Chapter 388 – Paying Respects to the Father-in-law Three (1/2)

Li Qingshan saw the barbican below his feet rapidly shrink and grow further away. Within the blink of an eye, it was shrouded by the dark cloud of arrows, which soon collapsed and dispersed. Li Qingshan was secretly startled. If he had been a step slower, it would have been quite painful even if he emerged in one piece.

Cao Gan’s smile lingered, as if he had been expecting this.

“Be careful!” Han Qiongzhi felt no joy. Instead, she became worried.

In that instant, scorching, white light filled the night sky, dazzling Li Qingshan’s eyes. Only then did he hear a great rumble. Li Qingshan had been struck by a bolt of lightning, falling out of the sky.

Flying in the general’s estate was forbidden for members of the Han family, so the entire estate was enveloped by formations. Once they were formally activated, even Foundation Establishment cultivators could not come and go as they pleased. Neither Li Qingshan nor Han Qiongzhi had expected something like this.

Cao Gan raised his hand, and the rain of arrows stopped. “You’ll be bed bound for ten to fifteen days at the very least once you’re struck by that lightning. The general’s mobilised so many troops. He’s taking this kid too seriously.”

“Qingshan! Qingshan!”

Li Qingshan landed in Han Qiongzhi’s arms. Seeing her concern and irritation, he said, “I’m fine. Looks like I really do need to get a little more serious.”

He leapt back onto his feet. Compared to the tribulation of lightning, this lightning strike felt more like a tickle.

“Do you still refuse to come to your senses? It’s impossible for you to pass through the barbican. You don’t even have a one percent chance. If you keep going, you’ll only injure yourself more for nothing.” Cao Gan frowned. He never expected the kid’s body to be so tough, such that he could even endure the lightning summoned by the formation.

“We’ll go right now. I don’t need my father deciding matters between us!”

“I’m a man. I don’t need a woman to teach me what to do!” Li Qingshan said proudly, casting a wide, dependable figure to Han Qiongzhi. He glanced back and smiled. “This isn’t for you, but for us!”

He smiled as resplendently as the sunlight, which left Han Qiongzhi speechless for a moment. She stood up and gritted her teeth. “What’re you boasting for? I’ll accompany you to wherever you want to go.”

Li Qingshan smiled and pointed at the battlements. “Cao, I was careless just then, so I’ll let you feel proud of yourself for now. I’ll give you a painful thrashing now!”

“Kid, those are some pretty big boasts! Release the arrows!”

“Leave here to me! You smelly man, I’ll show you the power of women!”

Just when Li Qingshan wanted to advance, Han Qiongzhi brushed past him, so he stopped with a smile.

Swish! Swish! Swish! The giant bolts shot over, but Han Qiongzhi did not even look at them. She turned and leapt around on the walls like it was flat ground. The huge bolts brushed past her and deeply embedded themselves into the walls. As the first young miss of the Han family, she was extremely familiar with the target designation and method of attack of these ballistae.

She leapt up the wall and charged into a watch tower. Right in front of her lay a ballista with its gem eyes twinkling. Like a willow leaf in the wind, she leaned backwards with the flow, and the huge bolt brushed past the tip of her nose. She turned around and arrived behind the ballista. With a casual slam, the eyes immediately dimmed, and it was disabled.

From the two sides of the watchtower, soldiers charged up with all of their might. They flung the door open, and waves of heat rolled over. All of Han Qiongzhi’s true qi had turned into flames, dyeing the entire place red. She called out, “Move!”

Like a leaping ball of fire, she whistled towards another watch tower with a long tail of flames, leaving behind a trace of fire on the battlements.

In the blink of an eye, she invaded like fire and circled around the entire barbican, disabling all the ballista and landing before Cao Gan. She heaved slightly, and the fire on her weakened. Although Bing Fire true qi possessed great destructive power, it was exhausted very rapidly.

“Young miss, you’ve grown up.” Cao Gan let out a sigh as his fingers plucked the strings rapidly, producing confusing noises with the zither. The waves of sound turned into sharp blades.

Within the noise, Han Qiongzhi took a step back and swung her blade around, parrying the sound waves. However, a tiny cut still appeared on her face. She understood that Cao Gan’s cultivation was above hers, and she was exhausted. Meanwhile, he had been prepared the whole time, waiting for them here. If they dragged the battle out, there was no way for them to emerge victorious. As a result, she made up her mind and fire erupted from her body. Just when she was about to advance with her blade, a figure blocked her.

Cao Gan was slightly surprised. He saw how Li Qingshan was enveloped by a thin veil of water, and he felt scornful. How can a mere Water Curtain technique block my zither? He plucked the zither even more rapidly, which sounded like pearls falling into jade bowls.

However, Li Qingshan’s curtain of water was surprisingly tough. The sound waves kicked up countless ripples, but it failed to pierce it. After reaching the third layer of the spirit turtle, Li Qingshan’s water element technique had become extremely powerful. He strode over through the sound waves.

“Dance of the Heavenly Sound!” Cao Gan pressed down and tugged, pulling seven strings all the way to their limit. With a great clang, it erupted with an extremely fierce wave of sound and pierced the curtain.

“You-”

Before Cao Gan could even celebrate, a black shadow enveloped him. Li Qingshan looked down from above as his eyes shone as two red specks of light.

Bang!

Without any hesitation at all, Li Qingshan grabbed the zither, lifting it up and smacked Cao Gan with it.

“Have you played enough?”

Cao Gan was sent spinning into a group of soldiers who had come to assist him, knocking them all over. Disbelief filled his eyes. How could a mere eighth layer Qi Practitioner block his Dance of the Heavenly Sound from such a close range?

Li Qingshan’s clothes had been reduced to rags, so he ripped it off, revealing his unscathed, bronze skin. The zither in Cao Gan’s hand trembled, as if it was trying to return to its master’s side, but how could it rival Li Qingshan’s strength? He frowned and tried crushing it with both hands. Although this was a rare high grade spiritual artifact zither, it was much more fragile compared to other weapons, so it was no opponent for Li Qingshan’s strength. It immediately produced a painful moan.

“My zither!” Cao Gan cried out.