"Then, I'll just cut your arms off, and take it."
"Is there a need to be so vicious?"
*Klang!* rotating his cultivation base, Bai Wen pushes Long Hua back with a swing of his sword—causing sparks to fly in the air between them.
(The fact that this weirdo is able to use his cultivation base out in the open is unfair to say the least.)
Recovering his balance by stomping his right foot back, Long Hua kicks off against the ground, and closes in on Bai Wen—while lunging his sword forward.
*Klang!* defending himself with Qiu Shui, Bai Wen is just about to counter, however—
"Uh…!"
As Bai Zhe's blade bends—to allow Long Hua to close the gap further, he takes advantage of his opponent's surprise to slash with Kun.
(Right, this is a soft sword.)
Before his opponent's blade can bite into his neck, Bai Wen bends his legs to evade the incoming attack—while allowing Long Hua to fly right pass him.
Stabbing Kun into the lower body of an MAU, Long Hua halts his flight—prior to landing with a flip.
Grasping Qiu Shui with both hands, Bai Wen recovers his stance in the same instance, prior to leaping into the air—to close the gap that separates him from his opponent.
Looming a few meters above Long Hua, Bai Wen cleaves the sword down towards his opponent's head.
"…"
Focusing his eyes on Qiu Shui's blade, Long Hua reverses his grip on Kun's handle, as he pulls it out of the MAU, and raises it pommel-side up.
Just as Qiu Shui is less than an arm's length away from splitting him in half, Long Hua presses Kun's pommel against its blade, and—
"Kuh…!"
*Klangggggg!* the collision of the two weapons—releases a sonorous ring, while the impact of Bai Wen's attack, causes Long Hua's left arm to turn numb!
(Oh?)
(Dammit!)
*Kakaka!!!* as the force of Bai Wen's attack is transferred onto the MAU that is beneath him, Long Hua feels his feet caving into the crippled war machine's armor!
"…"
Allowing Kun to slip from his numbed hand, Long Hua slashes at Bai Wen with his second sword.
(I really do wish to see how he'd fight with his cultivation base active. What sort of divine arts would he be able to deploy then?)
As Long Hua's sword closes in on his head, Bai Wen smiles with amusement, as he snatches Kun out of the air, and—
*Klang!* defends himself with it.
Simultaneously, Bai Wen also borrows the force of Long Hua's attack to distance himself from the latter, upon landing—
"You've really made this sword your own."
Tossing Kun back at Long Hua, Bai Wen glances down on his right hand.
The invisible shroud of spirit Qi that he uses to defend himself with—has been shredded by the weapon's backlash.
"Why do most of the people that I'm meeting tonight all choose to wear a mask?"
Recovering the feel in his left arm, Long Hua catches Kun out of the air, and adds—
"Are they all that shy about having their faces seen?"
"Friend, with you shrouding yourself in such a dense layer of mystery, you're not any better than me."
"…"
Glancing at the last few Moon Guards that continue to protect Nian Tao Tao, Long Hua thought—
(Ai, screw this. I've already ripped out a good chunk of meat. Leaving a bit of it behind for next time is fine.)
Feeling satisfied with this result, all the anger Long Hua had previously felt dissipates for the most part.
As for this practitioner that he had just exchanged some hits with—
(So long as this weirdo can use his cultivation base—without the city's alarm system blasting off, I'm at a clear disadvantage, even if I used my Relic. Fighting him with such a handicap… Not worth it. To make matters worse, his cultivation base is probably higher than mine…)
Rising to a stand, Long Hua sheaths Bai Zhe into his belt, while storing Kun away into his storage pouch.
Doing the same with Qiu Shui, Bai Wen asks—
"Does you withdrawing your weapon—mean you've got time to have a chat now?"
"Not like I have a choice."
Begrudgingly, Long Hua answers as such, and begins to walk down the staircase—where he retrieves Tian Cheng's body and Kun's scabbard.
"...…"
(Beware of women, especially those with good looks and talent. One misstep in how you interact with them could lead to your death. In other words, do not ever trust them, and know to maintain a proper amount of distance from them.)
Deciding to keep these words close to heart, Long Hua avoids making eye contact with Nian Yao Yao, as he continues to walk down the staircase with Bai Wen tailing after him.
"…"
"…"
Gradually, the two walk further and further away, and upon realizing that her plan for the night has been canceled, Nian Yao Yao says—
"He's leaving without a word?"
"It's only nine, but I feel like calling it a day after all this."
Taking out her phone, and looking at the time, Jing Yao sighs.
"But what about the search for the village?"
"Aren't you tired as well?"
"I-"
Just as Nian Yao Yao is about to answer, rummaging sounds come from the semi-truck that was cut in half.
Following five flashes, an uneven hole is cut open on the truck's trailer, and from this hole, a Moon Guard wearing a white mask emerges.
"She actually survived that?"
Towards Zhui Yun's remark, a chill runs down Qing Yue's spine—causing her posture to stiffen. Momentarily, she begins to look around in a frantic manner, as if searching for something.
"He-… Hua already left."
"Ah… I-I see."
Clearly traumatized by the aforementioned person that almost killed her, Qing Yue's shoulders turned lax at the news.
It was also then that Nian Tao Tao and Jing Yin had stepped off the third staircase's final step.
"Mo…- Madame Nian."
Correcting herself quickly, Qing Yue calls out to Nian Tao Tao, and approaches her.
"What happened to everyone else?"
Towards the question, Nian Tao Tao closes her eyes in silence, while Jing Yin answers—
"Aside from you and the others behind us, they've all died."
"Oh…"
Though saddened, Qing Yue wasn't very surprised to hear this outcome—considering their opponent's strength.
"Old hag, start explaining why you did that."
Cutting into their conversation, Nian Yao Yao glares at her mother with a hint of genuine anger.
"He's an Immortal. What other reason do I need to do what I did? Aren't you afraid of him stabbing you in the back when you least expect it?"
With a matter-of-fact tone, Nian Tao Tao answers as such.
"He's my employee before that."
With an air of righteousness, Nian Yao Yao seems intent on getting an explanation out of her mother for Long Hua's sake, to which, Nian Tao Tao replies—
"The person himself isn't even here, so who are you trying to fool and impress, my idiotic daughter? You got your looks from me; do you think me blind in not being able to tell that you have plans to exploit him? In fact, I'm starting to feel pity for him to be working under you."
Unable to maintain her poker face, Nian Yao Yao clicks her tongue.
"…Just a bit."
"In this family, just a bit means a lot in the eyes of commoners."