032 Feuds

"Why are you so slow..."

The sky was once again fading into dusk, and the jungle remained that familiar yet alien place. Mengzhu sat on a fallen log, complaining for the fourth time to the idle A-Niu.

"What on earth is that uncle doing..."

The girl hugged her knees, burying her small face between them. Her eyes, hidden beneath her hood, stared fixedly in one direction, much like a hamster curled up in its nest on a winter day.

She knew that even if she kept asking, she would likely receive no response. Aside from some instinctive battlefield reactions, A-Niu was just a blockhead who seemed to understand nothing. He probably still didn't grasp what had just happened. She had tried to probe his thoughts earlier, but the result was as expected.

Not far away, the woman in the blue robe sat resting, her eyes closed in deep thought, looking as if none of this concerned her. Though the girl didn't fully understand either, she vaguely sensed that this woman, named Christine, was the key to the series of events that had just unfolded.

Regardless, it had already happened, and the outcome wasn't bad. As the uncle had said, since things had reached this state, she had no choice but to accept it. As for what came next, she would deal with it when the time arrived. As for the other players in their current party? A-Niu would probably just become a passerby—everyone would settle their accounts, go their separate ways, and it was uncertain if they would ever meet again. As for Jiecheng E-Shao, who had died and respawned, she would give him a share of money as a sort of compensation, though she shouldn't be expected to give much—she was poor, too. As for that person, Xue Linghuanbing...

The world she lived in was so far removed from a top-tier player like her that meeting again was unlikely. Even if they were to encounter each other by chance and had scores to settle, they should go find that bad uncle. Of course, it would be even better if their paths never crossed again.

Nearby, A-Niu was bored, swinging an iron rod around and occasionally making meaningless "Hoo!" and "Ha!" sounds. Mengzhu looked up at the darkening sky, her anxiety mixed with boredom.

They had talked about going back to check that place, but the great mage had already said the person wasn't alive anymore, so what was there to see? There was probably nothing left...

Hmph, I’m not going back there anyway!

After so much time had passed, Mengzhu didn't believe herself when she told herself she wasn't nervous. But prolonged tension eventually leads to numbness, and besides, the situation didn't seem particularly dangerous anymore...

The faint sound of fighting from afar broke through Mengzhu’s optimistic thoughts.

Perhaps because of the distance, the sound was almost imperceptible, feeling dreamlike and hazy, but it still made the little girl nervous again. She glanced at the oblivious A-Niu, then at the motionless Christine, and her fingers, which had been gripping her dagger, slowly relaxed.

Since a great mage was holding down the fort here, and she looked so calm, there shouldn't be any problems... The great mage had said earlier that she would protect them...

The girl’s body relaxed once more. She leaned her head back, involuntarily reflecting on the events of the past few days.

Although it was exciting, she still... felt some lingering resentment.

Sigh, how was she supposed to face that little boy, Benny, when she returned...

The innocent Mengzhu began to worry inexplicably. Thinking of this and that, her vision gradually blurred. The fatigue from being repeatedly startled began to weigh on her heart, and she started to grow drowsy.

Time seemed to lose its definition. At some point, Duan Qing's voice sounded beside her: "Get up, time to go."

"You... you're back..." The girl woke up, her voice still weak. "Why... *yawn*... so long..." She stretched her arms.

"Okay... wait, what?"

She rubbed her eyes and saw the figure in the black cloak standing in the distance, seemingly waiting for something. Even more surprising was that Christine in the blue robe was also standing there, and the two seemed to be talking.

What was going on? A massive sense of confusion filled her mind, and she turned naturally to ask the man standing beside her:

"Where are we... going?"

Duan Qing chuckled. "Get up first, it’s getting dark."

"I'll tell you later... Let's find a place to set up camp first."

***

Returning to a little earlier in time:

Duan Qing bypassed a few trees, following his memory, and slowly found the spot where the person supposedly named Trick had appeared. Sure enough, it was empty.

"Tch, I suppose you were right..." With no other choice, Duan Qing had to believe Christine, as he had searched around and found no traces at all. He remembered clearly seeing that person digging a hole and burying soil just a moment ago...

He had originally hoped to find this "person" to verify a few things, but now there was nothing he could do. Duan Qing sighed, accepted the reality, and prepared to reunite with his teammates. However, when he turned around, he saw the woman in the black cloak standing before him.

When he had passed by earlier, Duan Qing had naturally seen her lonely figure sitting there. He felt nothing—it’s none of my business. Once you’ve seen enough of these things, you’ll face them as calmly as I do, even if it isn't exactly a healthy mindset...

