Chapter 553: Chapter 143 Walk Together With Mie Feng_1
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Ah Dai locked his eyes on Mie Feng, who he hadn’t seen in so many days, his eyes revealing a strong killing intent. The cold-hearted Ah Dai now had only hatred in his heart. Mie Feng’s surprise attack made his fury burn wildly. "This is how many times you’ve ambushed me now. I didn’t kill you before, not because I’m soft-hearted, but because you look very much like a friend of mine. However, I will not show you any mercy today." Ah Dai knew clearly that if he hadn’t blocked with the Giant Spirit Snake Armor just now, a direct stab from Mie Feng’s short blade would have crippled him, if not killed him. Thinking of this, Ah Dai raised his right hand, a sharp energy blade emerged from his palm. Propelled by the killing intent in his heart, Ah Dai decided to deal with this nuisance once and for all today.
Mie Feng looked at the energy blade in Ah Dai’s hand without a single trace of fear. Coldly, she said, "Since I’ve come to assassinate you, I’ve never thought about my own life or death. Kill as you please. However, before you kill me, could you at least put your clothes on please? Could it be that you have a nudity fetish? I would hate to think that even after I die, my soul would not rest in peace."
Upon hearing Mie Feng’s words, Ah Dai was stunned. Looking down at his naked body, he was immediately embarrassed, his generous face flushed red. Using the Giant Spirit Snake Armor to cover up his important parts, he bolted into the nearby woods. Seeing Ah Dai’s flustered appearance, Mie Feng couldn’t help but reveal a faint smile.
In the woods, Ah Dai felt his heartbeat speed up significantly, hurriedly putting on the Giant Spirit Snake Armor. He clumsily struggled for quite a while before he managed to get the body-hugging armor on. He then took a set of clean civilian clothes from the space barrier and put it on over the armor, finally averting his embarrassment. However, his murderous intent towards Mie Feng vanished. His body floating upward, he returned to confront Mie Feng. Under the restriction of the Heavenly Net, Mie Feng had no chance of escaping.
Mie Feng looked at Ah Dai, who was now fully dressed, and spoke coldly, "You can make your move now. Although I am a thief, I won’t grovel before you. Even if I die, my soul will come looking for revenge against you."
Hearing the word ’thief’, Ah Dai contemplated on the purpose of his journey, and a light bulb flickered in his mind, "You want to kill me, right? I can let that happen."
Mie Feng was taken aback. She thought she had misheard and frowned, "What did you just say? If you’re trying to humiliate me, drop the act. I will not submit."
Ah Dai’s eyes contained a trace of sadness as he said softly, "What I said is true. You want to kill me to avenge your elders, don’t you? I can let you have my life. I’ve lived long enough, but I have one condition though. If you can agree to it and help me accomplish it, you can spare me no mercy. I promise to not retaliate."
Mie Feng scoffed contemptuously, "Condition? Whom are you trying to deceive, given your strength, you’ll be damned if you’ll willingly accept death. Have you lived enough, really? Save your lies."
Ah Dai sighed softly, turning his back to Mie Feng, "I have been an orphan since young, not having much to look back on. Now, I have but two wishes: as long as I can fulfill these two wishes, what is death to me? It’s merely a transition to another world. I can swear, as long as you help me fulfill one of the wishes, I will let you kill me without resistance."
Ah Dai’s voice was calm, but Mie Feng could hear the deep-seated sadness in his heart. She furrowed her brows and asked, "Are you serious?"
Ah Dai nodded, "Yes, I mean it. I will tell you the condition first, whether you agree to it or not, that’s up to you. You should know that with my current strength, even if you ambush me, it would be very difficult for you to harm me, let alone kill me. Moreover, I can kill you right now. Agreeing to my condition is your only chance for revenge.
Mie Feng, staring at Ah Dai’s lofty silhouette, gritted her teeth and said, "Fine. State your condition."
