Chapter 89

Chapter 89: The Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum
Guo Ming En had not been wrong. The Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum truly lived up to their name. Half a month after Yu Zhao left seclusion, they used a special tracking method to find her trail and then pursued her all the way.

In the end, they finally caught up to Yu Zhao on a desolate mountain ten thousand miles away from Nanming City.

At first, Yu Zhao thought the four were just passersby. She even stepped aside to avoid them on purpose, but in the blink of an eye, they formed a square formation and surrounded her in the center.

The one who spoke first was a young woman who looked gentle and beautiful, but she wore men’s clothes. Green bamboo patterns were embroidered on her robes, and every move she made carried the air of a refined scholar as she said with a smile: “Miss, you really made us search hard for you.”

These people were not here with good intentions.

Yu Zhao kept her expression calm, but her heart grew wary.

Another young woman, dressed in a similar style to Sir Bamboo but with black chrysanthemums on her robe and a fierce look between her brows, said coldly: “Sir Bamboo, why waste words with her? We just need to kill her.”

A third young woman, this one stunningly beautiful with red plum blossoms embroidered on her clothes, covered her mouth as she giggled and said in a teasing tone: “Sir Chrysanthemum is always in such a rush. This little girl made us waste so much time. Of course we have to play with her for a while.”

The last female Cultivator did not speak, but there was clear agreement on her face.

Looking at the four of them, with their distinctive clothes and the way they addressed each other, Yu Zhao lowered her voice and asked: “You are the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum?”

Yu Zhao had lived an extra lifetime, so her knowledge was broader than that of ordinary sect Disciples who had just left the mountain to gain experience.

The Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum were the number one Assassin group under Shadow Pavilion. They were women, but dressed as men and used plum, orchid, bamboo, and chrysanthemum as their code names, calling themselves Gentlemen.

However, when Yu Zhao had heard of them in her previous life, it had been news of their deaths.

The Four Gentlemen never picked and chose their targets. As long as the price was enough to satisfy them, they would take the job.

As a result, the relatives of people they had assassinated in the past came looking for revenge, and they died miserable deaths.

For a long time after that, no one dared accept any of the assassination missions posted by Shadow Pavilion.

The moment Yu Zhao recognized them, she immediately realized that someone had put a bounty on her head through Shadow Pavilion.

As for who had posted the bounty…

A cold light flashed in Yu Zhao’s eyes.

Sir Bamboo pulled out a bamboo folding fan from who knew where, snapped it open with a flick of her wrist, and shook her head in an affected manner as she said: “That is right, we are the Four Gentlemen of Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum. I am Sir Bamboo.”

The female Cultivator in red plum robes smiled slightly and said: “I am Sir Plum.”

The one in orchid robes followed: “I am Sir Orchid.”

At last, the female Cultivator in black chrysanthemum robes gave a cold snort. She looked full of disdain, but still introduced herself honestly: “Sir Chrysanthemum.”

Yu Zhao was silent for a moment.

There was really no need for all four of them to introduce themselves one by one.

Sir Bamboo waved her fan and spoke in a flowery, bookish tone: “Miss, do you have any unfulfilled wishes? I am willing to give you half an incense stick of time to settle your regrets. That way you will not have come to this Mortal World in vain.”

Yu Zhao actually saw the shadow of a pedantic scholar in her.

She was quiet for a breath. Then, right in front of the four of them, she took out the Lotus Incense Burner from her Storage Pouch and asked very sincerely: “May I light a stick of incense?”

“That incense is poisoned!”

Sir Chrysanthemum’s eyes went fierce. She raised her hand and drew a Flying Sword from her waist. In an instant, Sword Qi rushed straight at Yu Zhao.

Yu Zhao let out a quiet sigh and shifted her body, dodging the Sword Qi.

Sir Chrysanthemum missed with one strike. Enraged, she yelled to her companions: “Sir Bamboo, Sir Orchid, what are you waiting for! Kill her!”

Sir Chrysanthemum was so eager to finish the job first because she had a naturally violent temper.

