Duanmu Wan II

Duanmu Wan II

The short blade sped toward Lu Sheng's chest, slicing straight through the cloth over his heart.

Lu Sheng's masked face remained motionless as he stared at him, as though he had been frightened stupid.

A savage grin spread across Zhang Jundong's lips.

"Don't blame me. If you must blame someone, blame yourself for provoking someone you shouldn't have!"

The blade tip swiftly cut through Lu Sheng's clothes and scored his skin.

Bang!!! At that instant, Lu Sheng suddenly leaned back and drew a black python from behind his waist—it was a Pu Dao.

The Pu Dao swept viciously out from behind him, its blade smashing hard into the short blade in Zhang Jundong's hand. Its speed was far beyond what Zhang Jundong's short-blade form, spent at the end of its strength, could compare to.

The short blade was struck and sent flying high into the air.

Lu Sheng flipped his blade, then brought down a Tiger's Ferocity straight at Zhang Jundong's head.

Whoosh! A ripping wind that faintly carried a tiger's roar closed in at terrifying speed. Zhang Jundong's pupils abruptly contracted.

Every hair on his body stood on end. No matter what, he had never expected this rich young master, protected by three guards, to erupt with such horrifying strength in an instant.

That reaction, that speed!

Not good!! He had no time to think. He immediately flipped backward, his feet tapping the ground seven or eight times in rapid succession. Turning, he was about to flee.

Slash! The tip of a Pu Dao pierced out through his chest.

Blood slowly seeped from the wound.

Slash! Lu Sheng walked over and pulled the Pu Dao from his body, wiping the blade against the corpse.

"Let's go. Take me back."

He calmly climbed into the carriage and lowered its curtain, leaving behind the three guards present and the two gatekeepers.

The five men, together with the coachman, stared at the corpse on the ground. None of them spoke.

The three guards in particular had gone pale. They silently climbed onto the carriage without saying a word.

"Hyah!"

The coachman snapped his whip, and the carriage slowly began to move.

For a time, the only sound inside the carriage was the rolling of its wheels.

The three guards sat facing Lu Sheng for a while, but they could not bear the silence any longer. One after another, they got out with their hands clasped around their weapons and walked beside the carriage.

Before long, Lu Sheng was the only one left inside.

He sat properly on a cloth cushion, expressionless. His eyes were half-closed, as though dozing.

But only he knew how violently his heart was churning.

He had killed someone. He had killed someone. In both his previous life and this one, he had never even seriously injured another person.

Let alone killed one.

Yet in that earlier instant, his body had reacted entirely on instinct. Seeing the other man try to run, he had decisively raised the Pu Dao and hurled it forward.

The powerful muscle memory altered by the modifier smoothly threw the Pu Dao using the second move, Tiger's Might.

Then it had struck the man squarely in the back of the heart.

And then, he had died.

The scenes from earlier replayed endlessly in Lu Sheng's mind. That man had truly wanted him dead; it had not been mere words or a joke.

Provoked, his instinctive response had been to strangle the threat completely in its cradle.

And the result had indeed settled it completely.

But his martial skill had also been exposed.

And he had killed someone.

"Fortunately, the Black Tiger Saber Technique has distinct characteristics. A little investigation will make it clear that its source is Uncle Zhao. It's nothing much. I just need to be more careful in the future."

The carriage traveled slowly, leaving the village for roughly half a quarter-hour.

Jingle, jingle. At some unknown point, a crisp sound of bells gradually drifted over from behind through the pitch-black night.

The coachman glanced back and saw another white carriage racing up from behind at astonishing speed.

It appeared to be heading toward Nine Links City by this same road as well.

The three guards also spotted the white carriage behind them.

Two tall, pure-white horses pulled an exquisite white carriage engraved with many silver patterns. A faint fragrance even drifted on the wind from around it.

The three exchanged glances and slowly placed their hands on their Waist Sabres. They had nearly failed to protect their honored guest earlier, and if anything else went wrong now, the Zheng Family would never let them off.

Their wrist injuries were not serious. After resting and applying medicine, they could still bring out seventy or eighty percent of their strength.

All three were veteran soldiers who had served in the army. Joined together in a small military formation, even seven or eight ordinary men would not be their match.

A white carriage was nothing unusual, and there was nothing remarkable about it being a little luxurious.

What made them exceptionally nervous was that this later carriage had not lit a single horse lantern! Out in the wilderness beyond the city, tonight was moonless and gloomy. Without a lamp, the road was black as ink, making it impossible to travel.

Yet this carriage was moving quickly—faster even than theirs with its lamps lit!

"Something's strange."

One of the three said quietly.

Lu Sheng also lifted the curtain to look back and saw the white carriage traveling through the darkness.

The man driving it had gentle, handsome features.

He was none other than the man Lu Sheng had seen at the Black Market Meeting—the one who had stood beside the woman with a tender expression.

The white carriage did not pause in the slightest and soon slowly overtook Lu Sheng's carriage from the side.

