Chapter 2: First Meeting with Yu Xiaoxue

Shuxiang spoke up:

"Master, if what you say is true, this Duan Fengyun is even harder to deal with than we imagined.

I originally thought our biggest opponent right now would be Yang Su, but I never expected Duan Fengyun to be the one hiding the deepest.

Will he affect our plans?

Master!"

Ning Ke nodded and replied:

"Indeed, our greatest enemy right now is Duan Fengyun.

I am worried that his goal is the Xuanyuan Sword. Now that he already possesses the attack secret technique, the Sword-Drawing Heaven-Slaying Technique, if he were to obtain the Xuanyuan Sword as well, the consequences would be unimaginable. We must find Jianchi; we absolutely cannot let the Xuanyuan Sword fall into the hands of Duan Fengyun.

Jianchi and the others should have already gone to Taba by now. There is no time to lose; we must rush to Taba immediately."

After Ning Ke finished speaking, she and Shuxiang immediately packed their luggage and then hurried toward Taba.

Meanwhile, inside the Situ Gong Mansion, Yang Su sat in the main hall with a look of fury on his face.

He truly could not understand why he had lost to Qin Shuang.

He had actually lost to a schoolteacher, and his own Divine Fire Clone had even been stolen and learned by someone else.

Yang Su muttered:

"Qin Shuang, I will definitely have my revenge for this."

And because Yang Su knew that Duan Fengyun possessed something that could restrain his Divine Fire Upper Path, he realized that relying on himself to defeat Duan Fengyun was impossible.

There was only one way for him to defeat Duan Fengyun and get his revenge, and that was Yuwen Tuo.

Or rather, it was not so much Yuwen Tuo as it was the invincible Xuanyuan Sword.

Yang Su firmly believed that no matter how formidable Duan Fengyun was, he would be no match for the Xuanyuan Sword.

Once Yuwen Tuo returned, he would have Yuwen Tuo take the Xuanyuan Sword to avenge him.

Yang Su suddenly realized something: now that Yuwen Tuo had forgotten everything, it was the perfect time for him to seize the Xuanyuan Sword.

Placing one's hope in others was, after all, not the most secure course of action; seizing the opportunity oneself was the true path.

Thinking of this, Yang Su's face gradually turned sinister; once the Xuanyuan Sword was in his hands, Yuwen Tuo could go to his death.

Regarding this rebellious disciple, Yang Su had often wanted to kill him, but it was only because of the deterrent power of the Xuanyuan Sword that he had not acted.

If the Xuanyuan Sword fell into his own hands, Yuwen Tuo would have no further use.

And once the Xuanyuan Sword was in his possession, he could also find Duan Fengyun to take his revenge.

He did not believe that in front of the invincible Xuanyuan Sword, Duan Fengyun could still run rampant.

By then, he would be able to settle his deep-seated grudges.

With the Xuanyuan Sword in hand, he, Yang Su, would be the invincible number one person in the world.

After a bout of daydreaming, Yang Su immediately rushed toward Taba.

If Duan Fengyun knew of Yang Su's daydreaming, he would surely be incredibly happy.

If Yang Su managed to get his hands on the Xuanyuan Sword and brought it before him, then the Xuanyuan Sword would be his.

However, it would be truly strange if an old fellow like Yang Su could obtain the recognition of the Xuanyuan Sword.

While Ning Ke, Shuxiang, Yang Su, and the others were rushing toward Taba, Duan Fengyun had already arrived.

After entering Taba, Duan Fengyun saw a man standing on the city wall with Taba Yu'er. The man possessed a kingly aura and was dressed in an extraordinary manner; it seemed this must be the new Khan Emperor of Taba, Zhang Lie.

Duan Fengyun's eyes happened to meet Taba Yu'er's. Duan Fengyun waved his hand, gave Taba Yu'er a slight smile, and then left their field of vision.

Watching Duan Fengyun after he finished greeting them, Zhang Lie asked Taba Yu'er:

"Yu'er, that person just now seemed to be greeting you.

Do you know him?"

Taba Yu'er nodded with a heavy expression and said:

"Yes, I know him.

His name is Qin Shuang, and I feel this person is very strange.

He had appeared before when we were in Yuehe City.

At that time, he was on good terms with Ruyan, and later he said he wanted to go and befriend the heroes of the world in order to raise a rebellion and overthrow the current tyrant.

Now that he has come to Taba, what is he plotting!"

Upon hearing Taba Yu'er's words, Zhang Lie looked at Duan Fengyun's departing back and said:

"Since that is the case, I will send someone to track him.

Judging by your tone, this person must be very dangerous, and I am worried he has ulterior motives for coming to Taba."

Seeing that Taba Yu'er did not speak, Zhang Lie waved his hand and summoned his subordinate.

"Khan Emperor, what are your orders?"

The subordinate asked.

"Send someone to track this person. Do not alert him, and if anything happens, come back and notify me immediately!"

Zhang Lie flicked his hand, and a portrait of Duan Fengyun appeared in the subordinate's hand.

"Understood, Khan Emperor, I will send someone to handle it right away."

Meanwhile, Duan Fengyun, having left the sight of Zhang Lie and Taba Yu'er, was strolling through Taba.

Of course, this was only on the surface; he had actually already discovered the presence of Jianchi and the others using his Spirit Sense.

It was just that he did not want to deliberately meet with them; he wanted to meet Jianchi and the others by chance, like meeting an old friend in a strange land.

And Duan Fengyun also wanted to witness Yu Xiaoxue's ability to discern the good and evil in people's hearts.

At this moment, Jianchi and Chen Jingchou were walking along the main street of Taba with Yu Xiaoxue, who had only recently stepped into the Human Realm.

