Chapter 178: Red Clothes Like Fire

At dusk, the setting sun had already been dyed a deep emerald.

Accustomed to small bridges and flowing water, arriving at the vast, boundless grasslands always makes one feel that the sky is high, the earth is wide, and all things are insignificant.

Yu Liancheng liked this feeling very much, so he no longer used light-body techniques to travel; he was walking at a leisurely pace, appreciating the scenery between heaven and earth, and his mind became relaxed as never before.

Just at this moment, he suddenly heard a burst of bell sounds coming from afar.

Following that, a large red shadow came into view.

It was like a ball of fire.

A ball of fire burning in the night.

That ball of fire was actually a person and a horse, a fire-red horse, fire-red clothes.

The person and horse were originally very far away, but they came so fast, it was almost as if they were flying.

"There are fourteen of you in total, no one is allowed to leave."

This voice was delicate and crisp, yet it seemed to possess a captivating, demonic power.

Yu Liancheng was still walking slowly, but the dozen or so people around him seemed to be frightened into a stupor, not daring to move.

These people were originally tall and burly, with ferocious faces, and their chests were bulging, as if they were hiding some weapons.

Recently, Central Plains merchant caravans have been rushing to the grasslands to do business, so naturally, many horse bandits and robbers are unavoidable, looking to do business without capital.

And the Treasure Map has also caused many experts from the Central Plains to rush toward the grasslands.

These thirteen people had only just approached Yu Liancheng for a moment; he hadn't had time to distinguish whether they belonged to the former or the latter, but he figured they were not good people.

In the blink of an eye, the person and horse had flown before his eyes like a cloud of fire.

The person on the horse was dressed in red like fire, waving a fire-red whip in their hand; the whip fell like raindrops, and in the blink of an eye, it had whipped those thirteen people until they were rolling all over the ground.

That whip was like a venomous snake, like fire, but these dozen or so people, seeing the whip strike down, not only dared not flee or parry, they didn't even dare to let out a miserable cry, only gritting their teeth and groaning.

"I told you not to leave, didn't you hear me?" After whipping them twenty or thirty times, the fire-red horse ran in front of Yu Liancheng again.

Yu Liancheng looked up; if the Mao brothers were so ugly they didn't look human, then this person was so beautiful they didn't look human, like a fairy from heaven.

Her clothes were as red as fire, her cheeks were flushed with rouge, and her eyes were like stars in the sky; as her gaze shifted, it was soul-stirring and captivating.

"I heard you, but I don't necessarily have to do as you say. Don't you think you are being a bit arrogant, young lady?" Yu Liancheng smiled: "Of course, you are so beautiful; if you were willing to ask nicely, as long as it wasn't too excessive, I might not be unable to agree to your request."

"You think you're worthy of me begging you? Dream on!" The girl Hong Ye curled her cherry lips and sneered: "That little brat said the Treasure Map is in your hands, is that right or not?"

Little brat?

Yu Liancheng already understood that she was talking about Xiaoyuer, and also guessed that Xiaoyuer and Tie Xinlan had been caught up to by the girl in red, and had shifted the trouble elsewhere by saying the Treasure Map was on him.

"The Treasure Map is not in my hands, but I do remember the route," Yu Liancheng said truthfully.

The girl in red's eyes lit up: "I want you to draw the route, otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?" Yu Liancheng still wore a smile.

The girl in red gave a delicate huff, and the whip in her hand lashed out.

This was a bright red whip, also appearing like a red-scaled snake, carrying the sound of the wind as it tore toward Yu Liancheng.

Yu Liancheng's expression did not change; he flicked his finger against the tip of the whip.

With a "snap," this "red-scaled snake" suddenly whipped back toward its owner.

The girl in red let out a delicate cry; the red clothing on her right shoulder had been torn, and a shallow red mark had appeared on her snow-white skin.

