Wuxia 12

Zhao Min had many capable subordinates under her command. Upon seeing Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao, she immediately dispatched a portion of her men to intercept the two, engaging them in a evenly matched battle.

Zhang Wuji was also blocked by the Xuanming Elders.

Ku Toutuo lunged toward Song Qinghua and Zhou Zhiruo, assuming that these two juniors would be no match for him at all.

After all, not every young person was like their Cult Leader, possessing astonishing divine skills at such a tender age.

The result, however, left him shocked!

There really were other young people who could rival Zhang Wuji!

He had only exchanged ten moves with Song Qinghua before being sent flying by a strike from him.

While this was partly due to his own underestimation of the enemy, the most important factor was that the young man's martial arts had reached the pinnacle, far surpassing his own.

Zhao Min and the others were also stunned.

Zhao Min had assumed that Zhang Wuji was the only young hero in the world, never imagining that another one would suddenly pop up.

Was Wudang truly so blessed with talent that even their third-generation disciples were this exceptional?

Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao were also startled.

This was immediately followed by a sense of relief; fortunately, Song Qinghua had not participated in the battle to besiege Bright Peak.

Otherwise, they would have been completely finished before Zhang Wuji could even arrive.

Just at this moment, shouts of battle erupted from outside the windows.

Song Qinghua stopped lingering in the fight, grabbed Zhou Zhiruo, and ran toward the outside.

Zhou Zhiruo realized it instantly: "Is that Master and the others?"

Song Qinghua nodded: "When I went to rescue you, Big Brother went into the tower to notify the people of the five sects, telling everyone to act together."

Zhang Wuji, Yang Xiao, and Wei Yixiao were bewildered, unsure of what was happening. However, Yang Xiao was clever; hearing the conversation between Song Qinghua and Zhou Zhiruo, he realized someone was rescuing the members of the five sects, so he signaled for Zhang Wuji and Wei Yixiao to follow behind Song Qinghua and Zhou Zhiruo to break out.

Once outside, they saw the members of the five sects rushing out from the tower, currently clashing with the Yuan soldiers of Wan'an Temple.

Song Qinghua brought Zhou Zhiruo before Abbess Miejue. Not seeing Liu Zhong, he asked: "Abbess, have you seen my Big Brother?"

Abbess Miejue killed a foreign monk with a single sword stroke and took a moment to answer Song Qinghua's question: "The eldest Young Master Song went to find someone."

Song Qinghua was puzzled: "Find someone? Find whom?"

Abbess Miejue: "The eldest Young Master Song said he was going to find someone to see us safely out of Dadu."

Song Qinghua: "??"

Not long after, Liu Zhong appeared to answer his confusion.

Liu Zhong appeared on the battlefield dragging a person, shouting loudly: "Everyone, stop!"

Zhao Min, who was being protected in the back, saw clearly who Liu Zhong was holding and immediately shouted along: "Everyone, stop!"

Both sides ceased fighting, and only then did the people on Zhao Min's side see clearly that the person Liu Zhong was holding was none other than Zhao Min's older brother, Wang Baobao, the heir to the Ruyang Prince Mansion.

They gasped in shock, not daring to step forward for fear that Liu Zhong might accidentally injure Wang Baobao.

Liu Zhong smiled: "I must trouble the young prince to see us out of the city. Princess Zhaomin, you don't mind, do you?"

Zhao Min took a breath and coldly issued an order: "All of you, step aside and let them leave."

The Yuan soldiers retreated one after another, clearing a path.

Liu Zhong had Song Qinghua lead the members of the five sects ahead while he stayed behind to cover the rear.

Once the people of the five sects were safely out of the city, Liu Zhong finally released Wang Baobao, whose pressure points he had sealed. He then utilized his light-body technique, and with a few leaps, he vanished from the sight of Zhao Min and her group.

Zhao Min hurriedly stepped forward to unseal Wang Baobao's pressure points. After checking him over and finding he was uninjured, she let out a sigh of relief.

