If a martial artist were to have their eyes gouged out, their throat poisoned to silence them, and all ten fingers severed—rendering them incapable of wielding weapons—it’s likely they would lose the will to live. And if, by cruel fate, they were also imprisoned by their sworn enemy, they would surely wish for death to come swiftly.
This is nothing short of an unimaginable torment.
But what if the victim were an ordinary person?
Lu Xiaofeng bent down and carefully took the woman’s wrist, checking her pulse. What he discovered sent a shock through him.
"She has no martial skills," Lu Xiaofeng concluded with certainty.
Not only did she lack martial prowess, but there was no trace of her ever having trained in it.
This realization shattered any possibility of justifying her condition as righteous retribution—that Fang Yingkan had merely punished a wicked criminal by crippling their abilities and imprisoning them to atone for past sins.
Lu Xiaofeng’s observations held true.
When the imprisoned woman sensed someone approaching, her first reaction was fear and retreat.
Yet once she discerned Lu Xiaofeng’s non-threatening presence, she displayed no aggression whatsoever.
Such behavior was unthinkable for someone truly malicious.
How could this not leave Lu Xiaofeng both stunned and furious?
Fang Yingkan had reduced an innocent person to this state!
Lu Xiaofeng couldn’t fathom it. Fang Yingkan, the son of a renowned and righteous father, celebrated throughout Bianjing for his noble reputation—how could he commit such atrocities in his own private menagerie?
But one thing was certain—and even the jianghu knew it well—Lu Xiaofeng, the man with "Four Eyebrows," had a habit of meddling in matters like these.
"If I’m not mistaken, this is the ‘person’ Miss Shi wanted us to retrieve."
Sikong Zhaixing had already darted to Lu Xiaofeng’s side the moment he made a sound.
While Lu Xiaofeng’s mind raced, Sikong swiftly assessed the woman’s condition.
Even Sikong, who prided himself on being more "worldly" than Lu Xiaofeng due to his dealings with all walks of life, was deeply shaken.
Now he understood why Shi Qingruo had been so confident they wouldn’t mistake their target.
Because…
"A menagerie of rare beasts?" Lu Xiaofeng spat through gritted teeth. "What kind of ‘rare beast’ is this?"
"Move!" Sikong Zhaixing commanded without hesitation.
Whether it was because he’d accepted Shi Qingruo’s commission or simply because he still considered himself human, he couldn’t leave this woman here—trapped in this half-living, half-dead state within the depths of Fang Yingkan’s estate.
This wasn’t the time for further investigation. Once they got her out, there would be plenty of opportunities to uncover the truth.
No further words were needed. Lu Xiaofeng understood perfectly.
In a place like the Divine Marquis’s estate, smuggling out a treasure would be difficult enough—let alone a person.
But so what?
Sikong Zhaixing never liked leaving empty-handed after a visit, and today was no exception.
The faint sounds from the front courtyard reached their ears—proof that this was their best chance to act.
Sikong’s fingers flew to the lock on the cage.
A master thief indeed.
Even with Lu Xiaofeng’s keen eyesight, he could only catch a glimpse of the few swift movements Sikong Zhaixing made in that fleeting moment before the iron lock clicked open and fell into his hands.
Lu Xiaofeng had no time to marvel at how Shi Qingruo had indeed chosen the most suitable person for the task. The instant the cage door swung open, he darted inside.
He didn’t know whether the poor girl could still hear anything, but he whispered, “We’re here to save you,” before striking the packed earth with one palm and lifting her with the other.
Sikong Zhaixing moved at the same time.
But instead of helping Lu Xiaofeng carry the woman out, he reached for the remaining locks.
To a “Divine Thief” like him, the iron cages in Fang Yingkan’s backyard might as well have been left unlocked.
Bang—
“Who dares trespass?!”
Without turning, Sikong Zhaixing knew exactly where the voice, growing louder as it approached, was coming from.
Though the commotion they’d made was subtle, to the experts guarding the Rare Beasts Garden, it was unmistakable.
The Marquis’s estate was a labyrinth of traps, and it was impossible that only two men were stationed here.
So what he had to do was—
The guard sprinting toward them had already spotted the two figures under the moonlight, and the person Lu Xiaofeng was pulling up. His face darkened as he barked, “Put her down!”
The young Marquis had “placed” her here as a warning to anyone who dared betray him—how could he allow someone to rescue her?
These two could not be permitted to leave alive!
But the moment his furious shout rang out, an equally enraged roar came hurtling toward him.
Right after, a claw sliced through the air with a sharp whistle!
