True Solution of the Sword Dao

"Alright, you’re the protection target now, follow me," she strode towards William.

The latter’s expression was serious as he took a small step back. "Are you the leader of the Hua Nation personnel here?" he asked, deducing the woman’s importance from the reactions of the Thunder God Corps members around them.

Unexpectedly, Lu Xiuya completely ignored him, grabbed his collar, and just dragged him along like an eagle seizing a chick. The members of the Thunder God Corps were about to take action but were immediately stopped by their leading officer, Lawrence.

"Captain!"

"Her goal is the same as ours," Lawrence said with a sweaty face, slightly relieved. "Don’t start a fight at any cost. If we do, none of us will survive."

Lu Xiuya dragged William straight toward the slowly approaching silver Volkswagen, right where Luo Yixiong, Feng Man, and Lin Fei stood.

The three quickly cleared the way. Xu Zhikang was about to stretch out his injury when he was met with a smirk from Lu Xiuya. He then offered an embarrassed smile in response.

As Lu Xiuya passed by the trio, she gave them a casual glance.

When her gaze, as ordinary as that of any regular person, swept over Lin Fei, he felt a deep chill. It was the ice-cold sensation of extreme danger. But, similarly, a faint thrill welled up from the bottom of his heart. He had never feared battle. On the edge of life and death, he often felt a strong sense of his own existence.

"All of you, come over here," said Lu Xiuya, dropping a line before directly dragging the immobilised William into the silver sedan.

Not far behind, Xu Zhikang hurriedly followed, opening the car door and getting in, with Luo Yixiong, Lin Fei, and the others crowding into the back seat.

Lin Fei squeezed in wordlessly between Luo Yixiong and Xu Zhikang.

Meanwhile, William was sprawled over their knees, eyes rolling back in his head.

"Isn’t this considered serious overloading?" Xu Zhikang said with a bitter smile.

"Watanabe Yotsuha is scheduled to arrive in these few days. How should we handle this mission target?" asked the man driving.

"Just keep him knocked out to avoid trouble," Lu Xiuya replied while lying back in her seat, trimming her fingernails with a nail clipper.

"Won’t he starve to death?" asked the guy with silver-rimmed glasses with a wry smile.

"Then just water him when you have time," Lu Xiuya said nonchalantly, blowing the nail clippings off her fingers.

The driver shook his head wordlessly, turning his head slightly.

"You’re members of the Human Group, aren’t you?" he said.

Xu Zhikang nudged Feng Man beside him, and she quickly replied with a sweet voice, "Yes, we’re from the Human Group."

"This mission would be more suitable for the Earth Group. Let me introduce myself. My name is Zheng Weiguo," the driver said with a smile. "The person beside me needs no introduction, right? Lu Xiuya, one of the members of the God Group."

"I’m Feng Man; this is Luo Yixiong, he’s Xu Zhikang, and the last one is this year’s newcomer," Feng Man quickly introduced.

Lin Fei smiled and said, "I’m Yan Fei." He was using neither Yan Fei’s real appearance nor Lin Fei’s original features, but a completely unfamiliar face he had hastily fashioned. However, on the new data in Shueisha, his character’s name was listed as Yan Fei.

"Everyone here is subject to confidentiality agreements; names are merely for the convenience of address," Zheng Weiguo said with a smile.

Lu Xiuya, on the other hand, gave Lin Fei another look, seeming to sense something different about him.

Enshrouded by his momentum, Lin Fei immediately felt a sharp gaze piercing through his disguise. A chill ran through his heart.

"Not bad in technique," Lu Xiuya said softly.

The others were somewhat puzzled, but Lin Fei paused and then smiled, "Thank you." He knew she was referring to the face-changing skill Sis had taught him.

Such direct use of momentum doesn’t fool high-level fighters, something Lin Fei had anticipated from the start. Fortunately, with the cover of True Force, even Sis could not detect his hidden strength, so he was not worried about Lu Xiuya seeing through his disguise.

The Volkswagen sedan followed Xu Zhikang’s directions and returned directly to Guangyuan Hotel.

Shortly after they arrived, members of the Thunder God Corps also returned. But they dared not go back up to the second floor, instead consulting on the perimeter and starting to look for nearby rental accommodations.

Bang!

Lu Xiuya kicked open the door to William’s room, tossing the unconscious William onto the floor like a dead pig.

"From now on, all of you stay here and watch this guy. I’ll deal with Watanabe Yotsuha. Weiguo, come with me," she said.

Zheng Weiguo adjusted his glasses and nodded.

"Then, I wish you a smooth completion of your mission," he said with a smile to Xu Zhikang and the others who had entered.

"With Lady Xiuya here, success is certain," Xu Zhikang said confidently. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Lu Xiuya remained noncommittal and turned to leave the room, with Zheng Weiguo following closely. Before leaving, he gave the four a comforting smile.

Lin Fei silently watched the two leave, but inside, he knew that this mission wouldn’t be as simple as Xu Zhikang described. That Lu Xiuya, a strong fighter like herself, was taking the initiative to handle the protection target first indicated that the opponent might be on the same level as her.

