This balcony was spacious but it had no railings. They were mostly rank 5 or 6 Body Termpering practioners, the best of Chae family.
"You go find that girl, she's gone down!" commanded one rank 7 practitioner. The moment they figured out I was with her, they had turned hostile.
I was getting pushed back. There seemed to be around 10 to 11 of them. Dou family practioners were attacking them from behind, trying to make way for their young master. As Dou family had joined Lin family, fight erupted here as well. That made things a little bit easier for me.
My loose black robes flowed accordingly as I employed various sophisticated moves to fend off the attacks. I didn't have much practice in using a folding fan. Still, my fanning techniques looked elegant in the eyes of unskilled men.
More than clanging, my attacks made piercing sounds of metal swiping against metals. Whenever I had to parry a heavy sword I'd make a fist, closing the fan shut. I would then redirect that force to slash at my next opponent.
Some of the rank six practitioners were fierce and their assaults sent me multiple steps back backward.
"One line pierce." This was not a shout but just a casual mention of a technique. The attacker was at rank 7 and he had a controlled display of movements.
'He's tough.' I finally had time to unsheathe my sword. As I blocked his straight attack, I felt an abnormally greater force invade my body from the point of parry.
Stepping back, I coughed and stabilised myself. That move... this pracitioner was unlike others. He had a calm gaze and didn't rush to attack me. He checked out my reaction and seemed disappointed.
"Fuuh... you're good," I said and suddenly jumped up. The pracitioners all pointed their weapons at me, waiting for me to fall but I held onto a booth's wall and hurled myself behind them.
Clang!
I blocked the previous practitioner's sword slash and moved my feet. He didn't chase, letting others get to me.
"Hua- Aaaaa!"
Whenever someone tried assaulting me, I kicked him down the balcony. They were fast but I sometimes stopped unexpectedly and that left those chasing me surprised. I didn't waste those chances. Taking them down one by one was impossible at the moment, so I mostly focused on pushing or kicking them down.
Some fell while some held onto the balcony. Soon, more than 6 men were hanging from the top balcony, their weapons already fallen. They wouldn't die from falling but an injury was guaranteed.
"You're finally here huh, you disgraceful servant," sighed Feng Yi as if she was my bossy mistress. Her one hand rested on her waist as she struck a dominant pose, looking utterly bored.
'Okay... she's fully into her character now.' Under the hood, I rolled my eyes and faked a deep voice.
"Sorry, young miss. I had some difficulties," said I, in an obedient tone. She got me good, I should've faked the identity of a senior disciple right after seeing her. Now if I didn't act accordingly in front of the practitioners of Dou family, they would get suspicious.
Standing straight, I placed both of my hands behind my lower back and asked, "Who might this young man of a rather infirm disposition be, my lady?"
With this set of fancy words that was actually a direct insult, I looked at Dou Peng. His vocabulary wasn't that extensive and he appeared disturbed by my speech.
Feng Yi was unfazed by this as she tried 'introducing' me to Dou Peng. But before she could, the rank seven pracitioner from earlier caught up to me.
Clang!
I stood on my spot this time. With my spirit sense, I'd known him coming.
"You shall not pass!" stated I like a loyal sidekick, while protectively standing before this 'young miss' of mine.
"Miss Wang, let my men deal with these fools. You two, go help that brother!" Dou Peng was more than happy to be the resourceful knight here. I didn't expect him to be a simp type.
Although he was at rank 6 and just a few fingers away from breakthrough, he didn't fight. He had two rank 7 bodyguards and a rank 8 uncle on stand-by. Any elder would come upon his call. As a grown heir of Dou family, heavy security was placed upon him.
If only Jin and Qin had been protected this way, they wouldn't have been kidnapped. It appeared Dou family was actually bigger and more powerful than Gang family.
"Fellow practitioner, let us handle him. We have some past business with this Chae Kale." Breezing beside me, came the two bodyguards and they took my opponent's sword upon theirs.
I hadn't moved as much during the short exchange of moves. I'd figured out what type of technique Chae Kale was using. The best counter to it was staying firm and meeting that piercing force with a greater force.
"Why are only you here?" Oh, she was still going. Feng Yi... I had to punish her later for this.
"Master Asura and others are busy with that punk of a Tong Kai. It is his wish that you meet him at once. I'm sent here as an escort, my lady." This series of bulshit was probably the most hastened dialogue I'd come up with during my stay in Pinchu town.
While Feng Yi harrumphed, Dou Peng and a few others around had a profoundly amazed look. In the end, they were like country bumpkins. Their view of a meridian opening pracitioner and above was no less than that of a normal person towards a magician.
I thought it would take more than that to fool them, considering how shrewd Dou Peng seemed to me; yet the mere mention of a mysterious practitioner was enough to make them gullible.
"If Dou family has expressed goodwill towards our master, we have to remind others to not do anything to hinder their prosperity." My tongue moved and lips parted to give way for these words.
"Hmph, master has better things to do. Gang family and that boy from what is it called... Ah, Chae family are a special case. Let us go already." This fake young miss reasoned as if she wouldn't even put Dou family under her foot.
I saw Dou Peng's face visibly lose color but he calmed himself, solidifying his impression of her as a haughty missy of the so-called hidden Wang Clan.
Now, all this could happen because Gang family was eliminated overnight. If there was no display of such power, this act would've only caused our doom.
'Just wow... this Feng Yi is much better than I expected,' I thought, coming beside her.
"Let us be off then, young master err..."
"Dou Peng."
"Dou Pen? Ah, Peng it is. Although my lady wouldn't show it, she's grateful for this support. I'll put forth some good words for your family." With another lie, which would take a few days to uncover, I nodded my head and followed Feng Yi. Dou Peng wanted to accompany us down but I refused him saying it was urgent.
The clanging sounds were persistently ringing in our ears as we walked and then ran past the fighting guards. I pushed a few and slashed a few others with my Silverite. Feng Yi played her part of the protected young miss until we reached the ground floor.
"You pulled a nice stunt there, just what did you tell him?" I asked as we went towards the storeroom.
Circling past the ongoing battle of Viscera Purifying pracitioners, me and her entered through the door right opposite of the podium.
Feng Yi's red gown made it a little difficult for her to run quickly. If not for the cut at one side of her dress, she'd only be able to walk.
As her bosom heaved due to the hurried movement from the third balcony upto here, she finally found the breath to speak. "I told him that Poison Asura is my dad instead of a master which you suggested. He kept asking about hidden Wang clan but I insisted that it is a secret. I kind of told him that.... this Poison Asura is the right hand man of our clan leader 'Dragon Wang' and made up some conflict story with Tong clan."