C09: Walking on the moon and its shadow

"Why are the nephews still awake? It's already four o'clock and the cock will be crowing soon, so they will lose their energy during the day."

After all, Ding Xuan was a veteran and had seen the world before. She didn't panic when her whereabouts were discovered, and lied that she had indeed gotten out of bed for a walk because she was having trouble sleeping, and blamed the wine on the table, saying she was too drunk to sleep.

"Is that so? I didn't see Aunt Ding drink much wine during the banquet, did she get drunk even after smelling the wine?" Although half of Lu Qing's mind was on Lu Ziqu, half of him was still silently watching Ding Xuan. It was unbelievable.  The more he looked at her, the more suspicious she became. She wanted to ask him what kind of confidence he had in saying that Ding Xuan was innocent in comparison.

"I didn't know my nephew had been watching me" The implication was that only she knew how much she had drunk, and how could someone who hadn't been watching her from the beginning be sure that she hadn't had too much to drink?

"Auntie Ding must be drunk How else could she have walked into the wrong room and taken something in her arms that wasn't hers?"

Lu Ziqu seeing the tit-for-tat between them, stood up to protect Lu Qing, "The hairpin in Aunt Ding's arms belongs to Duan, doesn't it?" he said, squinting his eyes and placing his feet quietly, ready to fight at any moment.

"This hairpin?" Ding Xuan was still trying to play dumb, "Didn't I tell you I carry it with me every day? This one is mine."

"Is it? Never mind, the hairpin is here, so you can't get away with it." He showed the one in his hands, the one he had mentioned in the courtyard earlier was not the one Ding Xuan was holding, but the one in his hands, "After the confrontation with Duan jiejie, you can see which fork is still there and which one had been damaged. Besides, Duan jiejie must not remember the one he brought."

Ding Xuan listened to the meaning of his words and regretted underestimating these two boys. He had thought that they would be easy to deal with, that stealing Duan Xiangxiang's hairpin and destroying the body would be the only way to get rid of the evidence. Unexpectedly, these two were extraordinarily good at theatrics, only to lure her into the trap.

"Is that so? If I destroy it, how will you face me?"

She clutched the hairpin in her arms, she had been so careful in the room that for fear of damaging it. Now that she thought about it, it seemed even more ridiculous, I should have been more ruthless and cut it down and saved myself so much trouble!

The two brothers looked at each other and then smiled.

''Then it's time to take you to Lu Yun's grave and confront him in person!

The accusation was so loud that it sent shockwaves through the minds of everyone present. Ding Xuan shuddered uncontrollably at the roar and almost dropped his pitchfork to the ground, for no other reason than the fact that the owner of the voice had appeared at that moment, dressed in dark red and holding a longsword, braver than a man.

"When they came to me, I didn't believe them, so I reprimanded them and told them not to slander your innocence, but did you really come to steal my hairpin in the dark?" Duan Xiangxiang was still flushed and the wine still lingered in her blood, so she was very still, but that was as far as she could go.

"What are you talking about? This hairpin is mine, didn't you lose yours already?" said Ding Xuan hunching her shoulders.

At first glance, she seemed frightened by Duan Xiangxiang's presence, but Lu Ziqu carefully watched the glint in her eyes, which were not fearful but calculating, and hurriedly shouted, "Qingqing!" and waved her eyes at him to be careful.

"Shit!" Duan Xiangxiang laughed at this, "Nephew, go and grab the hairpin, my hairpin will have pear fragrance, it smells just like my hair."

Ding Xuan saw this and knew there was nothing she could do to defend herself, but she hated herself for not destroying him sooner. 

"Don't come any closer!" she saw that Lu Qing was about to run towards her, and in desperation she lifted the hairpin up to her neck, "If you come any closer, I'll stab myself. And I'll see how I'll be taken to Yun-ge's grave to confront him!"

"Self-harm, eh? Ding Xuan, what do you mean, you used to play this trick, and now you're playing it again!"

Duan Xiangxiang was unfazed, "Just because Yun-ge used to listen to you doesn't mean I do! You should know what I'm like! Nephew, grab it!" Seeing Ding Xuan's miserable face, Lu Qing obediently lunged towards her and grabbed the hairpin with both hands, only to hear Ding Xuan scream and take a step back, her hand going down and her other hand going up, blocking Lu Qing's arm!

"Oohh!"

Lu Qing looked in disbelief at Ding Xuan, who was also in position and ready to attack. Where was the weak woman, I'm afraid if she gets serious, she could fight her on equal footing!

"Why are they so stubborn? I was going to let them off" Ding Xuan said with regret that Lu Yun had passed away and that love and hate would eventually vanish in the water, and thought that if the matter came to an end, he would not kill them, "Is it so important to know who killed Lu Yun? Wouldn't it be good to live one's own life?"

"You killed my father!" Lu Qing roared, raising his other hand and slashing.

Lu Qing's attack was blocked again.

This time, Ding Xuan did not block with his arm, but instead twisted his dexterous body at an extremely strange angle and parted from Lu Qing, as he pulled out the soft sword from his waist with great speed and exerted force, directly wrapping Lu Qing's arm around it. Lu Qing instinctively struggled to break free, but he was increasingly bound. As he moved a little more, he had cut himself and blood instantly spilled all over the ground, covering his clothes in red.

"Qingqing!" shouted Lu Ziqu and ran away!

Seeing this, Ding Xuan simply threw down his pitchfork and pulled a knife from his waist and threw it in the direction Lu Ziqu was running towards. If he had been faster, or if Ding Xuan's murderous spirit had been stronger, Lu Ziqu would have been the first innocent soul to die here.

Lu Ziqu saw a blinding flash of silver light, and his body had to react faster than his head to the blade, so he turned sideways and tilted his face at a wider angle to avoid the sudden knife strike.

"Die!"

Ding Xuan pulled back his smooth sword in one deft motion and charged at Duan Xiangxiang while Lu Qing was distracted by the pain!

