Taohua paused, then muddled through with a story that was half truth and half lies.
“My parents tried to force me to marry someone I didn’t want, so I ran away from home to escape the marriage. I got hurt on the road. Senior Sister not only bandaged my wounds, she even brought me back to the Night God Sect to recover, and taught me martial arts. Senior Sister really is a good person!”
He hadn’t expected them to have met under those circumstances. Hu Hansan was a bit stunned. From the sound of it, this Guan Fusha didn’t seem like a bad person at all?
No, no, no. That woman killed his junior brother, forced him to jump off a cliff. How could she possibly be a good person? This had to be a scheme!
Hu Hansan gave a cold snort.
“The Night God Sect is notorious in the jianghu. Everyone wants them wiped out. Guan Fusha even killed my junior brother. There’s no way she’s a good person! Girl, you’re too naive. You’ve definitely been fooled by her!”
Taohua rolled her eyes inwardly, but on the surface she put on a look of confused innocence.
“But why would Senior Sister want to fool me? Taking me back to the sect doesn’t benefit her at all.”
“This…” Hu Hansan choked, at a loss for words.
“Maybe she’s taken a fancy to your looks. People from demon sects are all despicable and shameless. How the hell am I supposed to know what goes on in their heads?”
Taohua: “…”
Guan Fusha, interested in her beauty? She might as well go admire herself in a mirror first.
Seeing that Taohua was almost done eating, Hu Hansan started packing up, stacking the bowls and plates back into the food box. Then he tied Taohua up again, tapped her acupoint to release it, and said,
“Girl, you’ll have to put up with staying here a few days. Once we’ve cut down that demonic flower Guan Fusha, I’ll definitely plead with the Sect Master to let you go.”
Taohua no longer felt like wasting breath on him. She had no idea where this guy’s inexplicable confidence came from. With someone like Guan Fusha, whose protagonist’s halo was dialed up to max, a random side character like him would only be going to his death.
Thinking of finally being able to avenge his junior brother, Hu Hansan whistled cheerfully, hooked the food box up on his shoulder with a backward swing.
“I’m off, girl~”
Taohua shot a glance at his retreating back and deliberately didn’t reply. She leaned against the abandoned stove again, closed her eyes, and pretended to sleep. Only when she heard the lock click outside and the footsteps fade into the distance did she snap her eyes open and struggle to kick the spoon hidden under her skirt out with her foot.
Just now, while Hu Hansan was distracted, she had quietly palmed a porcelain spoon and hidden it under her skirt. Luckily, when he was cleaning up the dishes he hadn’t noticed one missing, or she would’ve been exposed on the spot.
Taohua picked up the spoon, wrapped it tightly in the fabric of her skirt, then smashed it hard against the stove. It didn’t make much noise, but the spoon broke cleanly into two pieces. She picked up the piece with the handle, held it reversed in her hand, and used the sharp edge to saw back and forth against the hemp rope.
It took a long time, but she finally cut through the rope. Her wrists, however, were ringed in bruises from all the struggling.
Taohua shook out her numb hands a few times, then hurried to untie the rope around her ankles as well.
She lowered her head to check the wound on her arm. The white bandage was no longer stained with blood. The wound must be slowly healing. Looked like she’d been unconscious for quite a while.
Rubbing her tingling legs, Taohua hunched over and groped her way to the window. Only after confirming through the cracks that no one was around did she dare stand up straight.
She slipped the broken porcelain piece into the small cloth pouch at her waist, then picked three firewood branches from the pile, each about the length of a sword, and tucked them at her belt as well. After scanning the woodshed one last time and making sure there was nothing else useful, Taohua pried off the rickety window and slipped out.
Beikun Sect was a reputable orthodox sect, not like that demonic Night God Sect. They didn’t even have a proper dungeon for imprisoning people, which was why they’d locked her in a woodshed instead.
Where there was a woodshed, there was bound to be a kitchen nearby. And where there was a kitchen, there was bound to be a back gate for delivering ingredients and dumping slop, especially in a big, wealthy sect like this.
She hadn’t gone far before she spotted a patch of dense forest. If she was right, this should be the back mountain. The back gate shouldn’t be far.
