"Chrysanthemum Garden," Jiang Yichen replied.
"It is Chrysanthemum Garden!" Fan Jian felt quite annoyed upon hearing the two words "Chrysanthemum Garden," and said with a vicious tone, "The two of us have been trailing the Old Fox's caravan for quite some time. We moved closer to observe several times and confirmed that they were merely passing through Thousand Peach Forest. No one in the caravan left the group to head toward Chrysanthemum Garden, nor did anyone come out from Chrysanthemum Garden to greet them. I truly did not expect this Old Fox to have any connection with Chrysanthemum Garden."
"Therefore, when Boss Zhen said he was going to Chrysanthemum Garden to find help, you both felt it was a matter of course at first and did not take it seriously, casually finding an excuse to decline the request for help. As for me, I was an exceptional factor. Seeing that I possessed some martial arts and that my destination was also Chrysanthemum Garden, you feared I might have ties to it. Naturally, you would not come to take my life and cause extra trouble before you had absolute certainty."
"Who would have expected that Boss Zhen, in his urgency to escape, would reveal the information that his brother works at Chrysanthemum Garden when asking if I was also going there? If I were allowed to go and deliver the message, your plan would surely be exposed, and your wishful thinking would certainly fall through. Thus, you could not help but make a move."
"You have it figured out quite clearly. Should we applaud you? Since you have already understood, we cannot let you live. Fortunately, you will not have to be a ghost who died in vain. Kid, after you go to hell, remember to mind your own business in your next life!" After saying this, Fan Jian prepared to strike.
"Wait. I still have one thing I do not understand. I wonder if you could clear it up for me." Jiang Yichen raised his hand in a gesture to stop, his tone very sincere.
"Hmph! Still trying to stall for time? Then I will satisfy your final wish. Speak, what other questions do you have?" Fan Jian looked impatient.
"The two of you, colluding with the bandits of Flying Swallow Village to deal with Boss Zhen and these employees, must not be difficult. Why go to such great lengths to put on a show? What is your purpose?" Jiang Yichen asked, while simultaneously secretly agitating every bit of Qi Force he could muster within his meridians.
"Heh, I just praised you a moment ago, and you still cannot figure this out?" Fan Jian sneered.
"Oh my! I say, Young Hero, you are still too young. You tell me, what else could they be after? Isn't it just for wealth? The tea and cloth in this shipment of mine are already of extraordinary value. How could these two thieves not see it after staring at it for so long? They wanted to follow the vine to find the melon and get more. Once they rob this shipment and hold a saber to my neck, wouldn't I have to hand over every bit of gold and silver hidden elsewhere to buy my life?"
Zhen Shibei, listening from the side, felt that he had fallen into a pit from which he could not climb out. Seeing that this Young Swordsman could not even see through such a simple trick, he was truly furious. He was really worried about this Young Hero's intelligence; if he could be a bit more clever, perhaps everyone would still have a hope of survival.
"Look, the Big boss is so smart. Big boss, rest assured, we know how to make the water flow long. We will only do this one big job. You come with us, and when we are short on funds, we will reveal a little, spit out a bit, enough for us brothers to get by. We will absolutely treat you well and keep you fed. Hahaha!" Zhen Shibei was the biggest money bag, and this was what Fan Jian wanted. As he thought about it, he became intoxicated by the vision of gold and silver mountains, laughing proudly and with satisfaction.
"Hahaha! Hahaha!" A wanton and wild laughter suddenly rang out in the valley, but it was clearly not Fan Jian's laughter.
"Who, who, who is being shifty? Get out here now!" The mutation happened suddenly, and Fan Jian appeared somewhat nervous, but he forcefully steadied himself.
"Heh, what kind of Green Forest heroes are you? Two nests of bandits, shameless, colluding together, and treating human life like grass. You petty thief want this young master to get out, so I should just get out? Wouldn't this young master lose too much face?"
"We heard everything that this young brother who saw injustice and drew his sword to help said just now. Your analysis was spot on, truly wonderful! Young brother, rest assured, we have come specifically to provide reinforcements for you. These two petty thieves cannot hurt you. Go ahead and make your move, show your skills, and teach these two thieves a good lesson, haha!" The voice sounded far and near, but it was clear that this person had deep Internal Energy and was a Master.
Jiang Yichen had also identified who had arrived: Murong Jing.
Since Brother Murong is here, Brother Liu Menghen must be here too. Letting me make the first move is likely to give me a chance to practice.
With confidence in his heart, Jiang Yichen naturally would not be polite. He swung out the Qi Force he had been holding in his hand for a moment along with his sword.
Ice Soul Sword, Qi Force condensed into ice, sealing the opponent's meridians!
Capture the leader first to capture the followers. Jiang Yichen's original plan was to first restrain Shi Ding, and then he would have sufficient time to capture the most critical target, Fan Jian. The remaining ten bandits would then be of no concern.
The fully charged Qi Force flew toward him, catching Shi Ding off guard. His original intention was also to charge up for an attack, but he never expected the opponent to be late but arrive first. He instead fell into a passive position. Even though he raised his Twin Blades to block the Ice Soul Sword's momentum, he could feel a cold ice Breath beginning to spread from the Saber blade to his hands, and then to his heart meridian. Helpless, he could only circulate his energy to resist, and was temporarily unable to make a move to deal with Jiang Yichen.
On the other side, Jiang Yichen had long since begun circulating the Heavenly Will Art. His Sword Intent surged, and he immediately displayed the Heavenly Illusion Sword. Several streaks of Sword Qi attacked Fan Jian with a swishing sound.
Fan Jian was not called a Fast Sword for nothing. The momentary distraction could not slow down the sword in his hand, as he quickly and accurately blocked those streaks of Sword Qi.