Duan Xiangxiang hoped that she would kill herself first. She had been a ruthless and cruel person from before, but if she hadn't changed her nature after Lu Yun's death, he wouldn't have accepted her as a partner. He had always thought that people were fickle, but he had forgotten that it was difficult to change one's nature.

"Aaaah!"

Duan Xiangxiang shouted and tried to lift his sword, but he found that no matter how hard he tried, the sword he held on the ground seemed to have taken root and would not move. Her reaction was not due to the weight of the sword itself, but to her own weakness, when she realised that Ding Xuan had already reached her eyes and stabbed her in the waist!

This time she was determined to take someone's life.

The pain was so intense that it felt like someone was holding a knife and scraping it back and forth along her bones, disgusting as it was, and Ding Xuan's harmless face was still beautiful, but the hand holding the blade was cruel as hell. Seeing that he did not faint from the pain and had even twisted it halfway, Duan Xiangxiang's face distorted in pain and he opened his mouth but no sound could be heard.

"Xiang jiejie, don't struggle, it won't hurt anymore." He said softly, as if coaxing a child.

"Why, my arms and legs..." he said, not to mention his strength, he couldn't even move his arms and legs. Even if he had drunk a lot, he wouldn't feel like this!

Ding Xuan smiled and said, "Xiang jiejie, did you think I wasn't ready?"

Duan Xiangxian when she thought of that, she knew that the drink had been adulterated, so she was furious and pushed Ding Xuan with a shout! Ding Xuan was prepared for this, so she nimbly tapped the ground with her toes and twisted her body, remaining unharmed and smiling at the people.

"I just wanted to let you sleep, but who knew you were like a cow?"

"Ding Xuan!" Duan Xiangxiang was so angry that her eyes filled with blood!

She didn't want to ask what had been added to the drink, but she had pushed Ding Xuan with her last bit of strength and fell backwards. Fortunately, Lu Ziqu caught her quickly, but he could also feel the qi in chaos in her body. With the confrontation, she was lucky that it wouldn't kill her.

Duan Xiangxiang was also aware of her physical condition, so she didn't dare to use her luck at will and let Lu Ziqu embrace her as an invalid.

When Lu Qing recovered from the numbness in her hands, she saw that Ding Xuan was only two steps in front of Lu Ziqu, he was dizzy and his head was buzzing. Before he could stand still, he clenched his fist and hit her! The fist wasn't full of qi, so it hit Ding Xuan's shoulder and only staggered her a few steps, but it didn't hurt.

"Let go!" shouted Lu Qing.

Ding Xuan took the blow hard, but she had a clue about Lu Qing's kung fu moves and couldn't help but laugh, almost shouting, "Heavens help me!"

Lu Qing was afraid that something would happen to Lu Ziqu and was already in a state of unease, but seeing Ding Xuan in such a frenzy made his body tremble. He had sensed that this woman was different in previous days. He had almost tricked her with his tricks, and the mere thought of them made him feel very upset.

 "Qingqing, watch out!"

As he looked down, he saw a few flashes of bright red, towards his shin. Lu Qing Qing couldn't evade it and then felt the pain in his flesh.

The pain was not simple, it was strong, then sharp, then numb, he groaned, his legs weakened a little.

"What did you do?" said Lu Ziqu angrily.

"Nothing. It's just a little trick I use when I travel the Jianghu."

Ding Xuan unzipped a pouch at his waist, its bottom oddly bulging. Lu Ziqu felt a familiarity, but couldn't remember why. But he heard Duan Xiangxiang whisper "creeping" in a foul voice.

"Xiang jiejie has a good memory," Ding Xuan said with a smile. She laughed and said that if the bag was untied now, not only they, but everyone in the house, would be killed. Although this kind of insect was a bloodsucker, it would eat the muscle and flesh until it was completely full.

"You are a cruel woman."

"Is that so? Wasn't it this worm that sucked the poisoned blood and bit the necrotic flesh to save your life when you were dying of a wound? Didn't you call me cruel back then?"

Ding Xuan looked wounded, but Lu Ziqu could see it for what it was, the fire in her eyes hadn't gone out, it was burning brightly!

"Oh!"

At that moment, Lu Qing squatted down in pain. The insects that had jumped on his legs had finally bitten his clothes, making the tender flesh easier to gnaw on. The pain was coming from there. Now they were eating the flesh and blood!

 "Qingqing!"

Duan Xiangxiang then reached out and grabbed the nephew, who was running forward, his fingers pinching the acupuncture points on his side, and the excruciatingly painful stimulation, which was enough to make a person lose the will to move, almost brought him to tears.

He whispered in his nephew's ear that he had pushed some of the drug out of her system at a very slow rate, but the rest was still enough to paralyse her; Ding Xuan had a number of hidden tricks up his sleeve, and there was no guarantee that he would use something he hadn't seen before, so it was best to stay still.

Lu Ziqu listened to what he said, but ... how could he leave Lu Qing like that?

Duan Xiangxiang understood his concern and said he will think of a way to leave here, "The first thing you should do is to take me somewhere else, so you won't be in trouble and I can steal time to force the poison, and then I can help you. I'll help you when I'm done.

Knowing that the bigger situation was important, Lu Ziqu came to Lu Qing's side, who happened to also be looking this way, holding his wound in place and frowning, and for a brief moment, Lu Ziqu held Duan Xiangxiang in his arms and ran to the opposite side!

"Where are we going?"

Seeing that Lu Qing would sooner or later be the bugs' dinner, Ding Xuan sneered and chased after the two.

Lu Qing was still covering her legs, the bugs were biting as if they hadn't eaten in a long time and ignored her touch. When Lu Qing was thinking about whether he could directly pull the insects off his feet, someone stopped him.

"Don't do it, if you do, you will die faster."

Lu Qing was surprised at how familiar the voice sounded when he turned his head and saw Fang Yinggui in his military uniform standing in the courtyard. The moonlight was so unrealistic that it was not even enough to express how poetic the scene was.

