Pang Liangji handed the unconscious Xiao Ran to his attendants to be taken home through the back door, while he himself remained mounted among his fellow disciples. Seeing all her companions had arrived, Tuoba Sanniang stopped her strings and scolded Pang Liangji: “Cripple, go back and accompany your wife! Don’t get in the way here!”
Pang Liangji smiled bitterly: “Though Master expelled me from the sect, thanks to the generous treatment from Senior Brothers and Sisters, the Setting Sun Seven Masters haven’t removed Old Sixth from the roster. So even if I die here in a pool of blood today, I must remain.”
With the wind fierce and sky high, in this vast autumn sorrow, these words carried a desolate yet heroic meaning.
He clasped his fists and declared loudly to the martial world people present: “Fellow heroes have come to attend Pang’s wedding and sword-washing ceremony. The Pang family’s poor hospitality brings deep shame, truly because enemies behind the scenes are stirring up trouble, trying to sow discord between our Setting Sun Academy and the Central Plains martial world…”
He wanted to explain the dispute clearly, but before finishing his words, someone in the dark mass of people suddenly called out shrilly: “The Setting Sun Academy is utterly evil, plotting rebellion! Unable to survive in Guanzhong, you’ve entered the Central Plains. If you don’t explain the matter of Chen Shigu clearly today, don’t think you can leave easily!” The accent sounded like visitors from Jiannan Circuit.
Pang Liangji couldn’t see clearly who was speaking and was puzzled. He called out: “Though our sect can hardly be called a righteous orthodox school, how does it deserve the words ‘plotting rebellion’?”
The Central Plains heroes looked at each other, all wondering what they were talking about.
Another equally sharp voice came from a different direction: “That relic Chen Shigu left before his death—you refuse to hand it over?!”
Pang Liangji thought to himself that when Chen Shigu died of illness, he had already been sent back to his hometown. Who knew what relics he had left behind? Looking at his fellow disciples around him, all had grim expressions and said nothing, as if there truly were some inconvenient secrets.
Yet another sharp questioning voice came from another direction: “You band of evil heretics plot rebellion, and all the people of Great Tang should eliminate…”
Before the words were finished, Xu Baozhen suddenly opened his eyes wide and roared toward that direction: “Immeasurable Celestial Worthy!”
Cavern Truth Master’s internal energy was profound. Where his true qi surged, the sound shocked those secretly speaking in the crowd. That person’s breath caught, and he began coughing, revealing his location. Just as he was about to retreat, Tuoba Sanniang’s flying blade pierced his throat, and he silently collapsed to the ground.
However, one person’s death didn’t stop his accomplices from continuing to speak. Fearing the Setting Sun Seven Masters’ martial prowess and knowing they couldn’t face them directly, they quickly released smoke and retreated, leaving Tuoba Sanniang’s hidden weapon range.
The dark mass of people was suddenly filled with confusing smoke. The watching heroes saw a strange bird suddenly fly up from among the heads—with enormous wings. Looking carefully, it was a small man strapped to gliding equipment, riding today’s strong winds to soar upward. As he flew, he shouted loudly: “Overthrow Great Tang! Bring chaos to the world!”
Tuoba Sanniang had flying blades ready in her hand, but knowing that beyond thirty paces her hidden weapons would lose power and couldn’t kill, she maintained her dignity and didn’t release them.
Some well-traveled heroes among the Central Plains crowd, seeing that person’s strange appearance and equipment combined with their accents, called out their identity: “It’s the Rakshasa Bird sect from Jiannan Circuit!”
“How did these underhanded scoundrels get to the Central Plains?”
Strange birds took flight one by one in the smoke, their purpose seemingly not to harm enemies but to spread this secret throughout the martial world. They had originally planned to use the fake bride to kidnap Pang Liangji and force him to reveal the relic’s location, but after repeatedly being thwarted and losing troops, they finally decided to go all out and try to turn the entire martial world against the Setting Sun Academy.
Another strange bird shouted: “Overthrow Great Tang! Bring chaos to…” But this time he couldn’t finish, pierced by an arrow swift as lightning, screaming as he fell.
With one arrow hitting its mark, Bao Zhu coldly drew another arrow from her quiver and nocked it, thinking that this sect dared to shout such treasonous words in front of the Li Tang imperial family—this was truly rebellion and lawlessness. If she couldn’t kill these demons with her arrows today, she might as well give up her true dragon bloodline.
Her eyesight was excellent, and seeing clearly that these monsters were humans in disguise, she felt no more fear. She lightly squeezed her legs to urge the donkey forward. The streets and alleys were narrow and crowded with watching heroes, horses couldn’t pass through, but this donkey moved nimbly, weaving left and right through the people.
Bao Zhu galloped on her donkey, one arrow per target, never missing, shooting down the flying Rakshasa Birds one by one.
