Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 371: So Close, Yet So Far

As Maitreya attacked Tang Wanzhuang, Zhao Changhe sneaked into the room where Li Sian was being held.

At the moment, the Maitreya Cult’s celestial maiden was returning to the room, intending to force herself on Li Sian. “You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. We could have harmoniously dual cultivated, but since you’re so unwilling, I’ll forcefully drain you and take control of your spirit.”

“Ah, the Maitreya Cult...” Facing the now-unmasked eighteenth concubine, Li Sian instantly understood the situation and shook his head. “The difference between the prefectural governor and Maitreya lies in this. While the prefectural governor must still consider the consequences of harming me... the Maitreya Cult only seeks destruction and has no need to care about such things.”

The celestial maiden sneered, “If you were cooperative, our holy cult could have given you a high position, allowing you to share in our wealth and glory. But since you’re so stubborn, don’t blame us for destroying everything. We really can’t understand how someone as money-minded as you, someone who didn’t amass wealth by being gentle and humble, suddenly cares about such things.”

Li Sian nodded. “True, people like me are partly to blame for the Maitreya Cult being able to incite the masses. If a true righteous army beheaded me, I wouldn’t complain.”

“Then it’s strange. Someone like you, obsessed with money, refusing wealth, not enjoying luxury, and insisting on being a spy, forced to live a precarious life. Is Tang Wanzhuang’s favor that great? You don’t even like women.”

Li Sian shook his head slightly. “Money is important... but some things are more important than money...”

“Then don’t blame us for being rude!” The celestial maiden pushed Li Sian down, ready to drain him.

A saber silently appeared at her side, sweeping through like the wind, as light as rain.

Even Li Sian, facing the direction where the saber came from, could not see how the saber moved. But as the saber flashed, a fine line of blood appeared on the neck of the celestial maiden, and she fell in disbelief.

Outside, the numerous guards remained unaware of what had happened inside.

Zhao Changhe caught her body, laid it on the bed, and covered it with a quilt. Simultaneously, he moved like lightning, pressing a key acupuncture point on Li Sian’s chest.

The Maitreya Cult’s special acupoint technique, thought to be unbreakable except by specific people, was effortlessly nullified by Zhao Changhe.

Li Sian was shocked. “Who are you...”

“Never mind that, the situation right now is incredibly complicated. It’s not just the Maitreya Cult involved in this.” Zhao Changhe quickly took a pen and paper from the desk by the side and swiftly wrote a letter. “I’ll go help First Seat Tang first. You must deliver this message immediately.”

“Deliver it to who?”

“Head toward Wushan immediately, upstream along the river. You should encounter a group moving stealthily along the river. You will probably find them camping and sleeping. Just deliver the letter to them.”

Li Sian took the letter without looking at its contents, but he did take a glance at the signature on it: Zhao Changhe.

His eyes widened. Suddenly, he felt himself being grabbed and whisked out of the courtyard at lightning speed.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

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The alarm sounded.

“Intruder!”

“Don’t let Li Sian escape!”

Countless guards surged toward the courtyard wall. Zhao Changhe tossed Li Sian out, then stood on the wall, casually swinging his saber behind him.

Tchk!

The nearest guard and his sword were sliced in two.

The saber did not stop there. It continued to sweep in a crescent-moon fashion, slicing through a pillar, causing the structure to collapse and the corridor to crumble.

“It’s saber light! He’s a master on the Ranking of Man! Call Devotee Zhang!”

“Just attack him together! Even if he’s a master, he’s just one person! Don’t be afraid!”

In the chaos, Zhao Changhe leaped over the wall.

“Chase them! Don’t let them escape! We need Li Sian!”

“Quick, notify the guys at the city gates to close them!”

Zhao Changhe deliberately revealed himself, drawing the pursuers’ attention away from Li Sian. However, he had no interest in engaging them in combat, so he headed straight for Immortal Palatial Garden.

At this moment, he was extremely anxious, unsure if Tang Wanzhuang had arrived yet. He knew that if she had already arrived, then she was likely to be in grave danger.

It was now clear to him Lu Shiheng had not captured Li Sian merely to get some money; they captured him with the intent to coerce him into cooperating with them. They planned to make use of the lowered guard that Tang Wanzhuang would have when she was received by Li Sian at the Immortal Palatial Garden.

If Li Sian had gotten placed under the control of the celestial maiden, they might have truly been able to set a trap for Tang Wanzhuang.

However, due to Li Sian’s refusal to cooperate and Tang Wanzhuang’s early arrival, Lu Shiheng was forced to act sooner than they planned. They were forced to launch a hasty ambush, with Maitreya acting as the main force.

In theory, they would not be able to kill Tang Wanzhuang; if she wanted to escape, no one could stop her, not even Maitreya.

But with a hostage, would Tang Wanzhuang’s conscience allow her to simply flee? It was more likely that she would stay and fight.

