Chapter 218: The Protagonist Makes a Grand Entrance
Black clouds veiled the moon, and snow lay several feet deep in the dense forest. Sword Sect disciples patrolled the sky but failed to notice the four figures speeding through the woods below.
Ye Anping and his companions had traveled through a secret passage beneath the Yun Manor’s lotus pond. After winding their way for about the time it took an incense stick to burn, they emerged from a cave halfway up Yi Shui Peak. Once a patrol of Yi Shui Peak disciples had passed, they quickly plunged into the snowy forest, using the night and their grey cloaks to stealthily make their way to the rendezvous point.
Ye Anping suspected his luck was why Yu Shuiting hadn’t recognized him earlier. He had been wearing a mask, his hair was hidden by his cloak, and the light in the lotus pond pavilion had been dim. If Yu Shuiting saw his eyes in a brighter place later, she would undoubtedly realize he wasn’t her cultivation partner, “Ye An.” Therefore, Ye Anping, trailing at the back, contemplated how to deceive Yu Shuiting or eliminate her. Killing her would be easy; she was merely a cultivator at the Early Foundation Establishment stage, and she was currently defenseless with her back to him. However, if he acted now, the man leading the way would not stand idly by.
That man… While in the secret passage earlier, Yu Shuiting had spoken with him. From their conversation, Ye Anping learned his name was He Longyu and that he was a cultivator at the Late Foundation Establishment stage. Ye Anping estimated his chances of winning a conflict against He Longyu to be only about seventy percent. Seventy percent was still too low for his liking, so he temporarily set aside the thought of attacking Yu Shuiting and focused on the rendezvous.
The night before yesterday, he had asked Fengyu Die to assist this group in kidnapping Yun Jiujiu and to ensure her safety. If everything went as planned, he would reunite with Fengyu Die shortly. The only uncertainty was the method Fengyu Die would use to infiltrate the group; he hoped it would be something normal.
After the three of them, along with Yun Yiyi, had traveled swiftly through the snowy forest for a while, they arrived at an ancient-looking pavilion deep within the woods. The pavilion had three stories and stood isolated amidst the trees. The walls and roof tiles of the second and third floors were broken, and snow covered the interior. Outside the pavilion’s main entrance, five people wearing the same grey cloaks as them were waiting.
Sensing their approach, one of them immediately gripped the long sword in his hand and turned to look in their direction. “Who’s there?”
Seeing this, He Longyu made a gesture to Ye Anping and Yu Shuiting to remain silent. He then led them out of the forest and towards the pavilion. The waiting individuals relaxed as the trio drew nearer, sheathing their spirit swords.
“Brother He, weren’t there five of you? Why have only three returned? Did something happen?”
“It’s nothing serious,” He Longyu replied, nodding. “The Young Master of the Hundred Lotus Sect was prepared. Qi Yuan and Hu Renyi died at his hands, but he was still dealt with.”
“I see… We haven’t lost anyone on our end, but we couldn’t find anyone surnamed Feng in the Yun Manor.”
He Longyu frowned slightly. “The Second Miss?”
“We did bring her. She’s over there.” The man shrugged and gestured with his chin towards the beam of the pavilion’s main door.
Ye Anping and the others looked and saw a young girl in a blue-green tunic, her hands and feet bound by three chains. She leaned against the pavilion’s railing, seemingly asleep. The moment Ye Anping saw the girl, a question arose in his mind: “Are you sure you didn’t grab the wrong person?”
He Longyu voiced the question he had in his heart. “We didn’t grab the wrong person. We confirmed it several times. It really is the Second Miss.” He Longyu narrowed his eyes, still skeptical. He walked closer to get a better look and confirmed her identity before asking, “Why is she dressed like that?”
“Perhaps she was drunk and acting out,” the man replied, shrugging his ignorance. “This is how she was dressed when we found her.”
He Longyu pursed his lips, somewhat bewildered, but since the person was captured, he didn’t say much, only reminding them, “Add a few more Immortal Binding Ropes to her. If she wakes up midway, these three might not hold her.”
Ye Anping no longer bothered with Yun Jiujiu’s attire. He scanned the five people in front of him. Since they were all masked, he could only discern them by their eyes, but he could tell Fengyu Die was not among them. In other words, Fengyu Die had not chosen to infiltrate the group the same way he had. So, where was she?
Ye Anping furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, then looked around the snowy forest surrounding the pavilion. He suddenly noticed a bright golden light on a snow-covered pine tree to the east. *Oh… she’s there.* Ye Anping sighed in relief, though he couldn’t help but feel a bit exasperated. Couldn’t she have come up with a smarter method? And the five people who kidnapped Yun Jiujiu were also foolish; they said they hadn’t found her, unaware that she had followed them all the way here.
After He Longyu had two more chains added to Yun Jiujiu, he came down and asked, “Where are the people from Xi Ri Peak?”
“No news. They likely failed.”
“In that case… if they don’t return within another fifteen minutes, we’ll take the Eldest Miss and the Second Miss back…”
*Rustle—*
As he spoke, the tree where Fengyu Die was located swayed, and clumps of snow fell from its branches. He Longyu immediately became alert, pulled out a talisman from his storage bag, and looked up at the tree. “Who’s there?”
Simultaneously, the five men who had kidnapped Yun Jiujiu also grabbed their weapons and turned towards the tree where Fengyu Die was. Seeing this, Ye Anping felt a fierce battle was inevitable. He quickly drew his spirit sword and cautiously moved to a more advantageous position. He planned to surround the current group with Fengyu Die once she made her move.
However, the next moment, several bird calls echoed from above the pine tree. “Chirp~~ Chirp chirp~~~” The people below, including Ye Anping, were stunned into silence. *Someone is toying with us…* He Longyu’s eye twitched as if it were a jumping egg. He took a deep breath and threw a talisman towards the treetop.
The talisman instantly erupted in a blinding flash of fire, illuminating a hundred-foot radius and revealing Fengyu Die hiding in the snow-laden pine tree. Fengyu Die blinked, then immediately shrank her head, resigned. She had no choice but to draw her spirit sword, jump down from the tree, and say, “Everyone, is this okay? I’ll just go back where I came from. You… just pretend you didn’t see me, alright?”
He Longyu and the others stared at her speechlessly. Beside Ye Anping, Yu Shuiting, illuminated by the fire talisman He Longyu had thrown, looked at the deep purple eyes revealed above Ye Anping’s mask. Yu Shuiting had felt something was off earlier, but now…
“You…” Ye Anping clicked his tongue, no longer daring to wait. He raised his spirit sword, intending to silence Yu Shuiting. But before he could act, He Longyu, carrying Yun Jiujiu, flashed between them, snatching Yun Yiyi from Yu Shuiting’s shoulder. “Ye An, you and Yu Shuiting keep the silver-haired one here. I’ll take Yun Yiyi and the others and leave first.” With that, he stepped onto his flying sword, grabbed Yun Yiyi under one arm and Yun Jiujiu under the other like packages, and flew west.
Ps: I’m experiencing some writer’s block today, so I’m only posting one chapter. I rewrote this chapter eight times, totaling sixteen thousand characters, but I still feel something is off. It’s either too heavy or too convoluted. I’ll add another chapter later tonight or tomorrow.
