Chapter 236 - 234: The Perils of Jianghu!
The villagers crying bitterly left Su Qingqing feeling a bit helpless.
She possessed the strength of the Fifth Realm of Body Refining, making her not a mere figure in Jianghu. In the eyes of the Wangyue Prefecture, she was considered a martial tao expert.
However, aside from this, there were many things she hadn’t experienced enough to know what to do.
"You, don’t do this..." Su Qingqing said with slight panic.
"I’ll lead your horse into the village."
The villager immediately stopped crying and grabbed the reins of the horse under Su Qingqing, walking towards the village without saying more.
Su Qingqing assumed the villager’s intentions were good and didn’t say much.
Once she entered the village, she suddenly felt something was not right.
She couldn’t pinpoint exactly what, but it just made her uneasy.
Her nose twitched slightly as she caught whiffs of a rotting smell drifting from the village.
Soon, the village chief appeared with a few villagers.
"Heroine, you’ve traveled from afar and we have failed to welcome you, please come to my place for some water," the village chief said, appearing quite aged, leaning on a cane and speaking shakily.
"No need, just tell me the location of those mountain bandits," Su Qingqing said directly, not wanting to delay too long.
"No rush, come inside and I’ll explain everything clearly, it’s windy outside and my old legs can hardly stand..." the chief said with some difficulty.
"Well... alright." Su Qingqing saw that the chief indeed had some difficulty walking, so she softened and agreed, dismounting to enter the house.
"Heroine, the house is quite simple, there’s not much I can offer you, just have a sip of water," the village chief said as a villager promptly brought a bowl of water before Su Qingqing.
Su Qingqing glanced at the clear tea water, but simply took it and placed it aside on the table.
Having traveled outside, Song Changming had given her some teachings and experiences.
For example, food given by strangers, even clean water, should not be consumed unless necessary.
Being cautious is essential.
Su Qingqing always kept this in mind.
"I’m not thirsty, please speak frankly, so I can defeat the bandits and return."
The village chief’s expression subtly changed, seeming a bit anxious: "Heroine, the mountain spring water in the village is excellent, drink some before taking down the bandits."
Su Qingqing finally sensed the issue, tightened her grip on the sword in her hand, and stared directly at the village chief, asking with a frown: "Why do you insist I drink the water, chief?"
The two villagers next to him exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with malice.
They moved closer stealthily, then suddenly rushed at Su Qingqing.
Su Qingqing was already on guard, unsheathing her sword instantly, and executed the Flying Swallow Technique.
The sword edge touched continuously, leaving a wound on the shoulders, waist, and legs of both villagers.
The villagers screamed and fell, and the village chief’s face turned pale, retreating shakily.
"Don’t kill me, don’t kill me, it was those villains who forced me to do this," the frightened village chief pleaded repeatedly.
"Who forced you!" Su Qingqing spoke, then seemed to sense the presence by the doorway.
"It was me!"
Suddenly the door was kicked open, and a group of armed men swarmed in.
The leading man, seeing the village chief, sent him flying with a kick, spat, and said viciously: "Useless waste!"
"Don’t... don’t kill me..." the village chief continued to beg, trembling.
In the next moment, the man raised his hand and struck, cutting off the chief’s head with a blade.
"I said, if you can’t do it, you die!"
After speaking, the man’s fierce eyes fell on Su Qingqing.
"Pretty lady, my name is Zhang De, I have a brother named Zhang Yu, who died under your sword a few days ago, do you remember?" Zhang De said in a rough voice.
"You’re here for revenge!" Su Qingqing realized.
That Zhang Yu was also a tyrant, committed many evil deeds, and was indeed killed by her sword.
"There were never any mountain bandits; this was all arranged by you?!" Su Qingqing said.
"Indeed, this was originally an abandoned village. It was quite difficult to lure you here!"
Zhang De licked the blood on the corner of his mouth and looked at Su Qingqing’s delicate and budding face, revealing a lewd smile as he continued.
"Don’t worry, you killed my brother, I won’t let you die so easily. I will let you live by my side for a few more days!"
Su Qingqing took a deep breath, pursed her lips, and understanding the situation, did not speak further.
She stepped into a Wandering Body Step, another top-tier Light Body Skill taught by Song Changming.
Easily maneuvering through the crowd, she assassinated several people, flexibly jumped out the window.
Compared to the cramped house, a more open space was more suitable for her to fight.
However, outside the house was already surrounded by hundreds of people!
That Zhang De was able to bring such a large group of people, proving he was no ordinary martial artist either.
"Release arrows!"
Numerous crossbow arrows were shot from all directions.
