Chapter Sixteen: An Enemy Approaches

“Will there be a child just from sharing a bridal chamber?” Ning Mofei’s large, clear eyes were wide open, his gaze pure and devoid of any hidden meanings. A faint smile played at the corners of Yu Youwei’s lips, but she said nothing. He bit his lower lip, waiting a long time without receiving an answer, and finally asked, aggrieved, “Did I say something foolish?” She shook her head, still silent, her smile deepening. Annoyed, he turned over to face the cabin wall and muttered gloomily, “I know you think I’m stupid.”

She slipped an arm around him from behind, inhaling the fresh scent of lemon on his skin. Stroking the curve of his ear with her fingertip, Yu Youwei whispered gently, “I hope you can always keep this innocent heart.”

Ning Mofei turned back, his face now wet with tears. Before he could speak, Yu Youwei’s expression changed sharply. She clapped a hand over his mouth, rolled with him off the bed to the floor, and then darted beneath the window.

The cabin door flew open, kicked by someone, and a rain of arrows shot inside. At the same moment, a fireball hurled through the window, both aimed straight at the bed. If Yu Youwei had been even a beat slower, she would not have escaped.

“I can’t swim, can you?” she whispered.

Clearly unaccustomed to such chaos, his face turned pale as he stammered, “I can.”

“Wonderful,” she praised him quickly. “In a moment, we’ll jump into the water. You have to take me to the shore.”

“Aren’t we going to find Third Brother?” Ning Mofei was reluctant.

“We can’t drag Third Brother down. Only once we’re ashore can he deal with our enemies freely,” Yu Youwei replied calmly. She knew their attackers would target Ning San first. Terrified of water, she realized that to avoid being a burden and to protect herself, she must reach land. In such a situation, flying across the water would only make them easy targets. Taking Ning Mofei along would be troublesome, but she had no choice—she couldn’t swim!

Though his mind was as innocent as a child’s, Ning Mofei did not wish to burden his brother. Despite his fear, he no longer protested.

When black-clad men burst into the cabin through both the window and the door, Yu Youwei sent up a cloud of colored smoke, then swept Ning Mofei into her arms and leapt out the window, plunging straight into the water.

At that moment, Ning Baixia smashed through the cabin wall and caught sight of Ning Mofei and Yu Youwei falling into the river. He shouted in alarm, “Fourth Brother!” Wanting to rush to their aid, he was immediately beset by a swarm of black-clad assailants. Along the shore, a row of men leveled military-grade repeating crossbows at the water, loosing a barrage. The red banners on the pleasure boat caught fire in the chaos, and soon the vessel was engulfed in flames.

Ning Mofei proved a skilled swimmer, diving beneath the water and speeding away with Yu Youwei in tow. Their pursuers, though capable, could not match his skill and soon fell far behind. Once the enemy was lost, Yu Youwei clung to him like a boneless octopus, letting him carry her ashore.

Reaching solid ground, she rested a moment before suddenly opening her eyes, a cold glint of hatred flashing in her beautiful gaze. Her wrist flicked, and the sword coiled there snapped straight, a streak of blue light plunging into the water. In moments, the green surface was stained red, a corpse floating to the top.

“You truly are Old Fourth’s daughter—just as clever, and just as ruthless,” came a voice.

Yu Youwei turned sharply, shielding Ning Mofei behind her. She saw her second uncle, Yu Tianhao, leading a semicircle of black-clad men to block their escape. Her heart tightened, but a brilliant smile blossomed on her face. “Second Uncle, since you found no satisfaction at the Yu estate, have you come to vent your anger on me?”

“The Lord of Seven Poisons never took you or Mu Yuyan as maids. Niece, if you’re hoping to frighten me with that name, there’s no need,” Yu Tianhao replied smugly.

Completely unruffled, Yu Youwei asked in a conversational tone, “Why must you drag the Ning family into your grudge with the Yu family?”

“Killing you and this fool, ruining the alliance between the Ning and Yu families, is a blow to the Yu clan,” Yu Tianhao answered, convinced that everything was under control.

“I don’t understand, Second Uncle. What is your true grudge against our family?”

“If I can’t have something, I’d rather destroy it. My elder brother is weak and useless, but just because he’s the legitimate heir, the patriarch favors him. Your late father helped him without hesitation, and what came of it? Your father was murdered by his enemies, and he didn’t even make a sound. With him at the helm, the Yu family is doomed to decline.”

Yu Youwei had never seriously considered avenging her father before, but now something stirred within her. She mused, “The force that killed my father was too powerful for even the Yu family to challenge, wasn’t it?”

“Ask your father yourself in the afterlife.” Yu Tianhao’s face darkened, as if wary of something. He dropped the pretense of cat-and-mouse, made a gesture, and barked, “Do it!” Just as a cruel grin stretched across his face, an intense sense of danger washed over him, raising the hairs on his neck. With no time to look back, he spun, sword sweeping out.

Three streaks of light flashed behind him; his sword deflected two water arrows aimed at his head and neck, but the third struck his left shoulder and exploded.

“Xianchen Sect’s Xiang Cunzhe is here! Who dares move?”

The voice crashed down like thunder from above. Yu Youwei blinked, and suddenly a middle-aged man in dark robes, sword in hand, landed before her. Gaunt and pallid, with a sickly tinge to his skin, he looked frail, yet radiated a deadly aura.

Clutching his wound, Yu Tianhao remained defiant. “The Xianchen Sect does not meddle in mortal affairs. As an inner disciple, would you break your sect’s rules?”

“Ning Mofei and his brother Ning Baixia were both accepted as disciples by our sect leader when they were just a year old. Ning Mofei is the sect leader’s last disciple. You lead an attack on my junior brother, and accuse me of breaking the rules?” Xiang Cunzhe laughed coldly.

Yu Youwei couldn’t help glancing at the still-confused Ning Mofei, a little envious of his luck. To have joined the foremost righteous sect of the Eastern Continent at the age of one—even if he never cultivated a day in his life, he would always have the sect’s protection, if only for his brother’s sake. Perhaps marrying this simpleton wasn’t such a bad thing after all!

“Then you can all die together!” hissed the black-clad man to Yu Tianhao’s right, a nine-ringed saber appearing in his hand. The blade, black as night, exuded a deadly aura as if from the depths of hell.

“The Bloodthirsty Blade—you’re Blood Demon Li Jing!” Xiang Cunzhe’s face twisted in horror. “Run!” he shouted, sword whirling, weaving a dense net of light before them.

“This isn’t a duel—so I don’t mind fighting dirty!” Yu Youwei, still holding Ning Mofei, charged forward instead of retreating, flinging a handful of colored smoke followed by two low-grade talismans.

“A little fledgling at the Qi Refining stage dares show off in front of me!” Li Jing sneered. Yet to his surprise, her combination of poison smoke, delay talisman, and lightning talisman in such a tight space had an unexpected effect. The delay talisman slowed his draw, the lightning talisman flashed, stabbing pain into his eyes. Instinctively, he shut them, and in that instant, the poison smoke entered his nose, making him dizzy at once.