Chapter 18: Chapter 18

The two of them rode their horses for about four hours, getting quite far in the process. As they neared the exit of the Raging Tiger Troupe’s territory, Chu Li reined in his horse.

Zhao Ying saw this and stopped her horse as well. She looked dead ahead and stayed alert. The people in front her did not seem to be normal robbers.

Chu Li looked to the far side and muttered, “We’ll have to be careful this time around.”

“Allow me, Chu Li.” Zhao Ying whispered in return. She was not feeling totally confident, but she wanted to make up for her previous mistake.

Chu Li shook his head.

Three large bald men walked out towards them slowly. They looked similar to the previous group of men.

“Who are you people?” Chu Li asked coldly.

“Do you intend to rob us? In this peaceful world which is full of rules and regulations?”

“Was it the two of you?” A bear-sized man walked past the three others and closer towards them before stopping ten meters away from Chu Li. His gaze was sharp and fierce. “Was it the two of you who killed my subordinates?”

“I don’t understand.” Chu Li shook his head. “Who are your subordinates?”

“Good! Trying to act dumb, eh?” The bald man laughed and glared at Zhao Ying. She felt as though there was a knife pointed directly at her heart. She took a quick breath to overcome her fear before staring back at the man.

Chu Li furrowed his brows and looked at the man. “What foolishness? Let’s be a little more straightforward, shall we? What do you kind gentlemen plan on doing?”

“It wasn’t you guys?” The large man slowly examined him top to bottom.

His subordinates would not let this beautiful lady in front of them go without having some fun first. Looking at the aura of the two, they do not seem to be adept at martial arts. Those who could kill his subordinates would have to be pretty impressive. Had he really mistaken them for the killers?

“You muddle-headed goose!” Chu Li sighed before drawing his blade. “We know some martial arts! If you’re looking for a fight now then be aware that we are able to fight back; I’m telling you now though, we have no money on us!”

“Hmm. If that’s the case, then leave the lady. You can go.” The large man waved his hand dismissively. “Get out of my sight before I get angry!”

Chu Li’s expression darkened. He struck outward with his blade. “No, you guys leave!”

His swordplay was soft and without force. He easily came off as an amateur. Gentle, slow, and non-threatening.

The large man had been entranced by Zhao Ying’s beauty in the few minutes of their exchange and found her to be perfect from every angle. She was truly a rare creation of God! He would never let go of her and was desperate to get her in bed.

“Watch out, Master!” A loud scream caught his attention. He quickly channeled his inner energy, but he felt a sharp pain in his chest. He widened his eyes as he glared at Chu Li.

Chu Li pulled out his sword and backed off, letting the blood spurt out of him.

The two other men immediately rushed towards Chu Li and slashed downwards with their knives, mimicking the movement of waterfalls.

Chu Li sidestepped and ducked behind one of the men. In the blink of an eye, the tip of his sword pierced through one man. After this, he immediately pulled out his sword and stabbed at the heart of the other man before they had a chance to react.

Three opponents had fallen from three strikes through the heart. After he was done, he leaned on his sword for support. His face was as pale as snow.

Zhao Ying was startled as she saw this take place. Chu Li looked like a demon with his insane swordplay. Zhao Ying felt a chill run down her spine as she saw the blade flow like water; no doubt, the swordplay she had just witnessed was completely impossible to defend against.

“Sister Zhao Ying!” Chu Li coughed lightly.

Zhao Ying snapped to her senses. She quickly went to support Chu Li.

“Brother Chu Li… Are you alright?”

She knew that there were consequences to move he had just performed. She watched as his complexion worsened. Once that sword skill was used, one had to go all in, even if it meant exceeding one’s abilities. Zhao Ying made a mental note to learn such a move in the future.

Chu Li waved his hand and refused the offer for help. “A little rest is what I need. In any case, we can’t stay here for too long. We need to go!”

He had underestimated the toll of the Infinity Sea of Azure on his body. In order to grant him three times the power, his meridian was forced to bear nine times the burden instead of the usual three! If it were not for the strength of his meridian, he would most certainly have died.

