The middle-aged man in priestly robes, holding a Bible and wearing a cross around his neck, and the imposing, burly man with the aura of a knight both moved swiftly. In the blink of an eye, they arrived and bowed slightly towards Christina.
Jiang Fei frowned as he looked at the two. Just moments ago, completely unprepared and never expecting experts to appear in this rice-farming village, he hadn’t been scanning the area with his keen perception.
However, after Christina revealed her identity, Jiang Fei became alert. Utilizing his perception along with deductions from the Art of Mystical Gates and Deception (Qimen Dunjia) and the “Diagram of Heavenly Secrets,” he immediately detected the presence of these two individuals concealed at a distance. Moreover, he sensed a feeling of threat emanating from them towards himself!
Jiang Fei’s premonitions were never groundless; they were usually accurate. So, he knew these two indeed harbored hostility towards him.
“Didn’t I tell you not to follow me?” Christina said somewhat unhappily, glaring at the two men.
“Your Highness, we are merely ensuring your safety. You know that in this ancient Eastern land, though it may seem most masters have faded away, one should never underestimate them,” replied the middle-aged man, who looked every bit the charlatan holding a thick Bible, with a polite and smiling demeanor.
Your Highness?
Hearing this address, Jiang Fei raised an eyebrow. This was not a common form of address, nor was it something just anyone could use. Judging by the appearance of this charlatan and the knight, they were clearly Christina’s subordinates, specifically assigned to protect her.
But wasn’t the Vatican just a small religious state, with a population of only a little over five hundred? He had never heard of there being any princesses or royalty there…
Thus, Jiang Fei grew even more curious about Christina’s identity.
“What’s there to not underestimate?” Christina retorted instinctively, dissatisfied. But then, perhaps realizing her response wasn’t quite right, she glanced at Jiang Fei and corrected herself, “Even if there are mysterious masters in the Eastern lands, what does that have to do with this guy? This fellow only has about ten days left to live before he’s killed by Yagyu Munenori. What’s there to take seriously?”
The solidly built knight, whose aura was sharp and who looked undeniably valiant, remained silent as always. He was like a true knight of old, strictly adhering to the chivalric code, his sole purpose being to protect the princess.
Meanwhile, the middle-aged charlatan revealed a thoughtful glint in his eyes, and his gaze towards Jiang Fei held a meaningful, almost amused quality.
It seemed he disagreed with Christina’s assessment and didn’t necessarily believe Jiang Fei would be slain by Yagyu Munenori?
Of course, even if he truly thought so, he didn’t voice it. He merely gave a slight upward twitch of his lips and remained noncommittal.
Christina didn’t notice the charlatan’s expression because she was currently feeling displeased.
Firstly, Qiao Yiyi’s heart was occupied by some wretched man, leaving no room for her for now, so she wouldn’t accept her advances. Secondly, even after coming to China, she still couldn’t escape these people tailing and protecting her. Just like when Qiao Yiyi discovered she was being followed, it was an unpleasant situation.
“Hey!” Christina temporarily shelved her irritation and glared at Jiang Fei again, speaking in Mandarin, “I’m warning you. Even if Qiao stays at your house during this time, you absolutely cannot do anything inappropriate to her. You can’t even think about it or look at her! If I find out you’ve done anything to Qiao, I’ll make you pay a heavy price!”
Jiang Fei chuckled, completely unfazed by the threat from this “Your Highness” who looked just like Marvel’s Black Widow. He deliberately said, “What if she initiates something with me?”
“You…” Christina’s eyes widened, almost choking on her anger.
Qiao Yiyi’s body was so clean, so pure. How could it be defiled by these wretched men? She herself had only played with it for a while and hadn’t even gotten a proper look yet!
She absolutely would not allow any wretched man to defile the flawless purity of Qiao Yiyi. Even thinking about it was a crime!
But she knew Jiang Fei’s words hit the mark. Based on what she had just observed, Qiao Yiyi might indeed be feeling amorous and could very well throw herself at this wretched man, actively inviting defilement.
“Then I’ll make sure you don’t even live to reach the Golden Summit of Mount Emei for your duel with Yagyu Munenori!” Christina said through gritted teeth.
