Chapter 140: Eerie Blade

The burly man glanced at the flame-bladed saber in the man in black’s hand, his eyes wide with terror as he cowered, trembling, in the corner.

The man in black suddenly burst out laughing. "So all this time you thought that big oaf was one of us? Hahahaha, Lin Qixia, not only are your martial arts inferior to Nangong Yuexi's, but you're not even as smart as her! I thought you attacked that big oaf because you had your eyes on this saber. Who would have thought you actually believed he was one of us! Hahahaha, I really ought to thank you. If you hadn't made a move, I wouldn't have been able to gauge his strength, and I'd still be hesitating, not daring to strike!"

"You..." Lin Qixia spat out another mouthful of blood, exclaiming angrily, "Don't mention that wretched woman in front of me!"

"Hahahahaha..." The man in black laughed loudly, then cupped his hands and said, "Many thanks for your generous assistance, Immortal Lin. Farewell!"

Although the white-haired man in black had injured Lin Qixia, he was clearly wary of the many Mystical Maiden Palace disciples present, or perhaps of the Mystical Maiden Palace itself. He showed no intention of wiping them out completely; even though several of his companions had been killed, he displayed no desire for revenge and simply motioned for the remaining few to leave.

At once, the men in black hoisted their companions' bodies from the ground and departed.

As he reached the doorway, the white-haired man in black looked over at Gu Mo and his companions, giving a thumbs-up. "You understand the situation," he remarked approvingly, "you're sensible. You'll surely live a long life."

Liu Feiyang and his companions looked a bit embarrassed, feeling that the man in black had subjected them to sarcastic mockery.

Gu Mo, however, merely smiled faintly. He actually thought the man in black had a point: while formidable martial arts were an important condition for surviving long in the jianghu, not meddling in others' affairs was absolutely another.

As the men in black left, the burly man who had been cowering in the corner hastily scrambled to his feet, no longer caring about the large iron chest. He cried out in a panic, "Go, go, go! Hurry up, leave now while you can! If we don't leave now, it'll be too late! If we don't leave, we'll all die here!"

The Mystical Maiden Palace disciples were all a bit bewildered. Xie Liuying said irritably, "Big oaf, what kind of act are you putting on? Are you or are you not with that group?"

The burly man sounded very wronged. "I don't know them," he said.

Xie Liuying snapped, "Nonsense! The Golden Saber Sect in Nanliu County, the Longbrow Sword School in Hejian County, and the Chen Family of Dongling were all wiped out after your appearance, and the culprits were that group of men in black. We've been tracking them! You say you're not with them, but how can it be such a coincidence that every time you're with them, and it's the same today? We tracked that group here, and here you are again?"

"I don't know..." It was strange; a burly man with a full beard, built like a wall, yet at that moment, he looked as aggrieved as a wrongly accused child, seeming on the verge of crying from distress. He said, "I didn't kill anyone, I don't know them..."

Gu Chuwinter, standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore. He said, "Um... Immortal Xie, don't you think it's possible that, as the white-haired man in black just said, they were tracking this big oaf? The reason they kept following him was because they couldn't figure him out; they thought he was a master, so they were waiting for an opportune moment to strike."

Xie Liuying frowned slightly. "But it's too much of a coincidence, isn't it? This big oaf appears, and a sect is wiped out... Hmm?" A thought suddenly struck Xie Liuying. "Big oaf," she asked, "what were you doing at those three places?"

"Delivering things." The big oaf lowered his head. "My master told me to deliver things to them," he said, pointing to the large black chest. "There were a total of four cases inside: a saber to the Golden Saber Sect, a sword to the Longbrow Sword School, a spear to the Chen Family of Dongling, and finally, this demonic saber to Righteousness Villa. But there was no one left at Righteousness Villa, so I was going to rest for a night and head back tomorrow. I didn't know the Golden Saber Sect, Longbrow Sword School, and Chen Family had been wiped out."

Gu Chuwinter said in surprise, "The things you deliver, they're not all as terrifying as that saber we just saw, are they?"

The big oaf shook his head. "No, those other weapons were ordinary weapons. Only the saber we just saw is a demonic saber. However, they were all commissioned to my master at the same time many years ago. My master told me on his deathbed that this demonic saber can only be given to the master of Righteousness Villa, because that saber is ominous. If it emerges before meeting the master of Righteousness Villa, many, many people will die. If the demonic saber tastes blood, it won't stop... Oh, I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have said that! It'll be too late if we don't run now! My master said if the demonic saber tastes blood, rivers of blood will flow, and everyone will die, everyone will die!"

As if waking from a dream, the big oaf took off running, dashing outside without a care for the heavy rain.

The Mystical Maiden Palace disciples looked at each other. Xie Liuying cupped her hands towards Gu Mo and his companions. "My apologies, everyone," she said. "After the Golden Saber Sect was wiped out, we've been investigating the culprits. We discovered the big oaf's whereabouts and tracked him all the way here, each time just a step too late, which led us to assume he was allied with that group of men in black. We just tracked them to this place, and in order to avoid alerting the big oaf, I feigned arrogance and rudeness, deliberately offending all of you. I deeply apologize for the offense; I just didn't expect it to end up being such a huge misunderstanding."

Gu Chuwinter and his companions were all a bit taken aback at first, looking at Xie Liuying, whose attitude had completely changed. Liu Feiyang and his companions, however, quickly bowed, indicating it was no big deal, and even offered a few flattering words, praising Xie Liuying and her group for their selflessness and righteousness.

Gu Chuwinter didn't speak to Xie Liuying but instead moved closer to Gu Mo, asking in a low voice, "Brother, should we keep sheltering from the rain here, or should we listen to that big oaf and leave?"

At that moment, the rain was pouring down outside.