"Watanabe Yotsuha? What information do you guys have on this person?" Lin Fei asked the other three.

"I don’t know."

"Never heard of it."

"She is a strong warrior from Japan, an old-school powerhouse. She’s very strong and reportedly loves to look younger than she is, always maintaining the appearance of a teenage girl in her prime. She had fled Hua Nation after being severely injured by Gao Ge not long ago. Now, unexpectedly, she’s healed and has returned," Xu Zhikang spoke as if he knew a bit about everything.

"Those are matters we cannot handle. I guess we’ll be up against some of her other strong followers," Luo Yixiong said indifferently.

"And what about Thunder God’s people?" Lin Fei continued to inquire.

"After completing the mission, Xiuya will casually take care of them. Thunder God and Xiuya are sworn enemies!" Suddenly, Zheng Weiguo walked in from outside, answering with a smile.

"I came back to give you guys a heads-up. Watanabe Yotsuha is likely to make her move tomorrow. Be careful, she might attack here directly. Don’t blame me if you die without being warned."

******************

One of Yuan City’s tourist attractions, Luoyan Cave.

Outside the vast cave, a middle-aged man in a green camouflage outfit was hopping forward over several stones. Behind him, a pure-looking young girl with shoulder-length black hair was carefully following, hopping from stone to stone. If she were not careful and slipped into the knee-high stream below, her casual trousers would surely get wet. Another man and woman followed behind the girl. The man was handsome, the woman was pretty; although not quite as striking as the girl ahead, they were good-looking enough to be internet idols without any photo edits.

Finally, they reached the flat ground in front of Luoyan Cave.

The pure-looking girl was slightly out of breath and took out a few red hundred-Renminbi notes from her clothes pocket, handing them to the man in the camouflage outfit.

"Thank you, kind sir," she said, bowing slightly, her cheeks forming deep dimples with her smile.

"Not at all, hehe." The man in camouflage touched his head, embarrassed. For Miss Watanabe Yotsuha, who spoke very good Chinese, he had a rather favourable impression. After all, being able to guide such a beautiful young lady was a pleasant task that also earned him a little extra money.

"Then, Miss Watanabe, are you sure you don’t want me to escort you inside? It’s pitch-dark in there and somewhat dangerous," the middle-aged man asked again.

"Really, it’s not necessary, sir," Watanabe Yotsuha said with a sweet smile.

"Alright then." The middle-aged man, brimming with joy, left along the same path he came.

Although Luoyan Cave was one of Yuan City’s attractions, few people visited due to the difficult path. Now, as the day was ending, and it was almost dark, even fewer visitors came.

"Hey, Watanabe, are we really going in there at this time?" the young man behind asked helplessly.

"Yeah, Miss Yotsuha, isn’t it too late now?" the girl next to him also wore a helpless expression.

They were all classmates from Tokyo University, with very good relationships. During a recent vacation, they came to Hua Nation for a trip at Watanabe’s strong suggestion. They had thought they were going to visit major attractions but didn’t expect to come to a minor place like this.

According to Watanabe, the reason was: Major places are too crowded, with no sense of mystery. These minor spots are more fun, fewer visitors mean a real adventure.

"Is it really that late?" Watanabe Yotsuha checked her wristwatch. It was only around five o’clock. "Well then, since you all say so, let’s head back. We can come back now that we know the place."

Not far off in the woods.

Two shadows hid in the shade.

"Watanabe is at it with her bad taste again. When do we start? I’m getting impatient," one said.

"Lu Xiuya is there too, and that Zheng Weiguo, who, like us, is a High-Level C class. It’s going to be a bit troublesome," the other one added.

"When the time comes, the boss will draw Lu Xiuya away, you’ll take on Zheng Weiguo, and I’ll go straight for the target. That should work," one suggested.

"Sounds good. You’re not fit for handling a Peak C class like Zheng Weiguo anyway. Let Yincun-kun join as well. His strength is Peak C class, so two C classes should have no trouble," the other agreed.

*****************

In distant Kyoto City

Inside an underground base in the suburbs.

In a spacious, pristine research room, a bespectacled elder with white hair was carefully placing a glass-like sphere into a glass test tube.

"Is this the material for this year’s newcomers from the south?" a middle-aged man in military attire asked.

The old man nodded. Arrayed in front of him were neat racks of test tubes, each containing the same transparent spheres he was currently handling.

"General Wu Shihai, this is the momentum of the newcomer you just brought in." He paused for a moment.

"How is it?" Wu Shihai was somewhat anxious. He had been closely following the progress of this newcomer.

The elder frowned slightly as if hesitant.

"Just say whatever it is," Wu Shihai urged.

"It’s nothing much, but the momentum of this newcomer seems a bit strange."

"Strange?" Wu Shihai was taken aback.

"I can’t draw conclusions just yet. Once he enters Tian Ce Mansion for the official tests, we’ll know for sure," the older man said as he removed his glasses and wiped them with a cloth from his pocket. (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to throw in your recommendation votes and Monthly Tickets at Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation.)