Yu Liancheng smiled: "Very good. Although you are fierce, you aren't too bad after all; otherwise, I fear this whip would have left you with torn skin and flesh."

He used the technique of "borrowing force to strike," which perhaps couldn't compare to the "Yihua Palace's Grafting Flowers and Connecting Jade" technique, but it was already considered marvelous under heaven.

The girl in red bit her lip slightly; from just this one move, she could already see that the other party's martial arts far exceeded her own.

But if she were to swallow this loss and leave with her tail between her legs, she feared she wouldn't be able to sleep all night.

Suddenly, her slender arm shook, and she drifted out like a cloud of red, a glistening white, slender palm printing toward Yu Liancheng. This palm strike looked simple, but it actually hid dozens of follow-up moves; it was the essence of her lifelong martial arts.

Yu Liancheng also gently extended a hand, flicking and guiding in the air; the girl in red couldn't help but cry out again, because her palm was no longer listening to her, and was hacking toward herself.

Bang!

This palm landed solidly on her chest; the girl couldn't help but retreat two steps, a mouthful of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and a trace of pallor appearing on her face.

"Sure enough, my 'Grafting Flowers and Connecting Jade' is still lacking; this guidance unconsciously integrated my own palm force into it," Yu Liancheng looked at his hands and muttered to himself.

The girl in red's palm style focused on changes, but lacked power. But after his flick and guidance, the power was more than a notch greater, which was why the girl was severely injured.

"Perhaps I should find a way to get my hands on Yihua Palace's 'Grafting Flowers and Connecting Jade'; that martial art must be very interesting," Yu Liancheng looked at his palms again and flicked his sleeves as he walked away.

The girl in red took out a handkerchief, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and watched Yu Liancheng's back as he walked far away, stomping her feet in anger.

Her gaze shifted, and she suddenly saw one of the men she had beaten earlier secretly rejoicing and laughing.

"What are you things, daring to laugh at me?"

The girl in red glared, gritting her teeth; on her crimson face, she looked chillingly cold.

And the whip in her hand did not stop, whipping the dozen or so people until they rolled continuously, their mouths emitting groaning sounds.

After another moment, the girl Hong Ye saw Yu Liancheng's figure getting further and further away, and couldn't help but feel anxious; she retracted her whip, flipped onto her horse, and a delicate shout could still be heard from afar.

"Thirteen Bandits of Flying Cloud, let this whipping today be a lesson to you; next time I hear of you committing evil, watch out for your heads."

The horse she was riding was called "Cherry," extremely spirited; even if it couldn't travel a thousand miles a day or eight hundred at night, it wasn't far off. And Yu Liancheng was only walking on his own two feet, and without using light-body techniques, she naturally caught up very quickly.

This time, however, she didn't dare use the whip, nor did she dare use palm techniques. She only pulled on the reins when she caught up to Yu Liancheng, letting "Cherry" follow right behind him.

Yu Liancheng glanced back at her and laughed: "Hey, how did you become my tail?"

The girl in red's pert nose huffed, but she didn't answer.

Yu Liancheng said to himself: "Is it because you couldn't beat me, so you couldn't force the treasure location out of me, and can only follow behind my butt? Wherever I go, you go. That way, as long as I find the treasure, you can find it too."

The girl in red looked at Yu Liancheng in surprise; the other party had actually seen through her thoughts at once.

Yu Liancheng suddenly laughed: "But have you ever thought about what you will do if I don't allow you to follow behind?"

This time, the girl in red finally couldn't help but say: "I am not following behind you; the grasslands are so big, I go wherever I want to go, I just happen to be taking the same road as you."

Yu Liancheng stood his ground and said, "But I do not want you to take this path."

The girl in red said coquettishly, "Have you already bought this grassland? Is it your property? By what right do you forbid me from walking here just because you say so?"

The girl asked three questions the moment she opened her mouth, but Yu Liancheng only answered with one sentence, a very reasonable sentence.

"Because my martial arts are higher than yours."