Chapter 3675: Sword Fighting Across the Realm (14)
Chapter 3675: Sword Fighting Across the Realm (14)
Her eldest senior brother who always put her first in everything, her eldest senior brother who walked by her side… Yet their relationship was like a lotus root that snapped while its fiber stayed connected. Perhaps it would break, leaving no relationship at all, or perhaps the threads were firm and wouldn't break.
In short, this kind of eldest senior brother felt impossible for Qin Nianzhi to control. She didn't know if her eldest senior brother actually liked her or not, and some of her past impressions of him were shaken.
"Junior Sister," Ning Shu smiled and called out to Qin Nianzhi. Even though there was a figurative patch of green cloud hovering over her head, she still smiled.
If Qin Nianzhi were a male comrade, she would likely have long been cursed as scum by now.
Both emotionally and reasonably, Qin Nianzhi should walk toward Ning Shu right now, and Qin Nianzhi did exactly that. After all, regarding this relationship, she had a fiancé who grew up with her since childhood, and her father disagreed with her having any entanglement with the Demonic Cult.
Qin Nianzhi's heart felt entirely numb. She walked step by step toward Ning Shu, but was yanked back by Situ Xun. "You are mine. Where are you going?"
Qin Nianzhi's heart was a chaotic mess. Her heart was so disordered it was twisted into a knot. Going back with her eldest senior brother meant she would get married. Internally, she didn't want to go back. However, if she didn't go back and left with Situ Xun, she would be letting down her eldest senior brother and disobeying her father.
Qin Nianzhi couldn't abandon either side, which was why she was so conflicted.
Ning Shu looked at Situ Xun indifferently and said, "Are you a fucking idiot?"
"What?" Situ Xun let out a cold laugh. "Chong Xuefeng, we have not yet competed against each other. Let us exchange a few moves."
Without a second word, Ning Shu executed a sword flourish and thrust toward Situ Xun. Situ Xun pushed Qin Nianzhi away, pushing her out of the combat zone.
The scene was filled with flying sand and rolling stones. Leaves on the ground flipped through the air as the human figures crossed paths. Ning Shu raised an eyebrow. Sure enough, Situ Xun's martial arts ability was very high, and he had plenty of internal energy.
Situ Xun's complexion was somewhat poor. His adoptive father said he was a martial arts prodigy rarely seen in a century. However, this Chong Xuefeng seemed to be around his age, yet he could actually fight him, and even stand in an invincible position.
It seemed some intelligence was outdated.
Qin Nianzhi saw that both of these men were fighting with desperate postures. If anything happened to either of them, her heart would suffer. Both of these men were equally important in her heart; neither of them could have an accident.
"Stop fighting! Both of you, stop! Stop!" Qin Nianzhi shouted, her voice breaking the wind.
But the two men completely ignored her. Ning Shu released a surge of qi to launch a sneak attack on Situ Xun. Situ Xun was hit and panicked for a brief moment. While holding her sword, Ning Shu wore a completely indifferent expression and thrust straight for Situ Xun's heart.
Qin Nianzhi saw that Situ Xun was about to be killed. She was inexplicably shocked, and before she even had time to think, her body directly threw itself over. She stood in front of Situ Xun.
Squelch…
There was the sound of a precious sword piercing flesh. Ning Shu's sword pierced the area right below Qin Nianzhi's collarbone. The thrust was originally aimed at Situ Xun's heart, but Qin Nianzhi wasn't as tall as Situ Xun. When she blocked it, the sword pierced below her collarbone.
Seeing this situation, Ning Shu even slightly thrust the sword inward a bit more, piercing deeper. Qin Nianzhi let out a muffled groan, and blood spilled from the corners of her mouth.
Time seemed to freeze. With a pale face, Qin Nianzhi said to Ning Shu, "Eldest Senior Brother, do not kill him."
Qin Nianzhi slumped softly. Ning Shu pulled out the sword with a shhhk. Blood rapidly flowed from Qin Nianzhi's wound, staining her wedding dress wet.