Ah Dai said, "One of my wishes is to accomplish a task for my master. The other is to exterminate the Assassin’s Guild. Uncle Owen showed me kindness which I’ve not had a chance to repay, but he died at the hands of those bastards from the Assassin’s Guild. As long as I can fulfill these two wishes, I will have no regrets. I know that you thieves have the most extensive intelligence network on the continent. Since you are an important member of the thieves guild, you are sure to use this intelligence network to find out the whereabouts of the Assassin’s Guild. I don’t ask for much, just guide me to each of the Assassin’s Guild’s bases, and I’ll do the rest. When I’ve completely eradicated the Assassin’s Guild, your mission will be considered complete. Then you can follow me to Tian Gang Mountain once, and after accomplishing the other wish, I will let you have your way with me. This is your only opportunity, think it over."
Upon hearing Ah Dai’s plan to eradicate the Assassin’s Guild, Mie Feng was greatly shocked. She knew the power of the Assassin’s Guild all too well. Although Ah Dai was highly skilled, he was just one person. Could he really contend with the entire Assassin’s Guild? Thinking of this, Mie Feng said, "How can I believe that you alone can wipe out the entire Assassin’s Guild? Once you fail or let a single one escape, the Assassin’s Guild will know that the information came from our Thieves Guild. Their retaliation will cause irrevocable damage to our entire Thieves Guild."
Ah Dai turned around to face Mie Feng and asked, "What would it take for you to believe that I have the power to obliterate the entire Assassin’s Guild?"
With a dismissive smile, Mie Feng’s gaze landed on the grand river that was over thirty meters wide. She said coldly, "If you can cause this river in front of us to dry up, then I’ll believe you." She believed Ah Dai would back down. Although the idea of being at one’s mercy was tempting for Mie Feng, she had no intention to bring trouble to the entire Thief Guild just to take Ah Dai down. For some reason, she consciously felt that even if she refused his condition, Ah Dai would still let her go.
Ah Dai glanced at the river beside him, nodded, and said, "Stop the river flow, huh? Then watch carefully." Saying this, he floated up into the air shrouded in a white light and headed towards the center of the river.
Mie Feng watched Ah Dai’s figure in disbelief. She never expected that Ah Dai would actually agree to this condition, and furthermore, his movement technique was exquisite. Although this wasn’t her first time seeing Ah Dai flying, she couldn’t help but admire his ability when she witnessed it again. However, how could he stop such a wide river from flowing?
Ah Dai floated to the center of the river, watching the water rushing underneath him. His mind entered a calm and profound state, focusing his mental energy like never before. The Golden Body within his Dantian, now four inches in size, started to shine under his mental command. The white light surrounding Ah Dai suddenly receded, being replaced by a light blue light, indicating a transition from life to solid-state energy. With Ah Dai’s further mental command, the light blue light grew deeper, forming a defense shield that completely encased him. As Ah Dai continuously converted his Life Qi into solid-state energy, the blue energy became deeper, the defense shield thicker. When Ah Dai had converted nearly 60% of his energy into this solid-state energy, the aura of the solid-state energy changed, gradually turning from light blue to light purple; this was a phenomenon indicating the fifth transition of the solid-state energy. Thanks to the energy from the Tian Gang Sword Saint and his own diligent cultivation, Ah Dai had raised his energy from the fourth transformation close to the fifth, significantly boosting his strength once again. Although he hadn’t reached the sixth transformation of the Tian Gang Sword Saint, his current strength didn’t fall short of any of the other three Sword Saints.
Mie Feng watched Ah Dai’s energy transition from white to blue, and then from blue to purple, shocked. To her knowledge, it was incredibly rare on the continent for anyone to change the color of their energy, and even more unheard of for someone like Ah Dai to control transformed energy in such an extraordinary manner. Suddenly, Ah Dai’s voice echoed, "Thief, I’m going to stop the river flow, which will last for at least ten seconds, so keep your eyes on it." Hearing Ah Dai’s confident voice, Mie Feng’s heart pounded. At that moment, Ah Dai, who was suspended in the air, appeared incredibly powerful.
