Soft Sword

The moment the words fell, a cold glint flashed. The colorful ribbon burst apart, and a long sword appeared in the enemy's hand as if from nowhere.

The sword gleamed with a cold, clear light as it cut through the dim dusk and shot straight for Liu Ruyan's chest. No one had ever escaped this move, and the confident Liu Ruyan had let her opponent get very close. The sudden change came in an instant; the sword edge was already upon her, and the danger was extreme.

Liu Ruyan's expression darkened. Her forearm trembled, and the ribbons writhed like nimble snakes, laying a net around the sword in layer upon layer. Given their relative speeds, the ribbons would bind the sword before it could strike Liu Ruyan.

"So strong!" Liu Ruyan had defused the danger with casual ease, drawing an involuntary exclamation of admiration from Jiang Shuo.

Just then, the enemy's blade quivered and bent into several strange curves, making the eye lose track of it. When it appeared again, it had slipped through the dense web of ribbons, changed direction, and thrust toward Liu Ruyan's throat.

"What!?" Jiang Shuo was stunned. Only then did he notice how slender the enemy's blade was: it was a soft sword. A soft sword could be coiled around the waist and kept well concealed. No wonder he hadn't noticed it earlier.

The sudden turn of events finally brought a flicker of panic to Liu Ruyan's usually unruffled expression.

The sword tip was now less than an inch from Liu Ruyan's throat. Jiang Shuo shouted and ran toward her with all his might, but it was no use—he was too far away to save her in time.

Just as Jiang Shuo was about to shut his eyes, unable to bear watching what came next, the panic vanished from Liu Ruyan's face, and she regained her composure.

She raised her hand, curled her fingers, and reached for the sword edge.

One side was hard steel, the other flesh and blood. The outcome should have been obvious, yet the unexpected happened. Liu Ruyan controlled her hand with extraordinary precision: her palm pressed against the flat of the blade while her fingers gripped the other side, never touching either sharp edge. Then Liu Ruyan suddenly squeezed. With a crisp snap, the blade broke into several pieces and clattered to the ground.

The enemy's eyes widened, disbelief written all over his face. He had never imagined Liu Ruyan could be so powerful.

Having averted the crisis, Liu Ruyan immediately counterattacked. The interwoven ribbons spread like a blanket over the sky and swept toward the enemy once more.

Colored light reflected in the enemy's pupils. Knowing there was no chance of escape, he turned cold-eyed, reversed his broken sword, and slashed it straight across his own throat.

The blade sliced through flesh, and hot blood gushed from the wound. Caught off guard, Liu Ruyan retreated while lashing out with her ribbons, but blood still spattered across her clothes.

The enemy pitched heavily forward onto the ground, his face turned to one side, his limbs twitching faintly. A low "uuuh" sound came from his mouth. Before long, his breathing stopped and he was dead. Only the blood continued to well up from his throat, its flow growing weaker and weaker.

Liu Ruyan lightly tapped the ground with her toes and leaped over. She looked down at the corpse, her expression grave and her eyes deep, lost in thought.

The enemy had killed himself without hesitation. The shocking sight left Jiang Shuo deeply shaken, unable to calm himself for a long while. After a moment, he finally stepped forward, crouched beside the corpse, and reached out to search it for any useful clues.

"Don't bother. There's absolutely nothing on him that could offer a clue. Someone willing to kill himself rather than reveal information wouldn't make such a basic mistake," Liu Ruyan said calmly.

Jiang Shuo glanced back at Liu Ruyan. Though he knew she was right, he still searched on with a sliver of hope. The result was just as she had predicted: he found nothing.

Jiang Shuo straightened up, disappointed, and pondered for a moment before saying heavily, "First there was the Man in Black who burned the corpse. Now there's this one. What enormous secret lies behind them?"

"Disciples of ordinary Martial Arts Sects would never act in such extreme ways. We don't know what kind of colossal force we're up against," Liu Ruyan replied, full of worry.

"The Man in Black left at least a few traces in his moves. This enemy, though, concealed his origins far more thoroughly. The one thing we can be sure of is that he wasn't from the Mad Saber Sect. But judging by his skill, he must have a powerful force backing him. The Mad Saber Sect is already one of the top sects in Yulin. Add the force behind him, and the killer's identity..." Jiang Shuo's voice trailed off. He couldn't go on. The implications of the whole affair had already surpassed anything he could imagine.

At once, it was as though a dark cloud had settled over them both. Faced with a situation growing ever more baffling, they fell silent in unison.

A short distance away, a few residents watched them warily, pointing and whispering but not daring to approach. They knew Liu Ruyan and recognized this as a martial-world vendetta. They didn't even consider reporting it to the authorities.

Before long, disciples from Dream Red Pavilion arrived with Taohong. Taohong was in much better shape now, and with her companions supporting her, she could walk.