Childhood Friend or Destined Encounter? - Chapter 8

According to the information Feng Ya had previously gathered, the Baqi Pavilion was a mysterious organization that had risen to power over the last decade, weaving a complex web of influence. They had strongholds in many towns across the country, each overseen by a Great Elder. The one stationed at the Pingyang City stronghold was Elder Mahoraga.

This man was known for his volatile temperament. He lived in seclusion, surrounded by pythons, and rarely interacted with outsiders. As a result, the affairs of the Pingyang City branch were usually handled by the Protector, Hui. The fact that Feng Ya’s group had run into Mahoraga face-to-face last time was purely a stroke of ill luck.

Now that Hui was dead and Mahoraga was hidden away somewhere in cultivation, this branch of the Baqi Pavilion was a dragon without a head. Feng Ya easily dispatched the few members they encountered along the way.

Feng Ya and Ye Zi followed the marks they had left, eventually finding their way to the main hall of the Baqi Pavilion, but the room was empty.

Ye Zi stepped into the hall, her eyes scanning the surroundings. The hall wasn’t particularly large, but the lack of people made it feel cavernous.

Four stone pillars lined each side of the hall, each one entwined with a giant python. These stone-carved serpents were incredibly lifelike, their eyes all fixed on the same point: a large scroll depicting a massive python hanging above the main seat.

Ye Zi stepped forward and lifted the scroll, revealing a stone mechanism box engraved with the numbers one through nine. Several of the numbers looked faded, likely from frequent use.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Zi pressed the numbers two, five, and eight in sequence. The wall beside the scroll slowly slid open, revealing a hidden passage.

The two entered the passage one after the other, keeping their footsteps light in case anyone was lurking inside. Before they had gone far, they saw the shadow of a person sitting in meditation projected onto a screen in the distance. Something seemed to be wrapped around the figure’s waist.

Feng Ya took Ye Zi’s hand and backed up a few steps, whispering, “If I’m not mistaken, that person is Mahoraga, one of the Eight Great Elders of the Baqi Pavilion. He specializes in controlling snakes and is a master of the Qimen arts. Countless souls have perished under his Serpent Hand technique.”

Ye Zi asked, “If you faced him now, what are your chances of winning?”

Feng Ya replied, “In terms of pure martial arts, we’re likely evenly matched. In a fair, head-on fight, it would be a toss-up, but he never fights fair.”

Ye Zi nodded. “Got it. So you can’t beat him.”

Feng Ya: “…”

Ye Zi: “Let’s retreat for now and wait for the Eldest Miss Chu to bring reinforcements.”

“Who’s there?” A sharp shout rang out from above them. Suddenly, a brownish shadow dropped down behind them, blocking their exit.

Ye Zi got a clear look at the newcomer. The man looked withered, his face ashen and devoid of any sign of life, his brown clothing actually had more color than his skin. A giant python was coiled around his waist, its eyes glowing with a green light, like a stare straight from hell.

Seeing the python’s long, flickering tongue, Ye Zi couldn’t help but shudder. She instinctively grabbed Feng Ya’s sleeve, forcing herself to push through the discomfort and stay alert.

Facing the man responsible for the brutal deaths of her companions ten days ago, Feng Ya didn’t dare lower her guard. She gripped her longsword in one hand and held Ye Zi behind her with the other, standing ready.

“I heard from Xuanwu earlier that he invited two young friends to be guests at the Pavilion. I hadn’t had the chance to meet you yet, but I didn’t expect you to find this place on your own. How interesting, truly interesting. In that case, I’ll personally play with you both.” Mahoraga’s voice was grating, sounding like a sharp blade scraping against a magnet.

“I’ll hold him off here. You find an opening to go meet Miss Chu,” Feng Ya said, before lunging toward Mahoraga with her sword.

Feng Ya’s blade was like a fierce wind, swift and sudden. In a flash, the tip of her sword was aimed directly at Mahoraga’s chest. It looked as though he was about to be run through, but the living man who had been standing there a moment ago vanished into thin air.

“An illusion technique!” Ye Zi frowned, knowing they had encountered a formidable enemy.

“Hehe, the little girl has some knowledge. Don’t be in such a hurry, play with this first.” Mahoraga’s eerie voice echoed through the air, yet he was nowhere to be seen.

Feng Ya tried to track him, only to see several giant pythons suddenly emerge from the stone walls, lunging at them. Each python had its mouth wide open, looking ready to swallow them whole.

Feng Ya stood firmly in front of Ye Zi, her sword moving so fast it created an impenetrable shield.

The giant pythons circled the sword’s aura, waiting for an opening. Knowing she couldn’t stay on the defensive forever, Feng Ya timed her move and stabbed at the flank of one of the pythons. The strike landed perfectly, yet the python remained unharmed. Instead, a wound suddenly appeared on Feng Ya’s own waist.

“It’s the Nine Stars Inversion formation,” Ye Zi said, taking Feng Ya’s hand and signaling her not to attack blindly.

There were eight pythons in total, and their movements followed the layout of the Nine Stars and Eight Gates in the Qimen Dunjia system.

To determine the Eight Gates, one must first find the Palace of the Rest Gate based on the day. The gate shifts every three days. For the Yin cycle after the Summer Solstice, the Rest Gate moves through the palaces in the order of nine, eight, seven, six, four, three, two, and one, flying through the eight directions while avoiding the center.

Once the Rest Gate is set, the other gates Life, Injury, Hidden, Scenery, Death, Fear, and Open—are arranged in sequence based on the day’s Heavenly Stem.

Ye Zi had been silent because she hadn’t yet calculated the position of the Rest Gate, but Feng Ya’s previous strike had hit the Injury Gate, which allowed her to trace the pattern and pinpoint the Rest Gate instantly.

