âBig Sister, why did you let him follow along?â Han Piao asked as he pulled on Fengxiâs sleeve.
In the secluded alleyway, Fengxi was leaning against the wall, resting with her eyes closed. âBecause he wants to follow along.â
âYouâre not that nice of a person to let him follow along just because he wants to,â Han Piao said, pouting his lips. âThereâs another reason isnât there?â
âPiaoâer, have you ever heard of the Jiuluo Clan?â Finally opening her eyes, Fengxi looked at Han Piao.
âJiuluo Clan?â Han Piao pondered for a moment, then shook his head. âNo, I havenât heard of them.â
âWell, thatâs understandable that you havenât,â Feng Xi said as her gaze shifted, staring off into the distance. âAfter all, the Jiuluo Clan was exterminated over 300 years ago by the first Emperor, its name completely erased from history. Itâs only natural that many people do not know there once existed a Jiuluo Clan, renowned for their deep loyalty and tenacity.â
âIf they were so loyal, why were they exterminated by the first Emperor?â Han Piao asked.
âThey pledge their allegiance to only one person and once they make that oath, even death cannot waiver their resolve,â Fengxi said with a sigh. âBack then, our Feng Family also played a part in the demise of the Jiuluo Clan. Survivors from that clan are far and few, scattered across the lands for they can never return to their hometown in this life. Even now, the mention of the Jiuluo Clan is still a taboo in Eastern Realm.â
âDid he just pledge allegiance to you?â Han Piao thought about Yan Jiutaiâs actions just now and couldnât help but gnash his teeth. How dare Yan Jiutai kiss his sisterâs hand!
âYes, just now he pledged his loyalty to me.âWhatever you shall order of me, I shall risk my life to fulfill.â Even if I ask him to die, he will do as I say.â Fengxi nodded, the expression on her face, whether it was joy or sorrow, was difficult to comprehend. âSince he made up his mind to follow me six years ago, with our meeting today, he surely will never stop until he reaches his goal. He will keep chasing after me until I agree orâŠthe day he dies!â
âMany years have passed but our Feng family has always felt guilty towards the Jiuluo Clan. Weâve always wanted to help restore their name, butâŠâ Fengxi gently patted Han Piaoâs head. The look in her eyes dimmed as if immersed in the distant past of three hundred years prior. With a heavy sigh, she continued, âIf he wants to follow, let him follow, perhaps the Feng family and the Jiuluo Clan are fated. In the future⊠I still have a favor to ask of him.â
âIs there anything in the world you canât do that you must ask for his help?â Han Piao questioned. In his heart, Fengxi was all-powerful.
Hearing his question, Fengxi couldnât help but laugh aloud, her gaze softened as she looked at his handsome little face and said, âThere are many things in this world I cannotâŠ.â
Abruptly, her words halted and her smile instantly vanished. Her hands reached out to pull Han Piao towards her as she quickly jumped in the air, retreating three steps back.
Ding!
The sound resonated in the still night, preceded by the the appearance of a long arrow, piercing the place where they had stood just moments ago. The arrow was deeply embedded in the ground, its body still shaking slightly from the impact, speaking to the immense power and speed with which it was shot.
Seeing the arrow, Han Piaoâs heart nearly lunged out of his chest. The arrow had landed precisely where he had just stood. A second later and he definitely wouldâve been pierced in the chest by that arrow!
âWho?â Feng Xi raised her voice.
In the next instant, arrows descended from the rooftops on both sides of the alleyway like a downpour of rain. Fengxi had no time to contemplate who the enemy was. She immediately took Han Piao into her arms as a band of white silk flew out from her sleeve. Running her internal force through the silk, she spun the silk, forming a white impenetrable wall around them.
All the arrows that struck, instantly fell to the ground, broken in pieces.
When the downpour of arrows finally ceased, Fengxi withdrew her white silk, coldly stating, âHmph, no more arrows left?â
Putting Han Piao down, Fengxi gently took to the skies, her body rising like a white crane, lightly landing onto the rooftop on the left. Several dark figures instantly retreated to the shadows prompting Fengxi to give chase.
But as soon as Fengxi left, four new figures emerged, jumping down from the rooftop on the right to land in front of Han Piao. They were all dressed in black with a murderous gleam to their eyes as they surrounded him.
Seeing them approach, Han Piao pulled out his dagger and raised it in front of them, warily watching the four men. Though he was frightened, he silently told himselfâŠÂ Donât be afraid⊠Donât be afraid⊠Yet his legs trembled slightly, a stark contrast to the solemn expression on his face.
In the next moment, the four black-robed men pulled out their weapons from their waistband. Seeing this, Han Piaoâs pupils contracted and his complexion paled. He shouted, âItâs you!â
It was them! There were the people who killed his parents! The ones who set his house on fire! He didnât know who they were but he recognized their movements, the weapons they brandished in their hands. The way they had withdrawn their weapons was just like this!
