Food Fairy Lord

Chapter 836 A Thousand Miles (Part Two)
Lu Yuque suddenly bent backward, narrowly avoiding the danger—she was indeed more agile than before—and saw a small, slender figure nimbly slipping in through the window.

At the same time, a cold wind blew in from behind, and the door opened silently. The waiter thrust in another sharp sword.

They were indeed assassins from the Flower Wound Tower. The Flower Wound Tower usually operated in groups of three, and if they were in groups of two, they were definitely seasoned and dangerous partners who had been together for many years.

Two swords came from one in front and one behind. Lu Yuque rolled on the spot and hid the long sword beside the bed in his hand.

Then, he braced himself on the bed, flipping upside down and dodging the two pursuing swords. The longsword was drawn with a clang, and a silver light faster than lightning shot straight at the waiter.

In "Spring Branch Sword" [Wind Startles the Dawn Leaves], she did perform much better than that night.

The room was cramped enough for one person to move around in, but it was too confined for three people fighting with knives, leaving no room to maneuver. Just as the sword was about to strike, the shopkeeper slapped the ground and moved sideways to avoid the attack, disappearing completely under the bed.

Lu Yuque hadn't expected her sword to miss; her opponent's agility far exceeded her expectations, and her heart sank for a moment.

The assassins from Flower Wound Tower wouldn't act rashly; they only came here because they were confident they could kill them here. Perhaps they had already set their sights on the two of them when they entered this inn... no, when they entered this city.

At this moment, she wondered if she should deliberately make a loud noise, but there was no time for her to consider it. Her sword missed its mark, and she had to face another person's killing move in mid-air.

Lu Yuque twisted his body quickly, and sure enough, the cold blade was already approaching his face. His muscles and bones trembled. In the critical moment, he could only try his best to bend over and switch his long sword to face it... Then the door was pushed open again at the edge of his vision, and the young man walked in.

Lu Yuque paused for a moment, his gaze suddenly fixed on him.

"Help me!" she cried.

This is obviously obvious; anyone who saw this scene would know they should save her. But she still shouted it out, at least to further escalate the current crisis.

But the one thing she hadn't expected was that even after she shouted, the person still didn't come to her rescue.

"Don't get distracted, I'm going to stab your left side." He closed the door behind his back and warned him.

Lu Yuque jerked back and swung his sword horizontally. A force struck the blade, producing a clear, ringing sound.

“Stab his lower abdomen,” he continued, bypassing the battle and sitting down in a corner chair, “turn and slash his thigh, now lift it up, and strike.”

Lu Yuque unleashed his true energy, and a streak of blood-red light bloomed before him.

"The waiter is coming. He bows and lets him pass, sword on his back. Okay, look him straight in the eye. The dwarf is about to show himself. Use your first sword strike—very good, now there's only one left."

The body fell heavily to the ground, its head hitting the bathtub with a thud.

Lu Yuque felt dizzy and lightheaded, as if her body hadn't belonged to her for the past few breaths. Those words must be some kind of secret technique, possessing the power to manipulate a person's limbs.

She had never felt this way before. Every word was perfectly timed, just one step before she was about to make a move, allowing her to completely surrender her body without having to think. She could have refused, but every instruction was so perfectly comfortable that her body would protest if she didn't obey.

With just four sword strikes, the experienced and dangerous assassin collapsed and died, while the other waiter stared at the two of them before slowly retreating.

"I'm so amazing," she thought.

"That's good. As long as you don't panic, your swordsmanship is actually quite solid," the young man said. "Do you know how to use a little bit of the Lushan sword?"

Lu Yuque was slightly taken aback: "Jian Du, Lu Shan, and Liu Ying do indeed exchange some simple sword techniques."

"That's what the sword theory book says too. Which one will you use, the Great Antelope or the Five Red Willows?"

“…I’m more familiar with ‘The Great Antelope’.” Lu Yuque stared intently at the waiter in front of him, who had moved to the window, seemingly trying to escape.

“Alright, don’t panic. Change your sword, and kill him now with ‘The Great Antelope’.” The young man tossed her a sword, “Use only the sword techniques of Mount Lu.”

Lu Yuque subconsciously took it, his eyes widening: "I... I'm not very good at using it, and 'The Great Antelope' isn't very powerful either."

She had no confidence that her swordsmanship, which she had learned in her youth, could defeat the assassin from the Flower Wound Pavilion.

"It's alright. Just listen to me—he's about to escape, use [Flying Cliff Crossing]."

Lu Yuque sprang to her feet in response, her sword flashing as she intercepted the waiter's body as he crashed into the window. The waiter's fierce eyes suddenly fixed on her, and a desperate sword strike, swift as lightning, silently pierced her chest.

"【A thousand pounds of weight on a plate】".

