"Give... it... back! Give... it... back to me!"
"You... thieving... shameless scoundrel!"
The sword-light of Mount Baijian flashed wildly, accompanied by the whistling sound of arrows piercing the air. Combined with the eerie, cold voice emanating from the grotesque face on the stone tablet, it caused Lu Qingkong to break into a cold sweat for no apparent reason.
You Nü hid behind him, her voice trembling. "Shi... Shixiong, what on earth is that? Why is the stone tablet speaking?"
Lu Qingkong forced himself to remain steady. After testing the waters for a long while, he determined that the face on the tablet could only produce intermittent sounds and seemed to have no other means of attack. He stepped forward tentatively and asked, "Who stole your things?"
The face became even more distorted as it hissed, "The robes of Rizhao Mountain... You little brats from Rizhao... stole my sword... and you still dare to come here? What audacity!"
Lu Qingkong and You Nü exchanged a glance, both seeing confusion in the other's eyes.
Just as Lu Qingkong was about to ask more, You Nü, who had been clutching his arm, suddenly exerted an unexpected force and shoved him forward.
Though You Nü was only a ten-year-old child, Lu Qingkong spent his years cooped up in his room tinkering with arrays; he was frail and lacked physical strength. Caught off guard, he was tackled head-on. The two of them tumbled to the side, limbs entangling as they rolled into a messy heap.
Lu Qingkong’s back slammed against the jagged gravel of the cavern wall. He winced in pain and snapped impatiently, "You little brat, you—"
Before he could finish, a thunderous *crack* echoed. A crimson whip lashed down, carving a deep fissure into the ground where they had just been standing. Had You Nü not pushed him aside, the two of them might have been reduced to mincemeat by that ferocious strike.
"Shixiong."
Lu Qingkong looked up. You Nü had already stood up at some point, her small, thin frame shielding him. Her slender hands were trembling slightly.
Before her, a woman in fluttering red robes stood with her toes pointed slightly downward, hovering in the air. She looked down at the "ants" beneath her with a gaze full of arrogance and coldness, as if merely glancing at them was an insult to her eyes.
Her impossibly slender waist was framed by the split hem of her robes, which billowed in the wind to reveal long legs wrapped in crisscrossing red ribbons. Her blood-red lips parted slightly as she said leisurely, "Fragile ants."
The face on the stone tablet let out two harsh *clacks*. "Hong Xue, kill these two from Rizhao!"
Crimson tassels hung from Hong Xue’s high topknot, swaying gently in the breeze. Her red eyes shifted as she murmured, "As you command."
Lu Qingkong’s pupils contracted. Instinctively, he tried to pull You Nü behind him to protect her, but before he could move, You Nü clumsily drew a wooden sword from her waist. It was likely a toy carved for her by her senior sisters; it was covered in mottled nicks, and her name was carved crookedly into the hilt.
The hand holding the wooden sword shook violently. She took a clumsy, childish stance, her voice quivering. "It... it was they who attacked first. You Nü... just wants to protect Shixiong..."
Lu Qingkong didn't understand what she was rambling about and shouted, "You Nü! Get back here!"
Had he looked closer, he would have realized that You Nü wasn't shaking out of fear. Rather, she looked as though she had found a toy that perfectly suited her whims and was desperately suppressing the urge to rush forward and seize it. Because the emotion was so intense, her knuckles were white as she gripped the hilt, her body vibrating with excitement.
Hong Xue’s narrow eyes swept over her. She said coldly, "Ants, return the Kua Yu Sword you stole."
"The Kua Yu Sword?" Lu Qingkong froze, his expression immediately darkening.
Everyone on Rizhao Mountain knew that the weapon Ming烛 had brought back from Mount Baijian was the Kua Yu Sword. He would boast triumphantly every time about how he had overcome countless trials and tribulations to obtain it, but he had never mentioned that he had snatched it from someone else!
Then again, thinking about it, such a reckless and shameless act was indeed Ming烛’s style.
With her back to Lu Qingkong, You Nü’s tender, harmless face still wore her usual bright, innocent smile. She tilted her head and smiled sweetly at Lu Qingkong. "Shixiong, it seems You Nü has found the weapon she wants."
