Chapter 45: The Female Thief in the Carriage
He Ling’s gaze fixed on the young man who had come to their rescue.
He remembered this young man as one of the martial artists invited by Dark Thunder, a quiet and aloof figure, like an unmelting ice lotus amidst a sea of lava, difficult to approach.
He didn’t even know the young man’s name.
But if it weren’t for his timely arrival, He Ling would be dead.
Now, the young man stood firmly on the carriage roof, a curved short blade in his hand.
Although of ordinary build, he radiated an imposing aura, his presence commanding.
The demonic cultivator in grey let out a cold snort, appearing beside the carriage in a flash. Ignoring the people on board, he struck at one of the horses pulling the carriage.
The young man on the roof flickered, and a flash of light appeared beside the carriage.
Wu Liang and He Ling watched as the two figures moved around the carriage with incredible speed.
The demonic cultivator, using his supernatural ability, attacked from unpredictable angles, targeting even the horses, making him difficult to defend against.
And yet, no matter how bizarre the demonic cultivator’s movements, the young man intercepted every attack, his movements inexplicable.
Neither Wu Liang nor He Ling could understand how he was doing it.
The demonic cultivator was even more shocked… He had never encountered such a situation.
Moving across several li in the blink of an eye, a speed even fourth or fifth-rank experts couldn’t achieve. His supernatural ability usually made him almost invincible against opponents of the same rank, or even one or two ranks higher.
Yet, this young man was able to intercept him every time.
Just as he was about to strike, the young man would appear, blocking his attack with impossible speed.
He even had the strange feeling that he wasn’t being intercepted, but was pulling the young man towards him.
A series of clashes echoed.
Wu Liang and He Ling watched, their hearts pounding, as the two figures moved around them with blinding speed, one striking like lightning, the other dodging and weaving with uncanny agility.
“Are you also a demonic cultivator?” the man in grey shouted as he flipped through the air, “Which sect do you belong to?!”
As he flew, a dark aura enveloped him, flowing along his arms and into his halberd.
The young man, back on the carriage roof, his short blade in hand, remained motionless, “What’s it to you?”
The short blade he held was one he had picked up on the battlefield.
Its blade, stained with blood, had already claimed several lives before he reached the carriage.
He looked up at the demonic cultivator floating in the air.
Wu Liang, trying to escape the battlefield, was driving the carriage at full speed.
Yet, the demonic cultivator, facing the young man, maintained the same speed as the carriage, an incredible feat.
The same supernatural ability, used by different people, could produce different results. This man’s martial arts and supernatural ability were seamlessly integrated.
If it were anyone else, everyone on the carriage would be dead by now.
The young man’s gaze was sharp as a blade, a burning aura flickering around him.
He saw the demonic cultivator’s dark aura converge into a single point of cold light at the tip of his halberd.
The cold light pulsed like a cross star, its nature bizarre and unsettling.
Demonic cultivators, drawing power from the Demonic Realm, used strange and unpredictable techniques.
Suddenly, the iron halberd struck downwards.
The cold light flashed, its speed fluctuating, unpredictable.
Time itself seemed to distort with the halberd’s descent. Although it moved in a straight line, the fluctuating speed made him feel nauseous.
The young man also struck, but not at the halberd.
He knew he couldn’t block that attack.
His strike was simple and direct, but in the next instant, the trajectory of the iron halberd twisted.
No one could understand the demonic cultivator’s shock at this moment.
This was his most powerful technique, honed through years of practice, seamlessly integrating his supernatural ability with his martial arts. It was unpredictable.
Yet, the young man’s blade technique, seemingly simple and unassuming, without any flashy displays of energy or power, had somehow deflected his attack.
It was as if an invisible force had pulled his halberd off course.
Swish! The halberd sliced through the air, narrowly missing the young man, splitting the carriage roof.
The young man’s blade, in that fleeting moment, struck the demonic cultivator.
Blood sprayed. The man in grey flew backwards, hissing, “You’re from the Black Lotus Realm?! Good! Good! This time, it’s your Black Lotus Realm that broke the rules, opposing our Ghost Extreme Sect, instigating infighting among the demonic sects. Don’t blame us for being ruthless!”
He turned and, leaving a trail of blood, flew towards a distant hilltop.