Fang Yinggui was walking on the moon and his shadow made a long trail on the ground until he reached Lu Qing, whose shadow was also covered by the corridor ceiling, a truly impressive sight, and if a court painter was here, he would have been busy sharpening ink and preparing paper just to reproduce this scene on paper.

"The insect is called a 'leech' and can only live in the Jiangsu area. It bites people's flesh and lays eggs inside them." He sat Lu Qing on the ground with his feet up and half of the worms were already in the flesh, which was terrifying. "The insects are bright red, I'm afraid it's a mutation. If you pull on them, I'm afraid you could rupture the tendons and veins in your muscles at the same time. And your leg would be rendered useless."

"What a sinister thing!" Lu Qing hated it so much that she couldn't wait to catch Ding Xuan and put all these maggots on him now!

"Women are the most sinister, do you understand that now?" Fang Yinggui pushed the maggots, which were soft and probably full of soft and rotten flesh," The maggots must be treated immediately, otherwise it will be too late when your legs will be devoured." Lu Qing asked him to help him. When he heard from him that he had to tear it off with a knife, cover it with medicine and not move it until new flesh grew, he shook his head!

"How can I do that, I have to go help my brother!" Her cheeks flushed with anxiety and she said that Ding Xuan was crazy and she didn't know what she would do if she went after the two of them, "No way! I have to go... ah!"

When Fang Yinggui saw how impatient she was, she laughed coldly and poked the insect, which bit even harder.

"Young man, calm down." The man who had stained his fingertips with blood from pricking the worm wiped it on Lu Qing's clothes and said that the worm was not invincible: "It has a weakness, incense. I have plenty here, and it will last for two hours if I light it all."

He was about to shout, "I don't need that kind of treasure" when Fang Yinggui interrupted him.

"If you can't get rid of it in two hours, the worms will wake up a hundred times fiercer and I think your legs will turn to bones in less than an hour."

The fact that he said it in a serious manner, made Lu Qing really scared to the point that his face was white.

"In other words..."

Fang Yinggui laughed twice and then kept his mouth shut until Lu Qing couldn't resist, telling him that if he could do the job and get back to him in two hours, he could still save them; otherwise, if he was a little late, the consequences would be irreversible.

"How, dare you try?"

Fang Yinggui had become a demon in Lu Qing's eyes.

Whether it was his indifferent posture, his confident tone of voice, or his unforced questioning, he was like a demon luring people into a trap that they had to walk into no matter what.

Lu Qing was still pondering, when he heard Fang Yinggui utter a leisurely remark, "The sooner you make up your mind, the sooner you can help your beloved brother."

These words were as light as a feather, but in Lu Qing's ears they were as heavy as a mountain.

He thought of Ding Xuan's demonic appearance before she left, and how Duan Xiangxiang was half crippled and would definitely drag Lu Ziqu down with her.... He didn't even dare to think about the possibility that his hesitation might get his brother hurt, or even... he didn't want to think about it. Seeing the worms squirming on his legs made him say, "Yeah, okay, I'll be back in two hours," and then he frowned and closed his eyes, as if he was being forced to go to the torture table.

Fang Yinggui laughed and praised him for his ambition, then took out a bunch of incense and lit it in his hand. Lu Qing could not tell where he had taken the fire to light it, and then a strong aroma entered his nose. He had never used incense before and went into a trance for a moment. 

When he saw the incense, the worms stirred violently and then curled up into a ball with one end as the centre of gravity. The pain soon subsided and Lu Qing watched as the worms became a decoration on his legs, like the bite marks of a mosquito in summer. He tried to pick at them with his fingers, they looked dead.

"Ready" said Fang Yinggui who let the incense burn just in case, but Lu Qing said he couldn't wait. He said nothing, but told Lu Qing to remember to come back in two hours, otherwise he would be responsible for his own life.

When Lu Qing heard this, he jumped up and ran to the back of the mountain.

Fang Yinggui looked at Lu Qing's back and let out a long sigh, tilting her face up to look at the moonlight, a hint of melancholy flashing in her eyes.

There was a rustling sound, accompanied by the figure of a man deftly landing on the ground, and Fang Yinggui immediately gathered the emotions in his eyes. If there was anyone to whom he would not easily reveal such fragile emotions, Fang would be unsurpassed.

"Master. I have confirmed that only a trace of incense was used in the room, but the others in the hallway have been drugged and I have given them all the antidote. They will slowly wake up in two hours."

"Very well." Fang Yinggui reached out and stroked his apprentice's forehead, his hands were full of hot sweat and he wiped them on his own clothes with some distaste. Fang Shi saw this wicked action in his eyes, but said nothing, only because he understood that his master was now in a heated mood.

"Master, I saw Lu-xiong leaving, why didn't you... join forces with them?" he didn't know why his master would want to go alone. If he could join forces, wouldn't he have? With a lot more help, he wouldn't have to be so exhausted.

"Join forces? Don't mock."

"Master..."

 "Duan Xiangxiang is against me, Ding Xuan hates me and Lu Ziqu doesn't trust me, so I have too little leverage to join forces with anyone." Fan Yinggui had fought in the Jianghu for a long time and had great potential. So how could he not know that the little information he had was not enough to negotiate a deal with anyone?

Fang Shi wanted to say more, but he saw Fang Yinggui put his fingertips to his mouth in warning.

Seeing how well he was behaving, Fang Yinggui chuckled twice with satisfaction, then looked thoughtfully in the direction of the back of the mountain.

"Would you like to go to the back of the hill and see the scenery with the beauty?" He asked casually.

***

Lu Ziqu held Duan Xiangxiang by the waist all the way to the back of the hill, as it was safer to be away from the mansion and there were many natural shields at the back of the hill, so it was easy to attack and defend. This was Duan Xiangxiang's plan.

