286: Plan ahead

"Anyone who dares to touch my Younger Brothers Wife shall die!"

A domineering roar exploded through the air; it was Feng Mian.

"Big Brother?"

Jiang Shuwan's throat tightened, and a sudden warmth flooded her heart.

Her resolve, which she had been forcing herself to maintain, was shaken and softened by this protective shout.

She gripped her sword tightly, her fingertips trembling slightly; this was family, the people who would risk their lives to support her even if the heavens fell.

At this moment, Feng Mian had no idea of the specific situation inside the trial grounds. The map hanging high in the air only coldly marked the red and gray dots representing everyone, with no actual footage of the fighting.

Everyone outside could only watch helplessly as the red dot representing Jiang Shuwan fled in panic, followed by a dense mass of gray dots—Loose Cultivators without heaven ranking tickets—and further back, the dozens of red dots belonging to Zhao Peng's group.

Inside the Hua Clan Merchant House, Lu An'an stared intently at the map, her palms drenched in cold sweat.

She couldn't help at all and could only watch as the distance between Jiang Shuwan and Feng Mian slowly decreased. However, that small distance on the map would take two full days to cover amidst the trial grounds' towering mountains and ridges.

In the Feng family of Qingyang City, the atmosphere was terrifyingly heavy. Feng Xiaotian led a group of clansmen around the map, everyone's faces tense and their hearts in their throats.

Eldest Uncles Wife clutched her handkerchief, her lips trembling as she muttered over and over, "You brat, run faster! If Shuwan loses even a single hair, I'll have your hide!"

Inside the trial grounds, Feng Mian was pushing himself to his absolute limit of speed.

His robes fluttered, his feet moved like the wind, and his spiritual power was nearly burning. His usual carefree attitude was gone, replaced by blood-red eyes and a single thought: faster, even faster, he had to reach his Younger Brothers Wife before she could no longer hold on.

"The eldest brother is like a father"—he used to treat this saying as a joke, but today he truly felt the weight of it on his shoulders.

Since his younger brother Feng Ming was absent, he, as the eldest brother, had to protect his brother's wife... Lu Qianqian, who was under house arrest by Zhang Bai and couldn't personally reinforce the battlefield, became Jiang Shuwan's "remote strategist." She stayed by the communication jade talisman, never leaving its side, and used her battlefield intuition as the City Lord's daughter to precisely direct Jiang Shuwan's every move.

"Three Loose Cultivators on the back left have weak spiritual power. Charge through and break their formation!"

"The mountain path on the right is narrow. Release Sword Qi to block them; stall for as long as you can!"

Jiang Shuwan only needed to focus on following orders without being distracted by the surrounding situation. Wherever her sword point went, screams followed. In just half a day, the situation on the map completely changed.

The group of small gray dots behind her were either hit by Sword Qi, causing their speed to plummet, or they vanished entirely—those were the people slain by Jiang Shuwan's blade.

Out of the five or six hundred pursuers, over a hundred were gone. The survivors, seeing the miserable state of their companions, finally felt fear in their eyes, and their steps involuntarily slowed.

Just then, Lu Qianqian's urgent voice came through the jade talisman: "Sister Shuwan, be careful! Li Cheng is going to make his move personally!"

Before she could finish, dozens of dazzling red dots suddenly surged out from the gray group. These were Li Cheng's confidants; they must have stolen many heaven ranking tickets during their three-day journey, turning them from gray dots into red ones.

Once Li Cheng acted, the pressure on Jiang Shuwan increased several times over.

The enemy had the advantage of numbers and worked together in perfect harmony. Even though none were her match in a duel, their combined effort forced her back repeatedly, instantly slowing her down.

Jiang Shuwan gritted her teeth, her sword flashing, but her spiritual power was depleting rapidly, and the wounds on her body began to throb with pain.

After two days and nights of pursuit and slaughter, she hadn't even had a moment to catch her breath or recover.

Seeing Jiang Shuwan about to be driven into a corner, a ruthless glint flashed in Li Cheng's eyes as he raised his hand to unleash a killing move.

Just then, a streak of silver light tore through the air and, with a "clack," landed right in front of his feet—it was a silver spear.

"Li Cheng! You're looking for death!"

Feng Mian's angry shout shook the surroundings. He plummeted to the ground like a meteor, the force of his landing blowing several nearby Loose Cultivators away.

Seeing that familiar figure, Jiang Shuwan's tense nerves suddenly relaxed. She could no longer hold on; her longsword slipped from her hand and clattered to the ground as she collapsed. Tears welled up uncontrollably, blurring her vision.

"Sister Shuwan!"

Two urgent shouts came from behind. Jiang Shuwan looked up to see Guan Rong and Qin Hu.

The two ran quickly to her side, their faces filled with anxiety.

"How did you get here?" she asked, choking back tears.

Guan Rong panted, "We came to help you! We were planning to join Boss Feng Ming, but since he entered Wangyue Spring, helping you is helping him!"

Qin Hu nodded as well, gripping the saber at his waist. "Don't worry, Sister Shuwan. The two of us might not be top-tier, but cutting down a few small fries is more than manageable!"

Jiang Shuwan's eyes grew hot, and she almost burst into tears again. But the mention of Feng Ming's name made her heart tighten, wondering if he was dead or alive in Wangyue Spring.

Although Feng Mian had killed several pursuers with his spear, Li Cheng's side had the advantage of numbers. Three hundred Loose Cultivators plus dozens of confidants surged forward like a tide.

He protected Jiang Shuwan while fighting and retreating. Despite his sharp spear techniques, he gradually began to lose ground.

With the three of them working together, it was easier than when Jiang Shuwan was alone, but after a long battle, their spiritual power was eventually bound to run out.

Feng Mian caught a glimpse of Jiang Shuwan's pale face and his heart sank. He immediately gritted his teeth and decided, "Retreat toward Wangyue Spring direction! If we can step into that territory, there's still a glimmer of hope!"

He forced back the Loose Cultivators in front of him with a backhanded spear strike, looked at the mist-shrouded mountains ahead, and said deeply, "Third Brother has been in Wangyue Spring for five days now. He can't really have died in there. If anything really happened to him, Younger Brothers Wife, I will protect you."

He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, and added, "Huangfu Yunyan said you're pregnant. Is it true or false?"

Before Jiang Shuwan could speak, he blurted out, "Even if you are, don't be afraid. With me here, I'll protect you and the child even if I have to give my life!"

Jiang Shuwan looked at his tense profile, her heart warming again, though a helpless smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.

Beside them, Guan Rong couldn't help but laugh, "Big Brother Feng Mian, Boss Feng Ming is still fine on the heaven ranking. Isn't your preparing for a rainy day a bit premature?"

Feng Mian glared and raised his hand to smack him on the head, but was forced to dodge a Sword Qi blast. He looked back and spat, cursing, "What do you know? As an older brother, I have to look out for my younger brother in every way. It's clear you don't have any siblings; you don't know a damn thing!"

Before he could finish, Li Cheng's angry shout rose again: "Feng Mian! Jiang Shuwan! None of you are escaping today!"

Feng Mian sneered, leveled his spear in front of Jiang Shuwan, and his eyes burned with fierce Battle Intent.

The road ahead was long and surrounded by powerful enemies, but at this moment, looking at the back in front of her, Jiang Shuwan only felt a sense of peace in her heart.