Instinctively, he swung his blade, only to remember abruptly that every beast in this garden was one of Fang Yingkan’s prized possessions. He forcibly pulled back a third of his strength.
But the aggressive stance he’d taken was enough for the newly freed tiger to mark him as an enemy.
It couldn’t discern orders to stop—its massive body continued lunging at him.
And it wasn’t the only beast reacting this way.
Sikong Zhaixing had already unlocked over a dozen cages before swiftly rejoining Lu Xiaofeng.
The freed creatures would only buy them a brief moment of cover and chaos, but for the two of them, that was enough.
Without this hindrance, they had their chance to break free!
Their arrival had been swift, but now, with a life to save, their speed reached another level—streaking toward the estate’s outer walls like phantoms.
Yet just then, a sharp bamboo whistle pierced the night behind them.
“Wheeeet—”
The shrill sound cut through the darkness like a blade.
Torches flared to life in response, converging on their position with disciplined precision.
Lu Xiaofeng cursed inwardly.
No doubt the two guards cared little about reprimands for negligence—they’d sounded the alarm outright.
After all, rousing the entire estate to catch thieves was far better than letting them escape!
...
Hearing the disturbance, Fang Yingkan spun around, his expression equally grim.
He had just reached the front courtyard when a servant rushed to report the chaos.
A young man with passable internal energy but messy and unrefined martial skills carried a blind woman with astonishing claw techniques on his back.
Following the directions of a girl in white, he managed to thoroughly confuse and overwhelm his opponents.
These three caused quite a stir.
Were it not for his status, Fang Yingkan would have stepped forward and struck down the girl with a single sword stroke. With her gone, the other two would crumble without a fight, leaving no room for further chaos.
But now was not the time.
As the master of this place, he ought to have others act on his behalf.
Just as he was about to speak to the adopted son of Prime Minister Fu Zongshu—to demand an explanation for why his master had sided with the enemy—a sharp whistle sounded from the rear courtyard.
"Stop everything!" he immediately commanded. "Intercept whoever is in the back first!"
At the first sign of shifting circumstances, Fang Yingkan had made his decision.
According to reports, the young man had stolen and drunk the blood of the serpent raised by his guest and taken some medicinal herbs. In the grand scheme, these were minor losses.
But the rear courtyard was different.
It housed far too many secrets. If any of them were exposed, suppressing the fallout would require considerable effort.
The priorities were clear.
His order was swiftly obeyed as several figures rushed toward the rear courtyard.
Fang Yingkan himself had already turned back the moment he spoke.
Ouyang Ke, the young master of White Camel Mountain, was still new to Fang Yingkan's service. With a flick of his folding fan, he too pivoted and retreated.
The only ones still entangled in battle were the stubborn "Immortal Elder" Liang Zi'weng—who cared only about his losses—and his companions.
Truly, his persistence was unmatched.
Neither the whistles from the rear courtyard nor the movements of Fang Yingkan's men could distract him in his enraged state.
His greedy eyes remained fixed on the trio ahead. "You brat! Give me back my serpent's blood!"
Guo Jing inwardly lamented his misfortune.
He had journeyed south solely to fulfill his mother's request—to find his father's killer and his long-lost sworn brother. Yet an old grudge had resurfaced, dragging him into trouble once more, even causing the Taoist who helped him to be poisoned.
And he certainly hadn’t expected the little beggar he once treated kindly to seek him out, revealing herself as Huang Rong—no longer "Brother Huang" but a girl named "Rong’er."
As for drinking the serpent’s blood and engaging in direct combat, those were even further beyond his expectations.
"I told you I didn’t do it on purpose!" Guo Jing argued, struggling to suppress the chaotic surge of energy in his meridians.
The serpent’s blood was a potent tonic, but in his haste, he couldn’t properly digest it, leaving his face flushed with heat. "If you want the blood back, you’ll have to wait until I’ve saved someone first!"
Huang Rong watched anxiously from the side.
After parting ways with Shi Qingruo of the Mi Tian Alliance, she had sought out the simple-minded young man who had treated her kindly, intending to help him infiltrate the Divine Marquis’s residence.
But the cruelty of the world proved far beyond what her wit and martial skills could easily handle.
Even if she had accidentally discovered that one of the people present was her senior sister, who had been expelled from their master's school by her father years ago, and had used a little trick to enlist her help, it was hard not to end up in an awkward situation like this.
To make matters worse, though her senior sister's martial arts were formidable, she had suffered a deviation in her cultivation, leaving her unable to walk properly and forcing her to lean on Guo Jing as a crutch.