Situ Xun hurriedly caught Qin Nianzhi. Ning Shu kicked Situ Xun squarely on the shoulder. "Get lost, do not touch my junior sister."
Ning Shu hugged Qin Nianzhi's corpse—no, body—and headed toward Wanjian Manor.
Situ Xun rubbed the shoulder Ning Shu had kicked. Various expressions flashed across his face: gloominess, worry, and a bit of bewilderment. He clearly didn't expect Qin Nianzhi to block a sword for him.
"Let's go. You are all trash," Situ Xun said coldly to the experts on the ground, his eyes filled with a hostile aura. He stood on a mountain rock, stared fixedly at Wanjian Manor, then turned around, leapt, and disappeared into the forest.
This matter wouldn't end like this.
He would return.
Ning Shu carried Qin Nianzhi back to Wanjian Manor, placed her on the bed, and hurriedly sought out Wanjian Manor's old physician. This was a relatively famous divine physician in the martial world who had now become a guest retainer of Wanjian Manor.
Whenever anyone in the sect fell ill, they would go find the old physician.
Then, Ning Shu went to find Father Qin. Father Qin was currently greeting guests with a smile on his face. Seeing Ning Shu's anxious expression, he cupped his hands to the people he was with, walked over to Ning Shu, and asked, "What happened?"
"Something happened to Junior Sister. She is injured and might not be able to perform the wedding bows," Ning Shu said in a low voice. "This matter is all my fault."
Father Qin's heart skipped a beat. As he walked quickly toward Qin Nianzhi's room, he scolded Ning Shu, "What exactly happened? How could something like this happen at such a crucial moment? The various sects and schools have all come to attend the wedding banquet. What are we going to do now? How did Nianzhi get injured? Was she not supposed to stay properly in the bridal chamber?"
Ning Shu gave a concise and comprehensive explanation of the entire sequence of events, then said, "At the time, I discovered Junior Sister was missing. To avoid anything happening, preventing people from gossiping and making Wanjian Manor a laughingstock, I went alone. No one else knows that Junior Sister is injured. We can tell the outsiders that Junior Sister suddenly suffered a severe illness and the wedding will be postponed.
"This is all my fault. It was I who stabbed Junior Sister," Ning Shu apologized honestly.
Hearing this, the blue veins on Father Qin's forehead nearly exploded. When he heard that Qin Nianzhi had actually blocked a sword for Situ Xun, he let out a heavy sigh. "I do not blame you. Xuefeng, you handled this matter very well."
"This disciple was worried about Junior Sister's reputation. Junior Sister was only temporarily bewitched by Situ Xun. Junior Sister is naive, so it is unavoidable that she would be attracted by some interesting yet dangerous things," Ning Shu said.
Father Qin narrowed his eyes and looked at Ning Shu. "How did you defeat so many experts?"
"This disciple… this disciple actually used a little drug, the skill-dissolving powder. Once those experts were poisoned, they could no longer be considered experts," Ning Shu said. "Although it was a bit underhanded, this disciple couldn't simply watch Situ Xun take Junior Sister away."
Qin Song sighed and walked quickly into the room. He looked at his daughter, who was lying on the bed with a pale face, with the wound on her chest still bloodied. The blood-soaked water in the basin used to wash the handkerchiefs used for her looked incredibly frightening.
"Physician Wu, how is my daughter?" Qin Song asked the old physician anxiously. He only had this one daughter, and she was the one his deceased wife had risked her life to give birth to.
"The bleeding has stopped. The injury is a bit severe and requires a lot of recuperation. However, there is no threat to her life. You must constantly watch for any fever and be meticulous, otherwise, it will leave a root of illness," the old physician said. "I will do my best to ensure the little girl does not be left with a root of illness."
Ning Shu wore a shocked expression. Her face was tragically pale, and her gaze was dull. She looked full of regret and lingering fear, as if she were truly blaming herself. She said, "It is all my fault. It was I who hurt Junior Sister."