Chapter 68

Lin Fang stood at the classroom door, took a deep breath, and firmly held the envelope containing the secret letter given to him by his mother.

---

Amidst the cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of the promise written there.

---

Lin Fang led the princess to her room after she finished her meal. After confirming that she had entered her room, he went into the room he had rented next to hers. Lin Fang untied the saber from his shoulder and placed it by the head of the bed, then leaned against the wall and sighed. It had been a very tough day for him.

'I really hate guarding a woman who doesn't even know martial arts. And that damn guy didn't help at all...'

While grumbling to himself, a black-robed guard entered with a bottle of liquor, untied his sword, and placed it on the table. He then plopped down in a chair and started drinking slowly without even offering Lin Fang a sip. As Lin Fang watched him absentmindedly, the black-robed guard suddenly spoke.

"Heh heh heh, you're looking at me with suspicious eyes..."

His voice was soft.

"..."

But when Lin Fang remained silent like a mute who had eaten honey, the black-robed guard took another sip and continued.

"Ah... indeed, liquor is a good thing. But I find you as suspicious as you find me..."

"..."

"You said you're a bounty hunter, but there aren't many bounty hunters with your level of skill. Your skills are too good for a bounty hunter. And your extensive experience in the martial world is a bit strange. I have a sense of who you might be..."

Lin Fang's expression began to change subtly. Suddenly, something astonishing happened. The sword on the table, untouched by anyone, suddenly slid out of its scabbard and flew toward Lin Fang at an incredible speed.

'Qi-Driven Sword...'

Lin Fang was startled and hurriedly leaned to the side, grabbing the saber with one hand and trying to block the sword with the other. However, this was just a thought; the speed of the sword flying at him was astonishing. The sword, drawing a graceful parabola, was already at the point of piercing Lin Fang's neck.

'How could this happen... I let my guard down. To die like this...'

At the moment Lin Fang resigned himself, the opponent's sword stopped moving. It was less than an inch from Lin Fang's neck. Lin Fang, not blocking the sword, looked at it with a puzzled expression, realizing that the opponent had no intention of killing him.

The black-robed guard, still leaning comfortably in his chair, took another sip from the bottle and then cast a sharp glance at Lin Fang.

"Come on, spill the beans. If anything seems off, I'll make you regret being born today."

"What do you want me to spill?"

"Who taught you martial arts?"

"That... I can't tell you."

Then the black-robed guard took one last sip, placed the bottle on the table, and stood up to approach.

"You're the type who only cries when you see a coffin."

"Who will cry..."

At the same time, Lin Fang, with a swift movement, struck the sword with his right hand and grabbed the saber with his left. In fact, one of the sabers was drawn to his left hand by the technique of Qi-Driven Sword. He then raised his right foot and shot a palm strike from the sole of his foot at the opponent. However, Lin Fang's movement did not continue.

'How could he have already sealed my meridians...'

The black-robed guard, as if the powerful palm strike was not worth dodging, took it directly on his body. There was a loud "puff," but it caused no damage. And in the midst of this, the black-robed guard had sealed Lin Fang's meridians with a high-level technique, so fast that even Lin Fang, who had been struck, did not realize it. The black-robed guard, as if he had never been hit by a palm strike, slowly approached, lifted Lin Fang's right foot, and glanced at the sole with a mocking smile.

"Tsk tsk tsk, you've only made a hole in your shoe with your useless effort. If you really want to cry, that's fine too. I don't particularly dislike torture. But let me assure you, only one person has ever survived my torture."

Lin Fang felt he had met the wrong person. Qi-Driven Sword is a technique possible only with the cultivation of Qi that can strike the air and draw objects. With enough practice, it can be achieved. When the black-robed guard used Qi-Driven Sword, the speed was a bit concerning, but since the phenomenon of Qi-Filled Sword, where the sword is infused with Qi, did not occur, Lin Fang thought he could handle it with just a saber. However, this move shattered his last hope. With a grim expression, Lin Fang reluctantly asked,

"Who is that one person?"

"My master's cherished disciple. He was a promising young man, and he survived because I found out early. Otherwise, even the King of Hell wouldn't have known who he was. Who taught you martial arts is very important. You might be a disciple of someone I know. Don't regret it after you die, so speak quickly."

Lin Fang almost gave up and confessed. Although there was a chance that he and the sect were enemies, given the current head of the family's character, it was unlikely. So he told the truth.

"I learned from the Chao family."

"The Chao family... So you know Chao Wu, then."

Lin Fang was momentarily startled but could not deny knowing him.

'I trust the head of the family, but I doubt Chao Wu has done anything wrong. Given his skills, if he had done something wrong, he would have been killed first... Why is he targeting me...'

