Peerless ( Meng Xi Shi )

In the blink of an eye, Cui Buqu fell into the hands of the man in white. The man in white placed a hand gently on his shoulder, yet it was also heavy at the same time, causing Cui Buqu to felt that half his shoulder had gone numb.

His throat was itchy; it felt like a feather was tickling the same spot over and over again, causing him to be unable to hold it in, he coughed. Once he coughed, it affected his shoulder and pain spread throughout his body, radiating throughout his abdomen and limbs.

When the man in white saw how he exuded cold sweat, he could not help but extend a hand to hold him.

"Are you still all right?" His voice was gentle and soft as if he was speaking to an old friend. "Judging by the way you walk, its the symptoms of being poisoned. Tch, what benefits you to drag a sickly body like that while still intending on helping the Jiejian Bureau to look for the jade? Why not consider joining me? I will neutralize the poison for you and reinstall your freedom. It will save you the unfortunate position of needing to choose."

Cui Buqu raised his head, his sharp gaze penetrating through the night and its veils, glaring at his adversary in the eye. The man in white did not avoid his gaze; he looked back at him frankly with a smile, kind and gentle.

On the other side, Feng Xiao exclaimed an 'aiya', "With both my lover and subordinate being caught, who should I save first? This is deliberately making me choose!"

Fo Er did not allow himself to be distracted by his speech. He continued to deliver one attack after the next, carrying an aura of viciousness and surrounding Feng Xiao, killing off any opportunity for him to escape. As for himself, he leapt into the air and threw a punch at Feng Xiao with the palm of his hand.

His fist came like the strong winds and rolling waves, like the shore returning to take vengeance of men on land. It would be practically impossible for one to step back or avoid it, putting them in a very crucial position. In front of them was a bottomless abyss, and the earth was crumbling behind their backs. At that moment they could fall into a pit of no return.

This technique had been the very first technique that Fo Er invented shortly after becoming a martial artist, and it was also his most famous technique. He gave it a name, Qiluo, which meant 'unsurpassed'. It was Qiluo that has beaten many high masters from the Central Plains. Today, using this technique, he was determined to claim victory, wanting to take Feng Xiao's life on the spot.

"It would seem like Lord Feng would be unable to come to your aid." The man in white smiled, taking Cui Buqu's arm and raised it into the air. Cui Buqu felt a sharp pain surging through his entire upper body, and suddenly he was lifted into the air.

Seeing this, Gao Ning snorted briefly, took Pei Jingzhe and left as well.

Just as Fo Er's palm was aiming towards Feng Xiao, Feng Xiao raised his sleeves and flourished, the zither flew into the air and held Fo Er's hand in the air. The sound of its string rang, and the zither shook violently, yet it showed no signs of cracking apart; instead, the sound of the zither slowed down Fo Er's advancement. Feng Xiao took the chance as the zither fell, allowing it to fall into his arms as he leapt into the air and stopped directly in front of Fo Er, using the zither to slap it right into the other.

Fo Er was taken by surprise and immediately stepped back, but the zither was like a rolling storm. In the blink of an eye, it dissolved the power in his core, spreading through his limbs and internal organs, washing away any form of flowing energy. Fo Er tasted something in his mouth, and suddenly blood spilt from the corner of his lips.

He wiped away the blood and glared at his opponent coldly.

Feng Xiao looked like he had not taken any damage. Not only that, but he did not even spare a glance in Cui Buqu and Pei Jingzhe's direction. He resumed to push himself up with his hand and locked his gaze with Fo Er.

"Your martial arts are not bad; it is considered akin to a master's level; however, it is indeed unfortunate that you ran into me." Feng Xiao laughed slyly, "If everyone is destined to cross paths with an enemy, then I am he who is sent by God to test you. Although you are talented, when you meet someone like me who is a genius, then you can only admit to fate. Go back to your grassy lands and train for another three to five years, then perhaps we might have a closer match?"

Fo Er breathed slowly. Just now, Feng Xiao's retaliation had given him some internal wounds, even now; his chest was still aching severely. He knew that Feng Xiao was also wounded a little, but it was most likely a moderately faint external wound. If compared, he had already lost this match.

He knew he could certainly not kill Feng Xiao that night.