Taohua took a deep breath and focused her internal energy into her feet. She leapt up. She wobbled in midair several times, but in the end managed to grab the tree trunk and land on a thick branch.
Holy crap. If she hadn’t reacted fast enough to hug that tree, she’d definitely have splattered into meat sauce over noodles.
Patting her pounding heart, Taohua silently vowed she absolutely had to get good at lightness skill. Even if she wasn’t kidnapped next time but chased down to be killed, she had to be able to sprint back and cling to Guan Fusha’s thick golden thigh for dear life.
Clutching the trunk, Taohua unsteadily stood and looked out over the surroundings. Just as expected, there was a house not far away with thin smoke curling from its chimney. Nearby were two wide-open gates. That had to be the back gate.
Once she’d fixed the direction in her mind and was about to climb down, the sound of metal scraping suddenly rang out behind her. After these days of training, she was very sure.
That was the sound of a sword being drawn from its sheath.
She didn’t even have time to turn around and check. Taohua’s figure flickered as she pressed her back to the tree trunk, then sprang to another branch on a neighboring tree. Only then did she clearly see who had attacked her.
It was a young man in green robes with fine brows and handsome features. He looked a bit older than her, a sharp sword in hand, lips pressed in a thin line as he watched her every move.
Just then, two more young men in green came hurrying over. One of them, panting heavily, called out to the first man,
“Senior Brother, why are you so fast? You… you didn’t even wait for us.”
The man addressed as “Senior Brother” ignored his question. Instead, he turned his gaze on Taohua.
“Who are you, miss? Do you know this is Beikun Sect’s territory? How dare you sneak in so casually?”
Taohua gave him a once-over. The more she looked, the more he matched the original novel’s description of the male lead.
She asked,
“And who are you? Are you An Xianli, the chief disciple of Tianlun Sect?”
The Tianlun disciple under the tree stared at her in surprise.
“Huh? How do you know Senior Brother’s identity? Do you two know each other?”
“…”
You don’t fear a godlike enemy, only a pig-like teammate.
Taohua was secretly surprised as well. She hadn’t expected An Xianli to show up at Beikun Sect.
Why? By rights, if Beikun’s disciples hadn’t been captured, their Sect Master wouldn’t have gone to ask Tianlun Sect for help. An Xianli shouldn’t be here at all.
The righteous sects always closed ranks. If her identity was exposed, An Xianli would definitely hand her back to Beikun Sect.
Having made up her mind, Taohua cupped her hands toward An Xianli, plastering a pained expression on her face.
“Young Master An, to tell you the truth… I’ve always secretly loved Young Master Mo. Till mountains crumble and heaven and earth become one, only then would I dare part with him. Even though he’s been gone for so long, I still can’t let him go. I can’t help but come and look at the place where he once lived, as if… as if he’s still right here by my side…”
As she spoke, Taohua deliberately lifted her sleeve to cover her face, letting out a few quiet sobs, her shoulders shaking as if she were crying her heart out.
“My god, there’s actually such a devoted girl in this world…”
The Tianlun disciple under the tree was completely moved by her words, almost to the point of biting his sleeve and crying along with her.
Taohua sighed inwardly.
Even after all these years, Qiong Yao’s masterpieces still knew exactly how to squeeze tears out of people.
An Xianli, however, was only half convinced. He’d never seen this girl before; she clearly wasn’t from the orthodox path. If so, how would someone from a common family know martial arts?
He studied her carefully and noticed the bruises around both her wrists. His gaze flickered.
“As it happens, we’re also heading to Young Master Mo’s residence. We’ll trouble you to lead the way for us.”
“That…” Taohua froze. She hadn’t expected An Xianli to make that request.
Her mind turned quickly, and she deliberately showed a doubtful expression, counterattacking with questions of her own.
“You’re from Tianlun Sect. Why are you going to Young Master Mo’s room? What are you planning? Besides, this is Beikun Sect’s back mountain. Don’t you think it’s very suspicious for you to show up here?”
The Tianlun disciple under the tree immediately waved his hands in panic.
“Miss, please don’t misunderstand. We don’t mean any harm. Tianlun Sect and Beikun Sect have always been on good terms. We actually came today under Sect Master’s orders, specifically to pay a visit to Beikun’s Sect Master.”
