Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Chapter 82: Struggle

Not good!

At the moment danger arrived, all of Bai Zhengliu’s completed and unfinished thoughts were suppressed. The body of a martial artist instinctively took control; he pressed with his feet and suddenly kicked toward the face below!

Cold.

This was Bai Zhengliu’s first sensation.

As his feet touched the other, he felt everything below his ankles turn icy and numb. His body was uncontrollably pulled downward, while the Twenty-Eight Generals carved a long mark on the ice wall before him—

Bai Zhengliu faced a choice!

Should he draw his sword? If he drew it, he would have a weapon in hand, but he would continue to fall, which played right into the wraith’s intentions. If he didn’t draw it, relying only on his feet, it seemed he could do little to affect the wraith.

Given that, there was no need to hesitate.

Bai Zhengliu suddenly drew the Twenty-Eight Generals from the ice wall.

The long blade appeared, radiating a luminous glow. Bai Zhengliu’s body fell, the wind at his ears carrying a bone-chilling cold.

He bent his body like a drawn bow. Even now, his face showed no panic or confusion.

Bai Zhengliu tightened his grip on the long sword and struck downward at the wraith below!

In that instant, the swordsman felt as if he were striking a block of ice.

The blade fell; the wraith’s hands gripping his feet snapped at the wrists and released. The eerie smile on the wraith’s face instantly turned into terror, yet Bai Zhengliu gave no chance for escape.

He focused, sending warmth from his dantian throughout his body; his numb feet regained their temperature. Without even looking, Bai Zhengliu knew that the parts of his ankles previously gripped had already suffered deep frostbite. Now, the marks completely disappeared.

He marveled internally and mentally noted this as a clever use of dantian energy. At the same time, he struck again, this time aiming for the wraith’s head.

What a shocking, incredible scene!

A mere mortal not only attacked the mountain spirit that threatened him but actually caused real damage!

The blade fell; indeed, cutting through the wraith was not much harder than cutting ice with the Twenty-Eight Generals. Bai Zhengliu directly sliced the wraith’s head in two, revealing a blood-soaked layer inside.

In any other place, Bai Zhengliu would have been splattered with blood all over his face. But here it was different; the wraith’s body was icy cold, and every inch of flesh had frozen along with it. Bai Zhengliu’s strike was like cutting a large ice block into smaller blocks, and it remained solid before his eyes.

Bai Zhengliu’s eyes narrowed as he raised the sword once again.He remembered what Ma Er had said back at the Tan residence.

“Dead people” are different from “living people.” A living person has wounds that can directly kill, but the dead do not have such concerns. Even if cut into pieces, leaving only a hand, it can still circulate the “qi” contained in that hand throughout the body, forming a shadow that, though pale and weak, remains complete.

So what he was facing now was far from enough. He needed to slice it into smaller pieces, and then smaller still. Ideally, it should be like the strike General Yang once taught him, a single cut that would utterly disperse the wraith’s spirit.

Speaking of which… how did General Yang do it?

Images of Yang Chun-yue’s appearance flashed through Bai Zhengliu’s mind.

If he considered other details from that time, he might hesitate. But since it was related to his beloved sword, the first thing Bai Zhengliu thought of was: that radiance! Yes, when General Yang appeared, the luminescence on the Twenty-Eight Generals—far surpassed what he was seeing now!

Realizing this, Bai Zhengliu’s mind cleared.

It was the same “qi,” but what he was using was clearly much weaker than what General Yang had used! This was likely the main reason he could only chip away inch by inch instead of directly dispersing the wraith.

So now, what should he do to focus the “qi” on the Twenty-Eight Generals?

Though his body was still falling, Bai Zhengliu paid no mind. He focused intently on his sword, as if infinite internal energy surged from his dantian, instantly filling all his meridians!

Naturally, this included his eyes.

He had thought he was seeing very clearly. Now he realized it wasn’t enough.

Previously, he could only discern the contours of surrounding objects. Now, every detail above, below, and around him was clearly reflected in his vision.

No, not just in his eyes—he could even see behind him. These scenes seemed directly projected into his mind, allowing him to grasp every situation around him, including the very bottom of the ice crevice now visible to Bai Zhengliu.

He was very close to it.

Without mishap, falling from such a height, the swordsman would certainly be smashed to pieces!

Not only he was thinking this, but also the wraith—its hands already severed by Bai Zhengliu, half its head gone—oh, now even the remaining half was gone.

Without facial features, Bai Zhengliu shouldn’t have been able to see its excited malice. Yet he did, and he sensed it, seeing through the wraith to glimpse past events.

This was not the first time it had harmed someone.

Hiding in the ice crevice and dragging people down was something the wraith had done many times.

