Jiang Hu’s Road is Curved Chapter 49

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

Before The Battlefield

The eighth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Lu Kui pours out a bowl of sparkling and delicious-smelling sweet porridge, gracefully carrying it to the desk, “Supreme Chief, please dine.”

The man in purple behind the desk reaches out his hand and takes the white porcelain bowl, his face as warm as the spring breeze: “You have worked hard.”

Lu Kui presses her lips together, her cheeks rendered a blus.h.i.+ng red.

For this bowl of porridge, she has indeed worked hard, collecting walnuts, pine nuts, ru-tan, chestnuts from the secluded forest, also mixed with the five-color-beans and red-rice that were brought thousands of miles from the capital, stayed up an entire night and finally finished cooking half a pot of this appropriate Eight-Treasures-porridge(八宝粥-a ceremonial porridge made of eight ingredients, usually eaten on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month).

But as long as it is for this legendary person before her eyes, everything is worth it.

She smiles and lowers her head, silently taking her leave.

“I just don’t understand, why so many women are h.e.l.l-bent on you,” A man in white sits on the Ba-Xian chair and yawns in boredom, appearing as though he just recovered from a sickness.

“I have never had any thoughts on them.”

Carelessly putting the Eight-Treasures-porridge aside, the man in purple stares at the map on the desk, not even blinking his eyes once.

“Yes, you just always do whatever you want, leaving them to daydream about you as much as they desire.” The man in white hooks up the corners of his lips, meaningfully saying, “Honestly speaking, you truly are the most heartless person I have ever seen.”

The man in purple turns and casts him a glance.

“Yet you’re also the person that best fits being in a high position I have ever seen.” The man in white laughs out loud, “No one can ever grasp hold of your weakness, never anyone!”

The man in purple does not reply to him, turning back his head.

Outside the canopy, a series of heavy and distant horn blow sounds.

The agreed time has come, the battle of life and death between the righteous sects and Bai Yue Sect is about to start.

The usually calm eyes of the man in purple finally show some waves of change, as if a piece of glazed gla.s.s has fallen into water, flowing up and down, dragging along the unpredictable s.h.i.+ning ripple-light.

——this day, has come at last.

Zhang Xiu Zhu stands in front of the muslin canopy, the clothing before his chest shaking, full of pride as his heart stirs with excitement and irresistible courage.

Today will be his day to leave a thousand year reputation in the history of Wu Dang, oh no, it should be in the history of the Jiang Hu, it is of unmeasurable significance.

Supreme Chief of Wu Lin has received a secret report, Bai Yue’s young master Zuo Nan Yi is severely hurt and unconscious, was just brought back to the sect, Zuo Huai An currently has no time to defend, right now is undoubtedly the one-in-a-thousand best chance to attack Bai Yue Sect, this battle will definitely turn out to be a return in victory! Everyone partic.i.p.ating in this battle will gain renown reputation all over the world!

But he did not expect, Gu Xi Ju would a.s.sign this kind of well-regarded task to him.

“——Bai Yue rascals! Old wreck Zuo Huai An! You all should quickly come down the mountain and surrender!”

He opens his throat wide and roars toward the mountain top.

It must be said, Gu Xi Ju choosing Zhang Xiu Zhu to be the lead is completely right, this person has strong inner breath and a loud voice, his hooting can go a very long way, suddenly the entire valley rang with “down the mountain and surrender, rrender, ender” echo.

Countless frightened birds fly out of the Cloud-Rising Mountain, all flapping their wings in sounds of “pu-la-la”, escaping everywhere, only Bai Yue Sect’s giant black gates, full of hanging heads, did not shake one bit.

Waiting for another moment, the gates still made no sound, Zhang Xiu Zhu couldn’t resist his impatience.

——strange, the battle invitation had clearly been sent to them ten days ago, why can no sound be heard from Bai Yue Sect’s gate?

