Chapter 274

Lu Yu stopped her steps.

When Xu Bing let out the first cry of surprise, she frowned: the body-fitting soft armor was not ordinary goods, this rich young master must come from a Jianghu force, and his family background must not be shallow. But this thing can only prevent sneak attacks, it cannot prevent first-class experts.

When Xu Bing let out the second cry of surprise, she sneered: lime powder? A method used by street hooligans, it seems he was at his wit's end.

And when Xu Bing let out the third cry of surprise, her expression changed drastically, and without any hesitation, she immediately went to support him. But before she could walk a yard, Xu Bing had already fallen to the ground, spitting blood, and slowly lost his breath.

From surprise to disdain and then to a chill throughout her body, it only took a short three or four breaths.

Lu Yu slowly retreated a few steps.

"Tang Men expert? This is not Bashu, what does what we do have to do with your Tang Men?"

She asked.

Tang Men has never been a righteous sect, and of course, it cannot be considered an evil sect. It just guards its territory in Bashu, selling hidden weapons and poisons, and rarely involves itself in Jianghu affairs.

Since the other party can take out Tang Men's pill poison, he must be a member of the Tang Men, and his status is not low. Why would he take action against their side?

The young master laughed.

"I'm happy to, can't I?"

"I don't like the look of you two, so I killed you, can't I?"

"You!"

Lu Yu was angry for a moment, looked him up and down for a while, but her originally tightly locked brows slowly relaxed.

"I was just startled by you for a moment, you really think you've got me."

"You, you're just a first-class expert, and it looks like you just broke through recently, and several meridians in your hands haven't been opened yet, right?"

Lu Yu sneered.

"Just now Xu Bing was caught by your sneak attack and poisoned."

"But, poison cannot deal with first-class experts."

"And since the meridians in your hands haven't been fully opened, your hidden weapons can't be that powerful either."

"You are just a silver-like pewter spear head with only true energy!"

An Ziyang smiled and did not refute.

What Lu Yu said is a recognized fact in the Jianghu.

Poison is something that can exert utility far beyond martial arts in specific places. But this thing, like Gu arts, is an evil path, and its upper limit is not high. It is used more for sneak attacks and cannot be used for strong attacks.

Once at the first-class level, light-body techniques far exceed the speed of poison scattering. As long as there is preparation, it is difficult to be hit again. If it were a narrow space like the An family's secret room, it would be fine, but in such an open place, wanting to rely on the slow speed of poison scattering to catch up with the pace of a first-class expert is just a pipe dream.

And his hidden weapon level is indeed not high.

But, everyone who thinks that his Lingxu Young Master only knows how to use poison has already gone to see the King of Hell.

An Ziyang hung one hand on his chest, pulled out the long sword from his waist with the other, swung a sword flower, and pointed it loosely at Lu Yu.

"Miss Lu is so confident, why not come over and try my sword technique?"

Before Lu Yu could speak, Liu Chengxuan on the side felt his heart tighten.

No matter how much the Huanhua Sword Sect is called bookworms by Jianghu people, it is a proper sword sect. Liu Chengxuan has been practicing sword techniques for nearly twenty years and is also a figure who can be brought out in the Jianghu.

With that sword flower An Ziyang swung, he could already see that this young master had not touched a sword many times, and his sword technique was not even enough for a third-class level.

If he fought Lu Yu, he would probably not be able to hold on for ten moves.

Thinking of this, Liu Chengxuan hurriedly prepared to step forward, trying to entangle Lu Yu and create space for An Ziyang to use poison.

An Ziyang pointed with his sword.

"Hey hey, this brother, no need for you."

"Dealing with this kind of small fry is not as strenuous as dealing with any random courtesan."

"Go play on the side."

An Ziyang had a leisurely smile on his face, his sword was held loosely in his hand, his body had no stance at all, and even his gaze had moved away from Lu Yu, without any intention of guarding against Lu Yu.

"Dealing with her, I don't need three breaths—"

"Be careful!!!"

Liu Chengxuan shouted and rushed over.

And Lu Yu had already taken advantage of the moment An Ziyang moved his gaze away and rushed to An Ziyang's front.

"Boy! So arrogant!"

"Die!"

Reaching out, she was about to grab An Ziyang's right hand holding the sword.

Pfft.

Suddenly, a sharp pain came from under her feet.

"!!!"

Without thinking, she hurriedly lowered her body, avoided the slow horizontal sweep of An Ziyang's sword, and swept her left leg in a circle on the ground.

