Chapter 221 - What"s Going on?
There was a hum.
The tremendous waves crashed down, and the Sword Intent scattered all around.
A mild golden light immediately followed and, like a huge hand, grabbed the tremendous waves.
Lu Mingshu"s eyes shone. The sword hissed loudly, rolling the tremendous waves and hitting them back.
Ye Zhenyan"s attack had already drained most of his energy. Seeing a tremendous wave suddenly cras.h.i.+ng down on him, he could only forcefully block it with his sword. As if thousands of mountains were pressing down on him, he was sent flying.
What"s going on?
As he fell, with water gus.h.i.+ng into his mouth and nose, that was the only thing that came to his mind.
I had the whole situation under control. How did she manage to break away from my Sword Intent at the last minute?
"Third Young Master, Third Young Master!" He heard the Ye Family"s in-charge of Remainder Island shouting in panic. Afraid that something will happen to me and hurt the Ye Family?
Ye Zhenyan felt like laughing.
He was someone who always had a clear grasp of the situation, grasping his opponent"s ability and his own, and he knew how to make himself more capable of winning.
But now, he lost.
How he lost, what the opponent"s ability was, how to break it… he didn"t know any of it!
"What happened?" Since even Ye Zhenyan didn"t know what happened, the crowd obviously didn"t know either.
"Did he lose?"
"What the h.e.l.l? Did he let her win on purpose?"
"But… why would he need to do that?"
On the Ding family"s boat, Ah Ling jumped up in happiness. "Ah! Grandpa, did Miss Lu win?"
"I suppose so…." Captain Ding raised his eyebrows. It seemed that Lu Mingshu won, but the change was so fast that he didn"t really understand.
Sir Ning of the Bon Voyage Fleet stared at her oddly. "Nice. Her tricks are pretty unique."
"Yeah!" Miss Yu nodded. "Her skills remind me of an old friend…."
"Oh?"
Whoos.h.!.+
Ye Zhenyan floated to the surface of the water.
"Third Young Master!" The in-charge ran toward him and held him tightly.
But Ye Zhenyan pushed him away and stood on the silver leaf, drenched, and went over to Lu Mingshu.
"What did you do?" Ye Zhenyan asked.
If I don"t find out what happened, I can"t rest in peace even if I die! He had never felt so frustrated in his life, even in the fight with Ling Wuxia.
"What do you mean "what did I do"?" Lu Mingshu raised her brows.
She was still dry as she stood on her bronze leaf.
"Your sword energy was already dissolved by me. How did it reappear?"
Lu Mingshu looked at him oddly. "Do you really think it was?"
"Are you saying it wasn"t?" He pushed his wet hair away in frustration.
He had trained for so long to master the skill of dissolving someone else"s mystic force in water. Why did he not succeed this time?
Lu Mingshu shook her head. "You"re too confident. Water can take any form and take in anything. It"s such a pity that your technique took up such a huge area; that"s why I could do what I did."
Ye Zhenyan stared at her blankly.
"Water can interfere with me, but it can interfere with you too." She then took out her spiritual tool. "You"re right - my sword energy was dissolved. However, this is the real killer."
"Spiritual tool…" Ye Zhenyan mumbled.
"Yes. I activated it when I attacked and fused it into my sword energy. My sword energy was dissolved, but not the spiritual tool"s power. If you had heard about how I fought during the Qilin Festival, you would know this is how I beat Kou Wei."
Ye Zhenyan"s expression turned black.
It was a rune cage!
"It was that simple."
Ye Zhenyan"s face turned green. He wanted to say that she didn"t win with martial arts, but he couldn"t bring himself to do so.
Martial artists spoke with their ability, but n.o.body ever said that spiritual tools weren"t allowed. Everyone did whatever they could to win, and no matter what, a win was a win.
"Third Young Master!" Even after being pushed away, the in-charge crawled back again. I can"t let anything happen to Third Young Master here, or else I won"t be the in-charge anymore.