Lu Qingkong seemed stunned by her smile. His hand, which had been raised to protect her, froze in mid-air as he stared at her in shock.
You Nü’s eyes curved into crescents, clear and bright. Because she was smiling so sweetly, two small dimples appeared on her cheeks. She pointed a slender finger at the floating Hong Xue and said with a giggle, "Since Da-Shixiong could snatch the Kua Yu Sword back then, then if I snatch her away, that should be fine too, right, Shixiong?"
Lu Qingkong: "..."
Hong Xue: "..."
A flash of irritation finally appeared on Hong Xue’s cold, elegant face. she suddenly threw out her hand, and the tassels on her hair-stick abruptly grew into thick, whip-like vines. With a shrill whistle, they crashed down toward the tiny, boastful girl.
You Nü stood her ground, her crescent-moon eyes watching the thrashing vines above her without a hint of fear. She raised the wooden sword she usually played with and gave a light, unpracticed flick toward the incoming vines.
Lu Qingkong only heard a massive *boom*. The vines in mid-air suddenly exploded, falling limply like scattered flower petals. Within a few breaths, the ground was covered in debris.
You Nü remained standing quietly in place. Meanwhile, the tassels holding Hong Xue’s hair in place snapped, and her ink-black hair spilled down her back like falling flowers on flowing water, dancing alongside her skirts.
The mask of composure on Hong Xue’s face finally cracked. She looked at the little girl who had severed all her vines with a single strike in utter disbelief. Her red lips trembled. "You..."
You Nü pouted, looking somewhat unhappy. "I told you, you attacked first. You Nü only wants to protect Shixiong; I don't want to kill anyone."
The face on the stone tablet was also stunned. It hadn't expected this seemingly fragile girl to be a hidden master of such caliber. On Mount Baijian, Hong Xue was the most powerful artifact spirit aside from the Kua Yu Sword itself. Even if she had underestimated her opponent, being forced into such a state by a girl’s casual strike was extraordinary.
Hong Xue tapped her toes lightly, her figure fluttering as she landed gracefully beside the stone tablet. She said coldly, "This child possesses three complete sets of spiritual vein inheritances. She is likely from the Goulian family."
The face gnashed its teeth. "Can we not kill her?"
Hong Xue replied, "We cannot."
In the time it took for them to exchange those two sentences, You Nü, clutching her wooden sword, had already skimmed across the ground, her figure rushing toward them like a ghost. She gripped the hilt with both hands, raised it over her head with a small "Ah!", and swung down at Hong Xue without blinking.
Hong Xue’s hair was disheveled, her eyes turning red as she whipped around. With a violent wave of her hand, a pitch-black whip emerged from a dark mark on her wrist. She lashed out fiercely before You Nü’s strike could land.
The wooden sword and the long whip collided in mid-air. The point of impact immediately sent out a ripple that distorted the very air. The mountain walls groaned under the shockwave, causing countless rusted blades to rattle and fall. Even the giant sword wrapped in chains at the center of the cavern trembled for a moment.
Blocked by the whip, You Nü did not retreat. Instead, she reached out to grab the snake-like black whip. Her starry eyes widened, filled with a joyful, obsessed light as she looked at Hong Xue. She murmured, "Jiejie, you’re so wonderful. I really like you so much. Won't you come with You Nü?"
Hong Xue’s eyes turned cold. She swept her wide red sleeve through the air, the force slamming into You Nü’s small body to throw her back. She barked, "Presumptuous!"
To her surprise, even as You Nü was flung away, she never let go of the whip. She actually pulled the whip taut, using the momentum of her flight to swing in a semi-circle through the air. Then, tapping her toes against the stone wall, she launched herself back at Hong Xue like an arrow from a bow.
Hong Xue decisively abandoned the whip and flew back several paces, pressing her hand against the stone tablet. She said coldly, "The Kua Yu Sword is not with these two. I cannot reclaim it. I must return for now and await a better opportunity."
