Chapter 204 Protagonist, Want to Meet in the Grove?
The white snow that had fallen a few days prior on the Jian Jiu Peak training ground had been compacted into ice, making the area slippery. However, this did not hinder the pace of sword practice and martial arts training for the disciples on the peak.
*Clink, clink—*
In a corner of the training ground, the sound of swords clashing was continuous.
A slender scholar was using his spiritual sword, which resembled an embroidery needle, to fend off a burly man wielding a hundred-jin heavy sword.
It seemed like a foregone conclusion, yet after several clashes, the scholar remained calm, not even breaking a sweat. In contrast, the man opposite him was already panting, struggling to swing his sword.
Feng Yu Die pursed her lips and smiled, stepping forward to execute a horizontal slash.
*Whoosh—*
The sword moved in a straight line, its internal energy shaking the wind and ground, creating a terrifying commotion. However, just as it was about to touch the man’s neck, it instantly stopped like still water, held steady.
“Heh heh~” Feng Yu Die smirked proudly, then sheathed her sword and raised an eyebrow, “I concede!”
The burly man opposite her took a while to recover before slowly getting up, supporting himself. He cupped his hands in a salute:
“Fellow Daoist Feng is indeed powerful. Yesterday, I heard Young Master Feng block a sword from a Core Formation late-stage cultivator for Sister Jiujiu, and I thought he was boasting. Now it seems it was true.”
Feng Yu Die tossed the spiritual sword in her right hand and raised the sword scabbard in her left.
*Swish—*
The spiritual sword circled in the air and precisely slid into the scabbard.
After a cool maneuver, she wiped her nose and said somewhat sheepishly, “Oh, it’s nothing much! A late-stage Core Formation cultivator is just average. I’ve fought Nascent Soul cultivators before.”
“Nascent Soul cultivators?” the man exclaimed, “May I ask, which senior were you fighting?”
“Immortal Master Li of Chi Long Mansion! I fought him, and I can say I won.”
The man’s expression became even more astonished, and he shook his head in disbelief, saying, “Immortal Master Li is one of the Twelve Swords of the Immortal Family! That’s impossible, Immortal Master Li must have gone easy on you.”
“Heh heh~ Believe it or not.”
Feng Yu Die waved her hand and looked up at the sky, thinking that the roasted chicken she had asked the maid from Yun Jiu Manor to prepare was likely ready. She quickly turned to leave.
“I’m going back to eat roasted chicken, so I won’t keep you! You can continue practicing~”
“Ah… Yes, Fellow Daoist Feng, have a good journey.”
Feng Yu Die put the spiritual sword in her hand back into her storage bag and walked towards the exit from the edge of the training ground. However, just as she was about to reach the exit, she was stopped by a man.
“Fellow Daoist Feng, please wait.”
The man was wearing the Sect Uniform of Jian Jiu Peak. However, unlike other Jian Jiu Peak disciples, he was lean and did not possess the usual recklessness characteristic of Jian Jiu Peak disciples. He looked like an outsider disguised as a Jian Jiu Peak disciple.
Feng Yu Die looked him up and down with some confusion but didn’t think too much of it. She assumed he was here to spar with her, as disciples from Jian Jiu Peak had been challenging her to duels almost daily during her practice sessions.
Feng Yu Die waved her hand:
“I’m not fighting anymore. If you want to fight me, you’ll have to queue up for tomorrow. I practice sword here every morning anyway.”
“No… I’m here to deliver a message for a junior sister.”
“？!”
Feng Yu Die tilted her head, “Junior sister? Which junior sister?”
“Uh… Junior Sister Su. If you’re not in too much of a hurry, could you go to the pine forest behind the Pill Room of Jian Jiu Peak? Junior Sister Su said she’s waiting for you there.”
Pine forest?
What was this about? Were they going to pull something on her?
Feng Yu Die narrowed her eyes suspiciously. After considering for a moment, she finally waved her hand and said,
“Then please tell her that if she has something to say, she can come directly to Yun Jiu Manor. I’m busy going back to eat roasted chicken.”
“Ah…” The disciple was stunned. Seeing Feng Yu Die about to leave again, he quickly caught up and pleaded, “Fellow Daoist Feng, please just go. It won’t hurt to meet her.”
“So, what is it about?”
“This… It’s a good thing.”
“What good thing? Is it better than roasted chicken?”
