Chapter 121 – Black Clothed Man
If He Xi were here now, she would have been shocked to find that the woman in this picture is a seven out of ten in similarity with her transformed appearance.
“Lingyue…Lingyue…” Nalan Zhengze repeated the woman's name over and over again. With an intoxicated expression on his face, he kissed the lip's of the woman in the picture and murmured, “Lingyue, do you know how much I miss you?”
He had barely spoken when suddenly, an hysterical-like light shone in his eyes born from insanity and hate. Retreating back a step, he roared, “You're just my Concubine, but why do you look down on me…why don't you obey me…”
At this moment, a crackling sound could be heard coming from below the spiral staircase. Following that, a beast-like roar with banging and scratching sounds echoed.
Nalan Zhengze's lips raised in a smirk, and laughing twice, he looked at the stunning woman in the picture, his face twisted with an evil smile, “An Lingyue, An Lingyue! Aren't you so proud and strong! But did you ever think that the child you would give birth to would fall into my hands just to be taken advantage of? Hahahaha…”
Because of the intrusion of the black clothed men, He Xi didn't go to sleep, rather, she meditated in her space.
She discovered that although she is unable to store spiritual power and advance cultivation bases, with the spiritual energy entering her body repeatedly, it cleansed her meridians. So whether it is in strength or speed, she has the qualifications to advance.
Regarding internal power and martial arts, she is now one rank higher than she was in her previous life. As for the skill to conceal herself, she's already at a much higher rank than the low level martial artists in this world.
While cultivating, time passed slowly, and soon, the pitch black night sky outside her space slowly lightened, and streaks of golden light coloured the eastern sky.
He Xi lazily stretched her body, and just as she was about to exit her space, a sudden chill flashed through her body, leaving her slightly numb.
It was like there were countless insects crawling along her spine, causing every nerve in her body to become taut.
The black clothed men, it's those black clothed men again! Moreover, there's still four of them.
However, the difference between the group from last night and the group now, is that this group of black clothed men have a frightening manner about them. They weren't concealing the sharp killing intentions they exuded.
Even if these people were still far away, Hexi was able to smell the strong reek of blood their bodies carried.
No one was more familiar than He Xi about what those kind of people were like. Those kind of people were without the slightest scruple, becoming joyful at the thought of slaughter.
Her complexion changed, and quickly getting up, she ordered Xi Jia and the others to flee with Wet Nurse Chen and Xiao Li into Cang Mountain.
Wet Nurse Chen was reluctant to escape and leave He Xi alone, but she was efficiently knocked out by He Xi, who then threw her to Xi Jia, “Properly protect Wet Nurse Chen and Xiao Li. Without my order, no one is allowed to return!”
Xi Jia and the others hesitated as they worriedly looked at He Xi, but their instinct to obey made them grit their teeth and nod.
Tears clung to Xiao Li's face, and choking back sobs she said, “Miss, have I brought trouble to you?…I'm not leaving, I want to stay with you!”
He Xi sneered, “Do you want me to knock you out too? No matter who the people are that come, I have a way to deal with them! I don't need you all to worry about it!”
Pausing, she then continued and said, “Keep watch over our home for me.”
Chapter 122 – Powerless Ant
Right, our home…although it has only been a short time period of little more than a month, she has regarded this courtyard as home, the people in this courtyard as her family.
She will not allow her family to meet with mishap. For any person who dares to touch those she cares about, she will definitely let them pay a painful price.
Xiao Li's face gradually showed a firm look of dedication, and wiping her tears, she repeatedly nodded her head. Her expression of one making a promise.
Xi Jia, Xiao Li, and the others had just left, when several black clothed men using Flying Swords rapidly descended on the empty ground of the small courtyard.
They of course saw that weak old woman and child running to hide in Cang Mountain, so one person amongst them who was fiddling with a dagger in his hand sneeringly asked, “Do I need to rush over and get rid of those useless people?”
Another person replied with, “Our Boss's order was that the patron only wanted Nalan He Xi's life, we don't have any business with the rest. Did he think our Drought Demon Organisation, full of gold medal assassins, was a vegetable market? That when we receive a mission we also include a service of giving a gift?”
The two other people burst into loud laughter, their gazes' landing on one of the small houses in the courtyard. The person who was previously talking slightly raised an eyebrow as he said, “I really didn't expect that the Third Miss, the legendary trash of Nalan Manor, would have such courage. Letting her servants leave first and staying behind to throw her life away…tsk tsk, so interesting!”
