Chapter 270: line with translation of chapter title

The blood river surged, the evil wind wailed, the rope swayed back and forth.

On the river surface, Lin Shuyu's white robe had already been half-dyed red by the blood river water, her bare feet were fiercely bitten by the crocodile monster and dragged into the water.

Mao Lian Nan suddenly swooped down like lightning and wrapped his arms around her waist.

The two stared at each other.

In that instant, the scene seemed eternal.

Until Lin Shuyu stared blankly and said, "It's you!"

Heng Xian did not answer; seeing that both of them were about to be dragged into the river by the crocodile monster, at the critical moment, he gripped his sword with his left hand, twisted his body at an impossible angle, and thrust a strike at the monster's skull.

The crocodile monster's iron-hard bone was pierced halfway through by the meteoric copper sword.

The crocodile monster winced in pain, loosened its sharp teeth that had bitten Lin Shuyu, and with a fierce "Aoo" shook its head desperately.

Heng Xian could no longer draw his sword in time, so he tightened his grip on Lin Shuyu's waist, pushed off the crocodile's head with both feet, and used the recoil to shoot upward.

Reaching the height where the rope was level, he released his grip, gently pushed Lin Shuyu's waist, and swung her toward the opposite rope.

Immediately he hooked his left hand onto his own rope, used the momentum to spin, and landed steadily on the rope.

This scene may sound long-winded, but it actually happened in a brief instant—so brief that Niu Wanli, Huo Yuanqing, Liu Yu, and the others had just stopped shouting, and Ye Ling'er had not yet undone the white gauze in her hand.

Only after Lin Shuyu landed lightly and steadily on the rope did the crowd react, left gaping.

Heng Xian's move was as smooth as flowing clouds and water, pleasing to the eye; though it looked simple, it was not only due to his practice of a somewhat superior movement technique—even without invoking spiritual power, his basic maneuvering skills were already exceptional; moreover, it came down to luck, and if luck had been slightly worse, both would have surely died.

"Junior Sister Lin, are you alright?" Huo Yuanqing had already pulled up that Tianyuan Sect junior brother and asked anxiously.

Lin Shuyu shook her head, stood straight on the rope, looked at Heng Xian, and her pale blue, water-cut eyes were filled with complex emotion.

Niu Wanli, Liu Yu, as well as nearby Huangfu Taiqing, Yu Qiuyi, and others glanced at Lin Shuyu, then turned their gaze to Mao Lian Nan.

This guy, who along the way was either mysteriously aloof or a troublemaker who harmed others without compensation, actually risked his life to save someone else?

Could it be… that he and Lin Shuyu are old acquaintances?

Meanwhile, Heng Xian was looking down at the blood river below.

The crocodile monster had vanished into the surging blood river, and crucially, his meteoric copper sword was still lodged in its head.

That was the sword that had accompanied him since leaving Donglan City, and it was also the second sword of his life.

He was a man who cherished the past deeply; for a moment his face filled with anguish and a sense of loss, he slightly reached out, and his whole being froze.

Such an expression on his face struck everyone as somewhat strange.

Lin Shuyu gazed at the mask on his face, wanting to speak but holding back.

After a while, Heng Xian lifted his head, looked ahead, suddenly darted forward, and after a few leaps reached the riverbank.

The "rope path" behind them turned out to be completely free of danger.

The disciples from various sects exchanged bewildered glances.

At this point, all the disciples who had fallen into the water had been rescued, and Huangfu Taiqing said, "The road ahead is open—hurry ashore!"

Saying this, he took the lead, leaping forward and shooting ahead.

The sect disciples closely followed behind.

The opposite bank was a picturesque plain, with lush trees and mountain flowers scattered everywhere.

The sect disciples landed on shore, took stock of each other, and found themselves fewer than a hundred.

Just crossing the river had cost them over a hundred lives!

Everyone could only suppress their sorrow, for after all they had decided to come explore the ruins, having prepared themselves for possible death; moreover, the survivors were not guaranteed to make it out alive, so this was not the time for grief.

Yu Qiuyi, Jiang Ruyan, Niu Wanli, and a large group of people grew even more curious about where Mao Lian Nan had gone; looking around, they saw Mao Lian Nan squatting not far from the riverbank… digging a pit!