With no sense of being the culprit in his heart, Duan Qing walked past the woman with a calm expression. She naturally noticed him, but what of it? You can’t just come after me to vent your frustration...

Xue Linghuanbing naturally noticed him. She was silent, but her trembling body gradually stilled. After a while, she leaned on herself and slowly stood up.

When Duan Qing was about to walk back, this was what he saw.

"You..." She raised her sword.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? Is it really appropriate to bully a level 14 player..."

The sword lowered, but a moment later, it was raised again. "That is why I... did not strike immediately."

"I have... no hope left..."

"But at least... you, you... guy, it’s all because of you..."

She slowly approached Duan Qing. "Let’s settle the score between us right here."

Settle the score, my foot...

The sound of footsteps turned into a sprint. Facing the accelerating figure, Duan Qing shouted, "Don't be impulsive!"

She didn't slow down at all.

In that moment, the strength of a top-tier player was reflected in Xue Linghuanbing. Amidst the intense sound of running, the magnificent longsword carved a beautiful line in the air, smashing toward Duan Qing like a meteor.

With a loud bang, the sword struck the giant tree behind him.

Duan Qing retreated continuously, eventually pressing his back against the tree trunk. He used the strength of his waist and back to spring away, dodging the meteor-like strike by a hair's breadth.

The tree, suffering an undeserved disaster, snapped instantly—this strike, filled with resentment, had actually severed the giant tree at its thickest point. Amidst the flying wood chips, Duan Qing rolled on the ground, crushing wild grass and bushes, before jumping up and drawing his short sword.

Seeing the fate of the giant tree, his eyelid twitched uncontrollably. The trees here were exceptionally hard—he didn't know what strange species they were in the Free World. During their previous adventures, they had tested the strength of these trunks, so seeing this now, he was naturally horrified.

"Don't be impulsive! Let's talk this over..."

Xue Linghuanbing didn't respond and charged again.

In the dim forest, shouts mixed with the whistling of the sword echoed. Through the trees and branches that fell from time to time, two figures could be seen darting about like ghosts. Xue Linghuanbing's swordsmanship was conventional—horizontal slashes, vertical slashes, upward parries—mixed with a few thrusts. Striking in anger, the power was even greater than it had been when she fought the tiger. Each swing tore a massive furrow in the earth, let alone the "fragile" wood nearby.

Her momentum was like a rainbow, each sword strike full of power, and because her technique was so orthodox, she had almost no openings. Duan Qing, caught in the middle, felt the pressure; although he had drawn his weapon, he could only dodge, with almost no power to counterattack.

If he were accidentally struck, he would likely suffer the same fate as that tree...

The battle was brief and sudden, but as Xue Linghuanbing continued, many giant trees nearby were affected, ending their long lives. Occasionally, Duan Qing's shouts could be heard.

"Hey, stop, your emotions aren't stable right now, you need to calm down..."

"Hey, hey, hey, what kind of skill is it to bully a novice..."

"With such a short temper, be careful about not getting married in the future..."

The woman didn't reply, but the force behind her sword increased, forcing Duan Qing to dodge even more awkwardly.

She lunged forward, her sharp sword strike descending. Duan Qing tilted his head, the blade grazing his nose as it fell. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but a fiercer horizontal slash followed. Duan Qing ducked, and the third strike came even faster. He had to roll away to the side.

With a violent snapping sound, the sword struck the trunk of a nearby tree. The massive wound made the ancient giant sway before it collapsed. On the other side, Duan Qing stood up, panting while clutching his back. "Hey, don't be so childish, are you just venting? Killing me now won't do you any good..."

Xue Linghuanbing pulled her sword from the tree trunk and turned toward him. "Finally tired? You’re so good at dodging..."

"Let’s see how much longer you can keep that up."

She stepped forward again, concentrating all her strength into one point, and swung down.

Duan Qing instinctively thrust his short sword upward, but as if realizing something, he suddenly withdrew it and rolled away as usual.

Soil flew up with a loud boom. Duan Qing adjusted his posture while rolling and stopped abruptly the moment he lay prone. He looked up, and through the flying branches and dust, the expected charging figure emerged, instantly reaching him.

He pushed off with both hands, flipped backward, and dodged another strike.

"I can't block that head-on... this is going to be very disadvantageous for me..."

The battle continued. The woman was relentless, advancing again with a horizontal slash. Duan Qing retreated to break the range, but the woman didn't stop. Following the momentum of the slash, she spun around, her steps never faltering, and continued to slash horizontally.

"Tch, she's going to play the windmill..." Duan Qing muttered, forced to keep retreating.

