The Feeling of Coming Home
"I'm not bald! I just lost some hair, and it will grow back. Have you ever heard the poem, 'Wildfire cannot burn it all, the spring breeze brings it back to life'?" Si Ming said irritably.
Never heard of it.
The masked woman gave a perfunctory reply, carefully tucked the treasure map away from her body, and opened the window to leave.
Si Ming hurriedly said, "The door is right over there, and no one is blocking it. Why not use the front door and instead jump out the window?"
"Hmph, because I'm a chivalrous thief. Jumping out of windows is a chivalrous thief's romance; you common folk would never understand."
After saying that, he climbed out of the car window and disappeared.
Murong Qing shook her head, somewhat unable to understand this behavior. After putting away the Dragon Diagram Timer, she Si Ming, "I'm going to the restroom." Then she got up, opened the door, and walked out of the private room.
Not every carriage on the Su State's train has a restroom, so Murong Qing had to walk through the carriages to other carriages. As she passed through the non-compartment hard-seat carriages, several pairs of eyes were fixed on her.
"Second Master, this woman seems to be..."
An ordinary-looking woman with a somewhat rustic appearance leaned close to the ear of the elderly man sitting next to her and whispered something.
"Don't speak or look at her. We'll talk about everything after she leaves."
The old man kept his head down, his hands resting on his cane, motionless, as if he had dementia. But his eyes, fixed on the ground, revealed a sinister and malevolent gaze.
After washing her hands, Murong Qing was about to return to the private room when, as soon as she passed through the carriage, the unique danger sense of the "Glacier Divine Art" reflected in her consciousness like a mirror, showing a dark shadow rapidly approaching from the lower left.
Without the slightest hesitation, Murong Qing sideways and looked up, barely dodging the hidden weapon. Turning her head, she saw two plum blossom darts. If her reaction had been a little slower, she would probably have been disfigured.
Applause came from the front, and an old man's voice said, "What superb skills! At such close range, even I wasn't confident I could dodge. It seems your skills have improved a lot in the past two months, young lady."
Murong Qing looked warily at the two people in front of her, then suddenly realized, "It's you two! Weren't you handed over to the train police?"
The two people opposite her were the old man and woman who had come to negotiate when she issued her challenge to the thieves on the train, only to be soundly beaten up by Si Ming.
The rustic woman said, "How long do you think we'll be locked up? We didn't steal anything, we just have some criminal records. We'll be out in a few days. Unless the law makes theft a capital offense, people in our line of work will never disappear—give me back my human skin mask!"
The last sentence was spoken with a particularly strong tone, clearly indicating immense resentment.
The old man beside him said sinisterly, "If I had lost because I was outmatched, there would have been nothing to say. But you and that kid acted without Wuguo, you resorted to violence. My ribs are still aching!" He then stomped his cane forcefully.
If it were Murong Qing two months ago, she might have felt guilty, but now her knowledge has grown considerably, and she immediately retorted, "What rules are you talking about 'not following the rules'? Are they the rules of you thieves? I am a person who walks upright under the sun, not a rat hiding in the stinking shadows. Why should a person have to follow the rules of rats?"
The old man laughed angrily, "Fine, fine, since you've thrown away all pretense, don't blame us for breaking the rules. I won't take your life, but I'll make you feel like living in this world is torture."
After saying that, he pressed a mechanism on his cane, and a dense array of fine needles shot out from its tip. The needles shimmered with a ghostly green color, clearly indicating that they were poisoned.
The woman next to him also took out a brown medicine bottle, opened it, and splashed it at Murong Qing. The medicine emitted a pungent smell.
Murong Qing remained calm. Under the influence of the "Glacier Divine Art," her mind became exceptionally composed. She immediately formed a sword with her fingers and circled it in front of her. A faint Sword Qi rippled out, deflecting all the poison needles.
He then channeled his Glacier True Qi, condensing it into a bead. With a flick of his finger, he shot the corrosive acid that had been splashed from a distance. The sudden burst of cold air caused the acid to freeze and crystallize. He then spun around and easily dodged it.