“Old wreck Zuo Huai An! If you don’t come out and fight, watch out us have this Cloud-Rising Mountain razed to solid ground!”

He rotates his breath and yells again.

“Solid ground, round, und, d, ah~~~” In this rhythmic and melodious echo, the dark black giant gate finally opens with a “zhi-ya” sound.

Through the gates, a group of masked people in white walks out, they are precisely ten masters of the Bai Yue Sect’s Twelve Elders.

Zhang Xiu Zhu releases a breath, laughing out loudly.

“Where is Zuo Huai An? Why doesn’t he personally come out to fight? He only sent you ten sect elders to sacrifice yourselves for nothing?!” He lifts his chin up, using his words to humiliate them, “Indeed a coward!”

“Nonsense!” The man in white standing in the front scolds, his gruesome voice is as rough as a thousand-year-old pine tree skin, “Facing people like you lot, having only us sect elders here is more than enough, why should Sect Leader have to personally come out to fight?”

Upon the end of his sentence, the ten masters have already formed their fighting stance.

“Isn’t Rong Gu the only person currently unconscious amongst the twelve elders? Why are only ten of them out today?” In the cyan muslin canopy at high ground, the man in white doubtfully moves close to the man in purple.

The man in purple lifts his eyebrows but does not talk, apparently this situation is not within his expectations.

Back to the battle ground, there are already several masters from the righteous sects who could not wait any longer and had jumped out on their own accord, engaging in a fight with the elders in white.

Leading, are the three great sects of Kong Dong, E Mei, Qing Cheng, having personally seen their former sect leaders’ heads hanging on the gates of the unorthodox sect, being displayed like trophies, how could they possibly swallow back this anger? They just simply want to slice all the Bai Yue members into thousand pieces and throw their ashes into the wind right now; therefore, their every move is extremely vicious, not leaving any way to escape for their enemies.

Contrary to them, none of the Shao Lin and Kun Lun sects have made a move, just spectating the battle from the side.

“Zhi Kong and He Shan Nai are indeed two old foxes.” The man in white mutters to the man in purple, showing a disdainful face, “Still wanting to conceal their true potential at this point in time!”

The man in purple smiles as light as a wave of disappearing cloud: “They simply think it is not their time to move yet, taking action too early would make the value of themselves look lower.”

Holding up the porcelain cup, sipping a mouthful of his favorite “bird-tongue-dew” tea, he appears calm and pleased: “The enormous merit of exterminating the unorthodox sect, do you think they would not think of ways to seek some benefit from it?”

Everyone is simply waiting, waiting for the best time.

After a round of fighting, Bai Yue Sect is obviously prevailing, only four elders are lightly injured, six from the righteous side are severely injured, three of them are forced to leave the battlefield immediately, so the righteous side quickly added new masters into the battle.

Rounds after rounds, finally they have reached the seventh round, the ten elders have clearly lost most of their energy and started swaying, just when the battle situation is going to be reversed, at this moment, the black gate gradually opens again with another sound of “zhi-ya”, a man in cyan calmly steps out.

This person is the Lord You of Bai Yue Sect, whose status is only below that of Zuo Huai An’s in the entire sect, s.h.i.+ Jue Ming.

The abbot of Shao Lin, Master Zhi Kong, and Kun Lun sect leader, He Shan Nai, looks at one another, then throw back their sleeves and leaps into the battle.

“s.h.i.+ Jue Ming! If you are willing to obediently give us Zuo Huai An today, I will allow you to have a complete corpse!”

He Shan Nai acts arrogantly as usual.

“Amitabah, us monks hold mercy as the most paramount thing, Sect Leader Zuo has done numerous evil acts and must be punished by heaven today, Benefactor s.h.i.+ please put down your knife of murder, only by turning back will you reach the sh.o.r.e. (cla.s.sic buddhism saying which means it’s not too late to repent right now).”

Master Zhi Kong recites his opening statement as usual.

She Jue Ming stares at them, his eyebrows raised.

