"Oh? An urgent message from the hawk? Bring it in at once."
Behind the bead curtain in the loft, a graceful, slender figure with alluring curves emerged.
The disciple who had delivered the message didn't dare so much as glance at her. He immediately stepped forward, bowed respectfully, and presented the letter with both hands.
The woman behind the curtain took the letter and waved him away. The disciple quickly retreated to the doorway, but didn't dare leave.
The rustle of pages sounded. A moment later, the woman behind the curtain let out a soft sigh and murmured,
"I never imagined so much would happen in Linyuan City while I was in seclusion. Thank goodness Chu Ge is safe—and he's even broken through to the Bone Training Realm. It seems his martial arts talent is quite good."
After reading the letter, she knew that Linyuan City had been attacked by corpse herders. She also learned that her younger brother, Chu Ge, was preparing to leave for Jiangcheng Prefecture.
The Hidden Water Sect was located on Hidden Snow Peak, within Jiangcheng Prefecture's borders. It wasn't too far from the prefectural city—six hundred miles away.
After thinking for a moment, she beckoned again.
The disciple waiting outside immediately entered.
"Take my waist token to Steward Yu and ask him to send two outstanding outer-sect disciples to meet my younger brother. He should reach Jiangcheng Prefecture within five days."
"Yes!"
The disciple respectfully accepted the waist token.
Just then, a clear male voice came from outside the door. "Junior Sister Chu, you only broke through to the Force Condensation Realm recently, and your realm hasn't yet stabilized. Why trouble yourself with other trivial matters and delay your own martial arts training? Why not leave it to me?"
The woman behind the curtain turned a cool gaze toward him and replied displeasedly, "This is my family's business. It concerns my own younger brother. How can you call it trivial?"
A tall figure appeared at the doorway. He laughed awkwardly and said, "That was thoughtless of me. My House does have some influence in the prefectural city. When your younger brother arrives, perhaps I can also play host and entertain him."
"Thank you for your kind offer, Senior Brother Lin, but there's no need to trouble yourself. I'll handle my younger brother's affairs myself."
After the woman behind the curtain politely declined, she seemed unable to bear Senior Brother Lin's pestering. They exchanged a few more words, and she finally dismissed him in the name of her training.
Senior Brother Lin left with a gloomy expression. He paused beside the mountain path, frowning, then suddenly chuckled, as if he'd thought of something amusing.
"Chu Feixue, you're so aloof, but I just love that haughty air of yours. You're so high and mighty—but I wonder if your younger brother can resist temptation!"
Thinking of how Chu Feixue had treated him politely before breaking through to the Force Condensation Realm, only to turn cold and keep him at arm's length afterward, made his teeth ache with anger.
Clearly, she had only been humoring him before.
Now that she truly had strength, she couldn't even be bothered to pretend.
"I was too softhearted. Now that this little beauty has reached the Force Condensation Realm, she'll be even harder to get.
"But since her younger brother is coming, perhaps he'll be my way in. If I take them both, that should be quite amusing. My Sun Moon Divine Art might even make a major breakthrough."
Following the water route north along Xue Men River led straight to the mighty Yangtze River in Jiangcheng Prefecture.
The nearly thousand-mile journey by water went fairly smoothly.
At times, when the wind whipped up, the water surged and roared, wave upon wave galloping like ten thousand horses as it swept the merchant ships downstream.
Most of the time, however, the river lay calm, and no bandits came to bother them.
Two days later, the boat entered the Yangtze and gradually approached a riverside town within Jiangcheng Prefecture.
Beneath the sunlight, golden ripples shimmered across the river like millions of golden snakes swimming through the water.
Hundreds of boats lay moored there.
Amid the glistening waters, fishing boats cast off with the tide and drifted away with the current.
A young woman stood on one of the boats, drenched from head to toe. Her teeth were white, her lips red, and her healthy cheeks glowed in the sunlight as she sang a fishing song.
Chu Ge stood by the window, watching the scene. His spirits lifted, his fancy took flight, and he thought he'd found another subject for his Shadow Puppets. He smiled and said,
"Do you like that girl on the fishing boat? If you do, I'll make you one like her someday."
"Ehee, heehee!"
A strange giggle came from behind him. A girl in purple with two adorable dimples approached.
It was the Shadow Puppet possessed by Little Sprite Qian.
However, Little Sprite Qian couldn't speak. Even though Chu Ge had specially made a paper voice box for the Shadow Puppet, she could only produce simple sounds.
Over the past two days, with Little Sprite Qian assisting him in his training, Chu Ge's qi and blood had grown considerably stronger. He looked imposing, his tall, burly frame seeming even more robust, and the muscles beneath his collar were knotted and hard as rock.
Seeing that the boat was beginning to dock, Chu Ge told Little Sprite Qian to hide in the box. Then he put on his cloak and walked out of the room.
