.
Lu FengHo felt blood rise to his throat, and he coughed up a spray of blood.
'What happened?!' He wondered, looking up at Xuè Shèngrén.
He hadn't seen Xuè shèngrén move, nor had he seen the fan switch back to a sword, and yet, it was a bloody sword that was in Xuè Shèngrén's hand, and a cold stinging pain made Lu FengHo certain that the sword had hit him.
Xuè shèngrén had somehow slashed accross Lu FengHo's chest, without him seeing anything, and though it was a shallow wound, he could barely move.
"Hmph." Xuè Shèngrén leapt and gently floated down in front of Lu FengHo. "Elder brother, I only allowed your group find me because I wanted my ribbon back." As she spoke, the sword changed to a fan again, and she leaned down toward him.
"That means you're my enemy if you refuse to return it, aren't you?"
Lu FengHo held himself up with his sword, but couldn't stand up, so he had no choice but to remain on his knees, glaring up at the young face before him.
'This fellow can't possibly be the 'Zhao Family Trash'!' He concluded. 'Zhao LanFeng supposedly had no power till he was fourteen, so how can he be this strong?'
If this tiny person was Zhao LanFeng, then he had somehow acquired such a powerful weapon, and defeated two major clans at the young age of nineteen.
It wouldn't be enough to call him a genius!
Even Shuǐ Chén had never made Lu FengHo feel this intimidated!
Xuè shèngrén suddenly shot upright, pulling Lu FengHo from his thoughts.
"I'm benevolent, so I won't kill you. My 'Shadow Slash' technique can be dangerous, so go to sleep for now."
She raised the fan and Lu FengHo shut his eyes, expecting to get hit, but her fan clashed with a... needle?
Then a sword attacked from her side, but she reflexively blocked with her fan, and she turned to face the veiled man from outside.
His sword was blue and silver, and a dense blue wavy aura surrounded it.
She smiled slowly. 'Not just anyone can sneak up on me!'
She leapt away, back to the other side of the restaurant, then began fanning herself. "Ho? 'The Mantis strikes the Cicada, unaware of the Oriole behind it.'." She recited lightheartedly. "Are you trying to turn me into the foolish mantis?"
She swung her fan outward, and a black fiery aura surrounded it.
"Elder brother, go easy on me! Weren't you all the first to attack a 'poor cicada' like me?
Lu FengHo, "Shuǐ Chén, be careful! His fan is a sword. This fellow has many tricks." He warned.
Shuǐ ChénLín nodded, then faced his opponent, one hand behind his back. 'For someone to defeat Lu Xian so easily... We can't underestimate this fellow.' He thought, then frowned at Xuè Shèngrén, who had also placed a free hand behind his back.
"So, you're called 'Chén'?" She asked. "But somehow those stormy eyes of yours seem like they would cloud the *dawn."
*Chén means 'Dawn'.
Shuǐ ChénLín nearly grimaced. "I don't want to hear my name from the likes of you." He lunged for Xuè Shèngrén in a split second, but Xuè shèngrén countered easily with his fan.
A violent force of wind blew outward from their first clash, and the two began to fight, sword meeting fan, as they weighed each other's strength, with their free hands behind their backs in a relaxed posture.
Shuǐ ChénLín could match her speed, and their level of qinggong was also similar, so they practically flew around the restaurant, evading or attacking in a seemingly endless dance.
Their clashes produced large shockwaves, which shook the entire building, making their black and blue sword auras sweep outward.
Outside, the disciples stared in awe... As far as they knew, Fènghuáng-Jun had been called the 'Shuǐ genius', and that was because there was no known person in his age group that had gotten him to fight this seriously!
How come he hadn't defeated such a small fellow?!
"Maybe this Xuè Shèngrén is a grand elder with the appearance of a young person!" Shuǐ JunHo said, and a few nodded awkwardly.
"Yes! It was our mistake to underestimate him!" Another one spoke. "Don't the Clan's Wise Texts state that we shouldn't 'judge a book by its cover'?"
A short distance from the disciples, Meng ZhuGuo felt a bit better. He had dared to underestimate someone on this level?!
