"Hmph! Who does that punk think he is? Having the gall to call a lovely young lady like myself a pig!! Only thing he has going for him is his good look anyway, I hope you go bald soon Zheng Fei!!"

Fen Xuan walked through the busy street with an angry expression on her face. Her hand was holding a cup of Keemun black tea, a famed delicacy of Língzhi that she had bought from a nearby vendor. As she began to calm down, a long sigh could be heard.

"Even here, the sacred relic still shows no reaction... How am I supposed to find her like this? Please send me a sign, mother..."

As she finished the sentence, she noticed a commotion happening in the diner nearby.

"A street fight? In broad daylight and at the heart of the capital too? Whoever those people are, they sure must have a death wish."

She shook her head and shrugged slightly. Then she took a sip from her cup as a loud voice came from the direction.

"I am Zheng Fei, young master of the Heaven Gazer Sect. Sink that name deep into your barely functioning brain."

Fen Xuan spat out the tea from her mouth. An expression of pure shock filled her face.

"Zheng Fei? Heaven Gazer Sect??"

She quickly tumbled toward the crowds. Before her was indeed Zheng Fei, he was pointing his finger at a Black Dog disciple sitting nearby. On a closer look, she also noticed numerous injured Black Dog disciples lying on the ground in pain. As the two men were having their back and forth, the crowd around her quickly dissipated, everyone was in panic and running away. But all of them uttered the same phrase.

"The Jade Knights!! Call the Jade Knights!!!"

A cold chill ran down her spine at the mere mention of the name, her body began to shake on its own in fear. She bited her lips, then muttered.

"Even if he was a smug punk, he doesn't deserve to die like this. You have my deepest pity, Zheng Fei..."

As she was about to walk away, she noticed something reacting in her pocket. A sudden feeling of dread crawled up her spine.

"Why... why now?? You didn't react to him earlier when we met on the wagon."

She said in a desperate voice, as if she was trying to convince the thing in her pocket that it had made a mistake. Fen Xuan stood quietly for a moment, then an expression of resigned acceptance appeared on her face.

"Fine..."

