Maid Lotus, Wu Zongheng, and the others arrived safely at the military camp in Wushan. Only a little mishap happened throughout the journey, where Miss Ming Zhen of the Gulping Wind Gorge and her personal maid Han Xuan had asked to follow them.
Ming Zhen was Ha Chilie’s fiancée. She did not know martial arts and looked delicate, but she was stubborn. She was shy about speaking certain things, so she asked her maid Han Xuan to speak on her behalf. “What’s wrong with a woman wanting to visit her fiance? If you don’t want to take us with you, we can walk on our own. We will just be taking the same road. We don’t need you to take care of us.”
Wu Zongheng was the leader among them. He agreed to take them with a bitter smile but proposed, “The mountain roads are rugged and difficult to walk on foot. We won’t wait for you if you can’t follow our pace.”
Han Xuan patted her chest and promised confidently, “I will carry Miss Ming if she becomes too tired to walk. You have my word that we won’t bother you.”
The fact was that Ming Zhen did not become a burden for them. On the way, she never once complained whether on horseback or on foot. She was tough and tolerant, unlike like a lady from a respected family. Han Xuan, on the other hand, brought them so much more trouble. She was one to directly voice her feelings and complaints, leaving Wu Zongheng unsure what to do with her.
There was only one person who could make her keep quiet among them.
When Ha Chilie had selected his fiancée among countless women, it was Maid Lotus who pinpointed Ming Zhen. Thus, she was sort of their matchmaker. She and several disciples of the New Moon Hall kept their distance from Wu Zonghan and the rest and showed Ming Zhen and Han Xuan no concern during the day. Neither did they stay in the same place at night. Some of them would often disappear out of the blue before showing up again.
The New Moon Hall was always mysterious. Gu Shenwei was accustomed to it, but his subordinates were not. Ignoring the six female guards, Wu Zongheng only ordered his ten soldiers to pitch tents, prepare meals, march, and take a break.
The ten soldiers were as skeptical about the New Moon Hall disciples as their leader. One swordsman from the Great Snowmountain who had been following after them for some time murmured, “They’re scarier when Dragon King isn’t around.” The rest shared his opinion.
The New Moon Hall disciples never built a fire, asked them for food, or put up a tent in the evening. No one knew what they ate or where they slept. These soldiers were afraid of them, and they ignored the soldiers. Sometimes when these disciples walked through the team, they ignored the team with apathetic and confused expressions as if they were sleepwalking.
Miss Ming might have once intended to get on Maid Lotus’ good side but gave up the minute she saw Maid Lotus. However, her maid had different thoughts and was always trying to blend in with the New Moon Hall disciples.
Han Xuan had a mysterious story. She was sold to the Gulping Wind Gorge as a little girl. One day, a mysterious woman appeared and taught her martial arts. This woman was later discovered to be a New Moon Hall disciple but what she taught Han Xuan was not martial arts from the hall. Moreover, she also refused to take Han Xuan with her.
Since then, Han Xuan considered herself as a partial New Moon Hall disciple. But the renegade of the New Moon Hall who occupied the Gulping Wind Gorge did not recognize her and thus, Maid Lotus and the rest did not consider her their companion.
However, Han Xuan was a tenacious person. Each time when they pitched tents, she would take the initiative to approach these disciples regardless of others’ warning and Ming Zhen’s pleading.
Besides, she had a talent. Besides Maid Lotus, she could trace the hidden disciples of New Moon Hall with her sensitive nose. The other five could never hide without her finding them. Therefore, she often interrupted them when they were performing their tasks.
The disciples would go somewhere else once Han Xuan found them. No one would treat her nicely, but their behavior never frustrated her. She told Ming Zhen, “I think they’re friendly. I like them better than the former disciples of the New Moon Hall.”
Ming Zhen did not know what to say when she heard this. She became afraid at the thought of her maid becoming stranger and more similar to the mad women of the New Moon Hall. But she dared not tell Han Xuan this and only prayed to meet her fiance soon.
One day, Han Xuan finally pissed off a New Moon Hall disciple and a fight broke out between them.
The soldiers were far away from them when their fight began. They were about to cook with ingredients. But when they saw their fierce fight, they took aback and stood still, looking at them. Ming Zhen covered her mouth, stopping herself from crying out at the sight of them fighting.
It was not an ordinary spar. The two were serious about their fight and were trying to kill each other.
Wu Zongheng could not ignore the New Moon Hall disciples anymore. Being the leader of the team, he had to stand out and stop the fight.
“Stop! Both of you!” Wu Zongheng shouted in a calm and solemn voice, hoping they would listen to his order as he was the vice commander of thousands.
However, his title meant nothing to the two mad women and their fight became even fiercer. That New Moon Hall disciple scattered some powders of different colors and they swiftly spread through the air.
Wu Zongheng was afraid to approach them. He had to command in an embarrassed voice, “I need you to stop immediately in the name of Dragon King!”
“They fear Dragon King!” he thought. Wu Zongheng was relieved after seeing the two mad women stop fighting, despite their angry glares at each other.
Suddenly, he felt a chill down his back and tried to turn around to see what was behind him. But he found that his body became too stiff to do that as if an evil spell had struck him.
Maid Lotus walked past him. So it was not Dragon King but the Managing Master of the New Moon Hall who stopped their fight.
“What happened?” Maid Lotus asked.
The disciple who fought with Han Xuan was Han Fen, whom Managing Master trusted most. “It’s her fault. I hid well, but she kept pacing back and forth in front of me. I can’t even breathe because of her!” Han Fen said.
Han Xuan retorted in anger, “You’re the one who didn’t hide well! How can you blame me for it? If you can’t pee one day, are you going to say it’s my fault too?”
“I won’t be able to pee if you’re standing next to me! Of course it’s your fault!”