Ah Dai took a deep breath, balancing the massive solid-state energy outside his body and the remaining energy within. He let out a loud shout and mentally commanded his energy to change. The deep purple energy shield gradually dissipated, transforming into an energy curtain which kept expanding. The dark purple solid-state energy gradually turned into light purple. In a short while, the energy curtain had expanded into a light purple energy wall, about ten meters high and over thirty meters wide. Maintaining such an enormous amount of solid-state energy had considerably depleted Ah Dai’s mental energy, causing bouts of dizziness. After taking a moment to compose himself and stabilize his energy control, Ah Dai let out a yell and abruptly pushed down with both hands. The light purple solid-state energy wall, like a giant gate, immersed lightning-fast into the river, leaving less than three meters above the water surface. The massive impact from the river took a toll on Ah Dai’s body, thrusting him and the purple energy wall about five meters back. Ah Dai quickly drew 20% of the remaining 40% of Qi from inside his body to reinforce the energy wall, thus managed to steady himself. However, due to the immense force of the river, blood had already started to seep from the corners of his mouth.
The river stopped flowing. Yes, it had really stopped. The upstream river water was completely blocked by the colossal energy gate unleashed by Ah Dai, causing the downstream surface of the water to gradually decline, while the upstream surface of the water kept rising.
Watching the spectacle unfold, Mie Feng couldn’t believe her eyes. To halt such a wide river was indeed something human could achieve. She never expected that Ah Dai’s power could be so terrifying. However, faced with the harsh reality, she had to admit it. Seeing the upstream water level increasing rapidly, reaching the brink of breaking the bank, she couldn’t take any more shocks and shouted, "Enough!"
As the water level upstream increased, so did the pressure Ah Dai was under. Behind him, the downstream riverbed full of pebbles was revealed. Hearing Mie Feng’s shout, Ah Dai sighed in relief, gave a hearty shout, and suddenly withdrew the energy wall. With a push of his right hand on the oncoming river water, his body soared high. With nothing combating it, the upstream river water fell resoundingly, producing a thunderous noise that lasted for a full five minutes before eventually subsiding. It was as if nothing had transpired, with tranquility restored once again.
Ah Dai landed by the riverbank, panting continuously. Due to the significant depletion of his spiritual power and True Qi, he could not completely retrieve the released energy when he left the river surface. Consequently, his current strength was not even half of his peak state, and his internal meridians had sustained some damage as well. After catching his breath and stabilizing the surges of Qi and blood within his body, Ah Dai approached Mie Feng.
Shock was the only thing apparent in Mie Feng’s beautiful eyes. Astonished, she watched as Ah Dai slowly approached. To her, Ah Dai seemed entirely different, as if he had transformed into another person altogether—a person as mighty as a deity.
Ah Dai approached Mie Feng, steadied his breath, and said, "Thief, you can believe now that I have the power to annihilate the Assassin’s Guild."
Mie Feng numbly nodded, "You... what technique was that?" Ah Dai’s performance had entirely shocked her, and now, she did not dare think about ambushing him anymore.
Ah Dai waved his hand to retrieve the Tian Luo energy that bound her and used it to replenish his own energy. "This is the Tian Gang Sword Sect’s True Qi. Now that you believe in my strength, you can agree to my conditions."
Mie Feng finally snapped back to reality and said, "Alright, I agree to lead you to the Assassin’s Guild. However, you must remember your promise that you will willingly surrender yourself when my wish is fulfilled."
Ah Dai coldly stared at Mie Feng, raised his right hand, and curled his thumb and little finger, with his index, middle, and ring fingers pointing upward as he declared, "I, Ah Dai, swear. Just... just..." Seeing a faint hint of discomfort in his cold eyes, he turned to Mie Feng and asked, "What’s your name?" After all, he couldn’t make a firm promise without knowing her name.