It looked like he was digging… a grave?!

Did he have a fellow sect member or friend who had just died in the river?

Not really!

The crowd exchanged a glance, then walked over slowly, stopping when they were about three zhang away.

They saw Mao Lian Nan desperately digging with an ordinary spiritual sword, quickly making a pit the size of a child, then taking out a piece of nanmu wood and gently carving it.

He carved with great seriousness and persistence.

Ye Hongxue frowned slightly: "Could this kid have gone insane?"

Yu Qiuyi said: "He definitely isn't the type to lose his mind!"

Jiang Ruyan thought for a moment and said: "This person always has an ulterior motive; on the way, he could foresee every trial—could this be part of some trial as well?"

The crowd fell silent, none of them quite sure what to think.

Niu Wanli said: "If digging this pit doesn't harm us, maybe it really is one of the trials!"

Wang Ling looked at Huangfu Taiqing: "Senior Brother Huangfu, you're skilled at deduction; we've relied on you and Junior Sister Lin all along—what do you think?"

Huangfu Taiqing hesitated before saying: "I began studying the Five Elements at three, learned the primordial Eight Trigrams at six, and at twelve started cultivating Taiyi arts under my uncle's guidance—but… I simply cannot deduce what trial would require digging a pit."

The crowd couldn't help but look around; someone with sharp eyes pointed ahead and said: "Over there seem to be quite a few small houses!"

They saw a small grove ahead, within which stood a whole row of nearly a hundred tiny houses, looking rather eerie.

"Houses, lone graves…" Huangfu Taiqing fell silent for a moment, then murmured, "Perhaps…"

Before he could finish, Ye Hongxue, He Bijhi, and others had already run to the other side of Mao Lian Nan and started digging pits.

Huangfu Qing stared in astonishment: "This…"

"Dig!" Yu Qiuyi, Jiang Ruyan, and a group of people likewise ran to the riverbank to begin digging.

Huangfu Taiqing shook his head, and with the few people behind him had no choice but to step forward and imitate them.

For a time, the entire riverbank was filled with figures digging pits—some professionals, even having laid out lines and scattered white medicinal powder.

Only Lin Shuyu remained still; at this moment she walked behind Heng Xian, quietly gazed at his back, and whispered, "You shouldn't have come!"

Heng Xian paused for a moment, then continued carving the wood.

Lin Shuyu said: "I've always wanted to say a word of thanks, thank you for the rescue grace from the capital of Sang Guo! At first, your choice, I only understood it a few months later, that matter..."

Heng Xian's wooden stick had already been carved into a sword shape.

"It's not your fault!" Lin Shuyu looked especially serious, "I've thought about proving your innocence, but I'm insignificant and my words carry little weight. I spent four years breaking through to the Primordial Dan Realm; if I can attain Nascent Soul in the rest of my life, I will, in the name of the Tianyuan Sect, take you back!"

"You've mistaken the person; I don't know you!"

Heng Xian snorted, took out a spirit brush, applied cinnabar, and wrote on the carved wooden sword.

He didn't know how to face these fellow disciples of Lin Shuyu—ah, it's me, it's me, I'm Heng Xian—then what? When all the sect masters gather, I'll drag them all into the water?

Lin Shuyu's face looked bad: "If you've mistaken the person, why did you save me?"

"I'm in a good mood." Heng Xian said.

Lin Shuyu remained silent.

At that moment, Ye Hongxue and his group over in the distance had already dug a pit, but they didn't know what to do next, so they all looked over.

He Bizhi shouted: "Cat-faced man, then what? What are you carving?"

Heng Xian didn't even lift his head.

Yu Qiuyi laughed: "Solitary joy is not as good as shared joy; there are countless opportunities under heaven, you can only take one, why hide it? Better to be clean and decisive, and also form a good affinity with us!"

"That's right!"

Shen Qiong, Jiang Ruyan, and the others said in unison.

Heng Xian had already finished writing; on it were the three characters "Badass Sword", with edges and corners, and he then solemnly placed it into the pit.

The disciples of the surrounding sects saw it clearly, and suddenly recalled the sword that Heng Xian had lost while saving Lin Shuyu by the Blood River earlier.

Bury the sword?

(End of chapter)