Xia Ruoqing shook her head with a bitter face. “Heavens! I won’t come next time. I’m tired to death.”
Ji Bingyu also moaned, “Let’s rest for a while. My legs and feet hurt.”
Among the delicate guniangs, Liu Ruixue was stronger. Although her little face turned red, she didn’t make a sound and hung on until they arrived.
They arrived at the destination: a quiet valley. The three gunaings looked at the rumbling waterfall, willows, winding stream of water, the small fish swimming, swaying plants by the riverside, and spots of moss. The valley was surrounded by cliffs on both sides. The mountain stones were beautiful, as if they were bonsai carved from G.o.ds. There were strange stones, trees, and vines in the depths of a magical forest at the end of the stream. Every step was a magical experience. The three guniangs’ fatigue disappeared and they shouted loudly in excitement.
Xia Ruoqing no longer complained about not coming here anymore. She smiled at Zi You until her beautiful eyes curved. “You meimei, can we catch the small fish?”
Zi You laughed happily. “Yes, I brought a small net. If you’re accurate, you can scoop small fish up. Then we’ll roast them.”
“Fish can be roasted?” Ji Bingyu was interested. She stared at the small net in Xia Ruoqing’s hand. “Qing meimei, give me the net. I also want to catch fish.”
The two little guniangs forgot their fatigue in their struggle over the small net. Liu Ruixue, who was older by a year or two, was calmer. While helping Zi You gather firewood, she watched her two meimeis joke and laugh.
Next to the waterfall, Zi You laid out a tarpaulin and the food. She said to Liu Ruixue, “Prepare with them here. I’ll go hunt a wild hare and pheasant to roast.”
She then tried to fly away.
But the four guards stopped her. “Xiaojie, you cannot go.”
Zi You frowned. She knew this was her grandfather’s orders. He was afraid that she would meet with danger. Thus, she said gloomily, “Leave three of you behind to take care of my jiejies. Xie Yunfeng, come hunting with me.”
Xie Yunfeng saw how resolute she was and knew that she made up her mind. He could only hopelessly obey. He said to the three guards staying behind, “You must protect the xiaojies and not let anything happen to them.”
He and Zi You then flew out of the valley. They were going to a spa.r.s.ely populated part of the mountain to hunt. There were more wild hares and pheasants there.
Zi You also wanted to bring some back and roast them for grandfather and her cousins.
In terms of the two people’s internal strength, Xie Yunfeng was stronger than Zi You. However, when it came to qinggong [light footwork, flying), Zi You could be said to have improved by leaps and bounds in half a year.
That was because grandfather said, “If your qinggong is number one, if you can’t beat an enemy in the future, you can run. Run faster than everyone else and no one can catch up to you.”
Her grandfather was so cute! He urged her everyday to practice qinggong.
Therefore, Zi You and Xie Yunfeng moved quickly. Especially since Xie Yunfeng was Old General Mu’s confidant and guard. There was nothing much that Old General Mu hid from him. Thus, Zi You started to generate her spiritual power.
As a result, those fast wild hares and pheasants became puppets that lost their souls. They obediently let the two people capture them.
Xie Yunfeng was surprised and happy and, as his eyes opened wide.
Finally, the two people caught six live rabbits and seven pheasants. They happily started to descend the mountain. But before they came to the valley where the picnic was held, Xie Yunfeng said in surprise, “Xiaojie, this subordinate seems to hear…”.
“Shh…” Zi You stopped him from speaking. Her ears perked up and she listened carefully for a moment. She then quickly said, “Let’s go quickly. It seems to be fighting sounds coming from the valley.”
The two didn’t bother attending to the hares and pheasants and quickly flew towards the waterfall valley.
The sounds of fighting became louder as they drew closer. Once she got there, Zi You’s blood vessels almost burst open.
More than thirty masked attackers surrounded and laid siege to the three guards, a brocade-clad man, and the six girls under their protection. The man in brocade was Shangguan LingRan.
Four men protected six girls, while dealing with more than thirty strong martial artists. It could be imagined how dangerous it was.
Zi You and Xie Yunfeng didn’t have time to think before joining the fray.
The weapon Zi You had today was her silk ribbon. She injected her internal force into the silk ribbon and it became a whip that was swung towards the attackers.
While fighting with the attackers, she ordered Xie Yunfeng, “Xie Shiwei (imperial bodyguard, soldier), quickly bring jiejies and them away.”
“No, general commanded this subordinate not to leave Xiaojie’s side,” Xie Yunfeng loudly shouted. He ruthlessly and mercilessly stabbed at the attackers.
Zi You was anxious. If something happened to the three xiaojies, she, her grandfather, and even the whole General’s Manor would be in trouble.
Shangguan LingRan apparently thought of this too. His face no longer had that careless dandy expression. He said seriously to Xie Yunfeng, “Take your Xiaojie and the three xiaojies away. This Shizi will stop them.”
He stepped in front of Zi You and fiercely ordered, “Hurry and retreat, stupid. Their target is you. They want to kill you so they won’t do anything to me.”
