Lu Shu took the lead and shouted, "Who goes there?"
The opponents didn't answer. They wore bamboo hats that covered their faces.
Suddenly, Qing Xuan sensed a subtle change in spiritual power. He immediately stepped forward and pulled Lu Shu aside. "They're about to attack!"
Sure enough, the black - clothed man in the front flew into the air the next second. A metal spike was headed straight for Lu Shu's vital point. Fortunately, Qing Xuan pulled him away in time, or the consequences would have been unimaginable.
The spike hit the frame of the carriage with a clang.
The disciples of the Dream Elegance Pavilion all felt the power of the nail. They subconsciously glanced at each other, gripping their swords tighter.
"Launching a sneak attack?" Qing Xuan scoffed. "You guys only dare to do such despicable things?"
The opponents still didn't answer. Instead, one of them raised the sword in his hand, spun it around, and immediately gathered a gust of sword energy. He then slashed it out fiercely. It was about to hit Qing Xuan.
Suddenly, a burst of spiritual power shot out from the carriage, dispersing the sword energy.
Feng Xingzhi lifted the curtain and stepped out. His white robe was in sharp contrast to the black - clothed men.
Seeing Feng Xingzhi take action, Ji Yunyi was so shocked that his mouth hung open.
Before he could recover, Ji Yunxi burst through the roof of the carriage and flew out. Holding her sword Nian Yun, she lightly stepped on the roof of the carriage.
She exchanged a glance with Feng Xingzhi. They both recognized each other's identity tacitly - the Moon - Gazing Pavilion.
But they didn't have time to think. The black - clothed men swarmed forward.
They came prepared this time, and their division of labor was clear. If Ji Yunxi hadn't brought five disciples of the Dream Elegance Pavilion, they might have been trapped.
She always wanted to capture a live one, so when she attacked, she controlled her strength a bit. She used the back of the sword so as not to take their lives directly.
Finally, she managed to break free from the entanglement and get closer to Feng Xingzhi.
"A Zhi! They're more troublesome than last time."
Feng Xingzhi nodded. "Don't try to keep any alive. Kill them directly first. Their movements are strange and changeable. I'm afraid they have some tricks up their sleeves. We need to be careful."
"Okay."
She twirled her wrist, and Nian Yun was stained with blood.
Seeing Ji Yunxi directly take the life of a black - clothed man, everyone stopped holding back. The previously disadvantaged situation was gradually reversed.
A black - clothed man not too far from Qing Xuan saw that the others in front couldn't hold up. He slightly lifted his bamboo hat and aimed at Qing Xuan.
Lu Shu had just killed a man and was about to show off to Qing Xuan when he saw a spike shoot out from the bamboo hat of the black - clothed man, heading straight for Qing Xuan.
He was startled and quickly stepped in front of Qing Xuan.
"Ugh!"
Qing Xuan turned his head and saw Lu Shu's pained face, as well as the malicious - looking black - clothed man behind him.
He supported the injured Lu Shu with one hand and fought with the man with the other until the man spat out blood and closed his eyes weakly.
This fight was destined to end in the defeat of the Moon - Gazing Pavilion. Those who had anticipated possible situations had set up a perfect formation.
Ji Yunxi's white robe was stained with a lot of blood. She shook it off irritably.
"Master! Lu Shu is injured!" Qing Xuan supported Lu Shu and shouted for his master to come and take a look.
Ji Yunxi's face changed. Without caring about her clothes, she quickly stepped forward and found a spike on Lu Shu's left shoulder. The wound around it was a bit black, as if poisoned.
Without delay, Ji Yunxi immediately sealed several of Lu Shu's acupoints, then used spiritual power to pull out the spike and clean out the toxins.
Fortunately, Lu Shu was okay. He was helped onto the carriage to rest.
As the one who was saved, Qing Xuan felt a bit guilty and got on the carriage with him.
"Are you okay?"
Lu Shu's lips were pale. Rarely seeing this guy who was like a sworn enemy show weakness, he said with a smile, "I'm naturally okay. Are you feeling guilty?"
Rarely, Qing Xuan didn't retort and just stayed obediently on one side.
"Come on, what's our relationship? If you really feel bad, then practice hard. Don't be a drag next time."
Qing Xuan sighed. "I don't want to either. It's just that the master's spiritual power hasn't fully recovered yet, so my spiritual power is naturally restricted."
"You mean the pavilion master's spiritual power hasn't recovered?!" Lu Shu seemed to forget his pain and exclaimed.
"Just stay still. You'll start bleeding again!"
Ji Yunyi was sitting on the front board of the carriage. Naturally, he also heard Qing Xuan's words, and he didn't seem that surprised anymore.
He had just seen Feng Xingzhi take action with his own eyes. It was completely different from the rumors in the capital. In fact, his spiritual power seemed to be even stronger than his sister's.
Seeing that Ji Yunxi wasn't paying attention, he flipped onto his horse and patted Feng Xingzhi on the shoulder. "Brother - in - law, I didn't expect you to be so good at hiding."
"Second brother, I did this to avoid trouble. It was out of necessity."
Hearing this, Ji Yunyi nodded pretentiously. "I understand. Fortunately, our Yunxi isn't a shallow person. Otherwise, she wouldn't marry you."
"What are you guys talking about regarding marriage?" Ji Yunxi's horse caught up from behind.
Ji Yunyi quickly said, "Nothing."
Although she was a bit suspicious, she didn't ask further. Instead, she said to Feng Xingzhi, "A Zhi, let's enter the territory of the Northern Di first and rest for a night. We also need to find a doctor for A Shu's injury."
Feng Xingzhi nodded. Suddenly, he seemed to remember something and took out a small package from his bosom.
"This is the travel permit the emperor gave me before."
Ji Yunxi took it and asked with some doubt, "Does the emperor know you're coming out this time?"
Feng Xingzhi looked a bit embarrassed. "He doesn't know. He gave it to me when we went to the Western Rong last time, and I didn't return it."
Hearing this, Ji Yunxi immediately put away the travel permit and said bluntly, "When we go back, we must give it to the emperor for safekeeping!"
When they reached the city gate, the guards checked the travel permit and let them in.
The city was quite bustling, filled with the noise of people coming and going.
"Sir, these are top - quality medicinal materials. The ginseng roots are all huge!"
"Sir, sir, this is natural jade. It can nourish yin and strengthen yang!"
Ji Yunxi was rarely infected by the hustle and bustle and became a bit happier. She asked Ji Yunyi, who had been to the Northern Di before.
"Second brother, what do we need to prepare if we want to go to Lingyun Mountain?"
Ji Yunyi thought for a while. "Lingyun Mountain is covered in snow all year round. If we need to bring something, it should be cloaks and capes. Oh, right! And meat!"
"Bring meat?"
Ji Yunyi smiled mysteriously and led them to a dried - meat shop. He pointed at the smoked meat in the shopkeeper's hand. "This is it. It can satisfy hunger and is easy to carry."
With Ji Yunyi, who knew a bit about the place, the group quickly packed their new luggage and set off towards Lingyun Mountain in a grand manner.
Lingyun Mountain was covered in snow all the way to the halfway point.
Qing Xuan was shivering with cold. He wrapped his cloak tightly. "Fortunately, we brought things. Otherwise, how could we climb up?"
This harsh weather made Ji Yunxi a bit worried. What kind of person would use this cold and snowy mountain as their base?