Chapter 26: Sparrow Severs the Flying Dragon (Part 2): I Can Hear You Part 1

Shang Shan endured the pain from her sprained ankle and ran with all her might. When she got close, she planted her good foot into the ground for leverage and kicked over the nearest burly man in front of her. Then she flipped into the crowd, trying to pull the girl away.

But after getting closer, her gaze traveled from the “woman’s” stomach all the way up to her chest. Only then did she realize that this person looked different up close than from afar. Her face was indeed strikingly beautiful, but her build was too tall.

It was the first time Shang Shan had ever seen a woman this tall.

But no matter how tall, short, fat, or thin, someone who needed saving had to be saved. She reached out and grabbed the “woman’s” wrist, intending to pull her out of the crowd.

Her wrist was yanked, and Jiang Yuanqi spotted this girl who had popped up out of nowhere. He was stunned for a moment. When he had first seen her charging over, he suspected she might be some kind of con artist. But now, she just seemed like an overly enthusiastic and somewhat foolish passerby.

Though the girl meant well, he couldn’t let a random passerby ruin his plan. Jiang Yuanqi pretended that she had pulled him away, then struck the back of the girl’s neck in a spot no one else could see, knocking her out. He scooped up her arm and caught her around the waist.

As her long, wavy hair swayed, he caught sight of the face hidden within those locks and froze again.

He never expected that a girl in tattered clothes with messy hair would have such a beautiful appearance.

He thought to himself that this was bad. If saving him led this girl into disaster, he would truly feel guilty.

He pushed off the ground with his toes, sending up a spray of mud, then bent down as if he couldn’t hold her steady. He dug up some mud with two fingers and smeared it across the girl’s face before calling out, “What kind of scrawny beggar idiot is this? Begging for money all the way to the good men here? I’m willing to go back to the stronghold with you all—throw her away. She dared to dirty my clothes. This young master never suffered this kind of grievance back home.”

Mu Qian Tan put on the Evil Ghost Mask and thought to herself: Everything he said matched the original plot exactly.

“Don’t move.” One burly man stepped forward and grabbed the girl’s hair, forcing her face upward.

This burly man was missing a chunk of his lip. He was one of the minor leaders in the stronghold, mentioned in the book, named Li Cheng.

Amid the wavy hair emerged a face smeared with mud. Li Cheng studied it for a moment before saying, “Take her along too.”

Jiang Yuanqi kept the smile on his face. “Alright.”

At that moment, another graceful figure burst into the crowd. It was a tall woman wearing a Demon Ghost Mask. She hugged the girl fiercely and said, “Don’t hurt my junior sister.”

Everyone froze. One of them brandished his blade. “Hey, what’s this, one after another… Can’t you see Grandpa’s blade here? You charge in like this—aren’t you afraid of death?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “I do have the will to live, but if my junior sister can’t leave today, I’m willing to die with her!”

“Shut up,” Li Cheng stepped forward and reached to remove her mask. “Why bring this one along?”

Mu Qian Tan pressed down on the mask and turned her head away. “Better not to look. The scars are frightening.”

Wounds on the face that required a mask to cover were probably indeed terrifying beyond imagination. Li Cheng hesitated for a moment before withdrawing his hand. He just eyed her up and down.

“Not a bad figure…” The one who had swung the blade earlier said, “Didn’t you say you’d live and die together? Come on, come on—take all three of them!”

Weapons were removed from the two of them and passed around for inspection. Jiang Yuanqi’s Jade Pipe Flute looked cold and exquisite, adorned with silver tassels—it clearly was worth a fortune. The burly men toyed with it but didn’t play it, probably because no one understood music.

Mu Qian Tan’s Solitary Goose drew even more attention. Several burly men tried to draw it but failed. Li Cheng’s expression grew more serious as he said warily, “Even we can’t draw this bow. What use is it to you? Are there men lying in ambush nearby?”

Mu Qian Tan said, “This bow was my deceased husband’s personal weapon. After he left, I couldn’t stop worrying about him in my heart, so I carried it on my back.”

Li Biyuan burst out laughing. ‘Deceased husband…’

Jiang Yuanqi seemed to hear something and turned his head, a flicker of doubt in his eyes that vanished in an instant.

Someone said, “So she’s a widow, huh? No worries—you won’t be one soon, haha.”

Laughter erupted around them. Li Cheng said, “No more useless talk.”

He examined the rusted sword up and down, found nothing unusual, tossed it to someone beside him, and warned, “Don’t try any tricks.”

Mu Qian Tan said, “How would I dare.”

In her heart, she thought: ‘I’ve memorized every face. Don’t let a single one slip. Once this plot segment is over, I’ll hunt them down one by one and dig out their eyes and tongues.’

Li Biyuan stifled her laughter. ‘Hahaha, I knew you couldn’t hold back. I’m not stopping you this time. Kill the cannon fodder if you want. After the male and female protagonists finish their initial meeting here, do whatever you like.’

Jiang Yuanqi looked over again.

Noticing his gaze, Mu Qian Tan looked back coldly. “What?”

Earlier, Li Cheng had told her to carry Shang Shan, but Mu Qian Tan said she didn’t have the strength, so she just handed her over to Jiang Yuanqi. After all, he was still the male protagonist right now—having him carry his future wife was no issue.

