Chapter 414: 388 Encounter Battle

"One guest dead—a total of two dead, eight remaining..."

In the thick night, a figure in black swept past the window, their black cloak rising as if to merge into the darkness, their stiff voice echoing in the corridor.

This was the second time such words had sounded in the courtyard, only the number reported had increased.

Another one dead?

In a dark corridor, a thin, small figure stood leaning against the wall, gently covering their mouth with a hand. In the darkness, one could see their eyes were round, yet bloodshot, looking as if they were red.

Thump, thump, thump—

Footsteps sounded in the corridor.

The thin, small figure straightened up at once and drew their weapon from behind their back.

It was a large wooden club, somewhat like a hammer, but cylindrical, with one end several times thicker, looking more like a pestle. In the darkness, the length of the wooden pestle was almost taller than their own frame. It was like an armored guard standing behind them.

Hearing the footsteps, the thin, small figure felt suspicious.

How could there be footsteps?

Those staying in this villa tonight were at least top-tier Knights-Errant, accustomed to vaulting over roofs and walking on snow without leaving a trace; even falling from a great height might not make a sound, so how could running on flat ground be this loud?

It was a conspiracy.

Once at Jingzhe Villa, everything could potentially be a conspiracy. Although the villa did not allow the bringing of poisonous insects, in truth, everyone was a poisonous insect, and every step was poison.

The footsteps drew closer and closer, and they hid deeper and deeper, hearing the footsteps reach the corner.

They hid back a little further and had already begun to guess the ins and outs of this conspiracy:

First, the footsteps were definitely fake, created by someone, so someone was indeed approaching.

There was likely a gap between the person and the footsteps; the footsteps sounded, but the person had certainly not arrived yet. If one were to ambush at this moment, one would surely strike at empty air and expose one's own position. At that moment, the true expert trailing behind would appear to play the role of the oriole behind the mantis.

Thus, their countermeasure was, of course, to be one step slower, not moving with the footsteps, but instead waiting for the footsteps to pass before attacking to flank and intercept the oriole.

As for who the oriole was, that was not important. Since they had walked out of their room in the middle of the night, were they not aiming to kill?

This sentence applied to them as well; they were lying in wait in the corridor holding a massive weapon, were they doing it to play hide-and-seek?

Here it comes, here it comes.

Once the footsteps passed, they would...

As the footsteps approached, suddenly, a shadow appeared from around the corner, stumbling.

There was actually someone there?!

The thin, small figure was startled, and then, relying on eyes that had already adapted to the darkness, they saw the person clearly.

It was a young man holding an iron sword, walking unsteadily, covered in blood, with blood dripping onto the ground, leaving a winding trail.

He looked as if he could not even stand, looking utterly like a Lost Soul.

Is this... the outside help invited by Cha Feiyan of the Eight Steps Hall, the kid called Yue Lai?

At the same time, Yue Lai turned his head abruptly, saw the small figure at the corner clearly, and his previously blank expression turned ferocious all at once.

"It's you? Xu Siyao! Why are you here?!"

The figure hiding at the corner, holding a huge wooden pestle waiting to ambush, was none other than the lone "Queen Bee" Xu Siyao.

Xu Siyao had just been shaken by Yue Lai's arrival and failed to hide herself perfectly, her breathing also becoming heavier, and her position was suddenly discovered by Yue Lai. But since she had been called out, she did not panic, naturally entering a battle state, the huge wooden pestle held high, and a hot, spicy scent permeated the air.

That was the scent of bee venom.

Yue Lai's features twisted, and he said loudly: "I know now, it's you, right? You killed Cha Feiyan?"

Xu Siyao was stunned: Cha Feiyan was dead?

Cha Feiyan, who could stand on equal footing with Jin Fusheng, the most powerful and most promising candidate for the next Manor Master, had actually died so silently?

Shhh—

Sword Light Flicker!

Yue Lai's sword swept across, and he lunged over.

Xu Siyao immediately thrust forward with the wooden pestle that was almost taller than her. As the pestle rushed to Yue Lai's front, a hole suddenly opened at the tip, shooting out a black light—

Poison Bee Needle!

It was the hidden weapon Xu Siyao was famous for, silent and unexpected, and mounted on the tip of a long weapon, the firing distance was extremely close, almost pressed against Yue Lai's face!

"Hah!"

Yue Lai let out a roar, and a burst of Internal Energy sprayed from his mouth, instantly blowing against the poison needle, forcing the finger-long needle to veer off course and fly away to the side. At the same time, his sword-swinging motion barely changed, and the sword immediately sliced onto the wooden pestle—

Shhh!

Iron and wood met, and half of the wooden pestle fell to the ground, revealing a large portion of the wood and the damaged mechanism hidden inside, with the spare poison needles scattering all over the floor.

Xu Siyao was greatly shocked—although her pestle was wood, it was precious Iron-Wood, harder than hundred-refined steel, and the mechanism hidden inside was also made of special Black Gold. In the past, it had never fallen behind when clashing with hundred-refined blades; how could she have imagined it would be sliced in two?

This was clearly because the opponent's blade was too sharp. If she had lost in a contest of strength, the web between her thumb and index finger would have been jarred, but now there was no sensation, and the weapon was just sliced off; it could only be that the weapon was inferior to the other's.

Yue Lai succeeded with one strike, his expression extremely ferocious, and he said loudly: "Haha, out of tricks, aren't you, you wench! Daring to kill the Hall Master, daring to kill the person I was protecting, I will mince you! Go to hell!" He slashed down with his sword.

Xu Siyao barely dodged and cried out: "It wasn't me! I didn't kill them!"

She had not intended to explain, because it was unnecessary; in this situation, meeting meant being mortal enemies, and whatever excuse she found did not matter. Even if Yue Lai said his father was killed by Xu Siyao, it would be meaningless. But once she fell into a disadvantage, she felt fear in her heart and instinctively began to defend herself.

