Entrustment

The figure in the sky froze in sudden astonishment, never having expected that her disguise would be seen through. For a moment, heaven and earth hung heavy with tension. Then Ning Weiyu's voice reached Xu Yao's ears, faint as the buzz of a mosquito: "Big Fatty, a great battle is at hand. My sister is impetuous. If an oversight should occur, I entrust you to use your attentiveness and calm to warn her, and to look after her." Xu Yao was taken aback. *A voice transmission to me? Does he really believe an ant like me could be of any use in a battle like this?* *And why hadn't he said anything before, only to suddenly entrust this to me now that he knows the opponent is a woman?* *Could there really be a difference between men and women in a matter like this?* Xu Yao could not quite wrap his head around it. Yet he had no time to ponder further. An oppressive aura suddenly swept down from above as the figure cloaked in ghostly mist asked chillingly, "Ning Weiyu, a woman? Have you lost your mind?" Ning Weiyu suddenly gathered his full cultivation base, his tongue like blooming spring thunder as he boomed in rebuke, "Vile wench! Still acting? Are you truly so cowardly?! If you weren't a close confidante, how could someone with your meager tricks have ambushed Elder Bai? You shameless, faithless wretch!" The cold rebuke, rumbling like muffled thunder, infuriated the figure in the air. The danger of her identity being exposed also filled her with dread. "Ning Weiyu! You seek death!" A piercing shriek rang out, and in an instant, a black shadow descended from the thunderstorm. Like a demonic apparition from the highest heavens, it swooped down to prey upon the mortal realm. Its dive was like a roc spreading its wings, descending with startling lightning and bringing a suffocating deluge. Threads of torrential rain turned into deadly flying blades, sweeping everyone below into their range of attack. "Slaughtering the innocent as well? A beast indeed!" A flash of brilliance erupted. With a fierce rebuke, Ning Weiyu turned into a white blur and soared into the sky. Amidst the lightning-filled sky, another dazzling streak of lightning suddenly appeared. Like leisurely white clouds surging against the gale—seemingly slow, yet deceptively swift—countless beams of white light misted out from Ning Weiyu, precisely intercepting the deadly rain blades in the air. A deafening tremor crashed out, like clashing thunderbolts. Butterflies of rain danced wildly in an instant, shattering into a sparkling spectacle amid the thunder and lightning. *Bang! Bang! Crack! Crack!* Explosive crashes from their clash continuously echoed through the sky. Ning Weiyu was like a white crane spreading its wings into the heavens amidst the storm, while the black-robed figure swooped down like a vulture. One white, one black, rising and falling in relentless exchanges, they circled several times in midair until they became a chaotic whirlwind within the rainswept world. Sharp sword lights burst out simultaneously, piercing the skies one after another, as if tens of thousands more bolts of lightning had fallen from the heavens. The frenzied sounds of combat detonated ceaselessly above. Xu Yao could feel the entire cliff shuddering beneath his feet, and from afar came the sound of boulders dislodged and tumbling down; his ears buzzed incessantly. The noise of these two clashing was even fiercer than celestial thunder, possessing an unimaginable might. Two clusters of lightning circled and fought wildly in midair, their weapon gleams growing denser until the entire sky lit up. With a booming crash, the two figures spun rapidly in the air. Then, with a whistle of wind, purple light blazed brilliantly, and amid the dazzling radiance, both drifted far away. Ning Weiyu had finally seized the initiative, forcing the opponent away from the area. Prolonged defense inevitably yields error. If they continued fighting directly above, Ning Weiyu could not be completely certain he could protect everyone below from start to finish. In that very window, Ning Wuxia grabbed Xu Yao by the belt and whispered, "Move!" Pushing off with her feet, she swept forward with him. A length of white silk unfurled from her sleeve like a tumbling dragon, a white dragon emerging amidst the lightning, wrapping around the seven burly men, including Liu Zhen. Then, with a whoosh, she leapt up the sheer cliff tens of zhang high! A slender young woman had effortlessly carried nearly two thousand jin of weight and soared up the precipice! And she looked entirely untaxed. Carried through the air, Xu Yao was so shocked his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. "Thank you, sir!" "Quickly, retrieve the tools and ropes!" Liu Zhen thanked her and immediately gave orders. These ropes were specialized equipment—their livelihood—and could not be left behind. The burly men moved swiftly, hauling the ropes up from below the cliff and packing them in an instant. "Go!" Liu Zhen sprinted while coiling the ropes onto his back, his movements exceedingly deft. The other men also seemed as though they had lived through this