Chapter 483: 457 A Run on the Bank

Two sword lights, one in front and one behind, burst out from the gaps in the giant forest and flew straight toward Tang Zhao.

Hm?

Tang Zhao was surprised: the person who arrived was none other than Yue Lai, who had previously been chased by Meng Huazhou.

Yue Lai was fleeing in front, and Meng Huazhou was following closely behind. Yue Lai was carrying a Cloud Silk lamp, while Meng Huazhou held a hand lamp; both were riding their swords, and while they each looked disheveled, they had traveled through the giants' nest without sustaining any real injuries.

Was it that Yue Lai had been chased into a dead end, happened to see him, and had come to seek help?

Unexpected, Tang Zhao had thought that with Yue Lai's stubbornness, he would have run even further away upon seeing him.

Since he was seeking help, did that mean he was giving up on killing Meng Huazhou with his own hands?

Tang Zhao felt this was also fine; Meng Huazhou was someone he had to kill to be satisfied, and killing him personally would remove a future threat. Him delivering himself to the door like this could be considered a sacrifice to flag the way for his next step of purging the wandering spirits.

Tang Zhao did not draw his sword; his Sword Image had already unfolded silently, waiting only for a thunderous strike.

When he was merely an ordinary Sword Guest, he could kill Meng Huazhou instantly without using a sword, let alone now that he had advanced further. Never mind that Meng Huazhou had become a Sword Student; even if he had become a Sword Guest at the same time as Tang Zhao, he would still not be a match for Tang Zhao in a single exchange.

Just as he was waiting for Yue Lai to lure the monster and drop the loot, he heard someone behind him shout: "Senior, please lend me a hand! Stop this villain!"

This was actually Meng Huazhou's voice; how to put it, the tone was naturally familiar, as if he were calling out to a teammate.

Tang Zhao himself was stunned for a moment, then saw Yue Lai's originally calm expression shift slightly, suddenly turning ferocious. It looked as if he had instantly mistaken him for an accomplice of Meng Huazhou.

You've got to be kidding, one sentence from Meng Huazhou can have such a big effect? I at least gave you a Cloud Silk lamp, and you've forgotten all about that already?

Tang Zhao's heart suddenly stirred, remembering something; before he could speak, Yue Lai had already reached him and thrust his sword out.

It was this sword strike!

This very strike had once killed a Protector and the old Manor Master at Jingzhe Villa, and it had also received Tang Zhao's own evaluation:

"Very strong."

This kind of strength was not the strength of a Sword Guest, but the strength of sword technique—it was pure, sharp, and indomitable sword skill, the kind of strength of a "sword master" in the traditional sense, where a man's rage causes blood to splatter five paces away.

It made Tang Zhao think of the sword hero in the story: "A sword comes from the West, a celestial immortal from beyond the heavens!"

He was a true Sword Guest who seemed to have walked out of an ancient book.

Today, the sword strike thrusting toward him was that very same strike that had once amazed Tang Zhao.

And today, this strike was especially stunning.

Because Yue Lai was using this strike while in the state of riding his sword, it already had a strong initial velocity, and he had pushed his momentum and focus to the peak—it could be called the unity of essence, energy, and spirit, and with the addition of that monstrous anger and hot-bloodedness, this strike was more powerful than ever before!

In the blink of an eye, the sword reached his eyelashes, its energy piercing like a rainbow!

This strike was soul-stirring, capable of posing a threat even to a Sword Guest.

At the very least, if Tang Zhao had encountered this strike back when he was at the Gu Dou Courtyard, he would have had absolutely no way to catch it with two fingers.

Therefore...

Tang Zhao extended two fingers—and caught it.

This strike, light as a startled swan, was held steadily between his fingers just like that.

Yue Lai's figure froze, his expression changing from anger to shock, then to suspicion, and finally to bewilderment and curiosity.

Tang Zhao did not wait for him to finish changing expressions; he flicked his fingers, and the long sword instantly flew from his hand, slamming him from the sky to the ground with a loud bang. Without even looking, he said coldly: "Where did you come from? Attacking me? What do you want?"

Yue Lai was slammed onto the ground, let out a muffled groan, and stopped moving, looking as if he had fainted.

At this moment, Meng Huazhou behind him took the opportunity to land on the ground, cupping his hands and smiling: "I see Senior again. Senior really did come here to keep the appointment; you are truly a man of your word."

Yes, in his eyes at this moment, Tang Zhao was not Tang Zhao, the helper brought by Black Widow, but that Sword Guest he had met by chance in Mu City and with whom he had shared the experience of listening to music.

Tang Zhao had realized this just before he made his move; he had burned away all his disguises while in the Zhugong, revealing his original appearance, and he had even changed his clothes—he couldn't just run around wearing nothing but an empty outer robe, could he? Plus, he had found his Time Jar, which contained spare clothes, so he had simply changed into a full set. With Black Widow left behind at Qianqiu Tower and him being here alone, he had now completely returned to being Tang Zhao, having nothing to do with his previous identity.

Therefore, Yue Lai could not possibly recognize him, and rushing over was certainly not to seek help, but to divert the disaster. He didn't know who Tang Zhao was; he just wanted to provoke a conflict between this stranger, who looked capable, and Meng Huazhou, so he could take the opportunity to escape.

This was also common; in a crisis, one couldn't care about much else. Besides, Yue Lai was never a gentleman to begin with; he was merely less annoying to Tang Zhao than Meng Huazhou. So, after recognizing who it was from the gesture of Tang Zhao catching the sword, he felt a bit awkward and could only fall to the ground and play dead.

