thefictionvixens Page 29
Page 29
Du Qian agreed without hesitation. Even though his injuries had not fully healed, he swung the four-meter-long giant tree stump to save the day, but was once again stopped by Wang Lun's ink-wash landscape fan.
The fan was so tiny that Du Qian, with his enormous body, dared not cross the line.
"This Daming Prefecture is no place to stay for long. Since the government troops have already begun sweeping through Guifanlou and attacking Song Wan's territory, they will find us sooner or later. Du Qian! Send only half of the men to rescue Song Wan, and the other half must immediately begin moving the birthday tribute! We're going to Cangzhou to find Master Chai! We can't stay in Daming Prefecture any longer!"
Wang Lun was meticulous and carefully assessed the situation. He first sent the ratman with ten ogres to rescue Song Wan. The ratman didn't bother to think much about their relationship and hurriedly led the reinforcements home.
As the group walked away, Wang Lun's expression shifted between light and shadow as she paced back and forth in the Ghost Fanlou. The flames erupting from the brazier cast ever-changing shadows and light on her beautiful face.
Nine seconds later, as if she had made up her mind, she suddenly stopped and snapped her folding fan shut. The raging fire of Ghost Fanlou illuminated her pale back, but made her beautiful and dignified face blend into the darkness, making it impossible to see any outline of her.
"Du Qian, pick up your weapon. We're going to Zhu Gui's restaurant as fast as we can."
"why?"
【why? 】
Du Qian's two heads were somewhat astonished, and they asked in unison, "You didn't let us go to rescue Song Wan before, saying that we had to stay and transfer the birthday gifts and the supplies in the Ghost Fanlou. I believed you."
Then why the hell aren't you moving the birthday gifts? Instead, why are you going to Zhu Gui's restaurant?!
"Now, the three of us are in the same boat. No one can escape unscathed. It seems we have no choice but to run to Lord Chai's mansion in Cangzhou for refuge. In all the world, only Lord Chai dares to take in a group of serious criminals like us."
Wang Lun's face was sinister, his right hand gripping the fan ribs so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"However, I am not willing to be subordinate to Liu Hong! I, Wang Lun, have studied hard for ten years, just to win a degree! I have worked a thousand times, ten thousand times harder than everyone else in the imperial examination hall! But because my family is poor, I cannot afford good teachers or read profound books, and thus I have repeatedly failed the exam."
Do you know, in the academy I attended as a child, everyone was dressed in fine clothes and adorned with gold and jade, while I was the only one among them wearing tattered robes. They all looked down on me! Some even casually took out a month's worth of food money just to make me play the role of their servant, ruthlessly trampling on my dignity in front of everyone.
Wang Lun's refined and amiable face began to twist with jealousy and anger.
"Fine, fine, I was born into a bad family, I can't fight you all, I accept it! Since I can't be the highest official, then I'll be the biggest bandit! I refuse to be subservient to anyone! I refuse to be at the mercy of others!!!"
“You, Song Wan, and Zhu Gui are no match for me.”
Li Cunxiao, Lü Fang, and Guo Sheng only have a little trouble.
"But Liu Hong and Wu Song are different. We were both born into poverty. Why are their fighting abilities so terrifying? I don't have a sure chance of winning against them, brother and sister."
"So, sister, you want to be the boss? Then why are you going to Zhu Gui's restaurant?!"
[So what if we can't beat you? I can't beat you either. Did you admit you're our leader, the cannibal leader? You're still hiding it from others, preventing us from changing our leader.]
Du Qian's two heads were a little stunned, not knowing what Wang Lun wanted to do.
"I said, I've had enough! I should be the leader of this birthday tribute robbery! I am Wang Lun, the White-Robed Scholar!!! Liu Hong has already stolen my glory once, and I will not let him succeed a second time! If the three of us escape, everyone must respect me!"
Wang Lun spoke viciously, his refined and gentle face completely replaced by jealousy and anger.
"Now, Liu Hong and his group must have gone to rescue Song Wan, and Zhu Gui's hotel must be completely empty. If Liu Hong is unwilling to obey me, then I will go to Zhu Gui's hotel first, take his wife and brother hostage, and force him to obey my orders!"
"This isn't right! Especially since Pan Jinlian is our sworn sister!"
"Are you crazy? We swore an oath of brotherhood before Lord Guan, and you're going to turn against your own sworn brothers and sisters?!"
Du Qian's face showed astonishment.