Another young voice couldn't help but grumble, “I don't know what our Boss was thinking. She's only trash without a cultivation base, that's all, she hasn't even reached the Qi Refining stage! Is it necessary to use all four of us together to dispose of her?”
“Alright, our Boss decided it like this, so naturally he has reason. As long as we obediently obey his orders then that will be enough. Xiao Ba, you go, efficiently bring the Young Miss's severed head out here, we'll wait for you.”
“If people knew that we, four grand Meridians stage martial artists, killed an ordinary person together, wouldn't we be a laughing stock!” Xiao Ba, the youngest martial artist muttered as he obediently pushed the door open and walked to where He Xi's room was located.
The three other assassins remained in the small courtyard, leisurely chatting. They were completely unworried about whether Xiao Ba would be able to kill that girl or not.
After all, one is a Meridians stage martial artist, while the other one is an ordinary person without a cultivation base. It was like a human and an ant, if stepped on, the ant would die, so how could be afraid of a powerless ant?
Xiao Ba flipped the dagger in his hand, and without even bothering to conceal his figure, he entered the plainly decorated woman's bedroom with loud footsteps.
Yet the next moment, Xiao Ba suddenly sensed the coldness of a hidden weapon directly shoot towards him.
Not good—! Xiao Ba thought gloomily, and moving sideways, he dodged countless hidden weapons that swept over his cheek, but some still directly pierced his body.
As the hidden weapons reached his body, Xiao Ba discovered that that they were silver needles, as thin as a strand of hair. When these needles touched his body, he found that they contained an icy spiritual power that made him, a Meridian Stage martial artist's entire body grow cold.
However, Xiao Ba simply didn't care about these small lousy needles with weak icy spiritual power. With this attack though, it did arouse the bloodlust within his body.
“Little girl, if you had just obediently died, I could have made it fast and painless. But since you want to resist, then you can taste my eighteen cruel methods!”
Saying so, he gathered all his spiritual power, then rushed towards the girl hidden in the shadows.
But soon, Xiao Ba's expression changed to one of alarm. He was shocked to find that his dantian was being sealed by something. So he was unable to move the spiritual power in his body.
Chapter 123 – Beheaded In One Strike
“You—!” Xiao Ba opened his mouth to shout, but the little girl that had been hiding in the shadows suddenly disappeared.
The next moment, Xiao Ba felt a burst of sharp pain in his throat, and suddenly, blood was spewing from his neck.
Opening his eyes wide in disbelief, he stared at the girl almost within reach before he quickly retreated. His eyes were filled with fright, unwillingness, and despair.
Soon after he slowly closed his eyes, his breathing ceasing.
Beheaded in one strike!
He Xi didn't pause, and quickly transferring all the internal power within her body to conceal her figure, she turned around and jumped out the window, escaping towards the depths of Cang Mountain.
In fact, He Xi's current strength could in no way compare to a group of assassins, let alone three. She hadn't even had the confidence that she would win a one-on-one fight.
Just a moment ago, if that assassin hadn't been so careless, or if he hadn't tried to use so much spiritual power after being hit by the Invisible Needles, he would have discovered that it was just a thin layer of internal power sealing his dantian. It wouldn't have been able to withstand even a single blow.
Unfortunately, his first mistake was to seriously underestimate He Xi, and then, his second mistake was to lose his composure and become frightened by the Invisible Needles, becoming so terrified he had lost his ability to think. It was only then that
He Xi had found the opportunity to kill him in one hit.
In the yard, the remaining three assassins were still leisurely chatting, and even though they smelled the strong reek of blood, they didn't have the slightest worry.
But as time went by, they started to realize that Xiao Ba was taking a little too long to complete his task, and that there weren't any sounds of movement coming from the room.
Puzzled, they walked to the room, and after barely opening the door, all three of the assassins' faces changed.
They saw that the small room was covered in blood, it even flowed to the door while the stench of it permeated the room.
Lying in the middle of a pool of blood was their younger brother, Xiao Ba. His eyes were wide open, his face frightened, and his breathing had long since ceased.
The leader looked at his younger brother's corpse and his eyes bulged in anger. Grinding his teeth he ruthlessly said, “Chase her! We must tear that smelly girl's body to shreds!!"
