Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Chapter 86 The Swordsman (Seeking first subscriptions and monthly votes)

The sun was high in the sky, and the streets and alleys were bustling with noise.

The sunlight bathed the entire county town in warmth, and the old locust trees on both sides of the street were lush and green, their branches and leaves spreading out, casting dappled shade. When the wind blew, the fine dappled sunlight swayed gently on the bluestone pavement.

Ye Ci and Huang Guoshu walked side by side, slowly making their way towards the Shen residence.

"Brother Ye, I think she just wants to harm you. Luckily, you didn't set a date."

Huang Guoshu was a cheerful person, and he kept talking about the suspicious points about Shen Yixi along the way.

It's simply that she used to frequent the pharmacy, which Murong Yanyu had already discovered. Luckily, a maid was there to test the poison.

Today, Feng Ji made his move and even appeared at Guangzhilin, clearly indicating that they were in cahoots.

He gestured with his hands from time to time, indicating that he was intelligent.

"That means your little maid is quite clever, always wary of your food. Who knows, that little wench might be trying to poison you. I think you should get a dog in the yard, and feed the dog the food first from now on."

Ye Ci glanced at him, thinking that she would try to get the food into his mouth first.

However, at this moment, I remembered something. The purpose of this trip was to buy "White Jade Snow Lotus", but I was suddenly attacked and then forgot about it.

Does Guangzhilin actually have white jade snow lotus?

Or is this just a cover-up?

"Big brother, do you think that little vixen has any problems? She's quite pretty, prettier than my second sister."

Listening to Huang Guoshu's rambling, he was annoyed by the noise and pondered for a moment: "I'm not quite sure, after all, I don't know much about this woman."

"By the way, why did you say not to torture her?"

Ye Ci glanced at him: "Have you ever seen instruments of torture for women?"

Huangguoshu paused, made a "whoosh" sound, and smacked his lips twice.

"That's true. If there's no problem, wouldn't it be a waste? How would my older brother enjoy it then?"

'

Ye Ci said helplessly, "It's not necessarily that she wants to harm me. Just like Mu Mu said, if this woman really wanted to, she could have done something to me even in the Shen residence. I'm just wondering why she's in Guangzhilin today. Besides, she's always been very arrogant. It would be good to scare her and deflate her arrogance if she went to the county garrison camp."

"Furthermore, Feng Ji is capable of hiring a master of the Transformation Realm, so he must be someone with a powerful background. Considering his previous attack on me, I'm afraid he has connections with the Demonic Sect. Once this is involved, even if I have some connections with Commander Qin, they might not believe me."

"what?"

Huang Guoshu, who had been swaying his head, suddenly rolled his eyes when he heard this, and it took him a while to react.

I see. Brother Ye is indeed very thoughtful.

If the other party is truly related to the Demonic Sect, Ye Ci and Miss Shen have a marriage certificate, and he is also a retainer of the Shen family. If he takes Shen Yixi away to avoid interrogation, those adults might even suspect Ye Ci as well.

In their eyes, the matter of the Demonic Sect was far more serious than that of ordinary rebels.

Friendships are one thing, but when it comes to matters of principle, those adults don't care about sentimentality.

If Shen Yixi is innocent, Ye Ci will also be exonerated.

The two walked to a narrow, secluded back alley with few people. On both sides were rows of earthen houses with lush green vines climbing on top, blocking out some of the sunlight.

The alley was shady, and only the sound of their footsteps was particularly clear in the silence.

The wind whipped up dust, causing the vines on the wall to sway gently, making a soft rustling sound.

Just then.

A sudden change has occurred!

From the shadow of the earthen wall on the left, a figure in a green robe suddenly shot out without warning!

The figure moved with incredible speed, and the gust of wind it created swept up dust and fallen leaves, while gravel was crushed with a rustling sound!

An ominous premonition instantly gripped the two of them.

With a single horizontal slash, the blade locked onto the yellow fruit tree beside Ye Ci.

Before the blade even arrived, the concentrated energy had already made the hairs on the back of Huang Guoshu's neck stand on end.

