"Enemies really do meet on a narrow road," Wu Ling said softly as he looked at the men blocking the way.
This marked the third time that Wu Ling had encountered this particular group of men, though from the looks of things, the strongest men of the group, San and Er, had left their junior brothers behind. Now, the group of former disciples from the Red Tiger's den seemed to be following under the leadership of the broad-nosed man called 'Wan.'
"Well if it isn't the thieving Little Lingling," Wan said, a surly expression forming on his face. "Lord Yao won't be happy about the company his precious daughter is keeping. Young Miss Yao," he continued, turning his attention to Yao Meifeng. "No more tricks. It's time to come home before things get rough. We don't want to hurt you but your father didn't say anything about hurting your friends."
As he spoke, a dull red energy gathered around his body, forming vivid tiger stripes across his skin. The other three men followed Wan's lead, summoning their martial energy and preparing to attack. Around their hands, energy condensed into wicked-looking claws while the muscles of their bodies seemed to surge with even greater might.
Two of the men were still early-stage Brawlers, newly awakened and barely able to manifest more than the claws around their hands but Wan and one of the other men were both middle-stage brawlers and the aura they radiated was considerably more frightening.
"Little Wanwan," Wu Ling purred, acting like he wasn't bothered by the men and stepping forward to stand between them and Meifeng. "You should leave. I was courteous to you last time," he added, his soft voice becoming cold. "Don't think I'll be kind to you and your friends again."
"Junior Sister," Yao Meifeng said. "You know these men?"
"I've run into them before," Wu Ling explained. "They bullied Su Xiang and me into 'entertaining' them. When they passed out from drinking, I took my payment directly from their purses."
"Lies!" Wan snarled. "You worked some witchcraft on us to make us sleep and then you robbed us. Brothers Tan and Gui, secure the young miss. Shoushan, help me take down Little Lingling and her friends."
"Senior Sister should leave these men to us," Yingxu said, stepping up next to Wu Ling along with Jieyan. As she moved, Yingxu's fingers danced and a number of wicked-looking needles appeared between her dextrous fingers. Each needle gleamed wetly with a dark purple shine from the toxin coating its surface.
"This kind of rabble isn't enough to concern yourself with," Jieyan said, withdrawing a heavy leather sap from her robes. "We've done so little to earn our keep, let us do this much."
Yao Meifeng's eyes widened at the fierce and dangerous aura she saw forming around the two Aesthetes she'd come to know as Wu Ningli's attendants. On the occasions that she'd visited Wu Ling while he recovered from his injuries, both young women had struck her as mild and even-tempered, even if they lacked the sort of refinement that the Pure Virtue Musician's Hall hammered into young ladies.
Now, however, looking at their eager expressions and menacing auras, Meifeng felt like the gentle artists had transformed into a pair of street toughs preparing to deliver a beating!
"Together then," Wu Ling said, pulling a pair of talismans from the cosmos bag at his waist. "Yue," Wu Ling called, summoning his icy guardian. "Protect Sisters Su and Meifeng," he instructed, passing the rabbit to Yao Meifeng's waiting embrace.
Seeing that Wu Ling and his companions intended to fight, Wan gave up on coercing Yao Meifeng with threats and lunged directly at Wu Ling, his claws outstretched and aiming for her throat.
At that moment, several things seemed to happen all at once.
Yingxu's hands flickered, launching three of her long needles directly at the rushing figure of Wan. The first two needles failed to penetrate his red, tiger-striped aura and toughened flesh but the third needle penetrated deeply into one of his thick, meaty thighs.
Jieyan tumbled forward, rolling under the swiping claws of the man called Shoushan and coming up behind him to lash out at the back of his skull with her heavy leather sap. Unfortunately, despite her strike landing precisely where she'd aimed it, the burly man's aura only wavered slightly as he staggered under her heavy blow.