The corners of Jiang Fei’s mouth lifted slightly. “Are you threatening me?” he asked calmly.
Though his words were directed at Christina, his eyes were fixed on the man in priestly robes. Jiang Fei consistently felt there was something unusual in this man’s gaze, something that inexplicably sent a chill down his spine.
“What if I am threatening you?” Christina asserted strongly.
Jiang Fei shook his head, speaking with earnest sincerity, “Even though there are three of you, outnumbering me, I truly don’t take that to heart.”
“Outnumbering you? You think dealing with you requires numerical superiority?” Christina scoffed, giving Jiang Fei a disdainful glance. “Fine. To make you behave, I’ll teach you a lesson today. I’ll show you the dire consequences you’ll face if you dare act recklessly!”
With that, Christina turned and glanced at the mage and the burly knight beside her, ordering, “Bishop Frank, Macavoy, both of you stand by. No matter what happens, you are not to intervene!”
Before the charlatan could speak, the solidly built knight couldn’t hold back, immediately trying to dissuade her, “Your Highness…”
Christina had no patience to hear him out. She immediately widened her cold yet inherently alluring eyes and shot a fierce glare at both men. “This matter is settled!”
Then, she looked at Jiang Fei, extended a hand, and crooked a finger, signaling for him to make the first move.
Jiang Fei smiled. This lesbian Black Widow was truly arrogant. Did she really think he was some useless pushover she could just casually handle?
“You go first. Ladies first,” Jiang Fei said politely.
“Still playing the gentleman. If I go first, you won’t get a chance to act!” Christina snorted coldly.
Among the Eastern masters she knew, Yagyu Munenori was indeed a formidable expert. He had once been to Europe and had clashed with their church, engaging in a conflict.
At that time, Yagyu Munenori alone had effortlessly repelled the combined assault of three Knights of the Round Table. In fact, if a cardinal hadn’t arrived in time and if Yagyu Munenori hadn’t shown mercy, whether those three knights would have survived remained unknown.
However, this battle left a deep impression on the minds of the church’s members, making them aware of the existence of an immensely profound swordsmanship master in Japan.
This was also why Christina, upon hearing Jiang Fei was to duel Yagyu Munenori, believed Jiang Fei was doomed to fail.
A master of Yagyu Munenori’s caliber was comparable to a cardinal of their church. How could a young fellow like Jiang Fei possibly be a match for Yagyu Munenori?
As for Jiang Fei having slain someone like Miyamoto Kazuma, hailed as the number one in the Niten Ichi-ryū school of Japanese swordsmanship, that wasn’t much. This Miyamoto Kazuma might be called the top master of his style, but his true strength probably wasn’t that impressive, and Christina didn’t give it any regard.
Also, Jiang Fei being pursued by an assassin organization with multiple failed attempts wasn’t a big deal either.
Assassin organizations, even the most powerful ones, might be terrifying entities for ordinary wealthy individuals. But for people like them, only those few transcendent ‘special assassins’ posed any real threat. Apart from that, no matter how many assassins there were, they were just numbers, utterly ineffective.
Therefore, Christina didn’t hold Jiang Fei in high regard just because he was going to duel Yagyu Munenori.
Just because a calf fearlessly challenges a tiger doesn’t mean the calf possesses the tiger’s strength; it’s merely ignorance and audacity.
Not only did Jiang Fei not make a move, he even clasped his hands behind his back, appearing unhurried as he waited for Christina to attack first.
Christina had originally intended to let Jiang Fei make the first move so he could struggle a bit. Seeing him like this, she couldn’t contain herself any longer. With a cold snort, she said, “If you’re asking for trouble, don’t blame me!”
Whoosh!
Her burgundy, medium-length hair flew as her entire figure transformed into a blur under the bright moonlight, charging towards Jiang Fei. This woman’s speed was indeed remarkable, reaching a level difficult for ordinary eyes to track. More crucially, she was extremely agile, like a rabbit—fast yet flexible and capable of striking from tricky angles.
Boom!
