Chapter 108: Back Up

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. And check out other stories too. 

As the voice faded, the newcomer had already stepped through the air and landed lightly between the Prince of Yu and Li Qiubai.

Only then did the Prince of Yu clearly see the face of this arrogant person.

She wore a dark robe trimmed with golden thread and had a jade belt around her waist. Her face was stunning, yet filled with coldness. She merely glanced at the person in Li Qiubai's arms before slowly walking toward him, stopping beside the saber that had fallen from the sky.

With just one look, Li Qiubai had already recognized her.

She was none other than Meng Chang'an's master, the leader of the Blood Flame Sect—Zhong Shujin.

Time has never defeated the beauty.

Though many years had passed, her elegance remained unchanged.

Just like back then, when she had descended from the sky into the desert bandit’s lair to save her and Meng Chang'an, full of heroic spirit and wild flair.

She was like a deity descended from the heavens.

Thinking of the past, Li Qiubai was a little dazed. But the Meng Chang'an in her arms already had red-rimmed eyes.

She could not see her master, so she only clutched tightly at the Princess' collar to hide her reaction, and softly called in the direction of the voice, “Master…”

The little one rarely showed weakness in front of her.

That one aggrieved call, like a cry about to break into sobs, nearly shattered Zhong Shujin’s heart.

Her most beloved disciple had been hurt like this—anyone with a good temper would not be able to bear it, let alone Zhong Shujin, who was always fiercely protective.

To Li Qiubai, this person was like a deity. But to the Prince of Yu, Zhong Shujin at this moment was like the Yama* seeking his death.

*King of Hell in Buddhism 

Anyone familiar with her would know, seeing Zhong Shujin’s expression now, that she was already furious beyond measure.

Anyone who was familiar with this person would know, upon seeing Zhong Shujin’s expression now, that she was already furious beyond reason.

But the Prince of Yu was not familiar with her, so he could not guess what she was thinking at that moment.

Just seeing her casually draw her saber and slowly walk toward him step by step with that terrifying air already sent chills down his spine.

“What are you all standing around for? Go! Take down that assassin!” 

Chen Ruiyun hurriedly helped the Prince of Yu, who was scrambling backward on hands and feet and shouted at the experts guarding his side.

The swordsman who had been standing beside the Prince of Yu stepped forward first, twirling his sword in a flourish and charging ahead to lead the attack.

He was a man of the jianghu taken into the Prince's Manor years ago. Once, his sword had shaken the martial world with his name. But after being hunted down by enemies, he had no choice but to seek shelter in the Prince’s Manor and serve under his command.

To him, dealing with He Changping and those young ones had only been a small matter. That was why the Prince of Yu dared to leave him alone earlier to face that young swordsman. It was precisely because he knew this man’s swordsmanship was superb, and that group of youths would not be his match.

But who would have thought that now, facing this uninvited guest, he could not even get close before being struck down with a single slash?

One slash to the throat.

And no one could even see clearly how she had drawn her saber.

The swordsman lowered his eyes slightly, glancing at the blood gushing from his neck.

In that instant before death, he was still able to think—so there really existed a blade this fast in the world.

So fast that he had no time to react before he lost his life.

His life was gone, but his eyes could still see.

When the swordsman fell, he still died with his eyes wide open.

And that demonic woman who had just taken a life did not even blink. Still holding her saber, she continued walking step by step toward the Prince of Yu.

The others had yet to recover from that brutal scene when a sudden wail rang out in the arena.

Kong Ming, who had been hiding behind the armored guards to treat his wounds, was glaring fiercely at Zhong Shujin, thinking about how to kill this enemy right here today. But unexpectedly, a sharp pain struck his shoulder.

“Was it you, eunuch, who hurt our Young Master like that?”

A silver spear had already pierced through Kong Ming’s right shoulder.

The person who came had clearly charged alone into the circle of armored soldiers, yet moved with ease and calm as if walking through an empty courtyard.

When everyone turned toward the voice, they saw the newcomer already lifting Kong Ming high into the air with the spear.

That spear-wielding woman wore light armor, her long hair tied high.

With that effortless posture, she looked as if she had simply used the spear to skewer a piece of meat.

If not for guessing that she was with that earlier demonic woman, the people of the Prince's Manor would have thought she was a female general fresh from the battlefield.

The moment they saw her face clearly, Kong Ming could no longer care about the pain in his shoulder and cried out in shock, “Lin… Lin Ziyan…”

It is a pity that Young General Lin was not present, or she would have leaped up in excitement and called out “Auntie” to this person.