Its strength wasn’t particularly high; otherwise, it wouldn’t need such small tricks. But it was precisely these small tricks that allowed it to thrive in the Tianshan Mountains, devouring many lotus pickers who fell into the ice crevices.That wasn’t all. Once, someone had fallen, but those outside didn’t give up and chose to climb down to rescue them. The wraith saw this and was at first surprised, then exhilarated. It played a trick: “pretend to be the rescued, cling to the rescuer’s back until they are about to exit the ice crevice, then reveal its true form, scaring them into releasing their hold and falling into the abyss.”

Unlike Ma Er, who had been controlled by Lady Meng to set up gambling, all of this came from the wraith’s own malice. It hated all living people, wanting to keep every lotus picker on the mountain as its companion.

Bai Zhengliu murmured, “You won’t get that chance.”

His mind shifted, and in that moment, he felt as if the Twenty-Eight Generals had become part of his own body.

They extended outward from his arms, the warm current surging from his dantian flowing into the sword hilt and blade. Finally, the blade illuminated a dazzling, bright scene deep in the dark ice crevice.

To the wraith hiding in darkness, the brilliance was like sunlight shining into a shadowed corner. It sensed danger and tried to retreat and escape. But Bai Zhengliu would never give it the opportunity.

Slash!

He was a swordsman; his long sword could cut through wind and snow, and naturally, it could also cut through injustice and the wicked!

The light radiating from the blade seemed invisible, yet now it became like an even wider, sharper version of the Twenty-Eight Generals! Its tip touched the wraith’s back mid-escape. That single strike, like hitting a block of ice in firewood, caused the wraith to begin melting from its back!

“N-no—”

Bai Zhengliu heard the terrified cry of the wraith. Its body trembled, and yet it ran faster. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into the darkness before Bai Zhengliu. The light from the Twenty-Eight Generals chased it, but this was Bai Zhengliu’s first time using this technique, and he still had many uncertainties.

Plus, his body was still falling. Seeing the wraith vanish, the energy concentrated in the Twenty-Eight Generals gradually dissipated. Only the part that had already chased out continued onward. Soon, Bai Zhengliu heard shouting from dozens of meters away.

“Ahhhhhhh—!!!!”

The wraith had been struck hard. Its once vague, ethereal form was reduced to a thin shadow. And yet, that was enough for it to escape!

Bai Zhengliu silently noted the regret. But for now, he had no time to dwell on it.

Most importantly, he was finally reaching the bottom! The swordsman had no thought of “if I don’t kill the wraith, I’ll just fall to my death first.” Even if there was regret, he had to focus on the situation at hand.

His first reaction was to concentrate his dantian energy in his feet, just as he had done when facing the avalanche, allowing him to step on air.

And indeed, he managed it.

The swordsman’s figure hovered in midair, a stream of light flowing beneath him.

Using this flow of light, he briefly surveyed his surroundings and was surprised to find that the very bottom of the ice crevice was actually a rather large space, as if the mountain’s cold had forgotten this place.

The flowing light began to fade again.

Bai Zhengliu took a deep breath and attempted to move upward.No matter what, he still had to go back. Brother Mei was still above, and the lotus pickers they had finally found…

He had just thought this when he heard a sound.

It was as if someone was falling, or as if something had broken through the ice. Bai Zhengliu paused, gripping the sword sheath tightly in his palm, and a mischievous saying from the martial world came to mind at an inopportune moment.

“Never provoke those born into good families, dressed in luxury, whose martial skill is mediocre.” In teahouses and taverns, such “martial seniors” would chat with young people, “Do you know why?”

Everyone: “We don’t, senior. Please enlighten us.”

“If you beat the young ones,” the senior said, “you’re bound to face the elders!”

Everyone: “Huh? …Oh!”

Thinking carefully, it really made sense.

If one’s family had no real power, how could they raise such arrogant, domineering natures? How could they be so brazen and yet still alive?

Surely someone was backing them.

Bai Zhengliu murmured, “But this… is still a matter of the human world. I know wraiths are humans transformed, but this is too…” He trailed off as the swordsman suddenly fell silent.

He saw the figure that had already appeared before him!

Unlike Bai Zhengliu, who had been falling all along with the flow of light supporting his body and thus maintained his composure, the other person looked much more exhausted—but still determined.

Seeing the light below, the figure immediately lifted their head and looked at the person in the center of the light. Seeing Bai Zhengliu unharmed, a smile of relief spread across their face.

Bai Zhengliu noticed and was slightly stunned. “Brother Mei? How did you come down?”

As he spoke, a boundless warmth surged in his heart.

Author’s note:

Xiao Mei: I’ve caught up!