The stone tablet was still indignant, but after a glance at the "mad dog" that was You Nü, the face twisted slightly, reverting back to the elegantly carved character for "Hundred." Hong Xue’s figure also began to fade, her red spiritual energy being drawn into the tablet.
Just as she felt herself merging back into the stone, her shoulder was suddenly grabbed. She whipped her head around to find You Nü standing behind her with an expectant look. The girl’s cheeks were slightly flushed as she looked at Hong Xue shyly, whispering, "Little Jiejie, are you unwilling to be my artifact spirit?"
Hong Xue struck out with a palm, but her hand was repelled by the protective spiritual energy surging around You Nü.
You Nü was still smiling. She tilted her head slightly and quickly pressed a finger to the center of Hong Xue’s brow. A massive surge of spiritual power instantly flooded into Hong Xue’s spiritual terrace. You Nü murmured, "But I like you so much. What should I do?"
Hong Xue’s red eyes instantly lost their focus. A moment later, her form slowly dissipated into the air.
You Nü took a deep breath and rolled up her sleeve to look at the pitch-black ring-shaped mark on her wrist—Hong Xue had been so easily subjugated and forced into a master-servant bond.
You Nü murmured to herself, "You Nü doesn't want to be unhappy, so I’ll have to trouble Jiejie to endure a little."
She had casually torn Hong Xue’s attacks and vines to shreds and forced her into submission. Now, amidst the wreckage, she ran back to Lu Qingkong’s side with her wooden sword. She looked up at him with teary eyes and sobbed, "Shixiong, is You Nü very useless? It took so much effort just to collect a sword spirit... *hic*... waah..."
Lu Qingkong: "..."
You Nü held her sword in one hand and rubbed her eyes messily with the other, loudly cursing herself for being useless. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed, making Lu Qingkong feel an inexplicable pang of pity—if he hadn't just seen her casually smash an artifact spirit with the power of a Nascent Soul cultivator to bits and force it to recognize her as master, he might have felt even more sorry for her.
The scene just now made Lu Qingkong feel as though he were in a surreal dream where the sun and moon had swapped places. He still hadn't quite processed it.
Who could have imagined that the most harmless person in their group, You Nü, possessed spiritual power capable of rivaling a Nascent Soul master? Lu Qingkong felt his entire world-view collapsing. Though he prided himself on having seen all sorts of eccentric people and rare treasures, he currently could not find a single word to describe his feelings.
Seeing his dazed expression, You Nü let out a post-crying hiccup and tugged on his sleeve. She asked softly, "Shixiong... Shixiong, what’s wrong?"
Lu Qingkong looked at her with a complex expression. After a long moment, he sighed and said, "It’s nothing."
You Nü immediately became happy again. She wiped away her tears and skipped forward, pulling Lu Qingkong’s hand. "You Nü has found her weapon! Now let’s hurry and find a handy weapon for Shixiong. Once we find it, Da-Shijie and Da-Shixiong will come to pick us up."
Lu Qingkong didn't want to say anything more and allowed her to lead him deeper into the mountain.
Meanwhile, in the Waste Sword Graveyard beneath the abyss of Mount Baijian, Ming烛 unhurriedly gripped the stolen Kua Yu Sword in his palm, standing as still as a mountain. He merely stood there, yet the vicious undead covering the ground all stopped in their tracks out of fear, uncontrollably bowing their heads in submission to him.
No, to be precise, they were bowing to the Kua Yu Sword in his hand.
The man with the halberd looked grim. He wanted to raise his weapon to strike down this waste without spiritual veins, but the halberd in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand tons, trembling so violently that he was rendered unable to move.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 勾连 | Goulian | A mysterious and powerful clan name associated with You Nü. |
| 红雪 | Hong Xue | Red Snow; the name of the powerful artifact spirit. |
| 器灵 | Artifact Spirit | The sentient spirit or soul residing within a powerful weapon or magical item. |
| 灵台 | Spiritual Terrace | Also known as the Lingtai; the center of consciousness or the soul in cultivation. |
| 元婴 | Nascent Soul | A high level of cultivation (usually above Golden Core). |
| 废剑冢 | Waste Sword Graveyard | The area where discarded or broken swords are kept. |
