"Behave yourself, I have something to ask you."
Li Miao spoke calmly.
The Masked Woman didn't dare to move a finger at this moment, cold sweat trickling down her face.
She was secretly lamenting her bad luck, how she had been targeted by such an Expert.
She had only struck Li Miao with a sword, and her Foundation had been exposed.
This wasn't a problem with the Sword Move. She had turned around in mid-air to draw her sword in a moment of urgency; how could there be any Rules?
This person must be clear about the Force and True Qi Trajectory of Huashan Swordplay to see her Sect from that simple sword strike.
To be so clear about a Sect's Martial Arts, one is either a relative or an enemy. But if they were a relative, how could they threaten her?
If they were an enemy, she would be a lamb awaiting slaughter.
Thinking of this, the Masked Woman steeled her heart: "It is my lack of skill. If Your Excellency has something you want me to do, as long as it doesn't harm my life and doesn't violate the Code of the Jianghu, I will obey."
"But if you are planning to harm my Sect—"
She swallowed, her expression resolute: "Senior, don't underestimate me! I will never do anything that betrays the sect!"
She didn't say nonsense like "Huashan Sword Sect won't let you go," and bent down to pick up the Long sword that was only half left.
Li Miao's strike had directly shattered her Palm, and at this moment, her hand was covered in oozing Stasis and exposed Skin and flesh.
The ten fingers were connected to the heart, and the hand holding the Sword Hilt was in excruciating pain. But she still barely managed to assume a Stance, staring intently at Li Miao.
She had lost her family at a young age and was taken in by the Huashan Sword Sect. After ten years of diligent practice, she had practiced her swordplay to the point of exhaustion and fainting countless times, finally achieving success in Martial Arts and descending the mountain to seek revenge.
In terms of experience in the Jianghu, she indeed didn't have much. But in terms of Disposition, she was definitely not the type to betray her Sect for the sake of survival.
Even if she were to die today, she would hold her sword and die, and would not tarnish the reputation of the Huashan Sword Sect!
Li Miao heard this and sized her up, carefully examining her trembling hand for a long while.
"What is your name?" Li Miao asked.
"Direct transmission of the Huashan Sword Sect, Mei Qinghe!"
"Oh, Miss Mei, Heroine Mei. Not afraid of death?"
"Not afraid."
"Really not afraid?"
Mei Qinghe pursed her lips without answering, just gripping the Sword Hilt tightly.
Li Miao slowly raised his hand and pinched the Sword Body of the Short sword.
Crack~
He broke off a section. Mei Qinghe trembled.
Li Miao raised his hand.
Mei Qinghe closed her eyes in despair.
In this life, the great revenge had not been avenged, and it was about to end inexplicably.
Fortunately, she hadn't disgraced her Sect's reputation, so it could be considered a worthy death.
After waiting for a while, she neither heard the Sound of wind nor felt any pain on her body.
She had heard her Master say that if one was suddenly Seriously Injured, they wouldn't feel the pain in a short time, but it would only get colder as the blood flowed out.
When one felt that their Eyelids were starting to feel cold, they were about to die.
Had that person already made a move, and she just hadn't reacted yet, but her body had already been Cut by Fragments?
Mei Qinghe's mind was racing, when suddenly she heard Li Miao laughing.
"Ha, haha, hahahaha."
She opened her eyes and saw that Li Miao had already thrown away the Short sword and was looking at her with a light smile.
“That's right, that's right.”
“Indeed, a Stubborn Person is fun. Without a Stubborn Person, what's the point of this Jianghu.”
“The Imperial City is full of Old Jianghu who are afraid of death, and it's been getting more and more boring along the way, only tonight is a bit interesting!”
“If the Five Mountains Sword Sect had more people like you, it wouldn't be in vain for me to come here.”
Li Miao walked over with a smile and grabbed Mei Qinghe's wrist.
Mei Qinghe instinctively wanted to break free, but Li Miao just shook his hand, and he had already unraveled all of her Force.
Then she felt a stream of extremely pure and vast True Qi pouring into her body along her Pulse gate, and the pain in her injured Palm disappeared instantly.
