The edge of the blade pressed tightly against Xiang Lan'er's fair neck, already leaving a trail of blood.
A slight slip of control could easily lead to a deep gash.
The other arm held her tightly across the chest, pulling her close—this was clearly a hostage situation.
As a result, Xiang Lan'er's back was closely pressing against his chest, their body warmth and curves were palpable, yet Shi Chun had no mind to appreciate these sensations, for danger was rapidly approaching him.
Xiang Lan'er's face was flushed with anger and shame.
Though she hailed from a brothel, she sold only her art, not her body, and had never been embraced so tightly by a man.
Even when Bian Weikang acted impulsively, she could quickly defuse it.
What humiliated her most was the tightness with which this scoundrel's arm pressed against her chest, reddening her face with shame.
She believed Shi Chun's intention behind taking her was of a sordid nature.
She herself was baffled at how she got captured in such an inexplicable manner.
Had it been an open confrontation, she was confident that she alone could handle all of them.
Yet, she ended up captured effortlessly by them.
And to prevent her from making any noise, they had sealed her voice, leaving her frustrated and nearly spitting blood from anger.
The group was equally puzzled by Shi Chun's reaction, not understanding why he appeared so on edge.
They looked around but found nothing unusual.
Cen Futong asked with confusion, "Brother Chun, what's wrong?"
In an urgent tone, Shi Chun called out, "Jinliang."
Years of licking blood from the edge of blades had made Wu Jinliang a quick thinker.
He swiftly moved to Shi Chun's side, back to back, equally vigilant.
Shi Chun then warned the others, "Be careful, this woman may have allies."
The reason he said so was purely due to Xiang Lan'er's unusual reaction earlier.
He wasn't sure if he was overthinking, nor did he know what kind of power the person who might show up would have.
Regardless of whether they had help or how strong the potential aid might be, holding the hostage for protection was the safest first move.
Hearing this, Xiang Lan'er was somewhat surprised.
Her eyes darted left and right, unable to see those behind her.
Her chest continued to feel the tight grip, and she was already plotting how to make this rogue suffer unspeakably later.
The group of masked men was on high alert, scanning their surroundings, yet the silence was such that they could hear insects crawling and see birds preening their feathers on branches, without any sign of people.
Cen Futong wasn't too reckless either and said, "Boys, let's check out the surroundings."
His three masked companions whistled, leaping onto the thick branches of trees, thoroughly inspecting the area before disappearing from Shi Chun's sight.
Cen Futong, looking left and right, asked, "Brother Chun, are you overthinking? Why would this woman need help? Did she foresee our arrival and plans to deal with us?"
His words had barely fallen when the crown of a tree on the mountainside not far away suddenly rustled heavily but made no other sound, causing Shi Chun and the others to grow even more cautious.
Suddenly, a figure leapt from within the forest, calling out in panic, "Run!" It was one of the previously masked men.
Cen Futong, hurriedly shouted, "What’s happening?"
Whoosh! Two sharp sounds of something cutting through the wind.
A slender shadow flashed by, so quickly it was unrecognizable, resulting in a rain of blood and a cry of agony from the masked man who had just made a leap.
Before anyone could comprehend the situation, the slender shadow struck again, causing another eruption of blood from the masked man, and then a large tree shook violently.
The masked man was pinned against the trunk, convulsing, with blood dripping down.
A branch as thick as a person's arm had impaled him against the tree, and only then did they realize what the slender shadow was—a tree branch.
He also had a hole in his chest from the first shadow that struck.
Cen Futong shivered visibly, his voice quaking, "Brother Chun, who is it that we’ve provoked?"
Obviously, the implication was clear.
A person at the pinnacle of the Advanced Martial Realm was defeated without even being able to retaliate, indicating that the one responsible must have at least reached the pinnacle of that realm, if not the Human Immortal Realm.
Shi Chun was just as clueless about whom they had provoked.
"I've provoked no one. Don’t fear, we have a hostage. At worst, it ends with mutual destruction."
He spoke loudly, addressing the unseen adversary, signaling readiness to perish together if necessary.
Deep inside, Shi Chun was urging himself to become tense, hoping that the miraculous ability in his right eye would activate to locate the hidden enemy.
Yet, the more he forced himself to feel tense, the less effective it was.
The hostage, Xiang Lan'er's face also showed a mocking expression.
Though speaking fearlessness, the fact that her captor was unconsciously squeezing her chest tighter could not hide his inner fear, making her breathing a struggle.
Wu Jinliang gripped his knife tightly, swallowing hard.
No one was foolish enough not to be afraid.
They had never faced a high-end advanced martial realm combatant in the Exile Lands, let alone someone at the pinnacle.
The guards of Eternal Dawn City might be at that level, but he had no qualifications to fight them.
