Rough Man Deeply Hears the Melody's Meaning, Blood Path on the Cliff, Mad Blade Travels

A moment later, Miao Cuilan had finished tidying up and returned to the courtyard.

She didn't disturb Yan Lingwei, but stood quietly by the side, listening.

Soon, she seemed to be infected by the melody and, following the rhythm, stretched her body and began to dance gracefully.

As her skirt swayed, there was a unique sense of agile vitality.

Yan Lingwei looked up and saw Miao Cuilan dancing. The corners of her lips unconsciously curved upwards, revealing a faint, clear smile.

The sound of the pipa flowing from her fingertips seemed to be infected as well. The hint of sadness from before quietly faded, and the melody became a little more cheerful and bright.

The song ended.

The two women looked at each other and smiled.

Clap, clap, clap!

Abrupt applause suddenly rang out from the eaves, startling both of them.

The two women looked up and saw Chen Duan sitting in the shadows of the eaves, who knew when.

Half his face was illuminated by the lamplight below, while the other half was in shadow, making him look quite eerie.

"This is good. It's better to be happy with the strings, less sadness. I'll come again next time."

Before his voice even faded, the figure on the eaves flickered and disappeared without a trace, as if he had never appeared.

"Phew! That scared me to death!"

Miao Cuilan patted her chest and muttered in a low voice, still shaken, "This Master is like a ghost..."

As she said this, her voice grew quieter, and she nervously looked around, afraid Chen Duan would pop out from some corner again.

Yan Lingwei was also startled at first, but after calming down, her reaction was completely different from Miao Cuilan's.

She looked back at the empty eaves, Chen Duan's parting words echoing in her mind.

"Be happier... He understood the meaning in my music?"

She murmured to herself, a ripple flashing in her eyes.

Recalling it, Chen Duan didn't seem to have just arrived. He had been listening for a long time, only speaking at the end of the song, without disturbing their pleasant mood.

Thinking back to his abrupt request to play the pipa during the day, she seemed to realize something.

As the mystery surrounding him was peeled back, the fear seemed to lessen.

Pfft!

Meng Ruochuan spat out a mouthful of blood, his body staggering. He hastily glanced back, cursing inwardly.

With his intelligence, he now understood that he had likely been framed and was taking the fall for someone else.

Although he had tried to explain multiple times, the pursuer behind him seemed determined, insisting that something was on him and refusing to listen to any explanations.

What made him most frustrated was that as a master of the Imperial Court's Five Levels, he was actually no match for that person?

Since joining the civil service, Meng Ruochuan had relied on his solid abilities, handling countless cases without failure. His career had soared, and he had never suffered such humiliation.

He never expected to almost meet his end in this remote region of Chuzhou today...

"Young friend, stop struggling!"

"Damn it!"

Meng Ruochuan cursed inwardly, a look of resolve flashing in his eyes. He glanced at the cliff beside him and leaped without hesitation.

A while later.

Several figures chased to the edge of the cliff.

The leader, a man in black with a sinister gaze, looked down. Due to the rain from a few days ago, the river was rushing fiercely.

"Hmph! So decisive!"

The man in black snorted coldly. "Chase! We need to find him, alive or dead!"

The group was about to move, preparing to find a way down to the valley floor.

But just as they took a few steps, two seemingly ordinary carriages drove around the corner of the official road ahead.

From the window of the front carriage, a head emerged. A young man smiled and shouted at them:

"Hey! Good sirs, I'm looking for directions. Is this the way to Yingcheng?"

The man in black glanced at the carriage, not wanting any trouble, and ignored them, continuing to lead his subordinates forward quickly.

"Hey! Good sirs! Don't go!"

"Give us a shout?" The young man's voice persisted.

"Going in such a hurry, are you off to do something bad?"

The man in black suddenly stopped, his brow furrowed. He sensed something was wrong.

His group had good stamina and had already covered some distance, so why was the young man's voice still echoing in his ears?

He turned back, his pupils constricting.

The carriage, strangely, was traveling backward along the official road.

Through the carriage window, the young man still had his head poked out, smiling and waving at him.

"Putting on a show!"

The man in black's eyes turned cold, his killing intent fully revealed.

His figure blurred, instantly crossing several yards. His fingers curled into claws, True Qi condensing at their tips, aiming straight for the young man's throat!

Seeing this, the rest of his subordinates also lunged forward.

However, just as the man in black's sharp claws were about to touch the young man.

The white-haired old coachman in the driver's seat vanished instantly, appearing in front of the young man.

The old coachman's face was full of weathered wrinkles. A scar covered one eye, and his remaining single eye opened, its gaze like a blade, exuding a special sharpness.

His right hand rested on the hilt of the long saber at his waist.

In that instant, time seemed to stretch infinitely.

The long saber was drawn.

No one could see how he drew his sword. In a flash, countless condensed sword lights were swung out, sword Qi crisscrossing, weaving into a net of True Qi in the air, descending upon the man in black and the others.

The man in black's heart was shaken to its core, and he cried out in shock:

"A Hundred Blades in an Instant, Qi Weaving a Net! You are 'Mad Blade' Sun Baizhan!"

Several piercing screams followed in succession.

A moment later.

Everything returned to silence.

On the official road, only scattered remains of corpses were left.

The young man, as if oblivious to the gruesome scene before him, slowly hopped off the carriage, walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked down, clicking his tongue in amazement:

"He made his escape decisively. Chuzhou is indeed full of hidden talents; even someone you casually meet by the roadside is a master at the Five Levels."

He turned back to the expressionless old coachman and smiled, "Old Brother Sun, I didn't expect that after serving the Imperial Court for so many years, your reputation in the martial world is still so renowned?"

Sun Baizhan ignored the young man's teasing. His single eye gazed down into the cliff, and he asked in a deep voice, "That person is a high-priority fugitive of the Imperial Court, Li Fangchou, vicious and evil. Should we pursue him?"

"No need. We have other important matters on this trip. Playing around is enough," the young man waved his hand dismissively.

But then he suddenly remembered something and touched his chin, "Right, the one who jumped down at the beginning, he looked a bit familiar?"

"It was Meng Ruochuan."

"Little Meng?" the young man sounded surprised.

"Wasn't he looking for the whereabouts of those insects? Why did he come to Chuzhou, and end up in such a sorry state?"

As he spoke, he had already turned to walk back, showing no intention of rescuing his comrade.

"Lord Yan, this trip has already been delayed for a considerable time. We should not delay any further,"

A clear and pleasant female voice came from inside the carriage.

"No rush, no rush,"

The young man surnamed Yan re-entered the carriage, his voice lazily drifting out.

"That thing won't appear for some time. Let others go and test the waters first, see how deep it is. Wouldn't it be wonderful to pick the ripe fruit at the end?"

"Your Excellency should not underestimate the heroes of this world," the female voice in the carriage carried a hint of a reminder.

"There are quite a few experts who have come rushing upon hearing the news this time."

"I know, I know," the young man surnamed Yan replied perfunctorily.

Sun Baizhan also silently returned to the driver's seat, flicked the horse's reins, and the carriage wheels slowly began to turn again, crushing the dust and bloodstains on the official road as they drove away.