The girl mumbled as she quickly dashed back toward the ruckus.

~~~~~~

The scene shifted back to the present. Fen Xuan and Zheng Fei were now running with their lives on the line. Behind them, multiple loud shouting could be heard.

"This way!! They ran this way!!"

"Tch. We have to find a way to throw off their pursuit."

Zheng Fei's eyes met with Fen Xuan's as she let out a nod. From her wrists, two strands of transparent ribbons shot out at high speed. They quickly wrapped around a nearby cabbage cart as Fen Xuan stopped to make a firm stance with her feet. She then made a wide swing with her arms and sent the whole cart tumbling toward the pursuers.

The young master's face was filled with astonishment. What he thought were just normal dress decorations turned out to be deadly weapons. They must be something akin to high grade sacred relics, he thought. But he had never seen anything like those before. Zheng Fei then tried to curb his curiosity as he remembered the emergency of the situation.

"We cut them off, now we just need to..."

Fen Xuan's sentence was cut short as another large shouting came from the corner ahead of them.

"Over here, they're in this direction, Jade Knights!!"

The two quickly stopped in their tracks. As Zheng Fei frantically looked around for another escape route, Fen Xuan pulled him into a small alleyway.

"But this is a dead end." Zheng Fei said.

Fen Xuan then busted open the lid of a nearby garbage bin. Zheng Fei looked at her, eyes wide open.

"You cannot be serious. I, Zheng Fei, young master of the Heaven Gazer Sect, would rather die than..."

"You talk too much!!! Get in!!"

Zheng Fei's disapproval was cut short as Fen Xuan kicked him into the garbage bin. She then jumped in herself and closed the lid off.

"Arrgg, the smell, it's unbearab...."

Zheng Fei's quiet mumble turned to silence as he felt an immense pressure crashing down on his body. What is this intense killing pressure? Who is standing outside right now? Countless questions popped up in his mind at that moment. Suddenly, he felt Fen Xuan grabbing his arm tightly. As he looked to the side, he noticed the same expression of fear and terror on her face. Her body was shaking profusely and so was his.

In the middle of it all, a memory suddenly flashed through Zheng Fei's head.

"Breathe, Zheng Fei, breathing is the basic of all martial arts. If you can master your breathing, you can master your body, your emotion, your soul. So breathe, calmly."

"Damn you old man, to be reminded of you at a time like this." Zheng Fei thought, with an annoyed look on his face.

"... Píngjìng dì hūxī*..."

Zheng Fei took in a deep breath. His body was shaking no longer. He then reached out and held Fen Xuan's by the pulse on her wrist. With another deep breath, the young lady too was no longer shaking.

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The short moment felt like an eternity, but eventually it came to an end. The pressure began to dissipate after the person outside had finally left. Zheng Fei then busted the garbage bin lid open with his hand. Night had already fallen outside. As the two walked out, Fen Xuan turned to Zheng Fei and said with a slightly embarrassed expression.

"Thanks... For what you did back there."

Zheng Fei was caught by surprise, he however quickly shrugged off her gratitude.

"Don't mention it, I was shaking like a wet dog too you know. If you want to thank anyone, thank my late old man for popping up in my head at the most inappropriate moment."

"Pffft... You really can't be honest with yourself huh?"

Fen Xuan inadvertently let out a chuckle, much to Zheng Fei's annoyance.

"Anyway, what was that *thing* back then? To emit such intense killing pressure without even knowing if we were there."

Fen Xuan turned quiet for a moment, then reply.

"That... was a Jade Knight. Each one of them has power similar to that of a high ranking cultivator, I heard some surpass even sect leaders of the Great Nine in strength. That's why we must absolutely not engage one in direct combat."

Zheng Fei had a contemplating look on his face. He could only nod in agreement, especially after experiencing first-hand how monstrous they are. He then switched the subject.

"We still need to get out of the city first. Do you have any plan in mind?"

"Yes, even before this... unfortunate derailment, I had already made a deal with the merchants we were with earlier for a trip to Hǎixuě**. In case I couldn't find what I'm looking for here..."

A curious look appeared on Zheng Fei's face.

"Oh? You were searching for something?"

Fen Xuan half-heartedly replied.

"That's not important right now, all you need to know is that ensuring your safety for the time being will help me achieve my goal."

Zheng Fei wanted to ask more questions, but he decided to leave them for later when the two finally got out of this city to somewhere safer. While he was pondering, they had already reached the southern gate of the city, where they last entered. But what greeted them there was the same group of Black Dog disciples earlier. They seemed to have already beaten up the guards and were waiting for them to come.

"Tch, these mongrels just don't give up, do they?" Zheng Fei mumbled.

"We just have to beat them up then we can escape scot free. Fighting those punks is a thousand times better than fighting a Jade Knight anyway."

Fen Xuan said as she made a cracking sound with her fists. Then the two stepped out into the open. An elated look appeared on Bao Li's face as he noticed them.

"Ah finally!! You two have come. I was afraid that you lots might have gotten out by another route. But it was the right decision for me to pick this place, where the Jade Knights' patrol is the most lax."

He said, his grip on the battle axe tightened. Zheng Fei then replied in a cold tone.

"Shut up and fight already, you dog."