She gazed in the direction where the group had departed, her eyes flickering.

Once the group reached a safe location, they thanked Liu Zhong and Song Qingshu one after another before taking their leave; they were worried about the situation at their respective sect headquarters and needed to return quickly.

Zhang Wuji and his two companions had hoped to use the rescue of the five sects to ease relations and make peace with them.

But in this incident, the leading Liu Zhong brothers had done all the work, and they themselves had contributed little, so the five sects naturally did not give them any pleasant looks.

It was already fortunate that they hadn't started fighting them.

Abbess Miejue was even more eager to draw her sword and kill Yang Xiao immediately, but she was worried about the situation in her sect, so she gave up on finding trouble with Yang Xiao and took her disciples to return to Mount Emei immediately.

Once the people of the five sects had left, Liu Zhong walked up to Zhang Wuji and said with a smile: "Junior Brother Wuji, long time no see."

Zhang Wuji hurriedly bowed to Liu Zhong and Song Qinghua: "Two senior brothers, long time no see."

Zhang Wuji had not met the two of them many times, only once or twice, and both times were when he was suffering from his illness.

Afterward, the two brothers had descended the mountain, and Zhang Wuji had no impression of them in his mind at all.

Yet, he was still very grateful to them.

Not to mention that the two had found the Black Jade Ointment to heal Yu Daiyan's disability, which reduced the guilt Zhang Wuji felt toward Yu Daiyan because of Yin Susu.

Just the fact that the two had sent the Tianshan Snow Lotus to Wudang Mountain via a courier agency, specifically addressed to him, made Zhang Wuji endlessly grateful to them.

The efficacy of the Tianshan Snow Lotus was excellent; Hu Qingniu had used it as an ingredient in medicine to suppress the cold poison within Zhang Wuji's body.

Even if Zhang Wuji had not obtained the Nine Yang Manual by chance and cultivated the Nine Yang Divine Art to completely purge the cold poison from his body.

His lifespan would still have been extended, preventing him from dying young and allowing him to live at least until his thirties or forties.

In this sense, Liu Zhong and his brother Song Qinghua could be considered to have saved Zhang Wuji's life.

Zhang Wuji was very grateful to the two of them.

Liu Zhong smiled and said, "Our brothers are returning to Wudang Mountain. Will Junior Brother Wuji be coming with us?"

Zhang Wuji hesitated for a moment before declining, "Please go ahead, senior brothers. I still have some matters to attend to. Once I have finished, I will return to Wudang Mountain to pay you a visit."

Liu Zhong replied, "In that case, we shall part ways here so as not to delay your important business."

Liu Zhong placed particular emphasis on the words "important business."

Don't think I haven't noticed the way you and Zhao Min have been exchanging glances.

Calling it "important business"—you're actually going to see Zhao Min, aren't you?

Zhang Wuji did not catch the mockery in Liu Zhong's tone; he cupped his hands to bid farewell to Liu Zhong and Song Qinghua, then took Yang Xiao and Wei Yixiao back to Dadu.

He wasn't just entering Dadu to meet Zhao Min; Xiao Zhao was still being kept there, after all.

Upon entering the city, the three of them did not first encounter Zhao Min, with whom Zhang Wuji had an appointment, but were instead approached by Ku Toutuo, through whom they learned that he was actually Fan Yao, one of the two Emissaries of the Ming Cult.

Watching Zhang Wuji's retreating figure, Song Qinghua curled his lip and snorted coldly, "Aside from his high level of martial arts, I don't see what's so great about this kid. Why do Grandmaster and all the elders like him so much?"

Liu Zhong replied, "Pity for the weak, perhaps. Who told him to appear as such a pitiful little wretch on the verge of death? Even though he has made something of himself now, it's hard for the elders to change their initial impression of him."

Song Qinghua snorted with dissatisfaction once more, effectively accepting Liu Zhong's explanation.

Liu Zhong said, "Let's go, back to Wudang Mountain. We've been out for so many years; it's time to return!"