Chapter 77: Risking Life for Life

…

He saw a group of people appearing on the mountain road around a nearby bend. At the front was none other than Yu Shanshan, the Eldest Miss, whom he had not seen for eight or nine months.

In this warm spring season when flowers were blooming, Yu Shanshan wore a set of silver-white bright armor and held a gleaming silver spear. She rode a remarkably magnificent white horse, moving slowly. Her dark green cape, trimmed with sable fur, fluttered in the mountain wind, giving her a heroic and vigorous aura full of healthy, youthful energy.

However, her eyes were as chilling as those in the deep winter, cold and filled with murderous intent.

Behind her appeared a female knight riding a fiery red steed. This woman wore red armor and a red cape, looking like a burning flame. Yet her face was fair and tender, with a hint of mature charm. Between her graceful smiles, she looked just like a gentle, affectionate young woman next door.

But those who had fought her usually gave surprisingly similar evaluations of her: she was crazy. An Feifei, known as the Red Tyrannosaurus and once a formidable opponent of Lei Qing in the past, appeared following Yu Shanshan. Her watery, beautiful eyes glanced at Lei Qing from afar, as if exchanging flirtatious looks with him.

Behind them stood Duncan, the Mad Bear, tall and strong like a bear. He stared at Lei Qing with an extremely unfriendly expression. Although there were only three of them, their presence was extraordinary. Each of them exuded a powerful aura.

While they were looking at Lei Qing, he was observing them as well. They did not look dusty from travel, and Ghost’s Sorrow seemed completely unsurprised by this. Lei Qing could now be certain that both sides had communicated long ago.

Seeing Yu Shanshan, Lei Qing felt somewhat weak yet also annoyed: “Captain Sikong, isn’t this a bit unfair?”

“Why does the Young General say that?” Sikong Wei pretended not to understand and said, “Our merchant guild guaranteed not to take action against you for three years, but that doesn’t mean we can’t disclose your whereabouts and intelligence to others. Miss Yu paid a large sum of money to legally and reasonably purchase the Young General’s intelligence through our guild. Surely that isn’t prohibited either?”

Even with Lei Qing’s sharp tongue, he was momentarily speechless. However, even if this were written into the ransom agreement, the other party could ignore it completely. Who knew if they would sell the intelligence or not?

“Fine, you guys are ruthless. I, surnamed Lei, will remember this.” Lei Qing chuckled. Although he was afraid to see Yu Shanshan at such a time, once the moment arrived, his restless heart instead calmed down.

He did not avoid Yu Shanshan’s gaze at all but looked straight at her, sneered, and bowed his hand respectfully: “So it is the esteemed presence of the Eldest Miss Yu. I apologize for not welcoming you from afar.”

Yu Shanshan did not speak. She simply rode her horse up to two zhang in front of him and stopped without dismounting, staring fixedly at Lei Qing.

Lei Qing was at a loss for words, so he turned to greet the other two: “Lei Jiu greets Miss An and Brother Duncan. It has been a few months since we last parted. I hope you are well?”

“Hehe, Young General Lei Qing? That nickname is quite good.” An Feifei, who was known as the Red Tyrannosaurus, seemed very interested in Lei Qing. With a charming smile, she teased: “Last time, I wanted to capture you and have a good chat to increase our affection. But it seems the Young General despised my humble appearance, deeming it unworthy of your sight. Not only did you draw your sword against my sincere intentions, but you also fled in defeat. This broke my heart and kept me awake day and night, so I certainly could not be well. Look, I traveled thousands of miles, taking a long detour to come and catch up with you on our old friendship.”

“Vice Captain, why waste words with this pretty boy?” The Mad Bear Duncan had a bad temper. He sneered and said in a furious voice: “Let old Bear capture him. Let’s see where he runs this time.”

The Mad Bear Duncan spurred his horse to charge at Lei Qing. With a clang, he drew a double-handed sword from his back, held it with one hand, turned the horse sideways, and swung the great sword, aiming to split Lei Qing in half with one strike.

Seven or eight months ago, Lei Qing might have felt some fear of the Mad Bear Duncan. But Lei Qing now was no longer the amateur he used to be. His Fighting Qi cultivation, through many life-and-death struggles, had frequently broken through to the Bronze Peak level.

