"Alright, I'm glad you believe me."

Li Sushang handed over the water pouch again: "Want another sip?"

He took the water pouch and took another sip.

Li Sushang asked curiously, "What Brother Zhang said before about wanting to survive for three days, is that also related to that secret realm?"

Zhang Yang said softly, "Yes, that secret realm allows you to travel between worlds, but there is a seven-day cooldown period. If you die, it will be automatically triggered. I dare not die now; I must wait at least three days."

"..." Su Chang paused for a moment, then asked, "Then why are you still coming with me to the Golden Sands Gang?"

Zhang Yang laughed and said, "I can't just watch them kill people in front of me and then run away in a sorry state, can I? Besides, my life goal is to build a harem. You seem naive and I'm a little worried about you. I also want to take this opportunity to improve my favorability with you."

She only heard "somewhat worried," and felt a slight surge of joy, but then frowned and said, "Brother Zhang, it's normal for a man to want three wives and four concubines, but to make that an ambition, isn't that a bit too unambitious?"

"What you said makes sense."

"Right, right? A good man should have ambitions beyond his hometown."

"Then let's set a small goal first: overthrow the corrupt feudal dynasty and establish a new China!"

"Huh?"

Chapter Nine: Your Parents Are Dead

Twilight fell.

The desert sunset is golden, the outlines of the dunes are drawn in soft arcs by the setting sun, and the wind carries dry heat.

A magnificent Akhal-Teke horse stopped a hundred paces away.

The rider took a sip from the wine flask at his waist, then spurred his horse forward slowly.

The horses' hooves pattered softly on the sand.

A man and a horse, backlit, like a moving silhouette.

Li Sushang's hand was already on the Xuanyuan Sword.

Zhang Yang sat up straight, his eyes fixed on the approaching figure.

He had seen all sorts of outlaws at the Jinsha Gang's inn.

The way those people walked, the way they held their knives, and the way they looked at people all had something in common: a murderous aura.

The person in front of me didn't seem to be trying to kill me.

He rode his horse, drank wine, and acted as relaxed as if he were taking a stroll in his own backyard.

It is this very relaxation that makes people uneasy.

The Akhal-Teke horse stopped about twenty paces away from the cart.

The rider pulled on the reins and looked down at the two men sitting at the front of the vehicle.

As they got closer, the face finally became clear.

He was an extremely burly man.

He had long hair, a short beard, and bulging muscles. He wore a dark, close-fitting outfit, the fabric bearing the marks of wind and sand. His face was covered with many old scars, the most prominent of which was a sword scar that ran diagonally down his brow bone, like a fiery red lightning bolt that abruptly broke off at his jaw.

The scar didn't make his face look ferocious or terrifying; instead, it added a touch of dashing charm.

Li Sushang gripped the sword hilt, her entire body tense: "Senior, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Senior?" The rider scoffed, looking her over with interest. "Little girl, can I take a look at that sword on your shoulder?"

Li Sushang was taken aback for a moment: "No, I won't lend it to you."

"Not lending it?" The rider released his right hand from the wine jug, his five fingers slightly spread, as if he were about to grasp something.

Boom!

The cart jolted violently!

A force struck from the side, and the camel let out a terrified cry, its hooves thrashing wildly.

The cart tilted violently, and the left wheel lifted off the ground!

Li Sushang reacted extremely quickly, pressing one hand against the carriage floor to steady herself, while the other hand had already gripped the hilt of her sword.

Zhang Yang wasn't so lucky; he slid to the side and frantically grabbed the rope on the edge of the carriage to avoid falling.

"Grass--"

The rider didn't even look at Zhang Yang. Seeing Li Sushang's reaction, the corners of his mouth widened a bit more: "Hey, little girl! Are you Ling Shuang's apprentice? No wonder you looked familiar when I saw you. Very good. According to seniority, you should call me 'Shishu' (a term of respect for one's seniority).

