Chapter 371: So Close Yet So Far?

Chapter 371: So Near, Yet So Far?

As Maitreya struck at Tang Wanzhuang, Zhao Changhe slipped into the room where Li Si'an was held captive.

The Maitreya Celestial Maiden had just returned, intent on forcing herself upon Li Si'an: "Truly, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. A harmonious dual cultivation could have been ours, yet you spurn it. Now I'll drain you dry and bind your soul—what was the point of this stubbornness?"

"Maitreya Sect..." Facing the Eighteenth Madam, who had dropped all pretense, Li Si'an suddenly grasped the situation. He shook his head. "This is the difference between a Prefect and Maitreya. He must weigh his actions; truly crippling me would tarnish his reputation and bring endless trouble. The Maitreya Sect only knows destruction, caring nothing for such things."

The Celestial Maiden sneered. "Had you known your place and cooperated, the Holy Sect might have granted you a high position, sharing wealth and glory. Since you're so obstinate, don't blame us for pure destruction. What baffles us is a man of wealth like you—your fortune wasn't built on gentility and restraint. We know the blood and sweat behind it, yet you care about this?"

Li Si'an nodded. "True. That men like me are a catalyst for the Maitreya Sect's ability to sway the masses. If a righteous army were to behead me, I'd have no complaint."

"How strange. A money-grubber like you, offered gold yet refusing, spurning luxury, choosing instead to live as a spy in constant peril. Is licking Tang Wanzhuang's feet so sweet? You don't even like women."

Li Si'an shook his head slightly. "Money matters... but some things matter more..."

"Then don't blame us for being rude!" The Maitreya Celestial Maiden shoved Li Si'an down, preparing to mount him.

A long blade materialized silently at her side, like a breeze brushing past, like rain gently falling.

Even Li Si'an, facing her, couldn't see how the blade had struck. But as the blade's light flashed, a faint bloodline appeared on the Celestial Maiden's neck, and she collapsed in disbelief.

Outside, countless guards heard nothing of what had transpired within.

Zhao Changhe caught her body, laid it on the bed, and covered it with a blanket. At the same time, his hand moved like lightning, striking the acupoints on Li Si'an's chest.

A special acupoint-sealing technique of the Maitreya Sect, thought to be unbreakable except by a select few, was undone cleanly by Zhao Changhe's single finger.

Li Si'an stared in shock. "Sir, you are..."

"Never mind that. The situation is complex—it's not just the Maitreya Sect." Zhao Changhe swiftly opened the paper and brush on the table and scribbled a letter. "I'll assist Chief Tang. You must deliver this message immediately."

"Speak, righteous one."

"Head toward Mount Wu, upstream. You'll encounter a group traveling along the shore; they've likely camped and are asleep by now. Hand them this letter."

Li Si'an took the letter, not glancing at its contents, but first checking the signature.

Zhao Changhe.

Li Si'an's eyes widened. Suddenly, he felt himself grabbed and whisked over the courtyard wall like the wind.

"Jingle!" The alarm was triggered.

"What thief is this!"

"Don't let Li Si'an escape!"

Countless guards surged onto the walls. Zhao Changhe hurled Li Si'an out, then stood on the wall, casually slashing behind him.

"Clang!" The nearest guard, sword and all, was cleaved in two.

The blade's light didn't stop. A crescent-shaped arc swept across, chopping down a pillar. The building collapsed, the corridor crumbled—chaos erupted.

"Blade aura! Blade aura! This is a Human Roll grandmaster! Summon Master Zhang!"

"All together! A Human Roll is still just one man! What's there to fear?"

Amid the pandemonium, Zhao Changhe vaulted over the wall in an instant.

"After him! Don't let them escape! Li Si'an is crucial!"

"Notify the gates to close!"

Zhao Changhe deliberately showed himself, striding forward to draw their attention away from Li Si'an's escape route, but he had no time to deal with them. He headed straight for the Immortal Palace Garden.

Anxiety gnawed at him. Wanzhuang might have already arrived—if she had, she was in grave danger!

Lü Shiheng's control over Li Si'an wasn't merely to take a hostage or squeeze his money. The primary goal was to force Li Si'an to turn coat and cooperate. The most severe consequence would be: when Tang Wanzhuang came to the Immortal Palace Garden, would Li Si'an be the one receiving her? Her level of vigilance would differ entirely.

If Li Si'an were willing to cooperate, they could set a deadly trap for Tang Wanzhuang.

But Li Si'an refused to cooperate, and Tang Wanzhuang had indeed arrived early. Lü Shiheng, unprepared, had no choice but to act. Such an action could only be a forced encirclement and slaughter, with Maitreya as the main force!

In theory, they couldn't trap Wanzhuang to death. If she wanted to flee, no one could stop her—not even Maitreya.

But if they held a hostage, what would Wanzhuang's conscience dictate? Would she run?

