacked even the chance to fish in the muddle, so she might as well return early.

"We must find an ally quickly; what can the Western Poison do? One day I'll gouge out your eyes!" Qiu Qianchi thought resentfully.

Speaking of Qiu Qianchi now, her looks were indeed remarkable, truly worthy of the title "Iron Palm Lotus".

Otherwise, under Ouyang Ke's discerning gaze, she wouldn't have looked so pleased earlier; Qiu Qianchi also could not have later married the lecherous Gong Sun Zhi of Jueqing Valley, eventually bearing a daughter as beautiful as Gong Sun Lüe.

As for her ghoul-like appearance decades later in the underground cave of Liguifeng, Jueqing Valley, that was merely due to age and disfigurement.

As the saying goes, if poetry and books dwell in the heart, time never defeats a beauty; unfortunately, Qiu Qianchi's beauty lacked the splendor in Miss Huang's heart.

When Qiu Qianchi left, Ouyang Ke, upon recollection, realized that many heroes around had abandoned the magnificent celestial phenomenon, and through the pouring rain, by the lightning's light, stared blankly at the space behind him.

And—

He was extremely familiar with that gaze.

Ouyang Ke couldn't help but feel surprised.

But when he turned to see the scene behind, anger surged to his forehead; he raised his hand, slapped a female disciple in front of him, and shouted:

"Shameful, disgraceful wretch, hurry and get out! All of you, roll back!"

A chorus of "Eh?" rose around, and the few female disciples finally snapped out of the celestial spectacle.

Seeing the young master's eyes blaze with murderous fury, they, after glancing at the surrounding gazes, dared not delay, quickly pulling up their sisters from the ground, clutching their wet bodies, and ran toward the village.

"Hmph~"

Ouyang Ke let out a cold hum; though drenched, his posture remained composed.

His aura flared, his sharp gaze sweeping those around who showed regret; none dared meet his eyes.

After all,

no one fears the name of the Western Poison.

These two little interludes, some jianghu heroes can watch with relish even in the pouring rain.

Some people remain unmoved, merely squinting and looking up, gazing at the night sky, silently stunned as they continue to watch the scene above.

"Thunder accompanies, lightning never ceases, only converging in that spot; such rain is unheard of... this truly seems the celestial phenomenon recorded in ancient texts..."

"I, having lived over fifty years, have never seen such a grand and magnificent spectacle; today, even without possessing it, merely glimpsing a divine weapon is worth dying for."

"... Could it truly be a divine weapon descending?"

"Unfortunately, the imperial troops have arrived; a blood‑stained warning is right before us. Otherwise, if those high‑level martial artists were to kill each other, we could have fished in the muddle for luck."

Just as everyone saw.

The thunderous roar in the night sky persisted, and lightning flashed across the heavens without any pause.

The pouring rain continued unabated, casting everything around in a dim, drenched gloom.

Seeing the would‑be forest‑breakers cower and not advance, Chen Jin'er, Miss Huang, and Han Xiao Ying turned their gaze toward a person in the Beggar Sect's ranks.

That person was not Beggar Sect leader Lu Youjiao, but a filthy‑clothed beggar standing behind him.

He was disheveled and filthy; the grime on his face could not be washed away even by such heavy rain, making it hard to discern his features.

Yet the overwhelming aura that just erupted from him was impossible for the observant to ignore.

At this moment, not only him but also the three who had rushed from the village, together with the Shaolin Temple's awakened monk, all stood not far from the bamboo forest edge, heads raised, gazing at the thunder‑ravaged sky above the bamboo.

A few did not advance further, seemingly not fearing the bolts behind them but waiting for something.

"When did the Beggars' Sect acquire such a master?" Ma Yu thought to himself, and after exchanging a glance with his miserable fellow disciples around him, he subtly distanced himself from the few people ahead.

The rain was too heavy, visibility already very blurred, and Miss Huang half-squinted her eyes to observe the movements of the four ahead.

"Older sister Han, look! Is the person holding a snake staff Ouyang Feng?"

When she vaguely made out the snake-shaped iron staff in one of the black-clad persons' hands, Miss Huang's eyes lit up; at the same time she signaled with her gaze and sent a mental transmission to Han Xiao Ying on the other side.

At this moment, the three women's sideburns were completely wet, strands sticking together, pressed tightly against their foreheads, cheeks, and snow-white necks, giving off a distinct tragic beauty.

Their gazes mostly wandered over the three people rushing from the village and the disheveled Beggars' Sect member, pondering how they would block the opponent later.

As for the monk Juexing, whose expression was somewhat strange, although they found it odd, his aura was clearly much weaker than the other four; thinking that a crossbow bolt would suffice, they all inadvertently overlooked him.

Han Xiao Ying, upon hearing Miss Huang's words, immediately stared ahead using the lightning's light.

