Jinshui had not yet answered her question, the sound of whistling wind could be heard approaching. Before Jinshui and Baique could leave, a number of half-aged women had already arrived, surrounding them with drawn swords in their hands. At the forefront was a tall, bulky woman, dressed in leaf-green clothes with a pitch-black coat, both hands clutching a pair of similar swords. Her face was fierce, the look in her eyes like she was about to split a soul. She recognized Jinshui, and she also recognized Baique.
"Another descendant of Yumen," the woman said. "It turns out my guess wasn't wrong, you will come to me on your own. Baique, you've been with us since you were a child, I didn't expect you to be one of them."
Baique took a step forward.
"Hua Dage, you go first and help that girl. I'll deal with them," she told Jinshui before turning to the newly arrived woman. "Yuan Zhangmen, I know you've never once considered me useful because of my father's reputation. Since my mother died, only Huling Shifu had been kind to me in this world, but you killed him instead. Today I Baique will take revenge."
"Just relying on you?" the big tall woman was the current leader of Haitang Jian Pai and Bao Xinfei's master, Weian Shuang Jian Yuan Wancui. Coming with her were the elders of the Haitang Jian Pai. Haitang Jian Pai had thirty-six elders, this time there were ten of them present.
"Let no one escape," Yuan Wancui commanded the ten elders who had come with her as she charged toward Baique and Jinshui both, apparently not considering that intervening on her own against the two young Yumen descendants demeaned her as the leader of a major sect.
Jinshui, knowing there was no way to avoid a fight, was forced to face his opponent while still carrying Xu Qiao.
Yuan Wancui, in addition to relying on her dangerous twin swords, also mastered the famous san liu bao lian shu (thirty-six lotus moves), each move seems gentle like a dance, not at all appearing to carry the power that can kill anyone.
She targeted Baique first, knowing that if Baique was taken down, Jinshui would surrender on his own. Yumen was known as a demonic sect in the past, but each member of this sect was also known to be loyal one to another, one would not abandon a brother to seek his own safety. It was characters like this that made the eight guardians not last long in their escape and one by one lost their lives.
"Foul madam, she's just a little girl, the honorable leader of Haitang Jian Pai would only dare to take it on a girl?" Jinshui realized this tactic and tried to block it several times. "I am the descendant of the main guardian Moying, you should fight me."
"All remnants of the Yumen demon stream must be exterminated, no exceptions," Yuan Wancui said, "Hua Jinshui, you're fine to wait your turn."
While speaking, Yuan Wancui was still able to deflect her footsteps, half hovering to Jinshui's side, her one sword aimed at Baique, this time forcing Baique to parry with the flute clutched in both hands. Baique felt his cold sweat flowing, realizing the flute would certainly break and she would be split into two pieces if the opponent used all her strength.
Yuan Wancui apparently felt that Baique was still valuable alive, she raised her hand slightly, only the sword hilt pressing against the bayinxiao flute in the young girl's hand. She also only used a little force, just enough to suppress Baique and make her hands tremble.
Jinshui saw this, he was only a second late as his steps felt heavier with Xu Qiao in his back. Yuan Wancui wasted no time and used the other hand to slam into Baique, sending her flying to the ground and spewing blood, the flute in her hand slipping out.
"Zhu Guniang."
Yuan Wancui really didn't waste a single chance, indeed she was an old figure who had a lot of experience. She had just finished smashing Baique, she had already somersaulted back and was suddenly in front of Jinshui, both swords flashing out, one of which even managed to scrape Jinshui's face. Blood rushed to Jinshui's lips, causing Moying's inner energy to stir for a moment.
Jinshui tied Xu Qiao on his back with a sword wrap cloth, then without another thought, he drew the sword out from its sheath. The xuanlong jian sword's luster was dazzling, and the dried blood on its body reminds Jinshui of his master Moying's story of how the Yumen people were slaughtered, and their families were not spared. His blood instantly boiled, MoYing's inner energy in his body seemed to rebel out.
