Aoyama

Chapter 473 Female Swordswoman

At noon, the sun was shining brightly.

In the mountains and forests, Chen Ji and Zhang Xia, carrying horn bows and quivers, sped south one after the other. Zhang Xia would occasionally turn his head to check the direction as they headed towards Liutiaogou.

After a long silence, Chen Ji finally asked from behind her, "You don't blame me for putting you in danger earlier?"

Zhang Xia turned to look at the western mountains, as if adjusting her orientation, but this did not stop her from answering Chen Ji with a multitasking mind: "How confident were you in protecting me before?"

Chen Ji replied, "Seventy percent."

Zhang Xia walked along the mountain path, ducking to avoid a pine branch blocking his way, and said casually, "Seventy percent isn't low. I know what you're thinking; only in the face of life and death can one truly see a person's character... I was also very flustered when I stormed the White Tiger Hall, but I had to appear less flustered to convince Jiang Xianzong. However, I think if I were to storm the White Tiger Hall again now, it might be much easier."

Chen Ji comforted her from behind, saying, "You've never experienced anything like this on your own before, so it's normal to be flustered. No one is born strong."

“I know,” Zhang Xia nodded. “Back in Luocheng, when you jumped out of the city to comfort the disaster victims, my father went to the granary to allocate grain and fodder but was stopped by a captain. So he drew his sword and slit the captain’s throat. He looked fine on the surface, but when he returned home, my mother found that his hands were shaking for several hours… In the storytellers’ plays, they always say that some great figure would not change his expression even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of him. I used to think it was all true, but later when I found out that even someone like my father would panic, I felt that the plays were exaggerated.”

Chen Ji said softly, "Being able to pretend to remain calm is already quite impressive."

Zhang Xia laughed and said, "I used to think I was very powerful. I could suppress all the students in the Imperial Academy and make them speechless during debates. I could even make the great scholars turn their heads away when they saw me. Back then, I was always smug and thought I was the most powerful woman. I thought that even after I got married, no one could control me. I was so arrogant and domineering back then. If someone called me 'Rouge Tiger,' I would hold my nose up to the sky."

Chen Ji smiled slightly. He still remembered the day Zhang Xia rushed to the clinic and made a pact with him.

Zhang Xia continued, "But things changed later. That night hiding in the iron smelting workshop, it was the first time I felt so useless. I had so much knowledge in my head, but none of it was of any use."

Chen Ji remained silent.

“And during the debate at Luhun Manor, I tried to be like Wuzhai, but I found that I couldn’t answer your questions either,” Zhang Xia said casually. “It was from that time that I threw away everything I had learned and learned to be a humble and useful person again. I started to secretly learn from you… Don’t misunderstand, I just envy that you are much more useful than me at the same age.”

Chen Ji shook his head: "I was also very flustered when we were in Longwangtun."

Zhang Xia laughed: "Of course I can see that you are flustered. Normally you breathe 240 times per incense stick's time, but when you are flustered you breathe 290 times. It's completely different."

Chen Ji was stunned. He hadn't expected Zhang Xia to have such a photographic memory. Normally, he only needed to pretend to be calm and collected, but he never imagined that someone could remember his breathing rate.

The two turned into a mountain hollow, where strange rocks were scattered. Every summer when the water rises, this place becomes a pool, but at this time there is only a shallow stream.

Zhang Xia jumped onto a rock and said, "If we cross this ravine and then climb over another mountain, we'll reach Willow Gully. I wonder where Xiaoman and the others are... What I said earlier was just to answer you. I don't blame you for putting me in danger. I didn't before, and I won't again."

Zhang Xia suddenly stopped on a tall, strange rock, turned around and looked down at the ruins behind him: "Besides, I hope to become stronger, not for anyone else, but for myself. I don't want to be powerless anymore. I still owe you three lives: once in Longwangtun, once in Guyuan, and once in Xiangshan. Once I repay these three lives, I won't owe you anything anymore."

Chen Ji looked up at Zhang Xia, who was standing on the rock: "The incident at Xiangshan doesn't count. Those people came to kill me. I'm the one who dragged you into this."

Zhang Xia smiled and said, "Okay, that time doesn't count. After I repay you with two lives, I, Zhang Xia, will owe no one anything. I can continue to hold my head high and do what I want to do."

Chen Ji asked curiously, "What do you want to do?"

Zhang Xia turned around and continued walking forward: "I suppose you had already left Ningchao by then, so telling you wouldn't have made a difference. By the way, why did you have to learn archery first? It's not that I'm questioning you, but bows and crossbows might be useful outside Chongli Pass, but south of Chongli Pass, unauthorized use of bows and crossbows is a serious crime, and you can't carry them with you unless you hold an official position."

Chen Ji followed behind her and casually said, "The spear is the king of weapons, the sword is the sovereign of weapons, the staff is the ancestor of weapons, and the knife is the commander of weapons. But no one has ever said that they should be banned... because none of them are as threatening as the bow. When drawing a bow, one should draw the strongest one, for its power can penetrate the entire army. The bow is the best weapon for killing."

As Chen Ji walked south, he pretended to draw his bow to its full extent: "The bows used by the Capture Generals are all sixty catties. They sacrificed strength for rapid shooting. You can use their bows for now, but once you reach the third or fourth level of the Innate Realm, you will have to switch to the hard bow passed down from the Yang family. That bow is hanging on Zaozao's saddle. You can take it with you when you go back."

Zhang Xia laughed: "When you returned to Beijing from Changping, Yangyang originally came to ask you for that ancestral horn bow, but he got carried away and didn't mention the bow. Instead, he poured you some wine. He complained to my brother about it quite a bit...etc."

