The street performer followed his sword-swallowing act with a rapid display of “Crushing a Great Stone on the Chest.”
Beside him, several apprentices—likely his students—spewed plumes of fire from their mouths. It was a wonder they didn’t burn their own lips.
Cheers erupted in continuous waves. Even after half an hour, the area remained a sea of people, the crowd packed so tightly that not a drop of water could have trickled through.
“If I set a small bowl down next to you, we’d surely earn a fortune. We’d have more than enough travel money for Cloud City,” Sang Chencao said, her voice a relentless, smiling drone, seemingly oblivious to Feng Yun’ai’s freezing expression. “It would save me from draining your coffers the whole way, especially since you refuse to sell that sword.”
Feng Yun’ai stopped in her tracks. “You are more than welcome to spend your own money.”
“But you’re the one who insisted I come along,” Sang Chencao replied leisurely.
Still watching the performers, Sang Chencao suddenly arched an eyebrow in feigned wonder. “Look! They’ve done the sword-swallowing and the fire-breathing. Now they’re onto balancing bowls on their heads.”
“I do not know how to do that.” A thousand irritations swirled in Feng Yun’ai’s heart, yet when she spoke, only these three bland words escaped her lips. It was as if she didn’t even know how to argue.
Sang Chencao let out a sharp laugh and led her horse toward a less crowded area. She looked back and said, “If you don’t know, you can learn. If you’re unwilling to learn, just say you don’t want to do it.”
“You seem quite enthusiastic about this. Why don’t you go swallow a sword?” Feng Yun’ai shot a sidelong glance at her.
Sang Chencao leaned in abruptly. Her snake-like gaze and the two small beauty marks beneath her eye were suddenly very close. “Then you’ll have to give me Solitary Gall,” she whispered. “The moment I get my hands on it, I’m running.”
Running?
Feng Yun’ai instinctively scanned their surroundings. With so many people around, if this woman decided to vanish into the crowd, Feng Yun’ai might not be able to hunt her down again.
Never mind. After two days of travel, it was time to rest.
Haosi City was a hub for traveling merchants, so inns were plentiful. They found one nearby without having to search.
The moment they entered, Sang Chencao tossed out some broken silver and demanded the best room available. She settled in with an air of complete familiarity.
A waiter took their horses to the backyard, while two young girls led them upstairs. As they walked, the girls enthusiastically described the room’s prime location.
At night, one could see the lantern market by the river and the passing flower boats. The daytime scenery was equally pleasant, directly facing Cuiyu Temple on Green Peak. When the temple bells tolled, it was as if one’s heart were being cleansed.
Feng Yun’ai followed closely. Before she could even speak once they were inside, the indigo-clothed woman threw herself onto the bed and remained motionless.
Feng Yun’ai was single-mindedly focused on finding Wen Lanxin; she couldn’t sit still, let alone lie down. However, she was unwilling to leave the indigo-clothed woman here alone.
After a moment’s thought, Feng Yun’ai stepped forward. She leaned down, pressing two fingers together as she prepared to strike the other woman’s shoulder—the classic technique for sealing acupoints.
But just as she leaned in, she sensed something strange.
When a person’s acupoints are sealed, their meridians are blocked, and their internal energy should not be able to flow. Yet, she clearly felt a surge of inner qi suddenly rushing away.
Beneath her white veil, Feng Yun’ai narrowed her eyes. She realized instantly that this woman wasn’t lying down to sleep; she was forcibly breaking the seals.
Just as she moved to reinforce the crumbling restrictions, a blast of scalding energy surged toward her face, leaving her no room to dodge.
The indigo-clothed woman, eyes previously clamped shut, snapped them open. A faint scoff escaped her lips as she unleashed a Palm Wind.
The strike was scorching. In a mere instant, Feng Yun’ai felt herself drenched in heat, her brow damp as if caught in a sudden rain.
The energy was already upon her. Rather than retreating, it was better to meet it with a palm of her own.
One cold and one hot, the two surges of energy collided and shattered. The force sent the teapot on the table crashing to the floor. The screens, gauze curtains, and ceiling hangings were all knocked askew.
Feng Yun’ai retreated two steps and abruptly withdrew her palm. Her gaze remained fixed on the woman on the bed. “You actually managed to break them,” she said coldly.