Yuan Wancui noticed this change too late, she found Jinshui's eyes turning a ghastly red, his energy surrounded him. When her twin swords clashed with the xuanlong jian, she felt an enormous power, a wave of energy stronger than her own circling around, hitting her mercilessly.
In just a few moves she was overwhelmed, and this was witnessed by the elders of Haitang Jian Pai who were around the place. Without saying much, they all stepped in to help with their swords ready in their hands.
Jinshui didn't care anymore, just letting Moying's internal energy flow through his body, making him stronger, faster, and more ruthless. He also no longer cared that he was facing a group of elderly women. Every strike of his sword turned dangerous and merciless. The image of his grandfather's death, and the image of Moying's death, all of them awakened the hatred within him. Unpreventably, three elders of Haitang Jian Pai were simultaneously hit by his sword slashes and died instantly.
Yuan Wancui was still quite conscious, knowing that Jinshui's changes were very dangerous. She was still trying his best to immobilize his opponent, or if possible kill him. But Jinshui's long-range punch hit her, making her spit out blood, only one inch away from taking her soul.
Before Yuan Wancui could get up, three other Haitang Jian Pai elders were already lying on the ground. The remaining four looked extremely overwhelmed, two of whom were already seriously injured. When Jinshui once again took a breath, one person deliberately advanced ahead of her three sisters, letting the xuanlong sword dig into her body before she tried to grab Jinshui's hand and would not let go.
It was just that this one elder's ability was not enough to restrain a Yumen's primary descendant. She failed to grab the end of Jinshui's sleeve. Even though she had managed to hold on for a while, at the same time Xu Qiao in Jinshui's arms let out a stifled moan. The poison had already reacted all over her body, she was sweating coldly and her entire blood felt frozen.
"Jinshui Gege...."
This call was heard by Jinshui, as if to wake him up. In his heart, however, there was still good nature, enough to ease his emotions. He pulled the sword out of the elder's body and put it back into its sheath, the look in his eyes slowly recovered, but the effect of the massacre just now was still messing with his mind. Not wanting to slaughter more people, he turned around and darted away, still carrying the dying Xu Qiao.
In that place lay the bodies of nine Haitang Jian Pai elders, seven horribly dead and two seriously injured. The one person who could still move immediately approached Yuan Wancui and picked her up.
The descendant of Huling still had time to open his eyes for a moment, vaguely seeing a pair of slender legs coming closer, after which everything was completely dark.
--
Jinshui opened his eyes slowly. He felt as weak as if he had lost all his bones, not remembering how he had gotten back into the cave in the forest behind Haitang Jian Pai's headquarters and lying on a pile of dry grass, beside which there was still a campfire with its flame already dimmed. On his forehead was still a folded wet cloth that had helped him bring down his body temperature.
"You can't get up yet," Xu Qiao's voice restrained him before he rose to his feet. "Lie down carefully."
Jinshui complied, letting Xu Qiao take the folds of cloth on his forehead, then checked his body temperature. He felt his head was very heavy, only seven parts of his consciousness had returned.
"The heat has gone down, no more fever," Xu Qiao told him. "You'll be fine." She said as she helped Jinshui sit down to lean against the cave wall.
"How did I end up here?" Jinshui pointed at the folds of cloth in Xu Qiao's hand. "What is this for?"
"This is to compress your forehead," said Xu Qiao. "You had a fever last night, This is the only I can do."
"Last night...." Jinshui vaguely remembered. Last night the poison in Xu Qiao's body reacted when they retrieved the xuanlong jian from the disused armory, Baique appeared and was injured by Yuan Wancui, then they also had to fight the elders of Haitang Jian Pai. "Last night wasn't it you who was sick?" he asked. "I remember, I took you to leave them, after that...."