Lifting his legs above the grass and trees, which reached up to his waist, Lu Ziu turned left and right on command. Successfully he had a slight distance from Ding Xuan. He was amazed at how he knew the area so well, but simply said, "I've been here a few times," and then asked him to put her down.

"There is a hiding place up ahead, between two trees, put me there, Ding Xuan can't find it," she said.

"Duan jiejie, hide well" She put some leaves on Duan Xiangxiang and turned to fight Ding Xuan. "She killed my master, even if she dies, I can't let her escape!"

"I will expel the remaining poison here, and then come to your aid. Be careful, that woman is a master of dirty tricks, pay attention to her moves."

"I know, Duan jiejie."

Lu Ziqu thought safety was paramount and took the trouble to set traps around the area, which were not subtle, but well thought out, before deliberately making noise to lead Ding Xuan elsewhere. This kind of thoughtful action made Duan Xiangxiang extremely grateful, but also proud that Lu Yun's disciple and son were outstanding and had not been destroyed by that woman.

With her mind set on helping, she quickly focused on expelling the poison, unable to hear the sounds outside for a moment, she fought against the poison inside her body. The battle was urgent and he had to do everything he could.

He had been running so much that the toxin was spreading and he had not been able to get lucky, even his legs were numb. He didn't notice someone standing outside until a wave of heat flowed through his body and then his eyes snapped open and he frowned as he saw the person in front of him.

 "Fang Yinggui!"

Indeed, it was Fang Yinggui who was passing her Qi before her eyes.

She frowned slightly and looked attentively. There seemed to be nothing to distract him. The Qi flowing through his palm was so strong that it had expelled the toxins from his body, and Duan Xiangxiang could feel that his limbs were now regaining their strength. He still couldn't fully utilize his strength, but it was progress.

"Calm down." Fang Yinggui scolded her, "If you get so excited, the toxin will only spread faster, and even Old Hua Tuo's reincarnation won't be able to return."

He said that the toxin was hard to find and extremely poisonous, so he was only treating it as an emergency.

"Fang Shi."

"Yes, master."

Duan Xiangxiang was surprised to see another young man appear, and even more surprised to hear that they were addressed as master and disciple, but he had to concentrate on the flow of qi in his body to force all the toxins to the same place, otherwise.... It would be unwise for his mind to get confused and cause the poison to explode.

 "Help me..."

"Yes, master" Fang Shi didn't wait for him to finish before reaching out to take him in his arms, then took out a pill and handed it to the other, such a smart move made Fang Yinggui show a rare smile, he was handsome, though not compared to Lu Yun in those years.

After a long time, Duan Xiangxiang only felt half better and was about to move when she was pushed back to her place. She couldn't help but get angry.

"If you want to die, you can move." Fang Yinggui withdrew her palms and said sarcastically, "You haven't changed, you're as impulsive as ever."

"Shut up." Duan Xiangxiang said angrily, "You are the last one who should criticize, demon."

Fang Shi when he heard the word "demon", he unconsciously looked in his master's direction and was relieved to see no embarrassment before he withdrew his gaze.

"Oh, now it's this demon was the one who saved your life." He waved his hands in disdain and then, without waiting for a response, quickly elbowed several of his acupoints, leaving Duan Xiangxiang Xiang with no chance to defend himself.

"He asked Duan Xiangxiang to move his hands and feet to see if only his left arm was extremely numb, and when he received an affirmative answer, he said, "This method also treats the symptoms and can only last for one hour. After one hour, the poison will strike back, you will be so desperate that you will wish it had not saved you."

"One hour! Then I must help my nephew..."

"Save your breath, you can't even use your lightning-like abilities now, you'll just drag everything down like your leg," Fang Yinggui said mercilessly, but every word was right. The reason for this was that she was, as he said, half an invalid, unable to even use her luck, let alone help.

"Fang Shi, charge her," he ordered, then turned and used his lightning skills to leave, as if he didn't want to spend time with Duan Xiangxiang. She looked at the young man on her right and asked, "Can you withstand that demon's temper?

When Fang Shi heard this, he just smiled affably and said, "Master is very kind, he is not a demon. He will help the young Lu masters."

Duan Xiangxiang saw that his words were sincere and from the bottom of his heart, so she could not help but feel a little stunned. But as Fang Yinggui said, the pain in her left arm was only in her upper arm, not anywhere else. Her heart felt different and her emotions filled her chest, forcing her to almost vomit blood.

On Lu Ziqu's side, she relied on luring Ding Xuan into the forest, where huge trees grew and the leaves were lush and green. Ding Xuan snarled and slashed everything in his path with the soft sword, so he had a clear view of his prey. He could see Lu Ziqu's back and couldn't help but laugh and want to cut him at once with his sword.

 "No way!"

Lu Ziqu was never one to be reckless. He had deliberately revealed the gaping hole in his back to lure her, and when that worked, he quickly dashed into the forest.

Ding Xuan's smooth sword clattered against the leaves with an unpleasant sound, and she couldn't help but curse, "You bastard!

"Ding Xuan, you killed my master, I want you to be buried with me today!

Lu Ziqu thought to himself that since he didn't know the terrain as well as Duan Xiangxiang, he might as well use the trees to hide and make a breakthrough. Even if he couldn't retreat immediately, he could still gain a little. Although Lu Ziqu wasn't sure how long he could hold out, he knew he would have to fight alone today.

He wondered if Lu Qing's wound would be okay. He was a little anxious, thinking that Ding Xuan was so cruel and insects were no good, so he had to go back soon.

 "Buried? Haha!"

In this moment of distraction, Ding Xuan rushed towards his eyes and raised his sword to strike a blow!

"Alright!"

The soft sword looked soft at first glance, but it actually didn't stop until there was blood. Lu Ziqu didn't notice it for a moment and that made her strike the blow. Li Ziqu's arm was cut and blood splattered. The bright lyna in the sky was particularly poetic, "Moonlight and red flames of the moon" were in a variety of shades. 

