Chapter 22: Chapter 22

“Who is it? Stop skulking around and pretending to be a ghost!” the Red-Robed Eunuch roared. His voice echoed endlessly through the forest.

No one answered. Only his shrill voice continued to reverberate among the trees.

“You refuse to come out? Then you need never come out!”

His True Qi erupted. A ring of force spread outward as countless palm shadows blasted in every direction.

It had to be said that the Red-Robed Eunuch’s Cultivation Rank was truly profound. Even after several fierce battles, his True Qi still possessed such terrifying power.

Palm shadows surged forth one after another. No one knew how many towering trees were destroyed beneath his strikes.

Zhao Jiu forced his battered body to move. He activated the Qinggong technique Chasing the Stars and Pursuing the Moon and retreated several li, lest he be caught in the Red-Robed Eunuch’s attacks.

It seemed that the Red-Robed Eunuch was genuinely enraged. He had been delayed time and again, while one opponent after another had come to exhaust him in succession. His plans had been completely disrupted.

This also made him even more furious with Zen Master Baoshu. Had Zen Master Baoshu been willing to lend him a hand, they might already have been on their way back to Chang’an.

Most of the surrounding trees had already been destroyed. The snow blanketing the ground had been swept aside by the Red-Robed Eunuch’s True Qi, leaving only a few drifting flakes behind.

Yet there was still no sign of the third person.

The Red-Robed Eunuch did not dwell on it. He tapped a foot against the ground and swept past the sword planted in the snow. His hands curled into claws as he charged straight toward Gao Qi.

Even with the golden saber in hand, Gao Qi had been no match for the old eunuch. Now that the weapon had been knocked away, he could only face the furious Red-Robed Eunuch barehanded.

The moment they exchanged blows, Gao Qi predictably fell at a disadvantage. The Red-Robed Eunuch’s palm techniques were exceptionally fierce. Every strike forced Gao Qi several steps backward, leaving him completely unable to confront the attacks head-on.

“Alas…”

A sigh came from the distance, interrupting the Red-Robed Eunuch’s offensive.

An old man wearing a straw rain cape suddenly swept into view. While still in midair, he thrust out several fingers, forcing the Red-Robed Eunuch to retreat.

He then landed in front of Gao Qi and spoke calmly.

“Eunuch Chen, why must you make things difficult for a young girl?”

“Zhou Zhiyang?” Eunuch Chen threw back his head and laughed. “A defeated opponent like you still dares to display his might?”

As though suddenly remembering something, he continued, “What is it? Is Tianshan no longer large enough to accommodate that withered sword of yours?”

“Tianshan is vast. It can accommodate not only this withered sword of mine, but several more besides!” Zhou Zhiyang’s expression darkened briefly at the words of the defeated opponent. He then removed the sword strapped to his back. “Eunuch Chen, stop now. Against the two of us, your chances of victory are not high.”

Eunuch Chen sneered repeatedly.

He cared little about facing either Gao Qi or Zhou Zhiyang alone. He could simply kill either of them. However, dealing with the two of them together would be considerably more troublesome.

Zhou Zhiyang and Gao Qi both wore grave expressions.

As one of the Four Supervisors of the Inner Court, Eunuch Chen had already made a name for himself during the reign of the Late Emperor. Who knew what other methods he might still possess?

Naturally, neither man dared to act rashly.

Zhou Zhiyang drew his sword, while Gao Qi planted his feet firmly on the ground. Their auras became razor-sharp as they faced Eunuch Chen.

Each side harbored its own considerations, and none dared to make the first move.

The forest suddenly fell silent. Only snowflakes continued to drift gently from the sky.

Eunuch Chen glanced aside. Liu Rouwei was drawing closer and closer to Huai’an County. Growing increasingly anxious, he had no choice but to attack first.

His True Qi circulated, and in an instant, he appeared before the two men.

He struck out with his palm, filling the sky with overlapping palm shadows that descended like pouring rain.

“Be careful,” Zhou Zhiyang warned.

His sword moved no slower than Eunuch Chen’s palms. He delivered several successive thrusts, his movements resembling a painter sweeping a brush across paper. His sword traced the air like dragons and serpents dancing beneath a calligrapher’s hand, yet each stroke possessed the sturdy structure of characters carved into stone.

One by one, he blocked the descending palm shadows.

Zhou Zhiyang had originally been a painter. Later, he had abandoned painting to study the sword. Even after more than thirty years of swordsmanship, his techniques still retained the refinement of a scholar.

As his Sword Qi flowed, an ink-wash painting seemed to take shape upon the snow.

Eunuch Chen chuckled and struck out with a palm.

His overwhelming True Qi surged directly into the painting, throwing every brushstroke into chaos.

Seeing Zhou Zhiyang’s sword technique disrupted, Gao Qi hurriedly joined the battle and helped share the pressure.

“You seek death! Banner Seizure!”

