Chapter 173: Special Training, Pursuit in the Moonlight

After finishing their discussion on the counter-strategies and arranging the defensive measures on Mount Qixia, they realized that noon was fast approaching. Although everyone was still in high spirits, they were mindful not to exhaust Shen Qianmo. Reluctantly, despite their lingering enthusiasm, they rose to take their leave.

Baili Xiao and Xie Mingfeng shared a similar temperament and found each other great company, so they agreed to visit a nearby restaurant to continue their conversation. Outside the Prince’s Manor, Xie Mingfeng gave Xie Yao a brief instruction, telling her to return home alone, and then left briskly with Baili Xiao, surrounded by a group of companions.

Mo Ye walked out of the manor shortly after. Seeing Xie Yao standing alone by the entrance, he gave a slight, expressionless nod as a greeting, but without breaking his stride, he brushed past her and walked away with long strides.

Watching Mo Ye's straight back as he walked farther and farther away, Xie Yao bit her lip, as if making a sudden decision, and called out to stop him.

"Brother Mo!"

Mo Ye turned his head and saw Xie Yao running towards him with short, quick steps. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Miss Xie need something?"

Though her fair face was slightly flushed, Xie Yao was completely unpretentious and generously said, "Brother Mo, wait for me. Since we're heading in the same direction, we might as well walk together."

It was only then that Mo Ye truly looked at Xie Yao. Intelligent, refined, and graceful, with the subtle scholarly aura born of a scholarly family, she was an exceptional young woman. Unfortunately, to Mo Ye, Xie Yao was simply a very nice person, nothing more. He held no other thoughts whatsoever regarding her.

Frowning almost imperceptibly, he replied in an even tone, "I'm sorry, Miss Xie, but I am heading to the special training base right now, so our paths do not actually align."

The Princess Consort was scheduled to inspect the base tomorrow to review the training results, so he had to rush to the secret base as soon as possible to make preparations.

Since the Princess Consort trusted him enough to put him in charge of such an important task, he had to do his absolute best to live up to her heavy reliance on him.

As the top martial artist of the Mo Sect, Mo Ye rarely yielded to anyone, especially women. In his categorization, women fell into only two types: those who practiced martial arts and those who did not. Whichever type they belonged to, he had never taken any of them to heart.

That was until he met Shen Qianmo.

The first time he saw her was at the ten-mile pavilion outside Shengjing City. That day, his Mo Family was exiled to the desolate city, and the elders passed the Mo Token to her.

When he heard about it at the time, he was extremely unimpressed. Even if she were the Prince Xuan's Consort, what of it? She was merely a petite, delicate woman with no strength to truss a chicken; how could she possibly shoulder the heavy responsibility of the Mo Sect?

Later, while in the desolate city, he had also heard rumors of the Prince Xuan's Consort leading troops into battle, guarding Jinanyang Pass, and repelling an army of one hundred thousand from Northern Di. At the time, he assumed they were just rumors, surely exaggerated.

It wasn't until he came to Mocheng and interacted with her along the way that he truly realized Shen Qianmo understood far beyond his imagination.

That special training base, though managed daily by the elders and himself, had standards for personnel selection, schedules for training programs, designs for field maps, and everything else born entirely from Shen Qianmo's ideas. He was merely an executor, following the diagrams and acting by orders.

Sometimes he truly could not understand. Clearly, the Princess Consort was merely a noble young lady from a Grand Duke's estate, yet why did she understand so many strange training methods? Some of the training exercises were completely unheard of to him: weighted running, close-quarters combat, breakout reconnaissance, rock climbing and shooting, wilderness survival... Everything broadened his horizons, though it sometimes left him utterly baffled.

However, after more than two months of special training, the results forced him to submit with complete conviction. Although the one hundred and eight individuals still undergoing special training at the base did not each possess internal energy as deep or martial arts as formidable as his when taken as isolated individuals, they performed their respective duties, cooperated seamlessly, and showed extraordinary coordination. Their overall combat effectiveness was terrifyingly powerful.

In Mo Ye's eyes, Shen Qianmo was clearly an anomaly among women, yet she commanded his heartfelt respect and admiration. This feeling had nothing to do with romance; it was simply the pure awe of a subordinate toward a superior.

Therefore, his mind held only a single thought at present: to execute the task entrusted to him by Shen Qianmo to absolute perfection. As for Xie Yao's obvious goodwill just now, Mo Ye had no mental bandwidth to spare for it.

Being exceptionally clever, Xie Yao naturally caught the deliberate aloofness in Mo Ye's words. Having been rejected so bluntly, even with her usual poise, she could not help feeling a bit shy and embarrassed. Her pretty face flushed slightly, and a faint mist welled up in her eyes.

Seeing her like this, Mo Ye scratched his head, feeling quite helpless. However, Xie Yao was, after all, the daughter of the Xie Estate and the cousin of the Princess Consort; shouldn't he be a bit more polite?

With that thought, his stern expression softened slightly. Seeing Mo Yang walking out from the entrance of the Prince's Manor and approaching the two of them in long strides, he grabbed him and said, "Mo Yang, escort Miss Xie back to her estate."

