In the eyes of the crowd, a handsome man stood in a carefree manner behind the Dead Man's Blade, even reaching out to pat him on the shoulder.
Mo Wuyun turned his head to look. This face was an unfamiliar one he had never seen before, yet his body reacted directly for him, taking a step back as a subconscious reflex.
With this step back, Zhang Wuji, who was leaning against the table, was revealed.
He stared blankly at Jiang Moran, his mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't speak a word.
He felt a sudden urge to cry.
Just a moment ago, Zhang Wuji had truly believed he was going to die. It was only when Senior stood in front of him that the despair brought by death finally dissipated.
“What happened? How did you end up in such a wretched state?” Jiang Moran asked, raising an eyebrow.
Zhang Wuji looked down at himself. His clothes were covered in mud stains, his hair was messy, and there was a clear footprint on his face. A bitter smile crept onto the corner of his lips.
“Who are you?”
At this moment, Mo Wuyun finally spoke up. Instead of looking at Zhang Wuji, he stared intently at Jiang Moran as he asked.
He was absolutely certain he had never met this man, yet he always felt a strange sense of familiarity from him, as if they had met somewhere before.
Hearing Mo Wuyun's question, Jiang Moran finally turned his head to glance at him.
“You wanted to kill my friend just now?” Jiang Moran said flatly, making the surrounding crowd feel a sudden chill sweep over them, as if the temperature in the entire inn had dropped by several degrees.
He picked up a cattail leaf fan from a nearby table and casually held it up to block his face.
“Have you had too much to drink?”
Mo Wuyun's pupils dilated in sheer shock. Even though the cattail leaf fan was blocking the man's face now, it gave him an even stronger sense of familiarity, one that was carved into his very bones.
And the other man's words were like a heavy blow that suddenly woke him up!
【Coming to challenge me while clutching a blade.】
【Have you had too much to drink, little brother?】
“You... you are!” Mo Wuyun stammered, his voice trembling.
However, before he could finish his sentence, he was physically interrupted by Jiang Moran.
Boom!
The dust and smoke that blew into their faces obscured their vision. Only when the dust finally settled did the crowd see that a large hole had been smashed into the inn's wall.
“O-one kick... That man only used one kick,” someone stammered, swallowing hard.
Ning Qingzhu covered her mouth with her small hand in shock. The Dead Man's Blade had actually been sent flying by a single kick from her Young Master.
At this moment, Jiang Moran's power completely rewrote everyone's understanding of strength, with the sole exception of Old Chen.
Ever since he saw Jiang Moran walk in, Old Chen stopped hiding behind the table. He set up a stool in the aisle, crossed his legs, and sat there in a leisurely and carefree manner.
Zhang Wuji was completely dumbfounded. He had never expected Jiang Moran to fight so effortlessly.
No matter what, they should have exchanged a few blows first, before finding a weakness in a certain round and taking the opponent down in one fell swoop. Instead, he had ended it in an instant right from the start.
Where is the combat experience? It's like he's the only one playing!
Jiang Moran slowly lowered his leg, secretly letting out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, that was a close call. He had almost blown his cover.
As he was thinking, a sudden gust of wind blew toward him.
“Young Master!!”
The familiar voice reached his ears, followed by a suffocating sense of pressure.
Ning Qingzhu rushed over and threw her arms around him, tightly hugging Jiang Moran's neck and refusing to let go, as if terrified that he would run away.
Jiang Moran dared not move, only letting her hug him. He couldn't help but sigh in his heart that she really had grown up.
“Young Master, why are you here?!” Ning Qingzhu asked in pleasant surprise, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him.
Jiang Moran smiled and patted her head. He also hadn't expected to meet her here, nor had he expected that the map he had circulated would actually draw her here too.
“I am also heading to the Northern Desert,” Jiang Moran explained.
Young Master was going to the Northern Desert?! Ning Qingzhu's eyes widened, and then her entire being filled with excitement. Her Young Master could go with them!
“That's wonderful! Let's go together then.”
Jiang Moran nodded helplessly. Now that he had been caught, what else could he do?
Having not seen each other for a long time, Ning Qingzhu clung to him and coaxed him for a good while before she finally remembered the Dead Man's Blade, who had shown no signs of life since being kicked earlier.
“Young Master, is he dead?”
Hearing this, Jiang Moran glanced at the broken wall and could faintly see someone pinned under the wooden boards.
Dying was impossible. With the physical strength of the Dead Man's Blade, this kick was not enough to kill him; at most, he would just be injured.
Jiang Moran walked over and kicked aside the wooden boards covering the man's face.
He saw Mo Wuyun still had his eyes open, but he wore an expression of complete despair, showing no reaction even as Jiang Moran stood right next to him.
“What's wrong? Did you get kicked stupid?” Jiang Moran looked down at him and asked, lightly tapping the man's right cheek a few times with his foot.
Mo Wuyun remained unresponsive.