Yu Xiaoxue felt curious about all these novel things, while Chen Jingchou and Jianchi followed behind her, taking care of any follow-up matters for her.

Yu Xiaoxue was walking through the streets faster and faster, and the two grown men, Jianchi and Jing Chou, finally understood the pain of shopping with a woman.

Their legs now felt as if they were filled with lead; they began to feel overwhelmed and slowly could no longer keep up with Yu Xiaoxue's pace.

Just as the two were feeling overwhelmed, Yu Xiaoxue slipped out of their sight and arrived at a steamed bun shop.

"Steamed buns for sale! Fragrant, meat-filled steamed buns.

If they don't taste good, you don't have to pay!"

Yu Xiaoxue looked at the steamer constantly emitting hot steam and smelled the mouth-watering aroma, and her stomach couldn't help but let out a rumble.

Yu Xiaoxue knew this was her stomach sending her a message that she was hungry.

Yu Xiaoxue walked up to the Boss of the steamed bun shop and said:

"Boss, give me two steamed buns!"

Seeing a customer had arrived, the Boss laughed happily and said:

"Alright, young lady."

The Boss enthusiastically opened the steamer and packed two piping-hot steamed buns for Yu Xiaoxue.

"Here you go, young lady!"

Yu Xiaoxue took the steamed buns and put one in her mouth; a smile immediately appeared on her face, as these steamed buns were truly good.

Seeing the smile on Yu Xiaoxue's face, the steamed bun shop Boss asked happily:

"Young lady, how are they?

Are my steamed buns alright?"

Yu Xiaoxue smiled, nodded, and replied:

"Yes, Boss, your steamed buns are quite good.

They are delicious!"

After finishing, Yu Xiaoxue took another bite of the bun. Seeing Yu Xiaoxue's smile, the steamed bun shop Boss reached out his hand and said:

"I'm glad you like them.

Young lady, the two steamed buns cost five wen; please pay the bill!"

Because Jianchi and Jing Chou had always been silently helping her handle these debts behind her back, Yu Xiaoxue knew nothing about money.

She asked with a look of confusion:

"What is money? Aren't your steamed buns meant for people to eat?"

Seeing Yu Xiaoxue's demeanor, the steamed bun shop Boss assumed she was planning to eat for free, and his attitude changed instantly.

"What is money?

Money is used to buy things. Since you ate my steamed buns, you should pay.

If you don't pay, then you can stay here and wash dishes."

Having said that, the steamed bun shop Boss stretched out his greasy hands, preparing to grab Yu Xiaoxue.

The steamed bun shop Boss had two reasons for grabbing Yu Xiaoxue: first, she had eaten without paying and wanted a free meal, so he had to give her a little punishment.

Second, he saw that Yu Xiaoxue appeared naive about the world, and since she was so beautiful, he naturally wanted to take advantage of her.

Just as the steamed bun shop Boss's claws were about to reach Yu Xiaoxue's hand, someone grabbed his wrist.

"Isn't it just two steamed buns that this young lady ate? How much could they be worth?

Why are you laying hands on a young lady? I will pay for her."

The one who stepped in to stop the steamed bun shop Boss was, of course, Duan Fengyun; he had already been standing near Yu Xiaoxue for a while.

He just wanted to take the opportunity to play the hero saving the beauty and successfully get close to Yu Xiaoxue.

Duan Fengyun took out ten wen and placed them in the steamed bun shop Boss's hand, saying:

"These ten wen should be enough, right? Don't make things difficult for this young lady anymore."

Having received the money, the steamed bun shop Boss naturally could no longer make things difficult for Yu Xiaoxue.

The steamed bun shop Boss sighed inwardly; he had almost managed to take advantage of her, what a pity.

He dared not voice his inner thoughts, otherwise, he would definitely be beaten to death.

After collecting the money, the steamed bun shop Boss said nothing more, turned around, and went back to handling his steamed buns.

Duan Fengyun turned to Yu Xiaoxue and smiled:

"Young lady, are you alright?"

Yu Xiaoxue had just seen everything clearly; she knew it was the man before her who had stepped in to help her out of her predicament.

Yu Xiaoxue thanked him:

"Thank you for helping me out of my predicament.

I really didn't know that one had to spend money to buy steamed buns just now. I will definitely pay you back later."

Duan Fengyun feigned confusion and said:

"It's only ten wen, there's no need for that.

Judging by your tone, young lady, it seems you don't know that one must spend money to buy things.

May I ask, young lady, how did you live before?"

"I, before...!"

"Xiaoxue!"

Just as Yu Xiaoxue was about to answer Duan Fengyun's question, Jing Chou's voice came from behind.

After Jing Chou and Jianchi had simply caught their breath, they discovered that Yu Xiaoxue was gone.

The two knew that Yu Xiaoxue had only arrived in this world recently; if they let her wander around alone, who knew what might happen.

So the two searched for Yu Xiaoxue like madmen, and finally, Jing Chou had just found her, which is why he shouted loudly, wanting to call Jianchi over.

Chen Jingchou ran to Yu Xiaoxue's side, but because Duan Fengyun was facing him from the side, Chen Jingchou did not recognize Duan Fengyun.

Chen Jingchou asked Yu Xiaoxue worriedly:

"Xiaoxue, are you alright? Did anything happen to you?

You suddenly disappeared just now, and it scared Jianchi and me to death.

Both of us have been looking for you for a long time!"

"I am fine!

It's just that I ate two steamed buns here earlier and had no money to pay the bill.

Many thanks to this kind person for helping me out of my predicament."

Yu Xiaoxue pointed at Duan Fengyun and said to Chen Jingchou.

Only then did Chen Jingchou notice there was another person beside Yu Xiaoxue, and Chen Jingchou said gratefully:

"Many thanks to you, Excellency, for your grace in stepping in to help just now."