Chapter 119: Nighttime Ambush, the Hong Clan Strikes, Su Chen Seizes the Opportunity

Chapter 119: Nighttime Ambush, the Hong Clan Strikes, Su Chen Seizes the Opportunity

"What will it take to make you stop?" Madam Qi retreated in front of the two girls, worried Su Chen might harm them. But when she heard the noise behind her, the face hidden beneath her mask trembled slightly.

Su Chen turned his gaze to Madam Qi and chuckled. "An apology should look like an apology. Where's your sincerity? Where are the ten thousand taels of silver notes? Where are the Vital Energy Pills?"

"You..." Chuyingying caught Su Chen's veiled meaning and grew furious. Being humiliated like this was bad enough, but now he dared to demand money and Vital Energy Pills? Absolutely outrageous!

"Madam Qi, kill him!" Chuxiaoxiao lost her usual composure, her face flushed with anger. If Su Chen hadn't seen their embarrassing situation, she might have spared him. But now, she only wanted him dead.

Madam Qi sighed. "I can't kill him. Both of you are already poisoned."

"What?" The two girls were taken aback but quickly realized. "It's the flour!"

Fixing her gaze on Su Chen, Madam Qi said, "Ten thousand taels of silver notes and ten Vital Energy Pills as our apology. How does that sound?" She could certainly kill Su Chen, but the process would be difficult, costing her dearly. If the price only concerned herself, she wouldn't mind. But what truly worried her was Su Chen taking advantage of the chaos to strike against the Chuxiaoxiao sisters.

Her primary mission was to protect the two girls, not to kill on their behalf. Paying a price to save them was acceptable; there was no need to escalate the conflict. Besides, the sisters were at fault. Though she didn't know why they kept attacking Su Chen, now that they'd been caught, they'd just have to accept their bad luck.

Su Chen nodded. "Agreed. But that's the price for one person. If you want to free both, you'll have to pay extra!"

The two girls became furious upon hearing this. Before they could speak, Madam Qi tossed two ten-thousand-tael silver notes and two bottles of Vital Energy Pills to Su Chen. Su Chen's figure flickered as he caught the pills.

Taking advantage of Su Chen's momentary distraction, Madam Qi swiftly appeared before the two girls, grabbed them, and leapt away.

"Madam Qi, after you take us back, please make sure to kill him! Failing to kill him will leave me with unbearable regret!" Chuyingying felt like a rooster caught by its belt. Howling cold winds lashed her face painfully, yet her anger couldn't be quelled.

Though Chuyingying didn't speak, the murderous glare in Chuxiaoxiao's eyes showed her determination to kill Su Chen.

"Don't worry. This person has offended our Chu Clan. He won't survive three days!" Madam Qi's indifferent voice replied, making a promise. Hearing this, Chuyingying's face lit up. "He must be tortured to death!"

"What's that sound?" Chuxiaoxiao was about to speak when suddenly she heard a distant battle noise. At that moment, Madam Qi, who had been moving swiftly, abruptly halted, her face filled with solemnity as she looked ahead.

"I wondered where you people went. So here you are!" A rough voice rang out, its eyes gleaming with murder. "Madam Qi, that sound comes from the Cai Manor. Something's happened to the Cai Manor!" Chuxiaoxiao gazed into the distance. Seeing the flames from the nearby Cai Manor, her heart froze.

As she spoke, three more Black-Cloaked Men appeared, surrounding the trio. "Who are you people?" Madam Qi's hoarse voice demanded. "Those who'll take your lives!" The leader of the Black-Cloaked Men sneered.

Before the words faded, the four attackers surged forward to confront Madam Qi. Seeing this, Madam Qi's expression turned extremely grave. She stepped forward, shielding the two girls behind her. Boom! Boom! Boom! Soon, the air filled with the intense sounds of battle. Facing four opponents alone, Madam Qi clearly struggled. As the fight began, the leader seized an opportunity, nearly striking her.

"Big sister, Madam Qi can't handle these people. What should we do?" Chuyingying, watching anxiously, couldn't help showing panic. She grabbed Chuxiaoxiao's arm, asking urgently. "Stand up, run!" Chuxiaoxiao bit her lip and stood. Hearing this, Chuyingying hesitated but seeing Chuxiaoxiao rising, she had no choice but to stand too. "Let's go!" Without hesitation, Chuxiaoxiao grabbed Chuyingying's hand and fled.

"Where do you think you're going!" One of the Black-Cloaked Men spotted the fleeing pair and shouted, his figure darting like a cheetah. Madam Qi forcefully stepped forward, blocking the Black-Cloaked Man's path. "Your opponent is me!" she barked. "The three of us will hold off this old woman. You go kill them!" The leader ordered another Black-Cloaked Man, his voice heavy with command, before directly attacking Madam Qi's face.

"Despicable!" Madam Qi's eyes turned icy upon seeing this, her techniques becoming ferociously aggressive. She absolutely wouldn't let these people kill the Chuxiaoxiao sisters.

"Old hag, your days are numbered!" The leader scoffed, facing Madam Qi's fierce assault. Instead of defending, he boldly charged forward to confront her head-on.

"Bone Tempering Cultivation Realm!" Madam Qi took half a step back, gasping in shock, her heart growing increasingly anxious.

But facing the relentless pursuit of this Black-Cloaked Man, she couldn't break free. Worse yet, the other two Black-Cloaked Men kept seizing chances to ambush her, completely disrupting her rhythm. In a short time, both sides became deadlocked.

With her sharp insight, Madam Qi naturally recognized this deadlock as their stalling tactic—clearly aiming to pin her down so they could strike the Chuxiaoxiao sisters. "No way. I absolutely won't let them harm them!"

