Chapter 125: Xu Tianlang’s Shame and Anger

The old man stood beside Xu Ziyan as she drew, watching while frowning. He really could not tell what Xu Ziyan was drawing. It somewhat resembled a bow and arrow, but not entirely. Taking the drawing Xu Ziyan handed over, he asked curiously:

“Young lady, may I ask what this is?”

“A crossbow!” Xu Ziyan said with a smile. “Can you forge it?”

“Yes!” The old man nodded firmly.

Xu Ziyan turned to look outside at the sky. It was almost noon. She said to the old man: “You have one hour to forge one crossbow for me. Use the remaining time to forge as many crossbow bolts as possible according to the dimensions on the drawing. Use the best materials. I will come back to pick them up in one hour. Is that alright?”

“Fine! I will personally forge this crossbow for you, while my five disciples will help forge the crossbow bolts.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, sir!” After saying this, Xu Ziyan took out some gold and silver and placed it on the tea table. “This is the deposit. I will be back soon.”

Waving goodbye to the old man, Xu Ziyan stepped out of the blacksmith shop. She went to several medicine shops and bought a large amount of medicinal herbs, preparing to refine some elixirs for use. She knew she had the most cultivation elixirs on her, but she did not have many auxiliary-type elixirs. So Xu Ziyan wanted to take some time to refine more auxiliary elixirs.

After buying the medicines, Xu Ziyan felt she had bought everything she thought of. She strolled along the street, wanting to kill some time before returning to the blacksmith shop to get her crossbow. Since the escape began, this was the first time Xu Ziyan felt so leisurely. The architectural style of the entire Xichui Town was full of heaviness, permeated with a profound sense of history and vicissitude. As Xu Ziyan admired the surrounding buildings and styles, she sighed, wondering how many bloody storms this great town had endured.

While Xu Ziyan was lost in thought, she suddenly heard arguing ahead, and it seemed to involve her own people. Xu Ziyan’s heart sank, and she hurried toward the source of the argument. She felt angry at those Xu Clan disciples. Before entering Xichui Town, she had specifically told them not to cause trouble. Yet in such a short time, they had already stirred up trouble. When Xu Ziyan rushed over in great strides, she saw a scene that was both laughable and aggravating.

A woman with seductive, spring-like eyes, dressed in a bright red dress, was blocking Xu Tianlang’s group. Xu Tianlang was frowning deeply, his face clearly showing anger and some shame and annoyance. He was trying to step away, but the red-dressed woman’s attendants stopped him, surrounding Xu Tianlang, Xu Peng, and Xu Meiruo in the middle, leaving them no room to escape.

The red-dressed woman walked up to Xu Tianlang without any restraint. Of course, she had no reason to worry—with her Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage strength, while Xu Tianlang only displayed Houtian cultivation level, how could she possibly regard Xu Tianlang as a threat?

She sauntered up to Xu Tianlang, gazed at his resolute face and strong body, a look of infatuation flashing in her eyes. She reached out and pinched Xu Tianlang’s chest, giggling as she said:

“What a hunk! Come cultivate immortality with me! I can give you good food and drink, let you live as happily as an immortal!”

Xu Ziyan was stunned. Xu Tianlang was being harassed! Xu Tianlang kept his lips tightly shut, but a layer of greenish hue clearly rose on his face. The veins on his forehead bulged, and his fists were clenched so tightly they made cracking sounds.

Many people were watching nearby. Judging by their unperturbed expressions, the red-dressed woman must have often done such things in Xichui Town. Some even laughed mockingly on the sidelines, and several women were also brazenly sizing up Xu Tianlang, looking as if they wanted to devour him.

Xu Ziyan did not know what to feel. From Xu Tianlang’s expression, she could tell he was restraining himself, probably remembering her instruction not to cause trouble. Otherwise, given his temper, he would have likely already cut her down with his sword. But what was happening was clearly not Xu Tianlang causing trouble—but… someone taking a fancy to him, and… harassing him. Xu Ziyan truly did not know how to handle this situation. She had considered that Xu Mei, Xu Lan, or Xu Meiruo might encounter such a situation, or even herself. But she never expected that the one being harassed would be Xu Tianlang.

She scanned the surroundings and noticed that Xu Qi’s third group and Xu Lin’s second group were both not far from Xu Tianlang in the crowd. But everyone wore expressions of barely suppressed laughter. Xu Ziyan could not help but chuckle silently.

At that moment, the red-dressed woman extended a delicate finger and flirtatiously lifted Xu Tianlang’s chin. She parted her red lips and blew a breath toward him.

“Not good!”