Gu Mo frowned slightly. After a moment's thought, he said, "That saber just now, although it only appeared for a fleeting moment, I could feel that it was extremely strange. Although that big oaf sounded a bit odd, he didn't seem to be putting on an act. I think we should listen to him and leave. Besides, that group of men in black is not simple either, which further suggests that the saber is not simple!"

That group of men in black certainly possessed impressive techniques. The excellence of their Turtle Breath technique even made Gu Mo marvel.

When he entered the main hall, he had sensed that there were people in the coffins in the room, but he hadn't detected any heartbeats or body heat, so he hadn't suspected anything, merely thinking they were just corpses inside.

When that group of people jumped out of the coffins, he was quite surprised and deeply impressed by the ingenuity of their Turtle Breath technique.

Subsequently, Gu Chuwinter told Liu Feiyang and his companions about Gu Mo's plan, asking if they wanted to leave together or stay and continue sheltering from the rain.

Liu Feiyang didn't hesitate at all. Although he didn't take the big oaf's words seriously, nor did he believe the notion that if the demonic saber tasted blood, everyone would die, that didn't stop him from following Gu Mo. For Liu Feiyang, building a good relationship with Gu Mo, the Great Hero of Yunzhou and a master of his generation, and accumulating as much goodwill as possible, was far more important than merely sheltering from the rain here.

Immediately, Liu Feiyang greeted the Mystical Maiden Palace members. Xie Liuying said with a look of surprise, "Chief Escort Liu, do you really believe that big oaf's rambling nonsense?"

Liu Feiyang smiled faintly. "Immortal Xie," he said, "my martial arts are inferior, unlike you Immortal Maidens. We're used to being cautious when traversing the jianghu, and when it comes to danger, we always prefer to believe it exists rather than not. So, we'd better take precautions. Farewell!"

Immediately, Liu Feiyang cupped his hands and then followed them out the door. "Let's go, we're leaving too!" Just then, Lin Qixia, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground cultivating her inner energy to heal her injuries, suddenly opened her eyes and looked up to speak. "Ah?" Xie Liuying asked in surprise, "Senior Sister, you don't believe it too, do you?"

It seemed that as long as the name Nangong Yuexi wasn't mentioned, Lin Qixia remained perfectly calm. She said, "I was just injured by that saber; that saber is truly sinister. Moreover, there's no guarantee that group of men in black won't double back for another attack. Don't worry about whether it's raining heavily outside."

Immediately after, two Mystical Maiden Palace disciples helped Lin Qixia up. The group quickly made their way into the courtyard, and led their horses out the gate, following the figures of Gu Mo and his companions ahead. The rain was torrential, and it was night. They couldn't light torches for illumination, and being in the mountains, they naturally couldn't ride their horses; everyone walked, leading their horses. Fortunately, at that moment, a faint light was already appearing on the horizon; otherwise, even walking would have been impossible, making progress very difficult, unlike when the weather was good and torches could be used for light.

"Brother, those people from the Mystical Maiden Palace came out too," Gu Chuwinter said. "I thought they wouldn't believe in superstitions." Gu Chuwinter and Gu Mo walked forward, sharing an oiled paper umbrella.

Gu Mo smiled faintly. "Everyone in the jianghu," he said, "who isn't protective of their life?"

"True." Gu Chuwinter smiled. "Brother," he asked, "what kind of feud is there between Lin Qixia and Nangong Yuexi, anyway, for her to react so strongly, to be provoked so easily?"

Gu Mo shook his head slightly. "I don't know either," he said. "As for matters in the Qingzhou jianghu, I don't know more than you do."

Just then, Liu Feiyang said softly, "I have heard some things, but they are all jianghu rumors, difficult to verify. Nangong Yuexi is the youngest of the Mystical Maiden Palace's Ten Immortal Maidens and also the last to join. Moreover, she and Immortal Lin Qixia trained under the same master, who is the Mystical Maiden Palace's Sword Elder. However, not long after Nangong Yuexi joined, the decision for Immortal Lin to succeed as Sword Elder, which had already been settled, was cancelled, and Immortal Nangong was appointed instead. Afterwards, during the sect competition, Immortal Lin was again defeated by Immortal Nangong. There are even rumors that Immortal Nangong's fiancé was originally Immortal Lin's suitor... There are many more rumors of similar incidents."

Gu Mo and Gu Chuwinter understood instantly. No wonder Lin Qixia reacted so strongly upon hearing the name Nangong Yuexi.

From Lin Qixia's perspective, it was a newcomer who took away her life and everything, yet was superior to her in every aspect, and she could do nothing about it. Her indignation and fury were entirely understandable.

The heavy rain gradually stopped. The group continued forward, emerging from the mountainside. By this time, the sky was gradually brightening, but a misty rain still lingered. A village was faintly visible ahead, permeated by strange flickers of firelight.

Everyone hastened their steps. However, just as they reached the village entrance, they discovered that many houses in the village were engulfed in flames. Flames licked at the timber, crackling loudly, thick smoke billowed, and the pungent smell of char filled the air.

Most terrifyingly, many bodies lay scattered haphazardly on the ground — men and women, old and young, all having met grisly ends. Some were decapitated, their heads rolled to the side, eyes wide open, filled with terror and defiance. Others were dismembered, severed limbs scattered everywhere, blood mixed with mud, a shocking sight. The bodies of children were tightly curled up, their small hands still clutched at cloth, as if desperately struggling for help before death. A woman lay slumped on the ground, her hair disheveled, her face twisted, still protecting a breathless infant in her arms.

Suddenly, a loud shout came from ahead: "Run, run! The demonic saber... the demonic saber..." Everyone looked and saw it was the big oaf from Righteousness Villa last night, clumsily running out of the village. "The demonic saber... it's gone mad!" he cried in a panic.