"You've gone too far by trying to disfigure this woman!"
Even though Murong Qing didn't care much about her appearance, she knew what disfigurement meant for an ordinary woman. The other person's actions were so skillful that they were clearly a repeat offender and must have had victims. This behavior had crossed the line that she could tolerate.
The old man snorted, offering no explanation, and swung his cane, smashing it down in the other's face. The blow created a whooshing sound, a heavy object whistling through the air, clearly indicating that the thing was much heavier than it appeared and not entirely made of wood.
Having learned his lesson, the old man went back and racked his brains to find a way to avoid the same situation again after being knocked down by Si Ming's punch last time. After all, the carriage was only so big, and once a fight broke out, there was no room to maneuver or dodge. In the end, he had someone specially make this cane, which was heavy and sturdy and could also avoid the metal detector when boarding the train.
Two months ago, Murong Qing would have had to risk injury to take the blow head-on. But now she was no longer the same person. Even without a sword, she could still use the dance steps from the "Vast Cold Immortal Sword Art". With a graceful turn, she was like Chang'e descending to earth, easily dodging the heavy blows of the staff and passing by the old man from the side to his back.
The old man kicked the dog that had been Yellow Dog Urinates earlier, sending it flying backward, and warned, "Guihua, attack from both sides!"
The rustic woman responded and hurriedly moved closer to Murong Qing, aiming her "Red-Rumped Chain Fist" at her slender, pink neck. This martial art, though called a fist technique, is actually a set of close-quarters grappling techniques based on Monkey Fist. Each move involves grabbing, hooking, locking, or striking pressure points.
Besieged on all sides, including a treacherous and vicious kick, Murong Qing was immediately in danger. However, she remained incredibly calm and did not stop. She continued to charge forward, unleashing a sword-finger strike from under her ribs, striking the woman's armpit first.
The rustic woman suddenly felt an extremely cold chill surge into her from under her armpits, rushing towards her heart. She felt as if she were in an ice cellar, as if all the blood in her body had been frozen, and her heart had stopped beating. Even though her hand was about to touch Murong Qing's neck, she could not move forward even half an inch, and remained motionless like a statue.
At this moment, the old man's hidden leg was just touching Murong Qing's shin. With a little force, he could break the leg bone, but this was the longest distance his shin could reach when it was turned back.
He was too short, and his legs weren't long enough either. Normally, this might have made his "Yellow Dog Urinates" move more concealed, but Murong Qing failed to rush forward, missed the opportunity to unleash his power.
The old man wasn't disappointed. The saying "the intention precedes the action" means that he hadn't even had a thought before he launched his move. He didn't even realize he had made a move, so there was no reason for him to feel disappointed.
He turned around to launch a surprise attack on Murong Qing's back, but suddenly felt one foot slip, and he lost his balance and fell forward.
The floor of the train carriage was covered in a layer of ice!
The old man tried to regain his balance and stop falling, but Murong Qing a finger at his forehead. The cold air invaded his brow, numbing his consciousness and causing him to lose control of his body. He fell face-first into the mud, his jaw hitting the ground, and several teeth were knocked out of his gums.
You have lost.
Murong Qing stepped on the old man's back, preventing him from getting up.
The old man looked up, shocked, and exclaimed, "How is this possible? It's only been two months! Are you really the same person?!"
Two months ago, he almost crippled his opponent with a single move called "Yellow Dog Urinates". In fact, if it weren't for that unruly boy taking advantage of the terrain, his side might not have lost in a two-on-two battle.
But now, even with Guihua by his side, they were defeated in a two-on-one battle!
The difference was so great that he couldn't believe it was real.
Chapter 127 The Feeling of Going Home
Murong Qing picked up the bottle from the ground, glanced at the danger label indicating strong acid, and said with a stern face, "I was confused before, wondering if my persistence was wrong, if I was too stubborn. Now I understand, it's better for the world to have more stubborn people like me. Only when there are more people upholding justice can you cowards be kept in line!"