The Rakshasa Birds had poor martial skills and never engaged in close combat. They always relied on disguises, duplicates, hidden weapons, poison fog, and other sinister methods for ambush attacks. Martial world people’s hidden weapons had limited range and could be toyed with like kites. Even if they couldn’t win, they could retreat safely.
Who would have thought they’d be so unlucky today—bows countered birds in elemental advantage, perfectly suppressed by Bao Zhu’s long-range archery. Seeing the situation was bad, the Rakshasa Birds scattered to flee, but how could they escape arrows that could pierce targets at a hundred paces? In an instant, seven or eight people fell from the sky.
Though Bao Zhu was normally surrounded by large numbers of guards and skilled in mounted archery, she had never fought anyone before. Her martial arts skills couldn’t even match Shisan Lang’s, let alone compare to the Setting Sun Seven Masters. In halls, corridors, and chambers with short-range attacks, she could only be controlled by others. But in the vast battlefield of the sky, this was the archer’s domain.
The Central Plains heroes watched this red-robed girl gallop past, rapid-firing like a storm, shooting ambidextrously without missing, her posture supremely graceful—they were all mesmerized.
The Setting Sun Academy members couldn’t ride through the streets and alleys, so they had to dismount and take to the walls, using lightness skills to pursue. Because lightness skills varied in level, positions immediately separated front and back. Xu Baozhen and Tuoba Sanniang ran fastest, followed by Huo Qi Lang, then Qiu Ren and Luo Tuotuo who practiced external martial arts. Pang Liangji, being disabled, couldn’t get on the walls and could only wait anxiously in place.
But no matter how fast their lightness skills, they couldn’t match the speed of meteoric arrows. Every time they were about to catch up to a Rakshasa Bird, Bao Zhu’s arrows always arrived first. For some unknown reason, she always held back, refusing to kill with one strike, so enemies who fell to the ground still needed finishing off.
In the eyes of the watching heroes, it looked like this red-robed girl was charging alone against hundreds at the front lines, while the Setting Sun Academy members followed behind her doing cleanup work, as if she were the true leader of the Setting Sun Seven Masters. The situation was so bizarre that apart from Huo Qi Lang finding it amusing, the others were all embarrassed and furious.
Qiu Ren was already stocky and portly. Panting as he jumped down from a wall to snap the neck of a wounded Rakshasa Bird, he turned to see a certain blue-robed youth enthusiastically lying on the wall top appreciating Bao Zhu’s heroic bearing. Watching his fellow disciples busily running around while barely suppressing a grin, Qiu Ren’s heart instantly exploded with a hundred curse words. He called out sarcastically:
“Senior Brother’s face is about to split from grinning—does Fourth Brother need to help stitch it back up?!”
Tuoba Sanniang passed by even more furiously, cursing: “Short-lived mischievous ghost! Did you teach her to do this?!”
The blue-robed youth’s eyes were full of pride and satisfaction. Smiling, he shook his head: “Her hands are clean as a whistle—not a single life on them. She needs others to help with the dirty work.”
The entire Rakshasa Bird sect had mobilized with full preparation to drag the Setting Sun Academy into a quagmire, but in the blink of an eye they had lost more than half their numbers to this red-robed girl. Driven to desperation, their leader with the largest wingspan whistled, and two subordinates glided down in a diving attack, using their gliders to fire poison-laced hidden weapons at the girl.
Poisoned darts rained down with additional force from being fired from above. The Central Plains heroes had been watching for a long time—on one side was a wonderful young girl who could hit targets at a hundred paces, on the other were ugly and sinister evil sect villains. Everyone hoped the red-robed girl would win. Seeing this situation, they all cried out in alarm. Bao Zhu was suddenly attacked, her red figure flashed, and she fell headfirst from her mount.
The situation suddenly reversed. The faces of the seven Setting Sun Academy members changed dramatically, killing intent rising as they rushed from all directions toward her. But how could they arrive in time to rescue her?
Just as the heroes’ hearts jumped with alarm, those closest to the girl discovered she hadn’t been injured and fallen, but had hooked one leg through the stirrup and hung inverted on one side of the donkey’s body to avoid the hidden weapon attack.
This move was called “Hidden in the Stirrup”—a life-saving technique used on battlefields when thousands of arrows flew simultaneously, hiding under a horse’s belly for protection. Bao Zhu merely loved mounted archery and hunting and had no need to learn such dangerous moves. However, she was always competitive. Once when she lost a polo match to Prince Wei’s subordinates, she stubbornly demanded that the supremely brave and skilled general Hun Gan teach her this technique. While practicing, she even fell from her horse and broke a rib before finally mastering it.
Originally learned just to show off against royal relatives and nobles in polo, she never expected to use it against enemies today, avoiding the pain of hidden weapons piercing her flesh. Most of the poisoned darts stuck in the saddle and horse gear, with a few hitting the donkey’s body. Judging by their shape and color, they were from the same group that ambushed at the wedding tent.
