Book 15: Chapter 80
Dense Smoke Above the Mountains
After exiting Liu Shan Men, Ming Feizhen tracked down Ling Jialan using a mark he placed on her. Upon arrival, he heard the wind whistle followed by the sound of two airborne chairs splitting apart.
“Witch, kill me if you can. I can’t stand you!” Lian Hua roared.
In spite of Lian Hua’s volume, he wasn’t audible from any meaningful distance, it should’ve been enough to disturb one’s heart rate, yet the maiden who used to meditate under a waterfall wasn’t bothered in the least. As a swordswoman, she only ever communicated through her sword in combat.
After a lightning-fast draw, Ling Jialan had sword qi firing from her sword at the speed of an arrow before the blade even made contact. If her opponent wasn’t strong enough, that would’ve been enough to make them a filled pin cushion, yet Lian Hua charged straight in, relying on his physical attributes to deflect all the strikes.
Fu Dalong watched from the sidelines, unsure which side to take.
Ming Feizhen hurriedly sought a table, chair, melon seeds and alcohol. The place had all the items. Sadly, sharp-eyed Fu Dalong caught sight of him. Ming Feizhen, to the ordinary person, was tall, large and intimidating, but he didn’t seem muscular, looked mindless, lacked an aura, didn’t look wealthy, and didn’t seem to be an official, so it was easy to get over the intimidation of his size. Martial arts practitioners came in all sorts of shapes and sizes. If an ordinary practitioner were to evaluate Ming Feizhen, nine out of ten of them would’ve called him clumsy and a waste of a physique apt for martial arts. Advanced practitioners, particularly those who possessed vast knowledge and experience, had consolidated their internal discipline, and were chasing the realm of dreams would’ve discerned that he was a dangerous man underneath his undiscerning appearance.
Fu Dalong remembered Ling Jialan introduced Ming Feizhen as her “friend” when they first showed up together. Fu Dalong wouldn’t and knew that he shouldn’t have brushed off Ming Feizhen based on all the information stacked up. Hence, at the same time he attacked Ling Jialan with his left hand swiftly, he spared the remaining 80% of his output for his other hand to slowly strike Ming Feizhen. It was no easy feat to attack at two different paces simultaneously, but Fu Dalong missed.
Ming Feizhen sat down in a chair at the same time Fu Dalong’s palm strike’s force reached the end of its journey, effectively dodging the attack. If Fu Dalong wanted to press the attack on Ming Feizhen, then he wouldn’t have been able to deflect Ling Jialan’s counter, so he retreated.
Lian Hua threw a timed punch at Ming Feizhen, using a vacuum force from his fist to pull Ming Feizhen’s table aside. However, despite being able to somewhat replicate Wutong Jin Yuxuan’s might, he, too, failed to land. The vacuum dragged Ming Feizhen into Ling Jialan, forcing her off course, which nearly made Lian Hua walk into her sword.
Ling Jialan didn’t actually care for Ming Feizhen’s wellbeing. She was merely forced to go all out to avoid getting court in a pincer attack.
Spinning back onto the ground, Fu Dalong praised, “Impressive. Please stay your hands.”
It would’ve been in appropriate for Lian Hua and Ling Jialan to continue fighting after Fu Dalong’s ceasefire declaration; however, the both of them still stayed in their stances, ready to continue at any moment. Although Fu Dalong did sneak attack them, he didn’t attack with lethal intention. Therefore, Ling Jialan still considered only Lian Hua the enemy.
“Yeah, yeah, what he said. Think about what’s under the ground,” urged Ming Feizhen. “By the way, aren’t the three of you here for a thief? Why are you fighting each other?”
Pointing her sword at Lian Hua, Ling Jialan replied, “Ask him.”
“Ask me? I should be asking you. You’re the one who doesn’t want to let anyone leave. Isn’t that the same as letting my brothers take their last breaths?”
“Idiot,” insulted Ling Jialan.
“I’m not your servant! I’m going to capture you and ride you tonight. Let’s see if you can keep up that attitude.”
Ling Jialan expressed all the hostility needed through her gaze.
It took many questions for Ming Feizhen to learn that Bu Xusan was responsible for the casualties, that Lian Hua had a doctor come, but the doctor couldn’t treat so many people at once, not to mention the lack of equipment, and so Lian Hua wanted to escort the injured personnel to the clinic. Ling Jialan objected, suspecting that it was an inside job, which angered Lian Hua, eventually leading to the physical altercation.
After a few nods, Ming Feizhen offered Fu Dalong a palm-fist salute. “So, Elder benefited without having to lift a finger? You have this one’s respect.”
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“You flatter me.” Fu Dalong was all smiles.
“I am Liu Shan Men’s Mingming. To speak more accurately, I am just collecting paycheques from them. I am not certain if I will continue being allies with Miss Ling. Mr. Lian, Miss Ling has a point. Why do you refuse to listen?”
“I know she has a point. Didn’t I hear her out? But is that any reason to risk so many lives?”
“Let me take a look.” Ming Feizhen cordially approached a man groaning on the ground. He reattached the man’s broken bone effortlessly, took the box of items from the doctor hiding under the table, picked out a few patches and synthesised drugs. In a matter of moments following Ming Feizhen’s treatment, the man was sound asleep.
Lian Hua, Fu Dalong, and Ling Jialan were all astounded. No matter what manner of injuries they had or how severe they were, Ming Feizhen was able put them to sleep so sound that they couldn’t be woken. Having said that, there was a stink the trio caught every once in a while that made their hairs stand up.
Smiling, Ming Feizhen conveyed, “Done. Let the doctor handle the rest. Can we move onto business now? I think Bu Xusan is still nearby. How about we go search for him?”