The knife blade was drawn tight against Xiang Lan'er’s fair neck, already pressing out blood marks. A slight loss of control in his hand could open a large gash on that delicate neck.
His other hand was wrapped tightly around her chest, holding Xiang Lan'er very close. This was a classic hostage situation.
Thus, Xiang Lan'er’s back was pressed tightly against his front. They could clearly feel each other’s body temperatures and curves.
Shi Chun, however, had no mind to feel her temperature and curves now; what he felt was danger approaching.
Xiang Lan'er’s face, however, showed a flush of anger and humiliation.
Although she came from a pleasure house, she was an entertainer who did not sell her body, and she had never been held so tightly by a man before.
Even Bian Weikang’s impulsive embraces would be quickly defused by her.
What made her most embarrassed was that this scoundrel’s arms squeezed her chest so tightly that her face turned red with shame and indignation. She thought Shi Chun was doing it on purpose; wasn't the goal of capturing her for lustful desires?
She herself didn't know why she had been captured so inexplicably.
If it were a straightforward fight, she guaranteed that all these people combined would not be her match. Yet, she was easily captured by them.
Moreover, to prevent her from speaking, these people had sealed her mute point, making it impossible for her to warn anyone. She could only endure the liberties taken, and she was so vexed that she felt a suffocating discomfort, almost spitting blood from anger.
The group was also confused by Shi Chun’s reaction, wondering why he looked as if he was facing a formidable enemy.
Everyone looked around but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
Cen Futong asked in confusion, “Brother Chun, what’s wrong?”
Shi Chun urgently called out, “Jinliang.”
The two had been old partners, licking blood from knife edges for many years.
Wu Jinliang quickly understood and swiftly moved to his side, standing back-to-back, equally on high alert.
It was then that Shi Chun reminded the others, “Everyone, be careful, this woman might have an accomplice.”
The reason he said this was purely because Xiang Lan'er’s reaction just now had been too abnormal. He didn’t know if he was mistaken, or what the strength of any potential person might be.
Regardless of whether there was anyone, or how strong they were, seizing the hostage immediately for self-protection was the correct move.
Upon hearing this, Xiang Lan'er was somewhat surprised.
Her eyes darted left and right. She couldn’t see the person behind her, but the tight constricting feeling on her chest remained.
In her mind, she was already plotting how to make this scoundrel wish he were dead later.
The masked group also looked around vigilantly for a while, but the surroundings were so quiet they could hear insects crawling and see small birds preening on branches.
There were no signs of anyone else.
Cen Futong didn’t dare to be too careless and called out, “Brothers, let’s go look around.”
His three masked accomplices whistled and flashed, leaping onto large tree branches, spreading out to meticulously check the surroundings. Soon, they vanished from Shi Chun and the others’ sight.
Cen Futong looked left and right, asking, “Brother Chun, are you overthinking? Why would this woman have an accomplice? Did she calculate that we were coming, to deal with us?”
No sooner had he spoken than the crown of a large tree on the nearby mountainside suddenly rustled, though there was no other sound, making Shi Chun and the others even more vigilant.
Suddenly, a figure burst out of the forest, soaring through the air, shouting in panic, “Run!”
It was one of the masked men from earlier.
Cen Futong quickly shouted, “What’s going on?”
Whoosh, whoosh! Two rapid sounds of air being torn sliced through the sky.
A slender shadow flashed past, too fast for anyone to see what it was, striking and splattering a rain of blood in mid-air, followed by a scream of “Ah!” The scream came from the masked man who had just soared through the air.
Before they could even see what was happening, the slender shadow that followed immediately splattered another shower of blood on the masked man. Then a large tree shook violently, and the masked man was plastered against the tree trunk without touching the ground, his body twitching, blood dripping at his feet.
A tree branch as thick as a man's arm had pinned him to the trunk. It was only then that they realized what the slender shadow that flashed by earlier was: a tree branch.
There was also a hole in his chest, from the first slender shadow that had pierced through him.
Cen Futong visibly flinched, stammering, “Brother Chun, my brother’s High Martial cultivation has reached Major Attainment.
Who exactly have you provoked?”
The implication was clear: a High Martial Major Attainment cultivator had no power to resist. The person who attacked from the shadows must have at least reached High Martial Grand Attainment, and even if not yet at Human Immortal, they were only a step away from becoming a Human Immortal.
Shi Chun had no idea who it was. “I haven’t provoked anyone.
Don’t be afraid, we have a hostage. At worst, we’ll all go down together.”
His voice was quite loud, meant for the person in the shadows to hear, indicating they were prepared for a mutual destruction.
He was also urging himself internally, “Quick, get nervous, get nervous!” He hoped that after getting nervous, the miraculous ability of his right eye would activate again, allowing him to pinpoint the person in the shadows.
To his annoyance, the more he consciously tried to make himself nervous, the less nervous he became.
Xiang Lan'er, who was being held hostage, also showed a hint of mockery on her face.
The guy behind her was saying he wasn’t afraid, but his subconscious action of tightening his grip on her chest even further couldn't hide his inner fear, making it difficult for her to breathe.
Wu Jinliang, holding his knife, swallowed repeatedly.
It would be strange if he wasn’t afraid. In the Land of Exile, he had never fought against a High Martial realm master, let alone one at Grand Attainment; he was three entire realms below.