"Ok?"

Zhang Xia squinted and looked behind him: "The last time we tried to catch a wild animal, it startled the birds in the forest. It was two incense sticks' worth of time ago. We deliberately slowed down and waited for them, but they don't seem to be following us. Oh no, they've realized Princess Liyang isn't here and have stopped chasing us!"

Chen Ji immediately crossed the mountain pass quickly: "Head towards Chongli Pass. Stop them before they catch up with Xiaoman."

……

……

North of Chongli Pass, at Lion Gully. Hong Zu'er was leading Zhang Baishi and Asheng at breakneck speed. The ropes on their straw sandals had broken, so they simply threw them away and walked barefoot, not even flinching as they stepped on sharp stones.

Hong Zuer had a long bloodstain on his back, but it was unknown who had injured him.

As they were walking, they suddenly heard the sound of horses' hooves ahead.

Hong Zu'er raised his arm and clenched his fist. The three of them hid behind the trees, with only Hong Zu'er peeking out half of his face to sized up the newcomers.

Upon recognizing the person, he immediately stepped out from under the pine tree and called out loudly, "Gaoyuan!"

The night guard of the Wansui Army tightened the reins on Gao Yuan, looked around warily, and asked in surprise, "Hong Zu'er! What are you doing here? Where are Bai Zi and A Sheng?"

Hong Zuer looked behind Gao Yuan and saw three more Night Scouts of the Longevity Army, each on two horses.

The army's pay was much more than that of Chongli Pass, and when they went out of the pass, they always wore leather boots, carried two horses, and were fully equipped with leather armor.

Hong Zu'er stepped forward and asked, "Where are you going?"

Gao Yuan said warily, "What are you doing? I don't need to report the whereabouts of my Long Live Army to you."

Hong Zu'er asked bluntly, "Are you going to investigate the movements of the Jing Dynasty's envoys?"

Gao Yuan's expression changed: "Don't talk nonsense. That's the job of the Imperial Guards. We're just going to investigate the movements of the troops in Baidadan City."

Hong Zu'er said impatiently, "Alright, stop pretending. We've all been hanging around Chongli Pass for years, and we all know what's going on in everyone's mind. I came back from Baidadan City."

Gao Yuan, seated on his horse, suddenly changed his expression, then leaned down and lowered his voice: "You also want to intercept and kill the Jing Dynasty envoy?"

Hong Zu'er waved to Zhang Baishi and Asheng in the woods, then walked to Gaoyuan's horse and said, "The Jing Dynasty envoy has already set off for Chongli Pass."

Gao Yuan was taken aback: "So fast? We didn't see Emperor Jiang Xianzong send anyone to deliver the letter of state."

Hong Zu'er shook his head: "Things have changed. Mr. Wang's disciple Chen Ji was appointed by secret decree as the commander-in-chief of the Beijing garrison and personally went to Baidadan City to bring back the envoy. We took a shortcut back. They were surrounded and killed by the Zhusheng Generals, and they should still be behind us, but even the Zhusheng Generals may not be able to stop them."

Gao Yuan's expression changed several times: "What happened to all these injuries on your body?"

Hong Zu'er explained, "When we came back, we encountered another group of people chasing us. They weren't the same group as the one who captured the living. They seemed to be unfamiliar with this area and had gone to the wrong place. Among them was an extremely fierce female swordswoman. She could injure people from several feet away with her sword aura. Luckily, the three of us were familiar with the terrain, or we would have been dead there."

Gao Yuan raised an eyebrow: "Blade energy injuring people? Liang family swordsmanship?"

Hong Zu'er shook his head: "I have never seen the Liang family's swordsmanship, so I don't know."

Gao Yuan asked in a low voice, "These Jing Dynasty people also want to kill the envoy, wouldn't that save us a lot of trouble?"

Hong Zuer looked up at him: "Killing the envoy is one thing, but Jingchao's unbridled entry into our country's borders is another. Gaoyuan, if the Jingchao envoy is to be killed, these Jingchao traitors should also be killed."

Gao Yuan chuckled: "It's been years since we've fought a tough battle, my hands are itching. Where are they? Let's go now. Now that we're in the Da Ma Mountains, let's not go back."

Hong Zu'er shook his head: "That female swordsman is a Dao Seeking Realm cultivator. We can't do anything to her. It would be more likely if your Long Live Army's commander were to come instead."

Gao Yuan fell into deep thought: "But Lord Yang, the Chief of the Imperial Household, has gone to the capital and hasn't returned yet."

Although the Night Scouts were renowned, their reputation was earned with their lives. While they were skilled in reconnaissance, assassination, and infiltration, they were still merely officials at the Innate Realm.

If one were to encounter a Grand Master of the Seeking Dao Realm, one could only flee for one's life.

Gao Yuan tossed the reins of his other warhorse to Hong Zu'er and spurred the horse toward Chongli Pass: "Get on the horse, go back to Chongli Pass and call the others. My Wansui Army still has more than twenty Night Scouts at Chongli Pass, and the Five Armies Camp and Shenji Camp are also there. I don't believe that so many people can't kill a Seeking Dao Realm cultivator."

Hong Zu'er mounted his horse and hesitated for a moment before saying, "There are some things I need to say upfront: only kill the Jing Dynasty envoys, not our own people. Although that kid wanted to bring the envoys back to the capital, he was just following orders... He's not a bad person."

Gao Yuan said impatiently, "I know, although the Night Scouts are bloodthirsty, they have never killed their own people."

(End of this chapter)