The three assassins were extremely fast, so although He Xi had a head start and was using her Qing Gong, when facing martial artists using Flying Swords, she was still caught in the blink of an eye.
The leader of the assassins halted in mid air, and looking below at the lightning speed of Hexi, the corner of his mouth raised to reveal the trace of a cruel smile.
To an ordinary person's eyes Hexi's speed is extremely fast, nearly turning her into a shadow, but for three Meridians Stage experts, this kind of speed is simply not worth mentioning.
The leader raised his arm, and condensing his spiritual power into a dark red fire ball on his hand, he wrapped it around the Flying Sword. Then, with one hand holding the sword hilt, he suddenly threw the sword.
The fireball engulfed the Flying Sword in a flash, following it as it hurtled at lightning speed towards the fleeing He Xi.
The assassin's heard a loud 'bang' and the fireball scattered, turning the Flying Sword into fine powder.
Yet the expected outcome of He Xi being torn apart into hundreds of pieces didn't occur.
She instead stumbled two steps due to the heat of the explosion, yet without pausing she continued to dash forward, as if she wasn't affected by that attack in the slightest.
In mid air, the three assassins' faces showed their shock. One must know, that the strike from the lead assassin a moment ago was equal to the strength of ten people. His cultivation base is currently at the peak of Meridians Stage, so even an expert on Gold Core Stage would at least suffer a little damage from that strike. Yet how is that an ordinary person was able to walk away, seemingly unharmed?
Chapter 124 – Piercing The Heart
So thinking about it, there is only one explanation…this girl’s body possessed a treasure! Moreover, it must be a rank five or higher magical tool!
The assassins looked at each other in dismay, greed evident in their expressions as they suddenly accelerated the speed of their Flying Swords to catch up to He Xi.
While He Xi was fleeing she touched her hair, and when she felt the remnants of a fine powder in her hand, her heart soared.
Just a moment ago, it wasn’t any sort of treasure that had blocked the assassin’s attack, rather…it was the imprint that Nangong Yu left on her body.
It was only at a time when her life was at risk that the imprint would transform into a protective barrier, keeping her safe from harm.
Nangong Yu, seems like I already owe him too much.
Unfortunately though, it seems that today might be her funeral. She was afraid that perhaps she wouldn’t have the opportunity to repay him in the future.
This thought had just flashed through Hexi’s mind, when before her eyes those assassins suddenly surrounded her.
The leader’s gaze was filled with fake kindness as he looked at her, yet he coldly said, “Nalan He Xi, if you hand over the treasure hidden on your body, I’ll make your death less painful, otherwise…based on the hatred we have for you after you killed Xiao Ba, we will certainly have you begging for death before we’re through!”
He Xi slightly panted, her gaze cold as she studied the three people before her without the slightest trace of panic or fear, “Who ordered you to kill me?”
Standing on the left side of the leader, one of the assassin’s expressions abruptly twisted, and pulling out his long sword he shouted, “Smelly girl, still unwilling to shed tears without seeing a coffin! You even dare to adopt a high attitude with us when it’s just you alone, do you think you’re a match for us?”
He Xi’s figure suddenly flashed as she disappeared from where she was originally standing, and with lightning speed due to her internal power, she rushed towards the assassin on the left.
The assassin’s face slightly changed, and condensing a thunderbolt on his palm, he fiercely threw it towards He Xi’s chest.
A “crack” could be heard, and He Xi felt a sharp scorching pain, causing all four of her limbs to spasm.
But she didn’t retreat, instead, she continued forward. After being struck by the thunderbolt, her face showed a strange smile as she rushed towards him.
The assassin on the left suddenly uttered an exclamation, and slowly bowed his head.
Looking down, he saw a slender dagger accurately stabbed into his abdomen, blood steadily seeping from the wound.
Yet the frightening part is that when the blood made contact with the air, it suddenly turned a dark green colour that could cause a person’s hair to stand on end.
“AH— AHH...pain, itchy!”
The assassin dropped his long sword and frantically scratched his body as he rolled around on the ground wailing. In the blink of an eye, his face was now badly mangled and dripping blood.
“Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu! What happening to you?!!”
The assassin on the right wanted to rushed over and help him, but was stopped by the leader, “Lao San, look clearly. Xiao Wu is highly poisonous right now, you will only suffer too if you go over to him.”
Saying so, his ruthless gaze fiercely stabbed towards He Xi like a sharp sword, “Slut, what have you done to Xiao Wu?”
