Qin Muyue certainly knew that Mu Yunjin was using reverse psychology to provoke her. Although she was burning with rage inside and wanted to rush forward to duel with Mu Yunjin to settle their scores, she had suffered too many defeats at Mu Yunjin’s hands before. Even though she knew Mu Yunjin was now injured and might not be her match, when faced with Mu Yunjin’s verbal provocations, she still hesitated.
“Mu Yunjin, you’re in no position to negotiate with me now.” Qin Muyue coldly eyed Mu Yunjin, her outward demeanor not backing down.
“Hmph, who do you think you are?” Mu Yunjin raised an eyebrow and retorted.
Seeing Mu Yunjin’s immediate sharp response, Qin Muyue instinctively shifted her gaze toward the black-robed Feng Lan. “Master, she…”
“Yue’er, haven’t you always wanted to learn your master’s exclusive secret technique?” Feng Lan suddenly curved his lips, glancing slightly at Qin Muyue, his words carrying a hint of depth.
Qin Muyue nodded.
She had become the disciple of the black-robed man through Qiuye’s introduction. The black-robed man, seeing her good aptitude, didn’t mind her having two masters and accepted her as a disciple.
But later, he only taught her some basics, like controlling blood bats to track targets. He hadn’t yet taught her how to control blood bats to kill people, as was being done today.
…
…
She knew that the black-robed man raised large flocks of eagles and blood bats. If he were to teach her the secret arts of controlling eagles and blood bats, she could use them to kill people, and these eagle flocks and blood bats could be equivalent to thousands of troops.
Seeing Qin Muyue nod, the black-robed man pointed at Mu Yunjin’s hair bun. “If you can take the black jade hairpin from her hair bun, I will teach you my exclusive secret technique.”
The black-robed man’s words surprised both Mu Yunjin and Qin Muyue.
Mu Yunjin was surprised at why the black-robed man would suddenly be interested in her black jade hairpin, especially since this hairpin looked extremely ordinary with nothing special about it.
But upon second thought, she quickly remembered that this was the gift Bei Tang Wenfeng had bought at West Brocade Garden. She knew very well what kind of place West Brocade Garden was—all items were sold to those with whom they had affinity.
Now that the black-robed man was interested in this black jade hairpin, could it mean that the hairpin had some mysterious quality?
Mu Yunjin lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment. Catching a glimpse of a few stray blood bats flying around, she suddenly remembered how she had fallen into the blood bat swarm earlier but remained unharmed.
Could it be that this black jade hairpin could repel blood bats?
So the black-robed man was now after the black jade hairpin?
Having thought of this possibility, Mu Yunjin quickly gave herself an affirmative answer. While Qin Muyue was still hesitating and uncertain, she had already reached up to remove the black jade hairpin and tucked it into her bosom.
Qin Muyue had originally been reluctant to approach Mu Yunjin alone. Now that the black-robed man had spoken, she felt caught in a dilemma, especially after seeing Mu Yunjin tuck the black jade hairpin into her bosom, which made the task even more difficult.
After thinking for a while, she also reasoned that today, both her masters and her grandfather were nearby. They surely wouldn’t allow Mu Yunjin to harm her.
Perhaps this was also a test from the black-robed man, and she couldn’t waste such an opportunity.
“Mu Yunjin, no matter how well you hide it, it’s useless. None of you can escape today!” Qin Muyue gritted her teeth. As she finished speaking, she already had her soft sword in hand and was walking toward Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin narrowed her eyes. Her back was still aching. Although she could force herself to hold out for a while, she couldn’t guarantee she would defeat Qin Muyue, especially with the black-robed monster also present. What if he shamelessly ambushed her?
“Yunjin!” Jiang Qingxue, after dealing with several junior disciples sent by the black-robed man, flew to Mu Yunjin’s side, standing between her and Qin Muyue.
Jiang Qingxue’s cold and snow-like countenance was now filled with a chilling murderous aura.
The surroundings had already descended into chaos. Upon knowing Mu Yunjin had arrived, she had no mood to engage with others anymore. She only knew that she must ensure her daughter’s safety.
“Heh, Mu Yunjin, when did you become someone who cries for daddy and mommy when you can’t win a fight? Aren’t you ashamed?” Qin Muyue eyed Jiang Qingxue standing in front of her, mockingly curling her lips, her sidelong gaze falling on Mu Yunjin.
Mu Yunjin, who had been sitting on the ground all this time, stood up after hearing Qin Muyue’s words, supporting herself. She placed a hand on Jiang Qingxue’s shoulder in front of her, gently moving her aside.
“Alright, no more idle talk.” Mu Yunjin smiled coldly, also glancing around, especially at the black-robed man, and mockingly said, “I’ll reluctantly fight with Miss Qin. You elders, don’t get involved. Don’t embarrass us.”
After Mu Yunjin’s words, she drew out the phoenix-tail whip wrapped around her wrist.
Upon hearing Mu Yunjin’s words, the black-robed man truly retreated several meters, making room for Mu Yunjin and Qin Muyue.
Seeing this, Qin Muyue’s brow furrowed imperceptibly, but having come this far, she could only steel herself and proceed.
Jiang Qingxue, with her hands behind her back, also retreated a few steps.
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Mu Yunjin and Qin Muyue stood facing each other. The sounds of battle around them reached them, and at this moment, Mu Yunjin felt a surge of heated blood.
She had told Qin Muyue’s father that if she and Qin Muyue were to cross swords again, she would not be lenient.
