C26 An Unexpected Event

Wisps of smoke curled up from the fire as the six friends huddled around the flames.

"Hmm, why haven't Ya Shi, Xiao Rou, and the others come back yet?" Mao Ningyu fretted, noticing that Lyu Lishi and her group had been gone for quite a while.

"Where did they go?" Fei Liang inquired.

"Yali wanted some adventure, so she suggested exploring deep into the forest. Xiao Rou and Xiao Yun were on board with the idea, and Yasha, concerned for their safety, decided to accompany them," Mao Ningyu explained.

"I'll go and look for them. They might have lost their way," Fei Liang said, a glint of determination in his eyes.

"I'm coming too," Mao Yuntian declared, rising to his feet.

With a nod, the two set off toward the heart of Sky Rock Mountain.

Deep within Sky Rock Mountain, shadowy figures darted through a thick thicket.

"Sis, what do we do?" Lyu Liya whispered to Lyu Lishi from their hidden spot. Both were disheveled and weary, with Lyu Lishi bearing multiple wounds from an apparent fierce fight.

"Keep quiet, stay calm. Ms. Ningyu is bound to notice we haven't returned; she's probably searching for us already," Lyu Lishi gasped for breath.

"But what about Sister Xiao Rou and the others?" Lyu Liya asked, her voice heavy with concern.

"Don't worry. We managed to draw their attention away from them. Xiao Rou and the others will be safe," Lyu Lishi reassured her.

But deep down, Lyu Lishi wasn't entirely convinced.

"Let's hope so," Lyu Liya murmured.

"Quick, keep searching! Someone's hurt and can't have gone far. They have to be close by!" The harsh Mandarin voice made Lyu Lishi tense up even more.

The sound of rustling in the darkness grew closer, heightening their anxiety.

"There they are!" At the sound, Lyu Lishi's muscles coiled, ready to spring into action.

"Bring it on!" challenged another female voice. Lyu Lishi, startled, turned to Lyu Liya and said, "Stay here, I'm going out!" Without another word, she slipped away into the night, recognizing the voice as belonging to Xiao Rou.

"Hey!" Lyu Lishi cried out as she broke through the encirclement, steadying Xiao Rou who was on the brink of collapse. Her own cultivation at the Yellow Level Late Period, coupled with her injuries, left her at a severe disadvantage against a group of experts, all at least at the same level and many at the Profound Level. Their initial plan to split up and escape now seemed grim.

"Lishi, why did you come out? Run!" Xiao Rou, seeing Lyu Lishi, called out in desperation.

"It's too late!" Lyu Lishi hadn't even replied when a chilling voice cut through the air.

"Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh," the sound of reinforcements arriving. Their circle of enemies expanded from four to seven, tightening the noose around Lyu Lishi and her companions.

"Now you've got no escape!" The leader sneered, reveling in their predicament.

A scream pierced the air, signaling an unexpected turn of events.

"Sister!" The fleeting relief that had appeared on Lyu Lishi's face vanished instantly. It was Lyu Liya who had ambushed and stabbed one of their attackers with a sharp tree branch.

"Why did you come out?" Lyu Lishi demanded, her anger palpable.

"Sister, if we're going to die, we'll die together. I won't just hide away!" Lyu Liya declared, and at the leader's nod, she quickly joined Lyu Lishi's side.

"That's right, today you all die here for witnessing what you shouldn't have," the leader declared in his heavily accented Chinese. Far from being upset about his injured henchman, he was smug, thinking about how this mission would surely earn him more favor with his lord.

"Kill them all, leave no survivors!" he commanded.

"Hi!" The six assailants charged at Lyu Lishi and the others in response.

"R Country!" The realization hit Lyu Lishi. Though she grasped a piece of the puzzle, there was no time to dwell on it.

"Die!" The six attackers lunged with their blades, while Lyu Lishi and her companions could only fend them off with sticks and branches they had grabbed, clearly outmatched.

After several clashes, Lyu Lishi and her group had sustained even more injuries, and their wooden sticks had been whittled down to stubs. They were at a significant disadvantage when it came to weaponry.

"Ah!" Xiao Rou's stick was knocked away, and a machete lunged for her, leaving her no chance to dodge.

"Clang!" At the last possible moment, just as the machete neared Xiao Rou, a steel fork intercepted it.

"Back off!" A fierce shout was followed by a powerful kick, sending the attacker sprawling away from Xiao Rou.

"Lee Shanfeng!" Xiao Rou could now see the face of her rescuer and cried out in surprise. In the nick of time, it was Lee Shanfeng wielding a barbecue fork who had come to her aid.

"Lee Shanfeng?" Lyu Lishi recognized the voice and felt a surge of hope. "Is Ms. Ningyu with you?"

"Yes, they're on their way here," Lee Shanfeng confirmed, parrying the blows of the assailants. After Fei Liang and the others had departed, Lee Shanfeng and his companions couldn't shake their concern and had set out to find them.

"Watch out, they're from Japan!" Lyu Lishi warned.

"What?" Lee Shanfeng's anger intensified, fueling his attacks.

"Hmph, what does it matter if there's one more? He's just another lamb to the slaughter. Step up the attack!" The leader, realizing Lee Shanfeng's strength was only around the Yellow Level Late Period, was not worried. A cold gleam in his eyes, he commanded his men to intensify their assault.

"Hiyah!" The attackers redoubled their ferocity, and the pressure on the four defenders mounted. With the combatants' abilities roughly equal, the seven against four odds put Lyu Lishi and her companions at a severe disadvantage.

"Hmph, you little brats, prepare to witness my true power!" As the situation grew more dire, Lee Shanfeng unleashed his full might, revealing his Profound Level Early Period strength.

"Hmm? Profound Level? And what of it? Kill him!" The leader, momentarily taken aback, quickly sneered and launched his own attack.

"A Profound Level Middle Period master!" Recognizing the caliber of their opponent, Lee Shanfeng's face darkened with the gravity of the situation.

"Whoosh!" A sharp sound cut through the air.

"Ah!" A scream followed.

"Tsk tsk, quite the commotion we have here. Seems we've arrived just in time," a nonchalant voice chimed in, a sound that to Lee Shanfeng and the others was as welcome as a chorus of angels.

"Old Si, enough talk. Let's get down to business!" Another voice chimed in, deep and commanding.

"Roger that, Third Bro, I'm on it!" The previously nonchalant voice was now brimming with triumph and excitement.

Clearly, these two were none other than Mao Yuntian and Fei Liang.

"Damn it! You're all going down!" The leader in black fumed, infuriated that their scheme had been thwarted at such a critical juncture. One of his men had already been seriously wounded in a surprise attack. With the odds at six against six, their chances of victory were slim, and the strength of the newcomers remained an unknown factor.

"Old Three, Old Four, perfect timing. Let's join forces in this fight!" Lee Shanfeng declared, his voice laced with exhilaration.

"Let's do this. Time to wipe out these little devils!" Mao Yuntian called out robustly, dashing forward to relieve Lee Shanfeng.

"Old Zhang, that's not cool, man. Who would've thought you'd beat us to the punch?" Meanwhile, Fei Liang lurked, ready to strike with a stealthy attack, making the Japanese assailants suffer bitterly.

Elsewhere, in the mountain woods...