The man was completely speechless and, after a long pause, finally managed to utter,
“Fellow Daoist Feng, let me be upfront. Junior Sister Su has been secretly watching you practice sword on the training ground these past few days. She thinks you are very dashing and cool, and she’s wanted to talk to you.”
“Then why doesn’t she just bring a plate of roasted chicken to find me? I’m quite approachable. With a plate of roasted chicken, I’ll chat with her for half an hour.”
“…”
The man was speechless, his entire face twitching. Finally, he sighed and said,
“Fellow Daoist Feng, consider it a favor I owe you, alright? If you go, I’ll buy you twenty roasted chickens.”
Upon hearing this, Feng Yu Die grinned, slapped his shoulder, and said,
“Hey! That’s what I was waiting for. Deal! Let’s go, where is it?”
“The pine forest behind the Pill Room.”
“Where is the Pill Room?”
Veins popped on the man’s forehead. He was exhausted and spread his hands, saying,
“I’ll take you…”
…
Following the man, Feng Yu Die wound her way along the path outside the training ground for about fifteen minutes, finally arriving before a ten-story pavilion.
On either side of the pavilion were individual small courtyards, with Jian Jiu Peak disciples coming and going. Behind the pavilion was a pine forest approximately five mu in size.
At this moment, the pine trees in the forest were covered in white snow, giving the impression of a vast white expanse at first glance.
The man stopped and gestured with his hands, saying,
“It’s here. Fellow Daoist Feng, walk about five hundred chi inside, and you’ll find a pavilion where Junior Sister Su is waiting for you.”
Feng Yu Die listened, then tiptoed to peer into the forest. Due to the scattered arrangement of the pine trees, she couldn’t see the pavilion the man mentioned from where she stood.
“Aren’t you going in?”
“Junior Sister Su wants to speak with you. My presence would be rather awkward,” the man said with an embarrassed expression. He cupped his hands in a salute and then turned to leave, “Fellow Daoist Feng, I’ll go buy you roasted chickens. You can chat with Junior Sister Su first.”
“Oh…”
Watching the man leave, Feng Yu Die frowned slightly and peered into the pine forest again.
She couldn’t quite figure out what the matter was, but the pine forest was indeed an ideal place for an ambush.
The land’s spiritual energy was abundant, and there were many animals in the pine forest. Even with a spiritual sense scan, it would be difficult to find cultivators hidden within.
After a moment of hesitation, Feng Yu Die softly called out,
“Xiao Tian…”
“What is it?” Xiao Tian’s resentful voice emerged from above Feng Yu Die’s forehead. It poked its head out and looked into the pine forest ahead, its brow furrowing instantly. “Four Mid Foundation Establishment cultivators, one Early Foundation Establishment. Are they ambushing someone?”
“So there is an ambush… I knew it. Why would someone call me into a small forest? They must be trying something,” she muttered.
“…Calling you into a small forest?”
“Yes, that person just said something about Junior Sister Su waiting for me to talk. I found it strange then – if she wanted to talk, why not come find me directly? Why arrange to meet in the woods? The ambush was too obvious.”
Hearing this, Xiao Tian felt a mixture of emotions.
Logically, when people heard such a thing, they would usually wonder if a junior sister wanted to confess her feelings, right?
But her Yu Die immediately thought, “This is likely an ambush.”
Was this a good thing or a bad thing?
Feng Yu Die propped her chin, pondered for a moment, and asked,
“Xiao Tian, fly in and check the storage bags of those five people. See if they have a lot of spirit stones?”
“?”
“If they do, you’ll go in?”
“Yes, it’s like food delivered to my doorstep. Why wouldn’t I eat it?”
Xiao Tian rolled its eyes at her. After a moment of consideration, it flew into the pine forest to investigate.
After a while, it flew back, its expression grave, and said,
“I’ve checked around. The four Mid Foundation Establishment cultivators aside, the Early Foundation Establishment girl seems to be a hostage. They seem to be using that girl to attract your attention and then ambush you. Be careful.”
“Ah? A hostage?”
“Mm… Inside her clothes, that girl has five or six low-grade thunder talismans. She’s standing in the pavilion muttering ‘Someone save me…’ or something. Be careful.”
Feng Yu Die propped her chin, pondered for a moment, and nodded,
“Mm… Alright, I understand.”
…