Would it be at this moment today?
Qin Muyue’s eyes similarly flickered with fire. All the humiliations Mu Yunjin had brought her in recent days, she would take back one by one.
Thinking of this, Qin Muyue could no longer restrain herself. She swung her sword toward Mu Yunjin…
“Stop!”
An elderly voice came through.
Upon hearing this voice, Qin Muyue twisted her wrist, halting her sword-swinging motion, and turned to look at the person who had just spoken.
It was General Qin.
General Qin had come running from somewhere, now panting heavily. When he reached Qin Muyue’s side, he directly grabbed her wrist. “Yue’er, quickly come with Grandfather. We’ve just captured Chu…”
General Qin had said only half his sentence when he caught sight of Mu Yunjin standing nearby. His eyes suddenly widened, and in the next second, he uncomfortably averted his gaze. After giving Qin Muyue a mysterious look, he disregarded the gazes of others and pulled Qin Muyue away.
Mu Yunjin watched intently the direction in which General Qin and Qin Muyue disappeared, her mind dwelling on the half-uttered “Chu” that General Qin had mentioned…
Captured…
Chu…
Mu Yunjin couldn’t help but furrow her brow, a bad premonition silently arising in her heart.
Chu Li had just left at noon. Could the person General Qin was referring to be Chu Li?
Seeing Mu Yunjin’s changed expression, Jiang Qingxue approached and grabbed her arm. “Yunjin, that old scoundrel is incredibly cunning. Be careful of tricks!”
Mu Yunjin nodded numbly.
The black-robed man had originally wanted to watch a good show, to see just how formidable this so-called phoenix female disciple of Feng Xuan was. Now that they had been interrupted, he could only sigh with slight regret.
Afterward, he looked over at Qiuye and Feng Xuan, who were fighting intensely. “Qiuye, stop fighting. Let’s end it here for today!”
With those words, the black-robed man used his lightness skill to leave.
Upon hearing the black-robed man’s words, Qiuye nodded. He also had no desire to continue the battle. After parrying Feng Xuan a few more times, he similarly left swiftly.
At the same time, the remaining masked figures in black also flashed away.
In a brief moment, everything seemed to return to how it was before.
Only the badly damaged residence remained, declaring that a fierce battle had indeed taken place here!
“That old thing, didn’t he want to contend with me for the title of number one in the world? Why did he run at this crucial moment?!” Feng Xuan, panting heavily, walked to Mu Yunjin’s side. The battle just now had consumed a great deal of his energy and strength, but it had also allowed him to probe some of Qiuye’s martial arts foundation.
Qiqi, Huang Yan, and the others also finished their battles and came over, all collapsing weakly on the ground.
Mu Yunjin clenched her fists. After Qiuye and the others had suddenly withdrawn, her gaze had remained fixed on the direction General Qin and Qin Muyue had departed, a glimmer of worry flashing in her eyes. That bad premonition intensified once more.
She admitted that, whether true or false, General Qin’s words had struck her vulnerable spot!
The more Mu Yunjin thought about it, the more unbearable she felt. Plus, there was now a voice in her heart telling her—
Go and see. What if it is Chu Li?
Mu Yunjin felt she was becoming obsessed. She glanced at those beside her, and before they could react, she pushed off with her toes, using her lightness skill to swiftly chase in the direction General Qin had left…
Mu Yunjin’s departure was very fast. In almost the blink of an eye, her figure disappeared from everyone’s sight.
“Where did that girl go?” Feng Xuan looked in the direction Mu Yunjin had left.
Jiang Qingxue frowned. She had just been distracted for a moment, and Yunjin had already run off.
“Just now, old scoundrel Qin came over and told Qin Muyue that they had captured Chu something, and then pulled Qin Muyue away. Yunjin might have gone to chase them…” Jiang Qingxue pursed her lips.
“What?!” Feng Xuan’s face immediately changed. He slapped his thigh and stood up from the ground. “Not good, quickly go find that silly girl!”
……
After chasing for a distance, Mu Yunjin came to a fork in the road. After lingering at the junction for a while, the scent of blood wafted through the air.
Smelling the blood, Mu Yunjin slightly frowned and, without hesitation, chased toward the left fork.
Mu Yunjin chased for a long time. The smell of blood in the air never dissipated; instead, it grew stronger. Her heart beat faster and faster, and her expression became increasingly grim.
After a while, Mu Yunjin stopped at the edge of a cliff.
Looking down at the bottom of the cliff, it was as unfathomable as Ping Feng Cliff. But right in front of her, not far from this cliff, Mu Yunjin saw a cave. Mist floated at the cave entrance, making it look ethereal and illusory.
Mu Yunjin gazed at the cave entrance for a long time.
The smell of blood seemed to have disappeared from the surroundings.
Mu Yunjin clenched her fist and was about to turn and leave when voices came from the cave entrance not far behind her.
Hearing the voices, Mu Yunjin immediately turned sideways to hide in a nearby pile of grass, concealing herself.
Whether it was because the place was too open or for some other reason, the voices quickly reached Mu Yunjin’s ears clearly—
“This time, it was truly effortless. No one would have thought that we would keep Chu Li in this cave.”
“General Qin’s skills are indeed undiminished with age. With one move, he captured this youngster. Qiuye truly admires it!”
“Not at all, not at all. It’s getting dark. Let’s go back and have a good drink to celebrate.”
“Hahaha, of course.”