Melee

"Hong Ling, sit down and don't make a sound."

Hong Ling clapped a hand over her mouth, her shoulders trembling as she huddled in the corner of the carriage like a frightened quail.

Cui Xijun lifted one corner of the Soft Smoke Gauze and peered outside. All she could see was the gorgeous mountain scenery before the carriage.

The disturbance was coming from the rear of the convoy.

Shouts of slaughter, screams, the clash of blades... All kinds of sounds blended together, but she couldn't see a thing.

Cui Xijun tried pushing the carriage door, only to find it wouldn't budge.

At some point, the door had been jammed shut. There was no way to open it.

Her heart gave a sudden jolt.

Outside the carriage.

Crossbowmen in the dense woods on either side of the narrow road kept firing.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

Arrows rained down, reaching their targets in the blink of an eye.

The guards and servants at the rear of the convoy screamed as they fell, one after another, with arrows in them.

Some unfortunate souls were riddled with arrows before they could even scream, turned into human pincushions and left as corpses.

Cai He crouched in the forest, his eyes fixed on the convoy caught in the ambush.

After several successive volleys, Cai He looked toward the rear of the Cui Family convoy.

Yet at the end of the mountain road, as far as his eyes could see, there wasn't a soul.

The Liu Family's carriages and horses hadn't appeared at the agreed-upon location.

As the leader of their band, Cai He seemed to realize something, but a burst of delight rose on his face.

He'd lived by the blade for over a decade. He knew all too well what those Aristocratic Clans were like.

If they followed the original plan and waited for the Liu Family's signal before attacking, then after they dealt with the Cui Family's guards, the Liu Family's private soldiers would come at them from behind.

Then not one of them would get out alive. The Liu Family would certainly kill them to silence them.

So he'd prepared in advance, felling trees to block the convoy and create chaos.

They would grab everything valuable from the Cui and Liu families and leave.

That had been their plan from the start.

He just hadn't expected things to change before they could carry it out.

The Liu Family hadn't followed them!

Several of his old comrades had already turned to look at him. Cai He knew he couldn't keep them in check any longer.

He immediately stood and roared, "The Liu Family's broken their word. We're not waiting anymore. Move in now, take everything, and leave. No survivors!"

"Yeah!"

A dozen men drew their blades from their waists and charged out of the thick forest, like fierce tigers descending the mountain, crashing into the Cui Family convoy.

Shouts of slaughter shook the heavens.

A guard in the Mortal Shedding Realm charged at Cai He with his shield raised.

Cai He casually swung his blade sideways. The edge struck the shield, cleaving it in two.

The guard and his shield were hurled away together. He slammed into the cliff three zhang away, his head lolling as his breath vanished in an instant.

Another guard tried to attack from the side.

Cai He swung his blade backhanded, smashing its spine into the man's shoulder blade. The bone shattered on the spot, and the guard collapsed to the ground, his body crumpling halfway down.

He pressed forward at an unhurried pace, as if out for a stroll.

No techniques, no stance—just one slash per man.

These Martial Masters in the Mortal Shedding Realm were no different from cats and dogs in his eyes. Each was dealt with in a single slash.

Watching this from the rear of the carriage, Yin Xiaoran's expression changed slightly.

This bandit was actually a Dragon Elephant Martial Master!

He gripped his blade and charged at Cai He without hesitation.

Bang!

The two blades collided. Sparks flew, and the shrill clang made everyone's eardrums ache.

The hard earth beneath both men's feet shattered at the same time, the force of the impact radiating outward from them.

Loose stones were swept up by an invisible wave of force and smashed against the cliff, rattling like a shower of rocks.

Cai He lowered his eyes and glanced at the web of his thumb. Blood was welling from the wound.

The corner of his mouth twitched. His expression turned grave as he abandoned his earlier contempt.

Yin Xiaoran brought his blade down a second time. Before it even reached Cai He, the gale from its swing had already scattered the loose stones on the ground.