Based on Zhao Changhe’s understanding of her, she probably would not run. Instead, she would fight because she had a trump card that even Vermillion Bird dared not challenge before. That trump card was combat power at the third layer of the Profound Mysteries. Once she used that, she would be able to kill Maitreya, and rescue her subordinate.

However, this was something she could not use lightly. Once she did use such power, there was a very real possibility of her dying soon after.

Wanzhuang, please don’t be here yet... If you’re already here, I’m afraid that you’ll be forced to use more power than your body can handle.

Zhao Changhe, with a mind filled with all sorts of thoughts, hurried toward the Immortal Palatial Garden.

From a distance, he could see archers with bows and crossbows stationed on the rooftops, indicating that Tang Wanzhuang had already arrived.

As he got closer, he heard a voice inside: “...Then let’s see who perishes first. Will you cough to death first, or will your outburst kill me?”

Tang Wanzhuang coughed lightly twice and calmly responded, “Let’s find out...”

Suddenly, a loud shout came from outside, “Li Sian has been rescued! Don’t fucking bother finding anything out, just leave!”

With those words, the sound of a saber whistled through the air, striking down those on the rooftops, accompanied by sprays of blood and screams.

Despite his rough curses, Tang Wanzhuang’s eyes instantly lit up as if she’d heard the gentle voice of a divine envoy.

Zhao Changhe had arrived, and not only had he rescued Li Sian, but he had also broken into the trap to provide her with timely assistance!

Indeed, this looked an awful lot like divine intervention.

She had just begun to unlock her self-imposed restraints but forcefully halted the process. Her sword flowed like water, aiming right at Maitreya.

Maitreya’s face darkened.

Why does this fucking Zhao Changhe always interfere?

Why is it always him?!

The place was filled with experts from the Maitreya Cult, with even someone such as Yu Cixiu lying in ambush outside the brothel.

Maitreya swung his jiedao to parry Tang Wanzhuang’s continuous strikes, sneering, “Do you really think he could silently rescue Li Sian from the heavily guarded city lord’s mansion? He probably just said that to comfort you. I bet that Li Sian hasn’t been saved, and this reckless lover of yours will die here first!”

Tang Wanzhuang smiled slightly in response and said, “I trust him.”

Her expression, radiant with joy, made Maitreya feel a twinge of jealousy and further fueled his anger.

Abandoning all pretense, Maitreya roared, “Everyone, attack!”

Tang Wanzhuang deflected Maitreya’s jiedao and broke through the window, planning to assist Zhao Changhe.

Countless cult members swarmed her from all directions, and Maitreya’s jiedao followed closely behind. “Worry about yourself first!”

“Maitreya, you disgrace the title of master...” Tang Wanzhuang’s sword parried his jiedao, then her sword light surged. “Do you seriously think they can hinder me even slightly?”

The surrounding cult members felt their vision blur. It was as if endless spring rain was falling gently, softly brushing their faces, bringing a cool, pleasant sensation.

They did not even feel the need to dodge. Blood sprayed simultaneously from all their throats, and they collapsed to the ground.

Those who had yet to even unlock the Profound Mysteries simply could not comprehend the techniques of those on the Ranking of Earth. They could not even see her movements clearly before they were either rendered dead or gravely injured.

Maitreya never expected the cult members to be able to stop Tang Wanzhuang. He only needed them to distract her for a moment.

Clang!

His jiedao met her sword, halting her escape.

At the same time, a fierce wind arose behind her, and sword light surged.

If Tang Wanzhuang’s sword was like a continuous drizzle, then this sword that struck from behind her was like a violent storm.

It was Lu Shiheng, the Divine Sword of Xiang River. His acupoints had been unsealed!

Only those on the Ranking of Man even had the qualifications to intervene in the battle between Tang Wanzhuang and Maitreya.

Facing attacks from both sides, Tang Wanzhuang still had the presence of mind to glance in Zhao Changhe’s direction.

He was swinging his broad saber, cutting a path through the crowd. Heads flew, bodies were cleaved in half, and he was utterly drenched in blood. At this moment, he looked like a war god that had descended upon the mortal realm.

The members of the Maitreya Cult fell like chaff before him, none of them able to withstand even a single strike from him. In but a few moments, the area had been littered with the corpses of cult members.

It had to be taken note that these were not ordinary followers of the Maitreya Cult but chosen experts of the cult sent to pose even a slight threat to Tang Wanzhuang!

When did he become so formidable?

But like her, his advance was eventually halted.

A tall, thin figure stood gracefully before him. “The Bloodthirsty Asura truly lives up to his name, but this is as far as you go... This path is closed.”

It was Soul Reaper Yu Cixiu, ranked forty-fourth on the Ranking of Man

Zhao Changhe did not even glance at him, his gaze instead moving past him and looking far toward Tang Wanzhuang.

He was on a rooftop, while Tang Wanzhuang was in the rear courtyard of the Immortal Palatial Garden across the street. Nothing obstructed their view of each other. Their eyes met, and it was as if they could read each other’s minds.

So close, yet so far apart.