Chapter 1133: A Parting Without Knowledge
Nan Ke didn’t expect her two maids to cause any trouble for Zhe Xiu.
All she needed was for the two maids to launch an attack.
The branch that burned to ash without fire was laced with a deadly poison, and it would simultaneously activate a killing formation on the platform.
Then, she had prepared twenty-nine plans for Zhe Xiu.
This was a long-planned ambush.
With Nan Ke’s abilities, this ambush had no flaws; every detail was perfect.
As long as Zhe Xiu hadn’t prepared in advance, he would surely be defeated by her, then killed.
Even though he was now a peak Star Gathering cultivator, even though he had been recognized since childhood as the one most skilled in battle.
Had Zhe Xiu anticipated that Nan Ke would suddenly launch a sneak attack?
The front of his leather boots split open, revealing sharp, bright claws.
His figure suddenly expanded, and steel needle-like bristles sprouted from the skin on his face and hands exposed outside his clothes.
His aura also multiplied several times in an extremely short time.
Without even leaving the treehouse, he unhesitatingly went berserk, gathered all his power, and blasted it toward Nan Ke!
How had he seen through these arrangements?
Watching the sharp wolf-claw shadows tearing through the air toward her, Nan Ke’s expression flickered with confusion.
The next moment, she dispelled those emotions, and her eyes became incredibly bright, like moonlight on a snowy night.
The moonlight shone on the leaves outside the house, instantly dyeing them green.
Two streams of light passed through the wall, came behind her, and formed two light wings that fluttered.
In the cramped treehouse, Nan Ke turned into a shadow, performing over a dozen consecutive teleports to evade Zhe Xiu’s attacks.
The treehouse couldn’t withstand it; amid a dense series of crackling sounds, it shattered into tens of thousands of fragments, falling like rain.
The green leaves on the treetops also rustled down, also resembling rain.
In the storm of leaves and fragments, two figures were also falling.
Two dull thuds sounded as they heavily hit the ground, mud splashing up and then settling.
Zhe Xiu’s clothes were covered in slits, extremely smooth, stained with a faint green hue.
Some slits were deeper, with blood seeping out, red and green mixing together, looking somewhat eerie and somewhat nauseating.
Peacock Feathers, Nan Ke’s most terrifying weapon—even Chen Changsheng’s perfectly refined, dragon-blood-bathed skin couldn’t fully block it, and neither could Zhe Xiu.
Because of the berserk transformation, Zhe Xiu’s eyes should have been blood-red, but now they were a muddy yellow, likely from the severe poison.
Nan Ke’s injuries were even worse; her left light wing had been torn open with a huge gash, and there was a deep wound on her neck, but the blood flowing out was black.
“How did you know I would make a move tonight?”
Nan Ke had long decided to leave; even waiting until tomorrow would yield the same result.
Tomorrow, Zhe Xiu might tell the Li Mountain Sword Sect about this, and she wasn’t confident she could break through the sect’s Ten Thousand Swords Formation.
Better to strike first today than wait until tomorrow.
“I didn’t know you would make a move.”
Zhe Xiu said, “I was planning to make a move and kill you.”
It was the same logic.
He knew Nan Ke wouldn’t change her mind, so he might as well settle this matter today.
Nan Ke was brought to Li Mountain by Chen Changsheng; this was an internal matter of the National Academy, and he didn’t want the Li Mountain Sword Sect to get involved.
“Your poison can’t kill me.”
Nan Ke wiped the blood from her neck and licked her fingertip.
The most poisonous thing in the world was the Yue Bird.
The Yue Bird was the peacock.
She was the peacock.
Zhe Xiu said, “Your poison is powerful, but it’s hard to poison me to death.”
Back in the Zhou Garden, he had been hit by Nan Ke’s deadly poison, gone blind in both eyes, and carried Qi Jian through the Never-Setting Sun Prairie while running.