“Understood!” Zhao Ying quickly nodded.

“Stab them!” Chu Li reminded her.

Zhao Ying clenched her teeth and picked up a knife from the floor. She steeled her resolve before stabbing the men on both sides of their chest, mainly due to the fact that she was unwilling to behead them. Chu Li did not force her to do the latter and merely exclaimed to Zhao Ying as she was throwing the knife away, “That knife is pretty good, isn’t it?”

Zhao Ying was startled. She had panicked the during the confrontation and had not realized that the knife was so sharp.

“Keep it, it’s a good one. You can even have a look at the rest of them!” Chu Li said.

Zhao Ying walked away and picked up the two other knives. She swung them at the tree next to her and she could immediately tell that the knives were unusually sharp. They may not be sharp enough to slice a piece of metal like butter, but they were definitely much better than normal knives.

“Let’s keep all of them. Let’s go.” Chu Li nodded at her after she had tested them all out.

“Yes!” Zhao Ying smiled.

They cleaned the knives and removed the scabbards before tying them onto the saddle of the horse. Then, they continued their journey.

Chu Li sat on his horse without any expression on his face. Zhao Ying regularly glanced at him to check his status and complexion.

“Chu Li, shall we find a place to rest?”

“There’s no need. We need to keep moving. We have to leave the boundary of the Raging Tiger.”

“Are you hurt?”

“It isn’t that bad.”

“We are rushing too much. What if we bump into another group of robbers again?”

“I will leave it to you, Zhao Ying.”

“Me?” Zhao Ying was startled. “But, I am so useless!”

She was embarrassed as she tilted her head downward dejectedly.

Chu Li broke into a smile at her response. “Your rank is still low!”

“However, I am still a Protector and you are a Scribe!” Zhao Ying clenched her teeth and said, “I’ll take the next one!”

Chu Li smiled and nodded. “I shall leave them to you, Zhao Ying!”

“Hopefully we don’t run into any more of them though…” Zhao Ying sighed.

Fifteen minutes later, a group of men walked out of the trees, blocking their path.

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“Hehehe…” Ten large men laughed stood in a line to stop the duo from advancing further.

They were wearing short brown shirts and their hair was messy. They each held long knives and looked fierce. They glared at Zhao Ying, and looked incredibly eager, as if they had won the lottery!

Zhao Ying turned and looked at Chu Li only to see that Chu Li’s face was still incredibly pale.

Chu Li smiled in return.

Zhao Ying took a deep breath and shouted. “Hey! What are you guys trying to do !”

A topless man lazily walked out and stared at Zhao Ying.

“Haha! Hello little lady! My brothers and I invite you to pay a little visit to our encampment!”

“Not interested, we’re in quite a hurry!” Zhao Ying snapped.

“Come and experience a luxurious life in our encampment! You’ll definitely enjoy it! I promise that you’ll never want to leave!” The topless man laughed. “It’s even better than the lives of gods!”

Zhao Ying’ face soured.

“If you don’t leave, then don’t blame me for anything that happens next.” Zhao Ying pretty face tilted upwards as she sneered at them. “Trust me, you should leave!”

“Little lady, we’re being sincere!” The large man smiled. “Who’s that pretty boy over there?”

“None of your business!” Zhao Ying replied.

“Seems like he’s the lover of this little lady. He looks a little sick, and badly hurt too! Why don’t we bring them to our village? We have doctors there! We can treat him!”

“There’s no need!” Zhao Ying quickly growled.

Chu Li shook his head and sighed.

“It’s time to take them down. Don’t take too long when you do.”

“Understood!”

“I shall repeat once more, hooligans. Leave, or I will kill you!” Zhao Ying threatened the men.

“Come on then, I’d like to see your martial arts, little lady!”

The crowd laughed. “Yes! Let’s see what this little lady’s got!”

Zhao Ying was not completely ignorant and understood what they had meant when they said these things. Her beautiful face was gloomy as she drew her sword and engaged the enemy.

The big guy avoided it easily – his huge body was unusually agile.

