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Two men stepped out of the door to flank the man in the golden robes. As soon as Bao laid eyes on them, she recognized who they were.
Lions of Peace. Could I take the two of them out, and this guy in the golden robes too? He doesn't look like a fighter.
"Not only did you take my room, " the man in the gold robes said, "you took my Tempest Stone. Where is it?"
Bao narrowed her eyes."Tempest Stone? You mean the Wind Stone?"
A cold light flashed through the man's eyes."So you did take it. Tell me where it is."
He took another step forward, and two more Lions of Peace entered the room. By this point Bao knew there was no possible way for her fight them. Besides, there were surely more soldiers further back in the corridor.
Suddenly, the man's golden robes, coupled with the words he had just spoken, caused everything to click in Bao's mind.
"You're the Golden Immortal!" she said, raising her right hand and pointing a knife at him.
"I am, " he replied, flashing her a smile. Despite his smile, his eyes still radiated coldness."Now let me take a wild guess. A young woman with knives. In my room. With my Tempest Stone. I would bet money that you're Chieftess Bao of the Pure Phoenix Sect."
Bao didn't respond. I need to get out of here. He couldn't possibly have come from Sunan's mansion could he? If not, then where did he come from? Does the tunnel somehow go past the city walls? That would mean... that the Fire General can get inside! No. He already is inside!
"I can see what you're thinking, " the Golden Immortal said."You're trying to decide whether to fight or run. Before you choose either, wait a moment and hear me out. This silly war doesn't have to happen. The fighting can end right now."
Bao almost chuckled in response, but wasn't in the mood."How. By us surrendering? That's not going to happen."
The Golden Immortal's smile widened a bit."No, that would be foolish. I am not here as a representative of the Fire General. As you know, the Fire General is the spear that slashes across the battlefield. The King of the Pure Ones has other servants, people who are not interested in killing and destruction. For example, the Love General."
"You work for the Love General?"
"I don't work for her. I represent her. Surely you've heard of her."
"Of course. The dove of peace who woos allies."
The Golden Immortal took another step forward, placing him within about five paces of Bao. His slight movement allowed more men to enter the room. This time, they weren't Lions of Peace, they were ordinary soldiers. Furthermore, Bao could tell from the shadows behind them that there were even more of them in the corridor.
"Chieftess Bao, believe me, this is a fight you can't win. It doesn't matter how cleverly your men defend the wall. It doesn't matter what fancy fighting moves you've developed. The Pure Phoenix Sect and the Golden Dragon Sect number in the hundreds. You can't fight an army of thousands. You must be able to see that. Even a bear can be crushed by an avalanche."
Bao clenched her jaw."The Bone General is here. He hates me. Been trying to kill me for years now. There's no way he would pardon me for my supposed crimes."
The Golden Immortal shook his head slowly."That is a thorny problem. But believe me, the Ogre Generals all have equal standing and sway before the King of the Pure Ones. Right now, the empire needs allies, not martyrs. Think of how many lives you could save!"
Bao wanted to believe his words. She truly did. But they were too good to be true. She remembered things that Sunan had told her about the Love General, who was clearly an adept schemer, someone who wouldn't think twice before lying to get what she wanted. Besides, what kind of diplomatic envoy was made of up a bunch of soldiers who snuck into a besieged city via a secret tunnel?
Bao lowered her knife."Very well, " she said."I think--"
Before she finished her sentence, her left hand shot out with lightning speed, sending her knife flying toward the Golden Immortal's face. Simultaneously, she spun in place and crashed through the door.
The Golden Immortal's golden spear arced through the air, knocking the knife to the side."Li, Xu, you're with me. Everyone else, carry out the mission!"
Even as the words left his mouth, he burst into motion, followed closely behind by two of the Lions of Peace.
As the Golden Immortal emerged from the door, another knife flew toward him, which he batted away just as easily as the first one. Bao was already halfway across the courtyard, and had leapt up onto a decorative rock. From there she called upon her Qinggong to fly into the air toward the western wall of the residence, over which the glow of dawn was just beginning to spread.
As the Golden Immortal sped forward in pursuit, he pointed his golden spear out in front of him with his right hand, then found a button inlaid in the base of the spear and pushed it with his left index finger.
-Click-
A twanging sound could be heard as the spearhead instantly broke apart into four hook-like pieces, which blurred through the air toward Bao. Each of the four pieces was connected to a thin golden thread which, in turn, were part of a fine golden rope that connected to the base of the spear.
The four hooks and the golden rope moved faster than the eye could track, and before Bao could reach the wall, they wrapped around her left ankle.
