Maid Lotus and Ha Chilie were under sudden attacks.
Back then, they had been leading more than 20 trustworthy veterans to catch spies, most of which tried to plead innocence. Three tried to escape but were caught by ambush outside the encampment.
The plan did not go well. Maid Lotus thought that more spies would flee in panic and deliberately caught them in public but it brought little effect. Besides, she had not enough evidence to convict the others.
They were heading for another camp when three veterans ambushed them from behind. One targeted Ha Chilie while the other two surrounded Maid Lotus.
Ha Chilie was the person mainly responsible for this outcome. He was the one who affirmed the credibility of the veterans.
Ha Chilie fell to the ground with a hum but Maid Lotus was not one to be so easily tricked. Even if she had the New Moon Hall disciples following her, she would not let down her guard.
Nobody knew how she pulled out her sword. It seemed to be impossible that she could take her sword at a close distance in such a short time.
Yet, she managed to do so and stabbed one of the ambushers.
Maid Lotus immediately realized that he was neither a common swordsman nor even Golden Roc killer. He acted quickly beyond expectation and used a different set of martial arts.
Maid Lotus failed to stab his heart and instead hit his left arm. The man screamed and then jumped into the distance.
But another ambusher took advantage of the opportunity to use the rare acupoint technique of the Western Regions and succeed.
Nobody was good at using acupoint techniques in the Western Regions. Although the manual of each sect required learning some common sense of acupuncture point, few people specialized in this skill.
Stunned, Maid Lotus soon felt numbness rapidly spreading through her body. She applied several instructions of Internal Strength, but failed to unlock her acupoint.
Maid Lotus was surprised, but the person who hurt her was even more shocked. This martial arts made him famous in Jianghu for decades and succeed easily, but he had never met such a strong opponent who seemed to be fine. Moreover, he was warned in advance to use all his strength without hiding anything.
Maid Lotus did not think for long before stabbing the man again. Outsiders still thought the sword was sharp, but her movement had actually slowed down considerably.
Three ambushers surrounded her but were in a dilemma as they carefully tried to avoid her sword.
Maid Lotus used more than ten skills and did not fall despite being hit in her acupuncture points again. The ambushers looked like they had seen a ghost yet were unafraid because they noticed that her movements were getting slower.
When using 16th or 17th skill, Maid Lotus was hurt again. She could no longer resolve her blocked Internal Breath. She staggered and sat on the ground, holding her sword in hand.
“I have never met such a tough woman.”
“The reputation of the three Xia brothers was almost destroyed.”
The three ambushers felt relieved at that time. The man who was hit in his left arm scolded Maid Lotus and tried to kick her, but his companions quickly stopped him. “We should respect her a little because she’s…”
The other person used his acupoint technique in the back of the Maid Lotus’s head.
Maid Lotus began to fall unconscious, but she still had many things to think about. She had never heard of the three Xia brothers. Even more surprising to her was that the other soldiers were just watching without trying to save her.
“How many spies are there in the barracks?”
Her last thought was that she would certainly not be tricked if she was Slave Huan.
The martial arts of the New Moon Hall was special. Instead of gradually waking up after fainting, Maid Lotus became instantly clear-headed. She did not move or even open her eyes because she noticed that there were people around her.
She applied her Internal Breath silently, but failed. After she was unconscious, they sealed her acupoints just in case. Therefore, she could barely move, but could not take her sword.
The three Xia brothers were chatting.
“There should be kung fu masters in the Western Region.”
“There are indeed many masters in the Western Region, including Supreme King, Dragon King and Old Man Mu whose life or death isn’t certain.”
“I meant the women.”
“Well, you’re right. In fact, few women in the world can be called masters.”
“Women are naturally not good at kung fu.”
They laughed obscenely and their words gradually became vulgar. In the end, the one who seemed to be their leader felt that the conversation had gone out of hand. “Don’t even think about doing anything to her. He specifically ordered us to keep her alive, and I think that maybe he’s interested in her.”
“Well, she has good kung fu and beautiful looks. That’s very rare. Cloud King has good taste, but it’s not easy to subdue this woman.”
“It isn’t difficult to do that. She has fainted without any resistance. Anyone can take advantage of her. Should I give you a demonstration?”
“Haha! You’re just holding a grudge because she stabbed you.”
Maid Lotus learned several things from their conversation. The three Xia brothers were not from the Western Regions, but rather the Central Plains. Besides, she had been unconsciousness for about fifteen minutes and they would not expect her to awaken so quickly. Given enough time, she would be able to unlock all acupoints herself.
As for the “Cloud King” they mentioned, Maid Lotus immediately thought of Shangguan Yun. Didn’t he get the title of the King of Xiaowan through marriage?
What she guessed was right. Shangguan Yun entered the room and said in a familiar voice, “You three idiots, I bet you won’t dare to look down on the women of the Western Region anymore.”
Maid Lotus followed Shangguan Yun to the Land of Fragrance from the Hui Kingdom and returned in the same route. She knew it was him the moment she heard his voice.
Though Shangguan Yun was scolding the brothers, his tone was relaxed and casual as if they were close friends. The three men were not afraid of him, but laughed and warmly greeted “Cloud King”.
Maid Lotus could not help admiring Shangguan Yun. He had been locked up in a dungeon for many years and had little contact with outsiders. After coming out, he still looked like the slickest person in the Jianghu and presented different attitudes in front of different people.
