However small “Life and Death Together” might be, it was still an arrow.

Compared to Yu Konghou’s “Ten Thousand Li Peach Blossoms,” the “Sorrow and Joy Bow” had a far superior range.

So Ren Qingchou entangled Yu Konghou once again.

Yu Konghou’s expression completely turned cold.

The silver-glinting “Ten Thousand Li Peach Blossoms” wound around her wrist, she pinched the small sword’s tip between two fingers, pointing directly at Ren Qingchou’s black long bow.

Killing intent seemed to take form, condensing on Ren Qingchou’s left hand holding the bow.

While her right hand gripped the flying sword, Yu Konghou’s left hand moved unaffected, something rolling from her left sleeve into her left palm.

Ren Qingchou couldn’t see what it was, his heart skipping—whatever it was, it would be something he could hardly resist. He was extremely confident yet not arrogant. Having entangled Yu Konghou for so long, he had already completed the task Miss Hong assigned him and should have withdrawn.

But Ren Qingchou raised the Sorrow and Joy Bow, his expression resolute, nocking the “Life and Death Together” arrow he had carefully coated with deadly poison, aiming at Yu Konghou’s brow and shooting.

This arrow was called “Gazing at the Moon.”

When Qu Zhiliang created this arrow, he was still young, hadn’t yet abandoned the bow for the sword alone, and was still full of hope and curiosity about everything, believing he could overturn rivers and seas and shake heaven and earth. One day, climbing high to gaze at the moon, his spirits suddenly soared. He shot an arrow at the bright moon in the sky, fantasizing he could ride the arrow upward, directly to the moon, enter the Cold Palace, tread the osmanthus trees, and ask Chang’e—wouldn’t that be delightful?

Though Chang’e wasn’t seen that night, this arrow “Gazing at the Moon” became the longest-range shot in Qu Zhiliang’s “Sorrow and Joy Bow.”

In Qu Zhiliang’s hands, though this arrow was distant, it was like wild cursive calligraphy—high-spirited and soaring, exhausted when inspiration ended.

But in Ren Qingchou’s hands, this arrow had no wild fantasies about ascending to heaven, entering earth, seeing Chang’e, or catching rabbits. He simply concentrated wholeheartedly on shooting Yu Konghou with one arrow.

The arrowhead of “Life and Death Together” flashed, breaking through the air toward Yu Konghou.

Ren Qingchou’s hand was extremely steady, the “Gazing at the Moon” arrow extremely fast—almost as soon as Yu Konghou’s eyelashes moved, the arrow reached her face.

At the same time, with a light “ding” sound, “Life and Death Together” struck something Ren Qingchou had never considered—Yu Konghou didn’t reach out to catch the black small arrow, nor did she dodge away. She shook her head, and the black small arrow that had just reached her face was struck by something, deflecting its direction to sweep past Yu Konghou’s cheek.

With a “duo” sound, “Life and Death Together” embedded in a large tree trunk in the distance. That tree shook violently, nearly pierced through by Ren Qingchou’s arrow infused with his full power.

Yu Konghou wasn’t slowed a bit by Ren Qingchou’s arrow. Having deflected “Life and Death Together,” she touched the ground with her foot and lunged forward urgently, while her left hand gently flicked the object in her palm toward a position about a zhang behind Ren Qingchou.

As Yu Konghou rushed forward, Ren Qingchou was stunned—what had deflected his “Gazing at the Moon” arrow was a hair ornament from Yu Konghou’s hair bun. It was a blue-green hair ornament, vaguely inlaid with pearls. After being struck by the arrowhead, the ornament also fell from Yu Konghou’s head, landing somewhere unknown. But how could an ordinary jewelry piece possibly withstand a strike from “Life and Death Together”? That hair ornament was completely undamaged—it was definitely no ordinary object. Ren Qingchou felt there was something he hadn’t remembered, as if this object was extremely important.

In this moment of bewilderment, while Ren Qingchou pondered where he had heard about matters related to this hair ornament, he leaped backward to avoid Yu Konghou’s urgent assault.

However, when he landed, something at his feet coiled upward, binding him tightly. Ren Qingchou slashed his sword down at what bound his right leg—it was an extremely thin and long serpentine object. For a moment, Ren Qingchou couldn’t tell whether it was a living creature or a mechanism.

His blade like snow slashed down, and that thing was severed by Ren Qingchou’s sword in one strike, blood and flesh flying. Ren Qingchou’s heart grew cold—it was actually a living snake! His right leg, which had been coiled by the snake, had completely lost sensation. Before Ren Qingchou could figure out how to escape, there was a “pu” sound in his ears, and his chest suddenly became hot and painful—a silver small sword pierced through his chest, then flew back out from his chest, landing in Yu Konghou’s hand.

Yu Konghou’s pink clothes bore no blood stains, standing coldly at a distance of about a zhang, “Ten Thousand Li Peach Blossoms” gleaming with silver light, coiled around her wrist as if it had never been stained with Ren Qingchou’s blood.

Ren Qingchou raised his head. Yu Konghou tilted her head and smiled charmingly at him.

Ren Qingchou’s face showed no shock, miscalculation, regret, or pain. He simply looked at Yu Konghou once, pressed two acupoints on his chest, then quietly sat on the ground.

He shouldn’t have shot that arrow.

