It was three in the afternoon, and the sun was already slanting westward.
The mountain stream gurgled melodiously, like the pleasant chime of jade.
Two iron swords swung through the air, leaving the flowers, grass, and trees along the way thoroughly ravaged.
"Senior Brother, there's clearly a path. Why do we still have to waste our strength hacking through all this?"
"You've only been in the sect for half a month. You don't know the rules of the Mount Song Sect."
As he spoke, the long sword in his hand kept wavering. A morning-glory vine in full bloom was instantly severed in two.
"This move of mine is called 'Trace of Past Events.' If Uncle-Master Ding comes after us personally, he'll still be able to see the results of our diligence."
"Brilliant, Senior Brother! Truly brilliant! With your great wisdom, it's a pity for you to remain an ordinary disciple. In my opinion, you'd be more than qualified to be an administrator."
The pockmarked man was delighted and deliberately showed off. "Think about it. Even Uncle-Master Fei suffered defeat and returned empty-handed. If we really ran into Wu Lianjiang, what use would you and I be? The Flying Cloud Divine Ape isn't just a legend. Let's make a cursory search of the woods ahead, then return and report."
Both men wore light-red outer garments, carried long swords, and had iron whistles hanging around their necks.
After Fei Bin fled back gravely wounded, Zuo Lengchan immediately dispatched the leader of the Mount Song Sect's Thirteen Protectors, 'Pagoda Hand' Ding Mian, to lead a team in pursuit. Ding Mian had arranged the disciples in pairs to search the mountains and woods. The moment they discovered any trace of Wu Lianjiang, they were to blow their iron whistles and encircle him.
"Senior Brother, after wiping out Cloud Water Hall this time, our Five Great Sword Sects should become famous throughout the martial world, right?"
"Hmph. Call it the Five Great Sword Sects if you like, but it's still our Mount Song disciples shedding blood at the front."
"There's no need to mention that group of nuns from Mount Heng. Daoist Tianmen of Mount Tai at least brought two hundred men. Liu Zhengfeng of Hengshan crossed the river and came north to reinforce us with only a little over sixty experts, so I suppose he had his reasons."
"But Sect Leader Yue of Huashan claims to be the 'Gentleman Sword.' He only brought five or six disciples to the gathering, yet he still has the nerve to stand alongside the leaders of the other four sects."
The man in hemp clothes commented on the Five Great Sword Sects with high spirits, as though he were the alliance leader.
The Mount Song Sect's leader was the leader of the Five Great Sword Sects alliance, and his disciples were consequently somewhat arrogant and conceited in front of the other four sects as well.
"Heh heh, those nuns from White Cloud Nunnery on Mount Heng really aren't bad-looking. Quite pleasing to the eye, in fact. If they were dressed up in fine silk and adorned with rouge and powder, they certainly wouldn't lose out to the top courtesans in a brothel."
The Mount Song disciple walking in front was around twenty years old. He had a round, plump figure, a pimple on the tip of his nose, and an ugly face. When he spoke of the nuns of Mount Heng, his words were frivolous, without the slightest respect.
The pockmarked man said in shock, "Junior Brother, I never thought you had such refined tastes hidden away. You can even take an interest in Abbess Dingyi. Impressive, impressive. Your senior brother here is no match for you."
The fat man said unhappily, "Why are you deliberately mocking me, Senior Brother? During the Five Sects Gathering, weren't your eyes constantly drifting toward those two young nuns, Yiqing and Yixiu? Did you think I didn't see?"
"Sigh, you've only seen one side of it. I only looked a few times, but that Abbess Dingyi of Mount Heng bulged her bull's eyes at me. If the sect leader hadn't been there, I'm afraid I would've lost these eyes of mine. Tell me, if I wasn't looking at her, what did she have to be angry about?"
The fat man gave a wicked grin. "Perhaps Abbess Dingyi was angry precisely because you weren't looking at her?"
The pockmarked man laughed and raised his thumb. "Junior Brother, you've spent a long time down at the foot of the mountain. You have experience and truly understand a woman's heart."
The two chatted and joked as they walked several miles. Suddenly, they saw a bamboo grove surrounding a dilapidated Guanyin Nunnery.
The fat man hurriedly stopped, retreated several steps, and pushed his senior brother in front of him.
"Could Wu Lianjiang be hiding inside the nunnery?"