Meanwhile, Wu Ling flung a talisman at each of the weaker members of the group. Just like his duel with Xiong Dahuo, these talismans carried the word 'Fear' and transformed into dark specters that plunged into the young men's hearts, stopping them in their tracks as their hearts began to race and their minds quaked in terror at the demonic women they'd unknowingly provoked.
"Argh," Wan cried out, his leg crumpling under him almost immediately after being pierced by Yingxu's needle.
Yingxu didn't waste the opportunity, following up with three more needles that sank deeply into the burly man's flesh, robbing the strength of his muscles.
Shoushan turned on Jieyan, his eyes glowing hot with rage only for the nimble woman to dance back out of the reach of his claws. A moment later, her heavy leather sap struck his temple, sending him sprawling to the ground in a senseless heap.
Seeing their two senior brothers handled so easily and stricken by Wu Ling's 'Fear' talisman, the two early-stage Brawlers turned to flee, desperate to escape.
"Yue, stop them!" Wu Ling called.
In a flash of silvery light, the rabbit shot out from Yao Meifeng's embrace like a streak of light and appeared in front of the fleeing men, conjuring a wall of ice a meter wide and tall in front of the two men.
If the men were in their right minds, they'd have lashed out at the wall with their powerful claws, shattering the flimsy barrier and continuing to flee. At the moment, however, their minds were drowning in terror and crashed into the ice like a runaway wagon, tumbling to the ground in a heap. Moments later, Yue formed large blocks of ice over their feet and hands making it all but impossible for the scrambling men to regain their feet.
While Yingxu retrieved her needles, Jieyan made quick work of the remaining men, striking out viciously with her sap until all four men lay in an unconscious heap.
"Thank you, Senior Sister Wu," Jieyan said, cupping her hands toward Wu Ling. "Without your help, these minnows would have slipped the net."
At the side, Su Yao stared in shock as the trio of Aesthetes took down four powerful Brawlers without breaking a sweat. Since when were Artists so powerful? She'd seen Wu Ling's power at the banquet, but these junior sisters of his fought just as well as he did, if not better!
Yao Meifeng shook off her shock, forcing distracting thoughts to the back of her mind as she moved to retrieve her zither.
"How long will they be unconscious?" Yao Meifeng asked. "I know a song that will make their memories of the last hour confused and indistinct but I'm not strong enough to use it on people of greater cultivation unless their minds are dulled by wine or they're asleep. It wouldn't be good for them to remember where your home is," she said, looking at Wu Ling with a guilty expression. She'd come for help but she'd led trouble directly to his door instead!
"Unnecessary," a soft voice floated by Yao Meifeng's ears. As the voice spoke, a faint, barely visible phantom of a beautiful woman dressed in flowing silks and carrying a slender sword appeared in her vision.
"Elder Phantom," Jieyan and Yingxu said, cupping their hands and bowing deeply toward the drifting apparition.
The phantom wasted no words, moving directly to each of the unconscious men, stabbing out fiercely with her sword and piercing directly between their brows. Each time the phantom struck out, she paused for half a breath before the unconscious man began to sob, thrashing about like a fish on the chopping block. The thrashing lasted only a moment, however, before the stabbed individual stilled, their muscles slack, jaws hanging open and drool spilling from their mouths.
"They are not dead," the phantom said after she finished with the last of the men. "But they will be reduced to simpletons for the rest of their days. Yingxu, Jieyan, dispose of them, you should know how. Ling'er, you should hurry to the sect," she said, her voice growing faint as the apparition melted into the air like steam from a cup of tea.
"Junior Sister was that," Yao Meifeng began, only for Wu Ling to cut her off.
"I'll explain when we reach the sect," Wu Ling said, following his mother's suggestion and pulling both Yao Meifeng and Su Yao along with him as he hurried back to the busier public streets. After the attack of the four men, he didn't think any more were lurking nearby or his mother would have made a move against them. Still, it didn't hurt to be cautious and he would feel much more comfortable once Yao Meifeng was safely within the walls of the Bamboo Silk House.