Flower Stealing Master

Chapter 972: Leaving Unnoticed

As the leader of the Ming Cult’s Four Great Guardians, Daiqisi’s martial prowess far surpassed that of these third or fourth-generation Quanzhen disciples. A purple shadow flashed, and the Quanzhen disciples immediately felt a strange force transmitted to their swords, involuntarily deflecting their thrusts to the side.

Song Qingshu looked at the stunningly beautiful woman beside him. “I thought you left. What, couldn’t bear to leave me?”

Daiqisi’s face flushed. “Who couldn’t bear to leave you? It’s just that we are companions, after all. I couldn’t bear to see you all chopped into a pulp.”

“I quite like this tsundere side of you, Madam,” Song Qingshu said, looking at her with a playful expression.

“What is tsundere?” Daiqisi was first stunned, then angry. “And besides, who asked for your liking?”

The several hundred daoists in the Chongyang Palace were all monastic ascetics. Suddenly hearing their flirtatious banter and intimate words, they were greatly discomfited. The older ones felt quite awkward, while the younger ones couldn’t help but stir with worldly thoughts. They looked at each other, some unable to stop themselves from blushing. 

Zhang Zhiguang shouted, “The Chongyang Palace is a place of purity! Do not speak such improper words here!”

Song Qingshu sneered coldly. “Not just improper words, I’m going to do something improper too. What can you do about it?”

As soon as the words left his mouth, his long arm snaked out, encircling Daiqisi’s slender waist and pulling her firmly into his embrace. Then, before her stunned eyes, he ki$$ed her deeply.

Daiqisi’s mind went completely blank. For a moment, she forgot to struggle, allowing him to ki$$ her until her face was flushed crimson. 

Xiao Longnu, held on Song Qingshu’s other side, looked at the two curiously. For some reason, the scene felt vaguely familiar. She couldn’t help but think of that night at the inn, when her senior sister and Song Qingshu had tumbled and tossed by the bedside right in front of her. Her originally pale cheeks instantly gained a layer of rosy hue.

Pucha Qiucao’s expression was even more peculiar. She thought to herself that she hadn’t paid much attention to Tang Kuo Bian, this consort, before, never expecting him to be someone so audacious. Although she was very dissatisfied with Tang Kuo Bian openly dallying with women other than his wife, she had to admire his boldness at this moment. Surrounded and outnumbered, he regarded the heroes as if they were nothing.

“If Big Brother Yang held me like that…” Certain images surfaced in Pucha Qiucao’s mind, making her heart flutter like a startled deer, her maiden heart swelling.

“Scandalous behavior!”

“Utterly indecent!”

“This is simply outrageous!”

“…”

The Quanzhen daoists in the main hall were furious. Raising their long swords, they charged forward once again.

They had strength in numbers. 

Sword glints flickered all around, leaving almost no room to dodge. 

Daiqisi’s face turned slightly pale. She thought that when her husband died, she hadn’t chosen to die with him, yet today she would end up sharing life and death with Song Qingshu.

She raised her sword, about to advance and meet the enemy … how many swords she could parry was something she had no time to consider … when a powerful force transmitted from her waist, causing her to fall back into Song Qingshu’s embrace. His calm voice sounded in her ear: “Leave the rest to me.”

It turned out that in this short time, Song Qingshu had managed to stabilize Xiao Longnu’s injuries. Holding Xiao Longnu with one arm, he freed his other hand and pressed it towards the empty air. The several dozen swords scattered on the ground began to tremble. The Quanzhen daoists noticed the anomaly and were still wary when the dozens of swords on the ground suddenly flew into the air. Centering on Song Qingshu, they began to spin rapidly, forming a dazzling curtain of swords.

The daoists who were close by couldn’t dodge in time. Their skin was torn open, flesh ripped, and blood flowed freely, frightening them into hastily retreating. Initially, the sword curtain only whirled within a three-foot radius around Song Qingshu. As they retreated, the circle’s range instantly expanded to nearly ten feet.

Just like that, Song Qingshu, holding Xiao Longnu, and bringing Daiqisi and Pucha Qiucao along, strolled leisurely towards the main hall entrance as if taking a casual walk. The entire Quanzhen sect didn’t dare take a single step closer along the way.

Daiqisi stared at the shimmering sword curtain around them, her red lips parted in shock. ‘Is this really martial arts? No wonder even the Ming Zun was defeated by him! But he’s so young; how did he cultivate such martial prowess?’

Not just Daiqisi, even the usually serene Xiao Longnu looked around curiously, her eyes blinking. She reckoned that using the “Heaven Sifting Earth Net” stance, she could barely control several dozen swords simultaneously, but the range of control would only be a few inches around her body, definitely not expandable beyond ten feet.

Moreover, because she was controlling so many swords, the force on each sword would inevitably decrease significantly, making it unable to break through the defenses of a truly powerful expert. It would inevitably seem flashy but lacking substance. However, this sword formation of his had no such problem whatsoever. Dozens of swords spinning rapidly around him … anyone who dared to get even slightly close would probably be instantly minced into pulp.

Pucha Qiucao’s reaction was actually the most indifferent. After all, she had already been numbed by the miraculous martial arts he had repeatedly displayed. Furthermore, she still believed Song Qingshu was Tang Kuo Bian. It was difficult for her to have any other thoughts about a married man like Tang Kuo Bian … her only thought was amazement at Princess Gebi’s choice of husband. Tang Kuo Bian had always had a rather low profile in the capital; who knew he was actually such a stunningly talented figure?

Watching Song Qingshu and his companions regard everyone else as nothing, swaggering out so boldly, the Quanzhen disciples in the main hall felt their faces lose all color. 

