192 Chapter 191: Old Grudge (1/2)

Realization dawned on me when I began to comprehend what was going on, and Hu Mei Er's role in all this.

”You…you planned this all along,” I spoke up uncertainly. ”You volunteered to escort Qi Hong and Lian Rou back to the sect grounds after they helped out with resupplying the Blood Blades with Spirit Armaments, but you were actually scheming to lure them into a trap and kidnap them!”

”They didn't suspect a thing,” Hu Mei Er agreed, her pretty face crinkling into a sneer. ”When their guard was down, it was but a simple matter for me to strike. Before we were halfway back, I stabbed them with poison. Don't worry,” she added when she caught sight of my expression. ”It's not a fatal toxin. It was from Lord Blood Shadow. It'll only immobilize them for a few hours, but they'll be fine once it wears off.” she smiled, her expression ugly when compared to her usual beauty. ”We don't want to accidentally kill the hostages, after all.”

”You…!” Tong Xue shouted. ”You betrayed Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!”

Hu Mei Er shrugged callously. ”My loyalties don't lie with Nine-Tailed Fox Sect anyway. Obviously I'll honor my relationship with my future husband more than the sect.”

Despite myself, I couldn't help but snort in laughter. ”Your future husband? Liang Shao Yang?”

”What's so funny?” Hu Mei Er demanded.

”You,” I replied honestly. ”Did you really think Liang Shao Yang was serious about his relationship with you? He was merely making use of you.”

”Shut up!” Hu Mei Er snapped. ”You know nothing about him!”

”I do know he tried to kill me, though,” I pointed out. If Hu Mei Er didn't want to hear the truth, then I wasn't going to argue with her. That said, she might be right. I didn't know Liang Shao Yang as well as she did. It was entirely possible that he was truly and sincerely in love with her. He had even given up wooing Tang Qi Hong to be with her.

Perhaps he did really love her.

Nonetheless, it didn't change the fact that Hu Mei Er wanted revenge for him, which led to my current predicament.

”That still doesn't justify you betraying Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and joining Divine Shadow Sect to kill your fellow disciples!” Tong Xue protested hotly.

”Shut up!” Hu Mei Er snapped again, this time her anger directed at him. ”This has nothing to do with you!”

”Considering you're trying to kill him too, I would say it has everything to do with him,” I muttered dryly. Hu Mei Er seemed to take my words seriously, for she shook her head.

”I only have business with you.” she pointed at me. ”Junior Tong Xue and Junior Lian Rou can go.”

”What…?” Tong Xue's jaw dropped.

”Hey, you don't get to decide that....” one of the Divine Shadow Sect assassins began, but Hu Mei Er cut him off with a look. What the hell? Since when was she in charge?

”He's from Smart Shadow Sect anyway, which is a subsidiary sect of your Divine Shadow Sect. Didn't your sect leader, Blood Shadow and the Dark Asura Sect leader say something about leaving him alive? Or do you plan to go against your own sect leader?”

”…”

The Divine Shadow Sect members looked at each other, but no one objected. Given what Yuan Tian Ya said earlier, it seemed that they were telling the truth about Tong Xue.

Unfortunately, Tong Xue was far from flattered.

”I've renounced my membership from Smart Shadow Sect,” he growled defiantly. ”I'm part of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and a member of Blood Blades. If you want to harm any of my comrades in Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, I will fight you.”

Watching the scene unfold before my eyes, I couldn't help but be struck by the stark contrast between Tong Xue and Hu Mei Er. One was formerly from a subsidiary sect of the enemy, but was willing to give all that up and risk his life fighting to defend the woman he loves, as well as his comrades. Another was a member of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, but betrayed us and joined our enemies in order to take revenge for her lover.

I wasn't sure what to make of it. One thing was for sure, though. I held even greater respect for Tong Xue than before.

”Even so, you're not the target of my vendetta. They are.” She pointed at me and Tang Qi Hong. ”I don't care what you do. As long as you don't attack us, we won't kill you. But if you insist on getting on our way, then we'll eliminate you as well, regardless of our orders.”

”Try it if you dare!” Tong Xue snarled, but I stopped him with a shake of my head.

”Tong Xue, take this chance and bring Lian Rou to safety.” I began to hand Tang Qi Hong over to him. ”And Qi Hong too. I'm counting on you to bring both girls to safety. I'll delay them as long as I can, but I'll be depending on you to call for backup.”

”That's…” Tong Xue looked conflicted, but I stared at him earnestly.

”Please. I understand how you feel, but our priority is to get Qi Hong and Lian Rou to safety. You're the only one I can count on for this.”

”Ugh…make sure you don't die!”

Tong Xue saw the wisdom of my words. With both immobilized girls present, we couldn't fight to our true potential. We would be too busily distracted with keeping them safe and protecting them that we wouldn't be able to unleash all of our strength.

”Who says you can bring her?” Hu Mei Er swung her fan and a blast of qi seared through the space between me and Tong Xue, causing both of us to jump back while still hanging tightly onto our respective girls.

”You…!” Tong Xue growled as he skidded a safe distance away.

”I said I have a vendetta with you two.” Hu Mei Er pointed at me. And then I realized that she was pointing at Tang Qi Hong as well. ”Both you and Tang Qi Hong. I want the both of you dead as payment for Shao Yang's death.”

”Why?” I demanded. ”Qi Hong has nothing to do with Liang Shao Yang's death! I was the one who killed him!”