Although he was a trained fighter, he was far from being at the top level. Caught off guard, he froze on the spot, momentarily forgetting how to react.

Ye Ci was, after all, a veteran of countless battles. With the keen intuition honed through life-and-death struggles, he sensed something was amiss when he heard the unusual sound.

He caught a glimpse of the approaching figure out of the corner of his eye, his heart sank, and at the same time, his own blood and qi surged to their maximum, causing the veins on his entire arm to bulge.

He suddenly turned to the side, grabbed Huang Guoshu's clothes, pulled him back sharply, and swept him away to the side.

A playful smile appeared on the man's lips as he smoothly sheathed his sword and slapped the two men with his left palm.

Ye Ci slammed his palm down, a strike imbued with the power of the "Mountain Embracing Seal".

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed through the narrow alley, sending dust flying from the earthen walls on either side.

Ye Ci felt an unimaginable, violent force slam into his palm!

The power was concentrated and domineering, far exceeding his expectations. It penetrated straight into his palm, far exceeding his expectations, making his arm numb and his blood and qi surge backward!

"Ta-da!"

'

He stumbled backward, tripping over Huangguoshu and causing him to fall to the ground.

At that moment, the bluestone slabs under his feet made a crisp cracking sound as he stepped on them. Ye Ci stumbled back seven or eight steps and bumped into the wall before barely managing to steady himself. His palms were already slightly numb, and a faint, sweet, metallic taste filled his mouth.

"what?"

The middle-aged man in the blue robe exclaimed in surprise.

"You dare to ambush me!"

Huang Guoshu then realized what was happening, drew his long sword, leaped up, and unleashed a powerful "Splitting Mount Hua" strike down on the middle-aged man's head.

The middle-aged man slightly raised his eyelids, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the blade.

Without raising his breath or moving his feet, he simply extended two fingers and gently pinched them together.

"A clear, ringing sound, like metal striking stone."

That powerful and heavy slash was held lightly between his fingers, without moving an inch.

Huang Guoshu's face flushed red, and the veins on his arms bulged as he desperately pressed the knife down, but the knife seemed to be welded to an anvil, unable to penetrate even an inch.

"Let go!"

The middle-aged man's fingertips twirled slightly.

With a "crack," the broadsword made of fine steel shattered from the edge to the spine, scattering pieces of iron all over the ground.

Before Huangguoshu could react, the middle-aged man flicked his sleeve with his finger.

There was no strong wind, no loud noise.

Huang Guoshu was as if he had been hit by a mountain, flying backward and landing without uttering a sound before passing out.

Throughout the entire process, the middle-aged man remained completely still.

He withdrew his hand and commented calmly, "Too much force, too weak a foundation. You can't even hold a knife steady, yet you dare to swing it at me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he lightly stomped his foot on the ground.

"despair."

With a soft sound, the shattered blades trembled within a radius of several feet.

His green robe fluttered even without wind. He looked up at Ye Ci and said, "I thought you only had internal strength, but I didn't expect Yang Huaichuan to pass on some powerful techniques to you, which can unleash the power of external strength."

A gentle breeze swept by, swirling slowly between the three of them, stirring up dust and fallen leaves.

Ye Ci steadied himself and slowly rolled up his sleeves: "Why did you attack me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a chilling murderous aura filled the alley.

Seeing that Ye Ci showed no intention of backing down, the middle-aged man in the blue robe revealed a rare hint of seriousness: "I'm not looking for you, I'm looking for Huangguoshu. This matter has nothing to do with you, so I advise you not to meddle, or don't blame me for being ruthless."

Huangguoshu lay on the ground, sprawled out, sleeping like a baby.

Ye Ci wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes coldly fixed on the middle-aged man in the blue robe, his inner energy subtly gathering: "Although you deliberately suppressed your voice, I could still hear the barbarian accent. So, you're a secret guard?"

"Oh?"

At this moment, the middle-aged man in the blue robe revealed an expression of interest: "Interesting. You want to make a move against me? Do you know the difference in our abilities?"

