Swords emerge from Mount Hua, sweeping across the heavens from the world of Swordsman.

"Oh, what a good girl. From now on, Mount Hua will be your home. Stay here with peace of mind."

……

A few days later, at the Yang family residence in Fenglingdu, Yue Zhuoqun met with the group from the Fuwei Escort Agency.

"I have long heard of the great name of Master Yue, the Gentleman Sword Sect Leader, and seeing him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Lin Zhennan is in his early forties, with a square face, a robust build, and a powerful, upright gait.

Behind him stood a still-attractive woman and a handsome young man with delicate features; they were his wife and son, Lin Pingzhi.

"Chief镖头 Lin is too kind; it's just the kindness of people in the martial arts world."

Lin Zhennan appeared to be full of energy, but Yue Zhuoqun could tell at a glance that he had internal injuries.

"Do you recognize who the people who hurt you are?"

Lin Zhennan smiled bitterly upon hearing this: "Although I have a slight reputation in the martial arts world, my own strength is really nothing special."

The people who attempted to rob the caravan had very different martial arts styles, making it difficult for me to discern their lineage.

However, two groups spoke very distinctive accents: one group spoke Sichuan dialect, and the other had an accent from the Gansu region.

In fact, he had already guessed that the group speaking Sichuan dialect came from the Qingcheng Sect.

The Qingcheng Sect is one of the righteous sects. If we say this, Yue Zhuoqun might be afraid of making an enemy of them and not wanting to cooperate.

As a result, Yue Zhuoqun bluntly saw through his thoughts: "Heh, if Chief Escort Lin can't even be honest with himself, there's no need to continue the cooperation. Lin'er, see the guest out."

"Please forgive me, Sect Leader Yue. It was my oversight that led me to conceal something in my words."

Lin Zhennan's expression changed, and he quickly stood up to apologize, inwardly cursing: "One second he was exchanging pleasantries with me, and the next second he turned his back on me. What kind of gentleman is he? I think he's a hypocrite!"

But no matter how frustrated he was, he dared not show it on his face. He couldn't afford to offend the Huashan Sect, so he could only lower his head and explain:

"Those people who spoke Sichuan dialect should be disciples of the Qingcheng Sect. The reason I didn't dare say so was because I was worried..."

"Are you worried that my Huashan Sect might be afraid of them?"

"It's not that I doubt your sect's strength, but Qingcheng is, after all, a righteous sect. Is Sect Leader Yue really willing to make enemies with them?"

"Murder and robbery—what kind of righteous path is that!"

Yue Zhuoqun smiled disdainfully, his words making no attempt to conceal his contempt for the Qingcheng Sect:

"As far as I know, your Lin family and the Qingcheng Sect have a long-standing feud. Their trip here is probably not just about robbing the caravan!"

"Uh... as expected, nothing can be hidden from Sect Leader Yue."

Back then, Lin Zhennan's grandfather founded the Fuwei Escort Agency and defeated all the underworld masters with his Seventy-Two Styles of Evil-Repelling Sword Technique.

At that time, the leader of the Qingcheng Sect was Changqingzi, Yu Canghai's master, who was known as the best swordsman west of the Three Gorges.

He couldn't stand Lin Yuantu's swagger in the martial arts world, so he challenged him to a duel, only to be defeated by the Evil-Repelling Sword Technique.

From then on, the Qingcheng Sect coveted the Lin family's Evil-Repelling Sword Technique.

Others might rob a caravan for the contents of the chests, but the purpose of Yu the Dwarf sending his disciples to rob and kill is uncertain.

"Since Sect Leader Yue already knows about the long-standing feud between my Lin family and the Qingcheng Sect, I, Lin, cannot be so shameless as to force the issue."

"If you are still willing to cooperate, and successfully deliver the goods to the capital, my Fuwei Escort Agency is willing to give 80% of the escort fee to your esteemed agency."

"That's fair, we'll take the job."

Yue Zhuoqun's lips curled up. Since the other party had offered to increase the profit share, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

"I will send my disciples and your bodyguards to accompany you, and I, Yue, will also follow secretly to ensure a smooth journey."

Lin Zhennan perked up and said happily, "In that case, we'll set off tomorrow."

Chapter 21 A Speechless Situation

In the woods beside the official road, the Qingcheng Sect disciples watched Lin Zhennan and his group swaggering along, their expressions grim.

"Damn it, how did the Huashan Sect get mixed up with the Fuwei Escort Agency?" Yu Renyan punched a tree trunk in frustration.

They were ordered by Yu Canghai to seize the Evil-Slaying Sword Manual. They had been monitoring the Fuwei Escort Agency for months, and had secretly searched the agency and the Lin family's residence thoroughly, but had not found it.

Until more and more martial arts practitioners set their sights on the Fuwei Escort Agency and tried to steal a wooden box containing a martial arts manual.

