Zhao Ying drew her sword and advanced, her blade slashing towards Mei Qinghe!
Mei Qinghe tilted her head, met the attack, and with both palms, she gripped Zhao Ying's wrist and twisted, intending to disarm her.
Zhao Ying took a step back, flipped her sword, and aimed it at Mei Qinghe's arm.
Mei Qinghe was about to follow up when a nearby escort suddenly swung One Slash at her waist.
She pulled back her right hand and pressed down on the blade, neutralizing One Slash.
However, Zhao Ying seized this opportunity to grab Mei Qinghe's left hand with one hand, and thrust her long sword straight at her chest!
Within inches, Mei Qinghe faced her enemy empty-handed, unable to block, and with escorts attacking from behind, she had nowhere to retreat.
Swish!
Suddenly, a cloud of dust exploded from the ground, flying towards Zhao Ying's face.
Mei Qinghe retracted her kicked-out leg, and while Zhao Ying was unprepared, she broke free of her gripped left hand, dodged the weapons coming from all directions, and broke through the encirclement.
In Jianghu conflicts, numbers often dictate the outcome; only external martial arts masters with strong body protection skills can disregard numerical disadvantages.
Especially since Mei Qinghe had abandoned her sword, rendering most of her martial arts useless, she could only dodge weapons that came at her, not block them.
Zhao Ying's martial arts were already similar to Zhao Dehua's, and with the surrounding escorts attacking together, Mei Qinghe could only temporarily avoid their sharp edges.
But this did not mean Mei Qinghe had no solution.
She rushed to a crowded area, deflected the surrounding weapons, seized a person, and rapidly struck several pressure points on that person's body with both hands.
"Ah!"
The person tried to resist, but after Mei Qinghe struck him a few times, his limbs went limp and dropped.
Mei Qinghe grabbed the person's clothes and held him in front of her.
The escorts were hesitant to strike, fearing they would injure their companion, so their weapons could only target Mei Qinghe's exposed limbs, greatly reducing the threat.
Mei Qinghe took this opportunity to kick the long saber held by the person in front of her.
The saber made a piercing whooshing sound in the air, flying straight towards a person's face.
In his panic, the person tried to block with his weapon, but his skill was insufficient; he only slightly deflected the long saber, and with a squelch, it plunged into his shoulder.
Blood gushed out, and the person cried out in pain, clutching his wound and crouching down, no longer able to fight.
Zhao Ying arrived at the front at this moment.
She pointed her long sword at Mei Qinghe's arm; Mei Qinghe pulled the person to block, forcing her to retract her move.
She then attacked Mei Qinghe's legs and feet, but these were also blocked.
The person being used as a human shield by Mei Qinghe, seeing the situation, knew he had become a burden, and being resolute, he shouted: "Young Chief Escort, don't worry about me, avenge the Chief Escort!"
Zhao Ying knew that blood had already been spilled, and it was not a time for hesitation.
Gritting her teeth, she found an opening and thrust her sword through the person's upper arm, aiming for Mei Qinghe.
Mei Qinghe was equally ruthless; she slapped the person's arm hard, deflecting the long sword.
Then she kicked the person towards Zhao Ying, creating an opening, flashed past, and seized another person, this time directly sealing his mute acupoint, and used him as a human shield in front of her in the same manner.
While blocking Zhao Ying, she continuously disarmed and threw away the weapons of the others, and in just a few rounds, three or four people cried out in pain and fell to the ground.
Seeing this, Zhao Ying realized that the martial arts of her escorts were uneven; if they couldn't contend with Mei Qinghe for a few moves and hold her until she arrived, then staying in the field at this moment was just a burden.
She shouted sternly: "Everyone with less than five years of escort experience, retreat! Go get the lasso!"
Bandits who rob escorts often operate alone, so escort agencies naturally have ways to deal with such lone masters.
The lasso was a thin rope soaked in tung oil, woven with pig bristles, making it difficult to break free once caught.
Zhao Ying no longer held back, only avoiding the vital points of the person Mei Qinghe had seized, continuously pressing closer.
The human shield in Mei Qinghe's hand greatly reduced its effectiveness and instead hindered her speed, so she also slapped the person's shoulder, breaking it, and threw him aside, engaging Zhao Ying in combat.
Several old escorts surrounded them, taking advantage of any opening to strike Mei Qinghe with a saber.
Those with weaker martial arts among the escort agency members had already retreated, and now they continuously threw out lassos.
The lassos naturally couldn't trap Mei Qinghe, but they were not retrieved once they fell to the ground, only waiting for Mei Qinghe to step on them.
When facing multiple opponents, unless there is an absolute disparity in strength, the most important thing is to move and maneuver, using the chaos of many hands to constantly create one-on-one situations and defeat them one by one.
