The Life of a Necromancer as a Swashbuckler

Chapter 41: A Strange Encounter by the Lake

Nameless feared that if he allowed the Xuan Nu Gong to continue unchecked, he might actually undergo a gender transformation. Terrified, he hurriedly took out the manual on dispelling the qigong and began reading. After finishing, however, he felt somewhat disheartened. The book stated there were two methods for dispelling the qigong: the first was to bury oneself in the ground for seven times seven—forty-nine days—during which the qigong would naturally dissipate;The second method was to sit beneath a waterfall, allowing the water to drench one’s entire body for seven times seven—forty-nine days—after which the energy would dissipate. Most importantly, during this period, one must absolutely refrain from using any internal energy; otherwise, the energy would backfire. At best, one’s meridians would be severed, rendering further martial arts cultivation impossible; at worst, one would suffer from “fire running amok,” lose one’s sanity, or even die. Nameless couldn’t help but feel a bit downcast. It now seemed that neither of these methods was practical for him. The priority now was to rush to Wudang Mountain; without forty-nine days to slowly dispel his inner energy, the situation became even more difficult. Just as Nameless was feeling down, his junior sister returned from outside, bringing breakfast with her. It turned out that Ake had gotten up long ago, but Nameless had been so preoccupied with the changes in his own body that he hadn’t noticed her. Upon returning, Ake found Nameless looking listless. When she asked what was wrong, Nameless sheepishly confided his current dilemma to his junior sister. Ake had also noticed the changes in Nameless, but she was at a loss as well. Fortunately, Xiaoyao Valley wasn’t far away, so she left Nameless behind and went back to seek answers from their master. Feeling restless while waiting alone in the shop, Nameless decided to go out for a walk. He stepped out of the shop and wandered aimlessly. As he walked, he found himself unconsciously returning to the lakeside where he and Yechacha had parted ways. The scenery by the lake was even more enchanting in the daylight; the air was fresh and invigorating, but Nameless was in no mood to appreciate it. The scene stirred Nameless’s emotions. Seeing the familiar lake and feeling the cool spring breeze, Nameless couldn’t help but think of Yechacha. Was that alluring figure in crimson still doing well? It had only been three or four days since Yechacha left, yet to Nameless, it felt like an eternity. His feelings toward Yechacha were always complicated. Did Nameless deeply love Yechacha? It never quite felt like that—at least not as pure as his feelings for Shi Jingyu. But did he feel nothing at all? That didn’t seem right either. Yechacha had given so much to Nameless that he always felt indebted to her. Although nothing concrete had happened between them, in Nameless’s heart, Yechacha was the first girl he’d ever been intimate with—a bond no one else could replace. If Nameless were forced to choose between Shi Jingyu and Yechacha right now, he would probably choose Yechacha. Shi Jingyu is the one Nameless likes, but Yechacha is the one to whom Nameless feels indebted. Nameless always feels he cannot let Yechacha down. Thinking of Yechacha, Nameless couldn’t help but feel even more melancholy. If only he’d known back then that his master was so open-minded, perhaps he really should have let Yechacha go to Xiaoyao Valley. Then he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to touch that mysterious sword, causing all this trouble. If Yechacha were still here, maybe the transmission of martial arts energy would have been completed, and he wouldn’t be in such a mess, worrying about the changes in his body. The more Nameless thought about it, the more depressed he became. After wandering by the lake for a while and finding it even more tedious, he decided to return to the inn. Just as he was about to leave, his vision suddenly blurred, and he saw what appeared to be a red mass bobbing up and down on the opposite shore of the lake—it seemed someone was there! Could it be that Yechacha hadn’t left yet? After all, it had only been three or four days. Was Yechacha waiting for him by the lake? As Nameless thought this, a warm feeling welled up in his heart, and a strange sensation arose within him. He immediately put more force into his stride, unconsciously activating the Nine Heavens Mystic Departure Technique, and sprinted toward the opposite shore at breakneck speed. After all, the Nine Heavens Mystic Separation Technique was a supreme form of lightness kung fu in the Martial Arts World. Although Nameless had almost no inner energy left, he had mastered it to perfection. In the blink of an eye, he was already closing in on the red figure. Even from a distance, Nameless could hear the clanging of weapons—it seemed someone was fighting by the lake. One of the voices was clearly a woman’s, filled with shrill shouts. Nameless couldn’t help but quicken his pace even further, fearing that it might truly be the Yechacha engaging in combat. As Nameless drew nearer, he saw that people were indeed fighting. A fiery-red-clad young woman, wielding a steel blade, was locked in combat with three men. A palanquin seemed to be nearby, and the three men appeared to be dressed as palanquin bearers. Before Nameless could react, he saw the fiery-red-clad young woman flip her wrist and slash one of the men to the ground. The other two, seeing her ferocity, turned to flee, but she gave chase and struck each one down with a single blow, killing them on the spot. Nameless couldn’t help but be startled. Such ruthless violence didn’t seem like the style of a Yechacha. Upon closer inspection, the young woman, wielding her steel blade, looked strikingly heroic. with willow-leaf arched eyebrows, large, piercing eyes, a high nose, a cherry-red mouth, and black-and-gold hair. She stood tall and straight. Although she, too, wore a bright red robe, it covered her completely—unlike the Yechacha’s revealing attire. Though she was a rare beauty, she was clearly not a Yechacha, so Wuming dared not make a move just yet. Glancing around, Nameless realized that a man dressed as a palanquin bearer had been lying on the ground for some time. It turned out this beauty had killed four people in a row—truly ruthless. Even the Poison Sovereign had only killed three bandits; this beauty was even more vicious than him, with a heart as cold as a snake’s or a scorpion’s. At that moment, Nameless dared not move at all, terrified of being discovered. He found a tree and hid in its branches, hoping to find a way out once the beauty had left. The young woman had been fully engrossed in the fight and hadn’t noticed Nameless. After killing four people in a row, she couldn’t help but feel a lingering sense of dread, so she stood there, trying to steady her nerves. Once the girl in red had finally regained her composure, she raised her steel sword and walked toward the palanquin. Only then did Nameless notice that the palanquin was shaking constantly—and that there was actually someone inside. The young woman was fearless; she walked up to the palanquin and yanked the person inside out in one swift motion. Seated inside appeared to be a frail-looking scholar, who was already trembling all over from fear, his limbs too weak to move. The young woman grabbed the scholar as if he were a little chick, her face flushed with rage. “Do you still have any lackeys to save your wretched life this time?” she snapped. As she spoke, she waved the gleaming, blood-dripping steel blade in front of him, causing him to tremble even more violently as he begged for mercy. “Spare my life, Lady Knight! Spare my life! Let’s talk this out—why take a life? They were just palanquin bearers. You’ve already killed four of them; please spare my life,” the scholar pleaded. “They were palanquin bearers? Who are you trying to fool? They were all scapegoats for you. If I spare you, who will I avenge Ali’s blood feud against? Prepare to die!” The young woman grew angrier as she spoke, raising her steel blade to strike down at the scholar. “Stop!” Just then, a figure leaped down from a nearby tree—it was Nameless. He could no longer stand by and watch; seeing five people about to be killed right before his eyes, he simply couldn’t remain indifferent. In a fit of indignation, he let out a loud shout and revealed his true identity. Seeing someone come to his rescue, the scholar was overjoyed and shouted loudly to Nameless, “Lady Knight, save me!” Nameless sensed something was off the moment he heard it. “What do you mean, ‘Lady Hero’?”