Miejue

Yin Li had never imagined that Golden Flower Granny, whom she had regarded as family, would unhesitatingly shove her toward death at such a critical moment!

The force behind the push was fierce and brutal. Yin Li staggered forward, about to crash into the Coral Staff hurtling toward her with a fierce gust of wind.

This staff was no ordinary weapon. Golden Flower Granny had forged it from ten-thousand-year coral mixed with several rare metals. It could slice through iron like mud and shatter stone like cotton.

Coupled with the immense force Zu Hao had used to throw it.

If that blow landed, Yin Li would undoubtedly perish.

Yet Golden Flower Granny used the force of that shove to retreat swiftly, darting backward like a night owl as she sought to flee this perilous place.

A cold gleam flashed through Zu Hao's eyes. The staff had already reached Yin Li's face, its wind whipping her dark hair about and stinging her cheeks.

Yin Li's face went pale with terror. She closed her eyes in despair and waited for death to come.

Yet the agonizing pain she expected never arrived.

With a soft hum, the unstoppable staff abruptly halted three inches from her nose, as though it had struck an invisible wall of force.

The next instant, the staff changed direction and accelerated through the air in a trajectory that defied all reason. It drew a graceful arc around Yin Li and shot straight at Golden Flower Granny behind her, even faster than before!

Golden Flower Granny had already borrowed the momentum to leap more than twenty feet away and was secretly congratulating herself when she suddenly felt as if an invisible giant hand had seized her ankle. Her body came to an abrupt halt.

She was horrified. Before she could react, a vicious wind howled in from behind.

"Thud!"

With a dull impact, the end of the staff struck the back of her head with deadly precision.

Golden Flower Granny did not even have time to scream before she collapsed like a kite with its string cut, dying on the spot.

For a moment, the courtyard was utterly silent. Only the morning wind rustled through the leaves, making the stillness all the more oppressive.

Yin Li opened her eyes shakily. The first thing she saw was Zu Hao's tall, calm figure. Then she turned to look at Golden Flower Granny's motionless body in the distance.

Her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her emotions were too tangled to describe: the terror of surviving death, the piercing pain of betrayal, and a trace of pity for that cold corpse.

Zu Hao walked slowly over and said gently, "Golden Flower Granny pushed you in front of death to save herself. Her heart was vicious, and she deserved to die. You need not grieve for someone so heartless and faithless."

"If you have nowhere to go for now, you may stay in the valley until you have decided where to go."

Yin Li bit her lower lip, tears shimmering continuously in her eyes before gathering into droplets and sliding down her cheeks.

Over the years, although Golden Flower Granny had taken her in, she had always treated her as a tool, summoning and dismissing her at will, beating and berating her over the slightest matter. When had she ever shown even the slightest genuine affection?

Today, she had even placed Yin Li in mortal danger without a moment's hesitation.

At that thought, the last remnants of gratitude for having been raised by her vanished completely.

She nodded hard, her voice choked with sobs. "Thank you for taking me in, Young Master."

Hu Qingniu, the Butterfly Valley Divine Physician, had watched everything from inside the house. He slowly came outside and sighed. "Alas, who would have thought that Golden Flower Granny, who had roamed the martial world for so many years, would die here today... Brother Zu, you have solved a great problem for this old man. I owe you a favor."

Zu Hao cupped his hands in return, his tone modest. "You overstate it, Mister Hu. This junior has troubled you in the valley for many days and has been allowed to read so many medical classics. I have already benefited immensely."

"That old woman had a venomous heart and intended to harm you. Since I was here, I naturally could not stand idly by."

Ji Xiaofu, standing nearby, had long since been deeply shaken.

She had joined the Emei Sect from childhood, and her master, Abbess Miejue, was already one of the foremost experts in the martial world. Yet when had she ever seen martial arts so miraculous?

Controlling objects from afar, killing a powerful enemy several dozen feet away amid casual conversation!

Zu Hao's martial arts were simply unfathomable, far beyond anything she had imagined.

She instinctively held her daughter, Yang Buhui, tighter, and the worry in her heart deepened.

Ji Xiaofu knew full well that she had borne a child out of wedlock, violating the Emei Sect's rules and disgracing her master's reputation. Given her master's unyielding and ruthless temperament, she feared she would not escape death.

Her own death was of little consequence, but Buhui was still so young...

If she died, how would her daughter survive in this world?

With that in mind, Ji Xiaofu took Yang Buhui's hand and approached Zu Hao. She bowed deeply. "Young Master Zu, the world outside is fraught with trouble, and enemies surround me. Xiaofu has nowhere left to go."

"I beg for your mercy. Please allow my daughter and me to take refuge in this valley for a time, that we may have a place to settle and survive."

Zu Hao replied gently, "Heroine Ji, there is no need for such formality. However, Butterfly Valley belongs to Mister Hu, so he must agree to this."

Hu Qingniu stroked his beard, shot Zu Hao a glance, then looked at Ji Xiaofu and her daughter. After pondering for a moment, he said, "If Heroine Ji does not find the valley too humble, then please make yourself at home."

He paused, as though making some decision, then took two yellowed ancient books from his robes and solemnly handed them to Zu Hao. "Brother Zu, this old man intends to leave Butterfly Valley and wander the world for a while."

"These are the Medical Manual and Poison Manual, the works into which I have poured my life's efforts."

"Medicine and poison have never truly been separate. To neutralize all poisons, one must understand their properties; to cure strange ailments, one must also understand the principles of poison."

"You and young Wuji both possess considerable aptitude. Study them carefully, and perhaps... you may truly discover a way to dispel the cold poison of the Xuanming Divine Palm."

Zu Hao knew the value of these two manuals. He accepted them solemnly. "Mister Hu, I cannot thank you enough for this generous gift. This junior will certainly study them with all his heart."

Afterward, Yin Li silently found some tools and dug a simple grave for Golden Flower Granny in a secluded part of the valley, setting up an unmarked wooden tablet.

No matter what, it repaid the debt of being raised by her and spared her from lying exposed in the wilderness.

On the morning two days later, while the mist still hung over the valley, an idle man from town hurried over. He was the informant Zu Hao had bribed with silver a few days earlier.

The man respectfully said to Zu Hao, "Young Master, the person you told me to watch for has appeared."

Zu Hao nodded and took out two taels of silver, handing them over. "Well done. Take this silver, and after you return, find a way to tell them that Ji Xiaofu is in Butterfly Valley, along with the daughter she had with Yang Xiao, the Ming Cult's Bright Left Envoy."

The idle man accepted the silver, immediately understanding his meaning. He nodded and bowed repeatedly before hurriedly withdrawing.

Zu Hao's eyes narrowed as he gazed toward the valley entrance. Everything was proceeding exactly as expected.

Given Abbess Miejue's temperament and methods, once she learned such news, she would certainly come charging here at the fastest possible speed.

Sure enough, at dawn the next morning, a burst of urgent hoofbeats, as rapid as rolling war drums, completely shattered Butterfly Valley's tranquility. Killing intent spread through the air.

Abbess Miejue, leader of the Emei Sect, wore a gray robe and had an expression as cold as ice. Holding the famed Heavenly Sword, she rode at the forefront.

Eight elite disciples followed close behind her, all with solemn expressions as they galloped to the thatched cottage in the valley.

Abbess Miejue leaped from her horse in one crisp motion. Her sharp eyes swept about like lightning and instantly fixed upon the pale-faced Ji Xiaofu standing beneath the eaves, as well as the timid little girl beside her clutching her mother's hem.