"We found a ruin… An ancient legacy site of the Heavenly Destruction Sect"
The bandit said nervously as he spilled the beans
"A ruin belonging to the Heavenly Destruction Sect? What is the property of one of the Ten Pillar Sects doing here?" Xuelan asked, baffled at the revelation
"I don't know…" The bandit answered hesitantly, darting his eyes before continuing
"We were sent to patrol and kill anyone entering the area to ensure the information doesn't leak,... That's when we spotted your fire from afar"
Li Wei stood back and narrowed his eyes suspiciously but kept quiet
"Where's the ruins?"
Ming cut straight to the chase, his curiosity is getting the better of him
"I can't tell you…"
Xuelan stepped in front of him, crouched down to match his eye level, tucked her right hand into the shape of a pointed needle and pointed it near his shoulder
//Wind Needle Strikes, Low Silver, Mastered//
The wind whistled menacingly as it started to swirl around her fingertips, sharpening it. Xuelan pressed it forward lightly into the bandit's shoulder, shredding away layers of clothes and barely scratching his skin
"You can't? Is that so?" Xuelan smiled and pressed in closer, the tip slowly piercing skin as the wind swirls his blood out of the the way, splashing it nearby, staining his black clothes
"Ether you tell us now… or you tell us after you have a few extra holes in your body, hihi" Xuelan giggled cutely as she threatened to skewer the man
His face turned pale, with tears streaming down his eyes and hurriedly shouted out the location
Xuelan smiled, retracted her hand, and turned to Ming and does a peace sign at him
"See! I'm quite reliable aren't I, hehe" Xuelan giggled cheekily
"Yes, yes, you did great Miss Xuelan"
Ming chuckled boisterously after he praised her
"Chehh! What's so special about doing a little interrogation" Seeing Ming praised another woman in in front of her, Zhu Lian remarked with an evidently jealous tone
"Now now, Miss Lian, calm yourself, we have a ruin to explore" Li Wei calmly remarked, tastefully shifting the conversation back to the Heavenly Destruction Sect's ruins
=================================
Leaving the tied up bandit behind, the four went cautiously to where he pointed and arrived at a cave entrance, guarded by around 10 bandits, 5 in Early Third rate, 3 in Mid Third rate, 1 in Late Third rate and one in Mid Second rate, presumably their leader
The group hid in the bushes as they discussed their plan
"Be carefully everyone, I'm sure you've noticed but that bandit definitely didn't tell us everything, this could be a trap" Li Wei explained carefully
Xuelan and Lian nodded accordingly while Ming looked a little confused but nodded awkwardly along, he was still a bit too trusting for Jianghu
"I'll handle handle those guys"
Ming said as he pointed towards with Early Third rates patrolling the area, eager for more action
"Absolutely not"
Zhu Lian replied calmly as she put a hand gently on Ming's
"You're injured, very much so, so no combat for you"
Zhu Lian smiled as she said so but her eyes weren't quite inviting
"But-"
"Do you understand? Mr dear bodyguard"
The air around her became chilly, Zhu Lian means business
"Ok…" Ming nodded dejectedly
"I suppose I can take on all the third rates, and either miss Lian or miss Xuelan should focus on the leader, the other can accompany Ming inside the ruins to explore"
Li Wei laid out his plan, pragmatic and clear cut
"I suggest Miss Xuelan take on the leader, she is more capable than me in terms of martial arts and battle experience" Zhu Lian said cordially, gesturing her head at Xuelan
Ming and Le Wei nodded in agreement having seen her combat prowess back at the camp
"Miss Lian, are you praising me? Hehe, finally all of you have realized my good points!" Xuelan giggled proudly, she seems to be quite happy to finally have some recognition from Zhu Lian
Little did she know, it was just a ploy for Zhu Lian to be alone with Ming
"Alright let us, move"
Li Wei led them closer and used his hands to gesture their movements, his actions a testament to years of field experience and competency
Following Li Wei's instructions, Ming threw rocks at two different directions from the cave entrance
Most of the bandits heard and went to investigate
Leaving just 2 Mid Third rates with the bandit leader
//Wudang Harmony Step, Silver High, Mastered//
With uniformed steps, Li Wei moved in quick in absolute silence, his robes blur blue while his steps leaving faint Qi in the shape of a bagua
Instantly moving in between the two Mid Third rate bandits, Li Wei widened his stance and extended his arms in a circular motion
//Wudang Soft Fist, Silver High, Mastered//
His fist flowed softly, leaving a trail of blue Qi as it barely tapped on their jaws, instantly knocking both of them out without giving them a chance to retaliate, all behind the bandit leader's back, who was cheerfully chugging down a gourd of wine
Li Wei turned back, nodded towards us before he left to where the rest of the bandits were
Sensing the uneasy silence, the bandit leader puts down his gourd and turned back, only to find his subordinates either gone or unconscious
"Who goes there! Reveal yourself!"