"You really don't remember?" Xu Qiao asked. "You brought me back here, at that time I was beginning to realize, that poison was so horrible. All the veins in my body felt like they were going to pop out, the pain was incredible. You then channeled energy until morning, the poison inside my body could only be eliminated, but after that, you fell unconscious, and you had that fever." She looked at Jinshui worriedly. "Did you... did you take the poison into your body?"
"Me?" Jinshui recalled, that he was forced to take out xuanlong jian from its sheath when he saw Baique was injured by Yuan Wancui. His emotion and Moying's inner energy overcame him, it was like he was being possessed by a demonic strength so he committed a massacre. But then in order to save Xu Qiao he left the fight, returned to this cave, and used the same inner energy to overcome the reaction of zixie poison. "Where is she?"
"Who?" asked Xu Qiao.
"Zhu Guniang."
"Zhu Guniang? Who is Zhu Guniang?"
"The girl we met at the end of the forest," Jinshui said. "She was harmed by Yuan Wancui, don't know how she is."
"What girl? I don't remember. We left that sword place, you brought me on your back. I vaguely remember... there was a fight, but you took me back here."
When Jinshui fought Haitang Jian Pai elders, Xu Qiao was still in a state of unconsciousness, not knowing clearly what had happened. Jinshui took a breath. It would be better if this young girl didn't know what happened. Last night there was a massacre, Jinshui did not want to explain more about this.
"Give me your hand," Jinshui told her. "I'll check whether zixie du is still there or not."
Xu Qiao complied, immediately extending one hand. Jinshui checked her pulse for a while. He sensed a strange energy in the little lady's body. Looking at Xu Qiao, he quickly realized something.
"I didn't use internal energy to eliminate the poison in your body," he said later, "last night I was half conscious, instead using wuqing xue energy to transfer the zhaobai du poison in my body and make it unite with the zixie poison in your body. Poison against poison, it succeeded in relieving the influence of zixie du in your body."
"Does that mean I'm not poisoned anymore?" Xu Qiao looked at him expectantly. "I don't need to be afraid of death, nor do I need to be afraid of pain like yesterday, is that right?"
Jinshui let go of her hand and took a deep breath. "I don't know," he said simply.
"You don't know? What do you mean you don't know?" asked Xu Qiao.
"I'm not a poison expert, I know very little about the work of Wansui Gu's people," Jinshui said. "The effects of zixie du can indeed be removed for now, but I don't know if you are completely free of it."
Xu Qiao's hope vanished completely. "Then... am I still going to die?" she asked as she bowed her head.
Jinshui did not answer immediately.
"Jinshui Gege, I know you can help me. I...."
She didn't finish her sentence yet, Jinshui had already grabbed her mouth and pulled her into a dark part of the cave, signaling her not to make a sound. Xu Qiao soon understood the reason. Someone else was already present in the same cave room, the faint light that broke in revealed the figure of a large tall woman in a blood-red robe. Xu Qiao did not immediately recognize her, but Jinshui still clearly remembered the figure of the leader of Haitang Jian Pai, Weian Shuang Jian Yuan Wancui.
"Hua Jinshui, come out quickly!" Yuan Wancui shouted loudly, her goal here was to find Jinshui in order to exterminate the rest of Yumen Sect. She no longer cared or feared the sharpness of xuanlong jian in Jinshui's hands after this morning's discovery of the bodies of her martial aunts. Xuanlong jian's slashes horribly killed seven elders, two of who were seriously injured couldn't survive either. Yuan Wancui had let Jinshui live for eight months, it was time to end him.
"Hua Jinshui!"
Jinshui signaled Xu Qiao to stay hidden. He himself then came out, grabbed his sword in a swift motion, and charged toward Yuan Wancui before the zhangmen realized the danger. Her reaction was almost too late, Jinshui's movements were like lightning, he also better understood the situation in the cave, which enabled him to move easily. Jinshui's finger suddenly landed on Yuan Wancui's several acupuncture points, making her body instantly unable to move at all.
"Hua Jinshui!"
