Chapter 383: Countering the Move

Chapter 383: Chapter 186: Countering the Move

Cheng Tianyang had just told Jiang Ran.

This Lady Wu was one of the members of the Heterodox Manor who had participated in the scheme to slaughter the Celestial Yang Escort Agency.

Jiang Ran had met both Lady Wu and Jin Sanding before in Benma County.

At the time, the Young Master of Heterodox Manor had gathered a group of his followers in the woods for a meeting to elect a leader.

Lady Wu’s skills outshone the crowd, but Jin Sanding refused to concede. Their duel ended in a stalemate, leaving them in a difficult position.

During the battle at the Valley of Rebirth in Benma County, the two were no match for the master who had escaped from the Heartless Ghost Mansion. They later used the ensuing chaos to slip away and vanished without a trace.

He never expected them to show up again, this time in Evergreen Mansion.

Now that he had spotted her, he certainly couldn’t let her get away.

Jiang Ran’s feet were like the wind. He heard the sound of someone cutting through the air behind him and turned to see it was Cheng Tianyang.

“Young Hero Jiang, I’ll go with you!”

Jiang Ran frowned slightly.

“Chief Cheng, you’re injured…”

“It’s nothing. I also saw that Lady Wu just now. If we can capture her, we might be able to find the escorted goods.”

Hearing Cheng Tianyang’s words, Jiang Ran didn’t press the issue.

After all, to Cheng Tianyang, those goods were far more important than anything else.

Besides, every one of the brothers he had brought along for this escort mission was now dead.

How could he possibly rest easy under such circumstances?

At the same time, several experts from Heterodox Manor leaped up to intercept them.

But they had only just leaped into the air when a flash of golden light swept across the sky.

The experts shuddered, each sliced in two before falling to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, Jiang Ran and Cheng Tianyang reached the edge of Qifeng Mountain. After a quick glance, they leaped down.

Qifeng Mountain wasn’t particularly high or large, but its cliffs were as sheer as a knife’s edge—more than enough to kill anyone who fell.

Fortunately, the cliff face offered plenty of footholds, which kept them from plummeting straight to their deaths.

The two landed on a rooftop and looked up to see Lady Wu’s figure already far in the distance.

They gave chase again, their feet flying across the rooftops of countless homes. In moments, they reached the city wall, and with a few well-placed leaps, they cleared it.

By this point, the distance between them had closed considerably.

Lady Wu didn’t look back, focused only on her frantic escape.

Jiang Ran flicked his sleeve. WHIZ! WHIZ! Two Cold Moon Nails shot out.

But Lady Wu seemed to have anticipated the attack. With a subtle twitch of her body, she perfectly dodged the deadly nails.

Jiang Ran raised an eyebrow slightly. He held back from using any more techniques, deciding it was better to close the distance first.

The chase continued from the city wall, stretching on for nearly seven miles.

The distance between them was now minimal. With a flash of movement, Jiang Ran’s figure flickered and reappeared directly behind Lady Wu.

His five fingers formed a claw as he reached out to grab her.

His hand clamped down on the center of her back, but his grip found nothing. The person before him seemed to turn into a black shadow, slipping from his grasp with a strange Body Technique akin to the “Golden Cicada Sheds Its Skin” escape art.

All that remained in Jiang Ran’s hand was a black outer tunic.

He glanced down at the tunic in his hand, then back at the figure of ‘Lady Wu’ a short distance away, her back turned to him.

“You’re not Lady Wu!”

“Who are you?”

“I have long heard of Young Hero Jiang’s profound martial prowess. The battle in Benma County, in particular, dealt a crushing defeat to our Heterodox Manor. Seeing you today, you truly live up to your reputation.”

The person with their back to Jiang Ran said softly.

Jiang Ran had no intention of talking. With a low HUM, a beam of blade energy shot through the air.

He intended to slice the person in two.

But unexpectedly, the blade energy passed right through the figure without effect. There was no change, no blood, no wound—it was as if they were merely a phantom.

Jiang Ran was taken aback. He quickly scanned his surroundings, and as he did, he caught a faint flash of bright light.

The next moment, thick smoke billowed up from all directions, obscuring the sky and sun!

Jiang Ran’s expression changed. He immediately circulated the Orthodox Heart Sutra of Creation to suppress his breathing.

He then pushed off the ground and leaped into the air.

But he had no idea how the smoke was being produced; it had appeared instantly and blotted out the sky.

Suspended in midair, Jiang Ran was surrounded by dense smoke. He couldn’t see his surroundings or pinpoint his location, so he had no choice but to descend.

Then, he heard Cheng Tianyang’s voice from behind.

“Young Hero Jiang, be careful! Do you hear a bell?”

As his words faded, Jiang Ran heard a crisp… DING.

The sound was clear and resonant, not like any ordinary wind chime.

“I hear it.”

Jiang Ran scanned the area but could see nothing. He closed his eyes, choosing to rely on his hearing instead.

He heard footsteps approaching from behind, followed by Cheng Tianyang’s voice:

“If I’m not mistaken, this is one of Heterodox Manor’s insidious arrays.”

“It’s called the Soul Shattering Array.”

“The ringing of the bell can disrupt the mind, and the disorienting smoke conceals our enemies, who are most likely hiding within this mist.”

“Young Hero Jiang, you must be careful!”

Jiang Ran nodded, then, realizing Cheng Tianyang probably couldn’t see the gesture, he spoke aloud:

“Chief Cheng, you be careful as well…”

Before he could finish, a voice cut in with a chuckle:

“There’s no need for the two of you to be so tense.”

“After the battle in Benma County, our Young Master had nothing but praise for Young Hero Jiang. He said you were both brave and brilliant, a true hero of our time.”

“Later, news spread from Three Waters County that Young Hero Jiang possessed the Jiaowei and was planning to host a tea and zither appreciation gathering.”

“We were all deeply impressed… However, the Jiaowei zither is a priceless treasure. In the hands of an ordinary person, it is more of a curse than a blessing.”

“Thus, while your actions, Young Hero Jiang, are selfless, they may also bring disaster upon others.”

“Though Heterodox Manor may have a poor reputation, we have no desire to see innocent people poisoned by this affair… Therefore, we would like to ‘invite’ the Jiaowei zither to our manor.”