Carrying someone on his back while fending off attacks from multiple opponents was no small burden for Guo Jing.
To add to his troubles, the potent snake blood in his system was still wreaking havoc. Had he not trained in the Quanzhen Sect's inner energy techniques, renowned for their stabilizing effects, he might have already lost control and perished from the overwhelming energy.
Yet even if he could hold on for now, this was no sustainable solution.
Huang Rong shouted, "Your young master ordered you to catch thieves in the rear! What are you still doing here?"
Liang Zi'weng rolled his strange eyes and retorted, "We’ll deal with you little thieves first, then go apologize to the young master later. Besides, Young Master Ouyang Ke has already stopped bothering with you, you sly girl, and has gone to assist elsewhere. Even if you had a hundred clever tricks up your sleeve, they’d be useless now."
With a sudden roar, he feinted toward a claw-like strike but ultimately lunged at Guo Jing.
"To defeat the rider, first shoot the horse"—the same principle applied here.
He didn’t understand why Prime Minister Fu’s son couldn’t control his own teacher, nor why she had ended up aiding the other side. But he knew that right now, the relationship between that demoness and the brat was just like that of a man and his horse.
Huang Rong had a flash of inspiration and called out, "Jing-gege, don’t stop—run toward the rear courtyard!"
There was no benefit in continuing to tangle with these retainers of the Marquis’ estate.
The chance to turn and escape was slim, especially with Liang Zi'weng pressing them relentlessly.
Given the circumstances, it was better to try an unconventional approach.
Though she didn’t know what was happening in the rear courtyard of the Divine Marquis’ estate, she was certain it couldn’t be trivial—not when it had caused the young master Fang Yingkan, who had been greeted with deep bows upon arrival, to turn pale with alarm.
The more chaotic the situation, the better their chances of escaping unscathed.
As for the person Guo Jing was carrying—though she had once been her father’s disciple, a pupil of Peach Blossom Island, she had stolen a critical martial arts manual and defected over a decade ago. Along with her husband, she had earned the infamous title of "Twin Demons of the Black Wind." Even if Huang Rong had tricked her into helping now, there was no guarantee she wouldn’t turn on them.
Perhaps in the chaos of the rear courtyard, they could find an opportunity to ditch her and avoid further trouble.
Just as Guo Jing was about to follow her order and head toward the rear courtyard, Mei Chaofeng’s sudden exertion forced him to stay rooted in place. He had no choice but to take Liang Zi'weng’s palm strike head-on, coughing up a mouthful of stagnant blood amid the turmoil of his energy. Huang Rong was both furious and frantic.
"Mei Chaofeng, didn’t you ask earlier where my father was? He’s in the rear courtyard of the Marquis’ estate right now! First, you ignored your junior sister, letting these villains bully me, and now you’re standing by while he’s besieged by the estate’s experts. With behavior like this, do you really think you can ever return to our sect? Keep dreaming!"
"Junior Sister, is this true?" Mei Chaofeng asked, half-convinced.
Blind for many years, she relied solely on sound to navigate.
She had no way to verify Huang Rong’s words, but the certainty in her voice was unmistakable. "Of course! Why would I joke about my father’s safety? If you don’t let Jing-gege go with me now, my father might be beaten to death by those villains!"
Mei Chaofeng snarled, "Our master's martial arts are peerless. How could he possibly be injured by these people?"
But even as she spoke, her claw-like fingers tore through Liang Zi'weng's palm strike, and she barked at Guo Jing, "Kid, get moving!"
Guo Jing wasted no time lingering in the fight and swiftly followed Huang Rong’s retreat.
Were it not for the dire situation, he would have liked to ask why Huang Rong—who had claimed to be estranged from her family, with her father making no effort to find her—had suddenly appeared here.
He hadn’t noticed anyone greeting her earlier either…
A single glance at Guo Jing’s face told Huang Rong exactly what the fool was thinking, and she sighed inwardly.
But with several figures locked in combat ahead and Liang Zi'weng’s group closing in from behind, she quickly refocused. "Up ahead—break through with those two!"
Never mind who they were.
As they moved, Huang Rong caught a clear glimpse of the scene unfolding.
Fang Yingkan, the young marquis who had arrived a step late to the front courtyard, drew his sword. The blade, wreathed in a surge of crimson energy, carried terrifying force as it thrust toward the assassin carrying a person in his arms.
Though Fang Yingkan was barely in his twenties, his skill somehow surpassed even that of Ouyang Ke, the young master of White Camel Mountain, Fu Kang—the adopted son of Fu Zongshu—and even those of the older, more notorious masters.
