Chapter 107: Cracks Appear in the Heart, Love Difficult to Bear
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Yan was about to turn back when Fan Yi Weng, holding a steel staff, suddenly leaped out from a stone room not far away.
The short, stout man saw Zhou Yan, his initial surprise turning to anger, and roared, “Where do you think you’re going, thief?”
Under the sunlight, Fan Yi Weng, with his beard flying, rushed forward. As the distance closed, his staff seemed to carry the momentum of a collapsing heaven and earth, smashing down fiercely.
With a “hum,” Zhou Yan thrust out his fine steel spear. The spear shaft vibrated with the elasticity of the metal, its momentum enveloping the opponent.
A “boom” exploded in the air, sparks flying. Fan Yi Weng’s charging momentum and subsequent attacks were forced back by Zhou Yan’s spear. The clash of spear and staff sent a massive recoil that made Fan Yi Weng stumble backward.
Fan Yi Weng, who had earned the moniker “Long-Bearded Ghost” after leaving the Valley of Unfeeling in the Divine Condor world, was filled with disbelief.
The last time they fought, he was clearly about to gain the upper hand over the little thief, but the opponent had played a trick, and he had suffered a silent loss. How had the little thief’s martial arts improved so much now?
Seizing the advantage, Zhou Yan’s attack did not stop. His body moved like an arrow, and in an instant, he closed the distance with Fan Yi Weng again. The iron spear in his hand was like a spirit snake, its tip unsteady, constantly dancing in a small circle ahead. One after another, moves from the Yue Family Spear Technique such as “Drinking Horse at the Long River,” “Ten Thousand Li of Mountains and Passes,” and “Great River Like Silk” were unleashed. The spear rained down like water, its momentum like the tide. The vibrating spear shaft possessed enough power to split the earth and shatter stones, its continuous attacks falling upon Fan Yi Weng.
Fan Yi Weng unleashed the Eighty-One Styles of the Splashing Water Staff Technique, resisting with all his might.
His staff technique was called “Splashing Water,” implying an impenetrable defense. The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out like a frantic popping of beans.
However, compared to when Zhou Yan escorted the Jingzhou caravan, his current cultivation could be described as a leap of a thousand li. Fan Yi Weng was also in his prime and had trained diligently, so his cultivation had naturally improved. But ultimately, his progress in cultivation techniques was far inferior to Zhou Yan’s, and his current cultivation was already far behind.
In the blink of an eye, Fan Yi Weng was forced back by Zhou Yan’s spear style for more than ten large steps, stepping onto the wooden plank walkway connecting the stone houses.
Suddenly, Zhou Yan’s spear tip sank into the ground, and the spear sprang up again, lifting the entire wooden floor and smashing it down towards him.
Fan Yi Weng frantically used his steel staff to deflect the wooden plank. Abruptly, Zhou Yan’s iron spear pierced the ground. He advanced agilely, reaching out with his right hand and seizing the opponent’s shoulder with the “Crushing Hardness Divine Claw.”
His internal energy flickered, and Fan Yi Weng felt his arm go numb. With a “clang,” the steel staff fell to the ground.
Fan Yi Weng was truly ferocious. He used his spine to exert force and lifted his head sharply, his beard, over two feet long, about to whip towards Zhou Yan like three thousand strands of a whisk. However, all his movements stopped as Zhou Yan’s left hand grabbed his beard in a “Moon Embracing Style.”
“How did this little thief know I was going to whip his face with my beard?” Fan Yi Weng was momentarily confused, and then his entire body was pulled forward as Zhou Yan’s left hand exerted force, tugging his beard.
Zhou Yan raised his knee like a spear.
With a “bang,” Fan Yi Weng’s abdomen felt a sharp, cramping pain, almost spitting out bile from the impact.
Zhou Yan bent his arm and suddenly struck Fan Yi Weng’s neck diagonally backward.
The short, stout man let out a muffled groan and collapsed to the ground.
As the fight ensued, two runners rushed towards Zhou Yan, while another, holding hidden weapons, moved in sync with Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.
Zhou Yan said to the approaching runners, “Watch carefully.”
“Understood.”
One runner grabbed Fan Yi Weng and held a knife to his neck.
Zhou Yan turned to assist Mei Chaofeng, when from the stone houses in the distance, green-robed disciples of the Valley of Unfeeling shouted hysterically, “The thief has captured the Eldest Senior Brother, find the Old Valley Master!”
Zhou Yan was stunned by the words, “Old Valley Master? Gongsun Zhi’s father is still alive?”