He felt that spending two days on the water had been rather dull and stifling.
In a chaotic age like this, shouldn't a journey like theirs include some run-in with bandits?
He'd made preparations well in advance, just to be cautious, but the journey had been calm from start to finish.
Perhaps there were only a few river pirates in the Great Zhou who robbed travelers on the water.
That day, everyone stayed the night in town, sampling the delicious dishes of another waterside region.
The next day, they changed to carriages and continued on with a few merchant caravans.
Along the way, Chu Ge heard the caravan guards mention that the roads had been dangerous lately.
Even the official road to the prefectural city, despite being more than a thousand miles away, was often plagued by bandits from the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult or the Yellow Turban Sect.
There were also mountain bandits who had taken to the hills and river strongholds.
In times like these, monsters and demons ran rampant, and all kinds of rogues gathered together.
"It may be dangerous, but we haven't seen any sign of those madmen from the Heaven and Earth Incense Cult. Maybe we'll get lucky and make it to the prefectural city without incident."
Riding a tall horse, Chu Ge saw some old people along the road digging at the ground in nearby villages. He guessed they were foraging for wild greens to fill their bellies and couldn't help sighing.
In the Great Zhou's prosperous days, such a sight must have been rare.
The convoy continued for another two days. Along the way, they spotted a few suspicious figures skulking in the distance, looking like bandits.
But after seeing the size of the caravan and the burly figures of Chu Ge and the others, those people sensibly withdrew on their own.
Chu Ge thought to himself that bandits weren't fools, either. They knew to back off when someone looked too tough.
Yet less than half a day later, he felt the yellow paper inside his belt grow hot and blacken. The Auspicious Ruyi Charm hanging from the carriage also began to swing violently.
"Chu Ge, be careful."
Wang Xiuyun slowed her horse and drew alongside him, her expression grave. "Those two groups we spotted in the distance over the past couple of days both eventually withdrew, but it felt like they were scouting us out in advance. There could be trouble later."
Chu Ge touched the yellow paper inside his belt and gave a slight nod. "You have plenty of experience on the road, Xiuyun."
He glanced at the swaying charm on the carriage, then casually looked away and turned his gaze toward the distant woods, his expression growing serious.
The charm was swinging quite violently, and the yellow paper was hot enough to burn. It had sensed calamity.
That meant the people coming for them weren't likely to be ordinary bandits.
Given the strength of their guards and those in the caravan ahead, they might not get through easily unless he was willing to reveal his true strength.
"Should we pick up the pace and rush through this area?" Chu Ge asked Wang Xiuyun.
Wang Xiuyun paused, uncertain.
The merchant caravan ahead had a Bone Training Realm expert, along with several Muscle Refining Realm martial artists.
If they split off and left at once, only to be blocked and surrounded farther ahead, things could become even more troublesome.
She was about to urge caution when the sound of hoofbeats suddenly came from both ends of the road. Clouds of dust billowed upward, whirling into the sky like a whirlwind.
From within the dust emerged several fierce-looking warriors.
They wore leather or animal hides, and each had a hideous Yellow Turban Helmet on their head. Longbows and quivers bristling with arrows were strapped to their backs, making them look especially savage.
"Bad news! Yellow Turban Sect fiends!"
"Quick! Grab the valuables and run into the woods!"
The merchant caravan ahead erupted in panic, cries of alarm ringing out.
"It's the Yellow Turban Sect!" Wang Xiuyun's face changed at once, turning pale.
Seeing the caravan, the Yellow Turban warriors in the distance let out a yell. Their leader raised his riding crop high, whirled it through the air, and brought it down hard on his horse's rump.
"Neigh—"
The horse screamed in pain and charged forward like an arrow. Beside the rider, his companions swiftly drew their bows and loosed.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Arrows turned into seven or eight black specks, like deadly locusts, and shot toward them amid a series of sharp whistles.
In the caravan ahead, someone was struck by an arrow. Blood sprayed out in a horrifying burst.
One volley had barely ended when another began.
Arrows also flew from behind, one of them shrieking through the air as it closed in.
Chu Ge frowned and quickly dodged.
With a casual flick of his hand, he knocked another arrow aside. It struck the carriage behind him with a tak, its fletching still humming and trembling.
"Ah—!"
A scream suddenly rang out beside him.
Chu Ge started and turned around. A coachman's throat was gushing blood; he gurgled once and died on the spot.
His expression darkened. The Yellow Turban Sect truly were a crooked bunch of rebels.
They played completely dirty, firing heavy bows and crossbows forbidden by the Great Zhou. How ruthless!
Tak, tak—
Inside the carriage, Little Sprite Qian began to stir in the wooden box, apparently sensing the danger. She sent Chu Ge a message, asking whether he needed her to possess someone and help.
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