However, those remaining in the combat circle could all delay Mei Qinghe for one or two moves, and before a victor could be decided, Zhao Ying would seize the opportunity to pursue.
Lassos were densely spread on the ground; stepping on one would cause her to be ensnared and pulled.
Weapons continuously assailed her from all sides, and in front of her, Zhao Ying pressed relentlessly.
No matter how good one's internal energy is, it requires time to recover.
At this moment, Mei Qinghe was overwhelmed on all sides, immediately finding herself in a perilous situation.
With her breath nearly depleted, Mei Qinghe suddenly struck out with a palm, forcing Zhao Ying back, and found an opening to recover her breath.
Suddenly, her foot tripped, her stance became disorganized, and she couldn't recover her breath.
It was a quick-witted escort from the periphery who, without waiting for Mei Qinghe to step on it, seized an opening and directly swung the lasso, tripping Mei Qinghe as she retreated.
Zhao Ying immediately pressed closer.
Without recovering this breath, Mei Qinghe's strength would only grow weaker and weaker, and she might not be able to last for a short while.
Just at this moment, a sword dropped from above, landing right in front of Mei Qinghe.
Wang Hai said loudly: "Miss Mei, don't be stubborn."
"In a life-and-death struggle, one must use every means possible."
"If you still hesitate after seeing blood, wouldn't throwing your life away for nothing be letting down your sect's training?"
At this time, several people lay scattered at his feet; they were still alive, but their limbs were twisted, their skin broken, and most had fainted from pain, with only two or three writhing on the ground, letting out heart-wrenching screams.
Mei Qinghe had said she would handle this alone, and Zhao Ying had agreed, so no one was dispatched to attack Wang Hai; only a few people watched him to prevent his interference.
Just now, when Wang Hai bent down to pick up the sword, those few people attacked, but they were quickly subdued and thrown to the ground within a few rounds.
Mei Qinghe looked at Wang Hai; Wang Hai remained still, showing no intention of joining the fight.
Mei Qinghe's personality was rigid and stubborn, lacking adaptability.
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She had originally intended to subdue Zhao Ying empty-handed, seal her acupoints, and leave, without exposing her sect.
However, it was her first time descending the mountain, and she lacked Jianghu experience, unaware of the escort agency's methods for dealing with lone bandits, almost falling into a dangerous situation.
Wang Hai also had the intention of tempering Mei Qinghe's temper, so he stood by and watched.
No matter how stubborn Mei Qinghe was, she would not throw her life away here for nothing.
She sighed, forced Zhao Ying back, and kicked the sword's body, drawing it from its sheath mid-air.
Clang~~~
The sword was just an ordinary long sword bought casually, hastily sharpened, neither sharp nor bright.
Yet, it emitted a resonant sword cry.
With a sword in hand, Mei Qinghe's aura instantly changed.
All of her martial arts, her internal energy, footwork, strength, and techniques, were all dependent on the long sword in her hand.
Li Miao had once said that she could barely be considered a first-rate master.
What defines a first-rate master?
Mei Qinghe advanced with her sword, thrusting straight out!
It was precisely "Sword Roar of the Cold River" from Hua Mountain Swordplay!
This incomparably sharp sword thrust could not be blocked by Zhao Ying; it pierced directly into her left shoulder, and the long sword in her hand clanged to the ground!
Mei Qinghe turned with a move of "Yan Returns To The Morning Sun," deflecting the weapons in the hands of several old escorts.
Immediately after, she executed "Yuntai Three Falls," sweeping out large patches of blood on several people's bodies.
Several people clutched their wounds and fell to the ground, unable to get up.
Three moves.
In just three moves, she defeated all the people who had been entangled with her moments ago.
Zhao Ying still tried to force herself forward to fight, but Mei Qinghe pointed her sword at her right shoulder, her hands fell limply, and she was no longer able to fight.
Wang Hai, seeing Mei Qinghe finally draw her sword, stopped watching the show and stepped forward, grabbing one person and twisting his arm, then grabbing and twisting another, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.
In just a moment, the only ones left standing were Wang Hai and Mei Qinghe.
Mei Qinghe sheathed her sword and mounted her horse.
Her two sword strikes had pierced Zhao Ying's shoulder meridians.
After her wounds healed, her internal energy would still be present, but her swordplay would be mostly gone.
She did not want to truly have to kill Zhao Ying one day, nor did she want to be killed by Zhao Ying, so she simply cut off Zhao Ying's thought of practicing martial arts for revenge.
Mei Qinghe said nothing more, spurred her horse, and rode off.
Zhao Ying's hands were limp, and her subordinates were all injured, so she could only watch Mei Qinghe leave from where she stood.
"Yuntai Three Falls... I couldn't have mistaken it, that's Yuntai Three Falls, Hua Mountain Swordplay!" She stared intently at Mei Qinghe's retreating figure, muttering to herself.