Chapter 89: Light as a Feather

It was a scene that would never be forgotten.

It was also the first time the student Wu Gang had ever stepped onto a battlefield to face an enemy.

The sight was bloody, yet strangely quiet. Quiet, because Wu Gang did not cry out or shout; his silence made everyone present hold their breath.

Only the sound of fresh blood dripping onto the pool beneath him could be heard.

Every member of the Great Rain Palace here had been kept in check, and yet a sword still came slashing through. That could only mean one thing: reinforcements had arrived.

So Wu Gang had no mind for anything else. He simply picked up his blade, stepped in front of the Seventh Princess, and prepared to keep fighting.

His left arm, to be exact, could hardly even be called an arm anymore. It was gone, leaving only a bloodstained empty sleeve.

Blood was still dripping from it. To stop the bleeding, he drove his blade into the ground, and a ball of spirit flame rose in his palm, hot as the sun.

Then he slapped it down onto the wound, hissing as thin white smoke curled up.

Wu Gang gave a muffled groan and swayed unsteadily on his feet.

But he still seemed able to continue fighting.

The sight made the Seventh Princess’s eyes turn red at once.

So this is what war looks like.

Whoosh.

Wu Gang brandished his blade and shouted, “You sneaking cowards! Why don’t you show yourselves?!”

Not far away, Chen Mingguang brushed aside Mao Tai’s sword and flashed to Wu Gang’s side.

Their objective had to change. Wu Gang was badly wounded, and Mao Tai could not be taken down in a short time. Under these circumstances, winning while protecting the Seventh Princess had become nearly impossible.

So the first priority was to buy time and space for the Seventh Princess to leave.

“How are you holding up?” Chen Mingguang asked first.

“Either dead or alive. What’s there to ask?” Wu Gang was in a state of all-or-nothing now, but one thing was very clear to him. “We don’t know how many reinforcements are coming. Captain, you need to find a chance and get ready to pull back to Victory Pass.”

The Seventh Princess heard him, and she could not agree to this. Before, she had refused to enter the fight because she believed they had the numerical advantage and could win, with no one likely to lose their life.

But now, asking her to flee alone was clearly impossible.

On the other side,

Mao Tai turned and knelt on one knee. “General Gu Yue, I did not expect to alarm you.”

It was a very young general.

Though called a general, the face was delicate, almost feminine, like that of a girl.

“The spiritual energy left behind by Shu Yu has grown weaker and weaker, and I could not rest easy. What happened to her?”

That was not so easy to explain.

“Where is Shu Yu?”

...

The rest of the Great Rain Palace people also retreated to the young general’s side. Only the dazed youth with the iron hammer lay sprawled on the ground, his life and death unknown.

The three from East Lake Courtyard also gathered behind the Seventh Princess.

Another one had arrived. That was not good news. Though she did not look like a supreme expert, the balance of power between the two sides might well be broken by her appearance.

“...There is no general in the State of Li bearing the surname Gu at such a young age,” the Seventh Princess analyzed.

Chen Mingguang was puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Gu Yue, Gu Yue—joined together, it is plainly Hu. The royal house of the State of Li bears the surname Hu. That child is clearly a member of the royal family of the State of Li.”

Everyone’s hearts sank.

Which meant this general was certainly not here alone.

There were others lurking nearby.

Chen Mingguang very much wanted to curse aloud, while inwardly he also prayed: Gu Yi, where in the world are you?!

If things went badly, they might all die here today.

...

“Where have you taken Shu Yu?”

Having listened to his subordinate, General Gu seemed to have grasped the situation. As he spoke, he drew nearer, bringing with him an oppressive presence.

At a glance, this fellow did not seem highly cultivated, at most a Guardian of the Spirit.

But what about in the shadows?

“I don’t know.” Perhaps because the other was also of royal blood, the Seventh Princess took on a bit of pride and no longer wished to hide behind anyone. “One of our companions was also taken away by that strange person. We will investigate this ourselves after we return.”

“Heh.” General Gu gave a contemptuous little laugh. “You make it sound as if you can return at all.”

A chill gripped everyone’s heart, and Wu Gang said nothing more as he lifted his blade.

“Kinjing, stop slacking off. When we get back, I’ll bring you delicious food. Don’t always fall over just because someone hits you once.”

“Heh-heh-heh.”

The injured young man with the iron hammer, who had already collapsed, actually laughed again and stood up. Seeing this, Chen Mingguang could not help but cry out in despair: I am finished!

So all that fierce fighting had merely consumed even more of their spiritual energy!

“You’re the one who hit me just now!”

Kinjing leaped up, raising the huge hammer as he charged straight for Wu Gang’s head.

“I’ll do it!”

At this moment Chen Mingguang would not move. He had to conserve his spiritual energy and do his utmost to eliminate the danger the Seventh Princess faced.

But the Seventh Princess moved first.

At that point, there was no more hesitation.

“Kinjing, go all out. I don’t like them.”

Young in years, the general had a vicious enough heart.

In an instant, the spiritual energy around the iron hammer erupted into wild violence, striking as if to crush the entire patch of ground where they all stood.

Momentum, pressure, tension... all surged to their peak.

At the last possible moment, a figure came racing out of the forest, riding the spiritual energy in the air.

Her eyes caught Kinjing’s movement, and in the next instant she had already flashed above him.

The hammer, wrapped in spiritual force, was falling, and she too extended a foot.

It is a strange way to describe it, but she truly did float in midair, hands on her hips, with her right foot thrust out.

Boom!

The fierce impact erupted in a blinding wave of spiritual power. Everyone saw it clearly. Kinjing’s hammer struck the sole of her foot.

It had landed.

Yet nothing came after.

“Compared with a silly boy with great strength, I really do prefer a bad boy who looks good.”

“General Ji Lan!”

Chen Mingguang looked as though he had just seen a savior.

“Oh? You’ve all worked hard.” Ji Lan swept her gaze over the group and immediately noticed something wrong. “Where is that bad boy who looks good?”

“Did you harm him?!”

Struggling to maintain her elegance, Ji Lan suddenly flared with anger. Her lightly raised foot caused Kinjing to lose all control of his hammer.

Bang!

She kicked him, and the kick sent even the hammer flying. His chest caved inward at the moment of impact, twisting grotesquely, and during the flight he smashed through many trees.

General Gu’s expression darkened. “To think General Ji Lan, the one guarding Victory Pass’s gate, has arrived as well. It seems there is someone of great importance here today.”

“We’ll talk next time!”

There were wounded here, and indeed there seemed to be someone important. Besides, she herself had only just returned to Victory Pass and had not fully recovered.

After weighing all this, Ji Lan in the air kicked again. Her right leg hummed with dense spiritual power, and in the blink of an eye she streaked through the sky.

Every person from the State of Li was sent flying at once.

“Go back to your own Grain Valley Pass.”

When the people of the State of Xu saw this, they could not help but gasp in amazement. She was this strong?

Chen Mingguang only knew that she too had come from the Deer Yang Courtyard, but among the legends of the older generation, why had he never heard of General Ji Lan?

“The enemy... is gone?” Xinchi still looked somewhat unable to believe it.

“That’s not important anymore.” Ji Lan glanced at Wu Gang, though her expression remained ordinary, as if she had already seen far too much.

“You’re missing two people. Ma Yuan and Shu Le.”

Coincidentally, she knew both their names.

“Missing, with life and death unknown?”

Seeing them nod, Ji Lan’s heart grew slightly heavy. They had all been told: come back alive.