"There shouldn't be any ninjas hiding in the dark. Let's go down the mountain and try to capture them all in one go!" Lin Zhiyan, who's been observing the situation, said.

This proposal naturally had no opposition, and the young girl was the first to volunteer, wanting to be the first to go down.

Zhao Guo'an glanced at Sun Shijie in the cave and said through gritted teeth, "I'll go down with you. I might not be able to help much, but I promise not to cause trouble."

"No, you stay here!" Lin Zhiyan shook her head and said, "Walking down the mountain path normally would be too slow. Shihan and I will tie the weapons together, and after we're down, I need you to throw them down."

With that, she tied two whips together, fastening them to a large rock, and pulled on them to check their sturdiness.

However, Lin Zhiyan didn't let the young girl go down first but went down herself. The reason was simple: the first one down is most likely to encounter an ambush. Though the young girl's skills aren't weak, it depends on who she's up against.

Compared to ordinary martial arts experts, she naturally stands out, but against Iwakami Shigehiro's ninjas, she might not be enough.

"Zhiyan, be careful," the young girl advised.

Lin Zhiyan nodded, threw down the whip replacing the rope, and started descending single-handedly.

This kind of action is suicidal for ordinary people, but for someone trained, it's no problem at all. As long as the rope holds, arm strength alone is enough to easily support a safe landing.

After Lin Zhiyan descended, Lu Yao, the young girl, and Lin Jiaxuan followed one after another to the foot of the mountain.

Zhao Guo'an untied the whip from the rock and threw it down, just about to use binoculars to watch the battle below when Sun Shijie's voice came from behind him, "Xiao Zhao, let's discuss some academic issues."

"..." Zhao Guo'an shuddered and felt inexplicably anxious, not daring even to turn around.

This topic hadn't been brought up earlier or later, only now when everyone had gone down and he was left alone. It seemed very suspicious.

In fact, it wasn't entirely Zhao Guo'an's fault for thinking this way. Sun Shijie hadn't mentioned discussing anything academic all afternoon, and now that everyone was down and fighting below, he just brought it up. It felt unreasonable.

Heavens, someone save me, please!

...

On the other side, with Lin Zhiyan's joining, the situation, already advantageous, turned into a complete rout. Only three ninjas remained, struggling to hold on, and it looked like total annihilation was imminent.

But just then, a cold voice abruptly broke in, "Finally down here, have you ever thought that I deliberately want to capture all of you?"

The voice's owner was naturally Uesugi Yumi, and Fujiwara Keiaki, looking towards the source, suddenly had a bad feeling.

Despite this feeling, Fujiwara Keiaki said bravely, "I admit I'm not your match alone, but capturing all of us won't be easy either!"

"Then try me!" Uesugi Yumi snorted coldly, her figure flickering several times before appearing in front of Fujiwara Keiaki, raising a hand to strike with her cane.

Fujiwara Keiaki, knowing the danger of this move, naturally didn't dare to block it with his bare hands, pulling out the sword at his waist and meeting the attack vigorously.

"Clang!"

The seemingly wooden cane collided with the sharp blade, producing a sound as if metal had struck metal.

After the collision, Fujiwara Keiaki stepped back two steps, feeling a bit stuffy in his chest, his face unnaturally flushing.

In contrast, Uesugi Yumi appeared unfazed, her expression relaxed and easygoing.

Lin Zhiyan and the others exchanged glances, signaling to move forward and help, but just then, Iwakami Shigehiro, who hadn't shown himself before, suddenly blocked the four women, sneering, "Your opponent is me!"

"Stop bragging!" The young girl snorted disdainfully, "You think you can fight all four of us? Boasting but not afraid to bite your tongue. My brother Xiao Feng could crush you with one slap!"

"Heh..." Iwakami Shigehiro chuckled without sincerity, "Women, long hair but short insight, look back."

The young girl frowned, not daring to look back immediately, and instead asked, "What happened? What's going on?"

Yet after a moment, no one answered.

No!

Accurately speaking, they didn't know how to answer.

At this moment, Xiao Feng was standing motionless, gripping a dagger in one hand atop nearly a meter-high rock, like a statue, seemingly isolated from the world, completely unaware of what was happening around him.

"Xiao Feng?"

Lin Zhiyan tried calling him, only to find Xiao Feng, as if entirely deaf to sound, showed no change in his expression.

Noticing the unusual tone in Lin Zhiyan's voice, the young girl could no longer hold back, turned around, and immediately realized Xiao Feng's abnormal state.

"Xiao Feng, what's wrong? Don't scare me like this, please?"

The young girl was so anxious her voice changed, rushing over quickly, jumping onto the rock, trying to shake Xiao Feng's shoulder.

But, it was no use.

Xiao Feng seemed truly like a sculpture; however much the young girl called, even as tears began to stream down her face, he remained unmoved, as if oblivious.

"Shihan, don't move him yet!"

Lin Zhiyan took a deep breath, calming her raging heart. She had expected an ambush but hadn't thought the one dropping the ball would be Xiao Feng.

The remaining three surviving ninjas appeared beside Iwakami Shigehiro, gradually forming an encirclement around Lin Zhiyan and the others.

"Shihan, get down here and help. We can't let them get close to Brother Yanhuang!" Lu Yao said sternly.

The young girl finally snapped back to reality as if she was waking up from a dream, her eyes filled with killing intent, though her emotions were gradually stabilizing under anger.

But this stability was extremely fragile, like a warehouse filled with dynamite, calm when everything was fine, but just a spark could ignite a full-on explosion, sweeping everything away!

In an instant, a delicate balance formed on the scene, with Fujiwara Keiaki battling Uesugi Yumi, both sides locked in intense combat, equally matched.

Meanwhile, Iwakami Shigehiro and his three men faced off against the young girl and others, a fair five-on-five matchup in terms of numbers.

"You... this is suicide!" The young girl said coldly.

"Suicide?" Iwakami Shigehiro laughed heartily, "Too bad no matter how we act, we won't die. Instead, that bastard behind you won't last much longer before he dies."

The young girl did not react as she usually would by going berserk, but instead remained expressionless, surprisingly calm, yet this calmness incited a sense of unease.

"Shihan!"

Lin Zhiyan raised her voice, trying to snap the young girl out of it, to tell her not to act impulsively, to stay calm, but the young girl seemed oblivious like Xiao Feng, her gaze fixed on Iwakami Shigehiro.

Could the young girl have fallen for the same trick as Xiao Feng?

With everyone unable to suppress their worry, the young girl suddenly moved, eyes red, charging at Iwakami Shigehiro, the anger in her eyes so tangible it seemed ready to destroy everything, even herself!

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