407: Chapter 18: Rain at Moss Ridge 407: Chapter 18: Rain at Moss Ridge Tonight, out of the blue, a heavy rain had begun to fall.
In the territory of Moss Ridge, where the roads were already narrow, the rain turned the mountain paths into a quagmire.
A large, old tree growing on the mountainside was blown down by the furious wind, blocking the way.
A merchant caravan had no choice but to stop before the blocked road, unable to go forward or retreat.
The guards in charge of escorting the caravan were experienced and well-organized.
Two were clearing the roadblock in front.
The others lit talismans to pierce through the night rain, setting up formations around the caravan to guard against falling rocks and other accidents.
All these guards wore long swords.
Hanging from the hilt of each sword was a bright red tassel.
The Da Sui Sword Palace had its swords sealed on the mountain for ten years, with hardly any of its Sword Cultivators leaving the gates.
But this didn’t mean that the thousand-year-old behemoth had completely severed ties with the outside world…
The Taoist sects had disciples in the mundane world—as did the Da Sui Sword Palace.
These bright red sword tassels were the tokens of the “Da Sui Sword Palace” disciples in the secular world.
Within the domain of the Great Chu dynasty, the Da Sui Sword Palace had established nearly a hundred Study Palaces, large and small.
To ensure a continuous lineage, it needed to plant seeds over many years.
Cultivators who entered the Sword Palace and felt their talents were limited, realizing they would never attain the Great Tao, would leave the Sword Palace to teach at these academies.
Those who entered the Da Sui Academy could practice their skills, study swordsmanship, and even if they couldn’t become Qi Refining Masters, they could still learn valuable abilities.
These guards all came from the Da Sui Academy.
Moss Ridge was especially quiet tonight.
The fine mist of rain pummeled the roofs of the carriages, splashing up silvery crisp sounds, as if someone were playing music.
If at this moment the guards had looked up, peering through the curtain of rain, they would have discovered that at the very top of the mountain, during the flashes of lightning, thirteen figures stood indifferently, overlooking the quiet, desolate hills.
The thirteen figures were distinctly segregated.
Three stood at the front, and the remaining ten, not daring to stand shoulder to shoulder, quietly stepped back, their presence clearly fainter by degrees.
“Everyone says how great the Imperial City is, but I really can’t see what’s so good about it.”
Among the three, the one on the left had a slender figure, and even beneath the large black robe, one could sense his gaunt thinness.
His voice was quite high-pitched, with a soft, mocking tone as he laughed and said, “Moss Ridge is only fifty or sixty miles away from the Imperial City, wild hills and rugged mountains—no different from the South Border.”
“The difference is that here, Cultivators can stand proudly beneath the sun, while we cannot.”
The one in the center was a composed middle-aged man with a burly figure.
He said self-deprecatingly, then turned and asked in a deep voice, “Yu Ling, when will the Special Enforcement Officer from the Imperial City arrive?
The sooner we finish our task, the sooner we can return to our sect and report.”
One of the ten stepped forward—a woman holding a token.
She said respectfully, “Elder Huai, that Special Enforcement Officer said there are many matters in the Imperial City, and it will take another half an hour.”
“…Another half an hour?”
The man on the left, full of resentment, grumbled, “We traveled non-stop from the Southern Border to the central state of Great Chu, spending no less than twenty days!
The Imperial City Department is just stepping out of the city gates; can’t they keep their appointments on time?”
His words left everyone in silence.
They all knew the reason.
The Evil Cultivators from the Three Great Sects of the Southern Border were no different than groveling, tail-wagging dogs in the eyes of the Great Chu Royal Family.
Since when did dogs deserve to make their masters wait?
“Wu Yin, don’t harbor such deep resentments while traveling.”
Elder Huai said with a smile, “Since the Imperial City Department is not punctual, why don’t we find something amusing to do…
Have you seen those Qi Refining Masters down the mountain?”
Wu Yin squinted his eyes and spoke in a deep voice, “I spotted them from ten miles away.
The red tassels on their swords are more conspicuous than matches.”
At that moment, the one among the three who had been silent until now finally spoke up.
“Let’s not forget, our trip to the north is for negotiations and trade.”
Among them, only he had remained silent, and his figure was bulky and immense.
But now when he spoke, his voice was delicate and pleasing, like a beautiful melody.
As the lightning flashed and heavy rain poured, Moss Ridge was as bright as day—a ray of wind blew away the speaker’s cloak revealing a delicately beautiful face.
It was a woman with exquisite features, and the “bulky and immense” figure was only because she had been carrying a guqin on her back all the time.
The long journey had been fraught with difficulty, and to protect the ancient instrument from damage, she had covered it with her cloak.
The woman spoke softly, “Killing near the Great Chu Imperial City attracts attention.
If those of the Great Chu Royal Family were to investigate, it would lead to many complications.
It’s only half an hour more, just be patient.”
“You are wrong, Cang Yin,” said Wu Yin, still with a smile.
“We have suffered enough hardship on this journey to keep our appointment.
If we don’t find some entertainment in this last half hour, I am afraid the evil fire within us will overflow and be uncontrollable…
How about it, Lady Cang, would you care to play with me for a while?”
“Why not,” the woman replied, glancing at the slender, feminine man.
She said calmly, “What kind of play are you suggesting?”
“Of course, the most interesting kind.”
Wu Yin was still smiling as he said, “I’ve heard that the women of the Hehuan Sect all possess exceptional skills.
If Lady Cang Yin doesn’t mind, I’d like to experience the most formidable techniques of your sect’s cauldron arts.”
“That’s enough, Wu Yin,” Elder Huai interjected, halting Wu Yin’s words.
He extended his palm and placed it on Cang Yin’s shoulder.