As for Meng Huazhou, he certainly didn't recognize him; he hadn't seen the scene of Tang Zhao catching the sword at the courtyard back then, so how could he make the connection out of thin air? But his greeting with a smile now was by no means well-intentioned; it was a classic case of a knife hidden behind a smile.

One must know that the "last time" the two met, it ended on a sour note.

Tang Zhao had clearly rejected Meng Huazhou's invitation to travel to Cloud City together, yet they met again above the clouds. In Meng Huazhou's mind, he naturally felt that Tang Zhao was being hypocritical, saying he wouldn't come while actually sneaking over to pick up cheap gains.

Under these circumstances, if he were to make subtle sarcastic remarks or even show a cold face, it would be normal; that he was not offended in the slightest, carried a smile, and didn't mention the past at all, likely meant he was already full of murderous intent.

This kind of honey-tongued, sword-hearted behavior without a single flaw was something the Meng Huazhou who listened to music with Tang Zhao could likely not have done; in these few short days, he had grown a lot.

Of course, no matter how much he grew, it would be easy for Tang Zhao to slice his head off with a beam of light. Meng Huazhou probably also knew he was at a disadvantage, so he was playing along.

... Hm, not necessarily.

Tang Zhao saw a certain confidence in his eyes; this confidence was not the kind of composure used to hold up a facade, but a confidence in his own strength, believing he would never be at the mercy of others. It seemed he must have some kind of trump card, thinking he could counter-kill, which was why he was like this.

A trump card, huh?

The kind that could threaten a Sword Hero?

The reason Tang Zhao hadn't made a move yet was simply that he found this misunderstanding interesting, and he began to ponder whether, under these circumstances, Meng Huazhou could still be squeezed for some residual value.

Eh, you might as well hit the tree three times, whether there are dates or not.

So he said indifferently: "We meet again, Young Master Meng. You've come at the right time; I intend to get rid of these monsters. Do you have any thoughts?"

Meng Huazhou said in astonishment: "You want to... I don't know why Senior Sword Guest wants to kill the giants? Why go where the difficulty lies? Is it to take something from that palace?" His tone was as calm as possible, but it still carried a trace of imperceptible tension.

You asking that means you want to take something from Yutang, right?

Tang Zhao smiled and said: "Exactly, I intend to take it! I heard this was originally the center of Baiyujing; the truly good things must be here. How could I return empty-handed?" He deliberately glanced at the sword behind Meng Huazhou and said: "Oh, you've already found a sword? Is it the legendary Ruyi Sword?"

Tang Zhao naturally knew it wasn't the Ruyi Sword, and he was indeed a bit curious: where did Meng Huazhou find the sword? What kind of sword was it?

Of course, he couldn't expect Meng Huazhou to answer this question truthfully. On the contrary, he could ask Yue Lai later; perhaps he could get a clue.

Meng Huazhou said with slight embarrassment: "How could this junior have such good fortune? This is just an ordinary sword."

Tang Zhao said: "Belittling your own sword, your sword will cry." He gave him a small jab, then added, "Since you've found a sword, your mission is complete. Are you going back?"

Meng Huazhou was a bit stunned and said: "Not yet..."

Tang Zhao said: "That's perfect. You've already had a harvest, but I've come up empty-handed. Is that fair? I was dragged into this hellish place by you, suffering and risking my life for nothing. If I go back, can you justify that to me? How can your conscience be at ease? I want to find the things here. It just so happens you can think of a way: how do we get rid of these annoying big idiots? If you can't think of anything, don't bother going back either."

For a moment, Meng Huazhou could barely keep his composure and almost pulled his trump card from his pocket to smash it onto Tang Zhao's head, but he steadied his emotions in an instant, smiled very sincerely, and said, "Senior thinks the same as I do; I was just thinking of driving away this bunch of big oafs myself."

Tang Zhao turned his head, his gaze fixed on him like a fierce tiger, and said, "You want to drive them away too? Why, do you also want to go to Yutang to retrieve something?"

Stared at like this, Meng Huazhou felt half-fear and half-annoyance, and he forced a smile, saying, "How would I dare to compete for profit with Senior? I am merely thinking for Senior's sake, anxious for what Senior is anxious about."

Tang Zhao turned his head back and said, "That is settled then. You have already obtained the sword, what else is there to seek? Greed without end will invite retribution. Quick, hurry and think of how to deal with these big oafs for me."

Meng Huazhou was so goaded by him that he trembled all over, almost blurting out, "This... Shadow Warriors are indeed very troublesome..."

A thought stirred in Tang Zhao's heart: He actually knows these are Shadow Warriors? Even Ling Baoyu did not know, and Xiangyangzi only guessed; where did this knowledge come from?

This fellow is becoming more and more suspicious.

Originally, Ling Baoyu thought he was the successor of Xu Congsheng, but now it seems he had underestimated him.

Meng Huazhou steadied his mind, his expression gradually returning to normal, likely having convinced himself that being sensible was paramount, and continued, "To deal with Shadow Warriors, relying on brute force strikes will not work, because they will disperse and then reform, and they will also replenish their strength from the shadows. Unless they are completely isolated from the shadows, as long as the shadows do not dissipate, they will never die."

Tang Zhao had asked him for a plan mainly to toy with him, and he had his own draft for a frontal assault, but hearing Meng Huazhou speak so logically, he was surprised and became serious, no longer goading him recklessly, and said, "Then according to you, what should be done?"

Meng Huazhou said, "To eliminate them, we must isolate them separately, especially by isolating them from the Waijie. Once isolated, it is best to strike from a long distance; at that time, they cannot see or hear, nor can they defend themselves, and they will be nothing more than targets."

He thought for a moment and added, "Just in case, we can also sever the connection of their Spirit, so they cannot sense each other and will be nothing but idiots waiting to be slaughtered."