The Thousand-Mile Pursuit and the White Moonlight

On the other side, Xu Niantang was being escorted by a group of martial arts school disciples, preparing to fight their way out of Quzhou City.

A thick, metallic scent of blood hung heavy in the air, while the low howls of malevolent spirits echoed in their ears, making it feel as though they had descended into an infernal hell.

They formed two wary lines, cautiously advancing step by agonizing step.

No one knew what awaited them around the next street corner: would it be the imperial soldiers arriving to rescue them, or the dreaded corpse puppets that would lunge to tear at their throats?

Xu Niantang’s head hung low, her steps sluggish and dazed as two female disciples supported her, one on each side, pulling her forward.

She had just been attacked by a corpse puppet, leaving her arm scored with bloody gashes that bled profusely.

Immediately, a quick-witted disciple swiftly tore a strip from their own sleeve, “Shhhk—” and quickly bound it to staunch the bleeding from their Grandmaster’s wife’s wound.

Yet, this was merely a temporary measure. Without proper and timely treatment, the wound could easily become infected, leading to catastrophic consequences.

At that moment, a male disciple suddenly halted, declaring loudly:

“Grandmaster’s wife, I have an urgent call of nature. May I please go relieve myself?”

Xu Niantang struggled to lift her gaze, her lips trembling as she murmured:

“Don’t mind me… go ahead…”

No sooner had the disciple spoken than several others chimed in:

“Right! Now that you mention it, I feel it too! Grandmaster’s wife, we’ll just be a moment!”

Without waiting for Xu Niantang’s reply, they hoisted their blades, spears, and staves, vanishing abruptly around the street corner.

Xu Niantang was about to call out, ‘Hurry back!’ to their retreating figures.

However, a female disciple beside her spoke up instead:

“Those few always take forever in the latrine. Let’s not wait for them; they’ll catch up eventually!”

Xu Niantang glanced at her, surprised.

The female disciple’s lips trembled, her face utterly devoid of color, yet her expression remained stubbornly resolute:

“Damn it, let’s go!”

A chorus of agreement met her words, and the remaining disciples, filled with grim determination, half-dragged, half-pulled Xu Niantang forward.

Xu Niantang furrowed her brows, suppressing the searing pain from her wound, while her heart thumped with an unnerving clarity, “Thump-thump—” within her chest.

‘Why didn’t they wait?’

‘Was it because they believed there was no point in waiting?’

Turning into the next alley, they could already glimpse the black tide of corpse puppets in the distance.

They were clustered together, hunched over, seemingly devouring something piled on the ground.

The chilling sound of their chewing abruptly ceased.

With stiff, jerky movements, they twisted their necks, their black-blooded eye sockets all turning to fix on the group.

The leading male disciple, a long blade at his waist, roared in fury:

“This way is blocked too! We need to find another route!”

But no sooner had his words left his lips than someone gasped:

“Senior Brother Zhao, be careful…”

Several corpse puppets had already materialized like specters, raising their sharp, gnarled claws, bony as withered branches, poised to rip him open.

Senior Brother Zhao felt as if a cold, sharp claw had seized his heart, and a wave of goosebumps erupted over his entire body.

Fortunately, someone among the disciples reacted quickly, desperately surging forward to shoulder-barge him out of the way.

“Thud!” Both of them tumbled to the ground, barely evading a swift, wind-like sneak attack from the corpse puppet behind them.

Senior Brother Zhao cursed vehemently:

“We are martial artists! What the hell is with this sneak attack?! Don’t you know it’s basic etiquette to finish your lines before making a move?”

The disciple who had saved him was also sprawled in pain, groaning as if every bone in his body had shattered.

“Senior Brother Zhao, you’re trying to talk about etiquette with these inhuman monstrosities?”

Senior Brother Zhao, usually a refined and gentle gentleman, paused, taken aback.

“You’re right! And I think I just swore, which totally ruined my image. So, screw it, I’ll just go all out!”

He suddenly leaped up, his long blade flashing from its sheath, a streak of white light like lightning.

“Witness your Grandfather Zhao’s ‘Thunderclap from Flat Ground’!”

With a resounding boom, several corpse puppets exploded directly in front of him, splattering thick, putrid black blood across the ground.

He landed steadily, yet the great blade in his hand trembled uncontrollably.

“I think I suddenly have to go too. I need to use the latrine first. All of you, quickly protect the Grandmaster’s wife and leave. I’ll catch up once I’m done!”

From the ranks of the disciples, a figure shot out.

“Senior Brother Zhao, you always act superior to me. This time, I won’t let you! If we’re going, we’re going together!”