A powerful energy erupted, suppressing her initial movement to draw the guqin.
Elder Huai calmly said, “Miss Cang is concerned about the negotiations failing, and that is understandable.
But are the Great Chu genuinely sincere about cooperation?
If killing a few unrelated people leads to the breaking of the demon subduing pact, wouldn’t that thwart the very purpose of our trip?”
This mission, for the Three Great Sects of the Southern Border, was not just about negotiations.
It was also a form of probing.
They had already lowered their stance, willing to become lapdogs for the Great Chu Royal Family.
When the hare is dead, the hound is cooked.
Now, for the sake of annihilating the Paperman Sect, the Three Great Sects had no other choice…
But as lapdogs, they still deserved a modicum of dignity.
If the Great Chu Royal Family did not offer even the slightest respect,
Then the Three Great Sects would rather not cooperate at all.
“…”
Cang Yin made no further comment.
“Rumor has it that the corpse refining techniques of the Heavenly Puppet Sect are first-rate in the world.”
By this point, Lord Huai had achieved his goal.
He slowly turned his head and said with a smile, “Within half an hour, before the Special Enforcement Officer arrives, Left Envoy Witch should be able to refine all these Qi Refining Masters into ‘living corpses,’ should she not?”
“What need is there for half an hour?”
Wu Yin laughed softly, “To refine these Qi Refining Masters into living corpses, it would take but a hundred breaths!”
“If that’s the case, then allow Lord Huai to witness your skills.”
Lord Huai spoke gently, “Cang Yin, you should relax after such a tiresome journey…
Why not join us in watching a good show, how about that?”
The woman remained silent for a moment before nodding her head in the end.
“Heh.”
Left Envoy Witch flexed her wrists, her bones emitting crackling sounds reminiscent of popping beans.
But she didn’t rush to begin, instead, she glanced meaningfully at Lord Huai.
Immediately, a voice filled with mockery echoed through the mind.
It resounded in Lord Huai’s Heart Lake.
“You have indeed played a good game.”
“If these people were merely common folk, you might have let them off the hook…
but since they hail from Da Sui Academy, they’ve got only a dead end to face.”
Wu Yin asked triumphantly, “Am I wrong, Huai Ting?”
“Not at all.”
Huai Ting stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes indifferent, “I despise Da Sui Sword Palace the most.
Although these Qi Refining Masters are just from the academy, the sight of that sword tassel fills me with loathing.”
“Very well then.”
Wu Yin chuckled, “Truth be told, I don’t care about the outcome of this negotiation.
I can help you kill these people because if a complication arises later on, you can just blame it on me.
But I want a favor in return.”
“Oh?”
Huai Ting frowned slightly.
“On the way back, I want some alone time with Hehuan Sect’s Cang Yin,” Wu Yin laid out her condition.
This condition caught Huai Ting off guard.
“The dual cultivation techniques of the Hehuan Sect are not to be taken lightly.
Aren’t you afraid of being drained dry?”
Lord Huai said, “Even if I agree to your request, what can you do if Cang Yin refuses?”
On this trip to the north, their three strengths were equal, they were all condensing Tao Rules, just a step away from stepping into the Yin God Realm.
Among them.
Huai Ting, as the fifth disciple under White Ghost, had just a bit stronger strength.
It was precisely for this reason that he was able to rank above the other two and be appointed as “Lead Envoy.”
“Don’t play dumb, Brother Huai.
Don’t you know that the women of the Hehuan Sect, no matter how sacred and pure they pretend to be on the surface, are innately sluts and harlots in their bones!”
Wu Yin said with a dark sneer, “All along this journey, Cang Yin has carried herself with such superiority, a picture of unblemished sanctity.
Could it be she actually considers herself a noble Saintess?
Having abstained from union with a man for nearly a month, I assure you, she’s already burning with desire, barely able to keep up the act!”
“Hehe.”
Lord Huai laughed knowingly, saying nothing more.
Wu Yin arched an eyebrow, “Don’t you wonder what it’s like to tear away the facade of the high and mighty, to taste what the Cang Right Envoy is really like?”
“That’s enough.
You kill these people first, and on the way back, I’ll give you a chance to spend time alone.”
Lord Huai pondered for a moment, then agreed to Wu Yin’s request.
“That will do,” Wu Yin said with satisfaction, ready to begin.
Lord Huai paused, then spoke again, “However, I too am quite interested in the flavor of Cang Yin.”
Wu Yin was taken aback for a moment, then laughed wickedly, “I get it, I get it.
Wu Yin never hogs a feast all to herself.”
This conversation took place entirely within the Heart Lake.
After speaking.
Wu Yin retracted her Divine Thought.
She looked down at the group of Qi Refining Masters forming a formation in the rain, her eyes cold and mocking, like looking at a bunch of ants.
“You don’t need to do anything, brother from Heavenly Puppet Sect.”
He raised his hand, this statement addressed to the ten people behind him.
Wu Yin chuckled, “Next, consider it as watching a fine play.”
Saying so.
She leapt down, taking advantage of the fierce wind and rain pouring from the sky, and crashed into the merchant convoy on the mountainside.
Lord Huai stood at the mountaintop with his hands behind his back, recalling his earlier conversation with Wu Yin, a trace of a smile creeping onto his lips.
He couldn’t help but gently shift his gaze, studying the cheek of Cang Right Envoy.
It truly was a beautiful face.
Much like the face of a Saintess.
“…”
Cang Right Envoy, carrying her zither, had not shown any other reaction from the beginning to the end, as if she had not noticed Huai Ting watching her.
She just coldly watched the figure of Wu Yin sweep down the mountain.
But the way she looked at Wu Yin.
It was not much different from how Wu Yin viewed those Qi Refining Masters below.