Amidst the flying dust, several objects were swept out together, hitting the tree and making a crisp sound.

"Iron caltrops!"

Lu Yu's expression changed drastically.

Just now, when Xu Bing rushed over, An Ziyang had actually taken advantage of the lime powder covering his vision to throw a large handful of iron caltrops under his feet!

And she, in order to seize the flaw exposed by An Ziyang, bumped into the trap!

Her thoughts turned, and a fierce light appeared in Lu Yu's eyes.

It is impossible for the other party not to have quenched the iron caltrops with poison. Since she had already been hit, her only way to survive was to capture the other party and search for the antidote!

She is a long-famous evil-path expert, and the life and death she has experienced far exceed that of disciples of major righteous sects, and she made up her mind in an instant.

Her left hand was raised, and she instantly grabbed An Ziyang's left hand that was still in his bosom, preventing him from taking out poison from his bosom. Her right hand circled up along An Ziyang's arm, about to snatch the long sword in his hand!

As soon as she took over, Lu Yu felt joy in her heart.

This person's arm muscles were indeed loose, and there was clearly no martial arts on his hands. She was proficient in grappling, and snatching his weapon was a sure thing!

In the square inch, their eyes met.

Suddenly, Lu Yu felt a chill throughout her body.

An Ziyang, whose two hands had been restrained, was now not panicked at all, looking at her with a smile.

Not only that, he didn't care about the life-and-death struggle at all, and actually took the initiative to stick to Lu Yu like a dissolute son who visits flowers and asks for willows on weekdays.

The two were "stacked" together like this.

If you don't look at Lu Yu's gradually purple face and the long sword in An Ziyang's hand, I'm afraid someone would really think this is a pair of lovers whispering to each other.

"Miss Lu is really active. Even those top courtesans I've seen in the past have to drink and listen to music first. Miss Lu is the first one to stick to me as soon as we meet~"

An Ziyang leaned into Lu Yu's ear and said softly.

"Speaking of which, I haven't tasted the flavor of a first-class evil-path expert... If you surrender now and tell me who instructed you to do this, I will keep you as a maid, how about that?"

After saying this, he actually blew a breath into Lu Yu's ear.

"You!!!"

Lu Yu was already angry.

"I will definitely tear your mouth apart!!!"

She twisted her hand and grabbed the wrist of An Ziyang's right hand holding the sword.

"Sword or hand!"

Lu Yu sneered ferociously.

"What the beauty wants, I naturally have no reason to refuse. Besides, without these two hands, how can I make Miss Lu—happy~"

An Ziyang laughed lightly, and then actually let go directly, letting the long sword fall.

Both hands were restrained, and he had no weapon.

In front of Lu Yu, who was proficient in grappling, he seemed to have no power to fight back.

Lu Yu thought so too.

She climbed up An Ziyang's shoulders along his arms with both hands, stretched her fingers into claws, and was about to dig into An Ziyang's shoulder socket.

Seeing that she was about to restrain An Ziyang, she shouted sharply.

"Antidote—"

"Hey."

But she was interrupted by An Ziyang's light laugh.

"How come everyone thinks that snatching my sword, crippling my poison, and guarding against my hidden weapons is enough to restrain me?"

"Do you know how many first-class experts have wanted to get close to restrain me and ask for the antidote?"

Before the words fell, vigorous true energy erupted!

"Black Pole—Buddha!"

Boom!

Lu Yu only felt a storm suddenly explode in front of her, and the rigid and fierce true energy, far exceeding that of ordinary first-class experts, suddenly scattered from all the acupoints around An Ziyang's body, knocking her back abruptly!

She only had time to raise her hand and take away An Ziyang's sword as she fell back.

Dust rolled, and then slowly dissipated.

Lu Yu looked at An Ziyang walking out of the dust in disbelief.

"You... you are not a Tang family member!"

"The Tang family absolutely does not have such brilliant internal energy!"

An Ziyang laughed lightly.

"When did I ever say I was a Tang family member?"

"...... But you were clearly only just cultivated to the first-class level, where did you get so much true energy!"

Lu Yu gritted her teeth.

"Ignorant."

An Ziyang put his hands in his sleeves and returned to his dissolute appearance.

"Martial Arts Zen Sect, Wedding Dress Divine Art."

"My weapon is not good, so naturally I have to work harder on internal energy—I was just waiting for a beauty like Miss Lu to stick to me~"

"You!"

Lu Yu was furious.