Zhang Zhiguang’s mind raced even faster: ‘We have so many people surrounding just a few of them, and one of them is seriously injured. If we let them leave just like this, what face will I have left to compete for the position of sect leader?’

Thinking of this, Zhang Zhiguang shouted, “Everyone, don’t be intimidated by him! This sword curtain just looks impressive! Let’s charge together! I don’t believe he can maintain control over all those swords!”

Many Quanzhen disciples voiced agreement, but none dared to actually charge forward. After all, the sharp, whistling sound of the sword curtain was clearly audible; it really didn’t seem like a bluff.

Seeing that no one was moving, Zhang Zhiguang suddenly had a flash of inspiration and yelled, “Don’t be afraid! Let’s all throw our swords together!”

The Big Dipper Formation had trained in similar coordination. When facing a troublesome enemy, they would sometimes cross-throw their swords. The person on the other side would catch their companion’s sword, while the enemy might be forced into a flustered state, revealing an opening.

Prompted by Zhang Zhiguang, the daoists seemed to wake from a dream. They leveled their swords forward, then used their other hands to channel internal energy, striking the pommels of their swords. Instantly, countless swords shot fiercely towards Song Qingshu in the center.

Song Qingshu snorted coldly. The sword curtain surrounding him immediately sped up. Then, clinking and clanging sounds filled the hall as those long swords collided with the sword curtain, scattering in all directions like water droplets hitting a stone wall.

For a time, sharp swords flew wildly through the hall, scattering in irregular trajectories. Although the Quanzhen disciples were trained to catch each other’s swords, how could they possibly catch these erratically flying swords?

Cries of alarm rose continuously in the hall. It turned out the daoists were all wounded by the wildly flying swords. Almost no one remained standing unscathed.

Song Qingshu looked around. In the entire hall, apart from Ouyang Feng and the Seven Masters of Quanzhen on the other side locked in their internal energy contest…the area around them was dense with true Qi, and they were quite far away…the swords flying towards them had lost most of their force by the time they arrived. Thus, shaken by their true Qi, all the swords fell to the ground, not affecting them.

Qiu Qianren, originally troubled by several Big Dipper formations, found his opponents’ formations disrupted by the rapidly flying swords. Seizing the opportunity, he seriously injured several of them, breaking the entire large formation in one move.

Song Qingshu was also taken aback. In the blink of an eye, the situation had reversed. The entire Quanzhen sect, from top to bottom, had basically lost their fighting capacity.

Retracting the sword curtain, Song Qingshu took a single step and instantly appeared in front of Zhang Zhiguang. Looking down at the daoist lying on the ground, moaning with two swords still stuck in him, a trace of mockery appeared at the corner of Song Qingshu’s mouth. “Young master Zhou’s brilliant scheme to secure the empire, yet he lost his army and his bride too.”

Zhang Zhiguang, seeing that his own stupid idea had likely led to the destruction of the entire Quanzhen sect here, felt both shame and remorse, wishing he could crawl into a crack in the ground.

But at that moment, Song Qingshu suddenly raised his voice: “Thank you for your assistance, Daoist Priest. It is only because of you that we were able to subdue your entire sect so effortlessly. I will not forget this contribution of yours.”

“Zhang Zhiguang, you beast!”

“Traitorous scum!”

“Vile betrayer of your ancestors!”

“Despicable, shameless Han traitor!”

“…”

Hearing Song Qingshu’s words, the daoists in the hall glared furiously at Zhang Zhiguang, cursing incessantly.

Zhang Zhiguang felt like crying but had no tears. He wanted to explain but didn’t know how to begin. After all, the facts were plain to see. If he were in their place, he wouldn’t believe it either. But this blame was too great for him to bear; even if others didn’t believe him, he had to try to explain.

Just as he was about to speak, Song Qingshu’s voice sounded in his ear again: “I can make you the next Quanzhen Sect Leader, but it depends on whether you are sensible or not.”

Zhang Zhiguang froze. The other man was standing three feet away, his lips hadn’t moved, so why could he hear his voice? But he was, after all, an outstanding figure among the Quanzhen third-generation disciples and relatively knowledgeable. He quickly recalled the legendary martial art known as “Sound Transmission.”

Stunned, Zhang Zhiguang’s mind also raced. The situation was now a foregone conclusion; further resistance would be futile. It was better to comply. After all, the other party couldn’t personally take control of the Quanzhen Sect. They would need a representative for their interests. He could use this opportunity to obtain the sect leader position he had always dreamed of.

Seeing Zhang Zhiguang’s face shift between dark and light, without uttering a word in defense, Song Qingshu knew he was tempted.

The reason Song Qingshu had forced Zhang Zhiguang into opposition against the entire Quanzhen sect was to leave him with no way out. He could only cling tightly to Song Qingshu’s influence to secure his position. If he chose someone deeply supported by the sect members to be the sect leader, and that person later developed other ideas, it wouldn’t be easy to regain control of the Quanzhen sect’s power.

“Brother Feng, Leader Qiu, I’ll leave this place to you. Please help Daoist Priest Zhang clean up the mess. I’m going down the mountain first.” Compared to the Quanzhen sect, Song Qingshu was more concerned about Xiao Longnu’s life and death, and was eager to find a place to treat her injuries.

Ouyang Feng, locked in his internal energy contest, had no time to reply. 

Qiu Qianren laughed and said, “Marshal, please rest assured. Leave this to us.”

Just as Song Qingshu was about to leave, Xiao Longnu in his arms struggled and raised her head. Her gaze slowly swept across the hall, and she said in a low voice, “Wait… where is Yin Zhiping?”