The momentum of the horizontal slashes seemed endless. After the second, came the third and the fourth. The whistling wind grew louder, and her figure seemed to blur. Duan Qing jumped backward, then dodged in another direction. The sword strike paused for a moment and then stopped.

However, only the direction had stopped.

She twisted her waist, her long black hair whipping around with it. The charm of that moment was truly eye-catching, but Duan Qing had no time to appreciate it—the sword strike hadn't ended. Using the force of her twist, she slashed at the ground in front of her.

Soil splattered outward, but this time Duan Qing clearly felt something different. A hidden force traveled silently along the path of the flying soil toward his feet.

Duan Qing's balance was disrupted by the tremor, and he stumbled to the ground.

"Your combat awareness is quite good." In the figure that pounced again, Xue Linghuanbing’s cold voice came through. "Even better than many experts I’ve seen..."

Duan Qing was still struggling on the ground—when he fell, his head had hit a stone.

"Too bad you lack experience in the Free World, so facing this ‘Earth-Quake Wave’ that you’ve never seen before..." She didn't hesitate, lifting her blade: "You will end up like this... revealing an opening."

The expected sensation of a sword piercing flesh didn't come. Duan Qing pushed hard against the stone beside him, his fallen body rolling to the side, narrowly dodging the seemingly certain strike.

"So persistent..." The woman caught her breath slightly and charged again.

"What do you know..." In the dim forest, Duan Qing began to reply: "Rolling is an art..."

He leaned against a tree and stood up, only to find the figure of the woman thrusting her sword forward, suddenly looming large.

In his desperation, he instinctively tilted his neck. The sword grazed his ear and pinned itself into the tree trunk behind him.

"Hey, that’s going too far..."

She didn't pull the sword back, but slashed with force. As wood chips flew again, Duan Qing rolled away again in a sorry state, falling to the ground.

"I’m warning you, if you keep attacking, I’m going to fight back..."

The woman advanced, slashing at the figure on the ground. The cockroach-like figure continued to roll backward. She stepped forward, continuing to drop her blade, and so the rolling didn't stop. The woman grew increasingly angry; she leapt, jumping toward the figure.

"Boom."

[Ding]

The leap was grand in scale, and the surrounding fallen leaves and dust were sent flying. Through the blurred vision, a figure flew out—it was Xue Linghuanbing, who had held the advantage the entire time.

"I told you not to jump around for no reason..." Coughs and gasps alternated as Duan Qing’s figure, clutching his short sword, gradually appeared amidst the dissipating leaves and dust. He wiped his mouth of non-existent blood and spat to the side, his eyes sharpening.

Xue Linghuanbing didn't notice the look in his eyes; she was concerned with something else: "Just now... what technique... did you use?"

"A fist, just a fist." Duan Qing chuckled. "Hitting a woman is already going too far; did you really expect me to draw a weapon... oh, did I hit somewhere I shouldn't have..."

He knew in his heart that this punch wouldn't cause much damage to the woman because, under that cloak, she was wearing real armor—light armor, but not something he could break at his current level.

That impact made his left hand ache... but he seemed to have heard a system prompt sound just now...

Duan Qing had no time to deal with that—the beauty in front of him seemed even angrier due to that teasing remark. She charged again, but her longsword was dragged at her side, the stance suggesting she was going to use a horizontal slash to start again.

Why did it have to end up like this? Duan Qing sighed in his heart, but his hands didn't stop. He opened the system menu, performed a few quick operations, tightened his grip on the short sword, and... met her head-on.

***

Secretly surprised by the opponent's initiative, Xue Linghuanbing didn't stop her movements. She gauged the distance and swung her sword horizontally.

Duan Qing ducked, his right-handed sword thrusting forward to cut at the woman's legs. A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes. She stepped out, changed her move, and turned the horizontal slash into an upward parry, simultaneously blocking Duan Qing's attack.

Xue Linghuanbing sneered in her heart. She was more than twenty levels higher than him and was a strength-based player. If these two attacks connected, given his attributes, it would be impossible for him to withstand it. In this situation, his weapon would definitely be knocked away, and he might even be sent flying by the parry...

That would be his death.

She kept her eyes fixed on the trajectory of his sword. Concentrating, time seemed to slow down. At one point, the rusted short sword deviated to one side, and the man's entire body followed that shift.

The semicircle of the longsword's parry grazed the man's shoulder. The short sword retracted, slashed through the empty air to the woman's left, and then, following Duan Qing's steps, circled back from the other side. The gleam of the blade carved a spiral shape in the air as he moved forward, and then, in Duan Qing's hand, it suddenly snapped.

He took the sword backhanded, and using the rotation of his entire body, circled from the left to Xue Linghuanbing's side and back—due to the haste of her improvised move, she had just withdrawn her parrying stance.

