Chapter 206

Ma Feng froze, then his eyes went wide: "You're Hou Jian?!"

Hearing him call out her name, Hou Jian beamed: "It's me. You really didn't forget me."

As she spoke, the girl stepped forward slowly.

Ma Feng hurried up to meet her as well: "Hou Jian, you've come! You really…"

His words cut off abruptly. Noticing Hou Jian's blue pupils, his smile stiffened, and then his face darkened: "Your eyes have turned blue—you've been promoted to Witch Venerate! You came to capture me, didn't you?!"

Hou Jian forced a smile and said, "I'm still one step short of becoming Witch Venerate. Big Brother, how could you forget? Without dying once beneath the Divine Sword, one cannot become Witch Venerate."

Hearing this, Ma Feng remembered it too, and at once tightened his grip on the long sword in his hand.

Then he said resolutely, "No! I will never do it! To become Witch Venerate, you would forget everything that came before—I will never allow it!"

"Forgetting everything that came before—what's so bad about that?"

Hou Jian looked at Ma Feng, longing and sorrow welling in her eyes, and said softly, "All these ten years, I've never been able to understand how you could leave me alone in the Ice Domain and steal the Divine Sword to leave yourself…"

"How is that stealing?" Ma Feng cut her off, arguing, "Guarding the Divine Sword, protecting the Divine Sword—that was always my duty as a Sword Boy!"

"Duty? Then what about me? The year I was ten, we promised each other—even though we were both orphans without parents, we would rely on each other and live our lives together—and yet you… left me behind all alone and walked away."

"No! It's not like that! It was because you had been chosen as a candidate Witch Venerate back then. I didn't want them to drive the sword into your heart. I didn't want you to forget me."

370

Hou Jian, puzzled: "Then you could have taken me with you."

Ma Feng shook his head, his expression dimming: "If it were me today, I would definitely take you away. But back then, I was only fifteen. I didn't know what the world outside was like, didn't know what would happen, didn't know where I should go…"

Hou Jian murmured softly, "So that's how it was."

With the misunderstanding that had plagued her heart for years dissolved, Hou Jian smiled happily and said, "Then you can take me away now, can't you, Big Brother?"

Every feature of the girl's face brimmed with joy; she fully expected Ma Feng to agree at once, and had even begun to daydream about the wonderful life ahead.

But to her surprise, Ma Feng was silent for a moment, then said, "Unfortunately, times have changed. I am no longer the Ma Feng of those days."

Hou Jian's smile gradually faded, disappointment written plainly across her face.

Stunned and lost in thought for a while, she murmured, "Very well, then use the Divine Sword in your hand to grant my wish."

As she spoke, she slowly spread her arms wide, aiming her chest at Ma Feng.

Ma Feng, however, said not a word, turned his head, and walked away.

Gao Li, standing to one side, suddenly shouted, "Look out!"

Ma Feng started back to his senses in alarm, and before he knew it his vision blurred—a figure came flying at him, a heavy, forceful palm strike bearing down.

At the critical moment, Ma Feng had no time to think; he casually pulled Hou Jian in front of him as a shield.

228 Pick up your Divine Sword and drive it into her heart

The attack caught her completely off guard; Hou Jian, still lost in sorrow, had no time to react at all, and took the palm strike square on her forehead!

"Puh—!"

Hou Jian opened her mouth and spat out a great mouthful of fresh blood. Her blue pupils instantly grew dim and lifeless, her eyes closed, and her slender body went limp and crumpled to the ground—alive or dead, no one knew.

Gao Li had watched the whole thing and was stunned speechless.

From what had just happened, the two were clearly old acquaintances, and their childhood bond had been a close one.

Yet after parting for ten years and meeting again, when danger came, Ma Feng had actually pulled a girl whose whole heart and eyes were filled with him in front of him as a human shield!

Gao Li was utterly shocked, and a surge of anger welled up within him.

As a man with someone on his mind, someone he loved, and as a killer who was not made of stone, he truly could not bear to witness such a scene of "a lover's betrayal."

And as the one involved, Ma Feng himself was dumbfounded.

He looked at the unconscious Hou Jian, then at the pool of blood on the ground, his face full of disbelief: "Blood… blood… How could someone about to become Witch Venerate be wounded, how could she bleed?"

The two of them stood there in a daze, but Ximen Yu, who had launched the sneak attack, certainly did not.

His figure stirred, and he continued to press the attack on Ma Feng.

Swoosh—

A clear, ringing sword-chime rang out—the Rain Tribe Divine Sword flew out on its own from the scabbard on Ma Feng's back, stabbing straight at Ximen Yu.