“Close your eyes and don’t look. Strike in the directions I tell you.”

Feng Ya didn’t have time to process why Ye Zi was asking this, but she instinctively chose to trust her. She closed her eyes, her sword moving in perfect sync with Ye Zi’s voice, each strike carrying massive power.

“Palace Kan, North!”  Swift as the wind.

“Palace Kun, Southwest!”  Gentle as the forest.

“Palace Xun, Southeast!” — Fierce as fire.

“Palace Qian, Northwest!”   Immovable as a mountain.

Feng Ya’s swordsmanship was fluid and effortless. As her final strike landed, the air suddenly went still.

Feng Ya opened her eyes. The eight menacing pythons had vanished, and the brown-clad Mahoraga stood before them again, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.

“I didn’t expect you to bring a strategist this time. No wonder…” Mahoraga commanded the python at his waist to lunge at Feng Ya. This python was twice the size of the previous eight, its mouth gaping wide to reveal fangs as sharp as steel needles.

Seeing the python’s head closing in with no room to dodge, Feng Ya channeled her inner strength and hurled her longsword into the snake’s mouth, wedging it perfectly between the upper and lower jaws.

Taking advantage of the snake’s pain, Feng Ya leaped into the air and delivered a vicious kick to the python’s right eye. The kick was so deep and powerful it drove straight through the eye and pierced the snake’s skull.

This all happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Feng Ya had blocked the giant python’s attack and turned to look at Ye Zi, she saw that the girl had already been knocked unconscious by a palm strike from Mahoraga.

Feng Ya was filled with fury. Though she was now weaponless, the sword aura radiating from her body was stronger than ever before.

On the other side, seeing his beloved python injured, Mahoraga was equally enraged. He gripped his left fist with his right hand, making a cracking sound. “It’s been a long time since I’ve personally stretched my bones.”

Mahoraga lunged at Feng Ya, his hands shifting through several positions in mid-air. Using his hands as blades, he aimed for Feng Ya’s neck with palms trailing green smoke, using the infamous Serpent Hand technique that struck fear into the hearts of the martial world.

Feng Ya didn’t dare be careless. She crossed her palms, using her own sword aura to create a protective barrier around herself. Though young, she practiced the orthodox internal arts passed down through a century of the Cangxuan Sect. Facing Mahoraga’s Serpent Hand, which was backed by thirty years of internal power, she actually held her ground.

Seeing that he couldn’t gain much ground by clashing internal power directly, Mahoraga changed his tactics. He began performing the Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams footwork along the stone walls, creating an afterimage of himself with every step.

To Feng Ya, the room was suddenly filled with multiple Mahoragas, each looking identical to the real one. Without Ye Zi’s guidance, she couldn’t tell which one was the true body. She could only strike them as they came, but she knew her internal power wouldn’t last long at this rate.

Just as Feng Ya was struggling to find a way out, a golden light suddenly flashed in the air. Countless golden leaves scattered like falling flowers, shooting toward each “Mahoraga.”

“Catch your sword!” It was Chu Mingzhu’s voice. Feng Ya reached out and caught her Water-Stiller sword, which she had been separated from for half a day.

Chu Mingzhu wasn’t idling either, she was tossing golden leaves in every direction as if they cost nothing.

Mahoraga’s evil Serpent Hand technique was highly corrosive, typical iron weapons would be eaten away before they even touched him, but pure gold was immune.

The golden leaves passed through Mahoraga’s illusions and struck the stone wall, but while the illusions recovered instantly, blood appeared on the sleeve of one specific figure. That was the real body!

Feng Ya looked down and gripped her Water-Stiller sword, as if speaking to an old friend she hadn’t seen in a long time. Her blade moved with her will, and her will rose from her heart. The fifteen forms of the Cangxuan Sword Style merged into a single strike, fast, ruthless, and steady, she drove the sword deep into Mahoraga’s abdomen.

Mahoraga stared with lifeless eyes, seemingly unable to process how he had gone from having the upper hand to a sudden, total defeat.

While Mahoraga was pinned to the wall by the sword, Chu Mingzhu used silver needles to seal several of his major acupoints. She turned to her followers and ordered, “Take him away. Don’t let him die.”

Only then did she have time to tease Feng Ya. “I told you long ago, that straightforward fighting style of yours doesn’t work every time. Good thing I arrived in time, right? Even though I can’t beat you in a regular duel, you still have to rely on me at times like this.”

Feng Ya ignored the gloating Chu Mingzhu and knelt down to help Ye Zi up.

“How did the little beauty end up fainted here? Tsk tsk, how pitiful.” Chu Mingzhu finally noticed Ye Zi on the ground. She said she looked pitiful, but her expression didn’t show a hint of worry.

After a sharp glare from Feng Ya, Chu Mingzhu stopped joking and turned to one of her guards. “A-San, come over and see what’s going on here.”

The guard called A-San checked Ye Zi’s pulse. “Eldest Miss, she was just knocked unconscious. Give her this to smell.” He handed a bottle of special medicine from the Sword Manor to Chu Mingzhu.

“Did you hear that? Just fainted, and you’re still glaring at me.” Chu Mingzhu opened the bottle, holding her nose with one hand while placing the bottle under Ye Zi’s nose. The Sword Manor’s medicine was effective, but the smell was absolutely foul.

“Cough… cough cough…” Ye Zi was awakened by the strange scent. Seeing the many people who had suddenly appeared in the secret room, her mind was still a bit foggy. “Where is Mahoraga?”

“Don’t worry, he’s been captured. We’re all safe now.” Seeing that Ye Zi was unharmed, the tension Feng Ya had been carrying finally snapped, and her voice softened significantly.

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