Zhou Guanming sat frozen in his seat. He was only at the beginning levels of the Mind Focusing Realm. The Zhou Clan did not used to be a cultivation family and so his fighting skills were trashy. He was only good at managing businesses and people.
"You dare?"
"Protect the governor!"
Panicked shouts filled the hall.
Two attendants closest to Zhou Guanming leaped up their feet and drew their swords.
Bang!
Nalan Wan'er's attack was blocked but the force of the impact shattered their swords, sending them flying away with fountains of blood spouting from their mouths. These two were at the peak of the Mind Focusing Realm and yet they were pushed aside like bags of straw.
"What happened?"
"It's that sword again!"
By now, her sword's blade was glowing red. The slender hand that held its hilt was drenched in blood. She became a vengeful spirit that was about to reap villainous lives.
"Little girl, this is as far as you go!" A powerful voice arrived.
Principal Hong Tian of the Black River Canyon School charged over with several great leaps, almost stepping on air. His face was grim and the grisly scar that extended vertically from the top of his head and down his entire face made him look especially malicious.
Nalan Wan'er turned her fury toward him.
His horsetail whisk came down forcefully.
Her blood-red sword rose up to meet his.
Ka!
Both sides were forced back equally. One was a venerable sect master with many decades at the peak of the Spirit Initiate Realm. The other was a young woman with an abnormal sword.
Nalan Wan'er clutched her chest and spat out fresh blood. Her hand which still held the sword was completely stained with blood. She looked like she was about to faint but she stubbornly remained standing out of sheer will.
Hong Tian's eyes narrowed as he studied her. He was reminded of another woman that had crashed a party many months ago, a fearsome warrior who had almost taken his life and left him with a scar that could never heal. But this little lass was not her, far from it.
"Governor Zhou, what do you want me to do with her?" He asked.
Zhou Guanming had recovered and stood up, "Principal Hong, capture her but spare her life."
Hong Tian smirked in understanding. He put aside his whisk and pulled out a sword. He attacked without another word, utilizing his full strength and the famed Black River Sword Style...
The battle ended quickly. Hong Tian was far too strong. And Nalan Wan'er was far too weak, even with a great weapon.
She was locked away in the governor's castle and given to Zhou Guanming to deal with. The gathered cultivators had no issue with this and treated it as a gift to their host. Zhou Guanming spent the rest of the party thinking of the beauty and hardly paid attention to anything else.
---
Wu Qianyu opened the door and entered the lavishly decorated room. On the bed laid Nalan Wan'er. She had been washed and cleaned by the servants. Her hands and feet were bound and she wore only a thin nightgown.
The semi-see-through fabric hung from her slender frame like a second skin. Her allure was so great, any man would have fallen in love in an instant. If it had been Zhou Guanming, perhaps he could have experienced heaven as a mortal. It was a pity that his plans were foiled at the last moment.
"Who!" Nalan Wan'er looked up angrily but her voice immediately cracked, "Se… Senior Wu…"
Wu Qianyu extended two fingers. Invisible sword energy sliced apart the ropes. She then sighed and took a seat on the large bed next to the shocked young woman.
"Are you alright?" Wu Qianyu asked.
Nalan Wan'er nodded, "How… why did you come?"
Wu Qianyu replied kindly, "When you entered the city, you were noticed by the gate guards despite your disguise. Uncle San, San Huming of the Crime and Punishment Department, felt that you were about to cause trouble and sent word to me. Thankfully, I was not too late."
"Oh…"
The two fell silent and stared at each other. Nalan Wan'er couldn't believe that she had been saved by Wu Qianyu once again. Her heart filled with relief but also sadness at her own powerlessness.
Wu Qianyu patted Nalan Wan'er's shoulder and spoke again, "Uncle San said he wasn't completely clear on what happened to the Nalan Family. Can you tell me?"