These previously forbidden weapons among the folk of the Da Han Dynasty, now facing chaotic times, are beyond the control of the Imperial Court.
Even these crossbows and armors were obtained by Zhang De from raiding the government’s weapon warehouse.
Su Qingqing leaned forward and darted, like a lone swallow, swiftly weaving into the crowd, using the human wall to avoid the damage of long-range weapons.
Boom!
The door and walls of the house were forcefully rammed open, and Zhang De burst out like a raging mad bear.
"Catch her for me!"
Many other skilled Martial Artists rushed towards Su Qingqing.
Initially, Su Qingqing was able to persist, but with Zhang De’s entrance, who was at the Seventh Realm of Body Refining, she was struck and sent flying with a single strike.
The powerful force made Su Qingqing’s chest feel heavy, as if she’d been heavily struck.
Ultimately, her time practicing martial arts was too short, and her age too young. Being able to defend herself to this extent amidst a surrounding of hundreds was already commendable.
If blame was to be assigned, it was her carelessness, her lack of caution, that led her to fall into an enemy’s ambush.
Entering the Jianghu, fighting and killing, enmity and affection are unavoidable, and everyone must experience them.
Only by experiencing these can a person grow, know more, and become stronger!
Of course, the premise is that they must survive.
Just as Su Qingqing fell to the ground, the surrounding crowd immediately swarmed, countless weapons about to capture Su Qingqing.
In the moment of crisis, Su Qingqing gritted her teeth, gathering all her strength.
In the next moment, her originally dark eyes turned into a pair of pink eyes!
Buzz!
Circles of pink energy rippled outward.
The surrounding crowd instantaneously froze in place, as if their souls had vanished, their gazes blank.
A flash of sword light followed, and the heads of all those surrounding her fell to the ground!
This innate Pupil Technique ability was Su Qingqing’s trump card.
Compared to her weak state five years ago, this Pupil Technique ability has undergone a qualitative change and enhancement as Su Qingqing practiced martial arts, strengthening her physique!
Most notably, her glance now can enchant more than one person.
As long as she wills it, like just now, she can completely immobilize a group of people!
But correspondingly, using it consumes a significant amount of Spiritual Power.
Even though she has deliberately trained her Spiritual Power with Song Changming’s help over the past five years, she still feels the enormous consumption, making her consciousness somewhat drowsy after using it.
Zhang De, catching up at this moment, ignored the headless bodies around, reaching with a big hand.
Originally intending to grab Su Qingqing, he ended up with a sword injury on his arm.
This made Zhang De’s expression grow fiercer, gripping the big saber in his hand, slashing down at Su Qingqing without reserve.
At this point, he almost gave up the idea of capturing Su Qingqing alive.
Su Qingqing, unable to ward off Zhang De’s big saber, had no choice but to use the Pink Eyes Pupil Technique again, focusing it on Zhang De.
But Zhang De, already on guard, only briefly stiffened under the Pupil Technique’s attack before returning to normal.
Su Qingqing wavered, forcibly breaking through the Pupil Technique, experiencing tremendous mental backlash, almost causing her to faint.
This is also the pitfall of her Pupil Technique; excessive use or rebound has too significant side effects, almost causing her to lose the ability to fight!
"I can’t faint!!" Su Qingqing’s weakened legs tensed again, supporting her figure, avoiding true unconsciousness.
But she was powerless to block this incoming saber from Zhang De.
At the moment of crisis, a fierce wind suddenly arose in the scene.
The hundreds of people were blown away, rolling on the ground by this sudden gale.
Zhang De felt a pain in his arm, realizing afterward that the arm holding the saber was no longer attached to his body!
He stared wide-eyed in shock, cold sweat breaking out all over his body, wanting to act, but immobilized by the force of the whirlwind.
In the whole scene, only the small area where Su Qingqing stood was untouched by the wind, as if at the eye of the storm.
Looking at the incredibly familiar whirlwind, Su Qingqing was momentarily dazed, then pursed her small mouth, tears shimmering in her eyes.
"Young master..."
Not far away, a figure slowly approached, unaffected by the surrounding whirlwind.
In fact, his arrival intensified the raging wind.
The figure was none other than Song Changming, who had rushed all the way from Wangyue County City!
In fact, Song Changming had already arrived earlier, constantly observing.
He had his considerations.
Such a rare opportunity for the girl to train and experience the dangers of the Jianghu, he naturally wouldn’t intervene prematurely.
If Su Qingqing could ultimately rely on herself to escape, he wouldn’t reveal himself.
But should a life-threatening danger arise, at the critical juncture, Song Changming would lend a helping hand.
...