Chapter 130: Traveling by Water?

“Miao Lu! Are you really going to use a Gu on me?”

The moment Jiang Liuying saw the young man pull out a bottle, her expression changed sharply, and she immediately shouted in warning.

Everyone present knew that the bottle contained a special kind of Gu insect—one so dangerous it was only used in matters of deep hatred. None had expected Miao Lu to reveal it at such a moment.

“Big Brother Miao Lu, what are you doing? Don’t use that Gu!”

“Have you forgotten what the clan chief said? If you use that Devouring Heart Gu, she’ll be bitten to death.”

“Miss Jiang, please don’t be angry. Miao Lu isn’t thinking straight,” several people around began to intervene, trying to calm Jiang Liuying.

But Miao Lu was still furious, his face twisted with extreme emotion, eyes fierce. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I fought so hard just to show you! You must watch. You have to watch!”

With Jiang Liuying’s personality, how could she possibly listen? She shot a fierce glare at Su Ye, as if daring him to make a move.

“That’s your business. Do whatever you want,” Su Ye said with a shrug, crossing his arms and stepping aside to watch the drama unfold. These troubles were all Jiang Liuying’s doing, and besides, he and Jiang Liuying still had their own grudges—from the eyebrow-shaving incident to the twenty-million-yuan bank card password change. None of those debts were settled yet.

“Damn you, Su Ye! If you don’t help me, just remember this,” Jiang Liuying spat, extending her pale finger to point at Miao Lu and then at the other shirtless young man. “What are you two even fighting for? You’re both not even as good as me, a woman. You’ve been at it for so long without a winner. Today, I’ll stand up for all the sisters and show you men that when it comes to cultivation, us women are just as strong.”

Miao Lu blushed slightly but then said, “I was careless just now. Now if you want to fight me and lose, you’ll have to come home with me as my woman.”

“Your woman?” Jiang Liuying was stunned and hadn’t quite processed it. Miao Lu was at least twenty-eight or thirty. How could she, not yet eighteen, become his “woman”?

Su Ye burst out laughing. “Are you stupid? He means ‘woman’ as in wife. If you lose, you’ll have to marry him and bear him ten or eight kids!”

Miao Lu nodded vigorously, unabashed. “Right, right, be my woman. If you fight both of us and lose, you have to be both of our women.”

Both of their wives? One woman serving two men?

A flush of shame and anger swept across Jiang Liuying’s delicate face. She was already grown, had never had a boyfriend, and hadn’t even had her first kiss yet—except for that time Su Ye forced one at school. Now, to be publicly humiliated like this, she simply couldn’t bear it any longer.

Bang!

A strange sound erupted as a faint dark glow burst out from her body. Her flowing hair seemed to be pulled by some invisible force, floating slightly in the air.

Whoosh—

With a sudden movement, Jiang Liuying planted her foot firmly, leapt up, and spun in midair, delivering a powerful roundhouse kick, her movements echoing the ancient martial leg techniques.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The crowd’s eyes blurred momentarily as Miao Lu and the other young man were sent flying brutally by her kicks.

Thanks to the previous skirmish, everyone dodged quickly this time. Only the two men fell to the ground, rolling and coughing, too weak even to rise.

“Miao Lu, if you disrespect me again, I’ll break your leg! Humph!” Jiang Liuying fumed and turned to walk away.

The others from the Miao clan gasped in astonishment. Who would have thought such a delicate beauty possessed such formidable cultivation? She was a completely different existence from the women in their village, where cultivation was forbidden.

Yet, in their eyes, strength was respect. Even experts like Miao Lu were defeated in a single move. They wisely chose not to intervene.

Su Ye observed quietly, slightly surprised. His own cultivation was based on the “Three Thousand Yan Huang Tribulations,” a technique inherited from the Heavenly Thunder, enhanced by various fortuitous encounters, and had reached the third level of Qi Gathering.

But unexpectedly, Jiang Liuying’s progress surpassed his. This meant her bloodline had awakened successfully. Could the Nine Li Tribe blood within her really be so terrifying?

Su Ye’s thoughts drifted to the cursed demonic blood in his sea of consciousness. Even under the suppression of the “Three Thousand Yan Huang Tribulations,” it remained immortal, indestructible.

His eyes shifted back to Jiang Liuying’s proud, graceful figure. Was her powerful bloodline a blessing or a curse?

“Hey, are you coming or what?” Jiang Liuying suddenly turned back, her face flushed with embarrassment and anger.

“Coming, coming! I’m coming!” Su Ye chuckled and followed her.

They returned to their large residence, where they met Jiang Ziyang, Ouyang Yunfeng, and others.

Since they were set to depart by evening, many issues needed to be revisited and discussed. With such a large group, it was impossible to bring everyone along.

Suddenly, Su Ye whispered, “I suspect those Miao Gu sorcerers don’t have good intentions. They likely placed Gu on us secretly, but we haven’t discovered it yet.”

Ouyang Yunfeng, Jiang Ziyang, and the others exchanged serious glances and nodded. They had long been on guard.

Night was falling swiftly. The Miao Gu sorcerers gathered everyone beside a river. Many outsiders were present—not just the Jiang family and the Martial Alliance, but also people brought by Ye Lingyun, Yu Zhisha, Jiu Yaye, and other factions. Adding the Miao clan’s own members, the total exceeded a hundred.

“Are we going by water?” Su Ye noticed many Miao clansmen pushing peculiar vessels into the river.

Strictly speaking, these were not boats. They were special bamboo weavings coated with a pungent substance. They resembled a mix between a bamboo hat and a winnowing basket, yet floated effortlessly on water.

They were called bamboo baskets.

Miao Ba and others jumped aboard. Each basket could carry five or six people; more than that, and one’s feet would get wet.

Fortunately, there were plenty of these baskets, each with a lit fire stick on board that the Miao people used to steer. From afar, they looked like floating lanterns.

The Miao clan chief stood on the shore, not boarding. He said gravely, “Once aboard, do not put your feet in the water. If the water ghosts drag you in, your body will never be found.”

The warriors immediately sat steadily in the center of their baskets.

Su Ye asked, “Chief, aren’t you coming?”

“No. Let Miao Ba and Miao Quan lead you. It’s the same. Be careful along the way. Watch out for sorcerers from other villages—they lack the grace of our Fotian Peak,” the chief said sternly.

The warriors frowned but said nothing more; some were staying behind in the village anyway.

Su Ye stepped onto one of the bamboo baskets, feeling it sway unsteadily. They were lucky to be warriors; ordinary people would surely fall into the water.

He also noted the river was not very deep—at most three meters at its deepest point.

Jiang Liuying, however, was carefree. Even in the dark, she took out her phone to snap a couple of pictures.

“Drifting down a river—I haven’t done this in ages! Come on, Su Ye, let’s take a photo. Let’s see how your new eyebrows look; they’re painted pretty well. Smile! If you get eaten by a water ghost, at least we have a memorial photo.”

“Get lost, get lost...” Su Ye rubbed his fake eyebrows, feeling itchy.

Since everyone was a warrior, they boarded swiftly. Miao Ba, seeing that everyone was ready, waved his hand and commanded, “Alright, let’s go.”

Suddenly, the bamboo baskets floated smoothly across the water.

All warriors remained vigilant, curious how the legendary Thunder City would be found from the water route. They drifted along the river, helpless to control their path.

“Those with the Thunder-Attracting Orbs, prepare yourselves...”