Nalan Wan'er sucked in a breath. Her eyes became red and watery but no tears fell. She fought her emotions for a while before slowly explaining…
The truth was cruel but simple. After Wu Qianyu crashed Nalan Wan'er's forced engagement with Ye Wuzhi of the Shattered Peak Sect, things returned to normal. The senior members of the sect were executed and the sect was also forcefully disbanded. Nobody dared to bother the Nalan Family for a while but it didn't remain that way.
The other cultivation sects that had been allied with the Shattered Peak Sect were not satisfied. They started to bully the Nalan Family, making things difficult for their businesses and beating their people up in the streets.
Things became even worse when the new governor, Zhou Guanming, arrived. Although he acted like a gentleman in public, he was sly as a fox. He united all the various factions under his banner and started pressuring the Nalan Family for Nalan Wan'er. It was the same situation as the Shattered Peak Sect all over again. But this time, it was an opponent who was far more powerful and immovable.
The Zhou Clan was backed by Zhou Ziyun, the second disciple of Ten Thousand Flower Valley. Nobody dared to against him. For Nalan Wan'er, there wasn't a Wu Qianyu to save her this time.
Thus, the Nalan Family chose to leave. They sold all of their businesses and properties. They dismissed all of their servants. Nalan Wan'er and her father left Cloudy Mountain Province in search of a new start.
But that new start never came. They were always followed, wherever they fled to. Disciples of the Black River Canyon School, mercenaries of the Bloodbird Group, and others constantly harassed them. After many months of such stress, her father fell gravely ill. Even then, those evil people refused to let her go. They prevented her from buying life-saving medicine and forced her father to death.
A single tear finally fell down Nalan Wan'er's cheek. She briefly glanced at Wu Qianyu before quickly wiping it away.
"So, you spent the entire wealth your father left behind to buy this sword to seek revenge?" Wu Qianyu asked softly.
"Yes…"
Nalan Wan'er fell silent. She had finally said everything she wanted. Her only regret was that she was too weak to get revenge on the people who destroyed her family and her future.
Wu Qianyu contemplated the situation. She could feel the deep pain that radiated from this young woman like a furnace. She could understand what Nalan Wan'er was going through as she had gone through the loss of her family as well. She was reminded of the helpless rage and painful self-loathing that overwhelmed her before she met her master. It made her want to help.
"I should have properly taken care of those people. It was my fault." Wu Qianyu said.
"No, no." Nalan Wan'er shook her head, "Senior Wu, it was never your fault. You already did so much for my family by destroying the Shattered Peak Sect. The other sects committed no clear crime back then so it would have been unreasonable for them to be punished as well."
Wu Qianyu nodded, "But now I can punish them. With your words, I can finally clean this city of all the evil."
"Senior Wu…" Nalan Wan'er tugged at Wu Qianyu sleeve, "Senior Wu, this might be too impudent of me. An unreasonable request even... Instead of killing them for my sake, can you teach me? I… I don't think I will ever find peace in this life if I can't personally take revenge on these people."
Her expression turned firm and her eyes once again filled with the fiery emotions that had carried her up to this point.
Wu Qianyu didn't expect this but she considered it seriously. Sister Lin and Sister Zhou both had a large number of attendants and people under them but she had no one. She had never felt alone thanks to her master but having another person wouldn't hurt, especially someone who reminded her so much of herself.
She wondered if Nalan Wan'er would be compatible with Dao of pain that she was still developing. She wondered if it was even possible to pass something like it to another. At the very least, it might be helpful to experiment and test the limits.
She was also impressed by Nalan Wan'er's determination and spirit. The last time, they only interacted briefly and she got the impression of a helpless and heartbroken princess. Now, Nalan Wan'er seemed like a true cultivator with a unique mindset, a mindset that was similar to her own.
Wu Qianyu stood up and beckoned, "Alright. You can follow me from now on. I may not be a very good teacher but I can pass down some cultivation methods and martial arts. Your future will still depend largely on yourself. Whether you can get the strength to get revenge will also depend on yourself."
Nalan Wan'er scrambled to her feet, a smile gracing her elegant, beautiful face for the first time in months.
"Master!" She said brightly. She then fell to her knees and kowtowed three times, "Disciple Nalan Wan'er greets master!"
---
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