"I know him."

"Who is he?"

"The head of the family's son, who else?"

"What is your relationship with him?"

"What relationship? I just learned some martial arts at the Chao family and was chased out after falling out of favor with the head of the family..."

"Heh heh heh, your martial arts are not just superficial. You must have spent nearly decades buried in the family's secret manuals, making you a direct disciple. Isn't that right? From the move you used earlier, you seem to be a few levels above Chao Wu. If you weren't a direct disciple, your skills couldn't be stronger than the head of the family's son."

"Tell me your relationship with Chao Wu first, and I'll tell you."

"Hmph! We're not particularly close. He once helped me with something. If you meet him, tell him not to forget that I threatened to cut out his tongue if he ever revealed that incident."

"What kind of help did you give to treat him so harshly?"

"That's none of your business. Let's get to the main point."

"My original name is Chao Liubin. I grew up in the Chao family and learned their secret manuals. However, I left after a disagreement with the head of the family. Now, as you can see, I'm just a bounty hunter."

"What kind of disagreement was it to make you leave the sect?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Heh heh heh, it might be good for your health to talk about it."

The opponent's eyes, smiling sinisterly, were resolute. Feeling that there was no room for compromise or concession, Lin Fang resigned himself and confessed.

"Fine. It's not a past so dirty that I have to hide it. The disagreement was about the head of the family's actions towards the evil sect. I believe that all the evil sect members should be torn apart, and I haven't changed my mind. The head of the family just tolerates their evil deeds. That's why..."

"What a joke. What did the evil sect do to you that you want to tear them all apart?"

"I don't want to talk about it. It's a personal matter, and you have no right to know."

"Heh heh heh, I have the right to know. I'm from the evil sect, too."

Lin Fang was startled and looked at the black-robed guard in disbelief. It was absurd for someone from the evil sect to guard a princess, and there were hardly any high-level experts like him among the evil sect members. Then, Lin Fang, with a determined expression, asked,

"Are you from the Heavenly Demon Sect?"

"Hmm, how did you guess that?"

"Don't dodge the question. There's no exaggeration in saying that there's no one in the evil sect with your level of martial arts. If there is, it can only be the Heavenly Demon Sect."

"Yes, I am from the Heavenly Demon Sect. I have no intention of denying it, so continue."

"Is the Blood Demon of Hell, Tian Jin'e, doing well?"

"That guy is probably doing well. Why do you ask?"

Lin Fang's expression changed with shock at the black-robed guard's use of "that guy." In the demonic sect, there were few well-known figures. Among the powerful leaders were the Four Heavenly Kings, and the next known experts were the Withered Blood Demon, the Lustful Demon, and the Blood Demon of Hell. The rest were rarely active in the martial world, so little was known about them. When the righteous sect boasted of having eight high-level experts, the twisted minds of the demonic sect announced that they had four supreme demons, which was enough to instill fear in the public. There was a huge difference between having one in each sect and four in one sect.

The Blood Demon of Hell, for instance, held a very high position in the demonic sect. For the black-robed guard to refer to him as "that guy" suggested that he held an even higher position.

"Who are you?"

"If you answer my question first, I might tell you."

"That bastard made the scar on my face. It was when I was new to the martial world... He said he didn't like my good looks and made the scar. I trained to the death to kill him. When I felt confident enough, I challenged him, but the head of the family stopped me. We fought, and I left the sect. I went to find the Blood Demon of Hell, and he agreed to a duel. After losing to him, I didn't have the face to return to the sect, so I became a bounty hunter."

"Quite an interesting story. With your current skills, if you work a bit harder, you can turn the Blood Demon of Hell into a real ghost. How about working for me? I can teach you martial arts."

"You're from the demonic sect... It's a generous offer, but I have no intention of joining the demonic sect, and I won't."

"I'm not asking you to become a member of the demonic sect. I'm being chased by the demonic sect right now. I'm waiting for a chance to take revenge on them. How about it?"

"But I can't trust you."

"Well, if you can't trust me, there's nothing I can do. I'm Mo Xiang. If you ask a group with good information, you'll find out about me quickly. I doubt you'll believe me now, so find out and come to me if you trust me."

"Understood. I'll think about it."

Mo Xiang released Lin Fang's meridians, sat back in his chair, and slowly lifted the bottle on the table to start drinking.

---

The next morning, the group hastily ate the cold dumplings they had prepared the previous evening and set off. They couldn't afford to waste time, as they hadn't completely shaken off their pursuers, who were still searching for the princess's group with a vengeance. Unable to obtain horses, they continued as before, with the black-robed guard carrying the princess and using his lightness skill to move as quickly as possible to reach Gangshu. While being pursued, they dared not use the main road and instead took mountain paths. As they were running, they saw a carriage and five mounted figures approaching. The urgency with which they were riding suggested they had important business.

