CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 42: GRIPPING SUSPENSE

After successfully shaking off his pursuers, Shi Feiyang dared not relax his vigilance in the slightest, and immediately rushed along the winding forest path at high speed. In his heart, he silently rejoiced, feeling that he had finally escaped Liu Tingting’s pursuit.

As his inner strength gradually recovered, Shi Feiyang was filled with hope, eagerly anticipating that once fully restored, he could return to rescue Gong Simeng.

However, fate seemed unwilling to let Shi Feiyang easily escape his predicament.

Just as Shi Feiyang was about to leave the forest and caught sight of a village ahead, a sudden burst of hurried footsteps came from behind.

Shi Feiyang was startled and quickly turned back, only to see Liu Tingting leading a group of maids, each armed with various weapons, swiftly closing in. The flames of anger burned in Liu Tingting’s eyes, determined not to let Shi Feiyang escape.

She caught up with Shi Feiyang and immediately swung her long sword at him without hesitation.

Shi Feiyang, agile like the wind, easily dodged this strike, but was soon surrounded by the group of maids, with no escape route.

He knew he had once again fallen into dire straits, with no retreat, and only by fighting with all his might did he have a slim hope of breaking through.

So, Shi Feiyang took a deep breath, summoned the thread of power he had just recovered, and, wielding a saber, launched into fierce combat with Liu Tingting and her maids. Amidst the flash of blades, Shi Feiyang’s body technique was as nimble as a swallow, and his swordsmanship was exquisite, entangling him and Liu Tingting’s group in an intense fight. However, with the poison wreaking through his body and injury weighing him down, his inner power gradually weakened.

Facing numerous enemies, after a dozen moves, Shi Feiyang felt his strength waning, his swordsmanship becoming chaotic, and his vision gradually blurring. At that moment, a clever stratagem flashed through Shi Feiyang’s mind.

Thus, Shi Feiyang pretended to retreat in defeat, his figure swaying as he cleverly evaded Liu Tingting’s fatal strike.

Simultaneously, he took the opportunity to throw his saber towards an unsuspecting maid, hitting her shoulder with the blade, instantly taking her out of the fight.

Shi Feiyang then executed the "Deep Concealment of Body and Name" supreme lightness technique, leaping forth to reclaim the Myanmar Saber into his hand.

Witnessing Shi Feiyang’s actions, Liu Tingting’s fury grew even harsher, her sword stabbing directly at Shi Feiyang, her offensive becoming more ferocious.

Under Liu Tingting’s relentless assault, Shi Feiyang’s inner power gradually weakened, his physical strength also ebbing away.

What was once a deep command of Bright Jade Technique seemed to vanish at this moment, frequently putting him in dangerous situations during the fierce fight.

Shi Feiyang felt fatigue overwhelming his whole body, and it seemed as if he could hardly hold onto the Myanmar Saber, which felt increasingly heavy in his grip.

At the brink of desperation, suddenly a melodious guqin sound resonated, like a beautiful melody from the heavens, infusing the intense battle with a touch of serenity and hope.

Shi Feiyang, drawn to the pleasant guqin sound, instinctively wielded his saber swiftly, yet his gaze transcended this serene forest landscape, as if crossing the boundaries of time and space. Eventually, his sight settled on a small, exquisite pavilion.

The pavilion was nestled within a lush bamboo grove, seemingly a masterpiece of nature.

Inside the pavilion, a woman dressed in simple light-blue clothing sat quietly, her hands gently plucking the strings of a guqin.

The guqin sound flowed like a trickling stream, as if telling an ancient story.

The woman playing the guqin had an ethereal beauty as if untouched by the mundane world, resembling a transcendent fairy.

Her face was like a fine painting, her eyebrows like distant green hills, eyes like autumn waters full of emotion, nose like a hanging gallbladder, lips as red as cherries.

Her transcendent and refined aura was irresistibly captivating.

Every move she made exuded elegance and composure, as if she was out of place in the world of noise and bustle.

This woman was none other than the Young Master of Changsheng Castle—Lin Wanqing.

Her name, like her demeanor, was gentle and graceful.

Lin Wanqing was not only the Young Master of Changsheng Castle but also renowned throughout the Jianghu as a master of the guqin.

Her guqin skill could heal hearts and make people forget worries, as if they were in the Immortal Realm. Her artistry lay not only in her technical prowess but also in her ability to infuse emotion into her music, allowing others to feel her inner peace and simplicity.

Shi Feiyang listened quietly to Lin Wanqing’s guqin sound, feeling a surge of indescribable emotion, as the beautiful image of the Sunflower Saintess appeared in his mind, feeling that the guqin-playing girl was just like the Sunflower Saintess.

Never had he thought that in this tumultuous Jianghu, such a transcendent presence could exist.

Lin Wanqing’s guqin music, like a clear spring, cleansed the dust from Shi Feiyang’s heart, momentarily making him forget the enmities and disputes of Jianghu.

In this moment, Shi Feiyang wanted only to immerse himself in the beautiful guqin sound, enjoying this brief peace and beauty alongside the Sunflower Saintess in his heart, Lin Wanqing. However, it was a critical moment of life and death, with sword shadows dancing like the wind, sword qi fierce, and Liu Tingting gripping her sword hilt, breaking through Shi Feiyang’s blade and sword shadow, launching a fatal move "Tenderness Like Water", her wrist trembled lightly, with the sword point aimed directly at Shi Feiyang’s chest.

Suddenly, Liu Tingting’s sword point flicked, then turned to attack Shi Feiyang’s throat, the swordsmanship extremely sharp.

Shi Feiyang, realizing with shock, involuntarily shouted, "Great beauty, save me!" Clearly unable to resist, he instinctively executed the "Deep Concealment of Body and Name" masterful lightness technique, but as his body swayed, the fragile power he had just managed to recover dissipated once more.

Shi Feiyang fell to the ground in despair but luckily avoided Liu Tingting’s lethal move in doing so.

Liu Tingting’s lips curved into a contemptuous smirk, she snorted disdainfully.

Then, with a flick of her wrist, her long sword pointed like lightning directly at Shi Feiyang’s throat.

Lin Wanqing stood aside, witnessing the scene, a flash of anger crossed her eyes, and her hands moved swiftly.

In an instant, those guqin strings danced in the air like whips, clashing with the long swords of Liu Tingting and her maids, emitting a series of crisp metallic collision sounds, sending sparks flying.

Liu Tingting and her maids felt sharp pain from their palms, their faces painted with surprise, clearly not expecting mountains beyond mountains, people beyond people. They realized that their opponent was by no means ordinary.

Thus, they halted their attack on Shi Feiyang, temporarily retreating to reassess the situation before them.

Shi Feiyang, after his eyes turned white several times, laid his hands spread out and fainted.

Liu Tingting angrily questioned Lin Wanqing, "Lin Wanqing, what do you intend? Why do you aid this villain Shi Feiyang? Don’t you fear that your involvement in our Divine Water Palace’s affairs may bring trouble to Changsheng Castle? Hmph! Do you know that Shi Feiyang is our Divine Water Palace’s nemesis, his existence to us is like a thorn in our side. We have long sworn to bring this villain to justice, to avenge old grudges. And you, aiding him at a critical moment, what are your intentions? Are you not afraid that the relationship between Divine Water Palace and Changsheng Castle might break because of this?" In the Jianghu, to kill someone without others’ reproach requires a very good excuse.

Liu Tingting went as far as to portray Shi Feiyang as her nemesis and a demon.