While Li Wei was handling the two bandits, Xuelan had snuck up a nearby tree in advance
As the bandit leader looked around frantically, Xuelan stalked him from above, waiting for the right moment to strike
That moment came when he carelessly turned his back to her, Xuelan instantly jumped down directly on him
//Wind Needle Strikes, Low Silver, Mastered//
With flurry of sharp wind guide strikes pierces the bandit leader's back, effortlessly tearing away his tiger hide tunic, but oddly doesn't pierce his skin
"Aha! There you are"
The bandit leader pulled out his dao, turned around and swung it at her, a huge blade embedded with a tiger's fang at the hilt
Xuelan stepped back and narrowly dodged the blade, the swipe cutting off some loose strands of silver hair
Seeing his petite attacker, the rough looking bandit leader looked Xuelan's body up and down and smirked
"Your attack tickles little girl, maybe I'll have some fun with you after you're subdued" the middle age creep licked his lips as he said so
Xuelan quietly stared at him with her fierce stormgray eyes, she doesn't humor his taught and simply prepared her next attack
The man's word enraged Ming who was still hiding with Zhu Lian
"That bastard!" Ming roared in rage and prepared to jump in and assist Xuelan but Zhu Lian grabbed his hand and pulled him back
"Calm down, Ming, trust Xuelan"
Zhu Lian stroke his back reassuringly while saying so
"...You're right, Xuelan's strong, let us go"
After he had calmed down
The two of them promptly snuck past the leader, who had his full attention on Xuelan, and entered the mysterious cave
Meanwhile, the bandit was still taunting Xuelan with his vulgar words
"How about this, you give up now, serve me" He pauses, his creepy grin growing wider, amplified by the confident glint in his eyes as he continued
"and I'll let you live as my sex slave, how's that?"
The bandit flexed his flexed his biceps as he said so
//Diancang Misty Waltz, Mid Silver, Mastered//
Not wasting her breath with this cocky bastard, she closed the distance, her movements hard to follow like trying to make something out amidst a dense fog
"You're a quick one huh?"
The man grunted as he raised his dao, flared his Qi, gathered it at the blade's edge and struck down at Xuelan's direction
//Mountainous Cleave, Mid Bronze, Mastered//
A flying blade of Qi burst forth and flew at Xuelan, whistling through the air menacingly as It flies
Luckily, because of Xuelan's disorientating movements, the bandit leader's aim was severely off course, Xuelan effortlessly moved past it and closed the distance before he could recover his stance
//Wind Needle Strikes, Low Silver, Mastered//
Xuelan stepped in within arm length and stabbed at the man's left side
Her strike instantly shredded his tunic yet it didn't manage to pierce his skin, again. The first time it failed could've been written off as mistake in the execution of her move but now it was certain
'Shit! I can't get through his skin'
Xuelan thought to herself as she continued to drive her fingertips forward to no avail
"Hahahahha, you foolish little girl! You can't break through my Mountainous Tiger's Hide technique, can't you see that? Give up!!"
//Mountainous Tiger's Hide, High Bronze, Perfected//
Now that she's taking a closer look, Xuelan can see faint tiger stripes on his skin, it was tough and thick, shimmering with aura like an apex predator's indomitable hide
//Feral Tiger Fist, High Bronze, Mastered//
With his free hand, taking advantage of Xuelan's close proximity, the man gathered Qi and launched a fist it at her head, his strike cloaked with an orange aura with black stripes and all the ferocity of a tiger
Xuelan reacted, and blocked with her left forearm, the blow so powerful it sent her back a few meters, her feet dragging on the ground leaving scars in the soil
Her forearm severely bruised, and strangely enough, within the fist imprint left by the blow were bleeding claw marks as if she was pounced on by a ferocious tiger
'This is bad, I have no way to breakthrough his defence'
Xuelan panicked as she fixed her stance and facing
The bandit's stature seems bigger, or perhaps, she saw herself becoming smaller and more helpless
'The Diancang Fog Palm might be able to attack him from within, bypassing his hide, but… I haven't finished learning it… what do I do…'
The bandit stepped nearer, raised his blade dramatically, gathered Qi and swing down directly at her
//Mountainous Cleave, Mid Bronze, Mastered//