After leaving the Zhou Garden, he entered the Zhou Prison, where the poison remained unrelieved until Chen Changsheng and Tang Thirty-Six snatched him back to the National Academy, taking a long time to cure him.
Nan Ke’s poison had stayed in his body for a long time, actually building up his resistance.
This was, of course, related to his special body structure.
Nan Ke said, “I didn’t expect you to ambush me.”
Zhe Xiu said, “I am a hunter.”
When he was very young, he was expelled from the wolf tribe and struggled to survive in the snowy plains, living by hunting demon beasts and demons.
His purpose in battle was survival, and for that, he would stop at nothing.
When he needed to kill an enemy, he would never show mercy.
Nan Ke thought for a moment and said, “It’s been too long; I’ve almost forgotten.”
Zhe Xiu said, “Yes, we’ve lived here for too long.”
This wasn’t the cruel, bloody demon domain’s snowy plains, where opening your eyes meant life or death, survival or extinction.
This was the warm, comfortable southern prairie, where Li Mountain’s sword light was more about exploration than killing.
Living here for many years, they had both nearly forgotten many things.
Zhe Xiu continued, “I regret this.”
You don’t want everyone to keep living here together—that’s truly regrettable.
I have to kill you—that’s also regrettable.
The faintly glowing green Peacock Feathers and the sharp wolf claws were about to meet again.
A sword light came from the west, blocking the middle. The sword intent wasn’t fierce; it was as clear as water, soft yet hard to break, flowing endlessly.
Following it came a lazy voice.
“Since that’s the case, why add more regrets?”
Zhe Xiu and Nan Ke were both heavily injured at this point, but there weren’t many who could block them both with a single sword.
The Li Mountain Sword Sect had many strong cultivators, but only a handful could do it, and among them, the one with such a languid voice was only Qiu Shan Jun.
Gou Han Shi arrived, Liang Ban Hu, Guan Fei Bai, Bai Cai arrived, and Qi Jian also came.
She looked at Nan Ke sadly and said, “Little Aunt, can’t you just stay?”
“I was born there, grew up there, walked there, and flew there—only two streets away from the moon.”
Nan Ke said, “Now, it’s about to be destroyed by you humans; I have to do something for it.”
The night wind stirred the leaves on the ground, making a rustling sound, but it felt especially quiet.
No one knew how much time passed before Qiu Shan Jun’s voice rang out.
“Safe journey. No need to see you off.”
Nan Ke wasn’t surprised, nor did she thank him. She said to Qiu Shan Jun, Gou Han Shi, and the others, “You’ll go there; we’ll meet again then.”
“There” naturally referred to Xue Lao Cheng.
Over the years, they had been companions around campfires on the prairie, roasting meat, singing, dancing, and dueling with swords, but when they met again, they would be mortal enemies fighting to the death.
This was something worth lamenting, so why did it feel so dull?
Watching the stream of light disappear into the night, Qiu Shan Jun sighed. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Zhe Xiu’s expression and couldn’t help frowning.
In his view, this brother-in-law was fine in every other way, but his temperament was just too cold.
“Chen Changsheng wrote that if Nan Ke insists on leaving, don’t stop her.”
Gou Han Shi explained, “He didn’t say how he knew Nan Ke had woken up.”
In his mind, Nan Ke was a trouble Chen Changsheng had brought to Li Mountain. Since Chen Changsheng had made arrangements, Zhe Xiu had no reason to object.
“Want to guess how many armored cavalry Nan Ke will poison in the future?”
Zhe Xiu didn’t think so; in fact, he was very dissatisfied with Chen Changsheng.
“The boldness, magnanimity, and friendship you and Chen Changsheng want to show—in my eyes, they’re all foolish.”
Guan Fei Bai sneered and said, “What do you know?”
“About war, you truly know nothing.”
Zhe Xiu said expressionlessly, then turned and left.
Qi Jian chased after him.