Senior Brother Zhao retorted:

“Junior Brother Long? You, a scrawny runt, trying to show off in front of the Grandmaster’s wife? Don’t you know she’s already taken?”

Senior Brother Long snapped back:

“Damn it, Zhao, I knew nothing good would come out of your dog mouth. Just go die!”

Xu Niantang gradually found their words blurring into an indistinct murmur.

She felt a chill spread through her body, a clear symptom of excessive blood loss.

The clamor of footsteps around her sounded like a chaotic drumbeat, interspersed with snippets of human voices:

“Senior Sister, we can’t get through here either. What should we do?”

“Senior Sister, there are only a few left to hold the rear. Should we make a final stand and carve out a path?”

“Grandmaster’s wife, what’s wrong? Wake up, wake up!”

As if someone had pulled her from the depths of the ocean, Xu Niantang suddenly awoke, sensing the fresh sunlight, sounds, and air.

The blurry things that had seemed to drift away from her now circled back, returning to her perception.

She forced open her impossibly heavy eyelids, her gaze sharpening to focus on the slender male disciple before her.

“I… I’m fine…”

The male disciple’s eyes were filled with worry, but seeing that the Grandmaster’s wife had the strength to speak, his face immediately brightened with relief.

“That’s good, that’s good! Grandmaster’s wife, do you still have strength? Shall we continue?”

Xu Niantang lifted her gaze, scanning her surroundings, and suddenly realized something was amiss.

“Where are the others?”

The male disciple was instantly speechless, his throat seeming to constrict, and his nose twitched.

After a long moment, he finally spoke loudly:

“Grandmaster’s wife, as the saying goes, ‘lazy people always have to relieve themselves.’ They’ve all gone to the damn latrine!”

Xu Niantang quietly lowered her gaze to him.

“And you? Are you about to go too?”

The male disciple froze, his lips parting and trembling for a long time, yet unable to utter a single word.

Xu Niantang closed her eyes, taking a breath before she spoke.

“I’m fine… just protect yourselves…”

The low, mournful howling echoed in their ears once more.

The male disciple estimated there were quite a number of them. He knew it would be impossible to protect the Grandmaster’s wife alone; he could only try to buy as much time as possible.

With a forceful nod, he said:

“Grandmaster’s wife, then I’m going too, damn it! I’ll come back later to hear you tell us the ninth chapter of ‘The Flying Bandit’s Thousand-Mile Pursuit of His Wife: Revised Edition’!”

Xu Niantang smiled and nodded, then suddenly asked:

“What is your name?”

The male disciple paused, then quickly replied:

“Grandmaster’s wife, my name is A’si. That good-for-nothing who runs gambling rings every day, and who once asked Grandmaster to send you a piece of candy!”

Xu Niantang chuckled softly.

“A’si, I must tell you, all those stories I told you were actually lies. It was I who chased him for a thousand *li*. It was I who shamelessly clung to him, and only when he was utterly exasperated did he reluctantly allow me to stay by his side.”

A’si was a little stunned, thinking, ‘Isn’t this the kind of plot twist that’s only revealed in the grand finale?’

“So,”

Xu Niantang reached out and ruffled A’si’s hair, finding it soft and fuzzy to the touch.

“I chased him for a thousand *li*. I clung to him for so, so long. I am the one in this world who is best at finding him.”

A’si finally understood the Grandmaster’s wife’s meaning.

His eyes suddenly welled up, and then an uncontrollable stream of tears poured forth.

His teeth chattered, and to prevent himself from sobbing aloud, he bit down hard on his lip until a trickle of blood appeared:

“Grandmaster’s wife, A’si is useless. Damn it, in the end, I can’t protect you completely. I can only go serve as a shield for the corpses and buy a little more time!”

“It’s alright.”

Xu Niantang smiled.

“I won’t die. You have all protected me very well.”

She watched as his slender figure, seemingly relieved, departed into the distance.

Xu Niantang lowered her gaze; the cloth strip binding her wound was already soaked red with blood.

Along the ten-li long street, she walked, the low howls of the corpse puppets echoing in her ears.

Yet, for some unknown reason, the corpse puppets only dared to watch from a distance, emitting fearful whimpers, as if in an act of reverence or worship.

Xu Niantang pulled a small knife from her sash. It was what Alliance Leader Lei had thrust into her hand earlier amidst the chaos, for self-defense.

With the small knife, she deliberately widened her wound, and blood instantly gushed forth.

‘If those disciples were still by her side, they surely wouldn’t have allowed her to do this.’