âHand over the prescription!â A man on the left coldly barked, his snake-like eyes fixed on Han Piao. âIf you hadnât shown your face at the gambling house, we would have never imagined the Han family to still have you left alive! We thought old man Hanâs ghost mustâve taken the prescription along with him to the underworld, but now it appears it was certainly not a waste of time to have come here after all!â
âHmph, the prescription has already been burned to ashes by you all!â Han Piao sneered. Raising his dagger he said, âI thought I wouldnât be able to find you to avenge my parents. I never anticipated you would appear in front of me today. God truly has eyes!â
âWith just you?â Another black-robed man standing on the right laughed contemptously. Taking a step forward, he brandished the large sword in his hand directly at Han Piao. âSince you donât have the prescription, thereâs no reason to keep your cheap little life!â
Seeing the sword swing towards his shoulder, Han Piao quickly ducked to avoid the attack. Promptly, he then rushed towards the black-robed man who, seeing that his sword had met empty air, was still in a slight daze. With the dagger outstretched, Han Piao stabbed straight towards the manâs right hand that was holding the sword. Making contact, the dagger drew a long, painful wound on the manâs wrist. With a ding, the sword in the manâs hand fell to the ground abruptly.
The sudden turn of events left all 5 of them momentarily stunned. Han Piao never expected to succeed in one go and the black-robed man had not paid much attention to Han Piaoâs measly skills, thinking that killing him was as easy as waving his hand. But because he had mistakenly underestimated the enemy, he had gotten hurt in the process. The other three black-robed men had stood on the sidelines and watched, thinking that one person was enough to deal with this kid. Little did they expect Han Piao to actually injure their comrade.
âD*mn little bastard!â the black-robed man scolded as he looked down at his bleeding wrist. Though the wound was not deep, it was a great embarrassment to have sustained an injury in the hands of a child. He hastily picked up the sword with his left hand and brandished it towards Han Piao once again, with greater force and speed than before. Han Piao knew he would not be able to avoid the attack this time. He could only stand there and welcome the oncoming offense as the tightly clutched dagger in his right hand raised towards the manâs chest. Since he wasnât going to make it, he had to at least take one of them with him! But âŠ.Big SisterâŠ
Stabbing the dagger straight towards the enemyâs chest, Han Piao closed his eyes, waiting for the imminent pain of the sword to pierce through his body. But the pain never came, he could only feel the warmth of liquid spilled upon his face combined with a disgusting smellâŠ.
He waited and waited, but his wait was only met with silence. Finally, he decided to open his eyes only to see the wide, bulged-eyed expression on his opponentâs face which was mere inches away. And the sword that was to take his life was retrained in the air, wrapped in bands of white silk.
A scream escaped his lips as he backed away in fright, his footing unsteady, causing him to fall onto his behind. Eyes trembling, he looked around and he saw the other 3 men were also standing still, stunned expressions plastered across their faces.
âYou surely live up to the name of being my little brother!â
Fengxiâs light laughter rang in Han Piaoâs ears.
Startled, Han Piao turned towards the sound. âBig Sister!â he exclaimed as he saw her leisurely sitting atop the rooftop, her two long legs dangling over the eaves as she gripped the white silk in one hand.
âKill him!â a cold voice ordered.
Moments later, Han Piao felt a gush of wind behind his neck.
âYou dare to kill my precious little brother in front of me? You must already be tired of living then.â
Before Han Piao could react, he felt his body lightened and rose in the air. When he came to his senses, he found himself standing on the roof. In the next instant, a white shadow flashed before his eyes and Fengxi had vanished.
Looking down below, he saw the white shadow of silk enclosing the three black-robed men in a tightening circle. No matter what moves they made, or how hard they brandished their weapons at the white shadow, it was like cutting at flowing water, completely useless. Instead, their weapons were dragged along by the flow of silk as the white encirclement closed in until the black-robed men could no longer move. Within moments, the three men were breathing heavily.
âWith such measly skills, you have the audacity to speak of killing people in front of me? You best put down your weapons now!â Fengxi sneered.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
Abruptly, their swords fell to the ground in quick succession.
The bright encirclement dissipated as Fengxi retrieved the white band of silk back into her sleeve, signaling the ending of the battle.
Fengxi stood leisurely in the middle as the black-robed men were standing rigidly still, seemingly restrained by Fengxi.
âPiaoâer, come down here,â Fengxi turned back and waved him over.
Han Piao immediately jumped down and went to pick up the sword off the ground to slash towards one of the men in black.
âPiaoâerâŠâ Fengxi called as she immediately reached out to stop him.
âItâs them! They killed my whole family!â Han Piao turned his head around and shouted.
âI know.â Fengxi said as she casually waved her left hand while her right hand used a bit of force to retrieve the sword from his grasp. âI still have something I must ask them.â
Fengxi turned to face the black-robed men and greeted with cupped fists. Smiling, she said, âBig brothers in black, I have a question for you all. Why must you steal the Han Familyâs prescription? With your martial skills, it wouldnât be a problem to just steal the medicine theyâve hidden in their house, that would still be plenty for you all to use until you die.â
The three black-robed men remained silent, ignoring her question. Though they were unable to move because she had sealed their accupoints, their eyes were fixed on her body. Although the three of them were not top masters, there were still first-class martial artists. Yet they were defeated in the hands of this woman. Who exactly was she?
âWho are you?â One of the men in black questioned.