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Great Liang Dynasty, Tianjian Year 11. There was great strife.
In June, it snowed heavily in Ying Prefecture. It was rumored that an immortal had descended upon the world. Once the news spread, god knows how many people went to Ying Prefecture to catch sight of the immortal. But no one found traces of any immortals.
September, Wei Prefecture flooded heavily when Wei River breached its banks. Residents on both sides of the riverbank were displaced and starving to death. The disaster victims fought for food with wild dogs and bones littered the ground.
At the end of the year, Sword Qi Mountain's new sword, Wild Grass, was born, shocking the world. Countless sword cultivators scrambled to climb up Sword Qi Mountain, wanting to bring this once-in-a-hundred-years sword down the mountain.
Two years later, Tianjian Year 13. There was snowfall in Wei Prefecture during early winter.
……
……
The heavy snow started falling on the day of the winter solstice. By now, it had already snowed for a whole month.
The sky had long already turned dark.
The bright moon was half-hidden. The birds and animals disappeared. There was only a vast expanse of white in the mountains.
Several lanterns that gave off a dim light swayed constantly in the cold wind, akin to a lonely boat amidst tumultuous waves; hanging by a thread.
Under the dim lighting, a party of more than ten people was currently slowly advancing along the mountain path.
"Young Lady, we should be reaching Tianqing County after crossing this mountain. The people who are coming to pick Young Lady up should be arriving at Tianqing County tomorrow as well. At that time, Young Lady will be escorted by them to the Divine Capital and we can also return to report on our mission."
In the team, the white-haired old man at the front pulled the cotton robe on his body tighter. While talking, the old man's brows which had been constantly furrowed, relaxed considerably at this moment.
But right after, he continued somewhat apologetically, "I haven't come out to walk for many years. I didn't expect that this world is still so chaotic and almost put Young Lady in danger. This old man is truly ashamed."
After their squad encountered demons several times, there were already less than 10% of the original team left at this time.
"Uncle Song don't have to be like this. When the people from the Divine Capital arrive, there shouldn't be any more problems on this journey northward."
There was a young girl in the center of the team. Her eyebrows were picturesque and she wore a pale green colored plain thick robe. But even so, her entire being exuded a special aura too. Although she was young, there was not a trace of childishness in the young girl's eyes which were like water. On the contrary, they were as calm as water.
She was definitely no ordinary girl.
The old man who was surnamed Song glanced at the young girl, his face full of gratification. This young girl in front of him was the number one person in the current generation of White Deer's Xie Clan.
The Xie Clan's cultivation method was special and could not be cultivated before the age of 16. The Divine Capital's Xie Clan wanted her to head north to the Divine Capital to study when she turned 16.
This was clearly having the intention of grooming Young Lady.
Great Liang Dynasty had established their kingdom for over 200 years. Although the world was still not very peaceful, it was much better than the previous dynasty. At least, during these 200 years, the Demon King's Court in the north no longer sent large groups of demons southward at every turn and slaughtering an entire province.
However, demons still existed within the country's borders. Many common people were killed. These things could not be avoided.
"Young Lady, Tutor Song, there's a mountain god temple ahead. Shall we spend the night there?" !
The blizzard was heavy. Under the aid of the moonlight at this time, one could really see a dilapidated mountain god temple situated on the mountainside by itself. More than half of it was covered by accumulated snow. Even the gate was somewhat in ruins.
It seemed to have been abandoned for a long time without anyone renovating it.
Great Liang Dynasty did not believe in ghosts or gods. Temples such as this mountain god temple were all built in the previous dynasty. The current dynasty did not allocate funds to repair them. They naturally became more and more dilapidated.
Retracting his gaze, Tutor Song looked at the young girl.
The young girl nodded.
After entering the borders of Wei Prefecture, they had been battered by a heavy blizzard. Pushing on with their journey became arduous. The team pushed on without stopping and were long already dead tired.
Tutor Song understood and said in a deep voice, "Ente..."
His voice suddenly stopped!
There was suddenly a sound in the originally quiet night.
Woo, woo, woo...
A series of cold sounds suddenly sounded out somewhere.
"AHH!"
