Chapter 238: Exchange of Hostages

Zhu Zixun paused for a moment, then asked, "What do you mean? What do you mean, not one of our kind?"

"Don't you know?" Pan Yun stared fixedly at Zhu Zixun and said, "Song Bei is a Japanese pirates."

Zhu Zixun instinctively denied it: "Impossible!"

Song Bei's face also flushed red, and he said angrily, "Fine, Sanzhu, if you want to kill me, if you want to rob me of my things, just say so outright. Why bother pinning such a huge hat on me?"

Pan Yun: "Is that so? Actually, there's a direct way. I'll strip you right now, and by looking at the inner garments you're wearing underneath, we'll know whether you're a man or a ghost."

Song Bei's face turned ashen after a brief pause, fire blazing in his eyes. "You dare!"

Pan Yun: "Wouldn't you know once you try?"

Having said that, her Yuan force snapped Song Bei's waist sash, and the clothes on his body immediately fell open.

He nervously held his breath, nervously sucked in his stomach. Just as Pan Yun was about to make her move, the white mist retreated rapidly as if it had encountered a natural enemy...

It was as if someone had pressed the rewind button. With a whoosh of cold wind, the white mist retreated swiftly toward the forest, and the once foggy path was immediately revealed in clear view.

The guards, who had been hacking wildly while wrapped in the fog, saw their companions opposite and immediately stopped fighting.

Everyone was still a bit dazed. Seeing the hostage Song Bei, the guards immediately came to their senses. No longer bothering to protect the carriage, they raised their blades and charged up to surround Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen.

Some grey-clothed guards even cut the ropes on the carriage directly, peeled off the blue cloth, opened the boxes, pulled out fire-arms from inside, grabbed a pouch of gunpowder and charged up, loaded the gunpowder and aimed the fire-arms at Pan Yun.

Pan Yun couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "So those two carriages didn't just have gunpowder, they also had fire-arms. That's something I didn't expect."

Zhu Zixun's expression didn't change, but Hu Jing was startled, and couldn't help but size up those grey-clothed men.

Because too many people had rushed over, and no one knew who had kicked away the formation stakes, the maze trapping Su Ying suddenly lost its effect, revealing Su Ying crouching on the ground inside the formation.

When the maze was opened, he still had a blank look on his face, staring blankly up at them.

Zhu Zixun couldn't help but get angry, "Su Ying, what are you doing?"

Su Ying silently braced himself on his sword and stood up.

As mentioned, the maze doesn't block out sound. He had heard everything the people outside the formation said. Although he couldn't see the scene, but... he was genuinely curious.

So he put the matter of breaking the formation aside and started listening to the gossip seriously.

Sanzhu's tone was firm, and she was young, not seeming like a cunning person. So, was Song Bei really a Japanese pirates, or was there some misunderstanding in the middle?

He swore he had only just squatted down, he hadn't been that lazy, but the result was that he had barely squatted down when the formation broke.

Who could he complain to about this grievance?

Su Ying sighed inwardly, but his face remained impassive. He made an excuse for himself, "I was looking for the formation's core just now."

Zhu Zixun sneered, "You're not a Daoist Priest, what would you know about formation cores? Su Ying, once you've taken the payment, you have to do the job. Rescue the employer!"

Su Ying looked at Pan Yun, and threatened in a soft, meek tone: "Sanzhu, let the employer go, or I won't be polite to you."

Zhu Zixun:... The words were all correct, but he somehow felt something wasn't quite right.

Song Bei craned his neck, trying his best to avoid Pan Yun's sword. Her sword was too sharp; just a light touch gave him the sensation of his blood vessels being cut open.

He didn't dare say it openly, so he could only try to convey the message by persuading Pan Yun, "Sanzhu, I think there's a misunderstanding between us. How about we sit down and have a proper talk? I don't know where you got this wrong information, but I can swear I'm a Han person."

"You were injured in the formation just now, and there are so many vengeful spirits here. If we fight to a bitter end, it'll be hard for you to get away either. Now that the vengeful spirits have gotten enough blood, they'll be quiet for a while. How about we leave here quickly first..."

Everyone's eyes lit up when they heard she was injured. The guards gripped their blades and pressed forward step by step. Zhu Zixun also tightened his grip on Miao He's neck, threatening again: "If you don't let him go, I'll destroy her Upper Dantian."

"You cultivate the Dao, but just like us martial artists, the most important thing is the Upper Dantian. Once the Upper Dantian is destroyed, her life will be ruined."

Having said that, a stream of internal force condensed in Zhu Zixun's hand, with every indication that if she didn't agree, he would slap it toward Miao He's belly.

Pan Yun ground her teeth. How could one Song Bei compare to Miao He? Not even a single strand of her hair could compare.

Her sword moved forward a little, and she said in a deep voice: "You send the person over."

Zhu Zixun: "You let go first."

Pan Yun's sword pulled back, pressing on Song Bei's wound. "Zhu Zixun, I'm still a child, my patience is very limited. I keep my word, but I don't trust you. While I'm still willing to make the exchange, you'd better send her over. I'll hand Song Bei to you. Otherwise, I don't mind trying a head-on clash."

Song Bei shrieked: "Hero Zhu, agree to her!"

He could feel the irritability in Pan Yun's heart at this moment, and was afraid she would really slash his neck open.

After a moment of silence, Zhu Zixun still slowly released his grip on Miao He.

Only, the palm of his other hand still held a stream of internal force, with every indication that if Pan Yun went back on her word, he would chase after her and give Miao He a palm strike.