His strength, physique, reaction time, sharpness, and experience had all made great progress. Facing the Mad Bear Duncan’s aggressive momentum, Lei Qing remained calm and composed, without even drawing his Treasure Sword. Instead, he spun his body swiftly, flashed like a ghost to the left side of the warhorse, squatted his stance, and then took advantage of the momentum to punch.

Boom! His punch resembled the sudden flash of spring thunder. Amidst the rumbling of thunder, he struck the warhorse’s head mercilessly. That was only an ordinary sturdy horse; how could it withstand Lei Qing’s extraordinary punch power? Its skull cracked, and its brain matter and blood gushed from its seven orifices. Both horse and rider fell to the ground.

The Mad Bear Duncan was startled in his heart. As he was about to flip up, a cold, gleaming Treasure Sword silently appeared, resting on his neck.

“Brother Duncan misses me so much, truly making this junior feel overwhelmed by favor!” Lei Qing smiled elegantly and withdrew his sword. Although Duncan was a bit violent in temper, he was still a decent person. Several times when he hunted Lei Qing, he followed the order to capture him alive and did not use lethal force. This made Lei Qing feel somewhat indebted to him.

Duncan’s dark face did not show any sign of blushing, but from his eyes full of shame and regret, it could be seen that he would not attack again to humiliate himself. He was only greatly shocked in his heart. When did this pretty boy surnamed Lei become so powerful? His speed was hard to catch, his punches were fierce and domineering, and a strong and vigorous horse was beaten to death with blood flowing from its orifices.

The two women, Yu and An, were also slightly startled. Earlier, they had heard Ghost’s Sorrow say that Lei Qing had led a group of bandits to kidnap the Li Clan’s daughter. They had thought it was a joke. But now it seemed clear that one should view another with new eyes after three days of parting.

“Oh, Little Nine, your progress is truly amazing.” An Feifei, after being speechless for a moment, showed an extremely charming smile: “I also broke through to Bronze Peak shortly after fighting you. I didn’t expect you to succeed as well. Congratulations.”

“Miss An is not bad either. Even if we had the same cultivation level, I admit I have little confidence in dealing with you. However, we have no enmity. Why struggle to the death for no reason? Why don’t we sit down together, drink, chat, and reconnect?”

Strength often enhances a person’s courage and demeanor. In the past, when Lei Qing faced An Feifei, the only thing he could do was run away immediately. But now, he could face her calmly, speak freely, and be relaxed.

“I also do not wish to risk my life with the Young General. I wanted to drink and chat.” An Feifei flirtatiously threw a seductive glance at Lei Qing and said, biting her lips lightly: “Unfortunately, I am afraid of upsetting someone’s vinegar jar. Young General, why don’t you honestly let me tie you up so we can go back to the Tianlan Empire together and drink to our heart’s content?”

Such a tone really annoyed Yu Shanshan. She glanced back sharply and glared at An Feifei. What was this, flirting? No wonder they hadn’t captured him for months and let him escape. Besides, what did “upsetting the vinegar jar” mean? Who would be jealous?

“Sigh, it is hardest to bear the favor of beauties!” Lei Qing also shook his head and said: “Lei Jiu would also like to drink by candlelight with Miss An. Unfortunately, Lei Jiu is no longer alone now. I have gathered a group of brothers to make a living together. So, I can only let down Miss An’s kind intentions.”

As soon as the last word came out, Lei Qing moved. He was truly beginning to grasp the essence of the Lei Family’s body movement technique, Thunder Flash. If he did not move, he would stay still; but once he moved, he was like lightning and thunder.

His body almost flew out, leaving a faint afterimage. In the space of two or three zhang, he reached her in a single breath. His Treasure Sword, Lian Zhan, shimmered with cold light, turning into more than a dozen sword glares, enveloping An Feifei and her horse.

Such a sudden and powerful attack made An Feifei not startled but happy. A hint of excited, fierce smile appeared on her delicate face, which resembled that of an affectionate young woman: “Well done.”

A heavy three-foot iron whip appeared in her hand like a magic trick. She swung it violently. Whoosh! The iron whip created a faint arc of firelight and struck down at Lei Qing’s head with clumsy yet effective force.

Even though it was not the first time he had fought her, Lei Qing still couldn’t help but curse internally, thinking that An Grandma was crazy. He wondered if she only knew how to attack and risk her life.

Lei Qing, not wanting his head to burst open, had to turn his attack into defense. A series of sword glares clinked against the heavy iron whip. He finally deflected her move aimed at mutual destruction.

…