Ximen Yu had no choice but to engage the Divine Sword in combat.

And thanks to the Divine Sword's intervention, Gao Li and Ma Feng came to their senses as well.

Unable to spare Hou Jian a thought, Ma Feng turned and ran, but Gao Li shouted sharply, "Don't go—kill him together! He's been poisoned, his power has greatly diminished!"

Hearing this, Ma Feng abruptly halted his steps, jolting awake.

Right—with Ximen Yu's strength, a Divine Sword fighting on its own could never have lasted three moves in his hands, so how could it be locked in such a drawn-out struggle now?

There was only one answer: something was wrong with his body!

The slow-witted Ma Feng hurriedly turned and charged back, joining the battlefield together with Gao Li.

"You two deserters—today I'll spare you for now. We'll settle the score another day."

Ximen Yu flung the words coldly over his shoulder, and his figure leapt away.

During the earlier battle, he had tried every method he could but failed to break through the protective light barrier of the two women, and had instead carelessly taken the poison of the Blue Phoenix.

After forcibly suppressing it with his deep internal energy, Ximen Yu dared not delay and withdrew decisively.

Naturally, Ren Yingying and the Blue Phoenix could not catch up for the moment.

Halfway there, he caught sight of Gao Li and Ma Feng.

And the latter was actually still whispering sweet nothings with some girl.

Seeing Ma Feng's wits scattered, he seized the chance to launch a sneak attack, intending to cut down this despicable deserter while he was at it.

He had not expected this turn of events.

Now most of his internal energy was being used to suppress the toxin; he was no match for the two of them, so he dared not fight on, turned and left at once, waiting for another day to regain his footing.

Gao Li and Ma Feng heard this and felt a chill in their hearts.

Once targeted by the Qinglong Society, whose intelligence was as terrifying as their strength, how could they possibly survive?

"Sword, go!"

With a low shout from Ma Feng, the Rain Tribe divine sword flew out swiftly and quickly caught up with Ximen Yu.

Although the divine sword was no match for Ximen Yu, it was indestructible, and entangling him was still possible.

Gao Li and Ma Feng had also taken the opportunity to close in.

Ximen Yu's face darkened.

He knew he absolutely could not be drawn into a prolonged battle, or he would surely die.

At this thought, Ximen Yu's eyes turned vicious; no longer suppressing the poison, he mobilized all the true qi within his body.

He first slapped the sword's body with a palm, sending the divine sword flying more than ten zhang away, deeply embedded into a large rock.

The crack in the stone immediately clamped the sword's body.

No matter how the divine sword buzzed and trembled incessantly, it could not break free.

Afterwards, Ximen Yu struck out with two more palms, sending Gao Li and Ma Feng vomiting blood as they flew backward.

Just as Ximen Yu was about to finish them off, a sudden bout of dizziness and blurred vision struck; his steps staggered, and he nearly crashed headfirst to the ground.

This was the poison beginning to take effect!

Ximen Yu hurriedly circulated his cultivation to suppress the poison, daring not to delay any longer, and leaped away.

Now, he only wanted to find a quiet place to expel the poison and heal his wounds.

And Gao Li and Ma Feng could only watch him leave helplessly, their eyes filled with despair.

Just then, a voice rang out—

"Finally caught up, what a lively scene! Hmm? You're Ximen Yu of 'July Fifteenth'? Master Ximen... no, Altar Lord Ximen, don't go."

Accompanied by the sound of tearing air, a leaf wrapped in vigorous true qi shot toward Ximen Yu like an arrow.

Ximen Yu had just escaped the two of them and hadn't even exhaled in relief, when he was attacked once again.

He hurriedly circulated his cultivation to defend.

Unfortunately, his response was hasty, and he could not go all out; that leaf actually pierced through his right palm and stabbed straight into his lower abdomen.

His dantian qi sea was breached, true qi madly draining away, and the poison within his body could no longer be suppressed.

Ximen Yu's eyes went wide, his face turning a purplish-black at a speed visible to the naked eye; Zhang Zui, he spat out a mouthful of black qi, then fell rigidly to the ground.

And he was dead.

The clatter of hooves, from far to near; Jiang Sishui sat on horseback, glanced down, and murmured: "So it was poisoning."

He had not intended to kill Ximen Yu earlier, only wanting to cripple the other's cultivation; who would have thought Ximen Yu was already a spent force.

"Halt!"

Calling out to the two who wanted to flee, Jiang Sishui and Du Bingyan urged their horses forward.