Legacy World 1.16 Drag It Out

The spy bent down to pick her up again but Xinyi swung her sword at him, which he easily dodged.

Each time he tried to approach her, each time she swung her sword. Leaves and dirt flew. Deep cuts formed on the ground. The spiritual power of her attacks increased her attack range and would normally have kept people at bay, but looking at the ease at which the spy was dodging every one of her strikes, she was sure that he was merely toying with her.

His eyes were filled with glee while he very slowly but surely got closer to her. He was already picturing the ways he could have her later.

After letting her swing her sword around for a while more, he finally threw out another rock to put a stop to it. The rock hit her hand and made her drop the sword. In the same instant she dropped her sword, he reached her side and caught her.

After he sheathed her sword for her, he carried Xinyi under his arm like she was some roll of cloth which effectively restrained her arms. He was also mindful of carrying her in a way that her good leg would not be

able to touch him no matter how much she struggled and kicked.

After a short desperate but useless struggle, Xinyi's body suddenly went limp.

The smile on the spy's face faded a little as he looked down at her.

/… Did I go a little overboard in my mental torture?/

Unbeknownst to him, all the time that he thought he was mentally torturing Xinyi, she was communicating with BaoBao.

/ZhangYong's here?/

[Yes!]

/It doesn't seem like this spy is aware of it yet though. There's no urgency at all. Unless he's really wonky in the head…/

[ZhangYong's behaviour also indicates to me that he's still moving without a clear direction.]

/So your surveillance range is wider than theirs… BaoBao, inform me the second you see the slightest difference in ZhangYong's behaviour, okay?/

[Got it!]

After she was caught and found that there was no way to break free, she decided to just rest and recover so that she could put up the fiercest fight once they detected each other's presence and give ZhangYong the chance to reach them.

As much as she disliked that she was going to have to rely on ZhangYong again, she believed that this was the only way she could possibly survive with some dignity instead of living as some entertainment for an individual with a sick taste.

"What's wrong, kitten?"

"It's obvious that I can't win against you. You're too strong." Xinyi replied with resignation clear in her voice. Her head was still hanging low. She looked completely defeated.

"... So this is all the fight you have in you?" He stopped in his tracks and started to look displeased. He found it no fun if she became another meek obedient woman.

"What if it is?"

"Then there's no purpose in having you."

"Does that mean my death or am I let off?" Xinyi probed for clarification. She could only hope that his weird taste would make him ignore meek women. She would kick herself in her shin if he ended up letting her go just because she started acting meek and weak.

"I guess you'll be the first to experience what happens when my pet no longer satisfies me."

He roughly threw her onto the ground in front of him then slowly unsheathed his sword. The sound of it leaving its scabbard sounded like the harbinger of death.

Xinyi endured the agonising pain pulsing through her leg and bit out through gritted teeth, "Did I ever say that I gave up? When I said that I can't win against you, I obviously meant that I have no choice to be your kitten! Can't I rest for awhile? I don't have your stamina for god's sake."

The spy blinked a few times with a blank expression before understanding lit up his face. "So my kitten was only pretending to be meek to escape my clutches!"

After a short bout of relieved and joyful laughter, he continued speaking, "Even if you're tired, I won't let you rest until I'm satisfied, but don't worry, at the most you'll pass out. I'll make sure that you won't die. However, I won't guarantee your life if you lose it at the hands of people you're supposed to be stronger than."

Xinyi felt irked that he was basically briefing her on what her life as his pet would be like.

When he approached her again, she pointed her sword at him. "Don't touch me. I'll walk by myself."

He raised an eyebrow. "With that broken leg?"

He only needed to look at her stubborn and fierce expression to understand what she meant. His eyes darkened with desire again. "That's my kitten."

Xinyi slowly and shakily pushed herself off the ground with her sword. From the way she trembled and how her body was covered in sweat, he could imagine the pain she must be tolerating. Yet, there she stood with her back ramrod straight.

The overwhelming desire to have her drove him to make his move on her there and then. He appeared by her side faster than she could react again. One of his hands kept a firm hold on her hand that has her sword, while his other hand went to the back of her head.

Xinyi was caught completely off guard. She had just pushed herself off the ground when she found her lips being crushed painfully in the next moment.

As soon as she was aware of what was happening, her pupils constricted and a deep frown formed between her brows. Her free hand punched his side at maximum power but he only let out a grunt without budging. When she felt her lips being parted in the next moment, she reflexively bit down hard on his lip.

He pulled his head away fast enough before she bit a chunk of him off, then grinned while he looked down at her, admiring the burning anger in her eyes. "You're just so tempting and enticing. Take this as a preview of what's to come later."

He licked the blood off his lips with satisfaction and joy in his eyes.

"You give me very nice souvenirs. I can't wait."

His action and words sent chills down Xinyi's spine.

"Walk too slow and I'll carry you myself." He warned with a grin before turning to begin their return to the hideout.

Xinyi roughly wiped her lips with her sleeve then glared at three men. She gestured for them to stay between her and the spy.

The spy chuckled when he saw her actions. He then calmly told the hesitant men, "Do as she says." He was sure that Xinyi could not run away from him even if she was unobstructed, especially not in the condition she was in.

As such, they began returning without the fourth man who was still knocked out cold on the ground.

A short while later, the spy's steps faltered a little.

[Now!]

Xinyi took the chance when everyone was distracted with their leader's movement to spin gracefully on her good leg. Her sword silently and cleanly lopped everyone's head off their shoulders.