"Look at what a coward you are. It's just a nunnery. Where did your courage go when you peeked at the nuns in White Cloud Nunnery?"
The fat man took the opportunity to egg him on. "Then you go in. I'll keep watch here?"
The pockmarked man was momentarily stunned and could only say, "Fine, I'll go."
The fat man hid behind a rock and watched secretly, deciding that if anything seemed wrong, he would immediately run for his life.
The pockmarked man felt uneasy, but he didn't want to lose face in front of his junior brother. Looking back every few steps, he finally reached the front of Guanyin Nunnery.
"Great Emperor Chong Sheng, protect me. Great Emperor Chong Sheng, protect me. There's no one inside. There's no one inside."
Bamboo shadows surrounded the nunnery, leaving the interior dim. The moment he stepped over the threshold, he suddenly saw a fire that had been extinguished not long before.
Someone was inside the nunnery!
His three souls nearly fled his body. He turned and ran, even tripping over the threshold and dropping the iron sword in his hand.
The pockmarked man dashed seven or eight meters outside, and when he saw that no one was pursuing him, he looked back. On the floor of the nunnery lay a young woman in a green dress. She seemed to be tied up and was struggling toward him, calling for help.
"A woman? There's a woman in this ruined temple deep in the mountains. Could it be that Great Emperor Chong Sheng has answered my prayers?"
The pockmarked man stopped and called for his junior brother, but he saw a figure that had already run half a mile away. He hurried after the fat man and called out to stop him.
"What a beautiful little thing."
They entered Guanyin Nunnery, and the moment they saw Yue Lingshan, they were stunned by her beauty.
From the two men's attire—red clothes and iron swords—Yue Lingshan guessed that they were disciples of the Mount Song Sect. Overjoyed, she struggled to sit up, making muffled sounds through her gag.
Seeing this, the pockmarked man reached out and removed the cloth stuffed in her mouth.
Yue Lingshan took several breaths and said happily, "Are you two senior brothers from the Mount Song Sect?"
The fat man did not answer. He only asked with a smile, "Why are you here, miss?"
"I'm Yue Lingshan, the daughter of the Huashan Sect Leader. The Demonic Cult brought me here. Once I tell my father, he will surely reward both of you handsomely for saving my life."
The pockmarked man asked, "The Demonic Cult? Wu Lianjiang?"
"No, that man should have escaped." Yue Lingshan thought of that little thief and was unwilling to say more.
The fat man relaxed, but an evil thought arose in his mind. He looked at the pockmarked man. The two exchanged a glance and immediately understood each other's intentions.
They were merely low-ranking disciples of the Mount Song Sect, and neither had been in the sect for long. A woman of such noble status as the daughter of a Five Great Sword Sects leader was as far above them as the clouds were above the mud. Normally, they would not even dare look at her directly.
Besides—besides, the woman before them was simply too beautiful.
Her brows were naturally dark, her eyes held the limpid beauty of autumn waters, and her waist was slender enough to grasp. On top of the bearing of a refined young lady, she also possessed some of the chivalrous spirit of a woman of the martial world, making people unable to suppress the urge to defile her.
Some thoughts, once born, were like autumn wildfires. There was no extinguishing them. Even if one knew they would ultimately be reduced to ashes, one still had to indulge one's present desires and seek a moment of pleasure.
That was why Buddhist teachings said: once a thought arose, countless fears were born.
The fat man swallowed and said with a smile, "Repay us? Miss Yue, how do you plan to repay your brothers?"
"I'll ask my father to send more gold and silver to both of you senior brothers."
The fat man laughed. "Compared to the favor of saving your life, gold and silver are mere dung. What significance could they have?"
"Then I'll send a plaque and banners to Mount Song to make your names known?"
The fat man still smiled. "Fame is like floating clouds, nothing but a burden. It's worth even less than gold and silver."
Yue Lingshan had always been intelligent. Seeing that the two men had not immediately untied her and were instead leering at her and swallowing as they stared, she thought to herself, This is bad. I've barely escaped the Demonic Cult's clutches, only to fall into a tiger's den.
She increased her offer. "You may also choose freely from the martial arts manuals on Mount Hua. How about that?"
The pockmarked man grinned. "Martial arts manuals are good, but they can't be mastered overnight. We brothers aren't willing to suffer even a little."
Yue Lingshan began to panic. "Then what do you want?"
Before you continue