Throwdown
Jiang Chen emerged from the dust and rubble with a sword the same colour as the micro particles in one hand and his other hand behind his back. With a smile, he softly called, “Shitou.” Whilst waiting for Shitou to slowly catch up, Jiang Chen dusted himself. “Not bad. You didn’t dodge too late.”
Shen Yiren had some cuts on her, but her breathing was still smooth, and her gaze was still full of spirit. The maiden she was supporting, however, wasn’t in such good shape. It might’ve been hard to believe, but Mountain Monster was even more pale than usual. As soon as Shen Yiren tried transferring true qi to her through her back, Mountain Monster gasped a mouthful of blood.
As a broadsword and dagger expert, Mountain Monster was dealing with a handicap since she had to use a sword while posing as Shen Yiren – not to mention Shen Yiren already took the sword off her. Additionally, she was in close proximity when Shen Yiren and Jiang Chen suddenly decided to start fighting. She didn’t expect Jiang Chen to demolish the entire building in a single swing, either, so she was late to stop his sword qi from invading her.
Shen Yiren desperately tried to expel Jiang Chen’s sword qi from Mountain Monster. Luckily, despite his conniving mind, his swordplay was as orthodox as her own, so she was able to expel 80% of it in no time.
Mountain Monster tugged at Shen Yiren’s shirt. Shen Yiren took her hand and asked, “Wawa, what do you have to say?”
“Why… Why…”
“Why?”
“Why… are you unscathed? Did you use me as a shield?”
… Is this the right time for you to be wondering about this sort of b.s.?
“No, I…”
An incoming burst of sword qi compelled Shen Yiren to instinctively backflip, letting the sword qi pass underneath her and to the person directly behind her before. As she lied on the ground, Mountain Monster looked up at Shen Yiren and used her gaze to convey, “?!”
“I never used you as a shield!” exclaimed Shen Yiren. “I just dodged faster.”
Luckily for the duo, the sword qi wasn’t concentrated in one spot, and Jiang Chen was using just an ordinary sword, so Mountain Monster didn’t suffer too much.
Shen Yiren turned back to Jiang Chen. “Have you no shame as a student of Confucianism? Is picking on the injured all that you amount to?”
“You misunderstand. This one thought hygiene mattered to you two, so he wanted to kindly dust you off.” Jiang Chen ambled over as though he was watching his trapped prey.
Shen Yiren helped Mountain Monster to her feet. “You all right?”
“That can wait… Are we fighting or legging it?” Mountain Monster gasped another mouthful of blood after three breaths. “If we’re fighting, ugh… I can only tank one more shot for you.”
“Uh, one is…”
Mountain Monster started retching again.
“Okay, okay, we’re legging it! Okay? You’ve coughed up enough blood. I get the point.”
Mountain Monster wiped the fake blood at the corners of her mouth. “So, how are we getting away?”
Another sword qi wave that was bigger than before interrupted them, prompting Shen Yiren to pick up Mountain Monster and roll across the ground.
“This one hopes to learn a thing or two from you two. Please make your move.” Wryly, Jiang Chen questioned, “Or did you realise that Shen Wuzheng and Luo Ming are pitifully weak after getting caught?”
“Shut your potty mouth up!”
“Hey! You said we’re running!” Before Mountain Monster could pull Shen Yiren back, the latter had already charged forward.
“Six Phenomena Heart King” formed the foundation of Shen Yiren’s swordplay and helped her comprehend Repository Swordplay. After she learnt the spirit of Black-White Hair, her proficiency with Six Phenomena Heart King improved exponentially, but she hadn’t had a chance to display her new level yet.
As a stern person, Luo Ming always focused on order and development. His patience in development was visible in the way he expressed his affection towards people and violence with a sword. As such, Shen Yiren’s straightforward nature made her a prime candidate for learning his style of swordplay. Unfortunately, owing to the various tragedies she had to face, her temperament gradually transformed. Yes, she still had a quiet side to her. Howbeit, annoy her for long enough, and she’d start expressing herself with her fists instead of words. In that aspect, her spirit was comparable to that of Luo Ming’s as a blacksmith – unforgiving towards half-heartedness.
Shen Yiren produced six diamonds in a specific formation, each of which contradicted Yujing’s tenderness and could cut deep. It had been a long time since Jiang Chen had seen Shen Clan’s “Liu Shan” technique. It was nostalgic to see the very technique her ancestor used to beat him three times in the past, but it was also reassuring to see a technique he had been prepared to now counter.
Jiang Chen drew circles in front of him with his sword, deleting the six diamonds one by one and then releasing energy with his last circle, blasting Shen Yiren back. To his surprise, she dispersed the energy, rolled backwards and returned to Mountain Monster’s side. Jiang Chen was impressed with the fact that, though Shen Yiren’s style appeared extremely rigid and ferocious, she didn’t sacrifice the fluidity that Black-White Hair promoted.
“God damn it. He’s too strong. There’s no chance of winning,” grouched Shen Yiren.
Relieved to see Shen Yiren still alive, Mountain Monster laboriously queried, “Sh-shall we start running now? How are we going to escape?”
Whilst maintaining her intense stare on Jiang Chen, Shen Yiren answered, “I’ll stall him. You break through the enemy lines.”
Mountain Monster looked over her shoulder, then quietly informed, “Those pricks have blocked the escape route.”
“F***!”
Mountain Monster was stupefied for a second when she heard Shen Yiren spit profanity again. She poked Shen Yiren’s soft cheek.
Shen Yiren: “?”
“I… like your fiery temper. If I was a man, I’d do you a favour and take you as my concubine…”
“Since when does getting hurt make you horny?! Can you give it a flipping rest?!”
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