The pain in his arm brought Lu Ziqu back to his senses, and he blocked with his sword, but Ding Xuan's smooth blade was as soft as bone, and curved around and upwards by his long sword. Finally, Lu Ziqu found that his sword could control the other party's sword. Ding Xuan was surprised to see that the soft sword was piled on the wrong bone and could not be removed.

At this point, Lu Ziqu used his inner strength to strengthen his arms, thinking that since he couldn't withdraw them, he wouldn't let his opponent get away with it!

"You have some skills, nephew." Ding Xuan smiled playfully and surrendered with his sword!

"What!"

Lu Ziqu didn't expect the woman to do this. For a moment, she retreated. At the same time, Ding Xuan narrowed his palm and shook it. The familiar red insects reappeared. This time Lu Ziqu was prepared and grabbed the hem of his clothes as a shield. After the insects stuck to the cloth, he quickly cut it off and threw it away.

"Good reaction, nephew." Ding Xuan didn't feel bad that the bugs didn't work, anyway, he still had a lot of these treasures, this time he only took a few, "Yun-ge must have passed on most of his skills to you, right? I see your internal kung fu is the same as Yun-ge's. A famous master makes a good student.

Lu Ziqu eyed her warily, not bothering to pull the weapon away, fearing that another slip of the tongue might cost him his life.

"It's a pity, did you know that the Lu family's inner arts have a fatal nemesis? "

"What?" Lu Ziqu frowned, knowing in his heart that this was Ding Xuan's way of intimidating his enemy, but he still couldn't restrain himself from wanting to know.

"Yun-ge's internal skills exactly matched my Duan Zuofang's external skills in Jiangnan" Ding Xuan smirked and explained why he always acted like he had a good idea of what he was doing, it was because of this reasoning: "Your internal kung fu is mainly focused on passing, accumulation and fighting, mainly to kill people, while my external kung fu can break your qi accumulation and thus disrupt the flow of your internal energy.... You can't beat me, nephew hahahahaha..."

Ding Xuan's announcement was accompanied by a horrible laugh, perhaps in his mind he just found this cat and mouse game particularly amusing.

"I can't beat you, but I can't let you go!" Lu Ziqu was more aggressive, determined and daring than Lu Qing, and the more he suffered setbacks, the braver he became.

"Then let's try it!"

Ding Xuan drew a second smooth sword from his waist, which explained why he had so easily relinquished the previous one, having been ready from the beginning.

She turned at the waist and stepped forward with a move called "Luoyan Jue" (falling goose technique). In the jianghu world, it was one of the two main soft sword techniques, along with the "Shen Yupu" (Sinking Fish manual), and there were only a few people who could use this technique perfectly in Duan Zuofang.

Lu Ziqu didn't dare to take it lightly, because Lu Yun had told him that this sword technique was the opposite of its name, how beautiful was the name, but how cruel was the movement!

The smooth sword swung in the air, and Ding Xuan's rhythm changed from light and flamboyant at first to aggressive and merciless, each stab towards Lu Ziqu was aimed at a vital point. Lu Ziqu dodged each move with difficulty, unable to find the time to fire his concealed weapon.

Ding Xuan had no intention of prolonging the fight, the faster he could get rid of this man the better, so he could go back and find Duan Xiangxiang and kill her, then pick up Lu Qing's body.

"Go and meet your master!"

Ding Xuan let out a low roar and the soft sword thrust his sword straight, but as if the sword had a spirit, it spun in the middle of the thrust.

Lu Ziqu was already in a difficult position to dodge, but when he saw that the sword was about to stab into his eye socket, he had no choice but to close his eyes.

He thought that when the pain spread, he would grab the soft sword and bully Ding Xuan into it, and even clutched the hidden weapon in his arms, waiting for the time to come.

Clank!

Lu Ziqu's eyes snapped open.

The pain wasn't there, and the sword had deflected from his eye socket arc. When he looked closely, he saw Lu Qing standing in front of him, and the deafening sound was the sound of him using his wristband to block and thrust the sword. Knowing how hard the sword was, he rushed to grab Lu Qing's arm to check it and saw that the wrist guard was cracked.

Before he had time to shout, Lu Qing used his wrist guard as a shaft to wind the soft sword, and for a moment initiative and passivity changed hands.

"Why..." Shouldn't Lu Qing have been waiting for death where he was?

"Get away from me brother!" shouted Lu Qing, he had actually built up his inner strength. Ding Xuan couldn't bear it closely and felt a dull ache in his chest, his ears and head ringing in pain and suddenly lost strength in his palm grip. Lu Qing got rid of the weapon and shielded Lu Ziqu for some counterattack.

"Qingqing, your foot!" Remembering Ding Xuan's comment that insects ate flesh and blood, Lu Ziqu was so worried that he would have knelt down to look at it if the situation had allowed him to do so.

"Alright!" Lu Qing laughed, "The worm is asleep, are you alright brother?" When she saw that his arm was bloodshot, Lu Qing's eyes filled with anger and she hated that she hadn't beaten Ding Xuan to her knees and begged for mercy.

When Ding Xuan saw the insects huddled in a ball, she couldn't help but shout, "Is Fang Yinggui here? He's the only one in the world who knows how to use incense! Damn it!" 

The man holding the wound on his arm frowned, "Is it him, Qingqing?"

"Yes, brother He used incense so that he will buy time to come to your aid!"

Ding Xuan heard the confidence and happiness in his words and felt ridiculous at first, but then she could no longer contain her laughter. The birds in the forest fluttered at her laughter, and the Lu brothers also hunched their shoulders uneasily.

"You are behind me, but Fang Yinggui is helping you? Hahahaha... There is such a thing in the world! Hahahahaha..."

Lu Ziqu heard the tone in his words, raised his voice and asked what he meant by that.