Hanging on one side of the donkey, Bao Zhu used her core strength to flip and shoot upward, bringing down the two Rakshasa Birds that attacked her with two more arrows. After that, she felt the donkey’s galloping speed slow down.
Hidden in the Stirrup was a life-saving skill used only in desperation on battlefields. Horses were naturally sensitive and would retreat in fear after being hit by arrows, breaking the entire technique and requiring a horse change to continue fighting.
Bao Zhu thought this was the end for today, but after flipping back onto the saddle, the donkey let out a hoarse bray and accelerated again. She hadn’t expected the donkey’s stubborn nature—being injured actually triggered its obstinacy. After waiting for its rider to sit firmly, it immediately charged forward desperately. The crowds ahead either pressed against walls or climbed onto roofs, actively clearing a path for her.
Watching this perilous scene, the Central Plains heroes all held their breath nervously. Some fantasized about the fierce battle at Tiger Prison Pass years ago, when Emperor Taizong as a youth rode his famous steeds Saluzi and Qingzhui charging enemy formations—it must have been such a heart-stopping sight.
After eliminating two more, only the Rakshasa Bird leader with the largest wingspan remained in the sky. Seeing all his subordinates fallen, he turned to flee, wearing his glider and flying farther and farther away. Bao Zhu saw the enemy about to fly beyond arrow range and prepared to give him a final strike, but when she reached back, her quiver was empty—not a single arrow left.
It was too late to recover arrows from the fallen. After a moment of disappointment, the donkey ran near the Pang mansion’s main gate. Just as Bao Zhu was about to call a halt, she saw the gleaming golden plaque on the gate and suddenly remembered that before the wedding, Pang Liangji had sent servants to place three feng shui arrows on the lintel to ward off evil and protect the house.
Her heart stirred. Gripping the reins, she jumped onto the saddle, stood up straight, and felt along the lintel. Her fingers touched something ice-cold—actually three gold-plated armor-piercing arrows. Young Master Pang of Jade City came from wealth and spared no expense pursuing perfection for his flawless wedding, even using such completely unnecessary items for feng shui arrows.
However, once Bao Zhu had these three arrows in hand, she knew victory was assured and was overjoyed.
Armor-piercing arrows lived up to their name. With extremely sharp bronze points, they could penetrate plate armor and bone at close range, while at long range they flew more steadily and farther than ordinary arrows. The famous early Tang general Xue Rengui’s “three arrows to pacify the Tianshan Mountains” used exactly this type of special arrow.
Seeing the Rakshasa Bird leader flying toward the horizon, his figure already small as a pigeon, with only one chance, Bao Zhu simply nocked all three arrows simultaneously, stood on the stirrups, tensed her body, used all her strength to draw the bow to full extension—the bow’s shape like a full moon.
Over a thousand people fell silent. The watching heroes’ hearts were all tightly wound. They had just seen her run out of ammunition and everyone sighed in regret, yet somehow she had produced three golden arrows from nowhere.
“Break!!!”
The red-robed girl gave a delicate shout, and three gold-plated armor-piercing arrows shot forth, streaking toward the clouds like a rainbow piercing the sun.
The heroes all hoped this strike would hit its mark. Craning their necks to watch, they saw the armor-piercing arrows like three small points of light following each other, already at the furthest range of vision. The Rakshasa Bird leader’s body suddenly stiffened, like a kite with its string cut, then wobbled and crashed toward the ground.
All of Jade City immediately erupted in excitement. The watching crowd cheered like thunder. The red-robed girl became famous in one battle, single-handedly annihilating the entire Rakshasa Bird sect from Jiannan Circuit without a scratch.
Under the gaze of thousands, Bao Zhu rode her donkey through the crowd with great satisfaction, her red robes bright and eye-catching, crystal sweat beads glittering on her forehead.
The martial world travelers were all familiar with great poets’ verses describing heroes and often recited them with longing, but none had ever actually dressed according to the striking appearances described in poems.
Now seeing this girl’s heroic bearing with their own eyes, they finally understood what “fresh clothes and spirited horses, young hero” meant; what “meteor white feathers at the waist, sword flowers like autumn lotus emerging from the sheath” meant; what “autumn frost cutting jade sword, setting sun bright pearl robe” meant. All the most beautiful heroic images fantasized in poetry were embodied in her.
The several Setting Sun Academy members stood on wall tops watching Bao Zhu’s triumph from afar. Tuoba Sanniang was first to click her tongue and say: “I take back my earlier words. The rumors on the road were right—she truly has the ability to capture the Blue-Robed Guest alive.”
Martial world competition was harsh, always judged by battle results. The others could only nod in acknowledgment.
Not only did they think so—all the heroes present were completely convinced. Many hot-blooded young heroes were enchanted by her, their faces flushed and ears burning, secretly pondering: “I wonder if this donkey-riding lady has any interest in capturing a few more people—I’d be very willing to lead her donkey.”