Chapter 134: Hands of Hundredfold Refinent
Helan Que was not dead yet.
Although the Third-Stage Rare Token “Bright Mirror Armor” had been shattered by dicine Master Wen’s carefully planned strike, the armor’s most powerful—and perhaps most useless—trait was that upon breaking, it could generate a defensive barrier capable of blocking any attack, even those from a Foundation ssenger. At the sa ti, the ssenger wearing it would gain a recovery boost equivalent to swallowing a hundred Healing Pills. So long as the head was not severed, survival was nearly guaranteed.
Escape!
Even if dicine Master Wen would beco a future calamity, Helan Que had no choice but to flee.
He could not die. Every one of his Tokens was a masterpiece from his family’s garrison. If he were to lose them here, not even a hundred deaths could atone for it. The Helan Family’s strength would decline sharply because of him!
Yet while he wanted to run, how could dicine Master Wen and the Little Girl simply let him?
Unfortunately, that previous flowing strike had nearly snapped dicine Master Wen’s spear in two. She could only wield the broken weapon to entangle Helan Que.
The effect of the Yunqiao Pill was still active, and Helan Que still had the advantage in weaponry. With every swing, he suppressed dicine Master Wen’s pursuit. The Little Girl, however, leapt up and thrust toward his throat. Without any defensive Token left, he could only parry with his curved blade.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
A flurry of lightning-fast clashes followed, and Helan Que was already close to his horse. His heart cald instead of panicking—dicine Master Wen was strong but exhausted, and the Little Girl, though resolute, was not skilled at offense. As long as he mounted the horse, he could escape this calamity. As for these two… that would be Duke Wei’s headache to solve later.
Clang!
Once again, the Little Girl’s sword aid for his throat, and once again, Helan Que parried with his curved blade. But this ti, he heard a sound that made his heart sink.
Crack.
The rare blue light shattered—the blade broke into dozens of fragnts. The treasured weapon that had served him for decades, which he had maintained with four hundred Spirit Jade every season, was destroyed!
There was no ti to mourn, for the Little Girl’s long sword struck toward his throat once again!
Helan Que was forced to block with his spear, but dicine Master Wen would never miss such a chance—her grip tightened, and she drove the broken spear into his left abdon, twisting it savagely!
Helan Que grunted in pain, yet his stride did not falter in the least. The recovery from the Bright Mirror Armor was enough to resist most of the damage.
Buzz.
Suddenly, the world spun around him. His head boiled, his limbs felt leaden, and drowsiness washed over him. He instantly realized that the Yunqiao Pill’s effects were fading, causing his Vital Energy, spirit, and agility to drop drastically for the next quarter-hour.
Under normal conditions, such a decrease would be negligible to him—hardly uncomfortable. But now, gravely wounded as he was, that side effect beca the final straw crushing the weary cal.
Rip! Crack!
The long sword and broken spear both pierced Helan Que’s knees this ti. No matter how great his recovery, with his leg joints destroyed, running was impossible.
He collapsed to the ground, his well-maintained face now sared with dirt. The man who once prided himself on elegance was now utterly disheveled. He opened his eyes to stare at the Little Girl. A flash of realization crossed them, as though he had discovered a monuntal secret. Trembling, he shouted, “I rember now! I rember! A countershock weapon… a Token-destroying force… these legendary gauntlets of yours—they’re from Liang—”
Slash!
dicine Master Wen pulled the broken spear free and thrust it straight through Helan Que’s head.
The Lord of Heyang Commandery of the Zhou Kingdom, Third-Stage ssenger “Hunting Maniac” Helan Que—dead.
“The Lord of Heyang… is dead!”
“He’s dead!”
“Ahhh!”
Witnessing the scene, the remaining soldiers broke down. They turned their horses and fled. The tooth-general’s face darkened, but after a brief hesitation, he too fled.
Helan Que had been their benefactor. Now that he was dead, returning ho would only an execution by the Helan Family. Escape was their only choice… though the cost would be the execution of their families—unless they returned secretly to retrieve them first.
As the pursuing troops scattered, Wu Qiu and Shi Dong cautiously erged from the bushes.
“Miss!”
“Miss… sob… I thought this ti, this ti…”
Shi Dong was practically a water sack, tears pouring nonstop. She clung to dicine Master Wen’s sleeve and cried. Wu Qiu looked between dicine Master Wen and the Little Girl. “Miss, this ti we truly owe our safety to the Rabbit Heroine.”
“Rabbit Heroine.” She pulled Shi Dong beside her and bowed. “Without you, we would never have survived. Such a lifesaving grace—there’s no way to repay it. From this day on, if there’s ever anything you need of us, as long as my lady does not object, Wu Qiu and Shi Dong shall—”
“No need.” dicine Master Wen interrupted them and turned to the Little Girl. “Rabbit Heroine, you saved us this ti. I, dicine Master Wen, owe you a favor. As long as I live, you may co to at any ti to claim it—no matter what you ask for, even if it’s assassinating a Foundation ssenger, if I so much as frown, I am no true dicine Master.”
Wu Qiu opened her mouth but held her tongue. She had wanted to thank the Little Girl first precisely to confine the debt between them alone. That way, whatever the Little Girl asked for would concern only them… Her gratitude toward the Little Girl was sincere, but her bond with dicine Master Wen—over a decade long—was no less genuine. She could not bear to let dicine Master Wen take on such a heavy favor; to her, dicine Master Wen mattered far more.
“Perfect timing, I have a request,” said the Little Girl as she sheathed her sword.
“Please, speak,” dicine Master Wen raised an eyebrow.
“I’m going to Shu Mountain, but I don’t really know the way. There’s no one around here to ask. Do you know the way?”
dicine Master Wen exchanged glances with Wu Qiu and Shi Dong, joy flickering in their eyes. Clearing her throat, she said, “As it happens, we’re headed for Shu Mountain as well. If you wish, you can travel with us.”
“Alright.” The Little Girl nodded, then crouched down to touch Helan Que’s corpse, his skull smashed.
“Wait!” Wu Qiu hurriedly stopped her. “You an to loot the corpse?”
“Mm.”
“If you don’t mind, please allow us to do it for you, Rabbit Heroine. You can watch from the side. We promise not to hide anything—no need to dirty your hands,” Wu Qiu said earnestly. Watching such a young girl ransack corpses was unsettling, and since she had already saved them, it was only right they did sothing in return.
The Little Girl nodded, and Wu Qiu and Shi Dong imdiately began cleaning up the battlefield—not only Helan Que’s body, but all others as well.
During this ti, dicine Master Wen glanced at the Little Girl, then at her legendary gauntlets. After a mont’s thought, she asked bluntly, “Your surna—is it Shao?”
“No.”
“You’re from Liang?”
“No.”
“Then who exactly are you?”
“My brother said I’m the Rabbit Heroine. The Rabbit Heroine is the Rabbit Heroine,” the Little Girl said, tilting her head at dicine Master Wen. “Didn’t I introduce myself before, big sister? Are you deaf?”
dicine Master Wen wasn’t offended in the slightest. Pointing to the gauntlets, she asked, “Then why do you possess Emperor Taizu of Liang’s legendary gauntlets—the Hands of Hundredfold Refinent?”
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