He had a good temper and kept smiling the whole time, but now his eyes held a probing look. In a voice low enough for only the two of them to hear, he said, “This one is Wen Jingfeng. Might I ask if you two are also here to exterminate the bandits?”

The name was probably made up on the spot. He didn’t want to reveal himself but was probing others. Though Mu Qian Tan knew his personality was like this, she still disliked people who casually lied to brush things off, so she didn’t answer and looked ahead.

Li Biyuan said: ‘Aiya, don’t switch perspectives! I haven’t gotten my fill of the handsome guy yet! Quick, turn back—let me look a few more times!’

‘…’ Mu Qian Tan shifted her gaze back impatiently. ‘If this is your dying wish, I can indulge you a bit longer.’

She looked over. The youth using the alias Wen Jingfeng had a slim waist and long legs, broad shoulders and a straight back. He wore a spotless white round-collared robe embroidered with silver bamboo from the chest to the shoulders. A red jade leather belt cinched his waist, and black iron bracers covered his wrists.

His posture was upright and straight—nothing to say there. But that face was even more striking. His eyes were narrow and upturned at the corners, one pure black, the other a glassy amber—heterochromia. Two wispy dragon-whisker bangs lightly brushed his cheeks. His lips seemed to hold a hint of rouge, curved in a shallow, captivating smile. He was handsome to the point of being androgynous, an exceptionally outstanding beauty.

Li Biyuan’s voice broke for the first time. ‘Holy shit, holy shit—an unparalleled, invincible super hottie!’

Mu Qian Tan couldn’t understand it. ‘He’s just okay. Is it really that big a deal?’

‘Of course it is! You can’t find this kind of specimen in real life.’ Li Biyuan howled. ‘I can’t take it—he’s too handsome, too handsome! I declare—this is my new husband! Hubby!’

Jiang Yuanqi’s expression froze for a moment, his eyes and brows filled with a faint sense of bewilderment. His gaze kept sweeping over, scrutinizing her repeatedly.

Mu Qian Tan thought she had stared at him too long and made him suspicious. To avoid seeming strange, she turned her eyes away. ‘You’re giving me a headache with all the noise. Stop looking and settle down for a bit.’

Li Biyuan: ‘Wah wah wah.’

They marched onward. After passing Loyalty and Righteousness Road and climbing a slope, the group arrived at Flying Dragon Cliff. The view was filled with perilous scenery: cascading waterfalls crashing against pillar-like stone peaks, arrayed in rows like soldiers standing at attention.

At the wooden bridge, the knife-sheared cliffs made one’s head spin just looking at them. Peering down, any loose stones vanished in the blink of an eye. The cliff wall had only a narrow wooden bridge for one person, clinging pitifully.

Unless one had commendable courage, a first-time visitor would have legs too weak to move.

Li Cheng led the way at the front, the others following one by one, sandwiching the three in the middle.

The wooden bridge looked quite old, soaked deep in color by rainwater. Fortunately, it wasn’t rotten, though stepping on it produced an ominous creak, like stepping on a heart.

Someone looked back with a face full of schadenfreude, seemingly hoping to see the pampered young master scared out of his wits.

But even with a person on his shoulder, Jiang Yuanqi walked steadily and evenly. When he noticed the look, he even returned a smile. The man found it odd but could only turn away grudgingly.

The wind slashed at their faces like knives. After walking for about half a shichen, the view finally opened up.

Before them was a cliff, with a raging river below. Across was another peak half-shrouded in clouds, connected by a rope bridge that swayed like a boat adrift. One had to grip the iron chains to avoid falling.

After that, they still had to climb ropes up the sheer cliff face. The rock wall offered no footholds, smooth as glass. Without arms trained year-round, success was impossible.

No wonder the officials couldn’t take this place. Three natural chokepoints—easy to defend, hard to attack. Unless the stronghold bandits came out on their own, capturing them was harder than ascending to heaven.

After crossing the bridge, Mu Qian Tan stopped at the rock wall. She gripped the rope; the hemp was frayed and prickly.

She tugged hard, but her body didn’t budge. She could already tell she couldn’t climb with her own strength alone. But using Spiritual Power risked discovery.

It wasn’t that she was truly afraid of anyone. In this instance, she wasn’t supposed to appear at all. Having abandoned targeting the female protagonist, she had no need to interfere in the female protagonist’s growth arc. So hiding her identity, acting only as an observer, and waiting for a chance to strike at the male protagonist—that was her plan.

While she pondered, she stood motionless. Jiang Yuanqi gripped the rope next to hers and said softly, “Need help?”

Mu Qian Tan ignored him and channeled a tiny amount of Spiritual Power into the Power Gathering Gold Ring on her wrist, the glow hidden in her sleeve. She grasped the rope and floated upward lightly.

Of course, her dislike for the protagonists extended beyond just the female lead.

Jiang Yuanqi’s words fell on deaf ears, but he seemed to find it amusing and didn’t mind. He steadied the person on his shoulder with one hand, gripped the rope with the other, quietly gathered Spiritual Power under his feet, and climbed up.

At the top, the true form of Flying Dragon Stronghold came into view.

Due to its high elevation, the stronghold was always shrouded in a thin mist. Every building’s outer walls looked damp, the soil dark as if waterlogged. The stronghold bandits gathered in twos and threes. Aside from the gate guards, others were either training or polishing weapons, whispering among themselves with fierce glints in their eyes.