Chapter 73: The Notorious Night Lily
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan followed Mu Heng, winding their way through the mountains.
After crossing two mountain ridges, Mu Heng said, “We’ve passed the barbarian army’s blockade for now. Do you have a specific destination?”
Shi Hao said, “We need to continue forward and find the rebel army.”
Mu Heng said, “Hero Fu’s main force is operating around the Changbai Mountains, constantly on the move. They’ve lost some of the cities they captured earlier due to the barbarian army’s superior numbers. I heard they’re planning to head northeast. Many heroes in the martial world are secretly supporting them.”
He lowered his voice, “I’ve long admired Dark Thunder and wish to join their fight against the barbarians. We’re all fighting for the same cause. Are you two from Dark Thunder?”
Xu Xiaoyan chuckled, “What’s Dark Thunder? Is it edible?”
Shi Hao said calmly, “We’re really not.”
Mu Heng said, “That’s a pity.” He led them into a canyon and whispered, “Although we’ve passed the blockade, just in case, I’ll scout ahead. Wait here for a moment.”
Shi Hao said, “Thank you, Brother Mu.”
Mu Heng said, “We’re all comrades. There’s no need for formalities.” He walked ahead.
Moments later, two groups of martial artists charged into the canyon from both sides, their weapons flashing, their killing intent palpable.
“Where are they? Where did they go?” someone shouted.
Then, Mu Heng’s voice, “They were just here! They must have been discovered. They can’t be far. After them!”
The group rushed out of the canyon, scattering to search for Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan.
Suddenly, a scream echoed. The others rushed towards the sound and found two bodies, their own men.
Another scream came from the other side.
As some started to move towards the new sound, Mu Heng shouted, “Wait! Don’t separate!”
A tall, thin man with a goose-feather saber at his waist snorted beside him, “It seems these two aren’t easy to deal with. Brother Chi Mu, what did they look like?”
Mu Heng described their appearances. The thin man said, “It seems that young man is the villain who caused the massacre at the Yuan Dan Huo estate. He’s on our Six Gates’ blacklist. And that girl is likely the wanted female thief.”
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan, hidden nearby, had planned to ambush them one by one.
But the men were well-trained. After losing three men, they quickly became cautious.
Unable to continue their ambush, Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan quietly retreated.
As they descended the mountain, Shi Hao suddenly stopped and sneered.
He flickered and disappeared into a dense thicket. His palm struck outwards.
A figure flew out, landing on the ground with a thud.
The man, surprised at being discovered, tried to escape.
Shi Hao appeared beside him instantly, his palm aimed at the man’s chest, then he paused, “You’re…”
The man also recognized him, “Brother Hao?”
Shi Hao withdrew his hand… This man was from Dark Thunder.
During the attack on Civilian Martial Ridge, to prevent anyone from leaking information, they had been instructed to stay in groups of five.
This was one of the men in his group, but Shi Hao had been pretending to be aloof and hadn’t spoken to him, so he didn’t know his name.
Shi Hao asked, “What are you doing here?”
The man, relieved to be alive, whispered, “We received intel that barbarian agents, disguised as rebels, are working with the Six Gates in this area, killing our brothers and disrupting our supply lines to the Changbai Mountains.
“I came here with a group to investigate. I saw a group heading up the mountain, all martial artists, but dressed as ordinary commoners. I suspected they were the ones killing our people, so I hid here to observe.”
“I didn’t expect you to find me, Brother Hao, even though I was so well-hidden. How did you do it?”
Shi Hao shook his head, “You were well-hidden. It’s just… my martial arts are unusual.” He hadn’t actually seen the man; the Soul Chasing Locking Steps had guided him.
The man whispered, “We heard about what you did at the Yuan Dan Huo estate, Brother Hao. The Six Gates have put you on the Blacklist. And before that, at Civilian Martial Ridge, you risked your life to lead the pursuers away from Brothers Qian Fei and He Ling. We were all worried about you and have been searching for you.
“We were relieved to see you on the Blacklist, confirming you were still alive. I didn’t expect to find you here!”
Shi Hao said, “Your suspicions were correct. We just encountered those barbarian agents. They’re cunning and ruthless, disguising themselves as martial artists and gathering information. If they can’t find anything, they simply kill everyone. Fortunately, we saw through their deception and escaped.”
The man frowned, “Many of our brothers have been killed by them. If we don’t eliminate them, they’ll continue to cause trouble.”