"Fang Yinggui's sins are no less grave than mine, and he can't get away with your master's death!" Ding Xuan laughed so hard that tears spilled from his eyes, but there was no sign of mirth, it was a maniacal laughter tinged with questioning and extreme pain, just a step away from demonisation.

The news was particularly shocking, and the two men looked at each other, unsure of what to do for a moment. Lu Ziqu, the eldest after all made up his mind quickly after the shock and said aloud to him, "Still, we will go to Fang Yinggui and ask him!"

"Will he answer when you ask? You idiot! Fang Yinggui is unpredictable, why else would I keep an eye on him all these years?" Ding Xuan felt aggrieved." Even if I killed them myself, Fang Yinggui is still the culprit! He was the culprit! Yet he helps you kill me."

"There is no justice and righteousness when a murderess speaks!" Lu Qing only thought that she was deliberately planting evidence, and now she wanted to take someone with her when she saw no way out.

 "You will regret it! You'll regret me helping you kill me! You'll die!"

Ding Xuan had already lost his senses and didn't care about his tricks or his swordplay, all he had left were his hidden weapons. He took two and threw them at the brothers!

The concealed weapon was shaped like a willow leaf and was so light that it made no sound. With her wristbands in place, Lu Qing blocked one with her left and right hands, then pushed Lu Ziqu further away to avoid being affected by the woman's frantic attack.

"Tiger Stance!"

Lu Ziqu was already good at this and could see better from a distance, so he gave the order to Lu Qing without worrying, and added, "Just like you always do."

If it was normal, then there was no need to fret, because it was ordinary.

Lu Qing heard the worry in his words, so she bowed and spread her legs, assuming the stance of a tiger hunting its prey.

When Ding Xuan saw this, he hated that he had let his two soft swords slip out of his hands, so he rolled up his sleeves in a delicate dance to interrupt his vision; Lu Qing was actually caught in the act, and his fists, which were full of energy, went slack for a moment.

"Newbie!" She laughed out loud, withdrew her hands and put them aside, and two concealed weapons flashed in the night sky!

Lu Ziqu was at the right angle to capture the scene and, in his haste, swung his hands first. The hidden weapons in his palms came out with a loud sound, one hit Ding Xuan's wrist, making her scream in pain, while the other stuck into the mud and was heard at the same time as Lu Qing's painful screams.

"Qing!"

"No!" Lu Qing knew that Lu Ziqu would rush forward in fear of himself, so he rushed to stop him, but he looked down and saw a willow dart at his waist, only half of it was exposed, the other half was inside the flesh, and if he moved any further, he would feel pain!

Ding Xuan saw that the opportunity was too great to miss, so he stretched out his feet and approached him, swinging his hand, which had not been hit by the hidden weapon, towards Lu Qing's eyes!

At some point she had hidden a stone as big as a pebble in her hand. But even if she could have seen it, it would have been hard to dodge it, not to mention Lu Qing was in pain and worried about his brother, so he was too worried to defend himself.

 "Dodge!" Lu Ziqu shouted a warning, but it was too late.

A piercing wind whistled in his ears, the sound of a hand waving in the air or the wind blowing at the right moment, and the pain in his ears was unbearable. Lu Qing knew he couldn't help it, so he turned around and raised his arm to cover his ear, thinking that first he would let Ding Xuan hit him, and once he got close, it would be his turn!

This was not a very good move, but it was close enough, and close enough was often the best way to survive.

The stone hit Lu Qing's head, to his death, and a black mist rose in front of his eyes, with silver glints in it, making it difficult to react. However, even though the stone hit his head, his wrist was shaken by Lu Qing's wrist guard, and his cruelty was reduced to the point where his head would have bled to death, but now he was only wild-eyed and dizzy. 

"Now!"

Lu Qing reached out and snapped Ding Xuan's wrist, his thumb pinched the soft spot and snapped the hamstring to prevent him from escaping, the pain that made his scalp tingle exploded like a bomb, he wanted to scream but couldn't.

The breakthrough that came from sacrificing himself was particularly rare, and once he saw it, he pulled at it and wouldn't let go, a force that ripped Ding Xuan off the ground and held her by the neck. This was a move that could have knocked her down in one blow, but the blow still hurt, and Lu Qing still saw golden stars in front of her eyes, and when Ding Xuan saw that she looked like she was in pain, she even stabbed him in the eye with a concealed weapon!

"Ah!"

 "No!"

This was a truly insidious move.

Lu Qing could no longer see what was in front of him. No matter how much he blinked, it was only darkness, light and shadows were unknown to him, and he had to strain his nerves. But once his heart was cowed, he was no longer invincible and Lu Qing was already half wounded.

"Damn it!"

Lu Ziqu fired several concealed weapons in quick succession, all aimed at Ding Xuan's vitals, and she was forced to retreat, while Lu Ziqu saw the opportunity to run forward and pick up Lu Qing.

"Qingqing!" he shouted as if he was about to cry, with such pathos that no one could help but feel moved.

 "Brother, brother..."

When Lu Ziqu saw him like this, he hugged him and ran to another place. The young man in his arms was frightened because he was blind. Lu Ziqu was extremely distressed and really hated Ding Xuan. When had he ever seen Lu Qing so vulnerable? Lu Ziqu's heart ached, and he really hated Ding Xuan.

He found a hidden place for Lu Qing to hide, thinking that now that he couldn't see, he would have to fight Ding Xuan on his own, but when he turned around to leave, his sleeve was pulled. He turned around, and watched Lu Qing close his eyes. He looked very solemn and worried.

"Don't go, brother, you can't beat her," he said. Lu Qing had fought her several times and understood the extent of her martial skills.

 "But you can't just sit there and wait for death!" Lu Ziqu was so eager for revenge that he felt like dying," Qingqing, don't move, let me see your wound."

He examined Lu Qing's eyes in several ways and found that he was not really blind, but had been hit hard, but he could not take it lightly.

"Fang Yinggui can't be trusted, don't look for him, your brother will lure Ding Xuan and you can go back the way you came..."

