144 Untitled (1/2)
The sight took Cloud Soul's breath away.
The sky slowly darkened. In the horizon, the crimson red sunset gradually disappeared into the depths of the mountain in the west. The idyllic rose-colored setting was replaced by a splendid shade of turquoise, and as their surroundings dimmed, their shadows vanished as well.
Night time was impending, and the bright moon was about to rise.
Cloud Soul finally sighed. ”I swore… to protect the heir of the Zhan family, and never pardon their enemies.”
White velvet mist circulated around her extended hand. Instead of defending himself, Zhan Beiye secretly pressed his palm on Meng Fuyao's back, waiting to push her out as long as Cloud Soul attacked.
Not far behind, Little Seven was waiting to receive them. He would definitely be able to catch Meng Fuyao.
Without any warning, the mist neared Zhan Beiye's chest!
Zhan Beiye gave a low holler, and the last bit of his inner energy penetrated out of his body, though it was not directed at Cloud Soul's murderous move. Instead, he gave a strong push towards his back.
”Little Seven, catch!”
The lad rushed forward, yet he did not catch Meng Fuyao whose body made a clean arc in the air. Without looking back, he barked, ”You guys catch!”
He zoomed past Meng Fuyao and without saying a word, thrust his pike towards Cloud Soul.
Zhan Beiye was exasperated. ”Bastard, scram!” he barked.
Little Seven retorted arrogantly, ”I will scram after saving you!”
He went head-on, violently stabbing his pike at Cloud Soul from left and right, with no sense of control in his movements. He was an underground gangster, a homeless lad who had been fighting on the streets since he lost his parents at the age of three until Zhan Beiye took him in and personally taught him martial arts. But he was not as uncultured as how he appeared — he was sharp to realize that Cloud Soul was a woman and had a natural disadvantage in stamina. She would have the lower hand if she exhausted all her inner energy after a day of intense fighting. Facing someone like her, it was better to just fight than try to trick her.
Little Seven wielded his pike, using all of his strength in every attack he made. He seemed to be able to hear the slight tears in his ligaments and muscles for overusing his body, and he could feel his body slightly shivering like he was about to melt into a pool of mud. Yet for his every strike, he would still use the same amount of strength.
The fine stones on the cliff were swirled away by the violent wind. Cloud Soul's face darkened with anger, and she icily asked, ”A clown like you dare to provoke me?” With a wave of her sleeves, Little Seven was forcefully thrown out.
However, while he was still in mid-air, he used his pike as an anchor on the ground to swivel himself back, aiming towards Cloud Soul and using exactly the same attack!
Cloud Soul raised her eyebrow so high that it almost looked vertical. 'What's wrong with everyone I met today? Why didn't they know how to shun, or fend for themselves, or run away? Why did they only know how to foolishly use their body and flesh to persevere through my attacks?' she thought.
Extending her arms in frustration, she sent Little Seven flying in the air time after time. She disdained Little Seven as a being too inferior for her to kill; if everyone got to know that one of the top ten martial artists like her bullied a servant, her reputation would be tarnished.
Little Seven slowly contributed to the blood stains splattered on the ground, but he continued to laugh as he blocked Zhan Beiye's body. Every time he felt faint due to exhaustion, he would grab a handful of sand and forcefully smear it all over his face.
The rough sand resulted in searing pain, but even under great grief, he wiped off the blood on his face and dashed ahead again. That long pike had no flag attached to it at all, but the air of determination and belief around it shot into the sky. Let his blood be the ink, and the sky be its flag!
Zhan Beiye was speechless and had no more strength left to verbally stop Little Seven. He quietly looked away and stared at the moon on the horizon.
The moonlight was rising!
Tonight, was the night of the full moon!
Finally, after Little Seven risked his life to fight for time, the golden and round moon rose from the tip of the cliff, engulfed in a sea of velvety clouds.
Cloud Soul suddenly looked up. When she saw the full moon, her expression changed. After listening intently to her surroundings for a few seconds, she silently rose above the ground.
As she floated in the air, her weapon dimmed and glowed in her hands. Finally, without any hesitation, she flung it with great power towards Little Seven's skull.
Plop!
It was not the sound of a skull being cracked open. The weapon had been captured into a net, and it hit against a soft item.
It was a dazzling net, with every line as bright as silver, looking shiny and clear; a gentle pluck of it would produce dreamy rays of silvery light. At times, the net was like the string of a legendary instrument that one would play while basking in the beautiful spring; other times, it felt like the silk scarves that smoothly flowed through the hands of beautiful women. When it did not move, it was like a pool of calm water as refined as jade — when it flew, it became the purest and brightest stroke of moonlight.
The lingering moonlight once cherished deceased beauties, sighed over diminishing prosperities, reflected the liveliness of dynasties and witnessed emotional farewells. Over the countless years, be it in the past or present, the moonlight was forever silvery-bright.