Knowing Tang Wanzhuang, Zhao Changhe was certain she wouldn't flee. She would fight. Because she possessed a trump card that even Vermilion Bird had once dared not touch—she could unleash the power of a Secret Repository Third Layer, kill Maitreya, and rescue her subordinate.

But that power could not be used lightly. Once used, she might die.

Wanzhuang, don't come... If she did, this deduction meant her death.

These thoughts coalesced in Zhao Changhe's mind as he rushed frantically toward the Immortal Palace Garden.

From afar, he saw crossbowmen stationed on rooftops along every major route. Clearly, she had already arrived.

Drawing closer, he could even hear gnashing teeth from within: "...Let's see if you cough yourself to death first, or if you can erupt and kill me first."

Tang Wanzhuang coughed lightly, then replied calmly, "Then let's try..."

From outside came a furious roar: "Li Si'an is rescued! Try your mother! Come out!"

With the shout, the blade sang like a dragon's cry, breaking into an ambush point on the roof. Blood sprayed, and screams rose.

The vulgar words that "would earn a beating if heard by a certain someone" were truly heard by that someone this time. But in her eyes, an incomparable joy bloomed instantly.

Zhao Changhe had come. Not only had he rescued Si'an, but he had also broken into the killing formation to support her!

It was like fate itself.

The measures she had begun to take to unlock her self-seal were abruptly halted. Her sword light flowed like water, sweeping toward Maitreya.

Maitreya's face darkened like water. What was with this Zhao Changhe?

Why is it always you!

Outside were countless Maitreya Sect experts, even Yu Ci Xiu lying in ambush. Did Zhao Changhe think he could charge in alone to save the beauty? Dream on.

Maitreya swung his monk's blade to parry Tang Wanzhuang's chain of sword strikes, sneering, "Do you think he could silently rescue Li Si'an from the heavily guarded Prefect's mansion? That's just to comfort yourself. I'd say Li Si'an isn't saved, but your reckless little lover charging into the formation will die here first!"

Tang Wanzhuang smiled faintly. "I trust him."

The radiant joy on her face made Maitreya almost envious, and his anger flared. Having long abandoned any pretense of grandmaster dignity after repeated defeats, he finally shed all restraint and growled through gritted teeth, "All of you, attack together!"

"Boom!" Tang Wanzhuang parried Maitreya's blade and burst through a window, trying to reach Zhao Changhe.

From all directions, countless Maitreya Sect followers closed in. Maitreya's blade slashed urgently from behind: "Worry about yourself first!"

"Maitreya, you are unworthy of the title grandmaster..." Tang Wanzhuang's sword tip touched the side of Maitreya's blade, then the sword light exploded: "Do you think they can hinder me in the slightest?"

The encircling Maitreya followers saw only a blur.

It was as if endless spring rain drifted across the world, fine and gentle, brushing their faces, bringing a cool, refreshing joy.

Before they even thought to dodge, blood spurted from all their throats simultaneously.

Those who had not entered Secret Repository could never grasp the techniques of the Earth Roll. They couldn't even see clearly; they fell in a bloody mess.

Maitreya hadn't expected these men to stop Tang Wanzhuang. He only needed them to distract her for a single moment.

"Clang!" The monk's blade struck true against the Spring Water sword. Tang Wanzhuang's steps indeed halted.

At the same time, a gale rose behind her, and sword aura blazed.

If Tang Wanzhuang's sword was endless drizzle, boundless spring water, then the sword behind her was a violent storm, sweeping across the Xiao and Xiang rivers.

Xiaoxiang Divine Sword Lü Shiheng... his acupoint seal has been unlocked!

Only those on the Human Rankings are qualified to intervene in the battle between Tang Wanzhuang and Maitreya, posing some threat to her.

Attacked from front and back, at the most critical moment, Tang Wanzhuang actually had the mind to glance in Zhao Changhe's direction.

He swung his broadsword, charging all the way, wherever he passed, heads flew or bodies were cut in half; in no time he was drenched in blood, like a god of slaughter descending to earth, wreaking havoc among men.

Along the way, Maitreya's followers fell before him, none could withstand a single blow; in an instant, the Maitreya disciples lay dead and wounded in disarray.

These were all experts selected by the Maitreya Sect to fight Tang Wanzhuang, not ordinary soldiers or followers!

When did he become so powerful?

But like herself, his advance was ultimately blocked.

A tall, thin figure like a bamboo pole stood ethereally before him: "The Bloodthirsty Shura indeed lives up to his name, but this is as far as you go... this road is closed."

Rank forty-four on the Human Rankings, "Soul-Reaping Wraith" ends here.

Zhao Changhe didn't even glance at him; his gaze passed over him, looking into the distance toward Tang Wanzhuang.

He was on the rooftop, Tang Wanzhuang was in the backyard of the Immortal Palace across the street, with no obstruction in sight; as if by telepathy, they looked at each other at the same moment, their eyes meeting.

Seemingly close at hand... yet is it the end of the world?