Chapter 449: A Shocking Event at Shuiyue Palace
As Ye Fei and Shui Ying were deeply entwined, something significant was happening at Shuiyue Palace. After dismissing the elder, Shui Rou was in turmoil.
On one hand, she thought about simply releasing her senior sister and letting her deal with the consequences. On the other hand, she feared her senior sister's reproach. But what she really feared was facing Shui Ying.
At that moment, she felt like a child who had done something wrong, knowing she was at fault but too afraid to face the consequences, preferring to live day by day even if it meant continuing to make mistakes.
Suddenly, a commotion interrupted Shui Rou's thoughts, causing her delicate brows to furrow. The martial techniques of Shuiyue Palace emphasized tranquility and elegance, and with all the disciples being female, the palace was usually very quiet.
Shui Rou was accustomed to this peaceful atmosphere, so the noise made her even more irritable.
She was about to call the on-duty disciple to find out what was happening when the elder who had just left rushed back in and said urgently, "Palace Master, it's bad. A group of people has broken in."
"Who would be so bold? Come with me and let's see!"
Although Shui Rou acted like a little girl when it came to dealing with Shui Ying, that was only because she cared too much about her senior sister and was indecisive.
But she had been the leader of the palace for eighteen years, and she wasn't one to panic.
Upon hearing this, she immediately calmed down and walked outside with the elder, asking, "What exactly happened?"
"I'm not sure. After I left the palace master's presence, I received a report from the disciples saying that more than ten people had broken in and had already injured many of our disciples," the elder replied.
Shui Rou's heart sank. She was secretly worried. Only ten or so people dared to cause trouble in Shuiyue Palace; they must have come prepared. It seemed she had to be cautious.
The two quickly arrived at the front courtyard, and the sight before them shocked Shui Rou.
There were no fewer than forty or fifty female disciples in Shuiyue Palace's attire lying on the ground in disarray, and next to them stood more than ten men with smirks on their faces.
As a hidden martial arts sect, Shuiyue Palace was not a top-tier existence, but its martial arts were definitely strong.
Now, almost all the disciples in the palace had lost their fighting ability, yet none of the intruders seemed injured. Shui Rou couldn't fathom the disparity between the two sides. She couldn't figure out which faction these people belonged to.
"Stop!" Seeing the last female disciple of Shuiyue Palace being knocked to the ground and the man who defeated her about to grope her, Shui Rou couldn't bear to watch any longer. She shouted and leaped out, standing in front of the guy.
"Ah, the main character finally arrives," the man who seemed to be the leader of the group chuckled. "Number Six, since the palace master has taken an interest in you, why don't you entertain her?"
The "Number Six" the leader referred to was the man who had intended to molest the female disciple. Upon hearing his leader's words, he nodded and lunged at Shui Rou.
Shui Rou didn't dare to be careless and quickly defended herself.
As soon as they started fighting, Shui Rou's heart sank again. She realized that although she could barely gain the upper hand against "Number Six," it would take more than a few moves to defeat him.
He was just a minor lackey, and in Shuiyue Palace, aside from Shui Ying, who was locked in the dungeon, Shui Rou's martial arts were the strongest. The others wouldn't stand a chance against these intruders.
After more than three hundred moves, Shui Rou finally found an opportunity to knock "Number Six" to the ground. However, she didn't deliver a fatal blow because she still didn't know the intentions of the intruders.
If she acted too impulsively, it might bring disaster upon Shuiyue Palace.
"Truly a palace master, you do have some skills," the leader, ignoring his fallen subordinate, clapped his hands and laughed.
"But I have more than ten brothers under my command, and their martial arts are all on par. I wonder how many of them you can handle, Palace Master?"
Only then did Shui Rou have the chance to take a good look at the man speaking. She saw that he had only one arm, the left one.
Although his face wasn't unattractive, a large red birthmark covering almost half of his face made him look extremely strange.
This peculiar appearance reminded Shui Rou of someone who had disappeared nearly twenty years ago. She couldn't help but exclaim, "You're Blood Demon Ren Cangqiong?"
"I didn't expect Palace Master Shui to still remember me, Ren. That's quite a memory you've got there," Blood Demon didn't hide his identity and chuckled.
Seeing his confirmation, Shui Rou's heart raced with anxiety.
This guy had been notorious back in the day, with extremely ruthless methods. However, due to the intimidation of the mysterious leader of the Martial Alliance, he had refrained from causing trouble in the secular world; otherwise, there would have been countless bloodbaths.
Even so, he had still caused a lot of trouble in the hidden martial arts sects, making him well-known among them. Because of his cunning, he had managed to avoid provoking powerful figures and had been able to act with impunity for a long time.
Eighteen years ago, for reasons unknown, this notorious guy suddenly vanished. At that time, everyone was speculating about what had happened. Who could have imagined that eighteen years later, he would show up here, missing an arm.
"Ren Cangqiong, my Shuiyue Palace has no grudges against you. Why are you causing trouble here today?"
Although she knew he was an unreasonable person, for the sake of the entire Shuiyue Palace, Shui Rou decided to reason with him, hoping that after eighteen years, his character might have changed. Otherwise, this time Shuiyue Palace was likely to face a great disaster.
"No grudges?" A ferocious look appeared on Ren Cangqiong's strange face as he pointed to his empty right sleeve with his remaining left hand.
"Then how did I lose this right arm of mine? Bring out that bitch Shui Ying!"
Hearing Ren Cangqiong mention Shui Ying, Shui Rou suddenly understood. No wonder her senior sister seemed a bit down when she came back that year; she had taken care of this guy on her way.
But now it seemed that Blood Demon was much more powerful than eighteen years ago. Even if she released her senior sister, she probably wouldn't be his match.
Feeling guilty, she decided to take on this conflict on behalf of her senior sister and said coldly, "My senior sister hasn't been back for over ten years. If she were here, she wouldn't let you act so outrageously. She would have chopped off your other arm as well!"
"Hahahahaha!" Ren Cangqiong suddenly burst into laughter.
"How naive! Do you think I spent these eighteen years hiding and enjoying a peaceful life? Let me tell you once more: bring out that bitch Shui Ying. Otherwise, I'll not only tear down your Shuiyue Palace but also turn all the pretty girls here into my playthings. Heh, I didn't expect that although Shuiyue Palace's martial arts aren't that great, the disciples you've collected are more and more charming!"