The rider repeated the name in a low voice, then chuckled, "Ha, that Fifth Senior Sister actually took on a disciple."

Li Sushang blinked: "You are 'Hundred-Mile Chasing Horse' Ma Feima!"

The strange man before them was Chi Yuan's personal disciple, the only male disciple among the Seven Swords of Taixu!

The sixth of the Seven Swords, the renowned Vice Head of the Taixu Sect of Tianqiong Peak, is the Chasing Horse Sword – Ma Feima.

His real name is Ma Yanqing. Eighteen years ago, he suddenly announced that he would marry his senior sister, who was more than twenty years younger than him, which shocked the martial arts world.

On the wedding day, he got drunk and talked nonsense, admitting that he was ashamed of his old name and would abandon it, changing it to Ma Fei Ma, leaving all the guests embarrassed and at a loss.

On the surface, he held many identities and had an extremely prestigious reputation, making him someone that everyone in the martial arts world wanted to befriend.

Behind his back, people called this Master Ma a madman, a madman, an eccentric, and an immortal Ma Fei Ma. Everyone who saw him had a headache and maintained a nodding friendship. No one wanted to get too close to him.

Ma, the deputy sect leader of Tianqiong Peak, is gentle, humble, and polite; but once he descends the mountain, he becomes a completely different person, daring to provoke any troublemaker and cause any kind of trouble.

Whether the other party is from a prestigious family or a powerful figure, Ma Fei Ma doesn't care at all.

Upholding justice and fighting evil? Punishing the wicked and eliminating the guilty?

The Chasing Horse Sword doesn't need this kind of name.

Fight if you want, strike if you want; use a sword if you like, use your fists if you like; help whomever you want, kill whomever you want; do whatever you please.

For this reason, everyone in the righteous sects of the martial arts world avoids him like the plague.

Lin Chaoyu, the head of the Taixu Sect, also did a lot of work to help him with the troubles he caused.

"You know my story?"

Ma Feima's expression remained relatively mild at this point.

Li Sushang nodded: "I met you a few times at Yijian Manor. I only knew that you were the deputy head of Taixu Sect, but that was a long time ago."

Ma Feima was taken aback upon hearing this. He looked at Li Sushang carefully, his expression suddenly changed, and he remained silent for about two breaths.

Then he said, "You are Qin Suyi's daughter."

“Yes.” Li Sushang nodded. “Senior, you don’t recognize me? Actually, I didn’t recognize you either, but that domineering aura is still the same as before.”

Ma Feima didn't answer the question, but slowly said, "It's good that you left Jiangnan and came to this desert."

Li Sushang felt that the tone of the question was a bit off: "Senior, what exactly are you trying to say?"

Ma Feima raised his head and looked at Li Sushang, his eyes filled with a kind of arrogant and indescribable look.

"Your mother is dead, and your father is dead."

Li Sushang's expression froze.

“The Yijian Manor was burned to ashes, leaving no survivors.” Ma Feima’s tone was very calm. “Your father, Li Shen, and your mother, Qin Suyi, are both gone.”

Li Sushang stood there for a long while before she finally spoke, her voice soft and hoarse: "This is impossible..."

She still held the Xuanyuan Sword in her hand, but her fingers no longer gripped it tightly; they rested loosely on the hilt.

Zhang Yang climbed up from the edge of the carriage, looked at Li Sushang, and realized that the girl was still there, but her soul had left. He then turned to Ma Feima and asked, "Who did this?"

Ma Feima glanced at him; this was the first time Ma Feima had looked at him directly, as if trying to determine the origin of this boy who had suddenly interrupted.

"Who are you?"

“Zhang Yang, just passing by,” Zhang Yang said. “But that’s not important. What’s important is that your Seven Swords of Taixu are renowned, and Yijian Manor is no ordinary sect. Who could do this, and who would have the motivation to do it?”

Ma Feima was silent for a moment, then uttered a title: "It was Master... it was True Man Chiyuan who did it."