Getting flung out by a sword hilt was one of the best outcomes!
Back inside, Lu FengHo also watched the fight in complete surprise, and he realized he had also underestimated Xuè Shèngrén!
Meanwhile, the Shuǐ ChénLín's and Xuè Shèngrén's clashes were gradually intensifying, and the floor began to rumble, shaking the entire building. Bits of loose stone, dust and wood splinters began to fall from the ceiling.
They had now began fighting with both hands, and at some point, Shuǐ ChénLín concentrated energy in his left hand to strike his opponent. However, Xuè Shèngrén pulled a similar move, and the energies clashed, making the building shiver more violently.
"Ei?!" Xuè Shèngrén leapt backwards suddenly, as the glinting tips of several needles narrowly missed her. She leapt further, landing a good distance away.
She grinned. "How interesting! You should have told me sly methods were allowed."
"The element of surprise is important in battle." Shuǐ ChénLín spoke with a deadpan expression. He gestured in a call motion, and all the needles returned to him, each of them surrounded by his blue aura.
With a sweep of his hand, he sent them toward Xuè Shèngrén at a frightful speed, but just before the needles reached her, she held up her fan, and they all stopped in mid-air.
She flung out with 'swish', and they blew away with tiny 'chinks', before returning to Shuǐ ChénLín's hands.
In a blink, Xuè Shèngrén raised her fan and swung downward using the same 'Shadow Slash' attack she had used against Lu FengHo, but though Shuǐ ChénLín was mildly surprised, he successfully blocked it, and in the same move, sent one of the large restaurant tables flying towards Xuè Shèngrén.
"Hmph." Xuè Shèngrén neatly sliced the table in two, kicking both sides to opposite ends of the practically demolished restaurant.
"Hao! Elder brother called 'Chén'!" Xuè Shèngrén gently landed. "You're really on a different level... If I must guess, you're at the peak of the Purple realm, right?" Shuǐ ChénLín's aura and skill level did appear to be in the purple realm, but she couldn't be sure.
She suspected he was far stronger, but since he went as far as disguising his aura, she might as well play along.
Afterall, she was doing the same thing...
"You're also at the peak of the Purple realm." Shuǐ ChénLín pointed out, feeling more impressed than he wanted to be.
But in the same way, he suspected Xuè Shèngrén was definitely more powerful as well.
A silent moment passed as they sized up each other, but Xuè Shèngrén eventually broke the silence. "Elder brother, should we continue?"
Shuǐ ChénLín scowled at her. "Little boy, it's distasteful to have someone like you address me as 'elder brother', and I would ask you two questions, before we continue."
Xuè Shèngrén's scrunched up her face. "Ha?! 'Little boy'?! Aren't you being disrespectful!"
Shuǐ ChénLín rose an eyebrow. "The person going around addressing perfect strangers as 'elder brother' and 'fatty' shouldn't complain too much, should he? You even dared to call my name."
"Ehehehe... I have no defense for that!" Xuè Shèngrén said, rubbing the bottom of her nose.
Shuǐ ChénLín continued. "First question. Are you responsible for the slaughter at the Eastern and Southern Dragon Clans?"
"Return my ribbon to me, and I'll tell yo-... Ei?!" Xuè Shèngrén never finished he sentence, as Shuǐ ChénLín had swiftly drawn a large air talisman, which sped toward her.
But she easily drew a blocking talisman in midair as well. She was too adept at using talismans to even view this as a threat.
The two talismans clashed, cancelling out themselves.
But she had already drawn three more, and sent them speeding towards Shuǐ ChénLín.
Shuǐ ChénLín was ready for them, and they were met with another three talismans. The six talismans canceled out themselves, and the teahouse settled back to silence.
Xuè shèngrén folded her arms with a slight pout. "Tch! How low of you to attempt another surprise attack while we're speaking."
"The element of surprise is important in battle." Shuǐ ChénLín repeated with no interest. "Instead, are you going to answer my question?" He asked.
His own sword, Qin Song, shrunk into a light blue mist, and then vanishing.