The side of He Xi’s body was badly mangled and bleeding from being struck by the thunderbolt, and due to the pain, her complexion was deathly pale.
Yet upon her mouth was an unscrupulous smile as she said, “I placed a poison named Tearing Heart Splitting Lung on the dagger I used. As soon as the poison enters the heart and arteries, the whole body will become unbearably painful and itchy, he only needs to shred his heart to stop the pain.”
As if confirming He Xi’s words, that assassin called Xiao Wu all of a sudden released a long mournful hiss, hysterically howling, “I can’t stand it anymore!!”
Following that, his body suddenly exploded, flesh and blood splattering everywhere.
Chapter 125 – Unwilling
The leader's forehead twitched as he looked at the flesh and blood that landed on his foot, thinking that there were a few pieces of shredded heart mixed in the gore.
The other remaining assassin's eyes were full of alarm and resentment as he looked at He Xi.
They didn't expect that although throughout the year they would be the ones attacking, suddenly, they were the ones being attacked. An insignificant ordinary person without a cultivation base had actually dared to mess with them, forcing the four expert Meridians Stage martial artists into a tight corner. Not just Xiao Ba had lost his life, now Xiao Wu had died miserably too.
From this moment on, these two Drought Demon assassins' expressions were grave. They no longer dared to regard He Xi as an ordinary and weak woman.
But from the bottom of He Xi's heart a powerless and bitter laugh rose.
In fact, her poisons were very difficult to deal with, but a martial artist's defence power is more difficult to deal with. Just recently with Xiao Wu, if she hadn't done the unexpected and risked her life by not avoiding the thunderbolt, then there would have been no way she could have caught him off guard and managed to insert the poisonous dagger into his dantian. If she had missed, the poison would've been unable to penetrate into his body, and his spiritual power would have naturally expelled it.
Therefore, that was her last chance to fight back, there wouldn't be a second chance.
Sure enough the next moment the leader's figure abruptly disappeared, and when he reappeared, a long sword that emitted fire spiritual power was in his hand as he fiercely thrust it towards He Xi's body.
He Xi felt a burning pain from her chest and abdomen as the long sword pierced her body, causing scarlet blood to pour to the ground.
Her body slowly became limp and she started to collapse, her eyes blurry. She could almost sense the vitality draining from her body bit by bit, while the grim reaper's sickle edged closer.
Was she going to die? Just when she has started her new life, she is destined to quietly die in this wilderness?
Unwilling! That could never happen! She still hasn't become stronger, her dantian still hasn't awakened, still haven't…repaid Nangong Yu for helping her, how can she die like this?!
The lead assassin had a thought, then the long sword that was stabbed into He Xi's body suddenly flew out, returning to his hand.
The bloodstains on the long sword had evaporated due to the fire, however, He Xi's body was now completely limp, and she toppled to her knees onto the pool of blood at her feet.
Until this moment, the two assassins hadn't been able to relax, and the assassin on the left released a sigh, "She was really just an ordinary person, so she didn't have any ability to resist Big Brother's sword. Unfortunately, Xiao Wu and Xiao Ba fell to her tricks."
The lead assassin that was called Big Brother walked forward, and towering above the dying
He Xi, he looked at her with an arrogant expression, his eyes full of hatred. Then, with a stern voice he said, "I said before, that since you dared to kill my Younger Brother, that I would certainly tear your body to shreds, leaving you to die without a burial place. So slut, go die!"
Holding the long sword covered in flames up high, he suddenly brought it down, aiming towards He Xi.
The assassin on the left excitedly retreated two steps, shouting loudly, "Chop off her four limbs first, cut this swine apart! I would like to see what tricks she can play then!"
Seeing the long sword heading towards her, and knowing that she had no hope of survival this time, He Xi desperately closed her eyes and gently pinched the Throat Sealing Blood Poison in her hand.
Rather than meeting her demise by assassins, she would rather end her own life.
However, just when He Xi was about to swallow the poison, an overwhelming amount of spiritual pressure abruptly fell from the sky.
He Xi's body that was almost touched by the long sword was now like a kite with it's string snapped. After swaying side to side, she then fell to the ground with a crash.
The assassins' who just a moment ago were shouting in excitement, now felt the blood in their veins freeze. Due to the extreme fear of a strong martial artist their whole bodies' shivered, and with a 'pop', they landed on the ground in kneeling positions.