Chapter 7: Trouble At The Tavern

Gou Qingzhao: Qingzhao is a 19 years old girl. She is the Third Miss, adoptive daughter of the Sect Leader of Eastern Double Blade Sect. Being incredibly skilled along with her aggressive attitude, she currently carries the dual Moon Sabers, the most revered weapon in the Eastern Sect. She thinks highly of her adoptive father and is willing to do anything to impress him. She possesses the metal element that powers her backbone, making her have superhuman strength.

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Kun Shang apologized to Qingzhao, in hope that she would understand. No one can be this stubborn as to not listen to reason, would they?

But the martial arts world was an unpredictable world. Kun Shang was beaten by a beggar when fighting over an orange. He was pickpocketed by a monkey, then treating a beggar siblings to a meal. The same day, this short-tempered girl with potentially excellent martial arts was about to strike him. Talk about luck in the martial arts world!

"Not only do I want it back, I want her head as well!" Qingzhao's voice ran a cold line down Xiu'er's spine. Maybe she bothered the Third Miss on the wrong day of the month.

Kun Shang's words of plea didn't seem to make a difference as he was pushed into a fight when she said something like, "Shut up! In the martial arts world, we let our swords do the talking."

She reached behind her back to pull out an exact identical saber and double sliced on his sword. He held his defense position but went down on one knee.

Two giant sabres. Are you serious, lady?

Her moves were crisp and powerful, unlike any females he had ever fought before. Girls were known to be swift and smooth, but she was the complete opposite as she dominated her opponent with strength and power. She reminded him of a certain someone he had to defeat in the Palace competition in order to receive the blue sword he currently carries.

Kun Shang skid across a table to escape but Qingzhao devastated the furniture with one cut. He landed on his feet just in time before she threw the right saber towards him at full speed. His eyes went large and instinctively kicked his feet in the air to come into contact with the handle of the saber. He redirected the saber with his foot towards the left as it cut deep into a wooden pillar with a shocking impact that vibrated the whole building.

"Men!" She yelled as though someone had stolen something from her. "Kill them all!"

The three men that came with her had been standing by the counter with the tavern owner this whole time. When they heard the command, they pulled out their swords and came at Xiu'er, Silang, and Xiaogua.

Xiaogua shuffled back as he held out a stool, guarding the beggar siblings. He wanted to protect them from danger but he did not know how to fight. He waved the stool in front of him like warding off dogs. The three subordinates forwarded with slow steps, swords pulled out in front of them.

Silang held a plate as a shield and a chopstick as his sword. Xiu'er and A'Li close behind him. When the subordinates of the Third Miss finally charged, Xiu'er broke off and ran.

To where? To the four girls at the other end of the room, of course!

Kun Shang noticed their broken formation. He saw Xiu'er ran to a group of girls in the opposite end of the tavern. One of the subordinates ran off after Xiu'er. He suddenly recognized the group of girls in the corner.

The day he set out from the Palace, he stopped just outside the capital to eat a bowl of noodles when he encountered the mysterious girl in black, but she wasn't wearing that hat and he could see her intense eyes that had gotten him hypnotized. They were so dark and black, large with long lashes. The pupils were trying to tell him a story but he couldn't get it right. That day, the officials were chasing a criminal who bumped into her group right in front of his eyes. He had helped capture the criminal and thanked the girls for slowing him down until the officials arrived. But before he could even open his mouth again, they were already gone.

Silang's loud cry almost tore Xiaogua's eardrums. Kun Shang leaped through the air, away from Qingzhao and landed in front of Xiaogua and Silang. He pushed the two subordinates back with his sword, but in that meantime, Qingzhao flew down behind them and grasped Silang by the throat. She was pretty tall for a lady, standing almost as tall as the dirty beggar in front of her who stank of mud and hay. Her hand clasping onto his neck was as firm as a tree.

Silang grabbed her hand but it wouldn't budge. Then he gave a rough laugh.

Kun Shang had his palm out facing her, "Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

"Are you gonna kill me?" Silang whimpered.

"Shut up." Qingzhao shoved a fist into his stomach in which he coughed up some air. She looked up and met Kun Shang. "You're not worth killing for. Now listen carefully, Swordsman. I'm only going to say this once. If you can stop my Moon Sabers on my 7th move, maybe I'll let you go."

Kun Shang retracted his sword. "All of us?"

"I said, I'm only saying it once!"

Kun Shang took a breath. "Do I have your word?"

"A martial artist's promise is as valuable as gold." Qingzhao said before she shoved Silang to the wall with a loud thump.

"Oof! Why do I have to be so unlucky?" Silang rubbed his shoulder while Xiaogua came to his side.

Kun Shang took a deep breath before stepping forward, knowing that they won't be harmed unless he loses. He looked out at the corner of his eyes to see the girl in black once more. He wished to have a chance to see her face with those alluring eyes but the veiled-hat was covering it.

"Take out your sword." Qingzhao suddenly called. "Here I come!"