Yet she saw that the person was dressed entirely in black amidst the dim rain, his face covered with a cloth, the long staff in his hand indeed bore a somewhat snake-like shape, and his height and build also resembled the Ouyang Feng she had seen two years prior.

Not far from him, one person wore a coarse blue cloth robe plus a gray overcoat, his hair tied in a small bun with thick rope hanging down his back, his face swollen and stiff, as if also concealing his true appearance.

As for the other individual, he was dressed in luxurious scarlet-purple brocade, his visage gaunt and deathly pale, his eyes unusually cold and gloomy, his peripheral glance occasionally sweeping over the surrounding soldiers, giving off a grim, indifferent aura that made one feel a chill.

"Indeed very similar, eight or nine out of ten it's Ouyang Feng." Han Xiao Ying observed a few more times, then withdrew her gaze, furrowing her brows as she replied: "But his aura just now seemed stronger than before by more than a notch; even the two of us together might not be his match."

Two years ago, she and Miss Huang had just entered the master realm, and they had seen Ouyang Feng face-to-face at the White Camel Manor in the Western Regions, so they were not unfamiliar with the old poisoner's aura.

Over the past two years, she and Miss Huang have studied the Nine Yin Classic, continually refining their essence and energy, their realm rising rapidly; now they have even reached the peak of the master realm, naturally incomparable to before.

But at this moment, upon reaching the level Ouyang Feng occupied two years ago, she also realized that she and Miss Huang still lagged behind his current strength.

According to her cowherd's saying, this gap should be equivalent to a major realm.

"Cowherd" is the new term of endearment they coined after reuniting with Niu Dingtian half a year ago and engaging in intimate conversation.

However, in front of Miss Huang, Han Xiao Ying is unwilling to utter that lovey-dovey nickname.

Gazing at the black staff-wielding shadow in the heavy rain ahead, Miss Huang's beautiful eyes flickered, and she pouted: "Since we can't beat him, we just won't fight; my father once said Old Poison not only cares about face, but is also very cautious."

"As the mighty Western Poison, he dares not show his true face here; presumably he lacks confidence in defeating Brother Niu, and as long as he hasn't seen Brother Niu, he remains wary—once we expose his identity, he won't dare to strike us lethally."

"However… that pale-faced old ghost seems hostile toward us, while others may not necessarily want our lives, but he's hard to predict. When we fight, we'll first use the Eight-Corner Crossbow Formation to suppress the others, and the three of us will join forces to take down that pale-faced old ghost!"

At the end of her speech, Miss Huang also noticed the brocade-clad elder's ill-intentioned glance, she pursed her lips and immediately put forward her own strategy.

At this moment, Chen Jin'er, standing in the middle holding her treasure sword, her eyebrows knitted tightly, she mentally transmitted to the two women beside her decisively: "That purple-clad elder's hostility is too great; we cannot give him a chance to ambush us. If conflict arises later, we'll first take him down with the Combined Sword Formation before anything else!"

Thus, Chen Jin'er's and Miss Huang's strategies coincided without prior consultation.

Afterwards, the three exchanged mental transmissions, discussed further, gave orders to Hu Zai Xing, then stood aside awaiting developments.

The reason both are so confident stems from the Combined Sword Formation just mentioned.

It was created by Niu Dingtian after comprehending sword intent at the Sword Tomb and developing his Nine-Sword Style; it bears a wonderful similarity to Wang Chongyang's Heavenly Gang Big Dipper Formation and Wudang's True Martial Seven Intercept Formation.

The difference lies in that his Combined Sword Formation can involve three, five, seven, or nine participants; the formation stacks, power stacks, the larger the formation, the greater the power.

Moreover, the formation incorporates the Nine-Sword Style's techniques for breaking qi, swords, blades, palms, etc., amounting to three hundred sixty variations, enabling anticipation of the enemy's strike and striking first even after they act, with tremendous power.

In short, it is the multi-person cooperative version of his Nine-Sword Style; the cooperators, while executing the Lotus Microstep, use the sixty-four hexagrams of the Lotus Microstep as a basis, advancing in coordinated attack by stepping upon the hexagram positions in a specific order.

As for inspiration, Niu Dingtian in his previous life was well-versed in wave theory, a professional wave counter for several decades.

Five waves up, three waves down, the 1-3-5 drive, the 2-4 adjust, waves within waves, great waves contain small waves, small waves nest small waves.

Taking this as inspiration, he layered the Lotus Microstep upon the Lotus Microstep, and pushed the Nine-Sword Style with the Nine-Sword Style.

In the strongest nine-person Combined Sword Formation, the yin-numbered positions substitute attack for defense, wandering to restrain; the yang-numbered positions have attack without defense, advance without retreat; beneath their feet, the sixty-four hexagram positions shift unpredictably, while in their hands the three hundred sixty sword techniques appear and vanish like ghosts and lightning.

One can imagine the taste of being besieged.