Shangguan Yun’s early experience was a little helpful.
“Well, your kung fu has regressed. She has already woke up.”
“Nonsense!” the three men refuted together.
Thinking that she did not have to keep lying down, Maid Lotus opened her eyes and turned over to sit up. She looked coldly at the four people in the tent.
Before dawn, the oil lamp was ignited in the tent.
The three Xia brothers were all surprised and pounced on Maid Lotus at the same time. Each of them used acupoint technique toward her before returning to Shangguan Yun’s side with cold sweat on their faces.
“You’re so sharp-eyed. You saved us again.”
“You know too little about the kung fu of the Western Region. You should familiarize yourselves with it in the future.”
Shangguan Yun looked at Maid Lotus with a smile. “Please allow me to introduce them. They’re the famous masters of Qingcheng Sect in the Central Plains: Xia Yingxiong, Xia Wenxiong, and Xia Gouxiong. No, this one is Xia Shouxiong. In short, they’re the three stupid bears called the three Xia brothers.”
Shangguan Yun made fun of their names, but they seemed very happy and looked at Cloud King with more respect and intimacy.
Maid Lotus must admit that Dragon King was no match for Shangguan Yun in winning the hearts of people.
She fell into the enemy’s trap and thus had nothing to say.
“This is Maid Lotus, the Managing Master of the New Moon Hall and Dragon King’s bodyguard. Moreover, she’s also the first-class female kung fu master in the world.”
Shangguan Yun had mentioned this to them in the past but they doubted him then. Now they all nodded in agreement.
“Well, that’s enough.” Shangguan Yun clapped his hands as if a thoughtful host had just introduced two groups of strangers to each other. “Go and get a drink, you three stupid bears. You’ve completed your tasks successfully. Let me deal with this from now on.”
The brothers happily walked out of the tent. While at the door, Xia Shouxiong laughed and said, “Cloud King, you’d better pay attention to your body. It’s not easy to deal with a beautiful female master.”
Shangguan Yun pretended to kick him, so they immediately left.
When Shangguan Yun turned to look at the Maid Lotus again, his expression changed. He showed her a mysterious and pitying smile as if he knew everything about her. He seemed to feel nothing but respect and sympathy for her.
“I’m committing a taboo of the Golden Roc Fort by not killing you.”
“Well, you’ll regret your decision today.”
“Haha! It doesn’t matter. I’ve done many regrettable things all my life, more than the number of people in the Golden Roc Fort.”
Maid Lotus stopped talking. She knew that Shangguan Yun wanted to persuade her to surrender, but that was impossible. She was just curious what reason Shangguan Yun would use.
“Maid Lotus, Dragon King. Dragon King, Maid Lotus.” Shangguan Yun raised his hands as if he was holding the two people in his palms. “I’ve always been confused about your relationship. I almost inquired everyone who knew you in Jade City but learned nothing but nonsense. It wasn’t until I met Younger Sister Ru in the Land of Fragrance that I discovered some credible clues.”
Shangguan Yun suddenly paused for a while, but Maid Lotus’ interest was piqued. She wanted to know what Shangguan Ru thought about she and Dragon King.
“She said that both of you were sacrifices of ‘Dajue Sword Book of Swordcraft’. You helped each other as two drowning persons, so you didn’t sink in the river immediately.”
Maid Lotus and Gu Shenwei had been calling the sword technique “Death Scripture”. Even after knowing its real name, they still kept their habit. She felt surprised that Shangguan Ru should make such a conclusion. At first, she was dismissive, because the relationship between her and Dragon King was more complicated. In the end, she agreed with Shangguan Ru because “Death Scripture” did promote their communication most of the time.
Shangguan continued to smile. “You’re in charge of Dragon King’s life at this moment, and he needs your help.”
Maid Lotus restrained her feelings at once. “I can only do what I can do, which doesn’t include Dragon King’s life.”
Shangguan Yun’s smile faltered. Maid Lotus was a formidable enemy with tight defense, so he could not force her to do something. Rather, he would wait for her to make mistakes.
“Don’t you want to listen to my plan? That’s a set of complicated plans, costing me quite a bit of energy.”
When Maid Lotus did not speak, Shangguan Yun continued, “First of all, more than half of the soldiers in this barracks are my men. Haha, there are quite a lot of soldiers loyal to me. Secondly, the 3,000 soldiers Wu Zongheng took still belonged to Dragon King. Unfortunately, Wu Zongheng wouldn’t take them to the selected place. After all, he comes from the An Kingdom and is more willing to be loyal to the King of the An nation. Finally, Dragon King will enter the mountain in person very soon, probably alone, because he doesn’t trust any of his subordinates.”
Shangguan Yun paused for a moment, giving her more time to think about the truth. “I possess 15 masters like the three Xia brothers who come from different places, none of whom are Golden Roc killers. Very few of them come from the Western Region. Dragon King is too familiar with the kung fu of the Golden Roc Fort, so I’m changing strategies. Maid Lotus, to tell the truth, should I kill or only catch him in this situation?”
If Shangguan Yun was sincere, Dragon King was indeed in trouble. “You’re making great efforts to induce me. Just what are you planning to do?” she asked.
“I don’t know,” Shangguan Yun said simply. “You should think about what you can do for me.”