A Game of Wits

The one shouting was Li Zicheng.

Everyone looked in the direction of his voice. Behind the Mad Saber Sect disciples, they saw a figure following them—it was Jiang Shuo.

Feng En's eyes lit up, and he immediately waved. "Jiang Shuo, get over here!"

"Don't let him through." Just as Jiang Shuo was about to take a step, Chen Xian immediately gave the order. The Mad Saber Sect disciples sprang into action, surrounding Jiang Shuo and trapping him firmly in their midst.

A chill flashed through Feng En's eyes as he looked at Chen Xian. "What do you mean by this? Jiang Shuo is precisely the missing disciple of my Hundred Flowers Sect. Why is the Mad Saber Sect holding him? You kept claiming that you knew nothing about it, but it seems things aren't quite as you said."

"We're not releasing him." With his lie exposed, Chen Xian couldn't be bothered to explain. He simply made the Mad Saber Sect's attitude clear.

Feng En's brows lifted slightly. "Could it be that you truly think I don't dare take him by force?"

Chen Xian's expression stiffened, and his face turned utterly solemn.

After Jiang Shuo and Sun Daoming had broken into the Forbidden Ground, Chen Xian had investigated their backgrounds. Sun Daoming was Sun Man's son. As for Jiang Shuo, although he had not been in Yulin for long, he was already a renowned figure. It was said that, for Jiang Shuo's sake, Feng En had expelled the meritorious Zhao Zhi from the sect and even detained the County Magistrate's son, openly opposing the Imperial Court. Although the Imperial Court and the Martial World were two different realms, this undoubtedly proved how highly Feng En valued Jiang Shuo.

Chen Xian understood Feng En's temperament. If he pushed the man too far, Feng En might truly do such a thing.

By then, with so few people on their side, they would be completely unable to stop the Hundred Flowers Sect from taking someone away.

"Heh heh, Hundred Flowers Sect, Hundred Flowers Sect, don't push people too far!" Just as Chen Xian was at a loss, another voice came from an oblique angle. It was the Mad Saber Sect's Eldest Senior Brother, Shi Gangwei.

A large number of Mad Saber Sect disciples had come with Shi Gangwei. After all, this was the Mad Saber Sect's territory. The Mad Saber Sect disciples had surrounded the Hundred Flowers Sect's entire party, and even if they fought three against one, they had More Than Enough strength.

"Eldest Senior Brother." Everyone bent down and moved aside, allowing Shi Gangwei to walk to the front. Looking at Feng En, he said, "My Mad Saber Sect has treated the Hundred Flowers Sect as honored guests, and never neglected you in any way. Yet your Hundred Flowers Sect secretly sent disciples to infiltrate our sect's Forbidden Ground and plot wrongdoing. Everyone in the Jianghu knows that the Back Mountain is the Mad Saber Sect's Forbidden Ground, and trespassers are to be killed without mercy. Your sect's two disciples were in the wrong first by entering the Forbidden Ground, yet now you turn around and blame us for detaining them. Heh heh, could it be that everyone from the Hundred Flowers Sect is skilled at twisting black into white?"

Shi Gangwei had entirely lost the genial air he had shown when welcoming Changsun Li. Instead, his domineering presence was fully exposed. He narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze across them before continuing, "The ground beneath your feet is also the Mad Saber Sect's Forbidden Ground. Let alone a Forbidden Ground—even if it were somewhere else, barging in without the owner's permission would still violate reason, wouldn't it? And yet you keep saying that you want to take someone by force. Could it be that, with our Sect Master absent, your esteemed sect intends to bully us through sheer force?"

When he finished speaking, he gave a meaningful glance. All the Mad Saber Sect disciples shouted in unison. Their cries soared into the clouds, deafening and imposing.

Aside from Feng En and a handful of others, everyone in the Hundred Flowers Sect changed color.

Feng En narrowed his eyes and looked across at them, thinking about what he should do.

"Eldest Senior Brother, we were in the wrong in this matter after all. Whether we can successfully take him by force is one thing, but I'm afraid it will worsen our conflict with the Mad Saber Sect and might even spark a war between the two sects." Sun Man could clearly see that Feng En favored Jiang Shuo. Afraid that he might act rashly, he hurriedly tried to dissuade him.

As for Sun Daoming, although he had committed the same offense as Jiang Shuo, he was on their side, after all. Even if the Mad Saber Sect demanded him, given Feng En's character, how could he possibly hand him over? Sacrificing Jiang Shuo in exchange for a satisfactory resolution to the matter would be a relatively good ending.

Feng En's gaze was somewhat cold. He naturally saw that Sun Man was deliberately trying to harm Jiang Shuo, but the man's words were not without reason. If he insisted on taking Jiang Shuo by force, he feared that he would be unable to win the full support of everyone in the Hundred Flowers Sect.

"Master Feng, if there is nothing else, I ask that everyone from the Hundred Flowers Sect withdraw from the Forbidden Ground of my Mad Saber Sect." Shi Gangwei raised his voice once more.

He was gambling—gambling that Feng En would not completely fall out with the Mad Saber Sect over a mere Jiang Shuo.

Feng En narrowed his eyes, glanced at Jiang Shuo, and made his decision.

Lowering his voice, he looked at Shi Gangwei and asked, "What if I don't leave?"

"Eldest Senior Brother, this..." Sun Man opened his eyes wide in shock and was about to urge him otherwise, but Feng En raised a hand and stopped him.

Feng En's words had clearly revealed his attitude. A vicious glint flashed through Shi Gangwei's eyes, and he slowly raised his arm.

As his arm rose, the Mad Saber Sect disciples stationed around the perimeter grew increasingly grim. They tightened their grips on their weapons, preparing to welcome a fierce battle.

"Hold!"

With the great battle on the verge of erupting, a delicate female voice came from the very edge of the crowd.

The voice was not loud, and its tone was soft and lilting, yet it seemed to contain some inexplicable power. It rang clearly in the ears of every person present.

As though he had thought of something, Shi Gangwei couldn't help frowning.

Then the ranks split apart on both sides. One breathtakingly charming woman after another formed a pleasing sight as, led by Liu Ruyan, they slowly walked forward.