490 Disbanding (1/2)
Maid Lotus, Wu Zongheng, and the others arrived safely at the military camp in Wushan. Only a little mishap happened throughout the journey, where Miss Ming Zhen of the Gulping Wind Gorge and her personal maid Han Xuan had asked to follow them.
Ming Zhen was Ha Chilie's fiancée. She did not know martial arts and looked delicate, but she was stubborn. She was shy about speaking certain things, so she asked her maid Han Xuan to speak on her behalf. ”What's wrong with a woman wanting to visit her fiance? If you don't want to take us with you, we can walk on our own. We will just be taking the same road. We don't need you to take care of us.”
Wu Zongheng was the leader among them. He agreed to take them with a bitter smile but proposed, ”The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to walk on foot. We won't wait for you if you can't follow our pace.”
Han Xuan patted her chest and promised confidently, ”I will carry Miss Ming if she becomes too tired to walk. You have my word that we won't bother you.”
The fact was that Ming Zhen did not become a burden for them. On the way, she never once complained whether on horseback or on foot. She was tough and tolerant, unlike like a lady from a respected family. Han Xuan, on the other hand, brought them so much more trouble. She was one to directly voice her feelings and complaints, leaving Wu Zongheng unsure what to do with her.
There was only one person who could make her keep quiet among them.
When Ha Chilie had selected his fiancée among countless women, it was Maid Lotus who pinpointed Ming Zhen. Thus, she was sort of their matchmaker. She and several disciples of the New Moon Hall kept their distance from Wu Zonghan and the rest and showed Ming Zhen and Han Xuan no concern during the day. Neither did they stay in the same place at night. Some of them would often disappear out of the blue before showing up again.
The New Moon Hall was always mysterious. Gu Shenwei was accustomed to it, but his subordinates were not. Ignoring the six female guards, Wu Zongheng only ordered his ten soldiers to pitch tents, prepare meals, march, and take a break.
The ten soldiers were as skeptical about the New Moon Hall disciples as their leader. One swordsman from the Great Snowmountain who had been following after them for some time murmured, ”They're scarier when Dragon King isn't around.” The rest shared his opinion.
The New Moon Hall disciples never built a fire, asked them for food, or put up a tent in the evening. No one knew what they ate or where they slept. These soldiers were afraid of them, and they ignored the soldiers. Sometimes when these disciples walked through the team, they ignored the team with apathetic and confused expressions as if they were sleepwalking.
Miss Ming might have once intended to get on Maid Lotus' good side but gave up the minute she saw Maid Lotus. However, her maid had different thoughts and was always trying to blend in with the New Moon Hall disciples.
Han Xuan had a mysterious story. She was sold to the Gulping Wind Gorge as a little girl. One day, a mysterious woman appeared and taught her martial arts. This woman was later discovered to be a New Moon Hall disciple but what she taught Han Xuan was not martial arts from the hall. Moreover, she also refused to take Han Xuan with her.
Since then, Han Xuan considered herself as a partial New Moon Hall disciple. But the renegade of the New Moon Hall who occupied the Gulping Wind Gorge did not recognize her and thus, Maid Lotus and the rest did not consider her their companion.
However, Han Xuan was a tenacious person. Each time when they pitched tents, she would take the initiative to approach these disciples regardless of others' warning and Ming Zhen's pleading.
Besides, she had a talent. Besides Maid Lotus, she could trace the hidden disciples of New Moon Hall with her sensitive nose. The other five could never hide without her finding them. Therefore, she often interrupted them when they were performing their tasks.
The disciples would go somewhere else once Han Xuan found them. No one would treat her nicely, but their behavior never frustrated her. She told Ming Zhen, ”I think they're friendly. I like them better than the former disciples of the New Moon Hall.”
Ming Zhen did not know what to say when she heard this. She became afraid at the thought of her maid becoming stranger and more similar to the mad women of the New Moon Hall. But she dared not tell Han Xuan this and only prayed to meet her fiance soon.
One day, Han Xuan finally pissed off a New Moon Hall disciple and a fight broke out between them.
The soldiers were far away from them when their fight began. They were about to cook with ingredients. But when they saw their fierce fight, they took aback and stood still, looking at them. Ming Zhen covered her mouth, stopping herself from crying out at the sight of them fighting.
It was not an ordinary spar. The two were serious about their fight and were trying to kill each other.
Wu Zongheng could not ignore the New Moon Hall disciples anymore. Being the leader of the team, he had to stand out and stop the fight.
”Stop! Both of you!” Wu Zongheng shouted in a calm and solemn voice, hoping they would listen to his order as he was the vice commander of thousands.
However, his title meant nothing to the two mad women and their fight became even fiercer. That New Moon Hall disciple scattered some powders of different colors and they swiftly spread through the air.
Wu Zongheng was afraid to approach them. He had to command in an embarrassed voice, ”I need you to stop immediately in the name of Dragon King!”
”They fear Dragon King!” he thought. Wu Zongheng was relieved after seeing the two mad women stop fighting, despite their angry glares at each other.
Suddenly, he felt a chill down his back and tried to turn around to see what was behind him. But he found that his body became too stiff to do that as if an evil spell had struck him.
Maid Lotus walked past him. So it was not Dragon King but the Managing Master of the New Moon Hall who stopped their fight.
”What happened?” Maid Lotus asked.
The disciple who fought with Han Xuan was Han Fen, whom Managing Master trusted most. ”It's her fault. I hid well, but she kept pacing back and forth in front of me. I can't even breathe because of her!” Han Fen said.
Han Xuan retorted in anger, ”You're the one who didn't hide well! How can you blame me for it? If you can't pee one day, are you going to say it's my fault too?”
”I won't be able to pee if you're standing next to me! Of course it's your fault!”
Compared to the New Moon Hall disciples, Han Xuan was less formal and held lesser admiration for Maid Lotus. She became furious after hearing Han Fen's words and ran toward her, trying to attack her even with Maid Lotus around.
Han Xuan and Han Fen ran to each other with their full strength as if they wanted to tear each other to pieces.
This time, they were stopped before they could use their skills.
Maid Lotus dashed forward and stood between them, easily separating them with her hands.
This was the first time Wu Zongheng saw Dragon King's personal guard using her martial arts. He did not recognize many of the secret techniques that she used. He simply found her to be amazing for stopping their fight without getting hurt.
Han Xuan was much more shocked. After Maid Lotus slapped her, she had to take several steps backward before she could regain a firm footing. Her Internal Breath was in disorder and it took her a while to recover. She said in surprise, ”You're... that strong?”
Han Xuan began to admire her.