Xu Ziyan inwardly exclaimed, because she had already caught a glint of killing intent in Xu Tianlang’s eyes. Sure enough, Xu Tianlang suddenly lifted his leg, and his knee violently struck the red-dressed woman’s abdomen. The red-dressed woman never expected a mere Houtian ant would dare attack her; even her attendants did not anticipate it. Thus, in the moment of everyone’s shock, the red-dressed woman threw her head back and spat a mouthful of blood, her body flying through the air and landing heavily far away. Moreover, Xu Tianlang’s enraged strike had been executed with peak force, causing the red-dressed woman to tumble several times after hitting the ground before coming to a stop.

Seeing their mistress being hit, the attendants immediately shouted and swarmed forward. Xu Tianlang, Xu Peng, and Xu Meiruo fiercely charged at them. At the same time, Xu Lin, who had deeply ingrained Xu Ziyan’s words in his mind, immediately led the first group to suddenly burst out from the crowd. They exerted their cultivation level to its peak from the start, aiming to achieve the instant kills Xu Ziyan required. Meanwhile, Xu Qi led his third group to vigilantly watch their surroundings; if any enemies approached then, they would not hesitate to intercept them.

Watching from the side, Xu Ziyan was dumbfounded. She had never imagined that the battle plan they had carefully devised along the way would first be implemented under such circumstances.

With Xu Lin’s Fourth Layer of Qi Refining Stage cultivation level and the element of surprise, they truly wiped out all the red-dressed woman’s attendants in an instant. Moreover, the Xu Clan disciples, having learned their lesson on the ship, this time unhesitatingly finished off the red-dressed woman who was lying on the ground, not yet dead, staring with disbelief and stupefaction at the sudden turn of events—they gave her a final sword strike as well. After that, they immediately retreated.

The entire operation was swift, fast, and clean, after which they vanished without a trace. Xu Ziyan quickly caught up with them, passing by their side, and said in a low voice:

“Have you all finished buying what you needed?”

“Yes!” The three group leaders, Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and Xu Tianlang, immediately nodded in reply. Xu Tianlang said awkwardly in a low voice:

“Ziyan, just now…”

“Don’t talk about that now. Since you’ve all finished buying, don’t return to the inn. Leave the city immediately and wait for me ahead. I need to pick up something and will meet up with you right away.”

“Yes!”

The nine immediately turned to leave, while Xu Ziyan kept walking toward the blacksmith shop without pause. Stepping inside, she found the old man sitting in a chair, holding and examining the hand crossbow Xu Ziyan had asked him to forge. Xu Ziyan’s eyes lit up; just one look told her the hand crossbow was perfectly forged.

“Hehe, young lady, you’re back. Take a look at this crossbow I forged for you. Are you satisfied?”

Xu Ziyan reached out and took the hand crossbow. It felt heavy and cool to the touch. Testing the string, she was very pleased. Looking up, she saw the old man’s five disciples still forging crossbow bolts for her, so she asked:

“Sir, how many crossbow bolts have been forged so far?”

The old man pointed to the side. “Three hundred and sixty have been forged. They are still making more for you.”

“That’s enough! No need to forge more.” Xu Ziyan waved her hand and stored all the crossbow bolts into her storage pouch. Then she took out gold and silver, settled the bill with the old man, clasped her hands in farewell, and left.

Turning the corner and reaching the main street, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The city gates were closed, and many people who looked like disciples of the same family were searching everywhere. Xu Ziyan became alert; she had considered that Xu Tianlang and the others might be exposed, but she had not expected the force behind the red-dressed woman they killed to be so strong. In such a short time, the streets were filled with searchers.

Xu Ziyan quickly recalled Xu Tianhai’s introduction to Xichui Town. The most powerful family in Xichui Town was the Hai Family. It was said the Hai Family’s cultivation method was very suitable for women to practice. Therefore, women in the Hai Family had always had higher cultivation levels than men, and those holding family authority were also women. Thus, the women of the Hai Family were very arrogant.

Remembering the red-dressed woman openly harassing Xu Tianlang on the street, Xu Ziyan concluded that the red-dressed woman must be from the Hai Family of Xichui Town. She could not help but laugh bitterly inwardly:

“The women of the Hai Family are truly overbearing!”

At this moment, Xu Ziyan felt extremely anxious. She was now trapped in Xichui Town; the city gates were closed, so she could not leave through them. If she tried Sword Flight to leave through the air, she would definitely be spotted by the Hai Family members in Xichui Town. Xu Ziyan hid in an alley, anxiously watching the Hai Family disciples searching back and forth on the street.

Just then, the Hai Family seemed to have received some news from the city gates. A team of over twenty people, all with cultivation levels at or above Qi Refining Stage, soared into the air, riding their swords as they chased out of the city. Xu Ziyan grew very worried. She was just about to step out of the alley when three people walked into the alley entrance. They spotted Xu Ziyan immediately, and one of them shouted:

“Who’s there?”