Christina seemed to be charging straight at Jiang Fei, but when her delicate fist actually aimed for his head, the attack came from the left side towards his temple. Before the fist arrived, the fierce wind pressure hit first, almost distorting the muscles on Jiang Fei’s face.
Thump!
However, Christina’s fist didn’t actually land on Jiang Fei’s head. In that split second, Jiang Fei raised his left hand, perfectly intercepting her fist between it and his head.
“Oh, so you really are an expert!” Jiang Fei thought, not letting his guard down after blocking the punch, instead growing even more surprised.
After her fist was blocked, the tremendous force behind Christina’s punch vanished completely in an instant, like a wisp of cotton. It effortlessly drifted past Jiang Fei’s right palm and continued towards his head.
As the saying goes, it’s easier to throw a punch than to retract it. The greater the force behind a punch, the harder it is to pull back.
But Christina managed to completely halt her punch in an instant after launching it with such speed and power. This was definitely an extraordinary skill, requiring an almost freakish level of bodily control.
“Thud, thud, thud!” Jiang Fei quickly retreated several steps, dodging Christina’s move.
Christina’s fist, after withdrawing its force, instantly burst forth again. It had enough power to kill an old ox; one could imagine the pain if it struck a human head.
Christina’s speed was already at its peak, and being on the offensive, facing such aggressive moves, most men wouldn’t be able to dodge.
But encountering Jiang Fei, whose agility had reached a superhuman level of 6, after retreating two steps, he immediately performed the Ladder Cloud Soar (Tiyunzong) footwork. Not only did he rapidly retreat, but he also seemed to sprout wings, leaping into the sky!
On the ground, one could fight freely, but once airborne, no matter how tricky your punches are, what use are they?
Seeing Jiang Fei defy gravity, leaping several meters high with a light, airy movement, Christina was momentarily stunned as her punch lost its target. Looking up, she almost cursed out loud—You wretched man, that’s cheating!
Unwilling to concede, Christina bent her knees slightly, gathering momentum, then also leaped high, graceful as a lark, continuing to pursue Jiang Fei.
Watching the dark figure swiftly approaching, Jiang Fei smiled slightly in mid-air. This lesbian Black Widow was indeed a skilled fighter, her strength almost surpassing even Liu Yunduo’s. No wonder she was so domineering and confident.
But with just this level of skill, wanting to deal with him was still lacking.
After ascending, Jiang Fei didn’t use the Tiyunzong’s mid-air secondary push to go higher. He had leaped to dodge Christina’s weird punches. Now that he had dodged them, and this woman, lacking combat experience, had foolishly chased him into the air, there was no need to keep dodging.
Rotating his body downwards, he actively met Christina head-on.
Christina still attacked with her fist, but Jiang Fei pointed his index and middle fingers together, thrusting them towards her fist.
Jiang Fei’s swordsmanship hadn’t reached Yagyu Munenori’s realm of “no sword surpassing a sword,” nor had his internal energy advanced to the point of forming energy blades. But using his body as a sword for close combat wasn’t a problem.
Seeing this, Christina tried to repeat her trick in mid-air, attempting to bypass Jiang Fei’s arm to attack. However, Jiang Fei no longer gave her the chance.
Evading in mid-air was inherently more difficult than on land. Applying the sword intent of the Solitary Nine Swords (Dugu Nine Swords), no matter how varied Christina’s punches were, Jiang Fei accurately found her weak point and thrust his fingers at her wrist.
“Ah!” Christina couldn’t help but cry out in pain, feeling as if a sharp sword had pierced her wrist. She quickly descended to the ground.
She stared at Jiang Fei in shock. She hadn’t expected Jiang Fei to use his hand as a sword, and with such exquisite and terrifying skill, leaving her no room to dodge.
Jiang Fei also landed, his fingers still formed into a sword gesture, thrusting towards Christina’s throat.
“Your Highness!” The burly knight roared upon seeing this and charged forward.
The charlatan holding the Bible also closed in.
Looking at these two, a smile appeared on Jiang Fei’s face. “Finally making a move,” he thought.
His skirmish with Christina was merely a pretense.
What he really wanted was to lure these two individuals, who gave him a sense of ill intent, into action.