The young man slowly sheathed his blade, his gaze cold as he watched the retreating figure, thinking, “Black Lotus Realm? What’s that? Demonic sect infighting? What does that have to do with me?”
Wu Liang and He Ling, now both at the driver’s seat, looked back at the young man on the carriage roof.
Although they were from the “lower rungs” of society, they had seen much in the martial world.
But they couldn’t understand what had just happened.
The young man and the demonic cultivator had exchanged blows. The demonic cultivator’s halberd had veered off course, and he had been injured and forced to flee… That’s what they had seen.
But before escaping, the demonic cultivator had claimed the young man was also from a demonic sect?
Thinking about it, the young man’s martial arts techniques were indeed bizarre and unlike any orthodox sect.
But if it weren’t for his timely arrival, they would be dead.
Wu Liang said, “Brother…”
The young man suddenly said, “Quiet.”
They fell silent… A chill ran down their spines.
They suspected the young man, his demonic identity exposed by the man in grey, was now going to silence them.
He stood there in the darkness, holding the bloodstained blade, radiating a menacing aura of killing intent, a terrifying sight.
But the young man, lost in thought, suddenly jumped down from the carriage roof, landed beside them, and without a word, pulled open the carriage curtain and climbed inside.
Silence filled the carriage for a moment, then a girl’s voice said, “Oh dear, I’ve been discovered!”
Wu Liang and He Ling exchanged glances… Someone was inside the carriage? But that wasn’t right. When they seized the carriage, they had checked. There were only the three God-Sealing Stones inside.
When did this person get in?
Inside the carriage, Shi Hao sat facing a young woman.
Three large, millstone-sized stones, cylindrical and intricately carved, sat in the carriage.
There were benches on either side, and a large gash in the roof, where the demonic cultivator’s halberd had struck.
If the girl hadn’t been on alert during the fight, her energy flow wouldn’t have been detected by his Soul Chasing Locking Steps.
He wouldn’t have known there was someone inside.
The young woman wore a black tunic and trousers, her face covered, a five-petaled flower stuck above her right ear.
Shi Hao sat quietly across from her. They stared at each other for a moment before the girl clasped her hands and said, “Oh dear, I’ve been discovered!”
Shi Hao said impassively, “What are you doing here?”
The masked girl leaned closer to him, her eyes sparkling, her face almost touching his.
Her eyes flickered, and she smiled faintly, “What do you really look like?”
Her words startled him.
She leaned back and chuckled, “Such a fascinating disguise technique, but your face is so stiff.”
Shi Hao said calmly, “Better than wearing a mask.” He toyed with the bloody blade in his hand, “You still haven’t told me what you’re doing here.”
The masked girl sighed, “Nothing, or rather, whatever I was trying to do has been ruined by you. Now I just want to know who you are.”
Shi Hao stared at her, silent, thinking that if necessary, he would have to subdue her.
And then try the techniques Su Mei had taught him.
The masked girl, however, said thoughtfully, “But it seems you’re part of an organization resisting the barbarian court.”
She looked outside, “The one driving the carriage is ‘Carriage Bandit’ Qian Fei. Although he’s a robber, he only targets villains and corrupt officials. And I saw ‘Heroic Iron Eagle’ Fu Shiyuan earlier. Not everyone in the martial world lives up to their name, but he truly is a hero.”
“And the others, they’re all righteous martial artists who oppose the barbarian court, but they come from all over.”
“Hmm, you must be a newly formed organization resisting the barbarian court.”
Shi Hao looked at her, “And you’re the female thief who stole from Ming Kun Monastery. It was your actions that caused trouble for Ming Kun Monastery and the Yue Ke Tai family, and also inadvertently spread the news about the God-Sealing Experiment.”
The masked girl glanced at him again, “But you’re definitely not from the Black Lotus Realm. I know most of their members, and you’re not one of them.”
Shi Hao frowned, “Are you from a demonic sect?”
The girl chuckled, “Certainly not! By the way, do you know you’re about to cause trouble for the demonic sects? After over a decade of peace, thanks to you, a new wave of bloodshed is about to begin.”
Shi Hao’s expression remained unchanged, “What’s it to me?” He paused, “Is it any of your business?”
The girl covered her mouth and giggled, “It’s none of my business either!”
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