The result was, of course... useless. Yue Lai chased after Xu Siyao, hacking and slashing like a madman.

The two, one chasing and one fleeing, Yue Lai's blade was sharp and his lightness skill was not bad, but his emotions were agitated, his sword strikes were unstable, and he missed by a hair several times. Xu Siyao's movements were Lightness, but she was even more panicked, and her escape was not easy either.

Seeing they had reached the end of the corridor, they saw a gate blocking the front; it was a partition between two corridors, now a dead end.

Xu Siyao had not come from this path originally, but had turned over from another clear path. At this moment, panicking and choosing the wrong way, she had run in reverse. Seeing she had reached the end with nowhere to go, she could not help but be greatly alarmed, and Yue Lai had already caught up from behind.

"Wench, go to hell!"

Xu Siyao heard the wind of the blade and gritted her teeth: "Fine, you're looking for death—this wasn't originally prepared for you!" She shook her sleeve, and a row of Rune Formulas on her sleeve suddenly lit up, and a vortex appeared out of thin air in front of her.

"Hahaha—calling it out so early, have you encountered a difficult problem, little sister?"

Following a burst of loud laughter, a young man wearing bright, colorful clothes appeared out of thin air in mid-air, his clothes flashy and gorgeous, looking like a peacock spreading its tail in the air.

He had just arrived on the scene when Yue Lai's sword already struck; the peacock freak laughed, flicked his sleeve, and said, "Get lost!"

The sleeve came with strange speed; although it was soft, it could be molded into shape, clashing against the sword as if it were a weapon. Yue Lai was struck by a great force and stumbled back several steps.

However, a soft "Crack!" sound followed, and the sleeve was actually sliced off by the sword blade.

The peacock freak was stunned and said, "What the—damn, you're cheating!"

His movements were fast, his sleeve dancing like a windmill, and his techniques were exquisite, sealing off all of the opponent's sword attack paths. Yet, Yue Lai had found some kind of divine weapon; anything it touched split, and anything it grazed tore.

In no time, scraps of fabric were flying everywhere, and in an instant, the peacock freak went from being gorgeously dressed to having his clothes in tatters.

Xu Siyao retreated a step to watch the battle, and seeing the situation was unfavorable, shouted, "I'll come help you!"

The "peacock" shouted, "Don't bother helping, find a way out!"

Xu Siyao had just been pounding on the main gate and discovered it was ten times sturdier than the room door. Knowing he had no sharp weapon on him, he knew he absolutely could not break through it. However, this corridor was extremely narrow, and the two of them fighting had already blocked the path, making it impossible to turn around. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'll just help you win then!"

Yue Lai screamed hysterically, "Come then, come together! You bitch and your helpers, all of you come over! Do you think I, Yue Lai, am afraid of you? Today I must avenge the Hall Master; you all must die!"

Having said this, he thrust his sword straight into the center; the Sword Light was even fiercer than before and extremely fast, grazing the peacock's shoulder and stabbing straight at Xu Siyao behind him.

Over there, Xu Siyao was anxiously trying to push the door again, saying, "Break the door, what..."

The peacock barked, "Dodge—"

Xu Siyao flashed half a step to the side, barely dodging, and Yue Lai immediately tilted his sword to slash upward, the blade closing in—

Creak—

With the sound of a door, the main gate was actually opened from the outside.

This door opened inward; as the door leaf moved, its speed was like a catapult, blocking exactly between the two. The sword blade struck the gate, sparking a trail of fire and leaving a shallow mark.

Even Yue Lai's sharp blade could not cut through such a thick gate.

At this moment, two people entered through the gate, a man and a woman. The woman was dressed in white, appearing particularly abrupt in the darkness.

Yue Lai missed his strike, the blood-red color in his eyes deepening, and he shouted loudly, "Haha—two more people, more of your helpers? Come on, all of you come on, none of you will live—"

As he spoke, his sword grew even faster. In the blink of an eye, it reached the two people. Before the sword arrived, the cold light came first, icy and shimmering, illuminating the empty room.

The woman opposite moved her skirt as if to retreat, but the person beside her had already reached out, arriving after but striking first, Lightness gripping the sword blade.

Xu Siyao saw this scene from behind and let out an "Oh," a thought flashing through his mind:

Seeking death!

Yue Lai's sword was extremely fast, and gripping it was indeed not easy. It only showed that the newcomer's movements were fast and their eye for detail precise, but the sword's greatest strength was its sharpness. Even her Iron-Wood and the peacock freak's colorful clothes couldn't withstand it; how could a bare hand...

Yet he saw the newcomer pinch the blade with both hands and say, "Don't move."

The sword froze instantly.

That long sword, which had been invincible before, seemed to be firmly nailed in place by two nails, not moving a hair. The two of them looked like statues, maintaining a steady posture.

Yue Lai exerted force with one hand, but couldn't push it even a fraction. His face began to contort again, only while the previous contortion was ferocious and terrifying, this one was somewhat pathetic.

However, Yue Lai refused to let go, using all his strength to pull. As they contested, the blade bent more and more in the air, curving into a dangerous arc, and the blade emitted a groan of unbearable strain.

Seeing that a rare, fine sword was about to be ruined here, the newcomer suddenly said, "Forget it." As they let go, the sword body snapped back, nearly hitting Yue Lai in the face.

Yue Lai was suddenly deprived of the force, hit by the recoil, and stumbled out several steps, stopping only when he reached the wall. He slammed against the wall, used the momentum to turn, leaned against the wall with his sword held horizontally, and gasped for air, looking at the newcomers.

Then he heard Xu Siyao shout, "Black Widow, it's you... it's you all!"