"I won't hurt them, but I've got my hands on Liu Hong and Wu Song's families! They'll only have two choices then: either obey me or take their families and leave the birthday gifts behind!"
No one on my team is allowed to be better than me! If someone is, I'll find a way to get rid of them—if you're not going, you stay here and pack your things, I'll go alone!
Wang Lun's mind was made up at this moment, and there was no use in saying anything Du Qian said. Although the other cannibals acknowledged that Wang Lun was powerful and capable of fighting, none of them were willing to do such a despicable thing.
Seeing that he couldn't control these ogres, Wang Lun lost his temper and turned to leave! Du Qian and the ogres tried to persuade him, but they couldn't convince him or beat him, so they could only watch helplessly as Wang Lun's white figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.
Chapter 59: The Five-Tailed Fox Turns the World Upside Down
At this moment, Zhu Gui, Pan Jinlian, and Wu Dalang were packing their things. Her hotel only had five or six staff members, all of whom were intelligence agents and there were hardly any combat personnel. Liu Hong had taken most of his elite troops away to rescue Song Wan, leaving only Zhu Gui as a capable fighter. Just as Wang Lun had calculated, the hotel was indeed extremely vulnerable.
"Hey! Isn't this Sister Wang Lun? What are you doing here? The Song army has started to wipe out Gui Fanlou, and Song Wan has already been targeted. I was just about to inform you!"
Zhu Gui, who was loading the birthday gifts onto the ship, saw Wang Lun approaching and immediately informed her in a panic that something terrible had happened.
"Hurry back! Pack your things and get ready to run!"
"What about the rest?"
Wang Lun took a deep breath. Although she was seething with anger and her mind was filled with jealousy and rage, she still smiled and pretended to be calm and collected in front of Zhu Gui.
"Brother Liu Hong, Sister Wu Song, and Lü Fang, Guo Sheng, and Li Cunxiao have all gone to rescue Song Wan. I'm packing my things here, getting ready to run away. I have to go now! I'm busy here!"
Zhu Gui never suspected Wang Lun, his sworn brother. He grabbed his gold and silver valuables and ran to the boat, letting Wang Lun wave his ink-painting landscape fan and swagger into Zhu Gui's hotel.
The plan is going smoothly. As I expected, the defenses here are extremely weak. As long as I can control Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang, Liu Hong and Wu Song, the siblings, they will be at my mercy!
Wang Lun's lips curled into a wild smile. He stepped onto the wooden stairs in his white shoes, turned left and right, and arrived at Wu Dalang's room, knocking on the door.
"The door's unlocked, come in!"
Wu Dalang was also frantically packing his things. Afraid that his sister would go hungry, he specially made several baskets of steamed buns that his sister had eaten since childhood and stuffed them all into his luggage.
Wang Lun pushed open the door and saw Wu Dalang packing his luggage with his back to him. Without a word, he gently waved his folding fan, and the white jade fan ribs cracked open a crack of about an inch. The snake's eyes in the painting suddenly flashed with a bloody light. The silk fan surface trembled like a snake shedding its skin, and the black scales scraped against the silk, producing a metallic sound—the venomous snake's bones tore through the painting inch by inch, and it swooped down from the air with half of the ink still wet, like a monstrous dragon breaking free of its black iron chains. It bit Wu Dalang's ankle, its hollow fangs piercing into Dalang's blood vessels, and then spewed out a terrifyingly potent venom that could paralyze the nerves!
Wu Dalang felt a sharp pain in his ankle. Before he could react, his body went limp, his vision blurred, and he stumbled and fell to the ground, falling into a coma due to the snake venom.
This is Wang Lun's ability, the Divine Brush and Ink: using brush, ink, paper, and inkstone to create his own summoned creatures.
Seeing that Wu Dalang had fallen unconscious, Wang Lun immediately took out a rope from his magic bag and tied him up. Then he went to Pan Jinlian's room and did the same thing, knocking on the door.
"Are you Pan Jinlian's sister? I am Wang Lun!"
"The door's unlocked, come in!"
Pan Jinlian was busy packing her belongings and had no time to pay attention to Wang Lun. "Waaah—my husband likes this set of black and flesh-colored stockings. Every time I wear them, I become more ferocious than before. I can leave the other clothes behind, but these are a must."
Wang Lun pushed open the door and saw five fluffy, soft fox tails swaying in the air. After a year and a half of nourishment, Pan Jinlian's somewhat dry fur had long since become glossy and shiny.