What kind of path is this person on, is his brain sick!

Such brilliant mental cultivation, such rigid and fierce true energy, if it were in the hands of ordinary experts, even if they practiced a rotten street palm technique, they would be able to roam freely. In this person's hands, it's just to guard against sneak attacks!

It's simply putting the cart before the horse! A waste of heaven's gifts!

But she had to admit that the way An Ziyang used it, she really had no way!

Just at this time, Lu Yu had time to investigate the poison in the iron caltrops she had stepped on just now.

Suddenly, joy appeared on her face.

"It's not Tang Men pill poison!"

Lu Yu raised her head abruptly and looked at An Ziyang.

"The poison you quenched on these iron caltrops is just ordinary anesthetic!"

An Ziyang shrugged.

"Of course, I always have to leave a living mouth to ask questions."

Lu Yu showed a smile on her face.

"Good!"

"I indeed find it difficult to restrain you for a while, but don't even think about leaving me behind! Just ordinary anesthetic, I can suppress it myself!"

"If you have the guts, come and chase me! Let's see who dies first!"

Whoosh!

Lu Yu deserves to be an evil-path expert. Seeing that things were not going well, she didn't hesitate at all, turned around, and rushed into the dense forest. And An Ziyang actually stood in place, without any intention of chasing, just watching Lu Yu disappear into the dense forest.

Liu Chengxuan on the side felt anxious and couldn't help but shout.

"This young master, this person's temperament is cold and ruthless. If you let her leave, it will be difficult to avoid being sneak-attacked by her in the future!"

"Must not let the tiger return to the mountain!"

An Ziyang glanced at him and laughed.

"Of course."

"This kind of beauty, we haven't spoken a few words yet, how can I let her go just like that?"

After saying this, he raised his hand, pinched his index finger with his thumb a few times, as if fortune-telling on the street, calculated for a while, and then opened his mouth and laughed.

"Calculating the time, it should be about right."

"Three."

"Two."

"One."

As he said "one," a cry of pain suddenly came from the dense forest ahead.

"What!?"

"Insidious thief—"

Thud.

No more sound.

An Ziyang turned to look at the two dumbfounded people from the Huanhua Sword Sect and laughed.

"Two, help me carry someone back, is it convenient?"

He pointed to the wooden house.

"I want to ask Miss Lu some questions, first I need to do some preparations. You just need to bring her back."

"Don't worry, she has already fainted. Even if you chop her into stuffing, she won't wake up."

Liu Chengxuan and Wen Lianrong looked at each other. In addition to being shocked, they also thanked him in unison. Seeing An Ziyang turn and enter the wooden house, they then searched in the direction Lu Yu had fled.

"This person... what is his background?"

Wen Lianrong said.

"Can't tell."

Liu Chengxuan sighed.

"The Wedding Dress Divine Art has long been lost. Countless fragments were spread in Shuntian Prefecture last year, but to this day, no one has deduced the full version. And that move called 'Black Pole—Buddha' is also unheard of."

"Clearly holding a sword, but doesn't know half a sword technique. Using Tang Men's secret poison, but doesn't even know how to use hidden weapons."

"It's truly... a mysterious figure."

"We seem to have been dragged into something extraordinary."

Wen Lianrong gripped her sword hilt, but after a while, she forced a smile.

"At the very least, we survived."

"Yes, fortunately."

Liu Chengxuan also said gratefully.

The two passed through dozens of feet of dense forest and finally found the fainted Lu Yu beside a tree.

Although An Ziyang was confident, the two still cautiously used some stones to test her first, and after getting close, one held a sword against her neck while the other restrained her pulse to test.

"The circulation in her body has collapsed, her blood and energy are stagnant, and her strength is loose. She is indeed fainted."

Liu Chengxuan said.

Only then did Wen Lianrong lift the sword that was leaning against Lu Yu's neck and sheathed it.

The two did not rush to bring her back, but squatted down and observed carefully for a while.

"There is blood on the soles of her feet, she should have stepped into a trap during the fight just now. The anesthetic she mentioned refers to this."

Wen Lianrong said.

"But, she is also a long-famous evil-path expert, and her control over blood and energy can be called as easy as moving her arms. Since she said she had the confidence to suppress this anesthetic, the reason she fainted is not here."

Liu Chengxuan's gaze wandered over Lu Yu.

"Where..."

Suddenly, his gaze froze.

"Here."

He said, reaching out to lift Lu Yu's right hand, spreading her fingers, revealing her palm.