"Isn't it obvious by now, that I'm the one you're looking for?" Xuè Shèngrén asked him. "Still pretending my white ribbon didn't lead you straight to me?"
Shuǐ ChénLín brought out the white ribbon and dangled it. "We know you're the owner of this... thing, but I'm confirming for the last time, if you are Xuè Shèngrén, the murderer that killed the members of the two ruling clans."
Xuè Shèngrén's head and eyes had been following the dangling ribbon, and she made a sudden lunge for it. But Shuǐ ChénLín leapt to another part of the restaurant, maintaining the distance between them.
"Now now. You can have it back if you answer the questions." He dangled the ribbon even more, like a questionable fellow, luring a young child with candy.
"Using one's weakness against them?" She folded her arms again. "Fine, I'll answer. I don't know where the distasteful name of 'Xuè Shèngrén' came from, but I'll accept it for now. If I say I didn't destroy the two Clans, would you even believe me?"
There was a short silence, and Shuǐ ChénLín's face registered his disbelief.
'This young fellow destroyed two ruling clans?' Now he was even more certain that Xuè Shèngrén was hiding his true strength!
Xuè Shèngrén smirked. "What's the use in asking, if you won't believe it? I'll spare you the confusion..." She began to pace and fan herself. "I killed both families With relish. I won't say anything about the clan members who died, but as for the families, I have no regrets.
"So what's your second question?" She asked, but she caught a slight movement, and her irises darted to Lu FengHo, who was now attempting to stand up.
"Handsome brother, I wouldn't move too much, if I were you." She said lazily. "My Shubi doesn't just cut flesh, so you might harm a few *meridians, if you move around too much."
*Meridians- pathways in the body that allow the absorption and flow of qi. Cultivators struggle to unlock as many as possible, so harming any is frightening.
Instant fear had crossed Lu FengHo's features, and Xuè shèngrén raised a brow. "Handsome types are far too serious! Just circulate your qi slowly, before you get up, and you will be fine.
"I intended to knock you out so you wouldn't move, but Elder brother 'Surprise Attack' came out of nowhere." She shrugged.
Lu FengHo and Shuǐ ChénLín glanced at each other, then back to the so-called 'Blood sage'.
Dressed completely in black, with his small stature and perfect features, Xuè Shèngrén did look like some sort of childish, beautiful demon.
But he wasn't what they had expected at all.
He was every bit as petty as a child, but it hadn't escaped their notice that the so called 'blood sage' hadn't done lasting harm to any of them.
In fact, Shuǐ ChénLín could sense no killing intent from him.
It was almost as if Xuè Shèngrén was just playing with them, and Shuǐ ChénLín had little doubt that if he handed over the white ribbon that still dangled in his hand, Xuè Shèngrén was likely to leave them alone and disappear.
Shuǐ ChénLín gave a small cough. "Ahem. My second question. You... You're Zhao LanFeng, aren't you?"
Xuè shèngrén's eyes widened only a little. Now THAT was her name!
.
The Restaurant had become silent, considering the explosive clash that had just taken place, but Xuè Shèngrén's shoulders rose and fell lightly, as she filled the quiet restaurant with her tinkling laughter.
"If you knew my name, why were you addressing me with something as distasteful as 'Xuè Shèngrén'?"
Shuǐ ChénLín's brows raised in surprise. 'Not possible!' He thought.
He had met Zhao LanFeng about twelve years ago, when he and his father had visited the Zhao Family.
He had been thirteen, and Zhao LanFeng had been seven, and even now, a memory filled his mind, and he could see a young boy chasing fireflies by a lake...
"You -." Shuǐ ChénLín began, but was lost for words. The 'Zhao LanFeng' in his memories, and the one before him, felt like two entirely different people, even though they resembled each other.
To begin with, Zhao LanFeng certainly had no Spirit talent back then. In fact, everyone had referred to him as the 'Zhao Family Trash'.
Added to that, all those they had questioned since the attack on the two clans, seemed completely certain that Zhao LanFeng had not been able to cultivate, up till the point when he had disappeared.
That was just five years ago... Was it even possible?
How had someone with no spirit power, become so powerful in five years?!
.