Seeing that the man also had his back to him, Wang Lun gave a signal. The black, monstrous snake that had just poisoned Wu Dalang, wriggled its profane body, and silently approached Pan Jinlian. Wherever the snake slithered, specks of ink seeped into the blue bricks. When the stench of sandalwood brushed against Jinlian's silk stockings, the snake's head suddenly arched, and it opened its mouth to bite at Jinlian's ankle!
"Crack!"
The sound of tearing silk originated from the depths of her bone marrow. The moment the venomous fangs touched her skin, Pan Jinlian's delicate body suddenly exploded into a nine-tailed phantom of a white fox from Qingqiu. In the burst of silver light, the pitch-black serpent instantly shattered into suspended ink, its entire body breaking into pieces, and the ink that made up the serpent sprayed everywhere.
Pan Jinlian turned around in astonishment, searching for the attacker. At first, she didn't believe it was Wang Lun who attacked her, but there was no one around. Wang Lun was also astonished—this down-on-his-luck scholar from the village had never seen the Qingqiu fox spirit in his life and had no idea that the fox spirit's most famous ability was its incredibly exaggerated magic resistance.
Wang Lun's expression darkened slightly. In front of Pan Jinlian, he made another move. Since the venomous snake assassination didn't work, he would use the mighty eagle to launch a powerful attack! With a flick of his folding fan, a majestic ink-wash eagle cried out and burst forth from the fan, its two sharp talons whistling through the sky, ready to pierce her collarbone in one blow!
At this moment, Pan Jinlian realized that it was indeed her sworn sister attacking her, but it was too late. The ink-wash eagle, accompanied by splashing ink droplets, suddenly pounced in front of her, its sharp claws tearing through her clothes and touching her collarbone, but it was directly shaken away by the white fox phantom covering Pan Jinlian's delicate body!
Elusive fox tails stirred up a violent vortex of spiritual energy, shattering the monster, constructed from magic and ink, into ink splattered all over the ground.
At this moment, the biggest variable in Wang Lun's plan appeared: Pan Jinlian, being Liu Hong's first deployment, would always be at the same level as Liu Hong, even though she had never trained, lacked practical experience, and didn't even understand how Qingqiu fox demons fought. None of this prevented her from being a level five demon with five fox tails.
"Sister Wang Lun? What's going on?!"
Pan Jinlian was shocked and didn't know what she meant, but at that moment, her gaze fell on Wu Dalang outside the door, who was being tied up and dragged away by Wang Lun, and her face immediately darkened.
"Little sister, let me explain. I need you to come with me now..."
Wang Lun's mind raced; she had calculated everything, except that Pan Jinlian was so difficult to deal with.
Although Pan Jinlian didn't understand what Wang Lun was doing, when she saw that Wang Lun had actually kidnapped her family members, she immediately treated her as a mortal enemy!
The moment the five fox tails suddenly unfurled, sparks crackled and popped from the snow-white fur. The crimson tips of the tails ignited with pink foxfire under the moonlight, and these five fiery tails suddenly expanded rapidly, transforming into five giant, white, burning pythons that attacked Wang Lun from five directions!
The first fox tail coiled around Wang Lun's right hand and the ink-wash landscape fan like a snake. Pink demonic flames instantly ignited the fan, scorching flesh and blood. Wang Lun drew his sword to counterattack, but the sword froze in mid-air halfway through its swing—Pan Jinlian's face, in the distorted heat, transformed into the smiling face of her childhood sweetheart, making it impossible for her to bring herself to strike.
In the blink of an eye, three fox tails rushed to entwine Wang Lun's left hand and legs, burning scorch marks on his wrists and ankles. The last fox tail wrapped around her neck, completely controlling her, which brought Wang Lun back to his senses—Pan Jinlian was not his childhood sweetheart at all; this was clearly a fox demon's illusion! He had fallen for her trick!
Wang Lun suddenly bit his tongue, using the pain to dispel the illusion. He then used a teleportation technique to escape the restraints and teleport to another room to avoid the brunt of the attack. However, the five fiery fox tails seemed to be able to extend infinitely, like five giant snakes, rushing out of Pan Jinlian's boudoir. The furry fox tails meandered and climbed over the hotel corridors and beams, relentlessly pursuing her!
The first fox tail swept across the upside-down roof beams and oil lamps, extinguishing the lamps one by one and plunging the entire hotel into darkness, thus limiting Wang Lun's vision.
The second fox tail bypassed the supporting beam and came to Wang Lun's left side. It suddenly spiked in a spiral, and the burning tip of its tail precisely pierced the blue brick where Wang Lun had just stood, causing sparks to fly and dust to scatter.