Xie Yunfeng heard and also became anxious. With a white face, he disregarded propriety and shouted to Zi You, “Xiaojie, quickly go!”
Zi You said firmly to the two, “I, Mu Zi You, am not a coward. I cannot leave my friends and comrades behind to exchange for my life. Xie Yunfeng, you take the three xiaojies and leave. Bring grandfather over here. I will stop them with Shizi Ye. Don’t worry. I have spiritual power and my qinggong is better than yours. Nothing will happen to me. Go quickly.”
Xie Yunfeng looked at Zi You’s murderous aura. He knew she wouldn’t leave because Shizi Ye was here. If something happened to Shizi Ye, the General’s Manor would also be in trouble.
Xie Yunfeng gave a long whistle. The other three guards emerged from the encirclement, apologized for offending the three xiaojies, grabbed them and the four maidservants, and flew away.
“Nubi wants to stay. Nubi doesn’t want to leave Xiaojie.” ShiYun’s heartbreaking cries gradually disappeared into the empty forest on the mountain.
Shangguan LingRan heard Zi You’s words and his heart warmed up. He stood with his back touching her back. He smiled brightly as he said, “Stupid. Do you know why I’m helping you? Because you’re really cute when you’re stupid!”
“Go die!” Zi You was not grateful. As she told him off, she called Weishali over.
Weishali was released into a place with living creatures. It already had its fill of mountain rats and other animals. Now, it was happily trying to catch a hare. Then it heard its master’s call for help.
At this point, it wasn’t in the mood to enjoy food. With a sudden whoosh, it quickly dove into the gra.s.s and disappeared. Soon, it appeared in front of Zi You.
Zi You fiercely cried out, “Weishali, bite them to death.”
Weishali was a spirit snake. It was not only poisonous, but had spiritual awareness. Its skills were high and no lower than a martial arts master.
It spewed out venom and suddenly bit people. Within three minutes, those who were bitten showed symptoms of poisoning: dizziness, nausea, blurry vision……
The attackers relied on their heavy numbers. They sent ten or so people to chase after Xie Yunfeng and them. But once Zi You sent out her three-bone nails, she instantly knocked down five or six people.
The three-bone nails drew blood across throats. They were dipped in poison that did not lose out in toxicity to Weishali’s venom.
The remaining twenty or so people didn’t dare to move rashly. They thought of the kill order that their master gave them. “If you can’t kill that cheap wench Mu Zi You, you don’t have to come back to see Bengong.” They could only risk their lives to surround the two people and one snake.
One of them seemed to be the leader. He fiercely said, “Don’t leave anyone alive. The man seems to know who master is. Go and tear the two people and one snake to pieces.”
Shangguan LingRan coldly and gloomily smiled. His evil aura was to the extreme. “We don’t know who would tear whom into pieces yet. How many people, besides her Fuw.a.n.g, don’t know about Shangguan Lingluo’s shameful event? She doesn’t have the ability to silence people yet.”
How did Shangguan Lingluo know that Zi You was going to the mountain today? Could it be that that s.l.u.t w.a.n.g Yiping told her?
As if he was aware of Zi You’s doubts, Shangguan Lingkan, as he was fighting, said, “I said you’re stupid. You are stupid. If you know your stepmother wants to harm you, why didn’t you guard against her? She bribed the servants in your courtyard and found out that you were going to the mountain today. A servant of your stepbrother sent a message to Yu Meilian. [TL Note: Just a reminder, she’s Yu Lanxuan’s Di sister.] Yu Meilian went to the Palace to tell Shangguan Lingluo. My subordinate told me the news this morning. I ran over as soon as I heard.”
Zi You’s hatred surged and her movements were more ruthless. Her silk ribbon was like a snake. It elusively hit the enemies’ death acupuncture points. A three-bone nail flew out and knocked down five or six enemies again.
Shangguan LingRan also ran around fighting. His soft sword was like a beam of moonlight fighting against the attackers’ longswords. The clanging sounds were incessant. He was not panicked as he protected Zi You. His sword moved in layers like scattering lotus blossoms. The wounded black-clad attackers retreated.
Don’t blame him for being ruthless. He couldn’t let these people return and tell Shangguan Lingluo that he knew martial arts. Then he, his mother, and his maternal grandfather’s forbearance and masquerade were lost.
After a battle, there were only seven or eight attackers remaining. Shangguan LingRan was injured. His left leg was sliced by a sword. The cut under his right rib was also deep to the bone. They were sustained because he was trying to protect Zi You.
Possibly because her internal strength wasn’t strong enough, the silk ribbon’s power was getting weaker and weaker and its lethality decreased. She also ran out of three-bone nails. Thus, she was saved several times by Shangguan LingRan and Weishali when she was in danger.
Weishali was also injured and bleeding everywhere. It looked at Zi You in distress and anger.
They couldn’t continue on like this. Weishali and Shangguan LingRan were losing blood. They couldn’t hang on for very long.
Why wasn’t grandfather here yet? Zi You looked anxiously at the road that led away out of the valley.