Seeing the middle-aged man walk towards Huangguoshu after he finished speaking, Ye Ci's gaze became serious: "I want to give it a try."

The middle-aged man's interest grew even stronger, but he still shook his head: "To be honest, I don't want to kill Yang Huaichuan's disciple. Today, I only intend to take Huangguoshu away. So, do you still want to try? Trying might lead to your death."

To be honest, it didn't count as him making a move at all; otherwise, Huang Guoshu wouldn't have simply fainted.

"Can you let him go?"

"cannot."

"Then I'd like to give it a try."

"You two have a good relationship?"

"You can't take him away."

Ye Ci calmly looked at him: "Because the person you're looking for isn't him. He went with you, you've got the wrong person—"

"I will die."

He raised his hand and assumed a fighting stance.

The surrounding wind seemed to freeze at that moment.

The will to fight suddenly surged!

A serious look appeared in the eyes of the middle-aged man in the blue robe. He took a step forward, his figure rising like a startled swan, and the wind in his palm gathered once more.

This time, the attack was even more fierce than before, heading straight for Ye Ci.

Ye Ci's eyes narrowed, his figure flashed, and the energy in his palm surged as he charged towards the middle-aged man in the green robe once again.

boom!

The two collided, producing a dull, drum-like sound.

Under the overwhelming force, Ye Ci was sent flying backward again, crashing heavily to the ground.

The two are not even in the same league.

The middle-aged man, not wanting to be branded as "bullying the weak," had already gone to extremes by showing leniency.

At this moment, he turned slightly to the side, his gaze sweeping over Ye Ci on the ground, and shook his head indifferently.

"Can you see the difference?"

He said no more and continued walking towards Huangguoshu, clearly intending to take him away.

"The person you're looking for is me."

Ye Ci propped himself up on his knees and said, "I was discovered by Commander Qing She at a post station in Jiaozhou Prefecture. After killing a group of men, I ran away until she caught up with me in a town. Qing She had already let me go, but the Grand Commander—"

Before he could finish speaking, the middle-aged man in the blue robe stopped, turned around, and looked at Ye Ci with a half-smile: "Why did she let you go?"

Ye Ci propped himself up on his knees and stood up: "Because I won."

As for how he won, there's no need to go into details.

This time, the middle-aged man carefully looked Ye Ci up and down, his smile deepening: "I did receive a message from the secret guards saying that someone named Huang Guoshu took away a group of people. Of course, they didn't have time to deal with you, and neither did I. However, Qing She sent a separate letter, mentioning what happened that day."

"I didn't take it to heart at first. I was just passing through Songjiang County and wanted to have a bowl of tea. But I heard you call out 'fruit tree' by the roadside. And when I heard this kid speak, calling himself the Martial Saint, I assumed it was him."

"Unexpectedly, it was someone else. Seeing that you were clearly no match for me, you still dared to stand up and glare at me. Your personality is just like the person in the Green Snake's letter."

"Alright, then come with me."

After a brief analysis, he confirmed Ye Ci's identity, believing that he and Huang Guoshu were from the same school and that it was normal for them to use false names to cover for each other.

Judging from his expression, the middle-aged man seemed quite pleased: "The Green Snake is quite fond of you, and you are also Yang Huaichuan's disciple. As long as you are willing to sincerely submit, the barbarians will naturally welcome you."

Ye Ci shook her head: "I'm not going."

The middle-aged man also shook his head: "You're not qualified to refuse me."

As he finished speaking, he put his hands behind his back, yet his clothes fluttered without any wind, his blue robe billowing in the wind.

Ye Ci's refusal was nothing more than an ant's whisper to the heavens.

It's laughable, but there's no need to get angry.

He simply stated the fact: "You are weak."

Ye Ci exhaled a breath of foul air, tinged with the smell of blood, his eyes flashing with a sharp glint. He stated frankly, "Your current cultivation level is high and your strength is great, so you can forcibly take me away. But if I truly join you, aren't you afraid of suffering a backlash?"

