“The Academy?”
Su Baiyi, inside the carriage, heard the commotion outside and glanced at the young man in green before him. “Why would people from the Academy come here…?”
The young man in green showed a trace of uneasiness in his eyes. He grabbed Su Baiyi’s hand and squeezed out two words from his throat, “Take…me…”
“Take you away, take you away, of course I will. I have not only promised my master, but also that girl. Master said that I can ignore his words, but I absolutely can’t lie to girls, especially pretty ones.” Su Baiyi lifted the young man in green on his back and said to him, “I’ll take advantage of the chaos and rush out from the back. You hold on tight.”
“Okay.” The young man in green gasped heavily.
Outside the carriage, the guard who had fallen to the ground got up and took off his straw coat. The remaining three guards also jumped off their horses and surrounded Feng Zuojun.
“Four people together, not bad, not bad.” Facing four opponents at once, Feng Zuojun was not afraid at all. On the contrary, he felt…excited!
“Don’t go too far.” The woman in the carriage reminded him.
“Don’t worry, senior sister. The people from the four big families are all trash. You can tell by looking at Xie Yuling, he’s no match for me.” Feng Zuojun waved his bamboo sword and charged at one of the guards.
Su Baiyi, who was in the carriage, heard the sound of fighting outside and smiled. “Now is the time.” He kicked the wooden board at the back of the carriage and rushed into the rain curtain with the young man in green on his back. But he had only taken two steps when he stopped.
“I sensed another presence in the carriage long ago.” A gentle voice sounded. Su Baiyi looked up and saw a woman holding an oiled paper umbrella standing in front of them. The umbrella was tilted slightly downward, covering the woman’s face.
“Senior sister.” Feng Zuojun shouted.
“You play your game, leave this to me.” The woman said indifferently. She lifted her umbrella slightly and was about to speak, but the white figure had already passed by her.
“Hold on to me, this person’s breath is very strong, I can’t beat her for sure!” Su Baiyi said to the young man in green behind him.
“Young brother’s movement technique is very fast, but it lacks some meaning.” Su Baiyi’s words were not finished yet, when the woman appeared in front of him again.
“Damn it, then I’ll go faster!” Su Baiyi shouted and withdrew his steps to the left, passing by the woman again.
“This movement technique is…” The woman lifted her oil-paper umbrella slightly, revealing a pair of eyes as clear as water. “Zouma?”
“I’m using eight levels of Zouma, I don’t believe she can catch up with me!” Su Baiyi said proudly.
The young man in green who had been leaning on Su Baiyi’s back also breathed a sigh of relief, but then widened his eyes and exclaimed. “You! You! Who are you?”
“My name is Su Baiyi, you are called Qing Yilang, don’t you think we are very fated?” Su Baiyi ran and laughed.
The young man in green’s question “Who are you” was not meant to ask Su Baiyi’s name. He exclaimed in horror, “You are absorbing my martial power!” He tried to pull back his hand that was resting on Su Baiyi’s shoulder, but his hands were like stuck to Su Baiyi’s body, unable to move at all. He could only watch as his inner strength flowed into Su Baiyi’s body continuously.
“Yes, I am absorbing your power, but I am also saving you. Didn’t you notice that just a moment ago you could barely say two words, but now you can scold me without panting?” Su Baiyi said helplessly.
“But…but this is my…” The young man in green suddenly shed tears. “My only chance.”
“You have many chances. The chances you have in mind are all for fame and fortune, to become the glory of the four big families, to compete for the position of the family head in the future. But if you don’t become the family head, and just have a peaceful life, then your chance is right in front of you.” Su Baiyi stopped and looked at the woman who was standing under the eaves.
The woman’s originally dull pupils finally brightened up. She looked at the two people in front of her, both surprised and amazed. She couldn’t say a word for a moment.
“I promised you that I would bring him back.” Su Baiyi proudly put down the young man in green from his back.
The young man in green finally felt that the force that was sucking him disappeared, but he had no inner strength left in his body. He stood on the ground, staggered a few times and almost fell. The plain-clothed woman hurriedly came forward and supported him. “What’s wrong with you?”
The young man in green leaned on the plain-clothed woman and barely stood up. He looked at Su Baiyi. “Only someone who has practiced the same martial art as me can absorb my inner strength. Otherwise, you would have died from qi explosion long ago. Ailan, who is he!”
Before the woman could speak, Su Baiyi spoke first. “I came here by my master’s order. My master’s surname is Xie. The same as yours – Xie!”