"Still not making a move!" Fan Jian was somewhat annoyed and ashamed, knowing that Shi Ding had already been struck by a hidden hand, and he shouted at the people from Flying Swallow Village.
The people from Flying Swallow Village received the order and attacked. They started with Darts. Their Darts were thrown with great method; they were not thrown randomly, nor were they aimed only at the point where Jiang Yichen was. Instead, they were thrown in a densely packed formation like an arrow array, covering the range Jiang Yichen could move in an instant, leaving him almost nowhere to avoid.
Jiang Yichen blocked the sharp Sword Qi returned by Fan Jian and saw the whistling Darts. In the crisis, he made a very wise choice. He used the Meteor Style to dash a considerable distance away, turned around and used the move "Phoenix Returns to the Nest," swinging out two streaks of Sword Qi to knock down the few Darts that were about to close in. At the same time, he did not stop his feet, cleverly using his Movement Technique to avoid the Darts he had not knocked away. The entire set of moves was done in one go.
"Good." A deep voice in the shadows praised.
Fan Jian had not expected Jiang Yichen to be able to avoid the Flying Swallow Village's Dart array. He had already started moving, flying over to attack, originally intending to settle Jiang Yichen, but he never expected that he would still have to rely on himself.
Without giving Jiang Yichen any breathing space, Fan Jian's Fast Sword had already arrived.
Fan Jian's sword focused on speed and ruthlessness. Fighting at close quarters, he occupied the initiative, and his airtight offensive left Jiang Yichen unable to fight back.
Fan Jian knew that his martial arts were neck and neck with Jiang Yichen's, and he could not do anything to him. He was waiting, waiting for reinforcements from Shi Ding. As for the person hidden in the shadows, he could no longer care about much. He still held a glimmer of hope; what if the other party was just bluffing? He could not be scared off like this; they were already riding a tiger and could not get off.
The bandits from Flying Swallow Village came running with their Sabers after throwing their Darts. On the other side, Shi Ding finally broke through the Ice Soul Sword Qi and was able to move freely. Carrying his anger, he flew over.
"Sigh, it is time for us to make a move. Let's go." Another voice in the shadows said to the person who had just issued the praise.
Clang, clang, clang.
A series of collision sounds rang out. A Folding Fan spun past the faces of the Flying Swallow Village bandits, and the Sabers in their hands were shaken so hard they could not hold onto them, falling to the ground. After the Folding Fan completed its mission, it flew toward a direction with a rustling sound, finally landing in the hands of a handsome young master wearing Brocade Clothes.
On this side, Jiang Yichen used the move "Crane Spreading Feathers," blocking the Twin Blades with his sword and kicking the Fast Sword, allowing himself to pull away from the pincer attack of Fan and Shi.
Shi Ding pressed forward with a move of his Twin Blades. Jiang Yichen leaped up, his toes tapping on the Blade surface, and he used the force to shoot toward Fan Jian.
Jiang Yichen realized he had been fighting too passively and intended to switch from defense to offense.
Shi Ding did not expect Jiang Yichen to make such a decision. Just as he wanted to turn back to pursue, he felt a huge suction force pulling him backward. After struggling for a moment, his feet left the ground. Just as he was about to lose control of himself, he thrust his Twin Blades into the ground with force, finally managing to hold his figure. Looking back, a Black shadow descended from the sky, slashing down with a saber mixed with ferocity. He felt a bit of despair.
How strong is a person's survival instinct?
Shi Ding originally thought he could only close his eyes and wait for death. Who would have known—something that even he found unbelievable—that in his death-bed struggle, he actually pulled out the Twin Blades he had just thrust into the ground with force. He let out a roar to boost his courage, as if he had regained an Opportunity for survival. His combat power soared instantly, and he blocked that Fatal strike.
Jiang Yichen did not pay attention to what was happening behind him, but instead devoted himself entirely to the attack on Fan Jian.
The Water Soft Sword Technique, a continuous offensive, pressed Fan Jian until he could not catch his breath. Fan Jian did not expect that a sword with such slow momentum could actually exert such great pressure on him.
The sword tip had already locked onto Fan Jian's throat. Seeing that he was about to succeed, Jiang Yichen's state of mind changed again. The abrupt roar from behind Shi Ding finally made Jiang Yichen soften his hand once more.
Opportunity lost, it will not come again.
Fan Jian did not expect Jiang Yichen to wilt at the final moment. What a coward!
After quickly distancing himself from Jiang Yichen, he looked toward the direction where Shi Ding had just roared. He saw that Shi Ding was already at the end of his bow. Compared to Jiang Yichen's tricks, Shi Ding's opponent's moves were concise and effective, with every move being Fatal.
The gap in Strength was too large!
After blocking that Fatal saber strike, Shi Ding discovered that everything he faced afterward was still a Killing Move. At this moment, his whole body was trembling, and his reaction was gradually slowing down.
With a sweep of a leg, Shi Ding felt his left Calf seemed to have broken, but before he could even cry out, his body had already fallen heavily to the ground. The pain made him close his eyes. Suddenly, he felt a chill in his abdomen, and then it seemed like a foot was stepping on his stomach. The next moment, he felt as if he had lost something, but it did not matter anymore... having a good brother, having lived happily, having been crazy, that was enough.
"Shi Ding!" Fan Jian roared with a hoarse voice, watching helplessly as the brother with whom he had drunk and slept with the Courtesan Queen was settled in this way, his eyes turning blood red.
Even if he had to die, he would take someone down with him! Fan Jian mobilized all his remaining strength to kill Jiang Yichen.
Jiang Yichen was also stunned to see Shi Ding die miserably. Before he could recover, he caught a glimpse of Fan Jian killing his way over. This was a strike of "fish dies, net breaks"!
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