Since this fellow had nothing better to do anyway, this task suited him best.

Hearing this, Mo Yang felt a surge of joy. It was precisely what he wished for, and he nodded repeatedly without hesitation, "Yes, Brother! Younger brother guarantees to escort Miss Xie safely back to the estate."

Mo Ye's mouth twitched. When did this fellow, usually so lacking in decorum, become so polite to him? But right then, he had no leisure to deal with what he considered such meaningless matters. After giving a few brief instructions, he bid the two farewell and hurried toward the secret base outside the city.

Watching Mo Yang and Mo Ye part ways, Xie Yao stared as Mo Ye's athletic and upright figure gradually disappeared, a trace of loss lingering in her expression. Recovering her senses, she heard Mo Yang calling out to her.

"Miss Xie... Miss Xie, let us go."

Though feeling somewhat saddened, thanks to her fine upbringing, Xie Yao did not show it. She forced herself to perk up, offered Mo Yang a slight smile, nodded, and took the lead.

Back inside the courtyard, Ye Qinglan, who was about to bid farewell and turn to leave, was called back by Shen Qianmo.

"Qinglan, there is something I would like your help with."

"Speak." Ye Qinglan never wasted words. After uttering those two concise syllables, she quietly awaited Shen Qianmo's instructions.

For once, a rare hesitation flickered across Shen Qianmo's face. After pondering for a long while, she finally said, "Let us go inside and discuss the details."

Though her expression remained unchanged, Ye Qinglan's thoughts shifted subtly. Could this matter be rather difficult to handle?

***

The night was cool like water, and all was dead silent. Dressed entirely in night-walker attire, Ye Qinglan stood gracefully and independently outside the high wall of the courtyard in the city, almost blending completely into the night. Yet, her normally unrippled mind was currently stirred as she looked up at the sky and sighed almost imperceptibly.

This matter wasn't merely difficult to handle; it was... exceptionally difficult.

Yet she also knew that Shen Qianmo's concerns were well-founded, and besides entrusting this to her, no better candidate could be found.

Could she possibly hand it to Baili Xiao, that loud-mouthed chatterbox who couldn't keep a secret?

Gathering her inner breath slightly, she grew as light as a swallow, leaping up and clinging silently to the top of the high wall. What came into view was the window not far away that still emitted a dim, yellowish glow.

Through the paper window, candlelight cast the distinct, sharp-featured silhouette of a man holding a book.

Hedian Cheng. Silently reciting that name in her heart, Ye Qinglan watched quietly for a moment. Even in the dim light of the night, her eyes remained limpid like autumn streams, and her brows were painted like fine art. A moment later, she exhaled lightly, tipped her toes, and like a graceful black swan, flew soundlessly up to the roof directly above that window.

Her cat-like, noiseless footsteps trod upon the roof tiles until a sudden "crack" broke the silence—though the sound was extremely faint, almost imperceptible to ordinary people. However, Helian Cheng inside the room was clearly no ordinary person. Immediately, a low, stern demand rang out.

"Who goes there?"

Ye Qinglan's lips pressed into a thin line. This man was indeed vigilant.

Yet that had been her intention all along. Seeing that her goal was achieved, she sprang up without a moment's hesitation, leaping across several rooftops toward the dense grove behind the courtyard.

Under the moonlight, her figure was lithe and agile as she wove effortlessly through the trees. As expected, a rush of fierce wind came from behind, and a moon-white figure followed closely, possessing an upright posture and superb lightness skills.

Feeling how quickly Helian Cheng had closed the distance in such a short time, Ye Qinglan was somewhat surprised. She considered her own lightness skills to be formidable, yet Helian Cheng's proficiency matched her own neck-and-neck.

"Stop right there!" With a low shout, a fierce sword Qi instantly struck from behind. The blow seemed to hold nothing back, leaving her no room to dodge and nowhere to hide.

Since her goal was precisely to lure Helian Cheng into this secluded grove, and now that the objective was accomplished, Ye Qinglan stopped fleeing. She drew the soft sword from her waist and turned to parry the strike.

"Clang!"

The two swords collided, producing a crisp, sharp sound. In an instant, a black figure and a white figure became entangled in fierce combat.

Ye Qinglan excelled in her nimble posture, flexible swordsmanship, and tricky moves. However, Helian Cheng's swordsmanship flowed like drifting clouds and flowing water; every strike was fierce and utterly without flaw, making it difficult for either to gain the upper hand in a short time.

Fighting inevitably generated commotion and risked alerting others, which was not Ye Qinglan's original intention when she lured Helian Cheng here tonight. Having no desire for a prolonged battle, she deliberately feinted a false move, allowing Helian Cheng to seize the opportunity and break through her defense.

In the blink of an eye, the longsword in Helian Cheng's hand, gleaming with a biting chill under the silver moonlight, rested firmly against Ye Qinglan's neck.

"It's you?!" Taking in the facial features of the woman before him, Helian Cheng's handsome brows furrowed deeply, clearly showing genuine surprise.