Seeing Ah Dai’s serious face suddenly take on a silly expression, Mie Feng couldn’t help but laugh. "My name is Mie Feng."
"Oh." Ah Dai continued, "I, Ah Dai, swear that as long as the thief Mie Feng helps me find all the Assassin’s Guild’s hideouts and let me avenge my Uncle Owen by killing every assassin, I will let her do as she pleases after fulfilling another wish of mine. I will never go back on my words. If I do, may heaven and earth perish."
Looking at Ah Dai’s earnestness, a strange feeling arose in Mie Feng’s heart. Her smile disappeared and she said lightly, "Alright, since that is the case, I promise you. I will definitely lead you to all the dens of the Assassin’s Guild. I’ve expended a lot of energy in these last few days of chasing you; let’s rest for a bit before we continue." After finishing speaking, with a complex mood, she walked over to the shade of a large tree and sat down. Since Ah Dai needed her help, she wasn’t concerned about Ah Dai potentially harming her as she sat cross-legged and began to cultivate. Under the contrast of her black martial arts uniform and her cool temperament, she seemed like a witch that had descended to earth.
Ah Dai felt relieved and thought to himself: Uncle Owen, I’m finally going to avenge you. With this thief’s guidance, I will definitely be able to find all the assassins who tortured you and completely erase their foul souls. Uncle, I’m sure your heavenly spirit will finally be able to rest in peace. Ah Dai moved twenty meters away from Mie Feng and sat in the shade of a tree. He had expended a lot of physical strength when he caused the river to dry up, so he needed to recover as soon as possible. Just as he was about to enter a state of meditation, he stopped. He looked over at the not too distant Mie Feng and a wave of worry rose in his heart. When you’re practicing meditation, any kind of disturbance can’t be tolerated. The higher your level of cultivation, the more dangerous it is if you fall into devil’s path. Mie Feng was bent on killing him. If she took the opportunity to attack him while he was meditating, even if he was very skilled, he likely wouldn’t be able to handle it. He couldn’t give her that chance.
With this thought in his mind, Ah Dai focused his intentions on the Goris’ Wish on his right wrist. A flash of black light and a clone of Ah Dai appeared by his side. With his cultivation increasing, Ah Dai’s clone had also become much stronger. Looking at the body that looked exactly like his own, Ah Dai gave a slight smile and mentally controlled his clone, transferring the intent of protecting himself into it. The clone’s energy could last for an hour; one hour should be enough time for resting. Thinking this, Ah Dai closed his eyes and entered a meditative state.
One hour passed quickly. When Ah Dai emerged from his meditation, he found that his clone was still standing guard by his side and showed no sign of dissipating. And Mie Feng was still cultivating in the same spot. Even though an hour of meditation had not restored Ah Dai to his peak state, it had repaired his strained meridians and he felt much better. Ah Dai looked at the sky. It felt like an hour should have passed already, but his clone was still there. Ah Dai knew that his clone could be maintained for more than an hour because of his increased spiritual power. He didn’t call his clone back; he prepared to see just how long it could last. A clone would never betray him and would also be the best shield. If his clone’s energy increased, it would be a great help in his quest for revenge.
Two hours later, Mie Feng woke from her cultivation, exhaled the turbid air from her body and looked at Ah Dai. As soon as she woke up, Ah Dai already noticed. Three hours had passed but the clone was still there. In order not to let Mie Feng discover his secret, Ah Dai reabsorbed his clone into Goris’ Wish just as she woke up.
Mie Feng stood up and said to Ah Dai, "Are you afraid I’ll attack you secretly? You’re watching me like I’m a thief. I’ve rested well, we can leave now."
Ah Dai responded coldly, "Aren’t you a thief? Of course, I need to be wary of you."
Outraged, Mie Feng retorted, "What did you say? I’m a retriever, not some common thief."
Ah Dai chuckled, "A retriever is just another name for a thief’s rank. You’re still a thief, what’s the difference? Where are we going now?"
