Chapter 72 Pursuit All the Way
Through the wild mountains, two figures darted swiftly.
They were Ji Lingxiu and Chen Chang'an.
At this moment, both appeared somewhat disheveled, clearly having just endured a battle. The bloodstains on their robes had already dried in the wind.
They had been fleeing for an entire day and night.
Chen Chang'an cast a sideways glance at Ji Lingxiu, silently admiring her. Truly worthy of being the protagonist's model.
When the eight Lingtian Army soldiers surrounded them earlier, he had intended to share more of the burden.
Yet unexpectedly, she had taken on half without hesitation, fighting four peak Tongxuan Realm body cultivators alone, just as he had.
Not only that, when he sheathed his sword and turned his head, he happened to see her wipe the remaining blood from her blade on the body of the last fallen soldier.
Her gaze was cold as frost.
"Do not underestimate the Lingtian Army." Ji Lingxiu seemed to notice his look and spoke in a deep voice. "Those just now were only the lowest-ranked soldiers in the army. Since they have acted, they will never let us go so easily."
"Then where are we going now?" Chen Chang'an asked with a grin.
Ji Lingxiu thought for a moment, and the image of the Qingyang City inspector Ling Zhanxue suddenly surfaced in her mind. Her eyes lit up. "Qingyang, we are going to Qingyang City!"
Qingyang City!? Was that not Ling girl's territory?
Hearing such a familiar name from Ji Lingxiu, Chen Chang'an was about to ask further.
But before he could speak, the ground began to shake heavily.
Six knights in black armor rode dragon steeds—half-dragon, half-horse—charging out from the forest.
The dragon steeds, massive as African elephants, crushed rocks beneath their iron hooves. The aura of the six riders was as deep and vast as an abyss, far stronger than the eight soldiers they had faced before.
All six were half-step Guiyuan Realm!
"Hmph, the Dragon Cavalry, they truly came." Ji Lingxiu sneered coldly.
"Old rules," she said, drawing her longsword. The cold light reflected off her frosty features. "Half each."
Even killing was split evenly? Truly a great heroine.
Chen Chang'an laughed loudly. "Good, just as I like it!"
A thunderous clash of metal erupted on the mountain path as eight figures collided like falling stars.
Ji Lingxiu's movement technique was unique. While evading attacks, her sword edge whistled through the air with a chilling cry. The gleam of her blade flickered, piercing directly toward the leading knight's throat.
The knight hastily raised his spear to block, only to see the sword tip bend strangely, slipping beneath the shaft like a venomous serpent, stabbing precisely through the armor's gap.
As blood spurted, she spun aside to avoid another thrust, her sword flowing with her body. A single slash across the second knight's neck brought forth a spray of blood.
Meanwhile, Chen Chang'an unleashed the Nine Heavens Thunder Sword Art with wide, sweeping force. His strikes thundered like storms, his blade wrapped in dazzling lightning. Each slash resounded with explosive roars.
Against three knights attacking together, he refused to yield, clashing head-on as his thunderous sword met their long spears.
A bolt of lightning burst forth, forcing the burliest knight and his steed several steps back. Cracks spread like spiderwebs along the spear shaft.
The second knight seized the chance to lunge from the flank. Just inches from Chen Chang'an's side, he suddenly reversed his sword, chopping down upon the spearhead.
Furious lightning surged along the metal shaft. The knight convulsed violently before tumbling from his dragon steed.
The third knight roared in rage, charging forward. Chen Chang'an ducked low to evade the thrust, then slashed upward. His sword tore open the dragon steed's belly.
As hot blood rained down, Ji Lingxiu's side also reached its climax.
She suddenly abandoned defense for offense, allowing a spear to tear her shoulder. At the same time, her sword shot forth like a white rainbow piercing the sun, piercing through the throats of two knights at once.
The final knight recoiled in horror, but she flung her scabbard into his face. In that instant of distraction, a cold flash followed—the sword tip buried into his heart.
When the last knight toppled from his steed, the mountain forest fell into an eerie silence.
Chen Chang'an braced himself against his sword, panting heavily, his right arm gashed to the bone. Blood dripped continuously from his fingertips.
Ji Lingxiu knelt on one knee, the penetrating wound on her left shoulder making her sword hand tremble slightly. Her lips were pale as paper.
Though the battle had seemed smooth and fluid, in truth it had been unimaginably perilous.
The battle style of body cultivators might not be as dazzling as that of spell cultivators, but every strike was heavy as a thousand catties. Once at close range, they were several times more difficult to deal with than spell cultivators.
"Do you need to rest?" Chen Chang'an spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, tearing a strip from his robe to crudely bind his wound.
Ji Lingxiu fixed her eyes on the faint outline of Qingyang City in the distance. Her bloodstained fingers clutched the sword hilt tightly. "Go… this is only the third wave. Stronger pursuers will come soon…"
On the mountain path, the setting sun bled red across the horizon.
Her blood-soaked sleeve fluttered lightly in the wind.
She suddenly turned her head and asked, "Do you regret it?"
"Hah?" Chen Chang'an froze.
"In such peril, you… you could have withdrawn at any time. Why follow me this far?" She paused. "If you regret accepting my commission… it is not too late to turn back now."
Chen Chang'an was stunned for a moment, then suddenly threw back his head in laughter.
His laughter startled birds from the forest and sent withered leaves cascading from the branches.
He would never say he could not truly die anyway. With such a rare chance to act impressive, he seized it, laughing loudly. "What joy is life, what sorrow is death!"
He casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes gleaming sharply. "Since I promised to walk this road with you, to guard your safety, then my word is unbreakable, even if driven by four horses!"
The sunset's glow spilled across his bloodstained profile. In that instant, Ji Lingxiu seemed to glimpse once again the youthful general from her past, that fleeting figure who had once startled her heart.
She had thought that man would be waiting for her in the Lingtian Army…
But now, that gallant image overlapped with this seemingly carefree man before her.
She suddenly felt the urge to smile.
In her past life and in this one, those she trusted most had all betrayed her without hesitation.
Yet this man, a chance encounter, stayed beside her at her most desperate moment, refusing to abandon her.
What joy is life, what sorrow is death!
Turning those words over in her mind, she smiled brightly.
It was the first genuine smile since her rebirth. So pure, so beautiful, that even Chen Chang'an, whose sense of aesthetics had long been battered, could not help but stare blankly.
Perhaps because of the life-and-death moment, she unconsciously twisted the corner of her robe, her voice faint as a mosquito's hum. "Then… is there another reason?"
?
Chen Chang'an blinked. Had he accidentally revealed his intention of taking her as a disciple?
But since she asked…
He laughed openly, his brows and eyes filled with carefree boldness.
"Of course there is."
Ji Lingxiu's face instantly flushed, even the tips of her ears tinted with the hues of dusk.
She hurriedly turned away, pretending nothing had happened.
…
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