Early in the morning, under the faint light of dawn, Gu Congshan looked up and saw Pingxiang Town already in the distance. Barring any surprises, he would reach the town today—no more sleeping out in the wilderness.
He walked a short distance to a stream, squatted down in good spirits, and scooped up water to wash his face. The chill of the stream gave Gu Congshan a jolt, waking him fully.
He then took out his water pouch, planning to fill it up before heading back.
At the same moment, upstream, a woman in green robes was fleeing at full speed, clutching a child of no more than four or five years old.
She bore no fewer than dozens of wounds, large and small, her green robes dyed crimson with blood. Yet the woman seemed to feel nothing, focused solely on sprinting through the forest.
The child held protectively in her arms was unharmed, but he was as skittish as a startled bird.
His tear tracks had long dried, his body cowering in fear, not daring to let out even a whimper.
Gu Congshan finished drawing water and looked up just in time to see this scene. For a moment, he couldn't quite process it—what was this…
A few dark figures emerged from the bamboo grove. Gu Congshan focused his gaze and saw they were black-clad, masked men.
They looked like assassins, didn't they?
Not just looked—they clearly were!
Moments later, Gu Congshan, clutching the child, was sprinting for his life, pursued by a host of black-clad, masked assassins.
How did things end up like this?!
Gu Congshan voiced the question from the depths of his heart—he was at most just passing through!
But these black-clad assassins clearly didn't care whether he was innocent or not. Since Gu Congshan had appeared where he shouldn't have at a time he shouldn't have, and seen what he shouldn't have seen, finishing him off was simply a matter of convenience.
The woman in green saw that Gu Congshan was a cultivator, and also saw that his cultivation was low. But under these circumstances, she had no better choice.
"My lord is a collateral branch of the Jiang clan of Pingxiang Town. He has fallen into misfortune, and only this single son survives. Servants have already been sent to notify the clan—reinforcements of family guards will arrive before long." The woman in green explained the situation to Gu Congshan in two sentences, then said in a low, solemn voice, "I beg you, sir, to protect the young master and press on. For this kindness, the Jiang clan will surely repay you!"
With that, she forcibly shoved the child into Gu Congshan's arms, then single-handedly held off the many assassins, buying the two of them a brief window to escape.
Under those circumstances, facing assassins who had no intention of letting him go, Gu Congshan had no room to choose—he could only clutch the child and flee in disgrace.
But he hadn't run far before the sound of rushing wind came from behind. Without turning his head, Gu Congshan could guess that some assassins had caught up.
These assassins were not cultivators, but they were all martial artists who practiced the Martial Path. This assassination was truly a lavish undertaking.
In this world, there were cultivators who possessed Life Stars and could nurture spiritual breath, but there were far more people born without Life Stars, destined to have no connection to cultivation.
For those without Life Stars to gain power, the only path left was to cultivate the Martial Path—absorbing the free-floating spiritual energy between heaven and earth to temper the body, condensing it into Inner Breath.
Martial artists could not wield spells and could hardly seek immortality, but against cultivators below the Upper Three Realms, they all had the strength to fight.
The woman in green was also a martial artist. It was precisely through her profound Inner Breath that she had been able to shield a child under five and break through the assassins' encirclement, and just now, to hold off so many assassins alone.
Yet one person's strength was ultimately limited, and since the black-masked assassins' true target was the young child now cradled in Gu Congshan's arms, a dozen or so pursuers soon caught up.
Gu Congshan's nerves were stretched taut as he fled at his utmost speed, no longer able to spare a thought for what lay ahead. As a cultivator who had only opened three mansions, he had no confidence whatsoever in facing these martial artists head-on.
The child in his arms clutched tightly at Gu Congshan's robes, too frightened to cry or make a sound no matter how terrified, afraid of being abandoned.
Even though the black-clad assassins would not spare Gu Congshan, who had already been swept into this assassination attempt, shedding the burden would undoubtedly improve his chances of escape by a fraction.
But after a moment of inner struggle, Gu Congshan ultimately could not bring himself to do such a thing.
To do so would be a disgrace to every wandering hero under heaven!
At least… at least wait a little longer…
Hadn't she said just now that Jiang family retainers would arrive soon? Gu Congshan recalled the green-robed woman's words and desperately channeled the spiritual breath within him, fighting for a sliver of hope for himself and the child in his arms.
"What are you running from?" A voice suddenly asked at his ear.
Was there even a need to ask?
"Running for my life, of course!" Gu Congshan snapped back irritably.
What a pointless question at such a perilous moment.
Wait—Gu Congshan realized something was wrong. He looked up and saw Ming Zhu standing atop a bamboo branch.
"What are you doing here?!" Gu Congshan's voice cracked as he cried out.
"Came to find you," Ming Zhu replied matter-of-factly.
Gu Congshan had been washing his face for far too long. When he failed to return, Ming Zhu had set out to look for him.
But seeing Ming Zhu appear brought Gu Congshan no joy—only a pang of internal injury.
He had deliberately fled in the opposite direction precisely to avoid dragging her and A'He into this mess. For her to show up now was nothing short of walking straight into a trap!