“Oh? You still remember me? Your courage has grown quite a bit. You even dared to bully our Blood Flame Sect’s Young Master.”

Kong Ming was already drenched in sweat from the pain, yet still gritted his teeth and growled, “So what if I bullied her?! It was already merciful that I did not take her life!”

Source: https://www.jjwxc.net/onebook.php?novelid=3614052
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com please read it there. and check out other stories too. 

Lin Ziyan narrowed her eyes. When she clearly saw the dried blood on Kong Ming’s black iron claws and the torn bits of cloth stuck in the joints of the armor, the fire in her heart flared even higher. With a twist of her wrist, she directly severed the tendons in Kong Ming’s right hand.

In just a moment, Kong Ming lost his left and right hands in pain, crying heartbreakingly.

But Lin Ziyan only shook her head and said with regret, “Ai, what a pity our Sect Leader only crippled one of your hands back then.”

As she spoke, she casually stabbed the spear into Kong Ming’s left leg, and in passing, severed a tendon in his foot as well.

“If you ask me, we should not have let you go back then. But it is fine, you definitely will not be escaping today.”

Kong Ming cried out in pain while calling for help.

But the armored guards nearby, upon witnessing such a brutal scene, all took several steps back. No one dared step forward to help Kong Ming, each fearing they would be caught in this person’s wrath.

The guards quietly retreated, tacitly clearing out a wide space for Lin Ziyan to carry out her private justice.

"Alright now, Ziyan. The man is about to die at your hands. Hurry and give him some medicine to keep him alive."

As another female voice rang out, a woman in white robes gracefully descended from midair.

Her clothes were whiter than snow, and her beauty rivaled that of a celestial maiden.

Hearing her speak like that, the people of the Prince's manor could not help but feel a sliver of hope. Finally, someone decent had arrived—hopefully, she could stop the other two demonic women...

But who would have thought that her next words would be even more chilling?

"If he dies, that would be a relief for him. What a pity that would be. In a while, make sure you go easy, watch your strength, alright? You must make sure he lives a life worse than death. Otherwise, how could we avenge Chang’an?"

Upon hearing this, everyone present shivered.

Just what kind of person could say such vicious words with a smiling face?

As expected, there was not a single decent soul in this Demonic Sect!

After casually tossing a bottle of medicine to Lin Ziyan, that person did not stay long and directly walked toward where Li Qiubai was.

The Prince’s Manor guards dared not block her path, and all of them stepped aside to make way for her.

When she reached Li Qiubai, she squatted down and tapped the little head still buried in the Princess' arms.

"Little girl, who else bullied you? Quickly tell Auntie. I will have your master go settle the score with them one by one."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ruiyun, who had personally fed poison to Young Master Meng, instinctively took a step back.

Hearing that familiar voice, and sensing how the elders of her family were all standing up for her, the grievance that Young Master Meng had been holding back could no longer be suppressed.

"Auntie..."

The small face that peeked out from the Princess’ arms was already red with tears.

With just a single blink, her tears began to pour down.

Seeing Young Master Meng suddenly burst into tears, the Princess froze for a moment and even forgot to greet the senior before her.

"Hey, Auntie is here."

The Poison Doctor Gu Qingyin, who struck fear into everyone in the martial world, now looked just like a gentle mother. She squatted down and curled her fingers, carefully wiping the tears from Young Master Meng’s face.

But the tears only flowed more and more. No matter how she wiped, they would not stop.

By now, the little one’s hands were no longer clutching the Princess’ robe but were tightly holding onto Gu Qingyin’s sleeve, crying out over and over again, "Auntie…"

In every call, there was helplessness and fear.

The more Gu Qingyin heard it, the more her heart ached.

She could not tell what great grievance this little one had suffered to be this heartbroken.

She could only gently stroke the little one’s head, soothingly asking, “What grievance have you suffered? Tell Auntie quickly, and Auntie will settle it for you.”

But this child just refused to say anything, only kept crying silently.

Yet it was this kind of voiceless weeping that tugged at the heart the most.

Seeing her like this, Gu Qingyin finally noticed that something seemed a little off.

The Young Master’s once-bright eyes had now lost all focus. She stared blankly ahead, her gaze empty and dull.

Gu Qingyin felt something strange and asked, “What is wrong with your eyes?”

Meng Chang’an’s nose twitched from the sourness in her chest. Upon hearing that, her sobs grew even more intense.

But she still firmly shook her head, refusing to say a word.