Without waiting for Lin Fang to intervene, Mo Xiang put down the princess and stood in the middle of the road. As the carriage and its guards approached the princess's group, they stopped abruptly when they saw someone blocking the road.

"Who are you?"

Mo Xiang glanced at Princess Zhen Ying and said,

"This is Princess Zhen Ying. You need to guide us to Gangshu."

"..."

There was a moment of silence, but then a rough-looking man on the right spoke politely,

"We can't just take your word for it. Please provide proof."

Everyone's eyes turned to Princess Zhen Ying. Her face turned red, and she snapped,

"What proof? Do you not believe I am the princess?"

Hearing her angry words, Mo Xiang couldn't help but think about their ragtag group. Every Song citizen carried a household registration plate to prove their identity, which was necessary to pass through any controlled area. However, martial artists, who didn't care about government soldiers, usually carried unique emblems of their sects or positions, either with or instead of the household registration plate. If they were stopped, they could simply bypass the checkpoint. However, no one had ever heard of a plate that identified a princess, and even government soldiers didn't know what the imperial family's household registration plate looked like. It was common knowledge who the imperial family was based on their guards, so there was no need for identity verification. Seeing the princess's red face, it was clear she had nothing to prove her identity. It was too much to expect the guards to think of her as royalty or a royal guard, given her disguise and the appearance of Mo Xiang and Lin Fang.

The princess, with a red face, retorted,

"Such insolent fellows... How dare you look down on me. Look, attack them."

At this, Mo Xiang, who had been ignoring the princess, smiled coldly and slowly drew his sword. The opponents, who seemed to be from a righteous sect, were about to attack the princess, so Mo Xiang decided to kill them all and blame it on the princess. As the situation unfolded, Lin Fang quickly stepped forward, stopped Mo Xiang, and addressed the opponents,

"Can we speak to your master? It would be better than a pointless exchange of swords."

"Hahaha, what a bunch of crazy fellows. You blocked the road and talked about a princess, and now you want to..."

Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the same time, Mo Xiang's sword flew at the opponent. The opponent, unable to react, dodged, but Mo Xiang's sword didn't reach him. The opponent, almost losing his life, was saved by Lin Fang, who had been watching Mo Xiang closely and prepared to intervene. Seeing Mo Xiang's sword fly out of its scabbard at a rapid speed, Lin Fang threw his saber in the direction of the sword, using the same Qi-Driven Sword technique to block it three times.

After being blocked three times by the saber, the sword slowly retreated and returned to Mo Xiang's scabbard. At the same time, a cold voice came from Mo Xiang,

"Are you daring to stop what I'm doing?"

"There's no need to use violence unnecessarily."

As he said this, Lin Fang took out a jade plaque from his pocket and showed it to the opponents,

"I am Chao Liubin, the Death-Defying Saber of the Chao family. Please let me see your master."

The opponents' expressions changed, and they started whispering to each other. Chao Liubin, known as the Death-Defying Saber, was a renowned expert who had once been among the Seven Dragons and Four Peaks of the Chao family. His nickname was well-deserved, as he wielded a saber like a demon, and those who faced him often had to give up their lives. He had been missing for years, but the jade plaque was clearly from the Chao family, and if he was indeed Chao Liubin, his words were likely true.

The Chao family, though not among the Five Great Families, was an old and respected sword family. In recent years, due to the long absence of the head of the family, their influence had diminished, but they were still considered more powerful than the Southern Palace family, which was at the bottom of the Five Great Families.

After a moment of whispering, one of them ran to the carriage and spoke to the person inside in a low voice. He soon returned and said politely,

"The lady has given her permission. Please come this way."

The three of them walked to the carriage with different expressions: the princess, still angry; Mo Xiang, looking annoyed; and Chao Liubin, sighing. At this moment, the carriage door opened, and a woman with a veil and a servant-like woman hurriedly got out and bowed to the group. The woman, though veiled, had a slender figure wrapped in a light green robe embroidered with small cranes, moving gracefully as if she had been trained in etiquette. She looked at the jade plaque still held by Chao Liubin and asked,

"Nice to meet you. Is what you just said true?"

"Yes. This is Princess Zhen Ying, who is favored by the Emperor."

The woman bowed elegantly to the princess and apologized,

"I, a lowly woman, greet Princess. Please forgive my subordinates' mistake. But why are you here?"

The princess, softened by the woman's polite demeanor, replied,

"I also made