Cen Futong attempted to retreat towards Shi Chun, seeking safety in numbers.
Whoosh! A sound of wind was followed by a crash as rocks exploded underfoot, a tree branch speared into the ground, warning him not to move.
Cen Futong froze in fear and shouted, "Misunderstanding, friend! It must be a misunderstanding. My uncle is Cao Puqing from Sky-Illuminating City. Do you know him?" Obviously trying to leverage connections for his safety.
Shi Chun, seeking courage, blurted, "Old feuds should be resolved, not exacerbated. If this situation blows up, it won't be good. You don't want Bian Weikang to see this either, right?"
Before the situation arose, Xiang Lan'er had sent Bian Weikang away under the pretext of picking some wild fruits, perfectly aligning with their plan.
If still believing it was a mere happenstance, Shi Chun would have been a fool.
Clearly, Xiang Lan'er had intentionally sent Bian Weikang away for reasons similar to theirs—avoiding being seen by him.
But just as Shi Chun finished speaking, a figure gracefully emerged from the forest—a masked figure in black.
Judging by the slight curves under her clothing, it was clearly a woman.
She gently descended while holding someone; it turned out to be Bian Weikang himself.
Currently, Bian Weikang lay limp and unconscious in her grasp.
The masked person casually tossed him to the ground, speaking in a woman’s voice, "Need you still worry about him seeing or hearing anything?"
A blatant mockery.
The voice sounded familiar to Shi Chun.
When he realized she was on Xiang Lan'er's side, his eyes turned to Wu Jinliang, who quickly shouted out, "It’s the madame from Graceful Cloud Pavilion!"
Shi Chun squinted at the masked person, squeezing out words, "Feng Chi!"
The masked figure raised a hand to pull off the scarf, revealing the true form—it was indeed Madame Fengchi from the Graceful Cloud Pavilion.
Her boldness in revealing her face heightened Shi Chun’s sense of danger.
To let someone see a secret meant the seer was unlikely to walk away to spill it.
But Cen Futong found some courage, shouting sternly, "Feng Chi, what are you trying to do? If you harm even a finger of mine, my uncle won’t spare you!"
Being a regular at the Graceful Cloud Pavilion, he believed his identity would intimidate the madame who was used to him being haughty.
Shi Chun found this utterly foolish and cursed him inwardly as an idiot.
As expected, Feng Chi sighed, her toes twisting against the ground.
In an instant, a root or vine that had grown along a huge boulder beside Cen Futong dislodged with a crack like thunder, sweeping horizontally.
Cen Futong attempted to dodge but was too slow.
Bang!
The vine whip swept through, snapping Cen Futong's leg with a shower of blood.
The legs dangled limply by a string of flesh, and he fell with an anguished scream, unable to stand, wailing continuously.
Wu Jinliang's heart pounded fearfully, thinking they truly screwed up this time.
Shi Chun had no time to pity Cen Futong.
The stronger his opponent, the more focused he needed to be.
Holding his hostage's life on a knife's edge kept the enemy from acting rashly.
He hurriedly pulled a small dagger from his clothes, and wrapped his grip tightly around Xiang Lan'er once more.
The small dagger's point, meanwhile, was jabbed into her armpit, piercing through the fabric to draw blood, ready to sink deeper any second.
The larger blade stayed resolute against her neck.
Seeing blood from both her neck and armpit, Feng Chi was both startled and angered but could do nothing.
This rogue was exceedingly cautious and skillful, giving her no chance.
She could try to snatch Xiang Lan'er by force but feared causing her great harm, a risk she couldn’t afford.
"My lady, those masked men caused a delay. They were sneaky up ahead, and I didn’t want to approach hastily. By the time I got near, you had already been taken. I feared any commotion might alert Bian Weikang, so I knocked him out just in case."
Faced with the young lady's situation, she felt obliged to offer an explanation.
It wasn’t negligence; there truly were circumstances that led to this.
She found it hard to believe.
Though still young, the lady’s skills should suffice against this bunch.
How was it that she got captured?
Baffled, she thought the lady should handle these ruffians easily even without aid.
She enlisted help mainly to avoid exposing the lady’s capabilities unnecessarily and to catch these scoundrels for questioning.
Could it be the lady avoided exposure at the cost of her capture?
Also, why did this Shi Chun hold the lady hostage so promptly, leaving no gaps for her to rescue?
Xiang Lan'er could not speak.
Her eyes motions conveyed to Feng Chi the need to kill the scoundrel behind her, but Feng Chi dared not move recklessly.
From Feng Chi's words, Shi Chun inferred that the lives of the other masked fellows were likely forfeit already.
Cen Futong continued to wail on the ground.
Feng Chi called out loudly, "Come out!"