He came to his senses and gave a wry smile. The current Valley Master of the Valley of Unfeeling was not yet thirty years old, so it was reasonable for the Old Valley Master to be alive. He just didn’t know his cultivation level.
Zhou Yan, holding his spear, ran towards where Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi were fighting.
…
A gray figure passed through the swaying bamboo forest. The narrow leaves that fluttered down behind Zhou Yan formed a straight line, and as he vanished, the surging energy he carried dissipated.
The bamboo leaves then fell, swirling and dancing.
Zhou Yan’s figure solidified outside the battle between Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.
“Head Escort, the merchants should take shelter in that stone house.”
Zhou Yan also felt that it was a good choice for Huang Rong to take cover for now. Once bitten, twice shy. Mei Chaofeng’s whip fell like flying sand and rolling stones. If a stray stone were to hit Huang Rong, with her current physique, all his efforts in healing would be in vain.
Zhou Yan looked at Mei Chaofeng and Qiu Qianchi.
Both were dressed in black. One’s whip moved like a poisonous dragon dancing, while the other’s palms flew like lotuses blooming.
They were evenly matched.
Zhou Yan intuitively felt that Qiu Qianchi’s martial arts had improved significantly. He also had other senses at play.
Iron Corpse Mei Chaofeng. Iron Palm Lotus Qiu Qianchi.
These two were astonishingly similar in their experiences and ultimate personalities.
If Qiu Qianchi had met Mei Chaofeng at the beginning of her Jianghu adventures, they might have felt like kindred spirits.
“Miss Qiu, may I have a word?” Zhou Yan withdrew his thoughts and spoke.
Seeing that it was Zhou Yan, Qiu Qianchi feigned a move and floated several zhang away.
Mei Chaofeng also quickly retracted her long whip.
“Why are you here?”
As soon as Qiu Qianchi said this, Zhou Yan knew that Gongsun Zhi had kept the matter of capturing the Divine Condor with his disciples a secret.
…
The stone room was cool, but Huang Rong, having spent her mental energy memorizing the “Gold Knife Black Sword Yin-Yang Twin Blades” cultivation technique, had fine beads of sweat on her forehead.
Zhou Yan’s voice reached her. She quickly flipped through the cultivation technique manual, consolidating it once more. Confident that she had memorized it word for word, she then left the stone room and walked towards the bamboo forest.
She thought that even if Zhou Yan couldn’t master both spear and sword, he should have no problem mastering both knife and sword. If Gongsun Zhi were to encounter the Head Escort again one day and they faced each other, using the same cultivation technique, Gongsun Zhi would likely be speechless.
It would be interesting if he died by this technique of “returning the favor with the same method.”
He deserved it.
…
The wind rustled past, and the bamboo leaves whispered.
Zhou Yan’s voice rang out, “I was passing through Xiangyang on a caravan and, remembering the kindness of the Strange Eagle, came specifically to visit. I did not expect Valley Master Gongsun to lead his disciples in capturing the eagle with a fishing net formation. The Strange Eagle had shown me kindness that day, and Miss Qiu was a witness.”
“Mm,” Qiu Qianchi nodded.
“Therefore, I intervened to help the Great Eagle escape. I did not expect Valley Master Gongsun to capture two people, including a runner, when he left, so I pursued them all the way here.”
“Is that so?”
“Not a word of a lie.”
Qiu Qianchi looked at Fan Yi Weng, who was being held by two runners.
“Is this true?”
Fan Yi Weng was straightforward. “Replying to Miss Qiu, Master did indeed capture the Ugly Eagle, but Master had no intention of killing it. He merely wanted to extract the flesh tumor from the Ugly Eagle’s head to refine pills. I hope Miss Qiu…”
“Enough, stop talking.”
Qiu Qianchi was extremely annoyed.
She looked at Zhou Yan, and the conversation they had at the entrance of the valley in the suburbs of Xiangyang seemed to be vividly before her eyes.
The escort had told her that she had met the wrong person, that Gongsun Zhi was cunning and scheming, and that she should not be used.
At that time, some of Gongsun Zhi’s actions were indeed unbecoming of a gentleman.
The escort’s words had certainly struck a chord. Upon returning to the Valley of Unfeeling, she had indeed remained vigilant. However, the Old Valley Master treated her kindly, and Gongsun Zhi showed her concern, so over time, she let go of her cautiousness and devoted herself wholeheartedly to the affairs of the valley, even identifying and rectifying shortcomings and improving the martial arts of the Valley of Unfeeling.