thousands of times; as they dashed down the mountain after Liu Zhen, they quickly wrapped the ropes and slung them over their backs without losing any speed. In the brief span of running a dozen-odd zhang, every single one of them had finished packing while fleeing at a dead sprint. With the ropes neatly strapped to their backs, they bolted down the mountain in orderly haste, fleeing back along their original path through the torrential rain. In the blink of an eye, they had run hundreds of zhang. Distant, rumbling tremors still resonated from behind, making Xu Yao feel uncomfortable even from so far away. It was the first time he had ever witnessed combat between experts of such caliber. That kind of power made him feel as though he had caught a glimpse of another world entirely! His mind was deeply shaken, unable to settle for a long time. *Is this what true masters are like?* *So formidable!* People often said "as formidable as celestial thunder," but only now did he realize that thunder generally did not strike people dead from shock alone, whereas in a battle between experts of this level, ordinary mortals too close to the fray would truly perish! Had Ning Weiyu not drawn the opponent away from the start, neither he nor any of the seven men of Third Squad would have survived. Meanwhile, Ning Wuxia was watching the consummate proficiency of Liu Zhen and his men. The seven acted as one; at a single command, they had retreated together and packed everything in an instant. Such orderly agility was something ordinary elite soldiers could never accomplish! It required super-elites—veterans who had skirted the boundary between life and death for years and survived countless lethal encounters—to achieve such coordination! Yet... how could men like these have such low martial foundations? And why were they here? Right then, glints of cold light silently emerged from the rain-soaked darkness, arriving in an instant like cold stars to strike at all nine of them. If Ning Wuxia were to save Liu Zhen and the others, she would have to exert all her strength, leaving herself vulnerable to being hit. If she did not save them, the other eight would undoubtedly die. Bringing up the rear, Ning Wuxia did not utter a word. Her body flickered through the storm like drifting catkins, her longsword blossoming into a dazzling rain of floral petals. *Clang, clang, clang...* The eight steel spikes aimed at Liu Zhen and the men, along with the seven steel needles targeting Ning Wuxia, all fell to the ground. Liu Zhen and his men paid no heed whatsoever to the attack from behind, as if completely unaware. Without looking back even once, they simply poured on more speed and charged down the mountain. Reaching a gentler slope, they tucked their heads in their arms and rolled right down. They knew full well that a battle like this had nothing to do with people like them. The best thing they could do was disengage from the battlefield as fast as possible so as not to become burdens and hindrances to the Ning siblings! It was also the only thing they could do. Thus, they acted with absolute decisiveness and speed. The bundles of rope on their backs served as ideal shock absorbers and armor; in the blink of an eye, the seven men had rolled down the mountain and vanished without a trace. Only Ning Wuxia remained—oh, and Xu Yao, whom she held in her grip. Behind them, a dark silhouette circled in like a hawk. "Little princess of the Ning family, since you've come, don't think of leaving." The newcomer chuckled chillingly, like a screech owl. Before the words finished echoing: "Big Fatty, go!" Ning Wuxia gave her white silk sash a shake. Xu Yao felt his body launch into the air, flying who knew how far as though soaring upon clouds and mist. He made a gentle landing atop a patch of grass and slid for several dozen zhang, kicking up sprays of water, completely unhurt. Hearing the continuous crack of blows from afar, he knew Ning Wuxia had already engaged the opponent. The rain cascaded like a waterfall. Xu Yao lay on the ground, letting the rain wash over him. He did not rush to get up, but calmly considered his options. *What should I do?* Fleeing the battlefield right now was the best course of action to preserve his life. Yet Ning Weiyu's words echoed in his mind. That Young Master Ning, the Warm Jade of Purple Mansion, had already anticipated that the enemy had accomplices and feared his sister could not handle them. He had entrusted her to him beforehand. The weight of that entrustment was heavy! *But can I really be of any use?* *If I stay behind, will I be a burden, or can I actually help?* He lay there, pondered for a moment, and then pushed against the ground with both hands, letting his body slide smoothly and swiftly down with the flowing water. Amid the flickering lightning, he paid close attention to the surrounding terrain. He searched his memory of the landscape. Finally, he spotted a crooked old locust tree ahead. *"There's a cavern underneath!"* The words Liu Zhen had once spoken surged in his heart, reverberating through his mind like the toll of a great bronze bell.