The most insidious move was the last three fox tails, which shot out like venomous snakes the instant Wang Lun jumped into the air, striking her chest, left shoulder, and right leg, sending her flying!
Seeing that the battle was going badly, Wang Lun once again used his teleportation ability to escape from the dimly lit hotel. The moment his back touched the hay from the stable, a mournful sound of five layers of shattering glass exploded above his head. Five carved wooden windows on the second floor of the inn burst open at the same time. Five flaming fox tails smashed the windows into pieces, crushed the window frames into dust, and broke through the windows amidst a series of explosions!
Five giant fox tails stretched and thrashed in the sky, like a surging dragon twisting iron chains, or a demon from outer space wielding a long whip!
At this moment, not to mention Wang Lun, even Pan Jinlian was somewhat surprised. She only knew that her nine-tailed fox bloodline had awakened during this period and her abilities were gradually recovering, but she did not expect that her fox tail would be so powerful.
Chapter Sixty: The Golden-Winged Roc's Meteoric Demise
"Such high magic resistance!"
After being chased by the five fox tails for several rounds, Wang Lun gradually recovered from his initial shock. He sneered and continued to cast spells while dodging the fox tails.
"However, if you think that Confucian scholars are just weak spellcasters like naturally gifted psionicists, then you are sorely mistaken!"
Wang Lun roared and chanted three Confucian classics in succession. The peach color on his cheeks peeled away inch by inch, revealing four gill slits, pink soft membranes like blooming peonies, and his soft ears transformed into two blue fish fins like a peacock spreading its tail.
The silver-white scholar's robe tore open without wind, revealing six jade-white female arms that slowly extended from her shoulders, resembling a quietly blooming six-petaled lily. Her two beautiful legs merged into a long, scaly tail that resembled a snake or a fish. When the moonlight shone on the colorful, wet scales, it reflected a magnificent array of colors. Her smooth, snow-white back unfurled a blue dorsal fin that stretched from her neck to the tip of her tail, transforming her into a six-armed mermaid from Shandong.
Not only that, but those six snow-white arms suddenly transformed into six jade arms forged from white jade. The next second, the six-armed merman doubled in height and increased in weight eightfold, becoming a giant merman four meters tall!
[Second Ring Confucian Arts - Shapeshifting]: Transform into another race (Mermaid: Armor +5, gain underwater breathing ability, randomly gain 1~3 pairs of arms)
[First Ring Confucian Arts - Stone Fist Technique]: Turns hands into stone, Strength +6.
[First Ring Confucian Arts - Giant Transformation Technique]: Increases height by two times, weight by eight times, and strength by 2.
With the triple blessing of Confucianism, Wang Lun abandoned his spellcasting and switched to hand-to-hand combat. His five arms suddenly grabbed the five fox tails, and with his last arm, he raised a sharp blade and cut off the five fox tails one by one. The fluffy snow tails fell to the ground and turned into five pieces of white cloth. The fluff flying all over the sky also turned into floating threads.
Illusion?!
"Sister Wang Lun! What are you doing?!"
Hearing the noise, Zhu Gui rushed over and stared in disbelief at Wang Lun's fighting stance.
Wang Lun gritted his teeth. Things had come to this point; they were practically at loggerheads. If he couldn't deal with Pan Jinlian now, he'd be in an even more passive position once Liu Hong and Wu Song returned! At this moment, there was no turning back!
She raised one of her six hands and suddenly waved a landscape fan, sending a swarm of black insects at Zhu Gui. Zhu Gui was caught off guard by his sworn sister and was more confused and bewildered than anything else. Before he could react, he was surrounded by the insects, which then scattered sleeping powder, knocking him unconscious! He fell to the ground with a thud.
"Wang Lun! What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Seeing Wang Lun first tie up Wu Dalang and then drug Zhu Gui, Pan Jinlian was also shocked. She leaped into the air with her toes touching the window, and her five snow-white fox tails exploded open. Each tail tip sprayed out large patches of pink flames, which wove into a fiery net across the night sky like splashed ink, pressing down all over the world.
Wang Lun chuckled, his six arms transforming into six Confucian swords that spun into six sword flowers, deflecting all the fire nets that rained down from the sky. His defense was impenetrable. Suddenly, the snake tail, wrapped in golden patterns, straightened and pierced through the fire net like a red-hot steel cone. He then wrapped his hand around the fox demon's body and pulled her to his side, intending to decide the outcome through hand-to-hand combat!
