Chapter 195: 195 Chapter 194: Love versus Loyalty

The confrontation was inevitable.

Especially since I recognized the qi signature of that person, someone who I was very familiar with. He was bringing an entire entourage along with him, and they were headed in my direction. Though I could normally outrun them with my footwork techniques, if I was carrying Tang Qi Hong, I wouldn't be able to outpace them. They knew where I was, and would catch up to me in no time.

Of course, I could just hand Tang Qi Hong to Tong Xue and get him to carry both her and Lian Rou to safety, but he would have suspected something was amiss and insisted on sticking with me to face the enemy together. Furthermore, if I remember the script correctly, this person's target was also Tang Qi Hong, and the present group would split off a small division to send after Tong Xue and pursue him to retrieve her.

She was better off sticking with me.

I briefly considered several possibilities, but knew that it was inevitable. If whoever was writing this story wanted something to happen, it would happen no matter what steps I took to avoid it. I wasn't a mathematician, so I couldn't calculate the exact probability of escaping my pursuers, but even someone who was too obsessed with the humanities to scoff at the over-reliance of mathematics and numbers to quantify reality was aware that my chances of getting away from the approaching group were pretty low. No matter which route I took, they would catch up eventually, much like how events rearranged themselves to ensure Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou got kidnapped even though they did the smart and logical thing and didn't, for the most idiotic reason ever, just stupidly go to Free Trade Street where the former got assaulted by Gray Shadow and Black Shadow a mere few months ago. So while there certainly were differences, there were also inevitabilities.

I could only hope there would be some differences, like Tong Xue not behaving exactly like Yi Yuan, and unknown elements like Hu Mei Er suddenly appearing and changing the script completely. But this time, it didn't seem there would be any chance of that.

"…"

Realizing that Tang Qi Hong wanted to say something, I lowered her gently. She was staring at me intently, her beautiful eyes brimming with emotion. Clearly she wanted to say something, but Blood Shadow's restraining technique prevented the words from spilling out of her mouth. Even though her lips were moving, no sound came out.

Taking a deep breath, I knelt by her side and placed a finger on Tang Qi Hong's neck. Even though I probed her qi vessels with my spiritual qi, because I wasn't a doctor or healer, I had no idea what was going on.

"Sorry, I have no idea what happened to you, but I'm guessing you're being incapacitated by some blood restrainment technique from Blood Shadow. I don't know how to neutralize it, and I don't know which spirit medicine to use, so we'll have to wait until I bring you back to the infirmary for Doctor Yi Sheng to treat you."

Tang Qi Hong's eyes rapidly moved as she stared at me, obviously trying to convey some message through her eyes, but obviously I didn't understand eye language, and I couldn't read minds, so I had no idea what she wanted to say.

"Relax, Qi Hong. I'll bring you back to the infirmary first. After that, you can tell me whatever you want. I promise I'll listen, okay?"

Not wanting to waste any more time, I scooped her up in my arms and began to hurry down the path I had jumped down onto from the building earlier. Using my footwork techniques, I began to move in the direction of Nine-Tailed Fox Sect as quickly as I could.

But as I suspected, I wasn't able to outrun the group currently pursuing us.

The moment I burst out of a secluded alley and into the junction of a street that would normally be bustling under normal circumstances, I couldn't help but pause for a fraction of a second to take the astounding view in.

The buildings were burning all around us. Civilians were screaming and fleeing, Blood Blades were struggling desperately as they fought against invaders, the sounds of their combat echoing throughout the street. Fortunately, most of the combatants were currently embroiled in their own fraught struggles, and were unable to pay attention to me.

Unfortunately, our pursuers were not among those currently engaged in battle.

Right at the opposite end of the street, the figures of three people appeared. And as I thought, they were standing in my way.

"I knew it was you." I sighed in resignation when I confirmed the familiar presence that I had been detecting this whole time.