This time, Ye Zhenyan didn"t push him away. He let the in-charge bring him back to the boat silently. He didn"t even say anything else. What"s the use in talking after a loss? Just get stronger and fight again in the future!
The crowd seemed to finally understand the reality of the situation.
"The Ye Family"s Third Young Master really lost…."
"What"s going on?"
"Hah, unexpected, right? That Miss is a wolf in sheep"s clothing, actually pretending to be weak…." Somebody came up with a theory.
"Who the h.e.l.l is she? Daring to defeat the Ye Family"s Third Young Master in their own territory."
"I know, right? The Ye Family won"t let her off!"
"If she dares to do so, her support must be very strong indeed."
"Hopefully!"
Lu Mingshu went back to the Ding family"s boat.
Seeing that there was nothing left to watch, the crowd went back to do their own things.
"Miss Lu!" Ah Ling shouted and rushed to her. "You"re awesome! You defeated him!"
Seeing Ah Ling so excited brought a smile to Lu Mingshu face. "It"s just that he was too careless."
"Even so, you"re still very good! That"s the Third Young Master of the Ye Family! The previous people who met him were no match!"
"Oh really?"
"Yeah! Miss, do you know that the Ye Family"s generation…"
Hearing Ah Ling talk, Lu Mingshu wiped the sweat from her face. "Sir, I"ll stay at the inn here first, and I may take a while. You can leave first if you need to."
Captain Ding looked at her for a moment. Remembering his grandchildren, he nodded. "I"ll wait first and see how things go."
"Sure."
Bidding goodbye to Ah Ling and company, Lu Mingshu went to the island and found an inn in the market.
As soon as she got a room, she took out a pill and swallowed it. She closed her eyes and lay on her bed.
That fight was extremely tough. The reason for her win wasn"t actually as simple as she said.
Of course Ye Zhenyan would"ve felt her runes if she put them in carelessly. She only won because she got the calculations right and managed to suppress the runes enough to hide their presence.
Ye Zhenyan was very powerful, he wasn"t overconfident, and the area of his attack was actually just right. It"s just that, with the ability of a Harmonization Realm, one couldn"t feel something if it was small enough.
Lu Mingshu used her calculations to find the very small difference, and luckily, she got it right.
No matter whether it was the calculating or suppressing the runes, it took a lot of her energy.
She didn"t have enough time to recover naturally. The Ye Family was too overbearing; defeating the Third Young Master of the Ye Family in front of so many spectators… who knew if they would come seek revenge?
This was why she stayed in an inn. If she was on the boat, she might implicate the Ding family and then have nowhere to hide. She also wouldn"t be able to display more than 70% of her power.
All she could hope for now was that she was worrying too much and that the Ye Family wasn"t that petty.
Chapter 222 - Another Old One
It was a silent night, and a burnt smell filled the room from burning candles.
Lu Mingshu sat in her bed quietly, trying to recover.
The market was no longer bustling with activity, and the stalls were all closed. The only sound that could be heard now was the wind and the guards patrolling.
Suddenly, the candle flame wobbled.
Lu Mingshu shot up and rolled to the ground frantically. In the next moment, the bed was now in two pieces.
She looked at the bed and drew her sword slowly. "How disappointing!" she sighed.
"Hmph!" someone huffed, but there was no one to be seen. "Such an arrogant kid!"
Ignoring the person"s provocation, she asked calmly, "May I know who this sir from the Ye Family is?"
"You don"t deserve to know!" the other party said arrogantly.
"Heh." Lu Mingshu smirked. "It seems Sir hasn"t broken through to the Spirit Realm. Perhaps you"re one of those old men that have to spend their whole life in the Harmonization Realm?"
"You…!" Sword-light dashed toward her as the other party attacked in anger.
Lu Mingshu bent down immediately to dodge the attack. She then counterattacked.
Zzzzz~~
A hiss could be heard, followed by a Clang! as something banged into the broken bed frame, and there was an old man in black.
"An old man indeed. After a kid comes a teenager, and now, an old man. Where"s the creativity?"
The old man"s hair was extremely white. Even though he looked to be in his sixties, he may actually be in his hundreds already.