“Alright.” Li Miao let go of her hand.
Mei Qinghe turned her Palm over, and her Palm, which had been full of Stasis, was clean, with only some Skin and flesh injuries remaining.
With Internal Energy Nourish, a person who Practices Martial Arts could recover in about seven or eight days.
“Your Excellency... Senior...”
Mei Qinghe was baffled by Li Miao.
Who exactly was this person, and what did they want to do?
“I do have something to ask the Five Mountains Sword Sect.” Li Miao said.
“Don't worry, let me finish.”
He raised his hand to stop Mei Qinghe's movement and continued.
“The Five Mountains Sword Sect is an alliance formed by the Taishan Sect, Hengshan Sect, Huashan Sect, Songshan Sect, and Hengshan Sect for mutual aid.”
“Several decades ago, it was just a loose Alliance, not really an organization. Even the name 'Five Mountains Sword Sect' was rarely mentioned in the Jianghu.”
“But in recent years, your five families have been getting closer and closer, and with the Taishan Sect Leader 'Zhenyue Sword' Zuo Lishan being Brilliant, reaching the realm of a Supreme expert before the age of forty, as the Alliance Leader, he implicitly had the ambition to lead the Five Mountains, which gave rise to the term 'Five Mountains Sword Sect'.”
“Am I right?” Li Miao said.
Mei Qinghe nodded in silence.
“But, since you want to integrate, there must be superiors and inferiors. To clench into a Fist, there must be a thumb pressing down on the top, and an Index finger being pressed down below.”
“The Five Mountains Sword Sect is flourishing in the Jianghu, but your Huashan Sect, in fact, hasn't been doing well in recent years, has it?”
Li Miao had seen people from the Huashan Sect when he went to catch Yan Xiaosheng.
It was that Huashan Sect Deacon, "Clear Wind Sword" Gu Jiao, who was told to "Get lost" by him.
Being insulted to his face by Li Miao, he ran away in a sorry state without saying a word.
This was not only because of Gu Jiao's personality, but also because the Huashan Sect's situation had indeed been bad in recent years, and they couldn't afford the consequences of antagonizing the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
“In fact, you can tell from the map that in my Da Shuo territory, the two westernmost provinces are Yunnan in the southwest and Shaanxi, where your Huashan Sect is located.”
“The other four sects, the Taishan Sect is in Qi Lu, the Hengshan Sect is in Shanxi, the Songshan Sect is in Henan, and the Hengshan Sect is in Hunan.”
“The Five Mountains Sword Sect wants to integrate, so someone has to be suppressed. In terms of distance, the Hengshan Sect is actually the farthest away.”
“But who made Jiangnan the land of fish and rice, rich with oil?”
Li Miao spoke eloquently.
“In recent years, when the Five Mountains Sword Sect has had matters, the Hengshan Sect has provided the money, and your four sects have provided the people. The Huashan Sect is already located in the Borderlands, with a small population, and still has to travel a long distance to Qi Lu to hold the Alliance, and to various places to resolve matters.”
“Mountains are high and the roads are long, the people are getting fewer and fewer, and the strength is getting weaker and weaker. If you want to find a sect in the Five Mountains Sword Sect that is the most disadvantaged, I'm afraid there's no other choice but you, right?”
Mei Qinghe was silent.
Because what Li Miao said was the truth, just revealing the interests hidden under the Code of the Jianghu and explaining them more clearly.
The Songshan, Hengshan, and Taishan Sects were geographically close, with the Taishan Sect as the leader, and they were the most eager to integrate the Five Mountains Sword Sect.
The Hengshan Sect was wealthy and only provided money but not people, so their strength was well-preserved, and they also had a say in the Five Mountains Sword Sect.
Only their Huashan Sect, in terms of distance, was the farthest, in terms of strength, was the worst, and in terms of financial resources, was the weakest.
Things were getting worse, and they were becoming less and less influential in the Five Mountains Sword Sect's Alliance.
If the current situation continues, after a few more Alliance meetings, they will completely become the Underlings of the Five Mountains Sword Sect.