Mie Feng took a deep breath, calming the anger in her heart, "How would I know where to go? You want to eliminate the Assassin’s Guild, right? There must be an order. Are you going to eradicate their headquarters first, or start from their branch dens?" She found that when facing this icy young man, she, who was normally calm, was easily angered.
Ah Dai thought for a moment before saying, "If we directly wipe out the headquarters of the Assassin’s Guild, the scattered assassins would scatter like birds and rats, posing a greater threat, and even new Assassin’s Guilds may appear on the scene. My goal is to completely eradicate these disgusting bastards. So, let’s start with the branches. Take me to the nearest branch of the Assassin’s Guild. Do you know where we are now?"
Mie Feng paused before replying, "You don’t even know where you are? We’re currently at the border of the Empire of Huasheng’s Province of Light and the Empire of Sunset City’s Dark Province. We’re not far from entering the Empire of Sunset City if we go west. All the way here, you’ve been traveling in the northwestern direction, coming from the border region between the Tian Gang Mountains and the Holy Church. If you’re talking about the nearest branch, then it’s in the Dark City, the capital of the Dark Province."
So, Ah Dai thought to himself, I’m almost in the territory of the Empire of Sunset City. I thought I was still in the Federation. It seems that on the days I was devastated, I really did travel quite a distance!
Seeing no reaction from Ah Dai, Mie Feng continued, "It’s already evening now. After following you all this time, I haven’t eaten a decent meal. There’s a village not far ahead. Let’s stay there for the night and recuperate. Let’s go to Dark City tomorrow morning." After she finished speaking, she headed west along the river.
Ah Dai caught up to Mie Feng and said, "You’ve been following me? With your skills, you should not be able to catch up with me. And how did you find me? How did you know which direction I went?"
Mie Feng felt a hint of pride in her heart. She thought, there are times when you admire me! "Speed has always been a thief’s forte. Although your cultivation level is high, I can still keep up with you. As for how I found you, that is the secret of our Thieves’ Guild." Ah Dai frowned and said: "I won’t ask about your secrets, but how can you go to the village up ahead dressed like this?"
Mie Feng was stunned, looking at herself in her black martial arts uniform. That’s right! Dressed this way, she was obviously a martial artist. This would definitely cause unnecessary trouble. However, she had discarded all her belongings to catch up with Ah Dai, and left with only this outfit. "What’s wrong with how I’m dressed? I don’t have another set of clothes."
Ah Dai made a motion in the air, opened his Spatial Barrier, took out a set of civilian clothes from it and handed it to Mie Feng. "Put this on, it might be a bit big, but you should make do."
Mie Feng took the dry civilian clothes and glanced at Ah Dai, she drifted to one side and quickly put them on. Her movements were very neat, she had cut off parts of the clothes that were too long with a short blade. Although the look was rather unorthodox, she made do with tightening her belt. Despite this, her cold and beautiful face would easily have told a discerning eye that she was not an ordinary person.
After walking for about twenty minutes, the two saw a village across a large river. The village was small, with only around a hundred houses, and it was from here that Ah Dai had seen plumes of smoke rising earlier. By the river, seven or eight women were chatting and washing clothes, a picture of peaceful harmony. Mie Feng glanced at Ah Dai and said, "Let’s cross the river. I’m hungry."
Ah Dai responded, "Do we just go like that? What if they notice us?"
Mie Feng snorted and said, "Are you afraid of being discovered? With your love for killing, if they find us, you’ll just slaughter them, won’t you?"
Ah Dai fumed, "You’re the one who enjoys killing, not me. Everyone I killed deserved to die."
Seeing Ah Dai’s anger, Mie Feng could not help but recall her Uncle Four’s death. "What is there for you to be angry about?" she asked in a voice filled with hatred. "My Uncle Four only wanted to test your abilities but you killed him. Isn’t that murderous?" Every time she thought of her kind Uncle Four turning into a dried-up corpse under Ah Dai’s Sword of Hades, Mie Feng’s heart filled with raging hatred.
