Inn Fight

Chu Zhe concealed his aura, found a chair, and sat down to drink tea.

Xu Ling looked at Yang Mu, then at Bai Yujun. She did not understand why her senior brother was so leisurely drinking tea, but the way he drank tea was truly handsome...

"Keep your head. Remember, do not panic."

Yang Mu understood Chu Zhe's meaning and calmly drew his treasured sword.

Chu Zhe nodded, very satisfied with Yang Mu.

Bai Yujun drew the treasured sword Chu Zhe had given her and habitually shrank into a dark corner, using the shadows to conceal herself. Her breathing slowed involuntarily as she instinctively hid herself. This was a common hunting method among snakes: conceal one's form, remain utterly still, wait quietly, and launch a sudden strike at any moment. Killing with a single blow was the hallmark of snakes.

Chu Zhe paused in surprise. He had not expected Bai Yujun to know how to hide her tracks and lie in ambush in the darkness.

Then realization struck him. He had always understood her through human eyes. She was a snake demon; these skills were innate to her. Thinking of Bai Yujun as a snake demon suddenly made his heart feel inexplicably clogged...

Before long, faint footsteps sounded on a nearby rooftop.

Bai Yujun sniffed the air and confirmed that it was the wolf demon who had appeared at the Qingyuan Poetry Gathering. After some thought, she moved behind an Osmanthus Tree, using the fragrance of its blossoms to hide her scent. A wolf's nose was not much worse than a snake's; they merely each had their own strengths.

Bai Yujun hid herself extremely well. Other than Chu Zhe, whose cultivation realm far surpassed hers, Xu Ling and Yang Mu could no longer sense her aura at all. She remained motionless, like a venomous snake lurking in the dark.

Chu Zhe frowned.

On the rooftop, the wolf demon silently crept to the roof above Bai Yujun's room. He flipped down from the eaves, landed, and prepared to push open the door.

That action enraged Bai Yujun. This bastard actually dared to enter a snake's room!

Yang Mu swiftly formed hand seals, pointing his index and middle fingers at the wolf demon!

The wolf demon, who was pushing the door open, suddenly felt a chill tighten across his back. He hurriedly rolled aside. The instant he dodged, a flying sword shot through the door with a whoosh and vanished. A flying sword?

Not good! He remembered those three people from before.

The wolf demon panicked. He cursed his terrible luck inwardly. He had lived this long not by charging headlong into every fight, but by avoiding calamity and seeking fortune. Yet through one careless mistake, he had provoked powerful figures.

Relying on instinct, he rolled again to dodge. The flying sword pierced the wooden door once more and curved back. The moment he came to a stop, he heard a loud shout.

"Demon! Take my sword!"

Yang Mu charged forward with his treasured sword in hand. The wolf demon wielded two curved blades, and the two began to fight, sword against blade.

Chu Zhe shook his head. That had clearly been an excellent chance for a sneak attack, yet the boy had insisted on shouting, "Demon! Take my sword!" He ought to read fewer biographies in the future; he had wasted a perfect opportunity for nothing.

One white and one black figure clashed in the inn's rear courtyard, weapons ringing and clanging as they traded blows in a lively battle.

In truth, Yang Mu's cultivation was much deeper. Having received years of personal instruction from Yu Rong, one of the Chunyang Five on Mount Hua, his cultivation, swordsmanship, and techniques all surpassed the wolf demon's by far. The problem was that he had never fought a life-and-death battle and was unaccustomed to such killing. For a time, the wolf demon suppressed him. The wolf demon, who had been terrified moments ago, froze. It seemed... these people were not so frightening after all.

Xu Ling was even more nervous. Forgetting to conserve spiritual power, she unleashed a major move right from the start. Three flying swords flew from the Sword Box on her back and hovered above her head, yet she did not dare send them forward, afraid that she might accidentally poke a hole through her senior brother. But holding them back consumed spiritual power at a tremendous rate, and anxiety covered her forehead in sweat...

The wolf demon was thrilled. He felt his luck today was not bad. What was that saying again?

Fortune's star shone overhead.

"Little ones, don't be afraid. Grandfather Wolf is a good man, heh heh~"

Excited, the wolf demon began a fierce counterattack. He planned to kill these two rookies with formidable backing, seize their pills and cultivation techniques, then flee. Once he had the techniques and ran far enough away, who would care whether the great powers behind them became enraged?