Compared to the New Moon Hall disciples, Han Xuan was less formal and held lesser admiration for Maid Lotus. She became furious after hearing Han Fen’s words and ran toward her, trying to attack her even with Maid Lotus around.
Han Xuan and Han Fen ran to each other with their full strength as if they wanted to tear each other to pieces.
This time, they were stopped before they could use their skills.
Maid Lotus dashed forward and stood between them, easily separating them with her hands.
This was the first time Wu Zongheng saw Dragon King’s personal guard using her martial arts. He did not recognize many of the secret techniques that she used. He simply found her to be amazing for stopping their fight without getting hurt.
Han Xuan was much more shocked. After Maid Lotus slapped her, she had to take several steps backward before she could regain a firm footing. Her Internal Breath was in disorder and it took her a while to recover. She said in surprise, “You’re… that strong?”
Han Xuan began to admire her.
“Managing Master is the best martial artists in the world,” Han Fen said, not at all minding the fact that she was forced to step off. “You’re not bad yourself. You can withstand my occult sciences.”
With that, their dispute came to an end. Han Xuan befriended Han Fen after the fight, getting one step closer to her goal. No one had expected this outcome.
Wu Zongheng and other soldiers found it to be amazing but Ming Zhen was terrified. She feared that her maid would become as ruthless as the New Moon Hall disciples.
However, she had overestimated Han Fen’s influence. When they finally reached the military camp of Tuo Nengya, Han Xuan was still the same as she always was.
Their smooth-sailing journey was over but before they even entered the military camp, they could feel that something bad had happened.
The barracks were located in a cramped valley, with there was only a single path that led inside. On the seventh day’s afternoon since parting with Dragon King, a soldier in the team as a guide excitedly pointed at the front. “It’s over there, just a few miles away!”
Wu Zongheng felt uneasy because he did not know Tuo Nengya. From Dragon King’s words, however, he got the impression that Tuo Nengya would be a considerate old machetemen. However, he was taken aback when he saw no sentry posts near the barracks. That was too careless of Tuo Nengya.
When they bypassed the foot of the mountain, they finally saw people.
A group of twenty to thirty cavaliers in tribe’s clothes speedily rode to them. They did not slow down at the sight of them, so Wu Zongheng had to make way for them.
“Excuse me…” Before the guide could ask them anything, the group was already far away. The guide murmured in confusion, “What the hell is going on?”
Everyone realized that something was wrong.
As they walked on, a dozen people walked up to them from the direction of barracks. They looked like mine thieves, with ragged clothing and long sabers carried over their shoulders. Even from a distance, they were already staring at the women in the team, especially Ming Zhen.
Before Wu Zongheng could speak to them, one of the mine thieves said loudly, “Go back! You don’t have to go the barracks anymore.”
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” some of them replied. They kept walking, but their eyes were fixed on the women. “Perhaps Dragon King disbanded the army because he couldn’t afford the soldiers’ pay and provisions.”
“I thought that I could earn some money and get the land from him.”
“Keep an eye on your women. They’re not safe in the barracks.”
Wu Zongheng had lots of doubts. “My mission is to send Dragon King’s secret order and assist Tuo Nengya in heading for the ambush location with his troops. If the troops are disbanded, I won’t be able to summon enough soldiers within a short time.”
They walked faster and encountered many small groups on the way. Most of them wore a displeased expression in silence. Even those who were willing to talk were trying to persuade him to return.
Soon, they arrived at the barracks. They saw that the gate of barracks was open and no guard could be seen.
It was a mess inside the barracks. The only ones left were good people who did not want to make trouble. Most soldiers chose to stay behind and encircled the main tent while shouting in anger.
“We want to see Tuo Nengya!”
“How can you break your promise? Where are our money and land?”
“If you want us to leave, first fulfill your promise!”
Wu Zongheng was the first to squeeze into the crowd. The rest followed him in a line. Ten soldiers were divided into two groups, with some standing in front and the others bringing up the rear. The eight women were in the middle.
The appearance of Maid Lotus and the other women caused a small riot and the crowd shifted to let them pass. They whispered in one another’s ear and discussed those strange guests. Suddenly someone shouted, “Give me a woman, then I won’t ask for a reward.”
The crowd roared with laughter, their anger seemingly subsided.
The New Moon Hall disciples did not react after hearing this. Instead, it was Han Xuan who got irritated. She glared at the men around them while keeping the startled Ming Zhen away from the crowd.
The main tent was under the protection of hundreds of guards. All of them stood still, with their sabers and swords out.
“I’m Dragon King’s messenger, here to meet the commander of thousands, Tuo Nengya, and vice commander of thousands, Ha Chilie.” Wu Zongheng did not give his name because he had a bad feeling about the whole thing.
The guards did not let them in, but one of them entered the tent after hearing his words. When he walked out of the tent, he indicated for his fellow guards to move out of the way.
Wu Zongheng commanded the soldiers to stay outside and entered the tent with Maid Lotus and Ming Zhen. Han Xuan was worried about Ming Zhen, so she entered as well. Han Fen followed after her.
There were four to five men inside the tent. Ha Chilie walked to them in a hurry. When he caught sight of Maid Lotus, his eyes sparkled. “Lady Maid Lotus, did Dragon King come himself?”
Then, he saw the shy Ming Zhen. He paused momentarily before asking, “Why are you here?”
Maid Lotus introduced Wu Zongheng to him.
“What happened? Why are the troops disbanded? Where’s the commander of thousands?” Wu Zongheng raised a series of questions without making small talk.
Ha Chilie did not immediately answer for he was unfamiliar with Wu Zongheng. However, he trusted Maid Lotus and thus replied, “There was a Golden Roc killer who hid in the barracks and assassinated the commanders of thousands.”