Ah Dai regained his composure, and calmly said, "He was not there to test my abilities, but to test my Sword of Hades. Didn’t you know that the Sword of Hades cannot return to its sheath without shedding blood? Besides, back then, your group’s act of abducting elves was a crime deserving death. If I had my current prowess then, I might have killed you too. Do you know that out of the eighteen Elves that you all captured, only two survived? The rest committed suicide after being violated by those bastards from the Empire of Sunset City. Although you all did not kill them, how can you claim that their deaths were not connected to you? Is your Uncle Four’s life more valuable and the Elves deserved to die? Let’s not argue about this, there is justice in this world. Follow me." Ah Dai flicked his fingers to cast a powerful wind that, aided by his True Qi, shot hundred meters across the river and hit a small tree on the other side, pulling it down with a few more flicks. The sudden noise caught the attention of the villagers on the riverbank. Seizing the chance, Ah Dai pulled Mie Feng, and the two leaped across the river. Ah Dai possessed profound abilities and flew straight across without needing to breathe more. Since light body art was the technique Mie Feng excelled at, she pushed off of the water’s surface and followed Ah Dai to the other bank.
The moment she landed, Mie Feng was still lost in the thoughts of Ah Dai’s words. He was right. The Thieves Guild may not kill anyone, but their actions are no less deserving of death! However, how could I just accept Uncle Four’s death emotionally?
Ah Dai glanced at the silent Mie Feng and took the lead to the nearby village. No one noticed them crossing the river because of the falling tree.
The village was built along the river with plots of farmland by the bank. Some farmers were toiling diligently. Seeing these simple villagers, some warmth seeped into Ah Dai’s otherwise cold features. He strode towards a middle-aged villager who was working and said, "Good day, sir. We are passing through and have run out of provisions. Could we possibly rest overnight in your village?"
The villager put down his hoe and examined Ah Dai. Ah Dai was tall and other than that, he didn’t seem different from ordinary people. He appeared to be simple and honest, which caused the villager to take a liking to him. Laughing heartily, the villager said, "When you’re traveling, you should be better prepared. You’ve run out of everything and can’t continue your journey. People of Hak Village are hospitable. Wait for me to finish my work and I’ll take you back to the village. My home may be small, but it can still accommodate a few more people."
Ah Dai’s heart leaped at this and he said, "Sir, you’re plowing the land, right? Let me help you." Without waiting for the middle-aged villager to refuse, he took the hoe from him, and started to plow the land following the grooves that had been dug by the villager. Upon seeing this, the villager couldn’t help but show his admiration and said, "Young man, how can we let you do this? It’s better if I do it."
Ah Dai just smiled and said, "Sir, we young people have strength. I can do this on my own. You should take a break."
Mie Feng watched from the distance as Ah Dai tirelessly plowed the land. She couldn’t help but wonder. Despite his tremendous skills, he was still willing to do such menial labor. What kind of man was he?
Seeing that he was unable to dissuade Ah Dai, the middle-aged villager gave in and explained his work area before starting a conversation with him.
Ah Dai didn’t employ any True Qi and just relied on his physical strength to wield the hoe. Even so, his sturdy body allowed him to work faster than the villager. Ah Dai never once turned his head to look at Mie Feng. He learned from talking to the villager that the middle-aged man was named Harry and was just a common villager in Hak Village. The village was part of the Province of Light in the Empire of Huasheng where the villagers led self-sufficient lives. They rarely had contact with the outside world and since the village was remote, officials from the Province of Light didn’t come to collect taxes. These conditions allowed the villagers to live very relaxed lives, only working from sunrise to sunset and being at ease.
The hoe continuously flew in Ah Dai’s hands. The earth was plowed to the sides and in a short while, he had finished the land that Harry was supposed to plow. He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand and gave the hoe back to Harry and said, "Sir, I haven’t done this kind of work much. I hope my plowing wasn’t too bad."
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