The strangeness of the situation deepened, especially since there wasn’t even a trodden path in sight. It was as if these plants grew purely by the grace of heaven, requiring no human intervention.
There were likely even more snakes and scorpions hidden in the thick grass, yet they did not attack.
Feng Yun’ai looked ahead, her gaze catching the dark nape of the woman in front of her. Amidst the tied-up hair, she spotted two tiny moles.
A random thought surfaced: this woman seemed to have quite a few moles on her body.
Feng Yun’ai then wondered if the reason the vermin dared not approach her was because they feared her terrifyingly hot internal power.
Focusing her attention further ahead, she saw a pavilion suspended against the mountainside. Beneath it were dark, gaping caverns; there was no telling what was hidden inside those caves.
Having reached this point, Wen Lanxin should have appeared, yet Feng Yun’ai still couldn’t sense the slightest hint of another living person. Aside from her and the indigo-clad woman, the place was empty.
Sang Chencao reined in the horse, tilting her head to study the pavilion on the mountainside. She laughed and asked, “Shall you knock, or shall I?”
Feng Yun’ai stared at Sang Chencao for a moment. It was a pity that with the white veil between them, no matter how sharp her gaze was, it couldn’t be clearly seen. She feared this was a trap, but since she was already here, she wasn’t that afraid.
Sang Chencao stood there with an air of leisure, her casual posture making her look like the master of the place. Her eyes curved into a smile, and the two tiny moles beneath her eye seemed like nails, threatening to pin a person in place with a single look.
Feng Yun’ai had never met such an eccentric person. She walked through the world without restraint, indifferent to the lives of others, and even treated combat like a performance where she gambled with her own life.
She was nothing like the people Feng Yun’ai had read about or heard of from others. How could such a person exist in this world?
Beneath the silk veil, Feng Yun’ai’s eyes shifted. She suddenly drew a thin blade from her person and hurled it toward the distance.
A hundred feet was a distance even light sand in a gale could not cross in an instant. Yet, the thin blade, wrapped in a dense surge of inner qi, shrieked forward as if it meant to tear the very sky asunder. Like an eagle rising from the depths of the cliff, it slammed into the bamboo door halfway up the mountain.
Thud.
Feng Yun’ai nearly held her breath. She was determined to see Wen Lanxin. Since this uninvited visit had likely already displeased the master of the cliff, she wasn’t afraid of adding fuel to the fire to draw her out.
Yet, none of the expected reactions occurred. After the blade struck the door, the surroundings remained silent.
The wind moved, the grass moved, but there was no sound of a human voice.
Feng Yun’ai was certain of one thing: the woman in indigo had brought her here. Everything she did now was tied to this woman; they were grasshoppers on the same string. Yet, when she had thrown the blade, the woman hadn’t moved to stop her.
Evidently, this woman was not only unafraid of the snakes on the mountain, but she was also unafraid of Wen Lanxin.
Sang Chencao let out a chuckle, her composure unshaken. She pointed at the bamboo building and said, “The master isn’t home. Shall we go inside? That Spirit-Awakening Powder is extraordinary stuff; it can’t be perfected on the first try, nor would she make just a tiny amount. If Wen Lanxin truly made it, there will be traces left here.”
Feng Yun’ai went quiet for a moment, then looked at her. “Are you trying to lure me inside?”
“Not at all. I’m simply curious myself.” Sang Chencao was already moving, leaping toward the high bamboo building.
The building had two floors; she headed for the upper one.
Feng Yun’ai could not allow this woman to vanish from her sight. She followed immediately, catching a fold of the other’s sleeve as she landed.
Sang Chencao suddenly hissed, “The master is here.”
Feng Yun’ai froze, thinking first of Wen Lanxin, only to hear a distant hissing sound.
It was a snake.
Sang Chencao pulled her sleeve free and gave it a sudden flick. A silver light flashed from her cuff, and a hidden weapon sliced a snake hanging from the eaves in half. She laughed playfully. “It seems it wasn’t the master, but another guest.”
Her words carried a double meaning; at this moment, Feng Yun’ai was also a guest.
The hidden weapon had been faster than the wind, swifter than a bolt of lightning.
Feng Yun’ai scanned the area, her voice cold. “How much internal power are you still hiding?”
“And you?” Sang Chencao tucked the sleeve that had fired the weapon behind her back, leaning against a pillar. “How much are you hiding?”
