Taohua had a vague feeling something was wrong.
“For what matter are you visiting the sect leader?”
“We heard the Beikun Sect’s leader captured the demonic woman Guan Fusha’s junior disciple. This time we’ve come on behalf of the Orthodox Alliance to ask the sect leader to hand her over, and while we’re at it, wipe out the Night God Cult in one go!”
Seeing Taohua’s soft, frail appearance, the Tianlun disciple felt she didn’t look like a bad person. Add to that the story she’d just told, and he had not a shred of suspicion toward her, so he spilled everything.
“Junior brother!”
An Xianli snapped at him, but it was already too late.
Taohua’s heart jolted. Things were developing in a way she had never anticipated. The four great orthodox sects had actually formed an alliance this quickly—and they were targeting her. If Guan Fusha rushed here to save her, she’d definitely walk right into their trap!
Under the tree, the Tianlun disciple shrank his neck, completely at a loss as to what he’d done wrong to be scolded like that.
An Xianli’s gaze returned to Taohua. He cupped his hands politely and deliberately asked,
“We’ve talked for so long, and yet I still haven’t had the honor of asking for the young lady’s name, nor which sect you hail from.”
“I…”
Taohua lowered her lashes. A glint of sharp light flashed through her eyes. While the two Tianlun disciples beneath the tree were off guard, she suddenly whipped out the long firewood branch stuck at her waist and lunged at them.
Everyone was startled by her sudden attack. They panicked, backing away again and again on instinct, trying to dodge. Taohua bent low at the waist, gathering her inner strength at the tip of the “sword,” and swept a wave of sword qi toward them.
The two Tianlun disciples couldn’t avoid it. They took the attack head-on, let out muffled groans, and crashed to the ground, a thin line of blood trickling from the corners of their mouths.
“Junior brother!”
Seeing this, An Xianli immediately leapt down from the tree. His wrist turned, sword point lifting, and he thrust straight at Taohua.
Taohua had been prepared. Her figure flickered aside, slipping past his strike. As she turned, she quietly pulled out the two shards of porcelain she’d hidden at her waist earlier, and while An Xianli wasn’t paying attention, she flung them at him as hidden weapons.
An Xianli never expected Taohua to use hidden weapons. Though he reacted at once and knocked one shard aside with his long sword, the other still smacked into his leg. He grunted, but fortunately the porcelain wasn’t sharp. Even though he was hit, it was only a minor flesh wound.
Taohua had never intended to defeat An Xianli with just two little shards anyway. She seized the opening—in the instant he staggered from the hit, she gripped the branch tightly and sprang at him, unleashing the Flying Dragon Sword Art she’d been practicing so hard these past days. She flicked hard across the back of his hand, neatly knocking his long sword away, then leveled the branch straight at his throat.
“You lost.”
An Xianli refused to accept it.
“You ambushed me with hidden weapons. That victory is hardly honorable!”
Taohua rolled her eyes.
“Why don’t you talk about how the three of you big men were ganging up on me just now?”
“This…”
An Xianli was struck dumb.
“But my junior brothers never even laid a finger on you!”
Taohua couldn’t be bothered to argue.
“I’m asking the questions. When did you four great sects decide to crusade against the Night God Cult? What exactly are you planning to do? How far have things progressed? Has the Night God Cult caught wind of this yet?”
An Xianli looked at her, then suddenly smiled.
“If I’m not mistaken, young lady, you must be Guan Fusha’s junior disciple, yes?”
Taohua’s gaze sharpened. She pushed the branch even closer, the tip pressed right to his throat.
“You think you’re in any position to ask me questions? This may not be a real sword, but as long as I pour inner strength into it, it can still hurt people.”
“The young lady has no intention of harming anyone. Clearly you’re kind at heart. If that’s the case, why degrade yourself by joining a crooked demonic sect like the Night God Cult?”
An Xianli had caught that she’d said “hurt” and not “kill.” That was enough to prove this girl was still kind inside, not fully brainwashed by the cult.
“…”
Talking to orthodox people like this was really an eyesore. Why the hell did she have to be “forced” into it in their heads? Was it not allowed that she joined the demonic cult of her own free will? That she was tempted by the high pay, good benefits, and thick golden thigh of the Protector to hug?
“Put down the blade, turn back from the edge, and you will find the shore. It’s not too late for you yet.”
An Xianli continued to earnestly persuade her.
Since there was no way to pry anything out of him, Taohua no longer planned to waste time.
“My apologies. Please forgive the offense, sir.”
Treating the branch as a sword, Taohua lashed it viciously across An Xianli’s leg. He grunted, unable to bear the pain, dropping to one knee.
“Young lady…”
Taohua tossed the branch aside. Once she was sure An Xianli wouldn’t be able to chase her, she immediately sprinted toward the back gate. The matter of the four orthodox sects forming an alliance to crusade against the Night God Cult—she had to tell Guan Fusha as soon as possible!
But she’d only taken a few steps when a stab of pain suddenly shot through her shoulder. She cried out and was forced to stop, bracing herself against a tree. Turning her head to look at her back shoulder, she saw a tiny dart embedded there.
Clenching her teeth against the pain, Taohua yanked the dart out and flung it to the ground, every alarm bell in her head going off.