Cai He rolled to the side, then swung both blades around and crossed them forward with a force of a thousand jin.

Yin Xiaoran raised his blade to block.

The force of a combined strike from a Dragon Elephant Realm cultivator crashed down like a giant wave against the shore, traveling along his blade and numbing both his arms.

He released his full strength.

Cai He staggered back several paces before steadying himself. The ground beneath his feet cracked inch by inch, leaving a line of deep footprints.

He raised his head, murder in his eyes, and lunged again without a word.

His twin blades moved faster and faster, every strike lethal, every one a killing move.

Yin Xiaoran spotted an opening and brought his blade down.

Cai He dodged to the side. The blade slid past his chest, and he seized the chance to whip a slash upward with his wrist.

Yin Xiaoran didn't retreat. He pressed forward, taking the slash on his shoulder.

A wet, tearing sound.

Blood sprayed from the gash and burst into a crimson blossom in the air.

Yin Xiaoran pressed forward instead of retreating. Taking advantage of the opening, he traded wound for wound and slashed Cai He's arm.

Then neither man paid any heed to his injuries. They launched attack after attack, fighting like two ferocious beasts.

The treasured blades, forged from a hundred-fold refined steel, were battered full of notches by their savage strength. Countless iron flakes fell between them.

But after only a short while, both blades had been reduced to scrap. Their edges were shattered and useless.

The two men discarded their ruined blades almost simultaneously and met with fists and palms.

Every collision carried the force of a thousand jin.

The air compressed with a dull boom like thunder.

The loose stones on the ground around them kept breaking apart beneath their feet, fragments flying in every direction.

A glancing wave of force struck the carriage wall behind Yin Xiaoran. A shallow dent caved into the Zhenyue Heavy Wood paneling, sending splinters flying.

Bang!

Both men took a blow from the other and were sent flying in opposite directions.

Yin Xiaoran crashed into the carriage and slumped down.

He tried to stand, only to find he had no strength left. He could only kneel on one knee, blocking the carriage.

When he opened his mouth, bloody froth kept bubbling through his teeth and dripping down his chin.

It mingled with the blood running down from his shoulder blade, pooling on the ground in a dark red-black puddle.

Cai He was in much better shape by comparison. His injuries hadn't reached his vitals.

He swallowed the sweetness rising in his throat, forcibly calmed the turmoil within him, then wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His gaze was icy.

By now, the guards' shouts of slaughter had grown fainter and fainter.

Someone was begging for mercy. The plea was cut short by a slash, and then the scene fell completely silent.

The guards had been slaughtered or wounded to the last man. Even the lucky survivors lay injured on the ground, and no one remained who could stop them.

Standing beside the carriage, Cai He turned his head toward the other side of the mountain road.

The Liu Family's people should be arriving soon.

He didn't want the Liu Family to trap them here, so he ordered, "Grab it all and move. Leave no survivors."

Hong Ling was already crying in the carriage. She clutched Cui Xijun's sleeve, trembling all over. "Third Miss, what do we do?"

"Don't panic." Cui Xijun pulled her close and let her lean against her shoulder. In a low voice, she said, "Don't cry. No matter what happens in a moment, don't make a sound."

Hong Ling covered her mouth. Fat tears rolled down her cheeks, but she didn't make another sound.

Cui Xijun drew a Skirt-Pressing Blade from her calf, gripped it tightly, and tucked it behind her back.

Just then, Cai He outside the carriage suddenly caught a faint scent of rouge.

He stopped in his tracks, as if he'd sensed something, and looked down at the back of his hand.

The veins there seemed to have come alive, writhing wildly like earthworms burrowing beneath his skin.

Deep in the forest, Chen Ye raised his crossbow.

The crossbowstring snapped back with a muffled thud.

The bolt shot from the bowstring like a thunderclap.

"Whoosh!"

It flew straight toward Cai He with blinding speed, aimed unerringly at the back of his neck.