"Ajiu, stop for a moment."

A pleasant, melodious woman's voice came from within the white carriage.

The white carriage immediately slowed, traveling side by side with Lu Sheng and the others.

The curtain slowly lifted, revealing a charming face with slightly furrowed brows in the glow of the horse lantern.

It was that woman from before, Duanmu Wan! Lu Sheng's expression did not change as he glanced at her.

"The Night Road is dark, young master. Could we borrow the light of your horse lanterns to see the way? We could also look out for one another."

Duanmu Wan had seen Lu Sheng as well and smiled at him.

"...Do as you please, Miss Duanmu."

Lu Sheng replied indifferently, intending to lower the curtain.

"Young master, this humble woman has one more presumptuous request."

Before he could return to the carriage, Duanmu Wan spoke again.

"My teapot overturned inside the carriage, and the cushions and mats are all wet. Could you possibly—"

Lu Sheng narrowed his eyes, a trace of wariness rising in his heart.

Duanmu Wan's appearance was strange. She claimed the carriage was wet, but who could know whether it was true?

Moreover, she had caught up from the darkness and seemed to be deliberately starting a conversation. Even if he refused, Duanmu Wan might not necessarily leave him alone.

"If you do not mind my humble carriage, Miss, please come aboard and rest for a while."

His Black Tiger Saber Technique had now reached mastery. After striking twice in succession with impressive results, a thread of confidence had gradually formed in his heart.

Even against an ordinary expert—someone like Uncle Zhao, Nine Links City's foremost master—he was confident that in a one-on-one fight, he could determine victory or defeat.

Though he lacked too much experience in combat, the fourth level of the Black Tiger Saber Technique's inner method seemed to have given him even greater explosive power than Uncle Zhao.

In a confined space and over a short period, he truly could not say who would win between himself and Uncle Zhao.

So even if Duanmu Wan possessed extraordinary skills, he had the strength to protect himself.

"Then I must thank you, young master."

Lu Sheng called for the coachman to stop. Beneath the swaying firelight of the horse lanterns,

the white carriage slowly came to a halt as well.

The carriage door slid open. Duanmu Wan, still dressed in that same black hip-hugging skirt, slowly stepped down.

She looked up and gave Lu Sheng, who had opened the carriage door, a faint smile. Her delicate, fair face, her cherry-red lips, and the pink tongue that slowly slipped in and out from between them made the guards and coachman who saw it shudder inwardly.

She slowly stepped past Lu Sheng and onto the carriage.

"Ah!"

Duanmu Wan suddenly swayed. Her foot twisted, and she fell straight toward Lu Sheng.

"Careful."

Lu Sheng hurriedly reached out to catch her.

Yet he became even more vigilant. This sort of scene, this sort of coincidence—he sneered inwardly. Earth's countless romance dramas had used it a thousand times over.

He was wary of Duanmu Wan, but did not deliberately reveal it.

He only intended to handle her normally and logically.

Duanmu Wan fell softly into the crook of his arm.

Her face immediately reddened. She lowered her head and straightened up as though shocked by electricity.

Lu Sheng's heart also stirred, and he firmly steadied her.

"Thank you, young master," Duanmu Wan said softly and weakly.

"No need for courtesy. Please, sit."

Lu Sheng helped her to a seat at the side of the carriage.

The carriage was spacious, with four seats in two rows facing each other.

Lu Sheng and Duanmu Wan sat opposite one another.

The carriage slowly began moving again.

Duanmu Wan sat with flushed cheeks, her legs angled to one side and pressed tightly together without the slightest gap.

In any case, there was no one else in the carriage but the two of them, and Duanmu Wan had lowered her head in embarrassment, unable to see him.

"Is the young master headed for Nine Links City?"

Duanmu Wan seemed not to have noticed that she had exposed herself as she asked gently.

"Yes. Is Miss also going to Nine Links City?"

Lu Sheng casually asked a meaningless question.

"Yes. To be honest, young master, Wan'er is currently staying at the Ten Thousand Blessings Inn in the city. I heard there was a Black Market Meeting here, so I brought my guard to take a look. Yet everyone wore masks. It was terribly dull."

Duanmu Wan sounded rather dissatisfied.

"Miss Wan'er and a single personal guard dared to travel alone such a long distance. Your skills must be high, and your courage higher still."

Lu Sheng said calmly.

"What skills do I have? A merchant caravan rescued us on the road, and that was how we reached Nine Links City along the way. Otherwise, Wan'er and her guard might have starved or frozen to death in some corner halfway here."

Wan'er explained.

"Speaking of which, the young master who rescued Wan'er was also highly skilled in martial arts, just like you."

Duanmu Wan smiled softly.

"Is that so?"

The moment Lu Sheng heard that, he knew she had seen him make his move earlier.

"At the Black Market Meeting, Wan'er seemed to see that young master was in great need of an inner cultivation manual?" Duanmu Wan added.

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