Zhao Ying put her Swallow Reversal to use. It made her quick and elegant, but the large man avoided all the attacks easily, even without a weapon. It seemed that he was even teasing Zhao Ying during the exchange. Zhao Ying got even more infuriated and her swordplay got fiercer.

Chu Li shook his head and kept silent. These situations were all experiences for her. She needed to face them herself. If she never started at a disadvantage, then she would never learn.

Fifty strikes later and Zhao Ying was getting impatient. She didn’t think that the pervert in front of her would be so hard to deal with. She soon realized that she could not even take him down. She felt hopeless knowing that there were nine more to go after him.

“Use your wisdom, not your strength.”

She heard Chu Li whisper.

Zhao Ying understood what he meant. She was also aware of the fact that Chu Li needed to be protected. To make matters worse, he was hurt and unable to fight. If she failed, then the two of them would die here.

She calmed herself down and came up with an idea.

Her swordplay slowed down and regained its lightweight and fluid movements. Instantly, you could tell that her technique improved.

The large man furrowed his brow. Her blade had become hard to face. He never expected this gentle little lady to have such great swordsmanship. It was taking him longer than expected to take her down, which made him look weak in front of his brothers.

“Brother! Do you need our help!?” The crowd jeered at the man. “We can help you if you can’t take her alone! We still have to take her down you know!”

The crowd laughed. They were entertained and were loudly heckling at them.

Chu Li shook his head. These words only served to interrupt one’s thoughts. After watching them so unrestrained, he could only imagine the atrocities they had committed in the name of the Raging Tiger Troupe.

He took a deep breath and fell deep into thought. He felt that he could stop all the disasters if he could just eliminate the Raging Tiger Troupe. He should not leave them alone, but he was too weak to face. It would be incredibly hard for him to take down the entire village at his current status.

“Shut it, all of you! Don’t spout nonsense, I can do this myself!” The large man shouted.

“She is quite tough brother, don’t force yourself! Leaving some crumbs for your buddies alright?”

“That’s true brother, you can’t be taking all the good stuff!”

“It’s very rare to have such a pretty lady come by. I’ve not met one in a long time! My heart is racing, brother! Can’t you hurry it up?”

“Shut the hell up! All of you!” The large man yelled. He increased his pace and started to fight more fiercely than before. He started launching his palms outward to deflect the longsword.

“Clang!” The palm and sword clashed against each other. Zhao Ying’ sword was immediately redirected. She was surprised, the huge force had almost disarmed her. This man was brave, he was willing to take on a sword with his bare hands!

The palm and sword continued to clash. Zhao Ying’ sword kept getting redirected by the man; moreover, the strength of the impacts was getting stronger with each successive hit.

Chu Li looked at Zhao Ying as if she had been swallowed in a tornado. She looked like she could be engulfed at any moment, but was still struggling as hard as she could. He nodded to himself. Zhao Ying had reached the point where she was about to shed her gentle shell.

“Ahh—!” The large man screamed in pain. Zhao Ying pulled her sword back and leaped backward.

The large man clutched at his shoulder and stared at Zhao Ying.

Zhao Ying face looked gloomy, she glared coldly at the line of men behind him. “If you guys don’t leave, then I’ll make sure he gets what he deserves!”

“HAHAHA…” The crowd laughed.

“See, brother? Now you’re at a disadvantage.”

“Told you not to keep the good stuff to yourself. Turns out, you still need our help…”

The crowd laughed at him, ignoring Zhao Ying and Chu Li completely.

They had already seen Zhao Ying’ skills. They may not be able to take her down alone, but they could easily beat her if they were to strike together! Chu Li was not even considered a threat since he could not move.

They were imagining how nice it would be to hold such a beautiful lady in their arms. All of them wore huge smiles on their faces.

Zhao Ying stared at the men in disgust before suddenly rushing towards them like a swallow, immediately hurting two of them. Seeing this, the rest of the men became angry and quickly surrounded her.

Now, she was now in a dangerous situation and at risk of being taken down at any moment.