"Brother!" Lu Qing couldn't believe it, he was so anxious that he was about to cry, "Brother, you and I alone can't take down Ding Xuan, this is a death sentence!"

 "Qingqing..." what didn't Lu Ziqu understand about this?

The cold wind whistled in their ears and the two of them leaned closer to the cave, fearing that Ding Xuan would come after them. At this moment, Lu Ziqu could feel the desperation of Lu Qing's body. If he said he didn't want to leave Lu Qing at this moment, he would really mean it, but now the situation was critical. It was better to sacrifice one, than to have two sacrifices in vain!

"If you die, I won't live." Lu Qing said sadly as he gritted his teeth "I won't let you die, we have to do it together!"

"Don't be joking!" Lu Ziqu only thought he was joking, but when he saw tears running down her face, he choked as well. The two of them huddled together, Lu Qing clung to Lu Ziqu's sleeve and refused to let go. At first, he had been afraid to fight, he had lost the ability to see and trust himself, he would have felt helpless to do anything, but when Lu Ziqu tried his best to protect him, the slightest cowardice was quickly drowned out. He had to protect his brother and avenge his own father, so how could he show weakness here?

What could be worse than losing his sight?

"Brother..."

"You're right, both of us are no match for Ding Xuan," Lu Ziqu suddenly said.

Lu Qing instinctively looked up, but forgot that he couldn't see, so he could only listen to the sound to determine where he was, when his natural instincts kicked in and he fiercely shielded Lu Ziqu behind him, his fists punching outward seemingly aimlessly. He had heard a whisper.

Unexpectedly, Ding Xuan had found them. They were about to make a sneak attack, but Lu Qing lost his sight and his five senses suddenly improved, he could detect their intentions.

Lu Ziqu was enraged and threw two concealed weapons, one hitting his shoulder and the other he dodged, while he took the opportunity to carry Lu Qing away.

The three of them ran through the forest, one after the other, the former using trees and branches as cover for fear of being hit, the latter chasing after them even though she was wounded. Lu Qing couldn't help but smile as she thought of something in the cold wind.

"Brother, I got it!"  In Lu Ziqu's arms, she found it easy to whisper, "Ghosts catch people!"

"What?"

 "Remember that game we used to play when we were kids? I was blindfolded and listened to your orders?"

At that moment, Ding Xuan caught up with them again. Lu Ziqu quickly adjusted Lu Qing in his arms and jumped. He managed to dodge Ding Xuan's concealed weapon, but his body was getting tired. Fortunately, the concealed weapon grazed his hem, if the chase continued, it was possible that he might not even be able to dodge the open knife, let alone the concealed arrow.

 "Yes, but..."

"Brother, this is the ghost catcher!" Lu Qing stretched out her hand to cover his eyes. It really looked like it was covered with a piece of cloth and he couldn't see the light. "I'll listen to you later, look and let me fight, we'll take revenge together!"

This blindfold took them back to his childhood, when Lu Ziqu had asked him to play this trick to make him more alert, and he was so excited to play it that he wanted to play it every day.

"Remember, believe me, you and I are one, with me and you, without you and me, there is no me!"

Lu Qing then pushed his lips together and made a promise to live and die together before anyone could react, and Lu Ziqu burst into tears at the height of his emotions, but realising he had no room for such emotions, he forced them down and jumped into the trees and moved back and forth to hide, concentrating on Ding Xuan's movements and leaving the rest behind!

"Tiger Stance!"

Lu Qing quickly stood his ground, his eyelids still fluttering with trepidation.

"Tiger Fist!"

Both fists clenched at the command, the nails and fists were nowhere near the palm, compared to the claws of a fierce tiger, sharp and hard to retract.

"You are looking for death!"

When Ding Xuan saw that they were playing this game of one person listening to another, she couldn't help but feel ridiculous inside. She deliberately refrained from hitting Lu Qing where it hurt, and instead circled around him, backing away as soon as she was about to hit him, making Lu Ziqu furious.

"Have you had enough, nephew?"

She laughed and teased Lu Qing, letting her sleeves caress his face at one point and then teasing him with the sound of her feet stomping on the fallen leaves. 

Lu Ziqu knew this was all tricks, but he couldn't bear to watch Lu Qing being teased again and again without being able to defend himself, the back and forth between mental tension and relaxation was enough to drive anyone crazy.

For Lu Qing, this cat-and-mouse teasing was equally unbearable. He tried to defend himself several times, but he remembered Lu Ziqu's words and dared not move, neither his sleeve caressing his face nor his feigned movements made him stagger, once he remembered that he remembered the phrase "with me and you, without you and me, there is no me!", he dared not move at all, waiting for Lu Ziqu's command.... Lu Ziqu's eyes now focused on Ding Xuan's weaknesses!

After toying with him for a while, Ding Xuan saw that Lu Qing stubbornly used defense as a means of attack, so he couldn't help but feel annoyed. The snarling laughter began to be tinged with murderous intent.

Lu Ziqu didn't even dare to tell Lu Qing to be careful for fear of endangering him, but his eyes watched Ding Xuan's every move with increased urgency, he didn't miss Ding Xuan's attempt to stab Lu Qing in the head with a string of concealed weapons in the shape of flower petals held by his thumbs!

"Raise your right hand to protect your head, bend your foot and left hand to support the ground!" he shouted urgently, and Lu Qing quickly did the same. He had held back just for this moment!

"Tackle with your right hand and protect your chest with your left! Stand firm in the tiger stance!" Lu Ziqu ordered again.

He saw that Ding Xuan's other hand was also restless, so he asked Lu Qing to take the initiative to control it with his grasping hand, while protecting his chest with his left hand was a precautionary move.

Ding Xuan's eyes trembled with anger when two moves in a row were broken, and he did not dare to underestimate them anymore, but there were not many hidden weapons left on his body, and only two strands of willow leaf darts were left.