Li Sushang seemed to be nailed to the spot by something, her eyes wide open, her lips slightly parted, but she couldn't make a sound.

"First published on 705u.com - Book Club"

Zhang Yang leaned against the carriage wall and asked again, "Why did Chi Yuan kill them?"

Ma Feima looked at him, a hint of coldness in his eyes: "A boy like you who doesn't know martial arts shouldn't get involved in this."

"Master Chi Yuan ascended to immortality twenty years ago; this is common knowledge throughout the entire Divine Continent," Zhang Yang continued. "But you just said that Yi Jian Manor was burned down, Li Su's parents died, and the murderer was Chi Yuan."

"What makes you so certain that Master Chiyuan would kill his own disciple and then slaughter the entire Yijian Manor?"

"You'd even say it's more likely that the Demonic Sect or the imperial court launched a large-scale military attack."

“But you’re certain it’s Chi Yuan, and judging from your direction, it seems you’re also heading to Zizai Sect.” Zhang Yang stared into his eyes. “You think that once Chi Yuan is born, he will definitely eliminate your seven disciples one by one. Is that what you think?”

Ma Feima's lips twitched slightly: "You're quite the talker, kid."

"Not bad, but it's written all over your face." Zhang Yang said without changing his expression. "I'm just reading it out for you. What exactly did you Seven Swords of Taixu do? Why did True Person Chiyuan disappear twenty years ago? To the point that you all believed that True Person Chiyuan would return and kill all seven of you!"

"You little brat, you're asking for death!" Ma Feima roared in fury, and in a flash, he vanished from his horse.

The movements were extremely fast.

It was so fast that Zhang Yang didn't even see how he made his move. He only saw a blur before a calloused hand reached out to grab his face!

call!

The wind was howling; if this grab were to happen, his head would probably be crushed!

Clang!

A golden sword light blocked Zhang Yang's path!

The sword steadily blocked Ma Feima's palm strike, its blade adorned with dark gray patterns that shone faintly in the twilight.

Li Sushang stood in front of Zhang Yang, holding the Xuanyuan Sword in both hands.

Her eyes were still red.

But her hand holding the sword was very steady.

"You can't touch him."

Chapter Ten: He stood before his horse, sword held horizontally.

Li Sushang stood in front of Zhang Yang, sword in hand.

The golden blade shimmered with dark gray patterns in the twilight, its tip trembling slightly, but the hand holding the sword showed no sign of backing down.

Ma Feima looked at her with a mixture of surprise, amusement, and something else that was hard to define.

"You're going to protect him?"

"Correct."

“I just told you that your parents are dead.” Ma Feima said, emphasizing each word. “You should be thinking about how to get revenge, not protecting a kid who can’t even do martial arts.”

Li Sushang's lips trembled slightly, but she didn't step aside: "I'll look into my parents' affairs. But he's my friend. I can't let you hurt him."

Ma Feima was silent for a moment, then cracked his knuckles as he moved them: "Fine, since you insist on protecting him... then you'll lead the charge. Not ready yet? I'll give you time to adjust to your best condition. Remember, you must fight with the determination to kill me, understand? I won't hold back."

Li Sushang replied, "Why must we resort to violence?"

Ma Feima stared at her and smiled slightly.

That's it, everything has already been explained, why bother with further explanation?

Because Ma is not Ma, he has made a decision, and because he has made a decision, he will do it.

The girl bit her lip, forcibly suppressing her resentment, and did as she was told.

The enemy before us is no opponent we can easily deal with...

Even if you give it your all, you might not have a chance of winning.

After all—he is the sixth swordsman of the Taixu Sword, a top expert on par with his master!

Oh dear, it's only been a few days since my first duel, and I already have to have another one.

The opponent is one of the seven strongest martial arts masters in the world...

Just like the book says, once you enter the world of martial arts, it's like falling into a deep sea.

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