The girl in green moved her limbs, still unable to believe it. Had this vile lecher really let her go? She stole a glance at the scabbard on the ground. She knew that this vile lecher was highly skilled in martial arts, and even with a weapon, she could not last more than a few moves against him. The scabbard would certainly be less handy than the sword, and this lecher had just made a breakthrough, improving his martial arts yet again.
Wang Chong followed her gaze and glanced at the ground. He walked over, flicked the scabbard up with his foot, sheathed the Green Maple Sword, and handed both back to the girl in green.
The Green Maple Sword was slender and elegant in design, its scabbard inlaid with seven pearls. Rich and splendid, it was plainly a woman's weapon. He had found it a little awkward to handle when wielding it earlier. Knowing it belonged to her, he naturally ought to return it.
The girl in green instinctively reached out to grab it, while her other hand shot out in a palm strike, executing a barehanded blade-snatching move.
Wang Chong pushed it forward with her movement. The girl in green instinctively caught the sword, and its weight dragged her whole body askew. Naturally, her palm struck empty air. A hint of embarrassment immediately appeared on her little face. Sheepishly, she slung the sword across her back and quietly gripped its hilt.
After considering his approach, Wang Chong asked, "What era is this?" He guessed she would know nothing of concepts such as the myriad heavens and worlds, continents, dimensions, and universes, so he intended to begin with simple questions.
The girl hesitated, then answered, "This is the eighth year of Linde!"
Wang Chong actually knew that this era name had existed in history. The man who used it was Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, and he had used it for only two years. There had definitely been no eighth year of Linde. Still clinging to a thread of hope, he asked, "Who is the current emperor?"
The girl in green answered, "Her Sacred Majesty, the Heavenly Empress!"
Wang Chong perked up a little and asked, "A female emperor?"
The girl in green nodded. Somewhat curious, she asked, "Do you not remember anything?"
Wang Chong thought, Of course I remember my own affairs, but I don't remember this lecher's life!
Taking his silence as confirmation, the girl in green answered cautiously, "Her Sacred Majesty, the Heavenly Empress, is indeed a female emperor. She once entered religious life at Wudang and studied under a master. Later, the Eighteen Tribes of the Grasslands joined forces, breached the Upper Capital, and carried off the two emperors, Qin and Hou. As the eldest princess, Her Sacred Majesty raised an army to aid the throne and drove back the Eighteen Tribes of the Grasslands. With no sovereign at court, the ministers unanimously chose her to ascend the throne."
"Everyone under heaven knows this. Why are you asking about it?"
This information left Wang Chong's mind in turmoil for quite a while. He thought, She entered religious life at Wudang and was the eldest princess, too, so she isn't Wu Zetian? Things are quite a jumble here!
He went on to ask seven or eight more questions. Their scope was so broad and their leaps so abrupt that the girl in green could barely keep up.
Then Wang Chong asked with feigned casualness, "What martial art am I best at?"
The girl in green blurted out, "Ice Soul Finger!"
The moment the words left her mouth, the girl's face went white.
Wang Chong, however, found this rather strange. He could feel that the surging Qi inside him was gentle and mild, leaving a comfortable, pleasant warmth as it traveled through his body. It bore no resemblance at all to a martial art whose very name sounded so chilling.
The two stared at each other for a while. Wang Chong gave a toothy smile and said, "You may go, miss." He already had a rough understanding of this world, and there was no reason to keep a girl detained.
Besides, he wanted to question someone else as well, lest this girl in green be fooling him.
After all, the prettier a girl was, the more she liked to lie.
The girl in green gave a startled cry, but she shot off like a little rabbit, sprinting wildly without looking back. Only after running twenty or thirty li did she dare glance over her shoulder. There was not a soul in sight behind her. She could not help pressing a hand to her chest and crying, "May Her Majesty the Heavenly Empress protect me!"
Wang Chong watched the girl in green vanish from sight and exclaimed in astonishment, "I underestimated that girl. I captured her with no effort, so her martial arts shouldn't be very good, but the speed she fled at would definitely put her hundred-meter time under eight seconds. That's already on the level of zebras and wild boars, and this was a mountain path. She'd probably be even faster on level ground. Are the martial arts of this world really that impressive?" He grew even more curious about exactly where his own martial arts ranked in this world!
Wang Chong strolled out of the ruined temple and took a powerful stride forward. He felt the surging Qi throughout his body sink and grow turbid, and lightly floated six or seven zhang. Overjoyed, he leaped hard again. The surging Qi inside him rose and cleared once more, sending him three or four zhang into the air. His head was already level with the crown of a thick-trunked tree beside him. He landed with extraordinary lightness, without disturbing a speck of dust. So shaken that he could scarcely believe it for a long while, he thought, Without sufficiently good lightness skills, one couldn't be a lecher-an unshakable truth of martial arts novels. But the original owner of this body's lightness skills were altogether too astounding.
Earth's long jump record is only 8.95 meters, and the high jump record is only a little over two meters. The NBA's maximum touch-height record is under four meters. I can cover roughly twenty meters in one stride and leap more than ten meters high. Athletic ability on this level already puts me in the category of things that need to be sliced up for research.
Are this lecher's lightness skills just too good, or is this world's ceiling high?
Suddenly, his ear twitched. Wang Chong reached out, caught a leaf, and flicked it from his fingers. A green glint flashed out and vanished in an instant. A line of blood split open between the brows of a squirrel that had leaped into the air, and it hit the ground with a smack. When it landed, its body, sliced in two, could still twitch and blink. Inwardly startled, he thought, This lecher's internal arts are formidable, several degrees better even than his lightness skills. He really can pluck flowers and send leaves flying, using either to wound people.
Wang Chong reflected, Now isn't the time to study martial arts. Once that girl in green escapes, she'll certainly bring righteous people here to hunt down the lecher. My martial arts may be strong, but two fists cannot match four hands. If a crowd gangs up on me, my prospects won't look good. I have to leave here quickly. Besides, a lecher's martial arts generally have a ceiling. If my standing in this world is that of Deer Staff Guest or Yun Zhonghe, that's still all right. But if I'm an Ouyang Ke, Yin Zhiping, or Liang Ziweng, that's not so good.
He briefly surveyed his surroundings, then cried, "What misery!"
Though this mountain could hardly be called steep, trees stretched endlessly across overlapping ridges. Apart from the path the girl in green had taken down the mountain, there was not another trail in sight. Even with excellent lightness skills and exquisite internal power, what modern person did not know how dangerous it was to venture alone into mountain forests?
Wang Chong thought, I'd planned to cross the mountains and ridges and circle around in another direction, but that won't work now. Following that girl in green down the mountain makes it easy to run into the "righteous people" coming to catch the lecher, but it's still safer than venturing into the mountain forests.
After a moment's deliberation, he used his lightness skills to head downhill. In no more than the time it took an incense stick to burn, he caught up with the girl in green.
The girl in green had fled at full speed for dozens of li. Her body was exhausted, her Qi depleted, and her internal power spent. She was walking slowly when she suddenly heard wind rushing behind her. Turning, she saw the vile lecher, his wide sleeves billowing as he approached like a roaming dragon. Frightened until her body shook like chaff in a sieve and her heart plunged into an icy cavern, she laid the Green Maple Sword across her neck and cried, "I'd rather die than be defiled!" Gritting her pearly teeth, she was about to slash hard and end her own life...
...Half a squirrel: What a fast leaf...
...The girl in green (Tie Mingzhu): What a fast lecher...
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