An expert’s moment of distraction came in a single thought.

Regaining focus also came in a single thought.

Zhu Qing made only two moves before clearly feeling that this Gray-Robed Man had cast aside distracting thoughts. His sword wind fell like a net, dense and numerous. It seemed he’d been holding back before.

Zhu Qing gritted his teeth, thinking: I can only hold on stubbornly.

Li Buyan retreated to Third Master’s side. Looking up, she immediately noticed something wrong. Before she could even catch her breath, she said, “Terrible—I spoke too harshly.”

“Spoke too harshly is spoke too harshly.”

“Huh?”

Li Buyan was obviously startled. What was wrong with this person? “You’re not scolding me?”

Xie Zhifei glanced at her. “Today this shit was stirred well—must praise.”

Li Buyan thought, “…” Why does this still sound like cursing?

Xie Zhifei watched the changes on the field. “Shortly when you rest, I’ll go up.”

“Absolutely not!”

Li Buyan grinned. “Miss instructed that Third Master is a key figure. Key figures can’t act until the key moment…”

“Zhu Qing!”

Xie Zhifei suddenly shouted loudly, “Careful!”

Too late.

The sword edge sliced across Zhu Qing’s arm, blood gushing outward.

Li Buyan’s eyes turned fierce. She raised her sword to go.

“Li Buyan, you stop right there!”

Xie Zhifei immediately extended his hand to grip her shoulder, turning his head to glance under the tree shade, only to meet Pei Xiao’s worried gaze.

Xie Zhifei silently asked: How much left?

Pei Xiao extended three fingers.

So seven hundred characters remained. Xie Zhifei’s pupils contracted slightly: Is she steady?

Pei Xiao nodded: Steady as can be.

“Li Buyan, Yan Sanhe can keep her composure. You keep yours too. Go up one at a time. Don’t be impulsive. If something happens to you, she’ll be frantic.”

Don’t talk about me! Third Master, we’re two of a kind.

Li Buyan responded in her heart, her gaze instinctively glancing at Yan Sanhe. Suddenly her face turned pale. “Third Master, look quickly—what’s wrong with Young Master Pei?”

What was wrong with Young Master Pei?

Young Master Pei couldn’t keep steady.

Yan Sanhe’s brush suddenly quickened. He hadn’t recited to that line yet, but she’d already written to the next line—and it was correct!

The next line after that was correct!

The line after that was also correct!

The line after that—damn it, also correct!

Wah, she, she, she could actually recite the Diamond Sutra too!

Look at the characters—

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful!

Young Master Pei scrambled to his feet, grabbed his hem, and ran over like a madman, shouting at Xie Zhifei.

“She can recite it, very fast, very fast, very fast, very good, very good, very good, hold, hold, hold!”

After speaking, he ran back like a madman.

The person was like a madman, the words even more like a madman, but Xie Zhifei understood, and a feeling both exhilarating and intense arose in his heart.

“Did everyone hear? The spirit medium wants us to hold on!”

What was a spirit medium?

Someone who could read the thoughts of the dead, who could help the dead close their coffins, who could create miracles—that was a spirit medium.

These words practically made the blood in Zhu Qing and the others boil.

Hold on, and the spirit medium will bless you!

Yan Sanhe lowered her brows and eyes, writing rapidly, immersed in her own world.

The sounds of fighting close at hand couldn’t enter her ears, the flashing blades and swords couldn’t enter her eyes. Whether they’d reached the end of their rope or found a way through—it had nothing to do with her.

Her hand holding the brush rose and fell, and a line of characters appeared on the paper.

“The characteristics of sentient beings, the characteristics of longevity—these are not a bodhisattva…”

Those Buddhist scriptures were like they’d long been carved into her mind, popping out sentence by sentence, yet she’d never memorized them.

When a person was iron-willed about accomplishing something, there was divine assistance.

Yan Sanhe could clearly feel that the one assisting her was Tang Zhiwei, that woman who, even with her green lamp and ancient Buddha, could still see warm sun, cool breezes, autumn rain, and winter snow.

You can’t wait either, can you?

Don’t worry.

Don’t worry!

Once we meet Tang Jianxi, we’ll be closer and closer to the truth.

As the last character fell, the brush in Yan Sanhe’s hand dropped to the ground with a “thud,” startling Young Master Pei. Then, without any warning, he began crying and shouting loudly.

“Stop fighting, it’s finished, damn it, it’s finished… You bastard, you bastard, stop… stop…”

Before “ah” could fully escape, he saw a figure whoosh over and whoosh away again.

Young Master Pei focused his eyes—where was there any paper on the table? Empty as could be.

“You bastard, you’re actually keeping your word, but why such a heavy hand!”

Young Master Pei shouted while rushing over to check on this one, touch that one, tears streaming down.

Zhu Qing had one arm injured, one leg injured, covered in blood.

Huangqi’s shoulder had been pierced through by a sword, blood water gushing out unstoppably.

Li Buyan had a large lock of hair cut off, disheveled like a female ghost. The female ghost’s mouth was still spitting blood—clearly she’d taken a palm strike from that bastard.

Third Master…

Third Master had taken a punch to the face, two lines of blood slowly flowing from his nose. Two sword wounds on his back—one three inches long, one five inches long.

Young Master Pei couldn’t bear it. With tears in his eyes, he cursed toward the mountaintop.

“I fuck your mother, Tang Jianxi! The King of Hell took a nap and let you, this beast, steal a human skin to come out and mix with people, right? And you’re a scholar too—bah…”

“You bastard doesn’t deserve to stay on the mountain. You should stay in a cesspit. Still talking about living in seclusion—seclude your eighteen generations of ancestors…”

“This master will feed you two jin of coptis root to properly clean the dogshit from your intestines, then send you two jin of ambergris to cover the cheap smell, the slutty smell on your body…”

Originally, the four people on the ground were in pain and exhausted, without even the strength to move a finger.

After hearing Young Master Pei’s cursing, a thought arose in unison in all four hearts: Don’t stop us—we can still get up and fight another round!

“Stop cursing!”

Yan Sanhe walked over and rebuked softly, “Quickly take out the medicine and pills you brought. Getting down to business is urgent.”

“Right, right, right!”

Young Master Pei slapped his forehead. “Oh my, where’s my bundle? I have medicine and pills in my bundle. Where’s my bundle… Ah ah ah, where is my bundle?”

The four people watched Young Master Pei like a rabbit running wildly everywhere looking for his bundle, thinking in unison—

Could they survive long enough for him to find his bundle?

Yan Sanhe glanced at the increasingly frantic Pei Mingting, strode back under the tree shade, and took out the bundle from under the low table.

“It’s here.”

She ran back to the four people, shouting at Pei Xiao, “Come quickly and open it!”

“Can’t you open it?”

Young Master Pei rushed over like a gust of wind. “It’s just a matter of seconds. Understand saving time?”

Yan Sanhe said nothing, lifted her left hand to toss the bundle to him, while her right hand hid behind her back.

Xie Zhifei sensed something wrong. He wiped the blood from his face and peeked behind Yan Sanhe—

That hand hidden behind her back hung limply, trembling continuously.

He felt his heart suddenly ache.

Yan Sanhe noticed Xie Zhifei’s gaze. She turned her body, hiding her right arm further back.

“What are you hiding?”

Xie Zhifei suddenly grew angry. “Your hand is sore and painful and you can’t call out? Is your mouth only for breathing? Even a sawed-off gourd would speak more than you!”

Yan Sanhe fell silent.

Everyone else fell silent too.