Gao Ling, astride her horse, rapidly tapped several points on her body, sealing her major acupoints and even halting the circulation of her true qi, barely managing to stop the bleeding.
She leaned weakly against the horse's back, watching the scenery recede rapidly, feeling a chill permeate her body as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Zuo Lishan had stabbed her three times and slashed her five times, leaving eight deep wounds on her body.
Zuo Lishan's martial arts were not right.
It wasn't that being defeated by Zuo Lishan was particularly strange; a first-rate expert was almost like a child before a peerless master, and escaping with her life was already the best outcome.
It was precisely because Zuo Lishan's state was abnormal that Gao Ling was able to escape.
In terms of strength and the intensity of his true qi, Zuo Lishan seemed like a completely different person; the powerful force unleashed with each move directly 'smashed' into Gao Ling's longsword, forcing it back against her body.
Several of the wounds on Gao Ling's body weren't even Zuo Lishan's doing, but rather the result of her own longsword being forcefully pressed back, cutting into her.
In Gao Ling's judgment, Zuo Lishan's true qi and strength had surpassed the peerless master level, reaching a point where arguably no one in the current era could match him.
However, his moves had changed.
Zuo Lishan's originally grand and overbearing sword techniques had become difficult and stiff, no longer possessing their former fluidity and ease. He had shifted from his previously innovative, self-created sword style to another, more sinister and malicious one.
Furthermore, Zuo Lishan's true qi circulation was problematic, often getting stuck, and his right hand seemed less agile, even twisting into an angle that shouldn't occur on a human body.
It was precisely because of this that Zuo Lishan's moves were greatly diminished in threat, allowing Gao Ling to seize a gap in his attack, paying the price of a huge wound on her back, to escape with her life.
She was dying.
Because of this, when she fled, she didn't dare to rush directly to the main hall or main chamber to publicly expose Zuo Lishan's evil deeds.
Zuo Lishan had been in charge of the Mount Tai Sect for nearly a decade, his roots were deep, and his temperament was one of absolute authority, having cultivated many loyal followers.
Zuo Lishan's appearance was bizarre at this moment, easily noticeable, but he didn't need to show himself. Given Gao Ling's injuries and Zuo Lishan's prestige, he wouldn't need to appear or speak; as long as someone thought to actively delay Zuo Lishan for a moment, Gao Ling would succumb to her severe injuries.
Gao Ling usually only focused on cultivating martial arts and training disciples, and she didn't have many close confidants within the sect. Against Zuo Lishan, few people would step forward to speak for her.
Once she died, Zuo Lishan would wait for his appearance to return to normal, then come out, say a few high-sounding words, pin a few labels on her, and the matter would be quietly concluded.
She could only shout a few times on her escape route, hastily yelling things like, "Zuo Lishan has betrayed the sect and is practicing demonic arts!" "Elder Liu has already died by his hand!" "He wants to kill me to silence me!" and then fled down the mountain without looking back.
Fortunately, Zuo Lishan dared not appear before others at this time, so he couldn't pursue and kill her.
She needed to go to Tai'an City.
There was a medical clinic in Tai'an City; perhaps it could save her life.
First, survive, then consider other matters.
Gao Ling couldn't hold on, gradually lost consciousness, and fainted on the horse's back.
Fortunately, the old horse knew its way, accustomed to the path from the Mount Tai Sect to Tai'an City, and galloped towards Tai'an City without needing guidance.
Half an hour later, it arrived at the city gate of Tai'an City.
The soldiers guarding the city gate had initially been somewhat wary upon seeing a horse galloping from a distance without slowing down, but their hearts jumped when the horse reached them.
On the horse's back, why did it look like a dead person was slumped over?
The horse, of course, couldn't enter the city by itself and stopped at the city gate. Gao Ling had already fainted, and after half an hour of bumping on horseback while severely injured, she was now on her last breath, her body askew, and she fell to the ground.
A soldier stepped forward to check; Gao Ling's face was pale, covered in blood, and her chest barely rose and fell.
He was about to send the person to a medical clinic for treatment but was stopped by a colleague.
He turned to look, and his colleague shook his head at him, pointing to the longsword at Gao Ling's waist: "A martial artist."
"A martial arts vendetta, don't get involved."
He understood, stepped back a few paces, and no longer meddled.
The imperial court and the martial world were, in essence, the same group of people in the same place, forming circles with different identities.
In some places, the rules of the court held more sway. In others, the rules of the martial world were greater.
In Tai'an City, at the foot of the Mount Tai Sect, the local government couldn't assert its authority, so most of the time, whenever matters involving martial arts vendettas arose, the local yamen officials adopted an attitude of "you resolve your own matters."
As long as those killed were martial artists and ordinary citizens weren't involved, then act according to your rules; the more who died, the better.
This soldier also had his considerations; he was just a gate guard, his life as cheap as grass. Rashly getting involved in a martial arts vendetta, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Five or six taels of silver a month, why risk his life?
If you yourself carry weapons and wander the martial world, doesn't that imply you can kill others, and others can kill you? When you kill, you follow the rules of the martial world, but when you're killed, you expect to follow the rules of the court? There's no such convenient deal.
Of course, this was just the soldier's inner grumbling; he turned away from Gao Ling and returned to his post at the city gate.
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Seeing that the yamen wasn't getting involved, some busybodies gathered, forming a circle, and began to watch the spectacle.
People came and went at the city gate, and soon a crowd gathered, including several martial artists.
One of the martial artists carefully examined Gao Ling's face and was startled: "Isn't this... Elder Gao of the Mount Tai Sect?"
It was the same martial artist who had been chatting idly in the tavern at noon and was caught and recognized by Gao Ling.
"She left in a hurry after speaking, as if she was returning to the Mount Tai Sect. It hasn't even been two hours, how could she be injured like this?"
"Don't tell me... the Mount Tai Sect had an internal conflict!"
He knew that the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were going to take action against the Mount Tai Sect, and he had been caught red-handed by Gao Ling, so he had already decided to leave this troubled place. He was about to leave the city when he coincidentally encountered Gao Ling's tragic state.
His heart pounded, and he didn't dare to reveal Gao Ling's identity, fearing he would get himself involved.
It would take an hour to travel back and forth between the Mount Tai Sect and Tai'an City, so she probably hadn't been fighting for too long. Gao Ling was also a first-rate expert who had been famous for many years; there were few people in Jinan Prefecture who could injure her to the point of near-death and fleeing in such a short time.
Within the Mount Tai Sect, the only person he could think of was the leader of the Mount Tai Sect, "Zhenyue Sword" Zuo Lishan.
At this moment, his emotions were in turmoil, and he was at a loss for what to do when someone passed by him and was about to walk towards Gao Ling.
He quickly grabbed the person: "Brother, don't go, you can't touch her!"
"This matter is not simple; I'm afraid there's a huge hidden story. Don't easily act out of kindness and jeopardize your own life!"
He meant well, thinking that although he didn't know this person, he couldn't casually reveal his suspicions. But helping someone and saving a life could be considered fulfilling one's duty as a human being.
Li Miao, however, turned back and smiled at him: "It's fine."
"Her condition is mostly due to my calculations."