But he wanted to shoot that arrow.

He was no match for Yu Konghou.

Not only were his martial arts inferior, but his schemes were also no match.

What more was there to say?

The martial world was treacherous, human hearts changeable, swords and blades had no eyes, life and death decided in a thought.

He had done his best and felt no regret.

Only a pity he couldn’t shoot Yu Konghou with another arrow.

Yu Konghou had finally severely wounded this slippery young man, feeling extremely pleased inside, but Ren Qingchou couldn’t be killed. Yu Konghou wasn’t an impulsive fool. With Ren Qingchou’s martial arts level, being Qu Zhiliang’s disciple and a “reformed hero youth” rescued by Xue Xianzi, capturing a living Ren Qingchou was far more valuable than killing him here.

Yu Konghou saw Ren Qingchou press two acupoints to stop the bleeding. Obviously, though this young man was foolish and mixed up, he wasn’t stupid—he understood clearly that she wouldn’t necessarily take his life. Yu Konghou smiled even more pleasantly, but Ren Qingchou definitely didn’t know that there were far too many methods in this world to make life worse than death. Look—even someone like Puzhu was single-mindedly seeking death.

She first fed Ren Qingchou the antidote for that small poisonous snake. That little snake she’d been carrying, named “Melting Snow,” had extremely potent toxicity. Once bitten, even after taking the antidote, the wound would severely fester. Having been bitten by Melting Snow, Ren Qingchou’s right leg was definitely ruined.

Just as Yu Konghou was hiding Ren Qingchou in the undergrowth, preparing to send a signal for Gui Mudan to send people to take this young man away, there was a faint sound in the distance, accompanied by a scorching wind rushing toward her.

Yu Konghou suddenly turned back. At the farthest reach of her vision, in the blurred trees, a person carrying a sword was walking toward her step by step.

That figure was extremely small, but the burning wind seemed to come from him. With each of his steps, the wind grew more blazing, fierce winds rolling up grass, withered branches and broken leaves rising with a rustling sound, dancing violently behind the figure.

Kuanglan Wuxing!

Yu Konghou gripped “Ten Thousand Li Peach Blossoms,” her expression cold as frost.

Ren Qingchou couldn’t kill or stop her—what was Miss Hong’s purpose in sending him to entangle her? She knew it was a diversion tactic but didn’t know what she intended.

So… that was it.

That scheme to flood Piaolin Mei Garden was most likely fictitious. Miss Hong had Ren Qingchou entangle her in order to take advantage of the chaos to rescue Kuanglan Wuxing.

This was a plan to use one wolf to devour another.

But who had rescued Kuanglan Wuxing? Yu Konghou found it incomprehensible. “Miss Tao’s” status at the Central Plains Sword Conference was so noble, she had gathered a group of talents under her command, with many people completely convinced by “her.” If there had been the slightest rumor, she would certainly have received information. Yet she had received no word at all, and Bi Lianyi had always been by Miss Hong’s side.

Bi Lianyi, Cheng Yunpao, Zhang Hemo, Liu Hongfei, Master Wenxiu, and others—except for this day and night when she was entangled by Ren Qingchou—had always been by Miss Hong’s side, forming small teams daily to conduct attrition warfare against Piaolin Mei Garden.

To rescue Kuanglan Wuxing and Zhu Yan required not only knowing where she had hidden Zhu Yan but also neutralizing the deadly poison in his body and healing the severe injuries he received at Xue Xianzi’s hands. How could this be accomplished hastily in just one day and night?

Never mind neutralizing deadly poison and healing severe injuries—just knowing where Zhu Yan was hidden and successfully rescuing him would be extremely difficult. If Miss Hong truly had such miraculous means, why would she need to camp outside Piaolin Mei Garden? She could directly strike the heart of the matter.

So the person who could find Zhu Yan, rescue and heal him, then release him to oppose her should not be Miss Hong. She lacked such capability. This person who could rescue Zhu Yan, hiding in the shadows, was Gui Mudan’s greatest opponent now! Miss Hong conspired with this person—she diverted attention at the front, putting on an act daily with flooding, burning, wall-dismantling, and earth-digging, actually disturbing people’s hearts so this person could infiltrate and act during the chaos.

And this person who could penetrate deep into Piaolin Mei Garden, appearing and disappearing mysteriously while conspiring with Miss Hong—besides Tang Lici, who else could it be!

Yu Konghou understood in an instant. She had thought she had forced Tang Lici into a desperate situation, earning eternal infamy and becoming hunted throughout the martial world, that Tang Lici would be abandoned by all and his reputation ruined, and should have retreated to temporarily avoid the crisis. But this person not only didn’t retreat but borrowed this opportunity to hide behind the scenes and begin stirring up trouble.

Yu Konghou gritted her teeth. Thinking of Tang Lici’s perpetual smile of having everything under control, as if no situation exceeded his expectations, as if everything in this world could be used as chess pieces by him, her heart filled with extreme hatred.

Who wouldn’t want to be such a person?

Why could Tang Lici always be such a person?

He seemed to have never truly failed.

As Zhu Yan carried his long sword and walked toward her step by step, Yu Konghou faced the oncoming heat wave, tightly gripping “Ten Thousand Li Peach Blossoms” while her mind wandered chaotically, her hatred for Tang Lici increasing exponentially.