Lu Yuque raised his arm and held his sword horizontally, blocking the sword strike in front of him.

"【Cold Stream Reflection】【Looking Back at the Moon】...Hmm...【A Strike from the Sky】."

Lu Yuque stared wide-eyed: "What is [Sky Horn Strike]?"

"Is this type of sword not available?"

"never heard of that!"

"Oh, I got them mixed up. Use [Hanging Corner]."

Lu Yuque had already felt the illusion of being pierced through the throat by a cold blade, but at this moment she skillfully parried the sword. She had never thought that [Hanging Horn] could be used in this way. This ingenuity almost made her spine tremble.

She was waiting for the next sword move to come, but the man asked again, "Do you know the 'Crimson Clouds' move from 'Five Red Willows'?"

"Just tell me your sword moves, don't ask any more questions!" she said urgently.

The "waiter" was clearly the stronger one in the duo; her sword light was both swift and chilling, and her suspicion was even stronger than that of Li Li of Lushan. Meanwhile, Li Li's internal energy was depleted, making victory difficult, and using only the Lushan sword further hampered her, putting her in a truly perilous situation.

The young man laughed: "Fine. Since you're afraid, then kill him. Step back, turn to the side, step back and raise your knee, [look back at the moon]."

His voice was calm, but his pace was much faster, so much so that Lu Yuque completely lost his ability to think and didn't even notice the arm that flew up from the corner of his eye: "Side your body, take two steps back, lean back."

He paused for a moment, and Lu Yuque also paused for a moment, only to see the enemy's cold blade rush past their eyes.

“Alright, let’s use the ‘Crimson Glow’ from ‘Five Red Willows’,” he said.

Lu Yuque thrust back blankly, feeling a slight breakthrough in the blade. The room fell silent, and her sword was already piercing the waiter's neck perfectly.

"..."

Lu Yuque paused for a moment, then drew his sword and took two steps back. The man also fell to the ground.

……

……

Lu Yuque had no intention of staying in that room any longer. Without a word, he followed the young man into the house and closed the door. There was no bathtub. The room was very clean. A black cat and a kingfisher were on the bed, and his outer robe, which he had taken off, was hanging on a rack.

"I thought you... had been poisoned by them." Lu Yuque looked at him cautiously. The food on the table had indeed been eaten clean, but the young man showed no signs of "muscle weakness or loss of vital energy." "Didn't they poison you?"

“I’m off. But I’ve noticed.” The young man lifted the cat and bird off the bed. “You can sleep on the bed. Don’t be shy.” “Then why didn’t you warn me?” Lu Yuque glanced at him, raising his eyes. “I thought you’d been infected.”

"You're not taking a bath right now."

“…Oh.” Lu Yuque sat down at the table, his hands and feet together. “Should I change my disguise again?”

At this moment, she finally removed her swollen face, emerged fresh from her bath, with fair skin and black hair, and once again became the eye-catching Miss Jian Du.

"No need. Disguising your face is too suffocating, and it won't help you avoid anything anyway." The young man hugged the cat to his chest. "They don't really rely on faces to recognize people."

Lu Yuque wanted to ask this very question: how were they discovered? And now that they've been discovered, are they still living here? Hua Shang Lou's information travels extremely fast; once they've been caught by one, the entire area must be surrounding them by now.

But when she looked at the man, he was looking out the window, and he did look like he was thinking seriously, but there was no tension on his face, and he seemed to have no intention of mentioning the assassination attempt just now.

Lu Yuque recalled those breathtaking flashes of swords. To this day, she couldn't understand how it all happened. She had never seen herself draw her sword, nor had she seen the waiter make a move, and it seemed they didn't even know how to use the Lushan sword technique. Yet, with just a few words, she had killed a powerful enemy. The light and fluid feeling she experienced still lingered in her body.

She had never seen or heard of such a thing before. Was this a mastery of swordsmanship? That seemed too far-fetched. Or was there some other method of insight? His eyes were indeed very clear… He must truly be unable to fight. What if an even more powerful assassin came?
She stared blankly at the young man's retreating figure, her mind racing... Suddenly he turned around, startling her slightly.

"I'll go and fetch you a doctor and buy you two sets of clothes," the young man said, picking up his sword by the bedside. "You should rest in bed; I'm not sleeping tonight anyway."

Lu Yuque was startled: "I'll stay here by myself?"

She looked at the stiff doll with a chill down her spine.

"It's alright." The young man placed the kitten in front of her—it was truly adorable, black and white—and smiled. "It'll only be a few moments. I'll leave the kitten with you. Hua Shang Lou shouldn't be coming for a while, but Lu Shan will inevitably be pursued. However, you can at least have a peaceful night."

At this point, Lu Yuque learned to follow his arrangements, nodding as he watched him push open the door and leave.