Good grief, he's not even getting angry at this. Could he really have been kicked stupid? Jiang Moran thought to himself, but he hadn't even kicked him in the head.
In truth, no one knew that the reason Mo Wuyun had returned to that village was twofold: first, because he had wandered the jianghu for so long that he inevitably felt lonely, and second, because he had been thoroughly beaten into a state of self-isolation by Jiang Moran.
Years later, just as he had made his comeback into the jianghu and was feeling high-spirited, he was beaten back to his original state by the exact same person.
And this time, it was even more egregious—it only took a single kick.
Seeing this, Jiang Moran did not waste any more words. If the man wanted to lie there, then let him lie there. He returned to his own inn with Qiu Zhiya and her group, as the other inn was no longer habitable due to being filled with the smell of blood.
When Fengqingzi saw the wretched-looking Zhang Wuji, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. “Didn't you say you were going to the Martial Alliance? Why does it look like you went begging instead?”
Zhang Wuji glared at him, a bitter smile hanging on his lips. “Don't even mention it. I almost didn't make it out of the Martial Alliance alive.”
“Fortunately, for some unknown reason, they suddenly fell into internal strife while surrounding me. Thanks to that opening, I was able to escape.”
Speaking of which, his luck was quite good. He had chosen an inn at random, yet it turned out to be the place where Ning Qingzhu was staying. It seemed that in the jianghu, luck was indeed often more important than strength.
Meanwhile, Uncle Liu had already returned to the Martial Alliance.
He had no idea that he had narrowly escaped death, and was currently rushing to see the Alliance Leader.
Knock, knock, knock.
Uncle Liu knocked on the Alliance Leader's door and waited quietly for a moment before a response came from inside.
“Come in.”
Hearing this, Uncle Liu pushed open the door and entered. Upon entering, he saw a massive map of mountains and rivers hanging on the wall. In front of this map, a man sat straight at a desk.
The Leader of the Martial Alliance, Wu Changfeng.
“What is it?” Wu Changfeng asked without even raising his head.
“Alliance Leader, two of Wu An's subordinates went missing, so he vented his anger on the recently returned Zhang Wuji. I accompanied them to pursue him and chased him all the way to an inn.”
Wu Changfeng nodded. He was well aware of his son's temperament, but this minor matter did not concern him.
“And then?”
Uncle Liu paused, then said with absolute certainty, “I saw a young girl there. Her movement technique... is extremely similar to one of the people who came to snatch the blade that night.”
“No, it should be said to be exactly the same, only further improved!”
The brush in Wu Changfeng's hand paused. He raised his sharp eyes to look at Uncle Liu, asking in a deep voice, “Are you certain you didn't mistake it?”
“I am certain,” Uncle Liu replied firmly.
A flash of killing intent crossed Wu Changfeng's deep eyes, only to be instantly sucked back into the whirlpool of his gaze.
“Announce it. Issue a Jianghu Pursuit Warrant to the entire world.”
Uncle Liu architecture, looking at Wu Changfeng in disbelief.
A Jianghu Pursuit Warrant? What was that? It was a kill order issued to the entire martial world, something only an organization of the Martial Alliance's magnitude could execute.
Was it really worth issuing a Jianghu Pursuit Warrant for just two thieves?
Uncle Liu dared not ask. He knew that any decision made by Wu Changfeng was not for him to question.
The heavy doors closed, leaving Wu Changfeng alone in the room once again.
The brush in his hand began to move again. He naturally knew the doubts in Uncle Liu's heart, but he had no intention of explaining, because this involved a certain individual.
One of the Four Supremes of the World, Du Jiugu...
Uncle Liu left with a mind full of doubts, but was called out to as he passed by a corner.
“Uncle Liu? Why are you back so early? Is Zhang Wuji dead?” the newcomer asked with a laugh.
Uncle Liu looked at the newcomer. Dressed in luxurious brocade robes, he possessed an extraordinary air, but the cynical smile on his face was truly unpleasant.
“Young Master Wu, I have returned ahead of schedule,” Uncle Liu said respectfully.
Wu An frowned upon hearing this, feeling somewhat dissatisfied, but still smiled and asked, “Then what was the situation like when you left?”
“Zhang Wuji had accomplices. They had already started fighting by the time I left, so I cannot say for certain what the exact outcome is.”
Uncle Liu did not mention that there was another person hiding in the dark, as he did not have solid evidence of this yet.
Wu An could only nod upon hearing this. Saying no more, he gestured for the people behind him to follow as he prepared to leave.
Just as they passed by his side, Uncle Liu finally caught a whiff of blood. He subconsciously lowered his head to look.
He saw that the man behind Wu An was carrying two severed heads in his hands.
Uncle Liu frowned slightly. He had seen these two people in the Martial Alliance before.
Sensing his gaze, Wu An glanced down at the two severed heads along with him, then calmly explained,
“Just two troublemakers, that's all.”
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