The wolf demon did not notice the venomous snake quietly lying in wait in the corner.

Yang Mu was furious. He differed from others in one respect: the angrier most people became, the more they lost their composure. Yang Mu, however, grew calmer the angrier he became—a ruthless man with only one thought in mind: kill his opponent. As time passed, his moves became increasingly fluid.

Beneath the Osmanthus Tree, Bai Yujun did not blink or move a single inch. Waiting required patience.

Clang!

With one strike, Yang Mu knocked away a curved blade and thrust straight at the wolf demon's chest!

Dodging Yang Mu, the wolf demon unconsciously moved closer to the Osmanthus Tree...

Now!

Just as she had hunted and attacked before taking human form, Bai Yujun exploded forth with tremendous strength and speed, stabbing her sword into the wolf demon's back. Before he could react, she instantly retreated again!

Chu Zhe was astonished by Bai Yujun's attack speed. For a mere snake demon who had taken human form, the speed and power she erupted with could nearly reach a higher realm. This move should have been an innate racial art.

"Urgh..."

A sharp pain shot through the wolf demon's lower back, nearly making him drop to his knees. In a fluster, he forced Yang Mu back and turned around, instantly flying into a rage.

"Snake demon... despicable!"

The wolf demon had suffered a serious injury. That sword had accurately struck his lower back. Bai Yujun knew very well that a wolf's kidneys were relatively fragile, and stabbing kidneys came naturally to her.

Yang Mu steadied himself and shouted at Xu Ling.

"Junior Sister!"

Xu Ling, who had been holding back for so long, pointed both hands forward. The three flying swords shot out in an instant!

Every hair on the wolf demon's body stood on end! Gritting his teeth, he dodged, but his injured kidneys reduced his agility. He evaded two swords, but the third flying sword pierced through his shoulder in a spray of blood. Gray fur appeared around the wound. The severe injury made it impossible for him to maintain his human form, and part of his original form emerged around the injury.

Bai Yujun relaxed her guard. There was no need to fight anymore.

Xu Ling was not some useless ornament, or Yu Rong would never have accepted her as a personal disciple. Xu Ling possessed extraordinary talent in flying swords and sword formations, and could skillfully wield countless sword techniques and spells. She merely lacked practical combat experience. Earlier, she had been holding back a major move she could not bring herself to unleash. Now, she threw everything out in one go.

"Don't..."

The three flying swords darted back and forth through the air almost instantly. The wolf demon standing on the ground howled without end as the flying swords pierced bloody holes through his body without pause. He could not even collapse...

Chu Zhe felt it was about enough.

"Alright, Junior Sister. Stop."

With a wave of her small hand, Xu Ling called the three flying swords back into the Sword Box.

With a thud, the wolf demon collapsed. Blood sprayed from wounds all over his body, and he even involuntarily reverted to his Grey Wolf form.

The wolf demon weakly raised his wolf head and saw Chu Zhe emerge from the shadows. That Chunyang Daoist Robe was so conspicuous, especially the robe of a high-ranking disciple. So there had been an expert watching from the side all along. He laughed bitterly to himself. They had been tempering their younger disciples. Had he known, why would he ever have agreed to Young Master Zhang's request and come here to die?

The inn's other guests peered out to watch, terrified by the enormous Grey Wolf in the rear courtyard.

"Cough, cough... I never thought you would be from Chunyang Palace... cough, cough... If you're going to do it, then do it quickly..." Human words emerged from the wolf's mouth as his green eyes stared fixedly at Bai Yujun.

"I, I am..."

"Snake."

Bai Yujun finally managed to say three words, solemnly declaring her identity.

Slash!

The wolf's head was severed by a sword, separated from his body. From the moment this fellow had crept toward her room, Bai Yujun had never intended to spare him. One had to be ruthless toward enemies; only dead enemies were good enemies.

Xu Ling and Yang Mu had not expected Bai Yujun to be so decisive and resolute. Remembering that she was a snake demon, they found it understandable. Snakes were cold-blooded creatures—how could they possibly be wishy-washy?

Chu Zhe nodded. Though he was somewhat concerned about Bai Yujun's decisive killing, overall he was very satisfied. In the world of cultivation, if one wished to survive, one had to harden one's heart when necessary. Otherwise, the one who died in the end would be oneself.