”She was the indirect cause. After all, you never would have fought Shao Yang if it wasn't for her sake, right?” Hu Mei Er rested her murderous gaze on Tang Qi Hong's immobilized figure. ”And if I'm honest, I've always held a grudge against her ever since she first joined the sect. Usurping my place and stealing my thunder…if that bitch was never part of the sect, I would have been the treasured child and the most beautiful girl in the sect!”

Ah…so jealousy was rearing its ugly head here. I took a deep breath and straightened while gesturing to Tong Xue with my head to retreat. However, my friend continued to hesitate and he finally shook his head.

He was going to stay and fight with me, even if that meant risking Lian Rou's safety. He was aware that Lian Rou would never forgive him if he left her best friend in the lurch. Admittedly, if I was in his position, I would probably do the same.

Upon finishing her wailing and whining, Hu Mei Er then glared at me and Tang Qi Hong, her usually dazzling blue eyes terrifying and filled with bloodlust. Pointing at us, she callously hissed out a single order.

”Kill them both!”

As one, the Divine Shadow Sect assassins leaped forward to obey.

*

”Who are you?”

Hai Rong furrowed her brow as she glared at Blood Shadow, studying the mask he wore so intently her gaze almost bore holes through the layer of synthetic skin concealing his real face. Her expression grew solemn as several possibilities occurred to her.

Possibilities that were distinctly disturbing.

Despite the number of experts and skilled killers occupying the mansion, the atmosphere seemed to become even more oppressive than before.

Lang Xie, who had turned to leave a few seconds ago, suddenly turned around, his attention captured by Blood Shadow's single sentence.

”Who are you?” he asked again.

Venomous hatred blazed in Blood Shadow's eyes as he met Lang Xie's gaze evenly, and he spat.

”You don't need to know who I am. All you need to know is that I respect Master. All these years, the only reason why I endured the harshest of agonies, is so that I can kill you, Lang Xie!”

”Master…?” Lang Xie whispered, his eyes slightly widening in realization. Blood Shadow sneered sardonically.

”That's right. Master…who you killed! You unfilial senior!”

He then raised a hand and conjured a bloodthirsty technique, causing dozens of crimson chains to descend from the sky.

”Heavenly Lock!”

The crimson chains weaved around each other, taking the shape of a gigantic claw that smashed down upon Lang Xie's position. Before Lang Xie could begin to dodge, however, a second figure appeared atop the building.

He was a thin and shriveled man who looked about sixty years old, clad in a simple gray robe, and wielded a skeletal sword that shone an ivory white.

”Di Shi Jiu!” Hai Rong shouted the moment she caught sight of him. Her expression turning into panic for a second, she spun around to yell at her vice-commander. ”Lang Xie, be careful!”

However, Lang Xie didn't seem to be the least perturbed. Instead, his killing intent intensified when he matched his murderous gaze with the almost relaxed expression that Di Shi Jiu wore. A bloodthirsty aura rolled out from his body and enveloped him in a thick, crimson mist, and the strong iron tang of blood filled the air.

”Di Shi Jiu!” he growled.

”Where do you think you're looking?” Blood Shadow sneered. The crimson chains, with the gigantic claw in the center, continued to hurtle toward Lang Xie, seeking to crush him under their tremendous weight, or at least bind him.

Lang Xie didn't even spare the claw or chains a single glance. Throwing out a hand in the vague direction of the attack while keeping his eyes on the recently appeared Di Shi Jiu, he launched a blast of blood-red qi. The qi immediately transformed into a blood-red spear and streaked toward the claw, obliterating it upon impact and scattering the rest of crimson chains with a terrifying howl that echoed throughout the night.

”!”

Blood Shadow retreated as the spear hurtled through his broken blood claw and continued to speed toward his chest. Gathering all of his chains back, he managed to conjure a blood shield, which almost crumbled as it absorbed the collision with the blood spear.

Meanwhile, without paying any attention to Blood Shadow, Lang Xie was biting his finger and drawing a single drop of blood. The droplet of blood drifted toward his chest before glowing brightly, like a crimson spark that set a forest aflame.

A few seconds later, the blood-red light solidified into blood-red Spirit Armor around his chest and torso. The Spirit Armor continued to spread across his body, covering his chest, back, shoulders, arms, stomach and thighs. Before even five seconds had passed, Lang Xie was already clad in a full-body armor not dissimilar to that of Wu Xing's Five Elements Royal Armor.

The Spirit Armor gleamed a bloodthirsty red, the Spirit Engravings inscribed into its surface glowing in an arcane manner. Everyone present instinctively took a step back when they sensed the potent power emanating from the armor and the mystical patterns engraved into it.

”Impressive…as expected of the legendary vice-commander of Blood Blades, Lang Xie.” Yuan Tian Ya's voice was filled with grudging admiration as he stalked out of the shadows, his expression grim. ”What a terrifying display of power. Even so, I can't walk away today. Blood Blades are Nine-Tailed Fox Sect's sword and shield. Once Blood Blades are eliminated, Nine-Tailed Fox Sect will instantly fall apart. The usually renowned blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers will all become captives of the Martial Arts Alliance and imprisoned in their cells, forging armaments for us.”

”You think the Royal Family will stand to the side and allow you to do that? They will send the Imperial Guard to crush you.” Hai Rong sounded defiant. Yuan Tian Ya merely laughed sinisterly.

”Why would they? We have ample justification for this. We're doing this so as to not allow you to amass weapons of mass destruction to threaten the safety of the Great Zhou Empire.”