Pang Feng, Pang Yun and the owner of Great Nature's Heart, Wu Tuo, were standing in a thin row under an immolated building, their silhouettes illuminated by the blazing fires. They watched me quietly, waiting for me to approach them.

"Pang Feng," I greeted him with a somewhat severe expression. "Where have you been all this while? Blood Blades have been mobilized to protect Tushan City. Yet you were nowhere to be found, and absent in your duties."

Pang Feng didn't reply. His features were illuminated by the flickering flames, and I could see him maintaining a difficult expression. His normally hard features looked as if they had been carved into rock, and his huge body emanated a rock-like, immovable aura. He raised his head and stared at me, emotions warring in his steely eyes.

I felt a chill run down my spine. Even though I was hoping against hope that Pang Feng would follow Tong Xue's example and stay true to the Blood Blades and adhere to his duty to protect Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, it appeared that he had let me down.

Gritting my teeth, I tightened my grip on Tang Qi Hong in reflex. I knew Pang Feng's purpose, or could at least guess it.

"Pang Feng, I found the person for you. Don't forget our promise." Wu Tuo chuckled as he casually Pang Feng's shoulder. Then he turned away. "I still have other matters to attend to, so I've to leave first. Remember what I said earlier."

"Wait," I growled, feeling incensed. All that kindness and flattery he gave me and Tang Qi Hong several months ago were gone now, nothing but hollow words from a fair-weather man. "What are these other matters you are talking about? Do you really intend to destroy Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"

Wu Tuo hesitated for a moment, and then he smiled sadly. Without dignifying me with a reply, he merely nodded a greeting in my direction and calmly left.

As soon as Wu Tuo departed from the scene, several shadows suddenly sprang out from within the immolated buildings that stood on either side of the street.

"You…!"

I narrowed my eyes when I recognized them, my glasses magnifying their features and recording their faces. These shadows were all shop attendants of the Great Nature's Heart shop, but they also doubled as martial artists from Cloud Sky Mountain. All this time they had been occupying Tushan City and doing business here, but today they had bared their fangs at us.

Several of them followed Wu Tuo into the distance, but the rest remained behind, wielding Spirit Weapons and slaughtering the martial artists who were still inside the buildings on both sides of the street.

Bam!

I flinched as a spear flew past me and nailed a hapless martial artist behind into a concrete wall. He had just jumped out of a blazing building, presumably to escape the hellish flames, but ended up making himself an easy target for the staff of the Great Nature's Heart shop. Spinning around, I recognized him as one of the civilians living in Tushan City, a vendor who ran a ramen shop that I frequented.

"Are you all right?"

"Please…help us…"

Even as a chill ran down my spine at the wanton murder, I reached out with my Heaven and Earth senses and picked out familiar presences all over the street. People I had met before in Tushan City, mostly ordinary civilians with some knowledge of martial arts.

Wu Tuo had brought his Cloud Sky Mountain martial artists here to massacre them indiscriminately.

"Hang in there!" I shouted as I raced toward the ramen uncle, but I was too late. Before I reached him, he had expired, slumping helplessly against the spear that pinned him to the wall. My knees buckling I swore under my breath. "Fuck!"

"Have we gotten everyone here?"

"Yes, all the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect people here have been accounted for."

"A clean purge."

"Good. Then let us go."

The sounds of fighting have finally died down and the Cloud Sky Mountain martial artists calmly walked out of the buildings. There were dozens of them. Right after they emerged into the open, they respectfully saluted Pang Feng and Pang Yun. Then they immediately moved toward the direction where Wu Tuo had departed in.

"Who says you can go?"

My fury surged out of me, manifesting in icy qi that spread across the entire district and immediately freezing the flames, turning them into ice.

"!!!"

The Cloud Sky Mountain martial artists realized something was amiss, and they all tried to leave, but the vast majority of them was caught in my Absolute Zero technique, their bodies turned into ice and shattering into bits. The very few surviving members stared at me in horror, and quickly sped off in different directions before I could catch them.