The moment the blood-red sword aura flared, his delicate, almost feminine features twisted into something demonic.
If that strike had landed on her, even her soft-hedgehog armor might not have been enough to save her.
Yet the assassin seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. With practiced ease, he raised two fingers and caught the blade between them.
Flesh and bone became an unyielding barrier, halting Fang Yingkan’s Blood River Divine Sword in its tracks.
With pursuers closing in, Lu Xiaofeng’s eyes—visible above his mask—flashed coldly.
Flicking his fingers, he used the momentum to retreat, rejoining Sikong Zhaixing.
But Ouyang Ke, who had followed Fang Yingkan, had been waiting for this exact moment.
His steps were ethereal, his folding fan slicing through the air like a blade, aimed straight for Lu Xiaofeng’s back.
Even with Lu Xiaofeng’s legendary lightness skill, escaping this pincer attack unscathed would be near impossible.
Yet Ouyang Ke’s fan was fast—but another attack, a claw strike, was just as swift.
Mei Chaofeng couldn’t tell if her master was among the fighters, but she remembered the sound of Ouyang Ke’s fan all too well from when he had made advances on Huang Rong earlier.
Knowing he was an enemy, she acted without hesitation—disrupt the fight, block the threat!
Her vicious claw technique nearly tore the fan from Ouyang Ke’s grip. Had he not retreated in time, she might have ripped flesh from his bones.
That momentary retreat, however, was all the opening needed.
A thick cloud of smoke suddenly billowed between Ouyang Ke, Fang Yingkan, and the escaping intruders, obscuring their vision.
Sikong Zhaixing’s handiwork!
Lu Xiaofeng didn’t waste a second—no time for praise—launching himself into motion the instant the smoke rose.
Perfect teamwork.
They weren’t far from the estate’s outer walls.
The delayed smoke screen was enough to cover their escape.
As for the three who had helped earlier, though Lu Xiaofeng didn’t know their identities, since they were also being pursued, there was no point in questioning them at such a critical moment. He simply regarded them as half-friends for now.
"Go!" he called softly, vaulting over the wall.
Huang Rong, along with Guo Jing and Mei Chaofeng, swiftly followed.
The Divine Marquis’s estate had not anticipated anyone breaking in, let alone that their targets would escape despite so many guards. They hadn’t even set up ambushes ahead of time.
Without a doubt, once the group fled into the labyrinthine alleys of Bianjing, recapturing them would be nearly impossible.
Yet the moment they leaped over the wall, they didn’t land in the back alley of the estate—instead, they plunged into another patch of mist.
This mist was not of Sikong Zhaixing’s making.
The composure on Lu Xiaofeng’s face cracked instantly, and Huang Rong’s expression darkened as she pinched a medicinal pill between her fingers, ready to swallow it if the mist proved poisonous.
Before either could react, a familiar voice echoed through the fog.
"My lady sent me to assist. I’ve set up an array outside the estate—please follow me."
For Sikong Zhaixing, who had frequented the Mystic Sky Alliance’s territory, this voice was far more recognizable.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Lu Xiaofeng and swiftly trailed the speaker, weaving through several turns, scaling more walls, and finally emerging from the mist to see a familiar face.
Only then did Sikong Zhaixing exhale in relief. "Second Sage, your timing is impeccable."
Clad in loose gray robes, her figure light and graceful—it was none other than Zhu Xiaoyao, the Second Sage of the Mystic Sky Alliance.
Though her mask was absent now, her expression remained grave as she brushed aside Sikong Zhaixing’s gratitude. "This isn’t the time to rest. Follow me through the secret passage back to the alliance."
The estate near the Divine Marquis’s residence would soon be swarmed by pursuers. Lingering in the streets risked swift capture—their only escape lay underground.
Fortunately, the Mystic Sky Alliance, after years of laying low, had the means to carve out such paths, providing Lu Xiaofeng’s group their lifeline.
By the time Fang Yingkan and his men stormed out of the mist in furious pursuit, their quarry had long vanished.
Soon, the fugitives would be safe within the Mystic Sky Alliance’s headquarters.
Unless Fang Yingkan was willing to upend his reputation in the capital, he couldn’t—at least not yet—march into the alliance’s stronghold on mere suspicion to hunt down "criminals."
...
Naturally, he also missed the sight of Sikong Zhaixing and Lu Xiaofeng flipping off the Divine Marquis’s estate from afar after emerging from the tunnel.
...
"Enough, stop provoking them," Lu Xiaofeng said wearily before turning to Zhu Xiaoyao. "Does the alliance have a physician? This young lady needs attention."