"A little b.a.s.t.a.r.d with no respect!" The old man chided.
"It"s not as if you treated me kindly!" Lu Mingshu shouted back.
She wasn"t an idiot. He"s here for my life, so why would I still be polite and nice?
"Okay, let"s stop here. Just tell me what you all want, okay? We will talk things out if we can, and if we can"t, we"ll just fight. What do you think, sir?"
She was actually being polite now, but the old man didn"t seem to buy it.
He caressed his beard and nodded. "Nice! Miss is better than others, and the Ye Family loves visitors the most. Come to White Heron State"s Silver Leaf Mountain as a guest!"
Lu Mingshu said nothing and just stared at him quietly.
"Well? Respond! An old man like me doesn"t want to bully a child either."
Lu Mingshu smiled. "Have you even gotten permission for this? Or rather, has your master gotten permission from his master?"
The amount of "masters" should have made him confused, but the old man"s face changed.
"I guess you didn"t. Am I right?" Lu Mingshu taunted. "I advise you to do so before your master gets into trouble!"
This made the old man feel guilty, but he gained confidence immediately. "Ah, don"t exaggerate." He sneered. "I knew who you are since the start. Let"s not talk about your awkward situation in Nine Jade Palace; even if you were the big Miss, what could you do? Do you think first place on the New Generation Ranking is that powerful?"
Nine Jade Palace was an unconvincing middle-tier clan, and it was only that high because of its three a.s.similation Realm elders. The Ye Family was much more powerful, and they were in Beiming right now. Even the Seventh Truth Platform would have to bow to them here.
"Fine, fine." Lu Mingshu sighed. "You"ve said so much to tell me that, if you don"t bring me back, you"ll embarra.s.s yourself, right? Then let"s start."
Even though she said that so casually, she became more cautious.
A Harmonization Realm disciple like this was way more powerful than what others thought. Due to being in the same realm for so long, he was very experienced. Even if his cultivation wasn"t that high, when he attacked, even elites of the Harmonization Realm would have to back off. The sneak attack a moment ago showed that he was way stronger than Ye Zhenyan.
However, no matter how powerful he was, it was meaningless. He was about to step into his coffin, so what need was there to compete with the generation of his great grandson? They had bright futures, but all he had was white hair.
That was the reason why such people were the hardest to deal with. To them, reputation was nothing; they only cared about benefits for their younger generation.
"Let this old man show you what true ability is!"
Before he could do anything though, sword energy suddenly swelled up, and sounds of numerous explosion could be heard. Tables, cupboards, and more fell apart, and dust was everywhere.
When the old man regained his senses, Lu Mingshu had already jumped out the window.
He turned red with anger and yelled. "This brat…!"
She said, "Let"s start," but before he could, she suddenly made a mess of the room and ran away!
So cunning already! What will she become when she grows up?
The old man held back his anger and jumped out of the window too.
The inn was so quiet that one could hear a pin drop. It was as if n.o.body heard what was going on.
Some time after both of them had left, a clerk came in, trembling with fear.
Lu Mingshu stopped abruptly when she was outside of the market.
The old man ran like mad behind her. Suddenly, he saw her white figure stopping.
"Old man, you"re slow, eh?" Under the moonlight, he could see her smiling. "Why even waste your energy on me?"
"Hmph! Shut up. We"ll talk when I take you back!"
This time, the old man didn"t give her a chance to perform any tricks. He dashed forward and launched an attack.
Lu Mingshu didn"t perform any tricks. She just blocked the attack.
Sword energy was everywhere, and both of them fought just like this.
Soon, the old man felt that something was weird. Why is my mystic energy no longer smooth?
Oh no, she poisoned me!
He panicked and launched an attack before jumping away from the fight. "Brat! Poisoning me, huh!?"
"Old man, you can"t say it like that. When I"m alone, I can do whatever I like, and I just like to smell poison. You"re the one that broke into my room without permission," she answered calmly.