"Yun'er! Behind me!"

Pang Feng quickly shouted and shoved his sister behind him. He gathered all his qi and coalesced it into a defensive technique, managing to withstand my Absolute Zero, but just barely. A thick layer of frost hung over his crossed arms and his hair, dripping into icicles and he heaved heavily, almost dropping to a knee.

"Brother!" Pang Yun shouted.

"Young Master!" the fleeing shadows of the Cloud Sky Mountain Sect suddenly stopped and spun around to check on him.

"Did you think you can just waltz out of here unscathed after slaughtering the people of my sect?" I asked them coldly, ignoring the fallen Pang Feng and stepping toward them. Their momentary hesitation proved to be their undoing and they were caught in the ice. Their screams were cut short before they shattered into numerous frost fragments. "If you have the audacity to come in here and kill my comrades, then be prepared to suffer the consequences."

In the blink of an eye, there were no longer anybody left within the buildings which lined the two sides of the street. The civilians had all been murdered and massacred cruelly by the despicable Cloud Sky Mountain Sect martial artists, and I had killed them in turn, avenging the civilians' deaths. I had to admit, I did not remember reading about this, but perhaps it was because of my selective memory remembering only the important plot points and named characters. It was too bad I didn't have an eidetic memory, or I certainly would have taken steps to protect the civilians here. To be fair, I doubted I would have been able to accomplish anything on my own.

Crack!

In an instant, the ice that I had manifested in reality shattered and scattered into countless fragments. Pang Yun rose to his feet once more, his body unharmed and imposing. I had the sudden impression of a mountain rising to stand in my way.

"Junior Fei, leave Senior Tang here and flee."

A look of helplessness was etched onto Pang Yun's tiny face.

"Divine Shadow Sect, Dark Asura Sect, Cloud Sky Mountain, and the Seven Valley Sects have all moved. Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is definitely finished. It's impossible to save the sect. Leave Senior Tang to us and take this opportunity to flee from the city. Perhaps you'll be able to survive."

She sighed dramatically. However, that only served to irritate me more.

"Who are you again?" I blurted out.

"Are you serious?" Pang Feng snapped. "She's my sister, Pang Yun! How could you have forgotten about her?"

"How cruel!" Pang Yun protested, wincing. "I mean, you're right, but even so…don't you think you're being rude?!"

"I'm rude?" I scoffed, unable to believe her audacity. "You're complaining about me being rude after you just stood aside and did nothing while your fellow sect members murdered members of your secondary sect."

I was aware that Pang Feng and Pang Yun were originally from Cloud Sky Mountain, which was their primary sect. Honestly, it wasn't unusual that their loyalties to Cloud Sky Mountain would be stronger than their ties to Nine-Tailed Fox Sect.

Even so, that pissed me off. Especially considering what I had just seen and heard. Clearly Wu Tuo of Cloud Sky Mountain had entered Tushan City and took charge of Great Nature's Heart shop just for this day alone.

"One of you was a member of Blood Blades while the other was an inner sect disciple. Nine-Tailed Fox Sect provided you both resources to help with your training and invested a lot in your careers, and this is how you're going to repay the sect?" my frosty qi almost exploded out of my body, encasing the space around me in ice. "And you have the cheek to lecture me about being rude? You pair of bloody ingrates!"

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Pang Yun lowered her head shamefully, unable to look me in the eyes as she quietly responded with an almost inaudible voice.

"We have no choice."

I snorted glacially. "Oh, you always have a choice. You just picked the path that seemed easier, instead of choosing to fight to the death for the sect, like Lord Lang Xie, Instructor Hai and even Tong Xue did."

"So you're saying that we should have chosen to die?" Pang Yun snapped.

"You haven't even tried fighting for the sect, so why do you think it's a given that you'll die?" I retorted. "Do you really think our sect is that weak that we would lose to all these bastards?"