It started in a flash. Bao Li made a mad dash toward Zheng Fei, swinging his enormous battle axe straight at his neck. With a deep breath, the young master ducked downward. The large man wasted no movement as he quickly converted the momentum to a downward slash. But his axe came to a sudden stop, as he noticed 2 strands of ribbons tying up his wrists. He turned his head toward Fen Xuan, who now had a smug look on her face. She had seemingly taken out all of the other Black Dog disciples.

Before Bao Li could react, he felt intense pain on his head, chin and chest. Zheng Fei had took the Yìnbáng off his back and delivered numerous heavy blows in quick succession against the man. Bao Li then fell to his knees, blood coughing out of his mouth. He mumbled.

"Damn you... cowards."

"That's rich coming from you lots. A bunch of dogs can never become wolves, no matter how many of you mutts band together." Zheng Fei said in a mocking tone.

"Ha..haha.. Is that so? But I'll let you know, even stray dogs have sharp fangs... NOW, YIN LIAO!!!" Bao Li suddenly shouted.

A chill ran down Zheng Fei's spine, something is wrong, he could feel it. Then, he felt the cold metal of a knife touching his throat for but a moment before his body was pulled away quickly by Fen Xuan's ribbons. The young master put a hand on his throat, now seemingly bleeding from the cut. Fen Xuan looked at him in concern.

"Don't... worry. It was a shallow cut..." He said. with ragged breathing.

When the two looked up, they finally got a clear image of the figure who delivered that devastating strike. It was a young girl in all black clothes, eyes as dark as the night itself, a mask could be seen covering her mouth. Then, Fen Xuan spoke up.

"I recognize those movements. That was Moon Shadow Step of the Night Lotus Sect, famous for their mastery in assassination. How did such technique even fell into the hands of you stray dogs?"

"Curious now, aren't cha?"

Bao Li let out a devious smile.

"This is the strength of us mutts that you looked down on so much. We are brothers and sisters from all walks of life... even misfits and rejects from other sects are welcomed into our rank as equal." He continued.

Zheng Fei took a glance at Fen Xuan, then he said.

"Can you take care of that big oaf? Leave the girl to me, my clan's technique is better suited for nimble foes like her."

She answered with a nod. Then the two quickly squared up against their respective opponents.

On Fen Xuan's side, Bao Li could be seen circling around her, a smug expression on his face.

"You know... I was taken aback when we received order from above to wage an all out war against the Heavenly Demon Sect. But you, the young lady of the Heavenly Demon Sect, fled from us like a coward. Seem like your notorious Sect was not such a big deal after all."

Bao Li said mockingly. What greeted him back however was a deadly cold stare from Fen Xuan, it was as if she had become a different person altogether. She then replied with bloodlust in her voice.

"You seem to misunderstand something. I didn't run from you mutts because I was scared. I did it to bait as many of you lots as possible into chasing after me... So I can finally kill all of you lowlives in one fell swoop."

The two then engaged in battle. Bao Li effortlessly dodged the ribbons coming at him as he advanced toward Fen Xuan. When she was within his reach, the large man laughed maniacally as he swung his axe down with all his strength.

"You're just way too easy to read, this is the end!!!"

"Oh? Is that so?"

Fen Xuan let out a smirk, and with nails as sharp as razor blade, she quickly impaled his wrists with her fingers. Red blood spurted out of them like a river. The axe dropped down to the ground as the man's grip loosened. Then quick as a flash, she sent her fingers deep inside the man's right eye socket. A deafening scream could be heard as he fell down to the ground, panting.

On Zheng Fei's side, the battle had also just started. Yin Liao disappeared into the shadow, awaiting the moment to strike.

"... Píngjìng dì hūxī..." Zheng Fei mumbled.

He took in a deep breath with his eyes closed. The world came to a standstill, he could feel everything happening around him, the sound of crickets chirping, the chilliness of the night wind on his skin... even the coldness of the knife touching his chest as it tried to make its way into his heart. Then he opened his eyes. In just a moment, he quickly sidestepped the assault and sent the girl tumbling straight toward the city wall with a single touch, denting it. Blood could be seen sipping out of her mask.

As Zheng Fei and Fen Xuan stepped forward to finish off the Black Dog Sect disciples. Bao Li, who was holding his head in pain, mumbled.

"I guess... this is our final option."

"They're over here!!!! Jade Knights!! The foreign intruders are over here!!!!!"

He shouted, a cackling laugh followed after. Before the two could react, Yin Liao threw a bomb onto the ground and filled the entire scene in a thick layer of smoke. When it was finally lifted, the Black Dog disciples had already disappeared.

"Damn those cowards!!" Zheng Fei shouted, angrily.

"We shouldn't be worrying about them now. We have to make our escape, quick!!!"

Fen Xuan said, the two then quickly made their ways toward the gate.

"We're almost the..."

Zheng Fei's sentence was interrupted as a massive object flied past them, embedding itself into the thick iron gate. It was a giant spear. Before they realized what was happening, a figure appeared by their sides. Suddenly, a tight sensation graced their chests, as they were blasted away into the nearby walls. Zheng Fei and Fen Xuan dropped to the ground, panting profusely, blood began spewing out of their mouths.

"Wh.. What just happened?" Zheng Fei thought, trying to hold himself together through the intense pain.

Before them, the figure started to become clear. A person donned in full jade armor stood in silence. His face was covered entirely in a bulky helmet. He then slowly pulled the spear out of the iron gate and pointed it at the two.

"It's... it's them, the Jade Knight!!"

Fen Xuan muttered in a weak voice. An expression of pure despair began to fill their faces.