After all, having studied the Lotus Microstep for so many years, Niu Dingtian feels that not coming up with some new flair would be embarrassing.

"Milady!!"

Just as Chen Jin'er and her two companions were guarding against the situation ahead, Niu Kui and Niu Ben suddenly led a large retinue, together with Han Baoju, Zhu Cong, and Ke Zhen'e, appearing amidst the pouring rain.

Upon approaching, Chen Jin'er noticed that the group's killing intent lingered undissipated; most were wounded and stained with blood, clearly having just undergone a fierce battle.

Niu Kui wiped rain from his face, clasped his fists, and said: "Milady, Guo Jing and Yang Kang have been found; when discovered, they were being held by a gang of eunuchs in a peasant's home."

"I just interrogated a few survivors; they said they came from Lin'an City, and… said that on the return journey in a few days they still intended to take the two back to the palace for castration."

Saying this, Niu Kui turned around, grabbed the two from behind, and hauled them out—who else could it be but Guo Jing and Yang Kang?

At this moment, their faces were somewhat pallid, looking shocked and unsettled, evidently frightened by their previous ordeal.

"Seventh Master!"

Upon seeing Han Xiao Ying, Guo Jing's eyes could hardly conceal his excitement; he quickly lowered his drenched head and stammered: "Seventh Master, Jing'er… Jing'er knows his mistake."

Speaking, he glanced at Yang Kang beside him and whispered: "Kang brother said he wanted to steal divine weapons for Uncle Niu, so I followed him to the bamboo grove; I never expected to encounter a white-faced old eunuch outside, and then he seized us both."

Now, Guo Jing also understood the meaning of eunuch.

Thinking of his Guo family's single line of descent, if this time they truly severed the incense line, his mother far in the desert would surely be heartbroken to an unknown degree.

However, upon hearing this, Yang Kang became displeased and was about to retort angrily when Chen Jin'er shot him a glare and scolded:

"Be honest! When you return and see your mother, tell her everything you've done these three years; I remember it all clearly."

Regarding this brat's character, the good deeds he's done over these three years have been reported to her at intervals, and she knows them inside out.

However, Bao Senior Sister's temperament is soft, her ears even softer; whether she can control this brat is uncertain, he might sweet-talk her with just a few words, so Chen Jin'er simply kept his dirt on file, waiting for an opportunity to let that Niu fellow give him a proper education.

Yang Kang shrank his neck, not daring to speak further, but when he lifted his head and saw the purple silhouette in the rain ahead, his eyes, already half‑closed from the rain, widened instantly.

He immediately pointed ahead and shouted angrily: "It's him! He's that dead eunuch! He's the one who tried to abduct me and Guo Jing into the palace to become eunuchs!"

Then, fearing others might not believe him, Yang Kang harshly slapped Guo Jing and demanded loudly: "Guo Jing! Quickly tell everyone—was it him who brought people to seize us tonight?"

Shouting on, Yang Kang, emboldened by the numbers on our side, no longer fearful, directly cursed at the silhouette: "Son of a bitch dead eunuch! Pah! You spineless dog! Your grandpa's here! If you've got the guts, come seize us again!"

Although the rain was heavy and ordinary shouts don't carry far, Yang Kang still possessed considerable inner strength, and combined with the keen senses of many experts ahead, his voice carried.

His shout caused many to snap out of the heavenly omens and look this way, including the dead eunuch Yang Kang was addressing.

Upon hearing this, the brocade-clad eunuch slowly turned his eyes, full of icy chill in his gloomy gaze; when he saw Guo Jing and Yang Kang clearly, his cold pupils involuntarily narrowed slightly.

At this moment, how could he fail to realize the fate of the men he had brought?

Good! Good! Good! the Brocade-clad Eunuch's aura burst forth with a boom, shaking the surrounding rain into a hurried spray; with a raise of his hand, his presence was intimidating—though the rain poured down from the sky, the drops could not approach within a hair's breadth.

His voice was ice-cold to the bone, and his gaunt, pallid face had already turned ferocious: "A bunch of dogs who eat the ruler's stipend but do not cherish the ruler's grace! We originally wanted to wait a few days before settling accounts on behalf of the emperor, but I didn't expect there to actually be someone eager to seek death!"

Seeing such an overbearing aura, not only did Chen Jin'er and the others' expressions change, but even the monk Juexing's somewhat strange eyes blinked slightly, gaining a hint of clarity.

In the heavy rain,

The green-clad person's face was swollen and stiff, expressionless; an observant person could tell that it was obviously a human skin mask.

At this moment, his gaze was fierce and intimidating; after glancing toward Chen Jin'er's side, he turned to stare at the Brocade-clad Eunuch, and his aura began to rise rapidly.

Not far from him, the black-clad person resembling Ouyang Feng, seeing this, kept eyes calm as water, showing no hint of joy or anger.

But gradually, he subtly increased the distance between himself and the two by holding a snake staff. (End of chapter)