Yu Renyan and the others, who only had a superficial understanding, immediately misunderstood.

They believed that Lin Zhennan had discovered their investigation and orchestrated a hoax to use the escort mission as a cover to transfer the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual out of the country.

Therefore, the group lay in ambush here early on, intending to rob the caravan.

They were initially very confident about the operation. The head镖师 (bodyguard) and镖子手 (escorts) of the Fuwei镖局 (escort agency) were only third-rate in strength, and Lin Zhennan, the most skilled in martial arts, was only second-rate in the martial arts world. They thought they could easily win the battle.

Seeing that Huashan Sect disciples were also among the escorts, they immediately felt awkward.

"Senior Brother Hou, shall we make another move?" Yu Renyan asked Hou Renying beside him.

This grove of trees is the perfect spot for an ambush; if they hesitate any longer, Lin Zhennan and the others will be far away.

"I heard that Yue Buqun recruited a group of tenant farmers' children as disciples ten years ago, and I don't believe that such Huashan disciples can have any strength."

Hou Renying tightened his grip on the sword: "Everyone, cover your faces and try not to reveal your identities. We'll grab the box and leave."

"Yes!"

Everyone took out black cloths from their pockets and covered their faces.

"kill!"

At a command, dozens of Qingcheng disciples charged out.

In the caravan, Yang Lin's ears twitched: "Junior brothers and sisters, be careful, the robbers are coming."

As he spoke the warning, he drew his sword and flipped onto the caravan.

His figure was graceful and relaxed, like a golden goose taking flight.

Lin Zhennan and the members of the escort agency drew their swords and gathered around, looking wary.

Along the way, they were ambushed too many times, and they were already in a state of being easily frightened.

On the contrary, Linghu Chong, Yue Lingshan, and other Huashan disciples were all excited, drawing their longswords and charging towards the Qingcheng Sect members.

"Oh wow, I didn't expect there to be such a lovely girl. Senior brothers, I'll take care of this girl."

Yu Renyan's eyes lit up when he saw Yue Lingshan's face clearly. He let out a strange cry and used the Pine Breeze Sword Technique to stab at Yue Lingshan's chest.

The Pine Breeze Sword Technique is the unique skill of the Qingcheng School, with sword moves as strong as a pine tree and as swift as the wind.

As one of the places where Taoism is passed down, most of the martial arts in Qingcheng are orthodox. However, the sword moves performed by Yu Renyan are extremely vulgar and full of lewdness.

Yue Lingshan's pretty face turned cold, her eyes overflowing with shame and anger.

Ding!

The icy energy from the Azure Water Sword struck the tip of Yu Renyan's sword, causing the vulgar and despicable attack to immediately bounce back, the blade uncontrollably slashing towards his own throat.

Yu Renyan never expected that his sword move would be countered and neutralized in this way.

A chill ran through him, and he abandoned his frivolous thoughts, managing to defuse the chill with a simple roll.

"You shrewish little wench, take this!"

He shouted "Look at the sword!" but kicked the ground hard, sending a cloud of sand flying towards Yue Lingshan.

But what happened next sent chills down his spine.

Yue Lingshan showed no sign of panic. She twirled her sleeves in front of her, generating an invisible secret force that instantly gathered the flying dust into a ball.

With a gentle push of her jade palm, the dust that had gathered exploded and flew back at lightning speed.

"Ah~"

Yu Renyan let out a scream, his body burning with pain.

It turned out that there were many pebbles and gravel in the dust. After being thrown out by Yue Lingshan's Mingyu Gong internal force combined with the Huahua Jieyu technique, they carried terrifying force.

Each tiny grain of sand is like a small hidden weapon; when it hits you, it tears your clothes and draws blood.

"Damn it, this idea is too difficult to handle."

At the same time, gasps of surprise emanated from all around.

Linghu Chong, Xia Xueyi, Mu Renqing, Feng Xinghua, and others were all in the escort team.

The four heroes of Qingcheng were met with a crushing defeat.

The Pine Breeze Sword Technique is not a common skill, but at best it's only on par with an incomplete version of the Huashan Sword Technique.

The first batch of direct disciples, including Linghu Chong, practiced either the Dugu Nine Swords or the Shifting Flowers and Jade Technique, or at the very least, the Empty Fist and the Golden Snake Sword Technique.

Once the moves clashed, they were either completely countered or utterly overwhelmed by the profound and mysterious techniques.

Hou Renying and the others were completely dumbfounded, questioning their very existence:

Aren't the disciples of Mount Hua supposed to be the children of tenant farmers? How come they are all so skilled in martial arts?

"Don't get bogged down in the fight, grabbing the box is the priority."

The four heroes simultaneously abandoned their opponents and charged toward the caravan.