He lowered his voice, “Brother Hao, come with me.” He glanced at the plain-looking girl with the medicine chest.
Shi Hao said, “Don’t worry, she’s with me.”
Xu Xiaoyan smiled, “My name is Chen Que’er. I have a small reputation in the martial world. They call me ‘Night Lily.’ Have you heard of me?”
The man’s eyes widened, “You’re the Night Lily? The one who stole the Pure Clarity Sword from Cloud Lofty Monastery in Jiangzhe, the Nevernight Pearl from the Marquis of Spring’s residence, and even infiltrated the Golden Sky Moon Realm? The one who caused the incident at Ming Kun Monastery in Jin Prefecture, triggering the whole chain of events related to the God-Sealing Stones?”
“Everyone said the masked female thief with the flower in her hair must be the Night Lily, but you usually operate in Jiangzhe. We weren’t sure if it was really you. So, it is you?”
Xu Xiaoyan giggled, “Those were just… small jobs.”
Shi Hao looked at her, thinking, She’s quite famous.
The man led them away, and they ran until they reached a dense forest.
As they entered, a voice whispered from the shadows, “Chen Feng, who are they?”
Chen Feng whispered back, “This is Brother Hao Xinghua, and this is Night Lily.”
The voice in the shadows exclaimed, “Night Lily?” A head popped out from the bushes, staring at the legendary Night Lily, his face falling as he saw her plain, disguised features.
Disappointment was written all over his face.
Chen Feng said, “Brother Li? Brother Li?”
The man stammered, “Oh! Oh, please come in, please come in…”
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan followed Chen Feng deeper into the forest. Along the way, Shi Hao whispered to Xu Xiaoyan, “You’re quite famous.”
Xu Xiaoyan chuckled, “A little reputation among the lower rungs doesn’t mean much.”
Shi Hao said thoughtfully, “Speaking of which, the Six Gates have put me on the Blacklist as well. I wonder what my ranking is.”
Xu Xiaoyan glanced at him, “Don’t be silly. Only the top one hundred are ranked. After that, it’s just a list of names, no particular order.”
Oh…
The Blacklist contained all the wanted criminals in the central plains and the eight provinces. Reaching the top one hundred wasn’t easy.
“Brother Hao!” a woman’s voice called out excitedly.
Shi Hao looked over and saw Lu Tong, whom he hadn’t seen in a while.
She rushed over, her face beaming, “Brother Hao! I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Shi Hao nodded slightly. He saw over thirty people gathered there. Besides Lu Tong and Chen Feng, he recognized a few others from the Civilian Martial Ridge operation, but he didn’t know their names.
“You’re Brother Hao?” A man in his forties approached, his voice deep and serious. “I am Jiang Yiran of Dark Thunder. After you led the pursuers away at Civilian Martial Ridge, we couldn’t find you. Our brothers, following the Grand Leader’s orders, have been searching for you. We only confirmed you were still alive yesterday, after hearing about the incident at the Yuan Dan Huo estate and seeing your name on the Blacklist.”
Shi Hao asked, surprised, “Your Grand Leader knows about me?”
Jiang Yiran said, “The two branch leaders informed the Grand Leader, and he’s been quite concerned about your safety. By the way, what brings you here, Brother Hao?”
Shi Hao and Xu Xiaoyan exchanged glances, then took off their book box and medicine chest, opening them.
Xu Xiaoyan smiled, “We heard the rebels in the Changbai Mountains are short on medicine, so we did a little… business, and ‘acquired’ some Minor Restoration Pills from Jing’an Monastery.”
Jiang Yiran looked inside the containers, his face lighting up, “Minor Restoration Pills! I heard about the theft at Jing’an Monastery. So it was you two!”
The others also looked excited. No one knew better than they did the importance of wound medicine in the martial world. And these Minor Restoration Pills were far more effective than even the best ordinary medicine.
Although the Chongxian Sect’s actions were often despicable, their skill in alchemy was undeniable. Unfortunately, they only supplied these pills to the barbarian army. They were unavailable on the market.
For the rebels in the Changbai Mountains, these two boxes of pills were a godsend.
Xu Xiaoyan giggled, “We’re here to sell them,” afraid they wouldn’t pay.
Jiang Yiran quickly said, “Of course, of course.”
Shi Hao’s voice turned cold, his killing intent rising, “On our way here, we encountered someone posing as a rebel, even killing a barbarian scout before our eyes…” He recounted the incident.
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