Wen Lianrong leaned over to look.

Lu Yu's palm was densely packed with blood spots, with hundreds of extremely tiny wounds, slowly seeping blood. This posture was like grabbing a handful directly in a needle and thread box, and some even tore the skin and flesh, cutting open wounds the length of a fingertip.

Liu Chengxuan lowered his head and smelled it, then nodded.

"There is poison, it's here."

"But when she was fleeing just now, there shouldn't have been this wound."

"What method did that person use to make her poisoned from a distance of dozens of feet..."

He was thinking when he heard a light sigh from Wen Lianrong beside him.

"Sword."

"Senior Brother, it's the sword she snatched from that person."

Clang—

Wen Lianrong used her sword to pick up the sword stuck in the tree trunk and sent it to Liu Chengxuan.

"Senior Brother, look at the sword hilt."

Liu Chengxuan looked closely.

The sword hilt was covered in scarlet.

He leaned closer to look, signaled Wen Lianrong to put it on the ground, bent down to pick up two branches, clamped the sword hilt in between, and silently counted the time in his heart.

From Lu Yu snatching the sword to making a cry of pain during her flight, it was about ten breaths.

"Ten, nine, eight... three, two, one."

Swish!

In an instant, hundreds of fine needles shot out from the sword hilt, immediately piercing the two branches into thousands of holes.

"Hiss—"

Liu Chengxuan took a deep breath, and Lu Yu's encounter appeared in his mind.

After she snatched the sword, she drilled into the dense forest to flee. Before she had fled a hundred feet, a sharp pain suddenly came from her palm.

In pain, she suddenly shook her hand to throw the long sword away. The hundreds of needles were deeply embedded in her flesh, and the first time she couldn't even shake them off, which was how those torn wounds were made.

So she let out the first cry of pain.

"What!?"

And then she shook her hand again, the long sword flew out and stuck to the tree trunk, which was why Liu Chengxuan didn't find the long sword the first time.

At this time, the poison took effect.

She let out the second cry of surprise.

"Insidious thief—"

Before she could finish the sentence, she had already fallen to the ground and completely lost consciousness.

Liu Chengxuan frowned.

"But, why did this sword have no reaction in that person's hand, but would react when held by Lu Yu? Even when I clamped it with branches, it would shoot out poison needles?"

He observed the sword hilt carefully for a while.

Suddenly, he realized, and at the same time felt a chill throughout his body, involuntarily letting out the same exclamation as Lu Yu.

"So insidious!?"

The part of the sword hilt near the sword guard was hiding a circle of imperceptible mechanisms, totaling eight, which would be impossible to detect without looking closely.

This was where the mechanism was.

No wonder that young master always held the sword loosely; it wasn't because he was casual, but because he was always using two fingers to tap the eight mechanisms in order.

If the order was wrong, or if the mechanisms weren't tapped for a period of time, the poison needles would shoot out, piercing the hand of the person holding the sword.

This sword was a hidden weapon from the very beginning.

Just waiting for someone to snatch it away.

"This..."

Wen Lianrong on the side also frowned.

Such behavior is simply insulting the "sword." Any swordsman in the world who saw An Ziyang use a sword like this would probably frown.

And looking at this set of insidious methods, no matter how you look at it, it doesn't look like righteous behavior.

But, the other party is after all their savior.

The two looked at each other and let out a long sigh.

Wen Lianrong carried Lu Yu, Liu Chengxuan put the long sword into his own scabbard and carried it, and the two turned back to the front of the wooden house.

"Young Master, the person has been brought back."

An Ziyang's laughter came from inside the door.

"Bring her in."

The two pushed the door and entered, immediately stunned in place.

The small bed in this wooden house had been cleared, and a white cloth was spread on the bed.

Around this white cloth, dozens of cold-glaring objects had been placed densely, and there were some black-red powders in the blood grooves, which seemed to be dried blood stains.

And on the ground, there were several jars, from which faint rustling sounds came, as if some living things were crawling inside.

There was only moonlight slanting in from a hole in the roof, illuminating half of An Ziyang's face, hiding his brows and eyes in the darkness, but illuminating his white teeth.

He smiled kindly.

"Put the person on the bed, and the two of you can go out."

"Oh right, if the movement is not pleasant to hear later, the two of you can cover your ears, or sit in meditation."

"Otherwise, you might not be able to eat tomorrow."

A thought appeared uncontrollably in Liu Chengxuan's heart.

"Who... is the evil path..."

(End of chapter)