An Xianli was an orthodox cultivator and would disdain such a despicable sneak attack. Which meant that aside from him, there was someone else here lying in wait for her.
Taohua’s complexion gradually paled, a thin sheen of sweat beading across her forehead.
Her enemy was hidden in the dark, while she stood out in the open. The situation was utterly unfavorable.
There was no time. She had to find Guan Fusha as quickly as possible and tell her what was happening, or else… or else…
Thinking of Guan Fusha’s safety, Taohua gritted her teeth and decided to risk everything and bolt. But she’d barely run two steps when the world started spinning wildly, everything before her eyes growing blurrier and blurrier.
Crap. The dart was poisoned…
Taohua could no longer hold on. Her legs gave out and she collapsed to the ground. Just before she lost consciousness, she caught sight of a figure standing on a tree not far away.
In the sea of fresh green trees, that flash of vivid red was strikingly conspicuous. A silhouette she knew all too well.
When Taohua finally woke again, her hands and feet were tied tightly, just like last time. The difference was that she was no longer in that pitch-black little room, but in… a fairly decent guest room.
She looked around. The room had only one door and no windows. Aside from a simple table and chair set and the bed she was lying on, there was nothing else.
Which raised the question—was it the Orthodox Alliance that had locked her up, or that seemingly scheming Yan Hong?
Adding this to what Yan Hong had said in the Punishment Hall before—half real, half fake—had she really developed the idea of turning Guan Fusha against the cult? Because Taohua had refused to cooperate with her, Yan Hong was worried she’d run to Guan Fusha and expose her plan, so she wanted to silence her?
But that didn’t add up either. If Yan Hong wanted to silence her, she should’ve done it back in the woods. Why go to all this trouble to capture her alive?
No matter how Taohua turned it over in her mind, she couldn’t figure it out.
Ever since she’d transmigrated, aside from Mo Tu jumping off the cliff, not a single thing had gone according to the original plot. What was the use of her knowing the story, seriously?
She waited, and waited, and still no one came in. Growing truly impatient, Taohua decided to take the initiative.
She struggled down from the bed and, once she’d found her balance, hopped toward the door in a stiff “zombie jump,” shouting,
“Is anyone out there?”
“…”
Hearing no reply for a long while, Taohua refused to give up and shouted again,
“Is anyone there?”
This time there was finally a response. Someone outside banged on the door hard and snapped impatiently,
“What are you yelling for? Get back!”
The sudden voice startled Taohua so much she nearly fell over.
Fuck. If she weren’t tied up right now, a small fry guarding the door like this would be someone she could wipe out in a couple of moves. Tch!
With that attitude, he clearly wasn’t going to share any information with her. Taohua had no choice but to obediently hop back to the bed and lie down.
Being a hostage was so damn boring. If she’d known, she wouldn’t have tried to run. At least back at the Beikun Sect, she’d had that honest, simple Hu Hansan to chat with…
Taohua rolled over. Bored out of her mind, she started silently counting “Guan Fusha” in her head. She didn’t know what number she’d gotten to when drowsiness gradually washed over her and, before long, she drifted off to sleep.
In her sleep, Taohua felt as though something was brushing against her face, tickling her so much it was unbearably uncomfortable. Half in a daze, she slowly opened her eyes, only to see someone sitting at her bedside.
In an instant, her sleepiness vanished. Her eyes flew wide, and she instinctively let out a scream.
The person’s hands were fast. They clamped over Taohua’s mouth at once, blocking any sound.
“Shh. Don’t scream. It’s me.”
Taohua recognized Yan Hong’s voice and hurriedly made a few muffled “mm, mm” sounds to signal her to let go.
Yan Hong chuckled lightly and withdrew her hand.
Taohua stared at her in astonishment.
“You’re… Yan Hong?”
“Mmm~”
Yan Hong drew out the last syllable, smiling.
“What, Protector, have you forgotten even my voice?”
“What on earth is going on?”
Taohua couldn’t hold back her questions.
“Where am I? Were you the one who brought me here?”
“Mmm… no need to be in such a rush, Protector.”
Yan Hong curled a lock of hair around her finger, playing with the tip as she smiled.
“I wonder if Protector would be interested in hearing me tell a story?”
“Hear you tell a story?”
Taohua was completely confused. At a time like this, she still wanted to tell stories?
Yan Hong didn’t care whether Taohua agreed or not. She simply began speaking on her own.
“Let me think… Perhaps everything should start from the Sifang Pavilion.”
Taohua’s heart trembled. Sifang Pavilion—that was…
“That day, in the Sifang Pavilion, I happened to see a little ‘girl’ in women’s clothes snooping around for news of the Night God Cult. It seemed she was interested in joining.
“Right around then, the Right Protector and I had unintentionally learned that there was a mole in the cult—someone who was leaking our information while secretly using the Night God Cult’s name to collude with black markets in the northern kingdom to smuggle goods.
“We wanted to drag this mole out into the open, but we failed again and again. It was as if he could see through all our moves.
“So, your dear senior sister came up with an excellent idea: to strike east while feinting west.
“We searched for a long time and still couldn’t find a suitable person. Until I met that young ‘lady.’”