Eunuch Chen transformed his palm into a claw and lashed out, forcing both men backward. He immediately followed with another claw aimed directly at Gao Qi.

Gao Qi retreated three steps.

“Thunderous Fist!”

He threw a punch and blocked Eunuch Chen’s attack, but he himself was driven back another two steps. It was obvious that the exchange had not been easy for him.

Zhou Zhiyang knew they could not continue stalling for long. He swept his sword across Eunuch Chen’s path, retreating before suddenly advancing again.

“There is nothing in Jiangnan…”

He gathered his power into a single sword strike.

The sword’s power surged like a great river flowing backward, while starlight shimmered within it. In the blink of an eye, the technique had fully taken shape.

Zhou Zhiyang spoke softly.

“…save a spring to send you.”

He thrust his sword directly at Eunuch Chen.

The Sword Qi was bitterly cold. It pierced through the hall and gate like the work of a master painter whose splashed ink instantly formed a magnificent image. A vast and righteous aura soared upward, piercing the heavens like a rainbow.

Eunuch Chen retreated repeatedly.

He could not help but sigh inwardly. They had not met for ten years, and Zhou Zhiyang was no longer the inexperienced man he had once been.

Eunuch Chen hurriedly pressed his palms together and formed a finger seal. His True Qi gathered into a single enormous finger that bore down upon both men.

“Nine Suns Return to One!”

Eunuch Chen shouted.

The finger shadow collided with Zhou Zhiyang’s sword and exploded. Both Zhou Zhiyang and Gao Qi were sent flying backward. They tapped their feet against the ground several times before finally steadying themselves.

“Eunuch Chen, I am afraid killing the two of us will not be so easy,” Zhou Zhiyang said first.

Despite his words, fear lingered in his heart.

He had attacked with preparation while Eunuch Chen had been caught off guard, yet the exchange had still ended in a draw. Had Eunuch Chen been at his peak, both of them might truly have died here.

Eunuch Chen stood with his hands clasped behind his back.

He already understood that killing the two men was impossible. As for Liu Rouwei, they would never allow him to pass.

After so many battles, he was no longer anywhere near his peak. Were the fight to continue, even his own escape might become uncertain.

However, Eunuch Chen was unwilling to leave just like that. After all, even while fighting two opponents alone, he still held a slight advantage. Retreating under such circumstances was difficult for him to accept.

And so, the two sides confronted each other in silence.

Clop, clop, clop, clop—

The sound of hoofbeats came from the distance.

All three men raised their heads simultaneously.

A line of cavalry had appeared in the direction of Huai’an County. The foremost soldier carried a great banner emblazoned with the character “Liu.”

Both the riders and their horses were clad in armor that covered them from head to toe, even protecting their faces. Everything about them was black.

The three men reacted differently.

Gao Qi burst into laughter.

“Eunuch Chen, you should leave! The Yanyun Iron Cavalry has arrived, and the Young Miss has already entered Hexi!”

Zhou Zhiyang also breathed a sigh of relief.

Only Eunuch Chen’s expression grew darker.

Martial artists might be unmatched in individual combat, but when confronted by a large, disciplined army, even seizing a commander’s head from within the formation was nearly impossible, let alone breaking through the encirclement.

Moreover, these were no ordinary soldiers. They were the Yanyun Iron Cavalry, warriors tempered through countless battles of blood and flesh.

Anyone trapped within their formation faced certain death.

The hoofbeats drew closer.

“Young Miss!”

A shout came from the distance.

Eunuch Chen’s unease deepened. Just as he was still weighing whether to stay or leave, the hoofbeats suddenly stopped.

Eunuch Chen frowned. He certainly did not believe that the cavalry had become afraid.

“Change horses! Take up your lances!”

“Form ranks! Charge with me!”

Orders rang out from the distance, and the thunder of hoofbeats suddenly intensified.

Eunuch Chen no longer hesitated.

Silently cursing, he hurriedly circulated his True Qi and borrowed the force beneath his feet to sweep away. In the blink of an eye, he was already dozens of paces distant.

After taking several more steps, his figure disappeared into the snowy wilderness.

Once Eunuch Chen had left, Gao Qi’s body relaxed.

Blood immediately trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Seeing this, Zhou Zhiyang cried, “Old Gao!” and hurried to his side to support him.

“It is nothing.” Gao Qi waved a hand, his face filled with the joy of surviving a disaster. “That old eunuch was far too powerful. Had you not arrived in time, I fear my life would have ended at that eunuch’s hands.”

Zhou Zhiyang smiled and patted him on the back.

“That old eunuch truly is formidable. I was one step behind him more than ten years ago, and even now, I still have not caught up.”

As the two men spoke, the cavalry arrived before them.

The leader pulled on the reins and brought his horse to a halt.

“Uncle Gao, the Young Miss is safe. Let us return to Huai’an.”

“Mm.” Gao Qi nodded.

He then turned his head and asked, “Young Hero, would you accompany this old man?”