"If you truly can't see that Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is doomed, then you're clearly deluded." Pang Yun shook her head sadly.

I didn't bother to argue with her. Neither of us was going to convince the other, so I coolly returned to the topic at hand.

"What will you do if I refuse to hand Qi Hong over?"

Pang Yun suddenly walked out from behind a burning house. He narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing deeply.

"Yun'er," he instructed in a low voice. "Find Wu Tuo. Leave this matter to me."

"Don't do it! Brother, you know that Junior Fei is also one of the sect's people, and isn't he one of your good friends? He might even possibly be the future hope of the sect." Pang Yun was pleading with her brother frantically. "The sect has nurtured us for so many yeaars and I odn't want to see it destroyed like this! Please, at least leave some form of hope for the sect to recover and restore itself! Brother, I beg you!"

"As long as he is willing to put down the person he is holding, he can leave," Pang Feng replied, his tone low and firm.

I watched my former friend, not sure why he was doing this. We were comrades who fought side by side in the past, weren't we? Did that bond mean nothing to him? Why was he going through such lengths and why did he forsake the sect we fought so hard to protect?

"Junior Fei, please put Senior Tang down. I beg you!" Pang Yun had turned to me now, her voice trembling. "Nine-Tailed Fox Sect is doomed! I swear, I'm telling the truth! You and Senior Tang are both on the execution list! If you bring her with you, death is all that awaits you! Wu Tuo promised my brother that as long as he is willing to return to Cloud Sky Mountain, he'll protect Senior Tang's life. If you leave Senior Tang with us, she will live. But if you insist on taking her with you, both of you will definitely be hunted down and killed mercilessly!"

"Do you really believe that?" I couldn't help but burst out laughing. Both Pang siblings stared at me in shock, as if I had gone mad.

Really? Did they not realize how that statement makes no sense whatsoever?

"Come on, use your brain a little." I paused as I studied Pang Yun's tiny form. "Oh, sorry. You have quite the small head, and Pang Feng is too much of a musclehead, so I might be expecting a little too much from you."

Pang Feng's brow furrowed deeper, but he let my insult slide.

"What are you talking about?!" Pang Yun demanded. I sighed and shook my head, wondering why they couldn't see the obvious.

"Kill, kill, kill…is that all you xianxia characters can think about? 'Oh, this person is talented, he must die!' 'Oh, this person will become a threat in future, I must kill her before then!' What kind of stupid logic is that? Do you just go around killing people just because they are smarter or more talented than you? Wouldn't it be more logical to, you know, befriend the person and benefit from cooperation instead of shortsightedly killing anyone who's smarter or more talented than you?"

If that kind of logic worked in the real world, then people would be murdering the valedictorians of rival universities. Think about it – "oh, that person has a much better business sense than me and will most likely become a CEO in future. I must kill him before he can threaten my future business!" – What kind of idiot will come to that deluded conclusion? Wouldn't it make more sense to strike a partnership with the guy and benefit from his business sense so that the both of you can grow rich instead?

Or even better – "that guy is getting into Stanford/Harvard University. He clearly is a genius. I must get rid of him now before I have any regrets later!" Why? Why the fuck would you kill a person for getting into an Ivy League university over you? Why not recruit him into your just starting business, or network with him, or learn from him? Why resort to killing someone just because he was more talented than you?

At least that was still better than the "trash" premise. "You're insignificant trash, therefore you must die!" this was prevalent especially in the female elite doctor/marine/top martial artist/assassin protagonists who reincarnated into trash noble daughters stories. If the protagonist was really as insignificant and trash as you keep making them out to be, why the hell are you investing so much resources, time and effort into trying to kill them instead of just leaving them alone (since if they are insignificant, they pose no threat and it would be a waste of time thinking about them in the first place)? And why, despite failing to kill your target and getting your faces slapped after every failure and the protagonist gaining new abilities that completely crush the reasons for labeling her trash in the first place, did you not learn your lesson and comprehend that your target is not the insignificant trash you made her out to be? So that you can have an excuse to continue trying to kill the protagonist over the most absurd reasons in order for her to slap your face for the umpteenth time?