At first, since everyone had come today and that there would be other people to disturb the night, his goal could have been achieved easily; yet those people only cared about the jade. They merely stood at the sidelines and observed, or when the situation was not to their favour, they would just get up and leave, or in another circumstance, they would just grab hold of Feng Xiao's people and held them hostage; but ultimately none of them wanted to fight head-on with Feng Xiao.

In the end, he only had himself to blame — that he was not as powerful as his opponent.

"A fighter should have no distraction in his heart; only then could he achieve the highest level of martial arts. However, tonight, your heart is not in it. I refuse to fight an opponent such as this." Fo Er replied coldly, turned around and left. Although his martial arts were mainly dense and explosive, they could also be light. In the blink of an eye, he was already miles away, quickly swallowed up by the night.

The reason he said those words was simply to save his pride. The number one martial artist of Khan Ishbara of the Göktürks definitely needed his pride.

Feng Xiao did not pursue him.

As he watched the other disappear from his sight, concealing the flippant look on his face, he turned and swiftly ran into the manor.

Not surprisingly, the Qiushan manor was in a complete mess. The servants had all hidden themselves, not daring to say anything. After they saw Feng Xiao return, only then did they crawl out from beneath the table shivering, and complained to him.

"My lord, just now when you were outside, two men forced their way in and tore down everything. We had no idea what they wanted to find, but when they left, they held nothing in their hands, as if they did not manage to find it!"

Feng Xiao responded with an 'En'. It could just be that the others concluded that the jade that was destroyed just minutes ago had been a bogus item, so they wanted to look for the real jade.

As for the real Jade of Heaven's Lake…

Feng Xiao's lips turned downwards, flaunting a sardonic smile.

No matter what expression was on the face of someone beautiful, it would be undoubtedly different from the others. The servants, although they were filled with fear and shock, could not help but raise their heads and stare at him.

…...

The man in white took Cui Buqu with him, yet he did not move in a hurry. Cui Buqu had injured his shoulder and with his old illness acting up, he felt as if the other was simply taking a companion for a light jog.

The sound of the night gong came from the distance, everywhere little candles were being lit up and the dark dawned upon them. The night was slowly rising in temperature, and although Cui Buqu was wearing enough clothes, he still felt cold, and could not help himself sneezing.

"You are not a man of Jianghu." Cui Buqu coughed twice, his voice was hoarse.

He guessed that a fever was settling in for him, for his entire body felt sore and painful. He felt the need to look for a bed and lie down for a while.

Yet the world was unrelenting. His miserable situation being — following someone he did not even know and playing a game with him.

The man in white smiled, "If I am not, are you?

It was as if Cui Buqu could not hear what he said, replying with, "Tonight you came for the crowd; so naturally, you also came for the jade. However, if you are not a man of Jianghu, then you have no need for its powers. They do not interest you. For someone like you, pleasant and kind on the surface; you carry an air of arrogance, you are not someone who would serve just anybody. However, for you to come here on your master's behalf, it could only mean that the man behind you is quite powerful. Therefore, the reason you want that jade is probably to bring it back to this master of yours."

The man in white, "Did anyone tell you before that intelligent people have short lives."

Cui Buqu replied blandly, "You need not tell me so much nonsense. Just four words will do: Normal people envy geniuses."

The man in white laughed, "Master Daoist Cui, you are too, too interesting. If only you and I had not met at such an inconvenient time, I think I would bring you out to tea and watch the scenery."

Cui Buqu, "Then I might not be able to drink that tea, nor see that scenery."

The man in white did not respond, but he said suddenly, "Are you hungry? At this hour, is there anything in the city to eat? Let me bring you to look for a nice bowl of hot soup."

Cui Buqu, "My shoulder hurts. I am not hungry."

The man in white smiled, "If you refuse to come with me, your shoulder would hurt even more."

The way he spoke was incredibly polite without a hint of anger, but his techniques were far crueller than anyone he had met.

Cui Buqu, "If I refuse to come with you, someone else would accompany you."

The man in white smiled, "Who?"

"Me, of course."

Following the words, a man walked out. He was tall, and his footsteps stopped a long distance away from there they stood, his back straight and upright.

"Lord Feng, how quick are you to have arrived. The number one fighter of Göktürk was chased away by you so easily?" The white-robed man replied in surprise.

Feng Xiao, "Of course not. You took my lover, how could I not act faster?"