The young man in green was stunned at first, then laughed loudly. “How can there be anyone from our Xie family who would help me now? These trash are all avoiding me like the plague, just like they did to my seventh uncle back then.”
“Yes, you still have a seventh uncle, don’t you?” Su Baiyi turned his head and looked at the end of the street. The woman’s movement technique was not weak, and she could catch up at any time.
“Everyone knows that my seventh uncle is dead! What are you trying to say!” The young man in green shouted angrily, taking a few steps forward and reaching out to grab Su Baiyi’s shoulder. Su Baiyi turned back and pointed a finger at the young man in green’s forehead, lightly flicking it. Then he lowered his voice, as if deliberately imitating another person’s tone. “I have warned you since you were young, keep your strange books to yourself and don’t let others see your sword. Xie Xing, what are you in such a hurry for!”
“You…” The young man in green was flicked back a few steps by that finger. He widened his eyes, his expression changed drastically, but he only managed to say this one word before he fell backwards. The woman called Ailan took a step forward and carried the young man in green on her back.
“I’ll stay here for now. You two hurry up and get out of the city through the secret passage in the house.” Su Baiyi spoke quickly, as if he didn’t want to say more.
“Thank you, sir!” Ailan understood his intention and carried the young man in green into the house. But after walking a few steps, she suddenly stopped and took out a book wrapped in cowhide paper from her bosom and threw it back.
Su Baiyi caught it and pondered. “He might be very angry when he finds out, and even kill you.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Ailan gave a bitter smile and walked into the house with the young man in green on her back.
“What a sad farewell.” Suddenly there was a sigh on the roof.
Su Baiyi quickly put the book into his bosom. “I have never met these two people before. This farewell is nothing but natural. How can you say it’s sad?”
“Who said it was about you? I was talking about that ambitious young man in green. He left behind his dream of reviving the Xie family and dominating the martial world. You tell me, isn’t that sad?” The voice on the roof sounded a bit regretful.
Beads of rain, or perhaps sweat, trickled down Su Baiyi’s forehead. “Miss, when did you arrive?”
“Naturally, I arrived with you.” The girl held the oiled paper umbrella, standing on the eaves, seemingly with no intention of coming down.
“I thought I was fast enough to have left you behind.” Su Baiyi swallowed, “Miss, your martial arts skills are so impressive, why didn’t you come down and stop us?”
“Like you, I was also entrusted by a friend surnamed Xie to come here and save the young man in green. Since you have already saved him, I naturally have no reason to intervene.” The girl’s voice was gentle.
Su Baiyi breathed a sigh of relief, but he didn’t dare to fully believe what the girl said. He tentatively said, “Then, miss, shall we say goodbye here?”
“Before you go, I have one more thing to confirm.” The girl took a step forward.
“What is it?” Su Baiyi tightly gripped the long sword at his waist, his hand trembling slightly.
“I don’t need your answer for this.” The girl lifted her oil-paper umbrella and jumped down from the roof.
“Draw your sword!” Su Baiyi shouted and tried to pull out his waist sword.
Only one move!
Only one chance!
Right at this moment!
Su Baiyi looked up, but he only saw a purple dress fluttering in the wind.
A soft hand suddenly pressed on Su Baiyi’s hand, then gently pulled it back, and with a swish—
Time seemed to freeze in an instant.
When Su Baiyi came to his senses, the girl was already holding her umbrella and standing in the rain with her back to him. And in her left hand, there was an extra sword.
Su Baiyi touched the rain on his face and muttered to himself. “This is bad, this is bad, this is bad. I’m not going to die here, am I?”
The woman raised the long sword in her hand and gave it a gentle shake, instantly dispersing the rainwater on the blade. Then the two words on the sword became especially clear.
“Junyu.” The girl whispered softly.
Su Baiyi looked at the empty scabbard and felt like crying. Even if he could go back alive, he lost the sword that his master gave him. He was afraid that he would be beaten to death.
“We will meet again.” With a flick of her wrist, the girl sent the sword flying into the air. It twirled and then slid back into its sheath in Su Baiyi’s hand. Then the girl walked away with her umbrella.
“Miss…do you know my master?” Su Baiyi gathered his courage and asked.
“My surname is Nangong.” The girl didn’t look back, but only said a vague sentence.
Su Baiyi stood in the rain for a long time, and finally came to a conclusion. He cursed angrily, “It must be some kind of romantic debt!” He turned around to get the bookcase, but he saw another shadow flash past the corner of the wall.