"Um, what does all that have to do with anything?"

I realized that the Pang siblings were staring at me in astonishment, and that I had deviated from the main topic at hand with all my ranting.

Clearing my throat, I forced myself to focus on the relevant reason.

"Think about it clearly. Why are they invading Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? They want our resources and blacksmiths. They want to enslave our blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers and force them to forge Spirit Armaments and Spirit Engraved Gear for them."

I then jerked my head toward the immobilized Tang Qi Hong.

"And tell me, what is Qi Hong known for?"

"She…" Pang Yun hesitated. I didn't bother to wait for her to finish.

"That's right." I nodded my head dramatically, as if anticipating her answer. "Qi Hong is a peerless blacksmith and Spirit Engraver, the top inner sect disciple of our sect with limitless potential and incredible talent for forging Spirit Armaments."

"…"

Pang Feng stared at me, as if waiting for me to get to the main point. Oh, for Heaven's sake! Can't you figure it out on your own? Do you really expect me to explain every single thing to you?!

"Dude, use your brain. If their goal is to capture and enslave the blacksmiths and Spirit Engravers to forge Spirit Armaments for them, then why the fuck would they kill the geniuses from Nine-Tailed Fox Sect? It's like butchering the goose before it lays any golden eggs. If they kill Qi Hong, who are they going to get to forge the Spirit Artifacts? All the second-rate inner sect disciples? Or third-rate outer sect disciples? Whoops, I forgot that you guys are indulging in wanton slaughter of the outer sect disciples and elders. But if you're going to kill us all, who will be making your Spirit Artifacts for you? And after the current enslaved and imprisoned blacksmiths grow old and die, who's going to forge the artifacts when they are deprived of their freedom and can't pass down their skills?"

It was pretty simple logic, yet for some reason all these sects were so short-sighted and stupid that they somehow couldn't see where they were fucking up. Let's face it, they were killing for no good reason other than so that they could clearly be portrayed as the fucking villains here, for the protagonist to destroy them later in the story.

The problem was that Zhu Jiao wasn't in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, so I didn't know how that was going to work out.

No matter. The only, more blindingly obvious option was that Wu Tuo had been lying to the naïve, gullible Pang siblings.

"Think about it. If we follow this logic, then it's obvious that Wu Tuo is lying to you. He's feeding you this Tang Qi Hong is on the execution list bullshit to trick you into returning to Cloud Sky Mountain Sect with him. They never intended to kill her as it would defeat the entire purpose of invading Nine-Tailed Fox Sect in the first place!"

Pang Feng and Pang Yun fell into a stunned silence, unable to refute my statement.

"Besides, you claim that you want to save and protect Qi Hong, but if Wu Tuo is lying to you, do you really think she'll be safe and happy with you?" I snorted icily. "Most likely she'll be imprisoned by Cloud Sky Mountain and live out the rest of her life in captivity, deprived of her freedom and forced to forge Spirit Artifacts for your sect. She'll basically be little more than a slave, being worked by your sect to her death. Is that your idea of saving and prorecting Qi Hong?"

Again, both Pang siblings kept quiet, unable to counter anything I said. However, after a few moments, Pang Yun broke the silence.

"Even so…even so, it's still much better than her dying! Even if she ends up imprisoned for the rest of her life, it's much better than her dying! As long as she's alive, there will always be hope!"

I sighed irritatedly. "Were you not listening to anything I said? I already told you there's no way they will kill Qi Hong. they need her alive to forge artifacts for them, otherwise why would they go through so much trouble to invade Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"

"No, I mean…as long as she's under Cloud Sky Mountain, my brother and I will definitely ensure her happiness and safety! We'll make sure she isn't locked up and find a way to give her freedom! We'll make sure nobody abuses her!"

