Volume 12 Chapter 53

Drought Demon burst out in laughter. "I'm dead; I don't know pain."

As soon as Drought Demon discharged energy from his chest, Master Qi promptly backed off.

I pierced his chest for sure; how is he unfazed? What does he mean he's dead?

"Tsk, tsk, Drought Demon's Corpse Mountain Yin Body is supposed to be impervious to sword qi, yet it was pierced. How did it happen?" questioned Nine-Lives Cat Fiend.

"How else? Use enough force and it'll be pierced?"

The three advanced as they conversed. Nine-Lives Cat Demon utilised a vicious clawing style that targeted places that would otherwise be considered "dirty fighting". Hai Yecha stayed outside of range, intermittently unleashing palm attacks. He didn't need to make contact; he only needed to deter Master Qi from running. Drought Demon was the primary attack force.

Drought Demon's style was odd. Instead of chambering punches and throwing them in bending motions, he locked his arms and swung them as though bending them was impossible. It worked for him because he possessed tremendous speed and power, allowing him to control the distance as nobody would want to block one of his punches.

Luckily for Master Qi, she trained movement, so she was able to avoid any damage against the trio. Growing up without any obstacles in her training and learning fast, people were prone to finding ways out or losing the fortitude to keep going when fights got tough. Master Qi, howbeit, only grew more and more inflamed as she sought an opportunity to fire back something. "If you three don't bugger off, I'll butcher all three of you, your hear?!"

The temperature around sharply dropped. Inhalation stung the trio's lungs. They deftly moved away upon detecting frigid cold qi slice toward them, defusing their formation.

Master Qi had a freezing wind wreathing around her.

Ocean Yaksha took a step back. "Mount Tian's Glacial Swordplay."

Nine-Lives Cat Fiend: "Mount Tian broke off from Kunlun, so they know the intricacies of Kunlun's swordplay. How old are you, missy? You're impressive. Drought Demon, stay your hand!"

Drought Demon, the only one who was forced back, already charged in again. Master Qi stopped holding back, coming out with the coldest swing. Blood that spilt from Drought Demon's cuts froze straight away, but he kept closing in without losing the upward curve at his lips. As staunch as she was, Master Qi was legitimately freaked out.

Nine-Lives Cat Demon sighed and palmed her face. "I knew this would happen. This is embarrassing."

Hai Yecha didn't opine for he wasn't a fan of conforming. Silence was his way of conveying agreement.

Thanks to Drought Demon's charge, the trio was able to get back into formation, forcing Master Qi to create a net-like force field out of sword strikes. She was only a few steps away from the river behind her, but they never let her reach it.

Despite his wounds, Drought Demon's output remained as high as they did at the beginning. In contrast, Master Qi was fading after using big techniques.

As soon as Master Qi was distracted for a second, Nine-Lives Cat Fiend caught and squeezed Master Qi's shoulder, dismantling Master Qi's net.

"Hahaha, done." Drought Demon performed an in-swing knife hand strike, slicing through the crumbling net toward Master Qi's heart.

"Drought Demon, stop! We can't kill her!" shouted Hai Yecha.

Drought Demon: Oh crud.

As she awaited the finishing blow, Master Qi conjured the image of an individual she had been seeing in her dreams lately.

Suddenly, a dragon roared, startling Drought Demon enough to make his movements sluggish for a moment. By the time he looked up at what blocked out the moonlight, the enormous hand was already too close for him to dodge. As a result, he was sent through seven trees. The newcomer made quick work of the remaining two, knocking them out of position while they were distracted. By the time they could see properly again, their assailant had already taken Master Qi in his arms.

Master Qi went a little limp in his arms, but her fantasy was ruthlessly crushed when she opened her eyes to see her saviour. Though he wasn't exactly handsome, he was rugged, big and strong enough to grant her a sense of security. Just as any other young girl, she, too, had dreams of a hero coming to her rescue. As of late, she had been seeing a heroic man come to her rescue in her dreams. Never did she imagine her dreams would come true.

It's you... It's you...

"Why is it you?!" That wasn't the cry of someone moved to tears but utter disdain. Master Qi wanted nothing more than to run for her life when she saw his attire.

"We're getting out of here!" Hong Jiu picked Master Qi up and leapt into the river.

Knowing they couldn't swim as proficiently, let alone when the current was so unforgiving, the trio abandoned their plan.

Absentmindedly, Nine-Lives Cat Fiend queried, "Who was that? Those were impressive palm skills."

Hai Yecha: "Mm... A few hours ago, I had a suspicion somebody was spying on us at the market, though I don't know who. Seeing as he followed us and only came to our attention upon announcing himself, he isn't an amateur. As for his palm techniques... He seems to have trouble controlling his output. He's able to exert a lot of force but unable to pull it back, so he shouldn't be old. Heh, he's an excellent martial artist among the young generation."

Although Drought Demon came back from afar with a limp, his bleeding head didn't seem to bother him. "It hurts like crazy. Where'd she go? What happened? What a pity."

"Good thing you didn't kill her," Hai Yecha chidingly remarked. "She's extremely advanced in swordplay; she just lacks experience in real combat. The way she performed Glacial Swordplay indicates she's a direct disciple."

"So?" asked Nine-Lives Cat Fiend. "It's not like Mount Tian is scary."

"It would've been convenient if she was only a direct disciple. Besides Glacial Swordplay, the cryo skill she utilised is clearly the internal discipline Glacial Sword Empress devised. She doesn't have many disciples. Family members, to the contrary... she has a lot. I remember she has a younger sister who happens to be seventh in line. Knowing how much Glacial Sword Empress hates evil and protective she is of her younger sister, we won't be able to reach a settlement with only five hundred thousand taels. As for that man who showed up, he's strong, but..."

It took a while before the three asked at the same time, "Why was he wearing female clothing? What exactly is his gender?"

Glossary

In-swing/out-swing strikes - In-swing means to swing from outside to inside (palms facing up, striking with the pinky side of your hand). Out-swing means to swing from inside to outside (palms facing down, striking with the pinky side of your hand).