"b.a.s.t.a.r.d…." The old man finally understood. Since the moment he entered her room, Lu Mingshu was stalling for time. When he inhaled enough poison, she then escaped from the room to make him angry. He"s old but only a Harmonization Realm cultivator, so he was easy to provoke. After being provoked, his blood flowed faster, and the poison spread throughout his body even quicker.
This poison is really something. I couldn"t even feel it.
No, I must…
He took out something, but some sword-light suddenly flew over, knocking the messaging device to the floor. Following that was rain-like sword-energy. "You want to ask for help? Dream on!"
The poison had already entered his head, and the old man"s vision turned blurry. He regretted deeply. Why did I think that she was just an inexperienced kid? That I could deal with her quickly? Who knew that she"s so cunning? I"ve made the same mistake as the Third Young Master, and now I"ve gotten myself into the water as well. Will my old life end here?
As the old man was in despair, some wind gushed up and someone appeared.
"Girl, stop!"
As the voice fell, a bluish figure appeared.
Chapter 223 - Spare You Some Face
Sword energy scattered in all directions. Lu Mingshu only felt a vigorous force pus.h.i.+ng her, and she went back a few steps, only barely stopping.
She felt an iron-like taste gus.h.i.+ng up her throat. She swallowed it down and turned to the person who just arrived.
He was wearing the turquoise s.h.i.+rt that symbolized the Ye Family. He was bulky, and he had a messy beard and hair.
It was another old man.
He stood with his hands behind his back, and his composure radiated power. It was a Spirit Realm elder.
Lu Mingshu wiped the blood away from the corner of her mouth and stood upright. "The Ye Family is really something else; even a Spirit Realm is here. Aren"t you all valuing me too highly?"
The Spirit Realm elder hummed. "Young lady, if a Harmonization Realm cultivator can"t suppress you, why can"t a Spirit Realm cultivator come?"
Lu Mingshu was speechless. She bit her lips before sighing. "You"re actually able to throw away your face like that? I concede defeat."
If it was a Harmonization Realm enemy, she could still try to escape, but it was a Spirit Realm cultivator. What could she do other than concede defeat? The difference in ability was just too much.
The bulky old man looked satisfied. "Not bad, at least you have a clear view of the situation. This old Sir will try to not let you suffer."
After saying that, he glanced over to the side.
The old man in black was now weak, so he had to roll over to the bulky old man. "Seventh Master, please calm down! The in-charge is doing this for the Third Young Master!"
The bulky old man looked at him coldly. "Did I even blame it on you? Get up! And bring her away!"
A smile took over the black-clad old man"s face. "Yes!"
He wasn"t actually a Ye Family member, but just the sidekick of the Remainder Island in-charge.
Even though Lu Mingshu had never seen the old man before, she had met many prestigious people during the Qilin Festival. His aura showed that he was probably an outsider. There was a high chance that he was just a guard of Remainder Island. In that case, he would have to follow the instructions given by the in-charge. When Lu Mingshu was talking about masters earlier, she was talking about the master of the in-charge - in other words, a powerful Ye Family member.
Sending an old man of such caliber was just looking down on me too much. The Ye Family"s Third Young Master wouldn"t do something so stupid.
However, Lu Mingshu wasn"t always right.
For example, this Spirit Realm elder from the Ye Family didn"t seem to know what had actually happened.
So I still have to visit the Ye Family in the end? What a waste of time.
The bulky old man cut off her train of thought; "Young lady, I suggest that you stay still! With my power, you have absolutely no chance of playing any tricks!"
Lu Mingshu opened her mouth to say something, but she was cut off by a burst of bright laughter. "Ye Seventh Master, it"s been a long time!"
The bulky old man"s eyes shone as he looked up toward the sky. "Yu Ruohan?"
Under the moonlight, a figure moved with the wind, landing elegantly.
The woman was in her thirties and had a ponytail. She looked elegant.
As soon as she landed, she brushed away her sleeve and bowed. "Seventh Master, I haven"t seen you for quite a while. Have you recovered?"
"What does my injury have to do with you?" The Ye Seventh Master huffed.