He struck backhanded, the hilt of the sword hitting her between the shoulder blades.

With the sound of steel colliding, the two figures finally separated. Duan Qing panted, staring at the woman who had gone inexplicably mad. She was slowly crawling up from where she had fallen. The hood of her cloak had fallen behind her, and her cascading hair was somewhat disheveled. She also began to pant slightly, while wiping blood from the corner of her mouth—she had indeed been injured this time.

"You... how is that possible... just before..."

"You said I lack experience, and I admit that, but... only within the game, Free World." Duan Qing said, though the content was somewhat irrelevant: "If we’re talking about experience in virtual worlds, you and I might... be even further apart."

"But this time... you are the one who is far behind me."

Duan Qing began to walk forward slowly. His eyes were fixed on his opponent. He placed his sword flat in front of his chest, then flicked it to the side.

Then, holding the sword with both hands, he ran forward.

The distance between them wasn't great, and Duan Qing reached Xue Linghuanbing in a few steps. Stunned by his strange posture and inexplicable momentum, the woman didn't strike first for the first time in this battle.

She immediately regretted it.

Duan Qing was expressionless, but his gaze was focused as never before, as if he had entered an ethereal state. Conversely, his muscles were tense, his grip on the sword creaking as he held it. He was like a beast ready to pounce, as if he would explode at any moment. He stopped abruptly in front of Xue Linghuanbing, his force-driven step sinking deep into the soil through layers of fallen leaves, yet he seemed not to notice.

Holding his breath, focusing, he slashed.

Clang!

"I just went through a breakup, so I’m not in a very good mood..."

The loud sound of the sword strike echoed through the endless forest, accompanied by a longsword flying into the sky.

***

"From beginning to end, I never considered you an enemy; after all, you are a beauty... but even if you were a celestial being, if you attacked me, I would fight back."

The woman was kneeling on the ground again, her eyes staring blankly ahead. Duan Qing walked back, looked at her disheveled black hair, and threw her sword back beside her. "Now our score is settled."

"Go, don't come back."

He stretched his aching muscles, loosened his clothes, which were soaked with sweat and sticking to his body, and slowly walked back. "I can probably guess the purpose of your trip, and I can empathize with how you felt just now. Honestly, I understand, but understanding doesn't mean I can accept it..."

Duan Qing didn't look back. "If you still feel unhappy, you are welcome to come find me later. Although I hate trouble, but... these things always end up like this. This is what you call..."

"Jianghu grievances."

Duan Qing sneered and then hesitated. Thinking of the guild power behind the woman, thinking of the troubles, big and small, he might encounter later, he finally decided to make a slight effort: "Actually, you don't need to be so entangled with a few nobodies like us; you could just call someone else to help..."

"Isn't your 'Wings of Freedom' guild flourishing these past two years? What’s a few people lost? Just send Iron Plate, Blood Queen, and those guys; never mind poison snakes or tigers, even ancient ruins or whatever..."

"No one is coming."

"......Aren't they all easy pickings... uh, what did you say?"

Duan Qing thought the woman behind him had no intention of responding, so he just said a few random words to ease the awkward atmosphere. He didn't expect her to chime in, and with such unexpected information.

"No one... no one is coming anymore..." the woman said desolately.

She took a breath and continued in a listless tone, seemingly unaware of the implication of her words: "When I logged off to rest... I also... asked about the headquarters' arrangements. They said..."

Her voice trembled slightly: "They said... a war broke out between the Empire and the Principality, and the situation is complex... The Guild Master has already taken people to the front lines, wanting to... observe the situation..."

What...

Duan Qing’s heart surged with waves, but the low, hoarse voice continued.

"The team... that was wiped out earlier... was also transferred to... that side. No one will... come here... for a... possibly non-existent thing... and such a remote place..."

Xue Linghuanbing’s voice had become somewhat hollow: "...such a remote place, no one will come anymore..."

"Uh... don't be discouraged..." Increasingly sensing that something was wrong with the atmosphere, Duan Qing turned his head—though he hadn't wanted to.

In his field of vision, the woman with her black hair scattered all around was staring straight at him: "I... didn't... but, but..."

Duan Qing hadn't expected it, or perhaps he had fantasized about such a situation in his heart before, but he really hadn't thought he would actually see it: a woman as strong as Xue Linghuanbing was shedding tears—

"But... now... it has become like this... you are leaving, you... I..."

"I’m just... unwilling to give up..."

"Unwilling to give up..."

The woman's unique, mournful cry rang out softly. Although the sound was faint, Duan Qing felt that the entire forest, perhaps the entire world, could hear it.