Trying not to scoff, I gnawed on my lip and sighed again. "You must be really naïve if you think you'll be able to protect Qi Hong just because your sect takes custody of her. I doubt Wu Tuo and your masters will allow her any freedom. Your status might be pretty high in Cloud Sky Mountain, but I know you still aren't in any position of power to do anything about that."

"I'm telling you, my brother will definitely find a way! He'll do everything within his power to ensure Senior Tang's happiness and wellbeing!"

Pang Yun paused dramatically for a few tense seconds, before blurting out.

"Because…my brother loves Senior Tang! He has always loved her! He has already loved her for many years, but I'm the only one who knows about that!"

Tang Qi Hong's eyes widened briefly in surprise, her heart being sucked into a turmoil. Seriously? She didn't know?

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" I couldn't help but laugh. "You're the only one who knows about that? Just how dense can you be?"

Pang Feng, who had been as calm and steady as a rock all this time, was looking pretty embarrassed now, and he flushed a deeper crimson as I had a laugh at his expense.

"Tong Xue and I knew long ago that he was in love with Qi Hong!" if I could throw up my hands, I would, but I was occupied with carrying Tang Qi Hong. "Half the guys in the sect are in love with Qi Hong! What makes you think you're the only one who knows about your brother's unrequited love for her?"

To be honest, there was a trace of bitterness in my voice, because I shared that same unrequited love. Tang Qi Hong had been clear when she rejected me indirectly, that she would accept no notions of romance and focus on working hard to succeed the sect. It wasn't just Pang Feng nursing a one-sided crush. I had been, too.

And this girl had the gall to assume that her brother's feelings were stronger than mine, and that he would do a better job of protecting Tang Qi Hong?

Yeah, I was definitely seriously hacked off. But I wasn't going to be dragged into this teenage angsty romance drama. I had more important things to do. Calming down, I realized something. I had been arguing with the Pang Siblings over Tang Qi Hong's wellbeing all this while, but none of us had thought to ask the actual person for her personal opinion.

"You know what…let's ask the person herself." I gently put Tang Qi Hong down, between me and the Pang siblings. "We're just arbitrarily and selfishly deciding things for Qi Hong even though she has the right to make her own choice. I say we should leave it to her to decide. Whether I leave her or not is not for me to decide. Let's see what Qi Hong herself wants."

"How are we going to do that?" Pang Feng demanded, having realized that Tang Qi Hong couldn't speak, because she had been quiet this entire time. She tried to say something, her mouth opening and closing, but no voice came out, and her honey-brown eyes grew frustrated.

"Like this." I took a deep breath and looked Tang Qi Hong in the eye. "If you want to go with Pang Feng and Pang Yun, please blink three times and I'll leave you with them. otherwise, if you choose to stand and fight with me to the bitter end to protect Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, then don't blink." Realizing that it was unreasonable to expect her not to blink at all, I quickly added, "I'll give you about thirty seconds, and count down. So if you blink less than three times within that timeframe, we'll take it as you refusing to go with them. Fair?"

Tang Qi Hong blinked once, as if nodding. The Pang siblings exchanged a glance, and then agreed quietly.

"Sounds fair to me."

"We'll let Senior Tang decide."

"Yeah, but I should say this in advance. If you choose to stand and fight with me, then I can't guarantee that you'll survive." I decided to point out the obvious, just in case the Pang siblings cried foul for some inconceivable reason. "But if you choose Pang Feng, then you'll definitely survive. Even so, that's up to you to decide."

Pang Feng glanced at me, surprised, but I shrugged, as if to say that I was only pointing out the truth. There was no point sugar-coating it.

We then turned to Tang Qi Hong, Pang Feng and Pang Yun tensing up as they scrutinized her for her response.

Tang Qi Hong stared back, and hurriedly blink once before I could start. Then as if to say that I can begin the countdown, she stared at me.

Taking a deep breath, I began.

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