Gongsun Zhi had mentioned the Ugly Eagle several times, saying that the red flesh tumor on its head was due to the accumulation of toxins from pecking at snakes and insects over the years, and could be used as a medicinal ingredient for refining pills.
She had once made a promise worth a thousand pieces of gold not to make things difficult for the escort, and therefore would not covet the Ugly Eagle that had helped the escort. Moreover, although the eagle was ugly, it was divine and valiant. It was not impossible for it to be raised by an expert, so why invite trouble? Thus, she refused Gongsun Zhi’s suggestion.
Not long ago, the other party left the valley, claiming to be collecting medicinal herbs for refining pills. Little did she know that he had acted in secret, not only capturing the Great Eagle but also bringing the escort’s people here.
After spending so much time with Gongsun Zhi, was he truly insincere and using her, just as the escort had said?
“Hoo!” Qiu Qianchi let out a soft sigh.
Fan Yi Weng saw Qiu Qianchi’s expression growing colder and was terrified. He quickly explained, “Miss Qiu, Master truly had no intention of killing. You have been in the valley for a long time, have you ever seen Master kill or eat meat?”
Fan Yi Weng’s explanation only made Qiu Qianchi, who had studied the cultivation techniques of the Valley of Unfeeling, even more enraged. She thought to herself that the Valley of Unfeeling abstained from meat and fish because the Old Valley Master and Gongsun Zhi practiced special acupoint-sealing techniques.
Thinking this, Qiu Qianchi asked Fan Yi Weng, “Have you captured anyone?”
Fan Yi Weng dared not refuse. “Replying to Miss Qiu, yes, there were two people.”
“What did you capture them for?”
“That little thief injured disciples in the valley.”
“If that’s the case, why not just kill them and be done with it?”
Fan Yi Weng could not answer, his throat choked.
Huang Rong found it increasingly amusing and said, “Isn’t this simple? They captured the runners to interrogate the Head Escort about his relationship with the Strange Eagle, whether there was an expert behind the eagle, and why they were in the mountains and fields of Xiangyang.
“That’s not it.”
Huang Rong smiled, “A gentleman seeks revenge on his true enemy. The Valley Master, however, captured the shrimp soldiers and underlings. If his actions were to vent anger for the disciples of the valley, it would show a narrow mind. If not, then his intentions are sinister. Let me ask you, am I making sense?”
Fan Yi Weng broke out in a cold sweat, thinking he would have been better off being knocked unconscious by the little thief during their fight.
His veins bulged, and he said angrily, “You are talking nonsense.”
“How am I talking nonsense? If you can give me a logical reason, I will apologize.”
“Master originally wanted to take revenge on the little thief, but several junior brothers were injured by arrows, and Master was anxious to treat them, so he gave up.”
Zhou Yan smiled, “I showed mercy with my arrows and didn’t kill anyone, so it’s not as serious as you say. Clearly, it was dusk, and the Valley Master was wary of my archery and suspected there were other helpers, so he chose to retreat. He then gave a high-sounding excuse. On the way, he encountered the runners and wanted to capture and interrogate them. Unfortunately, despite all his calculations, he didn’t expect my runners to leave markers along the way, which allowed me to track them here.”
“That’s not it,” Fan Yi Weng shook his head like a lion, his beard and hair flying.
Qiu Qianchi sighed inwardly.
She believed Zhou Yan’s words.
Suddenly, an angry voice came from the air, “How dare you, little thief, enter the valley and injure people!”
Zhou Yan and Huang Rong looked in the direction of the sound. On one side of the bamboo forest, a short distance away, two figures flew towards them. Especially the one in front, his figure soared over the roofs of the stone houses and the tree crowns, like an eagle or falcon, and in an instant, he disappeared into the bamboo forest.
Zhou Yan watched the man emerge from the forest and land beside Qiu Qianchi. He saw that the man had an imposing presence, but his face was sallow and withered, appearing to be around fifty years old.
This must be Gongsun Zhi’s father, Zhou Yan thought.
As expected, Qiu Qianchi bowed and said, “Why have you come, Elder?”
“I heard there was trouble in the valley and was worried that Miss Qiu might be in danger, so I came to investigate.”
“Thank you, Valley Master.”
After the Old Valley Master Gongsun finished speaking, his gaze fell upon Zhou Yan and Mei Chaofeng.
Behind him, Gongsun Zhi, who had just arrived in the bamboo forest, secretly lamented. How had that little thief found the valley, and how had he ended up here and encountered Qiu Qianchi?
