Chapter 39: Sacrifice

"Sect Leader... Ha—"

Fei Junxuan let out a long breath and sat on the ground.

He had just been stabbed a few more times by Mei Qinghe; although it wouldn't kill him, the blood loss had already taken away all his strength.

He was indeed clinging to life, but he was not a villain who betrayed his sect. He could be low and small, but he couldn't accept the situation where he personally sent the sect leader into a desperate situation. So just now, he rushed toward Li Miao barehanded, wanting to use his life to buy a moment for Zuo Lishan.

Seeing Zuo Lishan finally escape, his breath dissipated, and he finally fulfilled his obsession, sitting on the ground and looking at Li Miao blankly, no longer speaking.

Li Miao slowly took off his blood-stained outer garment, threw it on the ground, didn't look at Fei Junxuan, and turned back to walk to the table.

The fight just now sounded complicated, but it was actually only a few moves in the blink of an eye.

The wine and food on the table were still warm.

Li Miao sat down, poured himself a cup of wine, picked up a piece of meat, and began to eat as if no one else was there.

"Senior, are you not going to chase?"

Mei Qinghe asked in confusion.

"Chase? Chase what?" Li Miao looked at Mei Qinghe: "I let Sect Leader Zuo off for half a day before he found the way to escape."

"Fortunately, he was ruthless enough; he deserves to be a top-tier expert who fought his way out, otherwise it would have been hard to let him go today."

Mei Qinghe looked at Li Miao in confusion.

Li Miao smiled helplessly: "Little Mei, you... you should still learn more. You are only twenty-something, why are you as rigid as an old lady? I have to doubt if the internal energy method you practice has problems."

"No wonder your master kept you in the sect, not feeling at ease letting you down the mountain even after you reached the first-rate level."

"Didn't I tell you yesterday, when the imperial court does things, what is required is not the result, but the process."

"Doing things justly, so that people in the world can't pick out any faults, is the result the imperial court wants. If I just wanted to kill Zuo Lishan, I could just find a dark and windy night, go to the door, and kill him with one sword."

"I just want to cripple his Wu Gong, make him despair, so he will go back and take out those things that can't see the light."

"Otherwise, how can I justify exterminating the Five Mountains Sword Sects?"

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Taishan Sword Sect.

The door to the small courtyard where Zuo Lishan lived was pushed open violently.

"Who?" Inside the room, the female disciple who had spent the night with Zuo Lishan the night before heard the sound and came out to see, but her face turned pale.

"Master!"

She walked up quickly and supported Zuo Lishan, who was covered in blood.

Zuo Lishan's face was pale, his hair was disheveled, and his face was full of sweat.

That right hand, which made the heroes of the world bow their heads and represented the name "Mountain-Suppressing Sword," was now a bare piece of blurred flesh and blood.

"Help me to the quiet room, don't let it be known..." Zuo Lishan said hoarsely.

Every move in the fight with Li Miao was all-out, even causing damage to his meridians due to excessive force. Along the way, he had to use light-body techniques to avoid the Taishan disciples, to prevent his miserable state from being seen and shaking the morale of the army. By now, his true energy had bottomed out.

He pressed the acupoints on his right arm, barely stopping the bleeding, but after the long-distance raid back to the small courtyard after the injury, he was almost unable to support himself.

The female disciple knew the seriousness of the matter, reached out to close the door, supported Zuo Lishan's left hand, and slowly walked toward the quiet room where he practiced daily.

After closing the door, she asked Zuo Lishan urgently: "Master, who could injure you like this!?"

"Your right hand... what should be done about this!?"

"Don't panic." Zuo Lishan sat down and caught his breath, his tone calm, and he gently comforted the female disciple.

Looking at his serious and calm face, the female disciple gradually calmed down.

Zuo Lishan was her master, her lover, and her hero.

She was also the daughter of a Taishan Sect veteran, having grown up listening to Zuo Lishan's name, watching him defeat the heroes of the world, watching him make a name for himself, watching him maneuver horizontally and vertically.

Day after day, she practiced her sword skills diligently, finally becoming a disciple under Zuo Lishan. She then cast aside the modesty of a young woman, taking the initiative to entangle herself with Zuo Lishan as a fleeting lover.

Even if the illicit affair between master and disciple was intolerable to heaven and earth, she didn't care at all. Even if there was no status, and she could only live in secret for a lifetime, she was willing.

Looking at Zuo Lishan's fragile appearance, which was different from the past, the love in her heart surged even more.

Zuo Lishan had no right hand, and most of his Wu Gong was gone; he was no longer the "Mountain-Suppressing Sword" Sect Leader Zuo. Perhaps... for her, this was a heaven-sent opportunity.

She opened her mouth and said words she hadn't dared to say before: "Master... Zuo Lang! Don't worry, I will never betray you..."

"It doesn't matter if your Wu Gong is crippled; I still have Wu Gong, and some silver I've saved up."

"This sect leader position, if you don't do it, you don't do it! Let's go down the mountain tonight, live in seclusion in the mountains... I, we will be a real couple, I..."

"I, I will support you..."

Zuo Lishan looked at the blushing female disciple expressionlessly and said: "Good."

"But I need to heal my injuries before I can leave. Go to my room and get some medicine."

"Good, good!" The female disciple was overjoyed and turned to run out of the quiet room.

Zuo Lishan supported the ground with his left hand, stood up with difficulty, and walked to a corner of the quiet room.

His face was hesitant, but after a while, he looked at his crippled right hand, and finally a ruthless look appeared on his face.

Boom!

Zuo Lishan stamped his foot on the stone slab, and the stone slab shattered, revealing a dark space underground.

He squatted down slowly and took out a jar from inside.

A rustling sound came from the jar, as if something was crawling.

"Zuo Lang, I couldn't find the medicine, where is it kept?" The female disciple walked into the quiet room, saw Zuo Lishan holding the jar, and her delicate eyebrows frowned.

"Zuo Lang, you are injured, let me handle things. Don't move your true energy recklessly, or it won't be good if you break your blood vessels."

"It doesn't matter." Zuo Lishan said with his back to the female disciple: "I just suddenly remembered that there is a spiritual medicine I obtained by chance, which I hid here."

"With this medicine, my injuries will be stabilized."

Hearing this, the female disciple smiled happily: "That's great, Zuo Lang!"

"I only have my left hand, it's not very convenient. You come and apply the medicine for me." Zuo Lishan's face was hidden in the darkness, and his expression could not be seen.

"Good!" The female disciple replied crisply, walked quickly to Zuo Lishan, and reached out to take the jar.

Crack—

Suddenly, Zuo Lishan's left hand pinched the female disciple's throat.

He tore it sideways!

Swish—!!

The neck was torn open, and blood gushed out from the female disciple's neck, splashing Zuo Lishan's face.

The female disciple looked at Zuo Lishan in despair, suddenly killed by her own Zuo Lang, her face full of shock and sorrow.

She wanted to exert force to smash the jar.

But looking at Zuo Lishan's face, the face of the lover she shared a bed with, she finally didn't take action.

She wanted to say something as a farewell, but her throat was torn open, and she could no longer speak.

Finally, she fell softly to the ground, and the jar rolled from her hand, falling lightly to the ground.

Zuo Lishan tore open the seal of the jar, reached out and grabbed the female disciple's hair, aimed the neck wound at the jar mouth, and let the blood flow in.

"Eat."

"After you finish eating, you will be my meridians, my right hand."

"Next time, I will not lose again."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 40 =====