At first, Gu Qingyin could not understand when the Young Master had changed her nature. It was not like her to suffer a grievance without speaking up.

It was only when the corner of her eye caught the Princess’ face full of heartache that Gu Qingyin suddenly understood.

Oh, so she did not want this person to hear.

They had all been through the same thing before. Gu Qingyin understood at once. She gently took the Young Master from the Princess’ arms, helping her keep what little pride she had left in front of the Princess. At the same time, she found an excuse to send the Princess away.

“You are the Princess, right? Let me take care of Chang’an for now. Your people are still waiting for you to take charge. Oh, and our Sect Leader has probably gone bloodthirsty by now. If you want that Prince to stay alive, you had better go and keep an eye on things.”

Even though Li Qiubai could tell this was only an excuse, she still knew better than to refuse. She respectfully said, “Then I shall trouble you, Senior.”

At this moment, the Prince of Yu was already so frightened by Zhong Shujin’s murderous look that his legs were shaking. He was being protected as he retreated while barely holding the line.

However, Zhong Shujin seemed to be torturing him on purpose. She did not directly strike at him, but every time she killed one of his guards, she would look at him quietly.

Such killings, both physical and psychological, made the few remaining masters around the Prince of Yu shiver with fear.

"Your Highness, should we run? This is the famous Demoness of the Demon Sect. When she was young and just entering the martial world, she was able to force back nearly a hundred experts from the Tang Sect with one strike. Now, her skills are even more unfathomable. You see her fierce aura, and we... I am afraid we are no match for her!"

The Prince of Yu, enraged, smiled mockingly, unsure if he was comforting them or himself. "Run? Run from what? This is this Prince’s imperial manor! Why should I run? Should it not be them running instead? Chen Ruiyun, where are the martial experts I asked you to invite?"

He refused to believe it. How could someone's internal energy be endless?

As long as those people arrived, she should be exhausted by then. At that point, he would make this Demoness regret it...

However, before the Prince of Yu could finish dreaming his beautiful dream, Chen Ruiyun had already returned, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he reported, "Your subordinate has just learned that the Qingyang Clan Master is leading the other sects and blocking people on the streets. They said they are cleaning up their own sects, and the fight is already tearing up the sky..."

The Prince of Yu nearly spat blood from anger.

The situation was already decided, and there was no time left for him to sulk. With no choice, he could only give the order, "We retreat!"

He never thought that he, a dignified prince of the dynasty, would one day fall to the point of being hunted down in his own home...

Zhong Shujin was keeping a close watch over the Prince of Yu, so Gu Qingyin was not worried about him getting away.

After Li Qiubai had gone far enough, Gu Qingyin rubbed the Young Master's head and said seriously, "She is gone. You can tell Auntie now, what kind of grievance did you suffer?"

"Wu... Auntie..."

After learning that the Princess had left, Meng Chang'an could no longer hold back her sobs. She shrank into Gu Qingyin’s arms and cried with grievance.

Afraid that others would laugh at her sorry state, she quickly buried her face into Gu Qingyin’s shoulder, using her clothes to wipe away her tears. She grabbed onto Gu Qingyin’s sleeve with her still-movable left hand, trying to save face.

“I might… might just be crying because the wound hurts too much…”

Seeing the wound on the Young Master's shoulder that had been temporarily treated by Shen Lingyun, Gu Qingyin did not expose her excuse. She just gently patted the Young Master's back to calm her down and said softly, “It was our fault. We came too late and let you suffer.”

Because of that, Meng Chang'an’s tears flowed even harder.

When she had left home, she had still been able to clearly see the faces of her master, aunt, and elders. Now that they reunited, she could only hear their voices but could not see their faces.

This time, she could not hold it in anymore. She cried and called out, “Auntie… what should I do…”

She did not dare to speak loudly for fear that others might hear and the news would reach the Princess. So she leaned close to Gu Qingyin’s ear and whispered very, very softly as she sobbed, “I cannot see anymore… what should I do…”

Just saying those few words made the Young Master even sadder the more she thought about it, and the more she cried, the more heartbroken she became.

Even while she was crying so hard that she could barely breathe, she still did not forget to remind Gu Qingyin, “Do not let Her Highness know, alright…”

Gu Qingyin’s expression turned grim. She immediately grabbed the Young Master’s wrist to check her pulse.

But the Young Master’s disordered pulse made Gu Qingyin more and more shocked the longer she checked…

Author's Note:

Why is the author so diligent lately, and why are there fewer and fewer comments? Crying