Madam Qi gritted her teeth. Vital Force surged around her, instant winds whipping up cyclones as scorching heat radiated from all directions. Centered on her, the inferno spread like wildfire. "Li Fire Divine Art—Fire Dragon Worshipping the Sun!"

A muffled yet slightly crazed voice erupted from Madam Qi, like a beast's roar. Then, her flailing arms transformed into two dazzling fire dragons, flames blazing fiercely.

"Hmph, let's see how powerful the Chu Clan's Li Fire Divine Art truly is!" The leader's expression remained unchanged. Under the firelight, his deep-set eyes gleamed with sharp intensity. Facing Madam Qi's ferocious assault, everyone instinctively retreated. But he boldly marched forward, his body radiating a pale blue aura.

Madam Qi's gaze burned like fire as it fixed on the leader. She roared, then dove forward. Her body instantly crossed dozens of steps, swiftly reaching the Black-Cloaked Man's position. "Ice Xuansurge!" The leader silently chanted. As her figure descended, his body formed a thin layer of mist. Instead of evaporating, the mist clung to his arms before quickly crystallizing into ice, adhering to his skin.

Seeing Madam Qi's fierce attack, the leader suddenly leapt upward. With dragon-like strides and tiger-like steps, his massive fist, as heavy as a mountain, crashed toward Madam Qi. Madam Qi, well-prepared and unafraid, countered with broad, sweeping techniques brimming with lethal intent.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Within just a few breaths, both combatants exchanged over a dozen blows. The battle raged intensely, sparks flying and ice shards scattering. The two bystanders watched in terror, their scalps prickling with fear.

A Bone Tempering Cultivation Realm martial cultivator—every movement held immense power. When truly aggressive, even cultivators like them at the Visceral Reformation stage couldn't intervene, let alone stop the fight.

The surging Vital Force spreading outward was razor-sharp, leaving uneven marks—deep and shallow—wherever it struck walls and the ground.

Under the howling wind, the two combatants became the storm's center. Around them, flowers, grass, trees, rubble, and dust swirled chaotically through the sky.

As the two warriors clashed fiercely, a shrill, blood-curdling scream pierced through. Upon hearing it, Madam Qi's face paled—Chuxiaoxiao's voice! This sound threw Madam Qi into disarray. The Black-Cloaked leader instantly seized the opening. He struck forcefully with his palm, unleashing a tidal wave of palm force directly at her body.

"Cough!" Madam Qi staggered backward, her aged face crumpling into a mass of wrinkles. Blood spurted from her throat as her aura weakened rapidly.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Footsteps echoed through the alley as a black-cloaked figure emerged, carrying the lifeless bodies of Chuxiaoxiao and Chuyingying in one arm. Catching sight of Madam Qi, he sneered and callously hurled the corpses to the ground. "They're dead", he announced coldly.

"You'll pay with your life!" Madam Qi's eyes blazed with fury, her wounded body surging forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The leader of the cloaked men shouted a warning, but Madam Qi's wrath-fueled speed defied sight. Before the killer could react, she appeared before him, her palm crashing into his chest with thunderous force.

Crack!

The Bone Tempering expert's strike shattered bones like twigs. The black-cloaked man flew thirty feet backward, spewing blood mid-air before collapsing unconscious.

"Kill her!" the leader barked.

He lunged forward, but Madam Qi snatched up the sisters' bodies and vanished into the shadows. Her escape attempt failed when the leader stomped the ground, sending shockwaves through the earth as he accelerated like a bolt of lightning. Seizing Chuxiaoxiao's ankle, he yanked her from Madam Qi's grasp.

Forced to abandon Chuxiaoxiao's corpse to evade three attackers, Madam Qi retaliated with a palm strike that sent the leader reeling backward, his internal energy in turmoil. "After her!" he roared, leading the pursuit as Madam Qi fled with Chuyingying's body.

From the darkness, Su Chen emerged beside the unconscious assassin. Identifying the Xuan Shui Sect insignia on his robes, Su Chen's expression darkened. As he searched the body, his hands froze on Chuxiaoxiao's neck.

"She's alive!" he whispered in disbelief. Though her pulse mimicked death, a faint heartbeat lingered beneath icy skin.

Footsteps thundered in the distance. Xuan Shui Sect reinforcements approached, forcing Su Chen to flee with Chuxiaoxiao. A middle-aged cultivator intercepted him, their clashing palms creating a sonic boom that repelled both combatants. Su Chen vanished into the night.

"Take him back", the middle-aged man ordered his men before departing.

---

Flames engulfed Cai Manor as chaos reigned. Black-cloaked assassins, Cai guards, Hex Union members, and Chu clan retainers clashed in a confusing melee. Though outnumbered, the cloaked killers' superior strength overwhelmed their foes.

A signal flare lit the sky. "Retreat!" one assassin shouted, forcing Cai Liuliu back before vanishing with his comrades. Moments later, the battlefield lay silent.

Cai Xiaoyue rushed to her injured father. "Father, are you alright?"

Cai Liuliu waved her off. "Find Chuxiaoxiao!"

Xiaoyue returned grim-faced. "They're gone!"

"Search everywhere!" Liuliu bellowed.

---

Madam Qi dragged Chuyingying's body into a derelict house, coughing blood from her wounds. Her face pale, she pondered the attackers' identities. "Xuan Shui Sect techniques? But why provoke the Chu clan now? Could Hex Union be framing them?"

Her mind raced through possibilities. "It all started with Ding Peng. He must be connected." Determined, she penned a message, summoned a homing pigeon, then set out to confront Su Chen.

Dawn's edge found her at Su Chen's quarters. Shattering his defensive mechanisms, she stormed inside, her expression carved from ice.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end