Nightfall

Ning Que, the Wood-chopper of Shubi Lake

For Ning Que, who had been used to surviving in forests, on grasslands, and among herds of beasts since childhood, it was those mysterious cultivators that disturbed him, but not the secret killers. Thus, after cutting off the assassins’ heads with his podao, he immediately retreated to the mild slope, where there still existed slash fire. Then he picked up his boxwood bow at once, and aimed at the Great Sword Master again.

This time, his vigilance seemed a little needless. The middle-aged scholar (the Great Sword Master) in an indigo robe, without any movement, just silently leaned against a big tree. He looked at the lad in the firelight, with his black eyes on his bloody face, and muttered a few words. Then he died, with a helpless laugh and hands spread apart.

Ning Que had been aiming intently at the Great Sword Master’s corpse for a long while, and he didn’t lay down his bow until his arms began trembling. Immediately, tiredness and ache started invading his blood and every vessel.

He asked without turning around, “Are you all right?”

The flames, caused by kerosene grenades, lit fallen leaves, but the moist sapropel at the entrance to the Northern Mountain Road gradually extinguished the fire. Sangsang, half squatting and looking up at Ning Que’s back, re-closed the big, black umbrella, which made a sound, and shook her head. It seemed that her young master could know what she had done without her words.

The maidservant knew Ning Que was not concerned about her. She quickly stood up, raising her skirt’s hemline, and sprinted to the carriage team, which was almost ruined. She wildly moved the heavy wooden box debris away. Then she eagerly embraced the dignified and strong boy, lovingly and gently flicking off the dust that was left on his face.

About six grassland barbarians and Tang bodyguards were still alive. After struggling to stand on their feet, they trudged to the ruined carriage. The seriously injured bodyguard captain, leading others to kneel on one knee, mournfully said with his head touching the ground, “We subordinates deserve countless deaths as Her Princess is disturbed by the assassins due to our ineffective battle.”

It was not a sad picture that several men, covered in blood, kowtowed to the maidservant, who was hugging the boy while arrays of stars and remnant firelight were blazing. Instead, it was a picture full of bravery, or in other words, solemnity and valiance.

Sangsang walked close to Ning Que, and both of them just quietly looked at this scene. There was no need for them to pretend to show astonished or shocked expressions, as they had already figured out the real identity of the maidservant before.

After a short rest, the guards and barbarians began, with difficulty, binding up wounds and applying medicines to each other. When their breath steadied, they commenced on cleaning up the battlefield, carrying back several severely wounded companions, and slaying all dying enemies. After that, these agile and brave men unconsciously looked behind them.

Looking at the lad in a slight-scorched, cotton-padded jacket, the bodyguards showed some very complicated expressions—shock, confusion, and even fear. The sight of Ning Que’s capability convinced them that the lad had a good mastery of fighting and archery, but not a mysterious strongman beyond the imagination.

In this battle, it was the bodyguards and Lyu Qingchen who directly fought with the two mighty cultivators and depleted the majority of the Great Sword Master’s life, making it possible for Ning Que to end the enemy’s life with three arrows at last.

However, it furthered their feeling that the lad was a very formidable figure.

When he began attacking, he could choose the perfect timing, with a precise angle and an effective approach. Additionally, a calm and tough heart was hidden beneath his gentle and young appearance. Undoubtedly, it was such an amazing performance to slay those three assassins in black with his three podaos. How did he manage to do it at such a young age? How many people did he kill in the border town of the grassland? And how many heads did he cut off?