‘Such an act of self-harm, let alone fighting her way out of Quzhou City, would likely see her collapse before even reaching the city gates.’

However, the corpse puppets blocking her path, upon catching the scent of her blood, began to retreat in a panic.

Just a little earlier, at Yifang Hall, Luo Yifang had used her blood as a medicinal primer to cure Lei Ling.

He had hunched his back and approached Xu Niantang, saying:

“Little girl, your blood can save lives.”

Xu Niantang had asked:

“Then how many people can I save?”

Luo Yifang had pondered for a moment before replying:

“Perhaps a thousand, perhaps two thousand?”

Xu Niantang had then said:

“And what about everyone else? Does that mean I’d be leaving them to die?”

Luo Yifang had been startled, then said:

“You can’t quite look at it that way…”

Xu Niantang had smiled.

“Doctor Luo, I’m no great hero. I’m just a little girl who loves to eat, sleep, and brag. I can’t be a chivalrous figure who saves the world, nor can I rescue others from their fate. Sometimes, I can’t even save those who care for me, or those I care for.”

Luo Yifang had remained silent for a long while before finally speaking.

“In all the prescriptions this old man has ever written, you, little girl, are the only one who has ever made me stumble. I have no regrets!”

Xu Niantang had chuckled.

“Thank you for your kind words, Doctor Luo.”

Blood “Drip, drip—” splattered onto the ground from above.

Along the path Xu Niantang took, a trail of bloodstains unfurled like blooming, wild flowers.

The corpse puppets dared not approach a single drop of her pure blood, only gazing at her with longing eyes.

They allowed Xu Niantang to walk forward, step by step.

They seemed devoid of sentience, capable only of emitting meaningless, guttural roars.

Yet, they also seemed to possess a human-like intelligence.

They waited for Xu Niantang to collapse from exhaustion, for her blood to run dry, before they would swarm her and tear her apart.

Xu Niantang lifted her arm, delicate as a lotus root, her wrist still bleeding profusely from the knife’s cut.

Xu Niantang thought, ‘Bad guy, if you don’t come for me soon, I’m really going to die.’

‘If you don’t come for me, ‘The Flying Bandit’s Pursuit of His Wife: Cremation Ground’ will truly have its reversal. I’ll finally get to experience what it feels like to be chased by you.’

‘Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad. After all, the bad guy doesn’t like her.’

‘If she died, perhaps his conscience would stir, and he’d feel guilty for a while?’

‘Perhaps she would become the deceased ‘white moonlight’ in his heart?’

As Xu Niantang’s mind wandered with these idle thoughts, a distant light suddenly pierced the sky, and the tide of corpse puppets fell like wheat being scythed.

Xu Niantang stumbled, falling downwards.

She landed on a back so warm and solid.

She mumbled:

“In the end, there was no reversal after all.”

Ye Di, disguised as a corpse puppet with sharp fangs and bloodied skin, frowned and asked:

“Xu Niantang, what are you mumbling about on my back?”

Xu Niantang desperately wanted to bite him, but she had no strength left. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck, finding a comfortable position to cling to him, and mumbled vaguely:

“Why did you become so ugly?”

Ye Di replied:

“Without any clues, I had no choice but to disguise myself as a corpse puppet and blend into the horde to see where the puppet master would lead us, didn’t I?”

Xu Niantang pouted.

“So, where’s the mastermind?”

Ye Di said:

“Couldn’t find them! Who knew this place would fall so quickly!”

Xu Niantang said softly:

“Yes, it fell too quickly… so many people… have left…”

Ye Di, however, disagreed with her.

“Xu Niantang, we’ll settle accounts for your self-harm later. Let’s go, I’ll take you to find them first. We’ll save as many as we can!”

Xu Niantang’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You? Just you alone…?”

She certainly wasn’t looking down on him, but the scale of the corpse transformation in the city was too vast, the sight too terrifying, leaving an almost indelible shadow in her heart.

Ye Di suddenly turned his head.

Xu Niantang stared at him, almost falling into his captivating eyes, her heart skipping a beat.

Ye Di sighed.

“Xu Niantang, I knew you always took my words as wind passing by your ears. Do you remember? Someone of my caliber could easily cut through the entire city of Quzhou, it’s nothing to me.”

Xu Niantang found him incredibly annoying. He always boasted in front of her, stirring a flutter in her heart.

The crucial thing was that he always managed to achieve it with such effortless grace, making her heart race.

But she didn’t want to retort anymore.

She simply whispered very softly into his ear:

“Then let’s go.”