"Seventh Master, aren"t you being too cold?" When Yu Ruohan smiled, her eyes wrinkled, making the atmosphere more casual. "We have known each other for so long, is it wrong for this younger sister to show you my concern?"
"Oh yeah? You"re just here to show me concern, huh?" The Ye Seventh Master rolled his eyes.
Yu Ruohan giggled. "I can"t hide from Seventh Master, I guess. I"ll just get to the point then."
Ye Seventh Master sneered.
Yu Ruohan turned toward Lu Mingshu. "I hope that Seventh Master can be lenient to this young lady over here."
Ye Seventh Master glanced at her coldly. "Yu Ruohan, you aren"t that important!"
This didn"t leave any face for her, but it didn"t anger Yu Ruohan. She continued to smile at him. "If I"m not, the queen of Zhongzhou is, right?"
"What!?" Ye Seventh Master yelled. Yu Ruohan wasn"t someone to speak without thinking, but… the queen of Zhongzhou, what was that supposed to mean?
Yu Ruohan looked at him, and her eyes widened. "Seventh Master, you aren"t aware? When the Qilin Festival ended, she nearly made this young lady stay!"
"Nearly?"
Yu Ruohan smiled. "Isn"t it nice? If I had that chance when I was younger, I would have gone for it! But youngsters nowadays, they"re rather arrogant! They don"t even value the position of the Alioth Star Lord"s wife… ah, I"ve said too much, huh?"
"Said too much" indeed, except it was all on purpose.
Ye Seventh Master looked like he was in deep thought. What Yu Ruohan said was enough to prove that the queen of Zhongzhou cared about this girl, and he had to take this matter seriously.
Even though Beiming wasn"t under Zhongzhou, the Zhongzhou royal family was in charge. The royalty of Dongyue and Xichuan had to bow down to the royalty of Zhongzhou, and the royalty of Zhongzhou was always in a position of power. The Ye Family also conducted business with Zhongzhou. If I offend the queen of Zhongzhou…
Ye Seventh Master bit his lips and made up his mind. "It was hard for Yu Ruohan to say something, so I"ll spare you some face. But there won"t be a next time!"
Yu Ruohan bowed. "Thank you for sparing me some face, Ye Seventh Master! Come visit our s.h.i.+pyard when you"re free!"
"Heh, next time."
The Ye Seventh Master said half-heartedly and turned to the old man in black. "What are you doing there? Roll back here!"
The old man looked at Lu Mingshu with lips trembling, as if he was pleading.
Lu Mingshu understood and nodded. "The poison isn"t lethal, it only stops your meridians temporarily. You will recover tomorrow."
The old man sighed in relief. He bid goodbye and follow the Ye Seventh Master back.
When they could no longer be seen, Lu Mingshu turned toward Yu Ruohan and bowed. "Thank you for helping me out, Senior."
But Yu Ruohan didn"t return the courtesy. "If I didn"t arrive, would you not have said that?"
Lu Mingshu shook her head. "Junior didn"t plan to."
Yu Ruohan"s smile widened. "Smarter than your master at least. That"s not so easy."
Lu Mingshu stared at her in shock. "Senior, you know my master?"
Yu Ruohan nodded. "Why do you think I would help you? I gain nothing from offending the Ye Family."
Lu Mingshu was currently lost.
"I"m part of the Bon Voyage Fleet." Yu Ruohan laughed. "I saw you fighting the Ye Family"s Third Young Master and recognized your skills. I went to check and realized you indeed have something to do with my old friend."
This Yu Ruohan"s background isn"t simple! Even before the Ye Family knew about me, she did.
"Senior Yu, my master and Senior…"
"We traveled together when your master came to Beiming, but we met in Zhongzhou."
"Ah…."
Yu Ruohan looked around. "Come with me first, it"s unsafe to talk here."
Lu Mingshu agreed without any hesitation. "Yes."
Our difference in ability is so great, if Yu Ruohan really wanted to do something to me, there"s no need to put on an act. Upon thinking this, she went with Yu Ruohan without much thought.