Everyone here knows s.h.i.+ Jue Ming will definitely reply some “Heaven and Earth be my witness for my loyal heart for sect leader, my head can be cut off, my blood can flow out, but I cannot lose my backbone” or other useless statements like that, so everyone is silently rotating inner breath to prepare for the next move.

All these are only the prelude to the show, a duel of the most skilled masters is about to begin.

“You motley crowd!” s.h.i.+ Ming Jue’s face suddenly reveals a scornful look, “You all think that killing Sect Leader and me, will leave no successors for Bai Yue Sect’s future?”

He Shan Nai and Monk Zhi Kong both pauses.

“Bullying us when you have more people than us, attacking us when we are facing difficulties, what kind of righteous sects do you all count yourselves as!” He spits at the ground, lifting up his chin and laughing loudly, “This old man shall tell you all, there truly will be someone being punished by heaven today, but the ones that shall die are all of you! Hahaha!”

Seeing this old fellow still speaking like this even when death is knocking at his door, He Shan Nai could not resist his great anger and leaps up, a move of “Jade Dragon Flying Up” directing right at his vital spot.

s.h.i.+ Jue Ming coldly gazes at him, his body not moving at all, unexpectedly showing an undefended, ready to die look.

Just as He Shan Nai’s palm is about to push onto his chest, with a sound of “Pi-Pa”, a strike of golden lightning suddenly zaps down from the sky.

That lighting is sharp to the extreme, accompanied with strong wind that directly strikes through He Shan Nai’s protective air field around his body, not only breaking that move of “Jade Dragon Flying Up” into pieces, but its deep and stern energy also forces him to uncontrollably fall back countless steps!

Finally managing to stand back up with great effort, He Shan Nai now just feels his head go dizzy, his eyes blurred, the corners of his lips extremely sour.

He wipes with his sleeves, then is irresistibly shocked—— it’s blood! He was actually shaken to to point of vomiting blood by that strike of lighting!

Everyone spectating the battle grows pale all at once, the mighty Kun Lun sect leader is actually hurt in his heart meridian by this sudden lighting that came out of nowhere! Don’t know who is the G.o.dly master that has just intruded the battlefield?

Everyone lifts up their heads and look up in unison.

“What rascals here, actually dare to bully our Bai Yue?”

A voice as clear as jade sounds, someone is riding a horse in rolling dust and comes down from the summit of the mountain, the wind and cloud all changing colors for her.

Ink-drop pupils, peach-blossom face, sneering lips not caring about the sky and earth at all.

Red Hare stallion, fire-phoenix cloak, gorgeousness and brilliance forcing even the sunset glow to grow dull.

“Pia!”

Another crisp sound, a tall mountain rock of a man’s height behind Master Zhi Kong is broken into powder by the noise.

The young lady in red sits on that tall horse, an air of hostility flowing out from her body, the golden whip in her hand swipes a luminous curve in the sky.

“s.h.i.+ Jue Ming! How could you allow this group of disciple’s disciple clamouring in front of our sect’s gate?”

When no one has woken up from the previous scene yet, that young lady has already spoken a dictating yet delicate reproach, her whip mightily las.h.i.+ng toward the hill again.

Only hearing noises of “Kuang-Dang” and “Hong-Long” chaotically sounding, the muslin canopy behind Zhang Xiu Zhu splits into broken pieces and collapses within a second, raising a wave of flying sand and rocks, hitting him to the point of being covered in dust.

“You demone……” He furiously jumps up and wants to curse out, yet immediately shuts up the moment he gets a clear view of that young lady’s face.

“Zhang Xiu Zhu, my old defeated opponent, have you forgotten this great-aunt of yours already?(Gū nǎinai / 姑奶奶 or great-aunt -refers to girls who are overbearing and tyrannical)”

The young lady glances at the dumbfounded him, lifting her eyebrows as she leans back and freely laughs, her dark black hair gently flying and waving in the air, truly unbridled to the extreme.