A tragic scream suddenly sounded out behind the team. By the time everyone turned their heads around instinctively, they just saw a long streak of blood stain that extended out, disappearing into the forest.
"Protect the young lady!"
Following a loud cry, the remaining people immediately drew the weapons that they were carrying and surrounded the young girl. They looked around nervously.
Tutor Song tapped his foot and instantly shot up midair and said in a solemn voice, "Demon, show yourself!"
A blue light spilled out of Tutor Song's palm and spread out. The entire night sky became bright too!
"Blood demon?" !
A man cried out in alarm with a trace of sorrow.
Among the demons that roamed Great Liang Dynasty, blood demons were rather formidable; the hardest to tangle with among demons.
Now that they were only left with these few people, how could they be its match?
Tutor Song who was suspended in midair frowned. The very moment he saw the blood demon, he already had the resolve to die. If it were normally, he could make a full retreat even if he could not kill them. It was just that on the way here, he was covered in wounds. At this moment, his spirit was willing, but his flesh was weak.
"You guys bring Young Lady away! This old man will hold them back!"
Tutor Song shot towards the blood demon. In an instant, the old man raised his aura to the peak. Blue light radiated off him, looking especially dazzling. At this moment, he truly had the aura of being able to hold back all of the enemy forces!
Seeing that Tutor Song had already rushed forward without giving any chance to explain, the remaining few people grabbed the young girl and sprinted up the mountain.
After just a few steps, a man suddenly said, "Tutor Song can't hold that blood demon back!"
They were all martial artists. They naturally knew how powerful blood demons were.
The others did not speak, all of them tacitly acknowledging it.
The man who had already served the Xie Clan as an escort for over a decade suddenly smiled brightly: "Young Lady... we can't protect Young Lady anymore."
"Young Lady, please leave first. We'll hold back that demon for Young Lady for a short while!"
His voice was not loud, but it was particularly firm and allowed no refute.
The others nodded their heads heavily too.
Rather than let Tutor Song face the blood demon on his own, they might as well work together to buy a little more time for the young lady in front of them. At least, there would be a slightly higher chance of survival.
A hint of reluctance flashed across the young girl's eyes. But at this time, she just gritted her teeth and ran ahead while carrying her lantern.
The young girl removed the silver hairpin from her hair, gripping it tightly with her palm that was already lightly oozing sweat. Her black hair instantly cascaded down, fluttering behind her.
"Take care, Miss."
Seeing that the young girl had already left, the few people no longer hesitated, shouting loudly one after another as they charged toward the blood demon!
At this moment, the cold wind roared and the blood demon was behind. The young girl was still rather nervous.
In the end, no matter how talented or how early she matured, she was just a teenage girl too.
Her fingers holding the hairpin turned a little white because of how hard she was gripping. The snowstorm raged; some snowflakes falling on her hair.
It seemed to stain a layer of moonlight on her hair.
She was like a flower, unwilling to lower her head in the blizzard.
If she was caught up by the blood demons in the end, she would have to fight desperately by herself until the end too. The young girl had already planned the worst-case scenario in her mind.
Except, when she approached the mountain god temple, she discovered that there was a faint light inside through the door and windows.
There was someone?
She frowned slightly and hastened her footsteps. But, she was unwilling to enter the unknown mountain god temple. But right at this time, a gust of demonic wind blew past. Demonic energy that filled the sky already assaulted the young girl from afar.
Uncle Song and the others were defeated...
The young girl's petite face turned deathly pale. Although she was reluctant to accept it, she knew that this was already a fact.
No longer hesitating, the young girl carried her lantern and stepped into the mountain god temple. She passed through the courtyard and arrived before the door. Pausing for a moment, she exerted strength and pushed open the great hall's door that was in ruins to begin with.
The moment she pushed the door open, some dust and smoke were kicked up in the disorderly mountain god temple. The young girl collided with the dust and smoke and faintly saw that the decorative painting in the center of the great hall was long gone. Under the dilapidated mountain god statue, someone had lit a fire.
There was a youth in black next to the fire.
He was carrying a saber.
Translator note:
Wild Grass, yes, the sword's name is really called Wild Grass. Technically, it's 野草, which is just weed(not the kind you smoke). This sword will appear again later on in the novel.
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