Chapter 638: Cleaning House

Mei Qinghe on his back had already gone silent.

You Zi'ang also bit his lip, sprinting forward in silence.

It was meaningless.

He knew that Mei Qinghe was already dead.

The essence of 【Sword Guard】 was simple—to completely and actively dissipate one's "life," and then pour all of one's pure "nature" into a single sword strike. After this strike, both nature and life would be exhausted, and since they had no means to sustain life, Mei Qinghe's death was already fated.

His stubbornness and stupidity were meaningless.

It might even cost him his own life.

But for some reason, he just didn't want to let go.

This was not because of a personal friendship with Mei Qinghe; in fact, given Mei Qinghe's personality, there were only a handful of people in the entire Embroidered Uniform Guard who could get close to her. It was just that he felt it wasn't worth it... he wasn't worth the chance of escape that Mei Qinghe had traded her life for.

As the one with the worst talent and realm among Li Miao's subordinates, always doing errand-running tasks, he had always been insecure, and the one who brought him the greatest sense of inferiority was Mei Qinghe, who had also entered the Embroidered Uniform Guard because of the Plum Blossom Thief, with only a few days' difference in seniority.

Insecure, therefore ashamed.

Knowing shame, then becoming brave.

If it were someone else, he might have made a rational choice.

But having been traded for by Mei Qinghe's life, he could no longer cast aside this inferiority.

Having been traded for by Mei Qinghe's life, even if he survived, he could not wash away this shame.

Therefore, he could not let go.

Dying here was better than living in shame.

It was just that reality would not shift because of the person's state of mind.

The Wudang old Daoist pursued them closely, continuously scattering pure Taiji force, pulling at You Zi'ang's legs, and within a few breaths, he had shortened the distance by half again—this distance was enough for him to strike.

He suddenly waved his sleeve!

Taiji Cloud Hands!

The Taiji force was scattered, smashing through the air toward You Zi'ang's back.

Ordinary Jianghu people always thought Taiji Quan was a slow and soft fist technique, which was actually an illusion. Combining hardness and softness, Yin and Yang, is Taiji. It was just that Wudang descendants were often unwilling to strike too hard during sparring, so they always used soft force against enemies... but this did not mean Taiji Quan could only be soft and not hard!

In terms of hardness and ferocity, Taiji Quan was also a martial art standing at the peak of many supreme techniques!

This Taiji Cloud Hands strike made a shrill sound as it broke the air, the true energy so solid that it faintly outlined a physical contour under the moonlight, smashing toward the two in front like a giant rock!

"We're in trouble!"

You Zi'ang's ears twitched, and in alarm, he dodged sideways.

But he could no longer dodge it.

Carrying Mei Qinghe, facing an opponent with a realm gap of more than two paths, he could not dodge... unless he was willing to throw Mei Qinghe away and watch her be beaten into a pool of blood in mid-air.

"Can't dodge... then don't dodge."

You Zi'ang tried his best to dodge sideways, but still could not dodge out of the attack range of the Taiji Cloud Hands.

In this instant, he felt Mei Qinghe, who was already like a corpse, suddenly move, raise her only remaining right hand, draw the Lady Xu sword from his waist, and slash toward that Taiji Cloud Hands strike.

Mei Qinghe was not yet completely dead.

This did not make You Zi'ang happy, but instead made him smile bitterly.

Because Mei Qinghe had already squeezed out her life and could not swing the sword; even her consciousness might not be clear. This strike was likely just an instinctive action of a flash of brilliance before death in a muddled state... it could not block the Wudang old Daoist.

Clang!

The Lady Xu sword was swept away in mid-air.

The Taiji Cloud Hands roared down.

Clang!!!

What followed, however, was the sound of metal clashing!

At the instant before the Taiji Cloud Hands were about to kill You Zi'ang and Mei Qinghe, a figure darted out from the dense forest, blocked behind the two, and suddenly struck out with a ferociously powerful Taiji Cloud Hands, colliding with the Taiji Cloud Hands struck by the Wudang old Daoist!

Dust and smoke rose suddenly!

"You two go first!"

"Go south, Commander An is waiting for you!"

"Leave this place to this poor Daoist!"

In the dust and smoke, the newcomer shouted urgently.

You Zi'ang's expression changed, and he immediately recognized the newcomer's identity.

A Wudang Heaven-Man, the sleepy old Daoist who came to support the Embroidered Uniform Guard during the Yingzhou chaos!

How did he come!

But You Zi'ang also knew this was not the time to talk. He shouted "Daoist, be careful" and carried Mei Qinghe away.

Thus, only the two old Daoists were left on the spot, looking at each other. ===== CHAPTER 639 =====