The second reason was that when they accepted the mission, Yu Zhao had only been at Late Foundation Establishment Great Completion, but in just half a year, she had already become a Golden Core Cultivator.

Yu Zhao’s speed of improvement was so fast that Sir Chrysanthemum could not help feeling afraid.

Since Sir Chrysanthemum had already taken action, the other three did not hesitate any longer.

Sir Bamboo’s magical artifact was the folding fan in her hand. She opened her mouth and blew a stream of Spiritual Energy onto it. The bamboo leaves painted on the fan immediately began to wriggle like living insects.

In the next moment, pieces of black bamboo leaves tore out of the paper and gathered in front of Sir Bamboo.

With a soft order of: “Go!” the dense bamboo leaves shot toward Yu Zhao like a rain of arrows.

At the same time, Sir Orchid also sent out her magical artifact.

It was a huge orchid blossom. Its petals were crystal clear, with faint red lines running through them.

As she shouted: “Lock!” countless red Mystic Threads shot out from the orchid. They wove together in the air to form a barrier line that closed in toward where Yu Zhao stood.

Sir Plum did not make a move. She specialized in tracking, so at the moment she stood off to the side with her hands behind her back, watching the show.

With three Golden Core Cultivators attacking at once, surely they did not have to worry about failing to take down a little Cultivator who had just advanced to Golden Core.

But in the very next moment, Sir Plum was slapped in the face by reality.

Under the combined attacks of the three, Yu Zhao showed no panic at all. Instead, a faint, mysterious smile appeared on her lips.

Forming her Golden Core also meant that her Illusory Tide Art had been cultivated to the third layer.

Now, she no longer needed incense. She could shape an Illusory Realm with her bare hands.

A strange wave of Spirit Power spread out in all directions. Before Sir Bamboo and the others even noticed anything was wrong, their consciousness had already been pulled into Yu Zhao’s illusion.

The Sword Qi, bamboo leaves, and red threads filling the sky all froze in midair. It was as if the entire space had solidified.

…

In a dim, hazy state, Sir Bamboo heard someone speaking by her ear: “Little Zhu’er, you are a young woman. You should not fight with your elder brother. Listen to your mother. Stay home and cultivate under the Head Elder of our family while your elder brother goes to Longevity Sect.”

Sir Bamboo opened her eyes and saw a strict face.

“Mother…” she called out subconsciously.

The woman did not respond to her, and just kept pressuring her to agree to stay home and cultivate.

Sir Bamboo was extremely unwilling inside. But for some reason, when she looked at her mother’s stern face, she could only swallow her grievances and agree.

The days of cultivating at home were even more painful than she had imagined. The Head Elder of the family did not like the fact that she was a young woman and treated her coldly. He only focused on teaching her male cousins.

Every time her elder brother came back from Longevity Sect, his spirited, proud look stabbed at her heart again and again.

Sir Bamboo wanted to persuade her mother that even if she could not enter Longevity Sect, joining some small, insignificant sect would be better than staying at home.

But no matter what she said, her mother would not agree. In the end, in a fit of anger, she locked Sir Bamboo up at home and would not even allow her to step out the door.

One year passed, then two…

Sir Bamboo shrank into a dark corner. Long days without sunlight made her skin a sickly pale. Her eyes were dull, her face haggard, and deep in her heart there was a pain she could not let out.

[No!]

[This is wrong!]

[This is not the life she should be living!]

Deep inside, Sir Bamboo realized that everything she was experiencing was very strange, but she could not think about it clearly. Whenever she tried to question it, her head split with pain, and it felt like her very soul was being torn in two.

The split between reality and her awareness made her see hallucinations again and again. Sometimes she was a Shadow Pavilion Assassin who killed without blinking. Sometimes she was the abandoned daughter of her Family Clan, locked at home with no way to escape.

In the end, she could no longer tell which side was the Illusory Realm and which side was reality. She drifted in a daze, unaware as time slipped by.