The indigo-clothed woman sat up, stretching her arms with casual grace. She gave a half-lidded yawn, looking entirely unruffled. “It took quite a bit of effort. Your acupoint technique is good; I underestimated you.”
“What do you intend to do?” Feng Yun’ai’s gaze was laced with ice.
The woman sneered. Though she maintained her unhurried posture, she suddenly lunged forward like a venomous snake emerging from its nest, her form spinning like a blade.
An ordinary person would have been defenseless.
Feng Yun’ai had long suspected the woman of ill intent. Seeing the flexible sword at the other’s waist unsheathed, she hurriedly drew Solitary Gall from her back. Her palm was nearly numbed by the cold.
Even with her supreme cold-based mental cultivation, she could barely harness this Profound Ice blade.
But with the sword in hand, person and blade became one.
As she condensed her inner qi onto the steel, the sharp tip of the sword became even more unstoppable.
Two currents of inner qi pressed against each other—one like meltwater from a spring thaw, the other like molten slag from deep underground.
Feng Yun’ai didn’t know why this woman’s killing intent had suddenly become so heavy, but she had no time to think. Her sword moved like flying snow, its shadows dense and weaving an impenetrable defense.
Compared to that eerie, nameless flexible sword style, Feng Yun’ai’s swordsmanship was more upright and disciplined. It was fierce, rigorously structured, and so fast it left no openings.
The flexible sword, however, was ghostly and slow, its movements so bizarre they seemed to be feinting in one direction while attacking another. It was chaotic and unpredictable.
This was the true face of the indigo-clothed woman’s swordsmanship. Everything before had been mere child’s play, a deception meant to hide her true strength.
Ancient principles dictate that softness overcomes hardness. Every time Feng Yun’ai’s strikes missed, it felt as though she were hitting cotton. She realized then that she had been overconfident; this woman’s prowess was easily a match for her own.
While she had studied many esoteric techniques in ancient manuals, the number of times she had actually dueled someone was countable on one hand.
If this strange style were in Wen Lanxin’s hands, what would it look like?
Feng Yun’ai’s temples were soaked with sweat. Her white veil clung tighter to her face, highlighting a distant, cold beauty.
She expected the next strike of the flexible sword to slash across her midsection. Instead, the blade leaped like a serpent. In an instant, the killing intent vanished, and the sword suddenly coiled around her wrist.
She let me drop my guard only to feint to the east while attacking the west.
A bloody gash appeared on Feng Yun’ai’s wrist, and the flexible sword tightened its grip on Solitary Gall.
The strength behind the pull was not to be underestimated. Feng Yun’ai was dragged forward by the sword, her face nearly pressing against Sang Chencao’s cheek. The woman’s hot breath was inches away.
A Palm Wind struck Feng Yun’ai’s chest. In that split second, she was forced to abandon Solitary Gall to retreat.
Sang Chencao retracted her flexible sword, caught Solitary Gall firmly in her hand, and with a sneer, she leapt out the window.
She’s escaping?
Feng Yun’ai’s sleeves swirled as she pursued without a second thought. Pushing off the air with her toes, her white dress fluttered like a celestial being’s.
The indigo-clothed woman’s lightness skill was excellent. She didn’t stop once, heading straight for…
Straight for the emerald mountains in the distance.
The inn they had stayed at was the most famous in Haosi City. With such a commotion, many people in the city looked up in wonder.
Feng Yun’ai gave chase relentlessly, only to see the indigo-clothed woman stop abruptly outside Cuiyu Temple. She stood lightly upon the tree canopy, looking down on the Buddhist laws and seemingly on all living things.
“Give the sword back to me,” Feng Yun’ai said coldly.
The inner qi in Sang Chencao’s palm had actually taken on a visible color. Even the frigid Solitary Gall was stained with a blood-like red.
CLANG!
A deafening roar echoed.
The massive bronze bell outside the temple gates was struck with such force by Solitary Gall that it was sliced loose, crashing to the ground with an earth-shaking thud.
Sang Chencao laughed and tossed the sword back toward Feng Yun’ai, closing the distance between them. “Didn’t you want to find Wen Lanxin? I’ve just done you a huge favor. How do you intend to thank me?”
