Chapter 77

Chapter 77: Doing Business Requires Integrity

Cheng Bu Fan came to his senses and, without caring what this suddenly appearing stranger wanted, cut in front of Gao Zheng and his six companions to speak: “I place an order!”

Rong Shu smiled with crescent eyes and said: “All right. Your hired muscle is now online. These people mean you harm, right? I will resolve them for you.”

As she spoke, she curled her hands in the air, and two horizontal knives flew from the storage pouch at her waist into her grasp.

Seeing this, Gao Zheng’s group of seven grew furious, especially the disciple at the tenth layer of Qi Refining, who felt his dignity had been insulted. Voices jeered: “An eighth layer of Qi Refining dares to be this arrogant? You really think you can run rampant in a secret realm? Brothers, teach her a lesson!”

Among Gao Zheng’s seven were one at the tenth layer of Qi Refining and one at the ninth, two at the eighth, and three at the seventh.

Picking the softest persimmons first, Rong Shu made the three seventh-layer disciples her primary targets.

She glanced toward Cheng Bu Fan just as he happened to look over. The two met eyes, and Rong Shu shot him a look. He paused in brief confusion, yet somehow understood.

Rong Shu drew on the wind spiritual qi in her body. Her figure split into afterimages as she appeared to rush the strongest, the tenth-layer disciple. Although a step slower, Cheng Bu Fan moved in tacit accord, raising his sword toward the same tenth-layer opponent.

“So you want to strike at me first?” The tenth-layer disciple was taken aback, then sneered. He drew a Spirit Sword and gathered force, waiting for them to close.

Halfway there, Rong Shu abruptly changed direction and surged toward the three seventh-layer disciples instead.

Startled, the trio reacted quickly and whipped out their favored weapons to block.

Seeing them braced as if facing a mortal enemy, Rong Shu swung her Twin Blades in broad, sweeping arcs. A faint cyan light flowed over the blades as two Wind Dragon Vortexes coiled into being and, wrapped in blade qi, hacked down toward the three.

A gale roared forth, whipping hems and hair into flight.

Within that wind, a pinch of yellow powder as insignificant as dust mixed in and, borne by the gusts, scattered over the unsuspecting seven of Gao Zheng’s group.

They inhaled it, and the effect took hold at once.

Cries rose: “Not good! Something is wrong… you used poison! Despicable!”

Of the seven, the three at the seventh layer and one at the eighth went down, bodies numb, limbs weak, collapsing to the ground.

Only the disciples at the tenth and ninth layers, along with Gao Zheng at the eighth, reacted in time, withdrawing at once and swallowing an Antidote Pill.

“This is not poison,” Rong Shu said with a shake of her head as she walked over to the downed disciples. Tapping each of their foreheads with the back of her blade, she explained kindly: “It is just the numbing powder from a Prismatic Butterfly. I accidentally got some on my hem, and it might have rubbed off on you. My apologies.”

Hearing this, the poisoned disciples almost spat blood. Accidentally? Might have rubbed off?

Angry voices protested: “You did it on purpose! Too afraid to fight fairly, using sneaky tricks like a demonic heretic. Shameless!”

To their accusations, Rong Shu answered with sincere frankness: “You lot bully the few with the many. I cannot beat you head-on.” Then she added, pointing the blade tip at the foreheads she had just tapped: “By the way, the ones I struck are ‘dead.’ Follow the rules and stay put. The numbing will wear off in a while.”

She lifted her gaze toward the temporarily unscathed Gao Zheng.

Cheng Bu Fan was holding the other two at bay, keeping them from closing in. As the son of a Peak Master, he might look careless day to day, but he had real skill. For a short time, one against two was no problem.

Sensing Rong Shu’s ill intent, Gao Zheng involuntarily retreated two steps and called loudly: “Wait! If Cheng Bu Fan can hire you, so can we. We have more people and will gain more heavenly materials and earthly treasures in this secret realm than he can alone.”

Rong Shu’s eyes glinted. [Oh? Trying to flip me? Do I look like the kind of crooked merchant who breaks her word at the drop of a hat?]

She refused with upright gravity: “Sorry. Cheng Bu Fan has already placed the order. Business requires integrity.”

She gave Gao Zheng no chance to breathe. As she spoke, she launched Gale Step and closed at top speed. Her Twin Blades hacked down, the metal of the blades glowing with a faint golden light.

Clang. Steel rang on steel. Taking advantage of dual wielding, Rong Shu poured metal spiritual qi continuously into her blades and drove Gao Zheng back.

His tiger’s mouth throbbed numbly around the hilt, and he staggered several steps before he could absorb the force. A chill pricked his heart. Wind and metal dual affinities, skilled with Twin Blades, at the eighth layer of Qi Refining… how had he never heard of such a person in the outer sect?

Rong Shu flicked her Twin Blades and pressed the attack while her mouth kept up its own barrage: “And why would I let you split the loot with me? If I beat you, I can just take it.”

She threw him a look of pure disdain that said: you are so foolish for not thinking of that, making his face turn several shades darker.

“You have more people, so of course you have more treasures,” she added. Half? No… she wanted it all.

Catching him off guard, Rong Shu feinted, slipped past like a breeze, appeared behind Gao Zheng, and planted a kick squarely on his rear.

Unprepared, he went sprawling, nearly eating dirt.

She floated forward, materializing before him just as he found his balance, and twisted her wrist. The back of her blade, sheathed in metal qi, smacked across his face.

Thud. Gao Zheng spat a mouthful of blood; a tooth cracked loose.

Clutching his aching jaw, he glowered: “You…”

Seeing him so bedraggled, Rong Shu felt wonderfully satisfied. She had not forgotten how he had singled her out during the lecture on Spirit Gathering Peak. Consider this a small revenge. She bared her teeth in a grin and said: “Loose lips cause trouble. Stop running your mouth for nothing, understand?”

Off to the side, the tenth-layer and ninth-layer disciples saw the tables turning and that even Gao Zheng was about to be defeated. If Rong Shu freed a hand, she would help Cheng Bu Fan and crush the two of them as well. Remembering her glorious history of ‘highway robbery,’ they made a snap decision: abandon the others and run.

“We are leaving…” If they kept fighting, they might be stronger in cultivation, but there was no guarantee they would not capsize in the gutter. If that happened, everything they had gained in the secret realm would be taken by Rong Shu.

Rong Shu let the two go. After subduing Gao Zheng, she set about ‘robbing’ the four who could not flee. She shook her Twin Blades with a ferocious look and ordered: “Hand over your stuff!”