The tunnel had been pitch-black, and in their haste, he’d only faintly noticed the girl he’d rescued breathing erratically—something was wrong.
Now that they had finally escaped danger and had the flickering light of candles to see by, he finally looked down and noticed the girl’s face was tinged with a sickly grayish hue, as if some hidden poison within her had suddenly flared up.
Damn it!
Already missing her fingers and unable to speak, she now curled into a tight ball, enduring the pain in silence, looking utterly pitiful.
Even with Lu Xiaofeng’s vast knowledge, he couldn’t immediately identify the type of poison at a glance.
After all, he wasn’t an expert in toxins.
Realizing this, he wasted no time and immediately called out again, louder this time, “Fetch a physician skilled in poison treatment, now!”
“Wait—why is it a girl?” Mei Chaofeng blurted out.
Earlier, while rushing through the underground passage, Huang Rong had told her that the person Lu Xiaofeng was carrying was none other than their severely injured master. Mei Chaofeng had even attacked Ouyang Ke to break the siege, earning herself some merit. Once their master woke, she was sure to be vindicated.
But doubts had lingered in her mind. Blind as she was, she couldn’t confirm anything and had no choice but to keep following.
With every step, she worried—if their master was so badly hurt as to lose consciousness and had to be carried, how dire must the situation be?
She should have checked first.
Yet now… how had it suddenly turned into a girl?
Before Huang Rong could fabricate another excuse to placate her, Mei Chaofeng felt a sudden chill crawl up her spine. Every muscle and meridian in her body trembled with instinctive dread.
Someone was coming.
No—more accurately, an overwhelmingly terrifying expert had arrived.
Under this near-paralyzing pressure, she heard two sets of footsteps approaching.
One was heavier, not the gait of a martial artist, while the other… was the source of her terror.
A gentle woman’s voice reached the group: “No need for a physician. Saving a life is urgent—let Seventh Brother try to force the poison out with his inner energy first.”
Lu Xiaofeng quickly laid the rescued girl on the ground as Shi Qingruo approached with Guan Qi in tow, as if they had been waiting for them all along.
To Lu Xiaofeng, the presence of the Holy Lord of the Mitian Alliance was always indescribably intimidating—even now, with his mind lost, that aura hadn’t diminished in the slightest.
But at this moment, his unparalleled inner strength became a lifesaving remedy.
At Shi Qingruo’s request, Guan Qi didn’t hesitate. He obediently helped the girl into a half-seated position and pressed a palm infused with potent energy against her back.
Within mere moments, the poisoned girl’s face cycled through shades of gray and white before she suddenly coughed up a mouthful of dark purple blood.
She choked violently, her face flushing red from the strain.
But instead of causing further alarm, this reaction made Lu Xiaofeng’s eyes light up.
He couldn’t have misheard—amid the girl’s coughing, broken syllables emerged, starkly different from her previous silence.
It made him wonder: while expelling the poison, had Guan Qi also forced out whatever had been stifling her voice?
Sure enough, once the coughing subsided, a hoarse voice—as if unused to speech for far too long—struggled to form words:
“…Who… are you people?”
She was not entirely ignorant of the outside world.
When she fled the Divine Marquis Manor, she had heard a voice that filled her with loathing.
Now, after so long, she heard her own voice again.
Was she dreaming?
Shi Qingruo met those still-empty eyes, steadied her emotions for a moment, and then replied, "You could say we are enemies of the Divine Marquis Manor. So, I want to know—who are you?"
The woman did not answer immediately.
The moonlight could not illuminate her sightless eyes, but it revealed the utter despair etched across her face.
Even when she spoke, it was less like conversing with another person and more like relearning how to use her own voice:
"...I am Fang Yingkan's servant."
"But why—" Guo Jing began, only for Huang Rong to clap a hand over his mouth.
The two young wanderers had little experience in the martial world—how could they have witnessed such cruelty before? The question had sprung to their lips instinctively, only for them to realize, too late, that they should not press her.
The woman's expression twisted in anguish. "Fang Yingkan is obsessed with beauty. He often forces his servants to submit to him, yet fears the scandal. Knowing we could never escape, he slaughtered our families—our husbands. Two others and I managed to flee to report him to the authorities, but we were sent back to the manor."
Her face trembled violently, as though the act of speaking had dragged her back to that nightmare of an afternoon.
She had watched her companions die in agony—and then watched herself...
"He said that leaving me like this, alive but worse than dead, was a lesson for the entire household—"
"No one else would dare betray him again."