Before she knew what was happening, the Golden Immortal swung the spear to the side, sending her tumbling out of the air and onto the ground of the courtyard. The hooks detached from her ankle in the process, and she flipped head over heels until she splashed into the small pond in the corner.
Even as she rose up, soaked and dripping, the Golden Immortal was closing in with the two Lions of Peace. He pushed the button on the bottom of the spear again, and the hooks and rope swished back into place, returning the spear to its original shape.
The brief time it took for him to reassemble his spear gave the Lions of Peace a bit of a lead on him, and they reached the pond first. They both lashed out with Ox-Tail Daos, and water droplets flew about as Bao dodged both attacks.
Then, she unleashed the same move that had failed so spectacularly on the Love General.
"Phoenix Palm!" Bao grinned as her fingers jabbed into a series of acupoints, then slapped her hand down onto the shoulder of the Lion of Peace.
The man screamed and staggered back, twitching visibly. As he did, the red outline of a palm was just visible on his shoulder.
The Golden Immortal was shocked, but that didn't prevent him from extending his spear once again.
-Click-
As before, the spearhead broke apart into four hooks as it shot toward Bao.
This time, though, she was prepared.
"Dragon Cleaves the Clouds." She flipped backward, sending the hooks flying off to the side, and landing a few paces back.
The Lion of Peace slashed out again with his Ox-Tail Dao, but she dodged it easily, and before the Golden Immortal could reassemble his spear, she leaped up onto the wall and then disappeared.
"Dammit, " growled the Golden Immortal. In his years away from Daolu, he had focused hard on training, and had already broken past that sixth level of Qi cultivation and into the seventh. Were it not for the fact that he had been so intent on capturing Bao alive, he would likely have beaten her soundly.
Behind him, soldiers were pouring into the courtyard. There were already dozens of them, and the flow didn't seem to be slowing in the slightest. After taking a moment to issue a few more orders, he leaped onto a decorative rock formation and then flew up onto the wall. It immediately became obvious where Bao had disappeared to.
"Iron Awl Hu's mansion...." he murmured.
**
The former residence of Iron Awl Hu was now the headquarters of Sunan and the Golden Dragon Sect. Although it was well guarded, Bao was one of the highest level martial artists in Daolu. Plus, she had spent much of her younger days hopping over walls and running through the back alleys in Yu Zhing. Besides, she was familiar with how the mansion was guarded.
With her Qinggong, it was a simple task to scale the wall, and before any of the guards even realized it, she was outside of Sunan's room.
The guards outside the door stared at her in shock for a moment before drawing their weapons.
"Intruder!" one of them shouted.
"That's Chieftess Bao, you idiot!" the other growled
"Is Sect Leader Sunan awake?" she said."If not, wake him." I don't have time for this."SECT LEADER SUNAN!"
A muffled grunt could be heard from inside the room, then a crash. A moment later, the door swung open to reveal Sunan, bleary-eyed but dressed in armor, an Ox-Tail Dao gripped in his right hand. Because of the siege, he had taken to sleeping in his armor. When he saw Bao standing there, his eyes widened.
"Bao? What are you doing here?"
"The Golden Immortal is in the city, he tried to kill me. Well, capture me."
"The Golden Immortal?!"
"He's here with the Lions of Peace. And soldiers. Hurry!"
Not waiting to give any further explanation, she dashed out and leaped up onto the wall of the residence, to be joined almost immediately by Sunan, as well as two other of the Golden Dragons.
At almost the exact same moment that they alighted on the wall, three figures appeared on the wall of the Golden Immortal's residence to the east. A second later, five more figures appeared, then even more, until the entire wall was filled.
In the middle was the Golden Immortal himself, flanked by a Lion of Peace, and then dozens of soldiers.
"Sect Leader Sunan, " the Golden Immortal called out."Did Chieftess Bao pass along my message?"
Sunan turned his head slightly to look at Bao."Message?"
She snorted coldly."The Love General wants to recruit you. And me."
"I take it you said no?"
"I didn't say anything. I just threw a knife at his face."
Sunan chuckled.
At that point the Golden Immortal pointed his spear at Sunan and Bao and said, "You have two choices: submit, or die. Choose quickly."
Bao's hands clenched into fists."He's strong. And that spear he has is dangerous. We can't fight him and all of those other people at the same time."
Addressing one of the Golden Dragons, Sunan quietly said, "Get word to the Chief Minister and Dragon Lord Sima. We'll try to buy some time here."
The man nodded and dropped off of the wall.
When the Golden Immortal saw that, his eyes flickered with cold light."That's answer enough for me. Kill them!"
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Here is some official art of the Golden Immortal:
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| ← Ch. 047 | Ch. 049 → |