Chapter 185 - 120: Shattered Gold Saber
"Did you see anyone?"
Jiang Ran glanced at Li Tianxin, then shot a look at the Seven-stringed Zither before them.
The zither looked quite ancient and unadorned, not like an ordinary instrument.
All seven of its strings were snapped.
Li Tianxin shook his head slightly.
"I didn’t see anyone..."
"Where did you go just now?"
Jiang Ran asked again.
"..."
Li Tianxin said nothing more.
Jiang Ran gave him a surprised look.
"You can’t say?"
"I don’t want to say..."
"Why?"
Jiang Ran raised his eyebrows. Although he didn’t want to suspect Li Tianxin, the members of the four sects had all been present just moments ago, and every one of them had fallen into the trap.
Yet he alone had left the group. And now when asked where he’d been, he was unwilling to say...
How could that not arouse suspicion?
He had to give a reason, at the very least... Otherwise, it was too hard to explain.
Li Tianxin was silent for a long moment. He clearly understood the gravity of the situation.
Finally, he looked up at the sky and said in a low voice:
"Chopping down trees..."
"?"
A flicker of confusion appeared in Jiang Ran’s mind.
Li Tianxin, meanwhile, slowly drew his blade.
The blade was full of nicks, and some parts of the edge were even bent.
On the blade, tiny wood splinters remained in the corners of the nicks.
Li Tianxin then said grimly:
"Just now... after you all left, people from the Yun Mountain Sword Sect arrived. Ling Buyi wanted to continue his duel with Huang Xuan to determine a winner.
"Huang Xuan naturally wasn’t afraid. After a sharp exchange of words, the two were about to fight.
"But right then, people from the Danyang Sword Sect also arrived.
"They announced that Shi Pingzhang was nearby.
"As soon as they said that, I felt a chilling wind wash over me, and a killing intent suddenly rose in my heart.
"I knew something was wrong. To avoid accidentally hurting anyone, I quickly fled...
"But I never expected this killing intent to be so hard to suppress.
"I used all my strength just to barely maintain my sanity and search for the person who had attacked from the shadows.
"But before I could find them, the zither music began.
"This time, I couldn’t hold on any longer.
"I drew my blade and looked around, and all I could see were the surrounding trees. They all looked so detestable, I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to cut them all down..."
Although Li Tianxin looked very cool saying this with a deadpan expression...
...Jiang Ran couldn’t help but picture the scene: Li Tianxin, roaring in fury, treating the surrounding trees as his mortal enemies and furiously hacking them down...
He gently rubbed the corner of his mouth.
The corner of Li Tianxin’s eye twitched, and he shot Jiang Ran a cold glare.
Jiang Ran instinctively avoided his gaze.
Then, Li Tianxin snorted.
"If you want to laugh, then laugh..."
"HAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
Jiang Ran was happy to oblige.
Li Tianxin’s face darkened further. "You’re actually laughing! Let me tell you, this matter leaves my mouth and enters your ears. If a third person finds out, one of us must die!"
"It won’t come to that."
Jiang Ran rubbed his own face, soothing the muscles that ached from laughing.
"It’s a trivial matter. Even if other people find out, you don’t have to kill yourself."
"You!"
Li Tianxin glared at him resentfully.
He wanted to retort, but considering their respective martial skills, fighting Jiang Ran to the death really wasn’t much different from killing himself.
"Since the person is gone, let’s head back."
Jiang Ran thought for a moment, then picked up the ancient zither as well.
’The one playing the zither just now must have been Shi Pingzhang.’
’The piece he played was very likely the "Mind-Shattering Funeral Dirge" that Huang Xuan mentioned.’
’But if that’s the case, his martial arts have indeed changed again.’
’In the past, to inflict his "Heart Demon Scroll," he had to write on the city walls.’
’But now, we haven’t even seen him, and yet so many people here fell for his trick.’
’This ability to sneak in with the wind, unseen, is truly frightening.’
’But it’s not all bad news.’
’It seems my thirty-thousand-tael bounty is about to be secured.’
...
...
By the time Jiang Ran and Li Tianxin returned to Red Maple Manor,
there was hardly anyone left at the entrance. Only a few disciples from the four sects, as well as Luo Qingyi and Zhang Zhihua, were waiting there.
Upon seeing the two return, Zhang Zhihua was the first to rush over to Li Tianxin.
She didn’t dare to speak, only glancing at him to make sure he was alright before quietly positioning herself behind him.
Luo Qingyi cupped his fist to Jiang Ran in a salute.
"Miss Ye asked the others to go inside Red Maple Manor first, and for me to wait here for you."
"Alright."
Jiang Ran nodded. "Let’s go in too."
Stepping into Red Maple Manor, the first thing that greeted their eyes was... Qi Kai.
He was still stuck in the screen wall. For the moment, no one had bothered to pry him out.
Walking around the screen wall, the desolate scene in the courtyard immediately presented itself to them.
The ground was covered in withered leaves, lantern posts were toppled, and dried bloodstains were visible everywhere, making the entire courtyard seem dilapidated and forlorn.
Just as they were about to figure out which way to go, they saw Fu Cheng’en standing in front of a corridor.
Seeing Jiang Ran, he hurriedly said:
"Young Hero Jiang, this way. Everyone is waiting for you."
Jiang Ran nodded, and Fu Cheng’en led the way.
He spoke as they walked.
"The one who acted just now must have been Shi Pingzhang.
"We fell for his trick. The qi in our bodies is in disarray and difficult to circulate, so we need a moment to regulate our breathing.
"When we were about to go after you, Junior Sister Ye said there was no need to worry... that with your exceptional martial arts, Shi Pingzhang wouldn’t dare to face you directly.
"So we came into Red Maple Manor first to wait for you.
"Junior Sister Ye truly understands Young Hero Jiang very well."
Hearing this, Li Tianxin shot a sidelong glance at Fu Cheng’en.
Fu Cheng’en felt a chill run up his spine, but before he could figure out why, he heard Jiang Ran laugh and say:
"Brother Fu, you jest. Shi Pingzhang has built up his power for years; he’s not to be underestimated.
"Besides, we’ve nearly suffered losses already without even seeing his face.
"His martial arts are truly formidable."
Fu Cheng’en nodded repeatedly in agreement.