The moment he let go, Miao He carefully took two steps out. After three steps in a row, she ran swiftly toward Seeing Miao Zhen. Seeing Miao Zhen also rushed forward to catch her. Zhu Zixun couldn't help but step forward twice, but Pan Yun just snorted coldly, sheathed her sword, and slammed a heavy palm onto Song Bei's rear shoulder, sending him flying out.

Song Bei stumbled two steps, then hurriedly ran toward Zhu Zixun's direction, and Zhu Zixun immediately went forward to meet him.

Once the two met up, Song Bei immediately ducked behind Zhu Zixun and ordered: "Take them!"

Hu Jing and Su Ying immediately drew their blades and swords, attacking head-on toward Pan Yun.

Pan Yun whipped out her sword with a swish, first charging into the guards and killing two of the grey-clothed men, before stepping forward to engage Hu Jing and Su Ying.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He cleverly retreated backward. Seeing Miao Zhen stuffed a horizontal saber into her hand, and the two of them went to block those guards, one on the left and one on the right.

Pan Xiao Hei squatted on the tree watching, anxiously meowing, "Two legs are hard pressed against four fists. Your kung fu is good, your cultivation is high, but they also have three Wu Lin masters, and so many guards. How long do you plan to drag this out with them?"

Pan Yun sent a voice transmission to Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He: "Stall for time, just a little more stalling and it'll be fine."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He didn't respond, but they tacitly conserved their strength. As long as they weren't caught or killed, that was enough, and they would entangle a few guards to ease the pressure on Pan Yun.

Zhu Zixun pulled Song Bei to the back, and seeing that Hu Jing and Su Ying working together still couldn't suppress Pan Yun, he immediately stepped forward to help.

!. Read

But Song Bei simply turned around, snatched a fire-arm from a grey-clothed man's hand, aimed in Pan Yun's direction, and fired a shot.

Pan Yun's figure flashed, she spun and charged into the group of guards. With a bang, a guard was hit and fell to the ground on the spot.

The gunpowder had grazed past Hu Jing's arm. His expression didn't change, but he felt a bit displeased in his heart.

Su Ying immediately said: "Fall back!"

The moment his words fell, the sound of gunfire rang out one after another. All the grey-clothed men holding fire-arms were firing toward Pan Yun's direction.

But whether it was because the fire-arms' hit rate wasn't high, or these grey-clothed men's marksmanship was too poor, or Pan Yun's dodging was too formidable, after firing more than a dozen shots in succession, not a single one hit her. Instead, three guards were accidentally hit.

Hu Jing grew even more annoyed, and couldn't help but lose his temper, "Young Master Song, this way you'll accidentally injure our own people."

Song Bei's expression, however, did not change. "This too was a last resort. There's still Four Waters and Five Fires — not a single one can be let go."

The fire-guns immediately turned toward Miao Zhen and Miao He.

At the sight, Pan Yun flashed forward, slit the throat of one grey-robed man, dipped two fingers in his blood, and traced a talisman in midair.

Before her talisman was complete, everyone present heard piercing laughter, weeping, and all manner of strange, uncanny sounds.

Song Bei's face changed and he shouted, "Stop her, quick!"

But Pan Yun had already finished the talisman. She clapped it in the air, then leapt up, formed a hand-seal and chanted: "All vengeful spirits — repay kindness with kindness, repay enmity with enmity. Let all your thoughts take form. Go—"

At the same instant, a dozen fire-guns took aim at Pan Yun in midair and fired as one. The bullets spun forward at speed, but just as they were about to reach her, the space before her warped, and a surge of white mist swept in, catching every bullet and holding them fast.

Pan Yun's eyes snapped open. She gazed down at them from above, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly — a half-smile, not quite a smile — as she fixed her stare on Song Bei and Zhu Zixun. "You've made me angry."

"Hee hee hee…" A cold, mirthless giggle rang out. Almost the instant Pan Yun's words fell, the bullets caught in the white mist whirled sharply and, like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers, rained back down the way they had come. With a series of soft thuds, they punched straight into the bodies of the grey-robed men holding the fire-guns.

At the same time, the white mist surged, pouring out from the woods on both sides — giggling, cursing, shrieking — rushing in and dragging everyone back into the thick fog.

Song Bei stumbled back in terror. Zhu Zixun was the angriest, hopping on the spot as he shouted, "Sanzhu! How dare you use dark arts to harm people — is this how Long Hushan teaches its disciples?"

The people hiding in the shadows were startled too, and one quickly said, "She's roused the vicious nature of the vengeful spirits — is she tired of living?"

"She was going to die anyway. Surrounded by so many, even if she herself doesn't die, her two junior disciples won't survive. When will reinforcements arrive? These vengeful spirits are about to slip out of control."

Zhang Weiliang, who was leading men running toward the scene, suddenly stopped and asked those beside him, "Did you hear that? I think I just heard someone cursing Long Hushan."

Zhang Weiqin, his face dark, said, "I heard it. It's just ahead — sounds like someone called Sanzhu. Do we even have a person like that on Long Hushan?"

"Never mind that for now, hurry up. That wretch Pan Yun — if she hadn't refused to listen, we wouldn't have had to come early."

Zhang Weiqin saw Zhang Weiliang charging forward headlong, and asked as he ran, "Weiliang, are we really going to save her? What if we ruin the Wu Lin Alliance's plan?"

Zhang Weiliang was overbearing and simply retorted, "Is our Long Hushan afraid of the Wu Lin Alliance?"

Zhang Weiqin: …No, we're not afraid. But there's no need to offend them either.

Zhang Weiliang had already spotted the convoy and the corpses sprawled on the ground. Without a second thought, he drew his sword and charged in.

Zhang Weiqin was a step behind and too late to stop him, managing only to call out, "Watch out for the vengeful-spirit fog…"

Good night.

(End of chapter)