Chapter 343
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The remaining dozen or so people each mounted their horses and scattered in all directions. In their minds, even if the flying sword was formidable, there was only one of it. After it killed one person, the others would have already fled far away. Even if it killed a few more, there would always be some who could escape with their lives. As long as they ran faster than the others, that escape route would be theirs!
Unfortunately, they were gravely mistaken. How did Zhang Xiaohua train his flying sword? That was real skill honed by hunting birds and roasting meat! On the island, even the seabirds that weren’t afraid of lightning couldn’t escape the rampage of Zhang Xiaohua’s flying sword. How could a dozen or so villains on horseback possibly escape from Zhang Xiaohua’s “demonic grasp”?
Zhang Xiaohua formed hand seals, and like threading a needle, the small sword darted through the darkness. With every sweep, it claimed a life; with every return, it brought back a trace of fresh blood.
Since the secret of the flying sword had already been exposed, Zhang Xiaohua couldn’t allow any of them to return alive. Moreover, judging by their actions, they were even more despicable than the bandits of West Cui Mountain. How could Zhang Xiaohua possibly let them go? In no time at all, before these villains could get very far, all of them had been reaped by the small sword.
Each died pondering the same question: “In the end, I still didn’t outrun the others!”
It wasn’t that they didn’t resist, but they had been scared out of their wits, thinking that an old white-bearded man in the sky was glaring angrily at them. Besides, the flying sword was truly bizarre, with tricky angles and lightning speed-impossible to catch, impossible to block. All they could do was meet it with their throats.
The flying sword, having completed its heroic deed of saving the beauty, happily flew back. Zhang Xiaohua reached out and caught it. By the light of the moon, he examined the sword tip that had killed so many, and not a single drop of blood dripped down. In his heart, Zhang Xiaohua silently praised: What a perfect weapon for murder and plunder.
He casually tucked it into his robe.
With a crooked smile, Zhang Xiaohua pinched his own chin with his hand and gazed into the distance at the places where campfires still flickered. Yet he didn’t jump down from the tree, nor did he have any thoughts of reporting his deeds to claim a reward.
“I just killed people with a flying sword. If I go down now, wouldn’t I be sticking a label on my forehead saying ‘I can use a flying sword’? And I can’t exactly kill those two little girls to keep them quiet, so why should I go down at all?”
“Hero saves the damsel? Am I a hero? Those two little girls aren’t beauties, so there’s even less reason to go. Even if that young lady was a beauty, she’s far too young, there’s really nothing to be interested in. Besides, I’m not her type anyway, so why bother letting her offer herself to me in gratitude? Better not to go down.”
“Heavens above, I really don’t want any trouble. I just want to quietly go home. If I can avoid trouble, I will. You saw what happened today, it was you who forced me to act chivalrously. I’ve satisfied your curiosity, so please let me off now. It’s already late, and it’s not safe to camp out in the wild. With all these corpses lying around, those two girls will surely be frightened and leave soon. There’s no need for me to go down and greet them. We’re bound to part ways anyway, so why bother with an unnecessary meeting?”
“It’s already late. Even if I went down and met them, after a few words, I’d have to sleep. How rude would that be? And if I’m there, where would they sleep? Men and women shouldn’t get too close, at least I have that bit of propriety. Forget it, I’ll just sleep in the tree branches. No need to go down.”
Zhang Xiaohua found endless reasons to keep himself nestled among the branches, as if he were trying to avoid something.
Sure enough, before long, night fell. Zhang Xiaohua held a yuan stone in his hand and fell into a peaceful sleep, leaving Huanhuan, the Sibu Xiang, to pace slowly beneath the tree.
Tonight’s tree was one Zhang Xiaohua had found in a hurry; it wasn’t very tall. As he drifted into sleep, the starlight from the night sky still shone down around him, forming a cluster of light invisible to the naked eye. This cluster was quite large, and by now had nearly touched the ground. Huanhuan, who had been pacing beneath the tree, suddenly sniffed the air as if catching a scent, then slowly walked to where Zhang Xiaohua slept and lay down within the starlight. Its mouth and nose instinctively inhaled and exhaled the endless starlight.
At dawn the next morning, the sun leaped over the eastern horizon. Zhang Xiaohua opened his eyes, and the starlight around him vanished in a flash. Huanhuan also sensed something, happily sprang to its feet, and let out a long, loud cry that echoed in all directions.
Zhang Xiaohua smiled at Huanhuan, but suddenly his expression changed. His divine sense swept out instantly, and his face changed drastically.
“Oh no, those two little girls still haven’t left? With Huanhuan’s call, others might not know what it is, but since they’ve raised a Sibu Xiang before, they’ll definitely know I’m here. If I don’t show up now, won’t that just make things even more suspicious? Huanhuan, honestly! Of all times to call out, why now?”
“Oh no, why is that young lady lying there motionless? And why is the little girl crying so sadly? Could she be dead? No, she still seems to be breathing.”
“Sigh, since I’ve started being a good person, I might as well see it through. I wonder what’s happened over there.”