"oh?!"

The middle-aged man sang softly, his tone a faint regret for the stubborn younger man: "Talented people are as numerous as carp crossing a river. Even if you can unleash the power of the Transformation Realm, you are still stuck at the Dark Realm. At your age, you will not amount to much in this life. Green Snake admires your courage but does not value your strength, so what you just said sounds somewhat ridiculous to me."

He walked over step by step: "If you want to turn against me, you won't have a single chance even if you live a whole new life."

As soon as he finished speaking, he lightly flicked his sleeve and said calmly, "Do you even know what strength means?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ye Ci's pupils shrank. Before he could react, he felt a strong gust of wind. This gust of wind was different from the previous one. It was as if countless long swords were aimed directly at him, carrying a powerful killing force.

"Sizzle!"

With the sound of brocade tearing, the terrifying force completely shredded Ye Ci's upper body clothing.

The scraps of cloth fluttered in the wind, like butterflies in the air.

"I handle heavy tasks with ease, and light tasks with effortless power; I can make a move with mere casualness—"

But he only got halfway through his sentence.

The middle-aged man suddenly dropped his nonchalant demeanor, his eyes churning with a deep, dark intensity, revealing a true killing intent.

He slowly raised his hand, pressing his palm down on the hilt of the horizontal sword at his waist.

The wind rose again, stirring up the dust on the ground.

"Clang!"

The knife is drawn!

A cold glint suddenly appeared.

Ye Ci didn't catch any movement in his eyes, but the opponent's long knife was already pressed against his throat.

The middle-aged man in the blue robe gritted his teeth and said, word by word, "I ask, you answer!"

"One typo!"

"die!"

"Have you ever seen a twelve or thirteen-year-old girl before, you southern barbarian—and where did you get that wolf fang on your chest?!"

His eyes seemed to hold a hint of murderous madness, because when he had just torn Ye Ci's clothes apart, a wolf's tooth hanging from his chest was revealed.

He recognized the wolf fang.

It was something Murong Yanyu put on her when she was only four years old, and the little girl has always worn it.

But now it appears in Ye Ci.

He thought to himself that if he heard any answer he didn't want to hear, he would slice the kid to pieces, even if he was Yang Huaichuan's disciple, even if some people said he was bullying the younger generation.

Ye Ci stared directly at the middle-aged man and asked, word by word, "Who are you to her?"

"teacher."

"Are you here to take her back?"

"She's alive?"

"They're alive, I raised them."

"Your wolf fang?"

"I was attacked once, and she said she would keep me safe."

"I—I—"

"Are you still going to take me away? Then let's set off now. I'll leave Murong Yanyu here."

The middle-aged man stiffened slightly, then sheathed his knife and hung it at his waist.

In just a few words, he confirmed that Murong Yanyu was in Ye Ci's hands.

He received news that Yan Yu had been captured, so he fought his way through all possible directions.

Later, he first tried to coerce the general in the prefecture to investigate Yan Yu's whereabouts, but he failed because no one could explain where Yan Yu had gone.

So he coerced the five major sects into sending their disciples to search for the source.

Of course, this incident angered some people and caused some trouble.

He never dreamed that, after giving up, he would find himself wandering in this small county town.

He glanced at the bloodstains at the corner of Ye Ci's mouth, a hint of embarrassment in his eyes. For Xiao Yanyu to give Ye Ci the amulet she'd worn since childhood, perhaps she had some affection for this man before her.

He clasped his hands in a polite gesture, like a scholar: "I apologize for my abruptness."

Ye Ci calmly accepted the apology.

He sized up the middle-aged man in front of him, feeling that his scholarly air clashed somewhat with the knife at his waist.

"Cough cough cough————"

Beside him, Huang Guoshu coughed painfully a few times, then slowly woke up and saw the middle-aged man bowing in greeting.

"Damn it! I knew you were no match for my older brother!"

He was furious, the thought of being ambushed made him even angrier.

He sprang up with a somersault, leaping into the air and kicking the middle-aged man on the head: "Get down, grandpa!"

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