While the guards in Zhixu City started at High Martial, he didn’t have the qualifications to fight them either.
Cen Futong turned to jump towards Shi Chun, wanting to huddle together for warmth.
Whoosh, a sound of air breaking, clang, the scattered stones at his feet exploded, and a tree branch was impaled at his feet. The warning not to move was clear.
Cen Futong immediately froze in fright, shouting, “Misunderstanding! Friend, there must be some misunderstanding between us. My uncle is Cao Puqing of Zhaotian City.
I wonder if your esteemed self knows him?”
Clearly, he was trying to use connections to save his life.
Shi Chun bravely said, “It’s better to resolve enmity than to create it.
It’s not good if things get really messy. You don’t want Bian Weikang to see this, do you?”
Before the incident, Xiang Lan'er wanted to eat wild fruits, which conveniently played into their hands by sending Bian Weikang away.
If he still thought it was “convenient” at that moment, then his brain must be addled. Clearly, Xiang Lan'er had deliberately sent him away, for the same reason as them: she didn’t want Bian Weikang to see.
However, no sooner had he spoken than a figure floated out of the forest. It was a masked person in black, and judging by the subtle curves beneath the clothing, it was clearly a woman.
She landed lightly, carrying a person in her hand—none other than Bian Weikang, whom Shi Chun had just mentioned.
At this moment, Bian Weikang’s limbs were limp and swaying, seemingly unconscious.
The masked person casually tossed him to the ground and spoke with a woman’s voice, “Do you still need to worry about him hearing or seeing?”
It was a blatant slap in the face.
However, the voice sounded somewhat familiar.
Realizing she was with Xiang Lan'er’s group, Shi Chun was startled, but it was Wu Jinliang, who kept turning to look, who first shouted, “It’s the madam of Liyun Tower.”
Shi Chun stared intently at the masked person, spitting out each word, “Feng Chi!”
The masked person raised her hand and pulled down her mask, revealing her true face.
It was indeed Feng Chi, the madam of Liyun Tower.
This action made Shi Chun even more aware of the danger.
She dared to let him see her secret because she knew he no longer had a chance to reveal it.
Cen Futong, however, found his courage.
He sternly said, “Feng Chi, what do you want? If you dare to lay a finger on me, my uncle won’t spare you!”
He was also a regular customer of Liyun Tower and was accustomed to ordering this madam around, believing his status could intimidate her.
Shi Chun was speechless, secretly cursing him as a fool.
Sure enough, Feng Chi immediately twisted her toe on the ground, and something, either a tree root or a vine, attached to a large rock beside Cen Futong suddenly tore free, sweeping horizontally like a bolt of lightning. Cen Futong, greatly alarmed, leaped to dodge, but it was too late.
Bang! The whip-like shadow swept across, snapping Cen Futong’s calves clean off. Blood splattered, leaving only a bit of flesh connecting his dangling feet.
A piercing scream echoed in the air, and after crashing to the ground, he wailed continuously, unable to stand, collapsing on the spot.
Wu Jinliang was terrified, thinking, “This time, we’ve really messed up.”
Shi Chun had no time to pity Cen Futong. The stronger his opponent, the more he had to focus completely on keeping the hostage’s life on a knife-edge, making the opponent dare not act rashly.
He quickly freed a hand to pull out a small dagger from his clothes, then swiftly embraced Xiang Lan'er again. The dagger’s blade hooked onto Xiang Lan'er’s ribs under her armpit, piercing through her clothes and drawing blood.
It could cut into her side at any moment, while the broadsword remained tightly held across Xiang Lan'er’s neck.
Seeing blood on the Holy Maiden’s neck and under her armpit, Feng Chi was both alarmed and angry, but helpless.
This scoundrel was too meticulously prepared, his technique extremely seasoned, leaving her no way to strike. She could forcefully snatch her, but it might cause significant harm to the Holy Maiden, a price she could not bear.
“Miss, I was delayed by those masked fellows earlier. They were lurking suspiciously ahead, and I didn’t know their intentions, so I couldn’t approach rashly.
By the time I got close, you were already taken hostage. I was afraid that any commotion from my actions would attract Bian Weikang, so I simply went and knocked him out.”
Facing the Holy Maiden’s predicament, she felt it necessary to deliberately explain that it wasn’t her negligence, but rather due to circumstances.
She also found it a bit puzzling.
Although the Holy Maiden was still young, and her cultivation wasn’t as high as hers, she should have been more than capable of handling this group. By no means should she have been taken hostage, right? So she was very perplexed.
Even if no one had come to assist secretly, with the Holy Maiden’s strength, she could have dealt with these two dark-skinned fellows. Sending other people was, first, to try and avoid the Holy Maiden having to act and expose herself, and second, to capture those two fellows for interrogation.
Could it be that she just surrendered to avoid exposure?
Also, why did this guy named Shi Chun take the Holy Maiden hostage so early and defend himself so thoroughly, leaving her no opportunity to even sneak in and snatch the person away?
Xiang Lan'er couldn’t speak, she could only move her eyes. Her intention for Feng Chi to kill the person behind her was very clear, but Feng Chi dared not act rashly.
Upon hearing the other party’s words, Shi Chun knew that the lives of the other two masked men were probably already gone.
Cen Futong on the ground was still wailing.
Feng Chi, however, commanded, “Come out!”