When he was greeted with such a bloody scene upon turning back to talk to her, he sighed regrettably with a trace of smile still lingering on his lips. "My kitten's so disobedient and crafty. We have to rush now though. As much as I like to have my fun with the commander as well, it's not time for a showdown with him yet."

Expecting him to appear by her side again, she swung her sword in a wide arc in front of her while dodging down. It effectively stopped him in his tracks right after he moved. She used this moment to back off and create more space between them then went into full defense mode.

Knowing that she would not be able to keep up with his speed, she tried to predict his movements instead. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and helped her bear with the pain in her leg. It was like her body recognised this battle as the one that would decide her fate.

The spy was genuinely amazed at the speed she grew when placed in crisis. She has already dodged a few of his moves even if it was by a hair's breadth. Her reflexes were at its peak and she was using everything she learnt about him in this one night to predict his moves. He finally turned serious and unleashed his full killing intent. "Sorry kitten, I don't have the time to play now."

Having experienced the might of ZhangYong's killing intent, Xinyi was only momentarily stunned. She managed to jump up at the last second to dodge his horizontal slash but became vulnerable to all the succeeding slashes of his sword. There was no room or way left for her to escape unscathed.

As soon as she curled into a ball with her arms and legs protecting her torso, she felt her flesh get sliced open in several areas. Her entire body also took the full brunt of his spiritual power. Her blood roiled and spurted out of her mouth. Her body crashed into a tree before limply dropping down to the ground like a broken doll.

The spy rushed towards her unmoving body on the ground. Just as he reached her side, he saw her eyes fly open and her sword slicing through the air towards him at the same time.

Since he was caught off guard for the first time, her attack managed to draw some blood.

Xinyi did not stop. She took the chance to unleash her bout of successive attacks.

High frequency sounds of swords clashing rang throughout the area as the spy parried each and every strike. He quickly regained a footing and pushed forward, ready to take Xinyi down with this move.

Xinyi yelled as she put all of her energy and determination into the final strike of her combo attack.

A sudden and unexpected explosion of spiritual power resulted from their clash that threw Xinyi's body back again. Just as she braced herself for impact, she felt herself being caught firmly in someone's embrace.

The person placed her down gently within the next second and left her with one sentence, "You can rest now."

The person came and left so quickly that she did not get to have a good look at the person's appearance. The voice also was deep and unrecognisable. Despite the lack of identifying information, she had no doubt about the person's identity. /Finally…/

Xinyi relaxed her body and focused entirely on recovering her strength. She was completely worn out from fighting the pressure that the spy's killing intent constantly put on her body.

The explosion of spiritual power had caused spy to stumble backwards several steps. He felt his blood roil from the blow but was, unfortunately, not given time to rest. Another succession of strikes that was far more powerful came flying at him.

ZhangYong made use of the momentum that Xinyi won to continue and put pressure on the spy.

Their attacks that carried the spiritual power of high level Heaven realm martial artists caused chaos. Leaves and dirt were sent flying everywhere, making it look like they were fighting in a storm. Branches and trees broke and fell. Blood littered the ground and stained their clothes.

After several fierce exchanges of blows,the spy realised that ZhangYong was dominating the fight in the way that a person from a higher level would. Although they dealt almost an equal number of injuries to each other, the injuries he suffered were worse in severity as compared to the ones ZhangYong suffered.

/How's this be possible?! I'm sure he has the same martial ability as me!/

Unbeknownst to everyone else besides ZhangYong, his current power was thanks to the spiritually nourished herbs, but he was also fueled by anger and murderous rage.

ZhangYong had spent years tirelessly searching for Xinyi high and low. When he could not find her in the capital or in any towns or villages, he turned to searching for her in the wilderness. He turned over every stone and scoured every corner that looked even remotely livable. Every failed search was a blow to his confidence. He believed that it was his fault that he could not find her.

Nevertheless, he did not give up hope, especially when he believed that the mystery person putting the lost articles on the path of the soldiers' patrol routes was Xinyi. Reports of such incidences only started ever since her disappearance.

When he was met with the scene of a relatively small body crashing hard against a tree before falling to the ground, his first and only thought was still of capturing the spy. However, the moment the "boy's" desperate last burst of attack revealed the face behind the scraggly hair, his heart stopped and his mind blanked out.

/Pearl./

She looked different and darker than what he remembered, but he had thought of her so much that he was able to recognise her immediately.

His body moved to go to her aid before his mind started working again.

He then witnessed the very scene he treasured and loved seeing the most on the battlefield. A breakthrough that could turn the tides. It brought back familiar feelings of pride and happiness. Nostalgia filled him but there was also rage. Uncontrollable rage. Now that he was close enough to her, he saw very clearly how her body was littered with grievous injuries.

It had not yet crossed his mind how the extent of his emotions far surpassed the anxiety and fear he instinctively felt when he witnessed the moment when HuiShan almost lost her life at the banquet.

As much as he wanted to explode, he controlled himself and made sure that he placed her down carefully. Right after he told her to rest, he left with a murderous look in his eyes to unleash his wrath with a series of reckless and random strikes of his sword.

He let himself be lost in his rage since he knew that Xinyi was safe behind him. As long as he continued to push the spy back and away from Xinyi, it would be fine.

Very soon, however, a sword fight was no longer enough to satisfy him or quell the rage rampaging within him. ZhangYong threw his sword aside and his fist connected with the spy's stomach in the next second.

The spy flew back, breaking a few trees along the way. His body felt thrashed and weak, and blood poured out of his mouth.

ZhangYong appeared in front of him with an arm raised and ready to pummel him down without giving him a chance to take a breather.

At the same moment, the spy's bloodied mouth stretched into a wide grin. "Goodbye, it was nice fighting you."