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Chapter 7 Part 1 Snow Slave's Awakening
Early in the morning, the Mohist group received a sound-transmission from Bai Feng, demanding they bring Chi Lian to exchange for Duanmu Rong that very day, but only one person was allowed to come. The Mohists refused, of course sending one person would be like throwing a meat bun to a dog: gone without return.
What the Mohists didn't know was that Bai Feng himself was riding a tiger he couldn't dismount. With Quicksand leaderless, he was alone this time, while the Mohists had Ge Nie, Xiaoyaozi, and several other experts. If more Mohists came, he wasn't confident he could escape with Chi Lian.
Neither side would concede; at last Xiaoyaozi personally vouched with his own reputation, and it was decided that only two would go: Daozhi and Xiaoyaozi, escorting Chi Lian.
They met at a clearing by the forest's edge. Xiaoyaozi and Daozhi were puzzled to see Bai Feng alone, but reasoned that even if Quicksand attempted a diversion to ambush the Mohists, those staying behind would be enough to cope.
Facing each other, both sides simultaneously released their hostages and had them walk back on their own. Chi Lian and Duanmu Rong had their internal power sealed and moved slowly, crossing paths when Chi Lian suddenly struck toward Duanmu Rong, intending to seize her again.
"No!" "Watch out!" Bai Feng and Daozhi shouted at the same time and rushed forward together. Hearing them, Chi Lian hesitated briefly, but still attacked; however, that brief hesitation gave Duanmu Rong just enough time to react. Though not highly skilled, both women were without internal energy, so Duanmu Rong was not entirely defenseless.
Duanmu Rong dodged Chi Lian's strike; Chi Lian tried to attack again, but Daozhi's throwing wheel sliced toward her face had it hit, Chi Lian would have been hewn in two. At that instant, Bai Feng's feather darts struck Daozhi's wheel from behind Chi Lian, sending it veering off; thus Chi Lian escaped death.
In a blink, Bai Feng caught Chi Lian, while Daozhi stepped before Duanmu Rong to guard her. They exchanged a palm and a kick, borrowing each other's force to separate. Bai Feng wrapped an arm around Chi Lian's waist and flew away, while Daozhi remained beside Duanmu Rong.
After a fright but no harm, the exchange was finally completed; Duanmu Rong returned to the Mohists.
She briefly recounted what she had experienced, naturally saying nothing of the violations she had suffered.
It was then the Mohists learned that Wei Zhuang had actually gone missing, and Quicksand had truly become a scattered heap of sand.
They urged Duanmu Rong to rest well. Duanmu Rong cast a complicated look at Ge Nie, but seeing him still appear indifferent to everything as always, she left with mixed feelings.
Returning to her room, she found the Mohists had already prepared hot water for her bath. Duanmu Rong soaked comfortably, her mind finally relaxing enough that she fell asleep in the tub.
When she woke, she was already lying on the bed, and Xue Nu was sitting beside her. Seeing Duanmu Rong awaken, Xue Nu smiled slightly.
"Sister Rong, you're awake. Do you feel a bit better?"
"Thank you, little sister. I just had a nap, and I do feel much better."
"It's our fault we didn't protect sister, letting you suffer so much."
"Little sister, don't say that it was a small matter, and I'm unscathed. If you blame yourself, that will only make me uneasy."
The two confided in each other for a while. Duanmu Rong took Xue Nu's hand and sighed.
"Xue Nu, the moment I returned I noticed your complexion is off. I just took your pulse: your body has suffered significant depletion what happened?"
"Sister, I…" With her secret exposed, Xue Nu panicked, Duanmu Rong's needle-like gaze fixed upon her.
"Good sister, we've endured hardships together would I mock you? Is it about you and Xiao Gao?"
Xue Nu shook her head with difficulty, staring blankly. Duanmu Rong held her hand gently and didn't press.
After a long while, Xue Nu came to herself and slowly told Duanmu Rong the truth. The entanglement with Daozhi had weighed on her heart; speaking it aloud suddenly lifted the burden.
Relaxed, she immediately turned the tables: Duanmu Rong had been constantly ravished for many days, and of course her body bore signs of it; despite her remarkable recuperative abilities, not everything had disappeared. Since Xue Nu had just bathed and wiped her, she clearly saw the traces on Duanmu Rong's body. Pressed by Xue Nu, Duanmu Rong too confessed. With truths exchanged, their hearts grew even closer.
Duanmu Rong considered ways to help Xue Nu. With such a deviant cultivation, relying on Daozhi wasn't viable; the best method was dual cultivation with Xiao Gao.
But Xue Nu couldn't bring herself to approach Xiao Gao; Duanmu Rong could only try and help her with medical means.
While the two confided, Xiao Gao stood in a grove playing a lonely tune, his heart extremely troubled. He had long noticed Xue Nu's condition, and her secret trysts with Daozhi hadn't escaped him either.
Between brother and beloved, their accidental involvement was beyond simple right or wrong; still, the fact tormented him, and he often stayed by himself.
"A good melody, played into this," a voice said.
Gao Jianli was startled. He was a first-class expert though distracted, he shouldn't have been caught unaware.
Hand on Shuihan, he turned; a young Daoist nun of seventeen or eighteen stood not far away with a whisk in hand. Standing on a branch, she seemed part of heaven and earth utterly harmonious, as though she had always been there.
"Daoism's unity of Heaven and Man," Gao thought in shock. He'd seen only Xiaoyaozi with such a realm.
To think Daoism had a disciple so young reaching this stage.
"May I ask your honored name?" Gao Jianli asked politely.
"Tian Zong, Xiaomeng."
Gao Jianli didn't know the name Tianzong Xiaomeng. Tianzong stayed far from worldly affairs, and Xiaomeng had never walked the jianghu. Unless familiar with Tianzong, no one would know they had such a master. Though Gao knew Xiaoyaozi, the latter never mentioned the rift between Tianzong and Renzong; Gao even thought Tianzong people never left the mountain.
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