He stared at the closed door for a long time, then hugged his knees and muttered to himself, "This man is upright, gentle, and polite; he shouldn't be a bad person. But he doesn't know how to fight, so why is he carrying a sword?"

She paused for a moment, then turned her head inexplicably. The black cat on the table looked up at her quietly.

"What does it mean to leave the kitten to me? What use is a kitten?" she murmured, looking into those blue eyes.

"Chirp! Chirp!" The kingfisher hopped around in front of the window.

The young man was right; indeed, no one disturbed them all night, and the two corpses next door seemed to have never existed.

Lu Yuque had a long-awaited warm and comfortable sleep, and even though she was woken up in the early morning, it was the morning she felt the best in her body.

But as she walked downstairs, her body tensed up, and goosebumps stood on end.

This level of sharpness can only be enjoyed when one's inner energy is abundant. The hall was bustling and lively, but at least three pairs of eyes were subtly watching her.

But the young man beside them seemed oblivious, ordered three small dishes, and after the two ate them, they went out and mounted their horses.

Lu Yuque quickly realized the price of his half-day and one-night rest.

Dayue City gets its name from its proximity to Dayue Lake. It is not the closest city to Lushan Mountain, but it is only 120 li away.

As the two riders galloped out of the city gate, dozens of riders followed them from a distance on both sides.

Hua Shang Lou must also hide its tracks and conceal its form, for this is precisely the territory controlled by Lushan.

Of the three schools of Jiandu, Liuying, and Lushan, Jiandu takes the highest path, only accepting those who are pure and skilled in the sword; Liuying is the most tranquil, residing in the heart of the lake and often not concerned with external affairs; Lushan is the most deeply involved in the world, widely recruiting subordinates, with the surrounding eight or nine provinces all being its tentacles.

Yesterday, a sect leader and a hundred disciples died by the shore of Dayue Lake. The entire Lushan Mountain is like a giant hand, tightly gripping this place.

All the various gangs in Dayue City were their eyes and ears.

"The Lord of Mount Lushan may be coming soon." After hesitating for a moment, Lu Yuque still tilted his head while fiddling with his hood. "His name is Jiao Tianhe. His cultivation is extremely profound. He is known as the best swordsman in the six states, and in reality, he is ranked in the top three. We can't outrun him on horseback."

"Yes. We'll run for an hour." The young man looked ahead.

"..." Lu Yuque looked around worriedly. As the saying goes, two fists can't beat four hands. Jiao Tianhe might not even be the most difficult to deal with. Now this land has been thoroughly infiltrated by hundreds to thousands of Lushan's men. Every pair of eyes they encounter is probably recording their whereabouts. There is almost no room for maneuver.

In fact, from the moment this person brought her to the hotel yesterday, this situation was inevitable.

The man in white only killed some disciples who were unaware of the situation while he was in the reeds. If he were trapped in such a dense encirclement, he would probably have no chance of escaping either.

But the Lord of Lushan Mountain really couldn't defeat the man in white, she thought.

Then she realized with a chill that Hua Shanglou was actually just an informant for the man in white.

Hua Shanglou didn't pursue them any further, and nothing else happened after the two people died last night... because they had already confirmed it.

Unlike those in Lushan, they weren't heavily infiltrated here, but these informants were like a persistent, insidious infection, impossible to shake off once they took hold. They didn't need to carry out assassinations repeatedly; the white-clad assassins simply needed direction.

...He had been looking for her ever since he disappeared at Dayue Lake.

“That killer in white will come too.” She tilted her head and said, “We can’t outrun him… How did you manage to avoid him last time?”

"Yes, a mirage."

"Kidney...what?"

"It's a method, not easy to explain. I'll tell you later if you want to hear it."

Lu Yuque remained silent for a moment before the two riders galloped side by side, the morning moon casting a pale light in the sky, and the wind whistling past them.

“I want to hear a lot of things, but you won’t tell me,” she whispered, tilting her head.

The young man tilted his head and glanced at her: "What do you want to hear?"

"What exactly do you want?" Lu Yuque tilted her head to look at him, her expression worried. "Is there anyone waiting for us up ahead?"

"No."

"Then I don't know what you're planning to do. I... I'm hesitant to ask, and I'm afraid it might affect you." Lu Yuque pursed her lips. "To be honest, I don't know your plans, but I'm very worried. Just keep rushing forward like this... Of course, I'm useless, I can't help, and I don't need to know, but... but... can you tell me?"

The young man glanced at her and suddenly smiled: "Miss Deer, you are sincere and lovely, many people will surely like you."

"..."

“That’s right. I was waiting for them, so I gave you a day to rest. The person I’m waiting for isn’t Jiao Tianhe; he’s irrelevant. It has to be someone further down the line.” He turned his head and said gently, “I don’t have any plans. I just wanted to find a spacious place.”

(End of this chapter)