"Damn it!" when had she ever been in such a mess, she was so angry that she stopped shrieking and stopped being a child, and pulled out a string of willow leaf darts and attacked Lu Qing's abdomen!

"Jump!"

Lu Qing did as she was told and quickly jumped out of the way, but still couldn't dodge them all. The reason why they are counted in bunches is that once fired, there are seven in a row, one after another, and unless one is prepared or experienced, it is impossible to dodge them all. Lu Qing's eyes were useless and Lu Ziqu's instructions were missing, so naturally he could not dodge them.

"Oooh!"

He couldn't see how many of them had entered his belly or just grazed him, but the pain was too intense, but he knew he couldn't worry about his injuries at that moment.

With me and with you, without you and without me, there is no me!

Lu Ziqu didn't know that Ding Xuan was at the end of his luck. He was so worried about Lu Qing that he couldn't have known that she only had one more chance with a hidden dart chain. When he saw that Ding Xuan was about to raise his hand and shoot another dart, he was so desperate that no matter how he calculated, he couldn't let Lu Qing dodge the chain of darts, so he crouched down and rushed to block them himself in front of Lu Qing!

"Qingqing!"

He was desperate.

The seven hidden weapons hit Lu Ziqu's back one after another, and his shouts were so sharp that they hit the softest point in Lu Qing's ears. He pulled out the hidden weapon from his belly and threw it at the black shadow in front of him!

Even though Ding Xuan had seen the flash of silver light and took a step back, he still couldn't avoid this deadly counterattack.

Pop, pop, pop! 

For a moment, Lu Qing only thought that it was Dingxuan's clothes that had been pierced by his concealed weapons, but he didn't expect to be able to appreciate the presentation of Lu Yun's ancient masterpiece " Nine God Killer" under these circumstances.

"Ah! Ah, my eye! Aah!"

 The concealed weapon had been aimed at Ding Xuan's right eye.

When he saw that Lu Ziqu was half killed by his own concealed weapon, he was filled with joy, so he took this opportunity to finish them off at once, but unexpectedly, when he got closer, he came into contact with Lu Qing's temporal clarity.

"Go to hell!"

Lu Qing followed the shout, grabbed a rock and smashed it into Ding Xuan's face, it was better to smash his face into a blur!

Now he was not fighting to avenge his father, Lu Yun, but for the love of his life, who was limp in his arms, and the murder of his father and the crime of destroying his family did not anger him as much as hurting his brother.

At the last moment, the back of his hand was awakened by several stabs of pain, but the rock was still unstoppable, and Fang Shi had no choice but to use his hand to block it.

"Lu-xiongdi!" Fang Shi shouted anxiously. 

Ignoring the injury on his back, he went to the acupuncture points on Lu Ziqu's body. All the hidden weapons were poisoned, and once they hit his body, they would be infected, just like the ones on Lu Qing's stomach.

Lu Qing didn't recognize Fang Shi at first, but only when he kept shouting "Lu-xiongdi" did he calm down and, as a result, his eyes returned to darkness.

"It's all right." Fang Shi assured him that he was only targeting his acupuncture points to prevent the poison from spreading, so Lu Qing stopped resisting.

"Where is my brother, my brother!"

Lu Qing's eyes widened as she asked, ignoring her own injuries, but only asking about the condition of the man in her arms, Fang Shi was so moved by this deep emotion that he repeatedly assured her that Lu Ziqu had only fainted and his life was safe.

"Really? She cried hoarsely, unable to tell whether it was a cry of anguish or relief, which made Fang Shi feel uncomfortable again.

Ding Xuan looked at the scene in front of her still stunned, suddenly a man behind her stepped on her forcefully, forcing her face to the ground, she ate her mouth full of mud and sand, looking so miserable that words cannot convey. The man who was so merciless to the woman was Fang Yinggui, who was now using his master's covering technique to stomp on Ding Xuan's back, and when she struggled, he again stomped on her until she could no longer move.

"Don't do anything. You know how I treat women," Fang Yinggui said coldly.

Ding Xuan naturally understood, but even if she wanted to resist, she was powerless. Fang Yinggui was really relentless with her, and the few stomps now had really sealed the acupuncture points on her limbs, once she tried to exert her strength, she would suffer her own recoil and pain, which was undoubtedly torture.

Duan Xiangxiang leaned weakly against the trunk of a nearby tree, seeing Ding Xuan in such a pitiful state she couldn't help but feel happy, but he was so weak that it was already very difficult for her to come here alone with Fang Yinggui's help.

"I'm sorry, nephew, this poison is too strong, I tried my best to force it out, but it didn't help..." She slowly approached the two, her tone apologetic, seeing Lu Qing's eyes in a dazed manner she was about to rush to kill Ding Xuan!

"Duan jiejie, it's alright. This woman is very powerful, that you couldn't alone with her, it's good that you couldn't make it." The woman hugged Lu Ziqu tightly, feeling her heartbeat, not even concentrating on herself, not even when her leg started to hurt.

Fang Yinggui laughed coldly several times, making sure Ding Xuan couldn't make an issue of it before raising her eyes to look at Lu Qing, the worm in that boy's leg wriggling with almost inaudible movements. When he saw this, he simply let Fang Shi lift Lu Ziqu up, while he himself made an effort to seal Ding Xuan's acupuncture points, and then tied her tightly with his rope, before walking towards Lu Qing and waving his palm in front of him.

"It's almost been two hours, boy." Fang Yinggui said.

At this moment a strong wind blew, as if in response, the leaves on the ground fluttered and twirled in the wind and then fell down, landing right in front of Ding Xuan's eyes, one, two, three... exactly eight green leaves, with Ding Xuan's single bloodshot pupil was exactly the fruit of the " Nine God Killers".

"Hahahahaha.... Uh, uh" Ding Xuan laughed and cried, no one knew that he saw Lu Yun through the eight green leaves. That was the love he couldn't have in his life.

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