As Pan Jinlian spun around, the pearl hairpins in her hair jingled. Her beautiful and graceful body, under the moonlight, transformed into a petite and adorable five-tailed fox demon. She nimbly slipped out of Wang Lun's grasp, and her five tails, amidst the magnificent pink demonic flames, rapidly expanded and grew larger, like five moon-white clouds crashing down on Wang Lun with overwhelming force!
Wang Lun was not to be outdone. With his six arms, he wielded six precious swords, leaving afterimages in the air. The blades of the Azure Frost Sword drew six chilling crescent moons in the night. When the fox tails burning with demonic fire came crashing down, they were shredded into countless sparks by the sword net.
But each severed tail, once it hit the ground, turned into pale strips of cloth, which were instantly swirled into fluttering paper money by the night wind. They couldn't harm Pan Jinlian's true form at all. New illusory giant tails emerged from behind her buttocks, and the fox demon's gigantic laughter, wrapped in the sulfurous foxfire, was hidden in the silvery-white giant tails, appearing and disappearing intermittently.
"Wang Lun? If you stop now, we can all talk things out and there's still room for explanation. If you continue like this, there's no going back for any of us!"
Wang Lun remained silent, focusing solely on the battle. With a determined heart, she risked being crushed by the five fox tails, and in a flash, she dashed through the sea of flames formed by the five giant tails, catching Pan Jinlian off guard. The five swords were blocked by the fox tails that had retreated hastily, but the sword at the very top finally pierced through the gauze on Pan Jinlian's shoulder, carving a horrifying line of blood on her snow-white skin.
Pan Jinlian retreated hastily, creating distance once more. One of her tails wrapped itself up like a cocoon, and the demonic pink foxfire transformed into emerald green demonic flames, rapidly healing Pan Jinlian's injuries. The other four tails, still entwined with the demonic pink foxfire, rained down on Wang Lun!
Wang Lun was also anxious at this moment. This Pan Jinlian was not that powerful. Her five huge tails, which looked like clouds and mountains, looked impressive, but they were just illusions. The damage was not much greater than being whipped.
However, her illusion defense and green fire healing abilities are truly troublesome. Her frighteningly high fox magic resistance prevents me from casting my most proficient spells, forcing me to cast a bunch of melee-enhancing spells on myself and then hack away with my sword.
I can't defeat her in a short time, and if I get bogged down, Liu Hong and Wu Song will come back, and things will get complicated!
Even more bizarrely, Pan Jinlian's combat ability to control the fox tail improved rapidly, as if she were quickly absorbing experience in actual combat, improving her ability to control her tail in battle, making it increasingly difficult for Wang Lun to fight her.
Wang Lun gritted his teeth and decided to give up! He'd rather not have Pan Jinlian! He'd take Wu Dalang instead!
Having made up her mind, she once again changed her appearance, rushed into the hotel, grabbed the bound Wu Dalang, and was about to leave, abandoning her entanglement with Pan Jinlian.
At the same time, inside the Ghost Fan Tower, Du Qian, along with five or six cannibals, rushed to the vicinity of Song Wan's lair and joined up with the ten cannibals who had come to reinforce them earlier.
"Brother! Something terrible has happened! Wang Lun has gone mad! She's unwilling for you to be the boss! She wants to take advantage of our visit, when Zhu Gui Restaurant is empty, to kidnap Wu Dalang and Pan Jinlian, and force you to obey her!!!"
Yes! So we came to deliver the message!
Du Qian covered his old wounds and said breathlessly.
"what?!"
Before Liu Hong could speak, Wu Song was enraged. His terrifying killing intent swept across the entire area like a tidal wave, making it difficult for everyone present to breathe.
"I tried to stop her! But I couldn't persuade her, and I couldn't beat her! I had no choice but to come to my brother!"
Although I don't recognize the laws of the Song and Liao dynasties, I do recognize Lord Guan's loyalty and righteousness!
Du Qian's two heads spoke their own words, and Liu Hong didn't waste any words either. His gilded wings suddenly unfolded, and brilliant sparks burst from the gaps between the feathers—those were not bird wings, but two molten, boiling seas of gold. He shot out like an arrow, leaving a beautiful golden trail in the dark cave.
Meanwhile, Wang Lun, who was holding Wu Dalang hostage, was having a hard time getting rid of Pan Jinlian's entanglement and was still locked in an endless battle with the five-tailed fox demon.