Even with Ming Zhu's extraordinary talent, she had only just stepped onto the Dao path. Even having opened seven mansions, she might not be a match for so many assassins.
Gu Congshan took a deep breath, forcing down the sudden surge of frustration. Fine, this wasn't the time for such thoughts. Best to keep running.
But Ming Zhu, who had been stepping across the bamboo branches, suddenly halted. She raised her hand and hurled a short dagger, striking Gu Congshan squarely on the knee. He stumbled, nearly falling flat on his face. It was at that very moment that two sleeve arrows whistled past his side, piercing through bamboo stalks with a sharp clang.
Gu Congshan spoke weakly: "Could you give some warning next time?"
"No time," Ming Zhu replied with utter seriousness. She had said it—even if she warned him, Gu Congshan's reaction speed wouldn't be enough to dodge.
That was a fair point. Gu Congshan had no retort.
In the span of those two exchanges, several more dark figures surged from the bamboo grove to the side, closing in to encircle them. Sleeve arrows rained down like a storm, dense enough to riddle a man into a sieve.
Dodging these arrows was no great difficulty for Ming Zhu, but Gu Congshan could hardly match her composure. He had never formally trained in martial arts, and with a defenseless child in his arms, he was reduced to scrambling and rolling to avoid the barrage.
Fortunately, his luck held—the dense bamboo grove shielded him, and he didn't take a single arrow.
After the volley of arrows subsided, Ming Zhu showed no fear at the sight of the numerous black-clad assassins before her. Instead, she remarked with some surprise to Gu Congshan: "You wash your face, and you've made this many enemies?"
That was a rare talent in itself.
At her words, Gu Congshan choked, feeling a familiar weariness wash over him.
There was no time to explain much. He set the child down behind him, shielding the boy with his body, and said in a low voice to Ming Zhu, "These are all martial artists with Inner Breath. Don't worry about us—find a chance to break through and run."
Gu Congshan knew well that, given how these assassins operated, the moment Ming Zhu appeared here, she too had become a target they needed to eliminate. However, her cultivation was even higher than his own. Without them weighing her down, she might still have a chance to escape.
At a time like this, was there really any need to insist on living and dying together? Of course, it was better to save whoever could be saved.
Before Ming Zhu could answer, the iron chain and hooked claw tore through the air with a piercing whistle. The short dagger in her hand flipped as she blocked the hook. The force of the clash pressed down on the bamboo branch beneath her feet.
She spun upward, kicking the hook as she rose. The chain flew back in reverse, and the hook struck the assassin who had thrown it, blood instantly staining the bamboo leaves red.
Perhaps realizing that between Ming Zhu and Gu Congshan, she was the more formidable opponent, the number of assassins who lunged at her in the next moment was several times greater than those who went for Gu Congshan.
Gu Congshan's heart clenched with anxiety, but for the moment, he could barely manage his own defense.
The chain, like a silver serpent, suddenly changed direction mid-air, hooking toward the child sheltered behind Gu Congshan. In the blink of an eye, there was no time to dodge.
Almost instinctively, Gu Congshan turned and used his own body to block the chain hook. A bloody gash tore across his shoulder, and he rolled twice on the ground before the momentum of the hook was spent.
A searing pain shot through his shoulder. Gu Congshan broke out in a cold sweat, but there was no time to hesitate. He channeled his spiritual breath, and a burst of flame briefly drove back the assassins closing in on him.
On the other side, Ming Zhu moved through the bamboo grove, weaving between attacks that descended with Inner Breath, a flicker of interest showing in her eyes.
This was her first time fighting martial artists.
An invisible blade qi swept past her side, leaving a long, narrow wound. Blood immediately soaked through her clothes, yet there was not a trace of fear in Ming Zhu's eyes. So this was a martial artist's Inner Breath?
The black-clad, masked assassins moved in perfect coordination. Under their encirclement, she was forced down to the ground. Gu Congshan looked up at the sound, and saw dozens of assassins leaping from different directions, striking at Ming Zhu one after another. His heart shot straight into his throat.
Ming Zhu looked up, calmly observing the assassins before her—or rather, not just those before her.
She could sense the breathing of everyone around her with perfect clarity.
The morning sun was just rising, the mist in the forest gradually dispersing. Daylight reflected off the emerald green, and the wind rustled the bamboo leaves with a soft whisper. Ming Zhu opened her hand, and the wind slipped through her fingers. A faint smile lingered on her face, pure and devoid of any extra meaning.
The assassins closing in drew nearer and nearer, their blades glinting coldly in the light of dawn. Yet Ming Zhu stood still, unmoving.
Just as the blades were about to fall, a wind rose around her.
Facing the light, Ming Zhu raised her hand, and the spiritual breath in all nine of her mansions was spent in an instant.
Amid the falling bamboo leaves, countless tiny blades of wind swept through.
Before consciousness could even register it, a thin line of blood appeared on the neck of the foremost assassin. Blood splattered onto the bamboo stalk. His eyes held a lingering disbelief as his body fell limply.
A seemingly gentle breeze—it turned out it, too, could take a life.