"Yuan Zhangmen, you have accepted me as a guest in your place for eight months, today I Hua Jinshui have to say goodbye. Thank you for taking good care of me. Goodbye."
Jinshui immediately pulled Xu Qiao up, then left the cave with Yuan Wancui alone inside.
"You can't leave," Xu Qiao reminded him. "That poison...."
But the zhaobai poison in Jinshui's body had already been transferred to Xu Qiao's body using wuqing xue energy, united with zixie du. The young girl no longer felt any pain. Jinshui, on the other hand, could also feel the warm sunlight touching his skin.
The two left the underground cave, returning to the scene of last night's massacre. Jinshui remembers that he left Baique there, of course, he must find out if the descendant of Huling was still alive.
"Close your eyes," he instructed Xu Qiao as they approached the massacre scene, not wanting the young girl to witness the horrific scene that would affect her.
"Why?" asked Xu Qiao.
Jinshui made no reply, simply pulling Xu Qiao into his embrace, hiding her face in his chest and covering it with his arms. Xu Qiao gasped in shock, for a few moments only able to feel her heart beating faster than usual, and Jinshui's warm embrace seemed to soothe her.
There was no one at the slaughter arena last night, only blood and pieces of weapons left behind. Jinshui found a number of human footprints heading towards Haitang Jian Pai's headquarters, presumably Yuan Wancui's disciples who had brought back the bodies of the elders. Two other footprints were found leaving the place in a different direction, through the forest towards the bottom of the mountain.
Still carrying Xu Qiao in his arms, Jinshui darted toward the mountainside, hovering lightly among the trees, a moment later able to see a dozen Haitang Jian Pai disciples carrying ten palanquins, nine of which contained bodies, only one of which contained the remaining elders who survived last night's battle, injured and unconscious. There was no sign of Baique, presumably, someone else took the Huling descendant away last night while things were still chaotic.
Jinshui continued ahead toward the east, toward the Haitang Jian Pai headquarters building. The sun was already quite high but Jinshui no longer felt it affecting him, and Xu Qiao looked just fine. Jinshui knew that the zhaobai du in his body had completely disappeared, there was no need to hide in the dark anymore. He took Xu Qiao to the medicine storage.
"Jinshui Gege, what else do you want to find?" Xu Qiao protested.
"Yuan Wancui that old fox is in the underground cave now, her acupuncture points will break free in an hour at the earliest," Jinshui said. We still have plenty of time, before leaving, of course, we have to find the antidote to the zixie poison. If Yuan Wancui has it kept here, how can she not share it with you."
"Are you sure she has the antidote?"
"I just know he has this medicine storage room. Let's find it."
The atmosphere at the Haitang Jian Pai headquarters was uncharacteristic, even this medicine storage room had no one guarding it as the disciples were gathered in the great hall. Nine elders were killed, and one was seriously injured, so the other elders immediately gathered the disciples to investigate the culprit. Yuan Wancui's appearance in the underground cave earlier was clearly to capture Jinshui, dead or half-dead to hand over to the elders.
Jinshui deliberately messed up the medicine storage room. Today he was able to escape Yuan Wancui's hands, he knew that in the future the old lady would no longer be able to deny the existence of the Yumen descendants and would tell everything she knew to the elders, and possibly announced it to the world. It was clear that in the future Haitang Jian Pai would openly try to hunt down the Yumen descendants to avenge the deaths of the elders, so Jinshui added oil to the fire by destroying Weian Shuang Jian's favorite medicine storage room.
"Jinshui Gege," Xu Qiao protested. Several bottles of medicine were smashed, different types of medicinal grass were mixed together, and even the storage shelves were vandalized by Jinshui. "How can it be like this?"
"Yuan Wancui has kept me in that cave for eight months, I just want to teach her a little lesson not to bully the young," Jinshui replied in the style of a monk. "She's also never used these medicines to help people, so they're also useless."
"But...."
"The antidote is not here," Jinshui said later. "Let's go."