When Zhang Xiaohua climbed down from the tree and rode his Sibu Xiang over to the carriage, most of the campfires had already gone out, leaving only smoldering embers. Scattered around the carriage were numerous corpses, and several horses grazed idly in the surrounding grass. The whole scene was eerily silent and strange, if Zhang Xiaohua hadn’t been the one responsible for all of this, he would have surely felt afraid.
Hearing some movement, the crying Little Orange looked up in alarm. But when she saw it was the country youth she had teased the previous morning, she couldn’t help but breathe a huge sigh of relief, though she also felt a tinge of disappointment in her heart.
She and her young mistress had been saved by a flying sword the day before. They had expected some immortal-like figure to appear and say a few words, but as night deepened and the campfires died out, no one showed up. It was nothing like the scenes in storybooks. In the darkness, the two of them had no idea where to go. Should they drive the carriage forward? Needless to say, the carriage horses had been killed. And besides, her mistress’s wrist was broken; Little Orange herself could hardly handle the other horses, let alone hitch them to the carriage. Furthermore, with so many corpses lying around, if any more bad people came, they would surely be frightened off and keep their distance. It was, in fact, safer to stay here than for two young girls to travel alone.
After much deliberation, the two finally decided to stay put, taking shelter in the carriage surrounded by some thirty corpses.
However, Miss Nie’s wrist had been broken by Scarface with an iron ball, and the pain was excruciating. In the first half of the night, she had managed to roughly set the bone herself, apply medicine, and bandage it haphazardly, which allowed her to hold on for a while. But in the second half of the night, she could no longer endure it. Coupled with the shock she had suffered, she eventually fell ill, developed a high fever, started talking nonsense, and her wrist swelled up even more than a steamed bun.
Seeing this, Little Orange hadn’t closed her eyes all night, spending the entire time in tears.
At this moment, seeing Zhang Xiaohua sneakily approaching, looking both curious and a little frightened as he eyed the corpses all around, Little Orange couldn’t help but find it funny. Was this really the “extraordinary person” her mistress had spoken of?
No matter how she looked at him, he didn’t seem like one.
Still, remembering how this fellow had waved at her with ill intent the previous morning, she figured he wasn’t exactly a decent sort. Could it be that he was here to take advantage of them?
At this thought, Little Orange felt a surge of fear again.
Seeing Little Orange’s anxious and conflicted expression, Zhang Xiaohua felt rather exasperated. He’d already gone to great lengths to keep up appearances, couldn’t this young lady at least say something?
Left with no choice, Zhang Xiaohua timidly asked: “Um… Miss, did you run into some bad people?”
He played the part well, and Little Orange immediately forgot her fear, crying as she replied: “Young master, you have sharp eyes. That’s exactly what happened! Yesterday, as we were passing through here, we were ambushed by bandits. Fortunately, our bodyguards were skilled and managed to kill them all. But our bodyguards also perished in the fight. Only one survived, but he was badly injured. Last night, he went… went ahead to seek help. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“Oh, I see.” Zhang Xiaohua blinked and said: “I thought you ladies might need some help, but since that’s not the case, I’ll take my leave. Out here in the wild, it’s improper for a man and two women to be alone together.”
With that, he turned to leave.
But after finally finding someone to vent to, how could Little Orange let him go so easily?
She quickly called out: “Young master, our bodyguard may return soon, but it’ll still be a while. Look at us, two girls with no strength to even truss a chicken, surrounded by corpses. This really isn’t a good situation.”
“Oh? Does Miss have any requests? But to be honest, I’m terrified of all these corpses myself and would rather get far away from here.”
Hearing this, Little Orange was delighted and said: “That’s even better! But I wonder, young master, do you know how to drive a carriage?”
“Drive a carriage?” Zhang Xiaohua scratched his head.
“Don’t tell me you can’t? I saw how skilled you were riding that Sibu Xiang. Surely you know how?” Little Orange grew anxious.
Zhang Xiaohua gave an embarrassed laugh: “Don’t worry, Miss. It’s not that I can’t drive a carriage. It’s just that my teacher once told me, since I’ve started studying, it’s best to forget my old ways. Of course, I know how to drive, but now that I’m reading the classics, how could I go back to my old trade?”
Looking at this rustic-yet-refined Zhang Xiaohua before her, Little Orange was at a loss for words. She glanced back at her still-unconscious mistress, and sorrow welled up in her heart. She burst into loud sobs.
Seeing this, Zhang Xiaohua asked: “Miss, why are you crying? Could it be you’re so moved by seeing a country youth grow from ignorance to a learned gentleman?”
At this, Little Orange only cried harder, choking out as she pointed to the carriage: “Just come and take a look yourself.”
“No, Miss, a gentleman does not look at what is improper!” Zhang Xiaohua waved his hands repeatedly.
Growing anxious, Little Orange jumped down from the carriage, grabbed Zhang Xiaohua’s hand, and said: “Come, just come over and see for yourself!”
Covering his face, Zhang Xiaohua protested: “A gentleman uses his words, not his hands! A gentleman does not act improperly!”
Sigh, this fellow really does put on quite a show.
