Dragon Tamer

It hovered in front of Zhu Minglang, and, realizing that battle was not imminent, it then flew behind him.

It was as if he was carrying a sword on his back, but without a scabbard; the Sword Spirit Dragon hovered at Zhu Minglang’s back, maintaining a position within easy reach of his hand…

“So it is, we were overcautious. It is a rare opportunity to meet a fellow of the esteemed Yaoshan Sword Sect here. Please, do not decline, and honor us with a visit to our Sect Forest for a few days. For hundreds of miles around this Horseback Mountain Forest, there are no towns or villages, and our Sword Manor naturally wouldn’t let the two of you sleep rough in the wilderness,” said the leader, with a friendly smile, speaking quite politely.

Zhu Minglang glanced at the Demon Sect’s Disciple.

The Demon Sect’s Disciple did not speak.

From the words of the people from the White Robe Sword Sect, they apparently had not seen this Demon Sect’s Disciple’s face before, nor did they know that she was a woman…

“Then I shall respectfully comply,” Zhu Minglang agreed.

Out in the wilderness, nothing was as comfortable as a Sword Manor with its exquisite environment and many junior swordswomen. Zhu Minglang didn’t reveal the Demon Sect’s Disciple’s identity and didn’t refuse the goodwill of the leader from the White Robe Sword Sect.

“Lin Zhong, Ming Xiu, take these two to our Sect Forest and take good care of them. The rest of you, continue in this direction to see if there are any traces of the Demon Sect’s Disciples,” the leader instructed.

After speaking, the leader gave Zhu Minglang an apologetic bow and said again, “The Demon Sect’s Disciples are treacherous. Since we have detected their presence, we naturally cannot ignore it. Please understand.”

“Of course, the righteous sects all have the duty to drive out demons and eradicate evil,” Zhu Minglang said.

…

Zhu Minglang packed up his belongings and, when rolling up his expensively bought fleece mat, he also picked up the Demon Sect’s Disciple’s extremely luxurious Moon Cassock to prevent the two swordsmen from seeing it.

The Demon Sect’s Disciple bit her lip, wanting to say something but not daring to say too much, merely glaring at Zhu Minglang with her large eyes.

“Let’s go, Xiao Tan Hua, pack up the roasted beef nicely. We can’t waste food,” Zhu Minglang said to the Demon Sect’s Disciple.

The Demon Sect’s Disciple was stunned for a moment, at first not realizing “Xiao Tan Hua” referred to her. When she noticed the puzzled looks of the two swordsmen, she quickly responded and wrapped the beef she had roasted earlier with oiled paper.

“Slice it up, we can eat it on the go,” Zhu Minglang handed her the finely crafted small dagger he had used earlier, saying with a smile.

…

Following Lin Zhong and Ming Xiu to the White Robe Sect Forest, aside from their superior swordsmanship and self-proclaimed status as a righteous sect, the White Robe Sword Sect famously regarded their white garments as a symbol of noble status. Thus, only those swordsmen recognized by the Sword Sect were entitled to wear white, and they were commonly known as the White-clad Swordsmen, regularly featured in stories of chivalry and righteousness…

Both Lin Zhong and Ming Xiu were dressed in white clothes, clearly both being outstanding individuals within the Sword Sect. However, Zhu Minglang was a bit puzzled; why would such a group of strong swordsmen, including a senior figure like a leader, chase after a Demon Sect’s Disciple in the wilds, especially when they had not even seen what the Demon Sect’s Disciple looked like?

Thus, Zhu Minglang voiced his confusion, as he himself was not a Demon Sect’s Disciple.

“We are conducting an experiment; Leader Lei recently befriended a powerful Talisman Master, who made several Tracking Talismans for us. These talismans can sense fluctuations in magic spells within a hundred-mile radius and guide us to their location. Today was the first time we used them, and unexpectedly we found a person from the Demon Sect within a hundred miles of our Sword Sect, which greatly angered the masters and led us to insist on capturing them, so we chased them all the way here. But the Tracking Talisman’s time is limited; it lost its mana on the previous mountain ridge, and we have been searching blindly ever since,” the White-clad Swordsman named Lin Zhong explained.

“There are such extraordinary talismans!” Zhu Minglang exclaimed in surprise.

“Indeed, we did not expect the talisman to be so powerful,” Lín Zhong said.

“It’s a pity that the Demon Sect’s Disciple did not run in my direction; otherwise, I could have lent you a helping hand,” Zhu Minglang sighed.

“It’s alright, it was just a trial, and I estimate it was only a minor scout from the Demon Sect, observing the movements of our Sword Sect. If they got away, they got away,” Lín Zhong said.

Lín Zhong did not harbor much suspicion towards Zhu Minglang.

He saw the campfire that Zhu Minglang had lit, which had obviously been burning for some time, surrounded by a circle of charred wood.

Moreover, the beef was clearly slow-roasted to perfection, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

The fugitive from the Demon Sect, panicking in flight, could not possibly have prepared such detailed work, not to mention Zhu Minglang had revealed his Flying Sword and declared his identity from the Yaoshan Sword Sect; there was no reason for him to be a disciplet of the Demon Sect.

“Are you two really a couple?” Ming Xiu, the white-clad swordswoman, asked.

As a woman, she observed with slightly more detail. She noticed that the steps of the Demon Sect’s woman and Zhu Minglang were not in sync, and the distance she maintained did not seem typical of a couple. Instead, she was consistently half a step behind Zhu Minglang.

“Sort of but not really. She’s the head maid of my household, completely devoted to me. The elders in my family despise her lowly status and want me to marry some Big Sword Nun from Miao Mountain Sword Sect. I don’t quite like my family’s arrangement, thinking that the noble Swordswoman is not as good as my little peony, so I took her and left home for a distant journey,” Zhu Minglang explained with a smile, quite composedly.

This explanation made the Demon Sect’s woman’s eyes widen, shimmering with a mix of shame.

How did she become a maid?

And fully devoted at that!

There were so many other explanations he could have used; how could this man be so shameless!

“My brother, you really are full of character. If it were me, I wouldn’t dare to go against my family’s arrangements so casually,” Lín Zhong said to Zhu Minglang, giving him a thumbs up.

“That’s quite tough for you both, sister. You’re lucky to meet a man who’s willing to elope with you,” Ming Xiu was quite sentimental, and she was quickly persuaded by Zhu Minglang.

“Yes, yes,” the Demon Sect’s woman could only grudgingly agree.

“It’s fine. Once she’s pregnant, our clan will accept her for the sake of our Zhu family’s bloodline,” Zhu Minglang continued to babble on.

The Demon Sect’s woman was so infuriated by these words that she almost threw her dagger at Zhu Minglang.

To be given the vulgar maid’s name “little peony” was bad enough, but to talk about pregnancy… Disgusting!

How could such a reputable faction nurture such a lewd person!

“We’re almost there. Once we pass the mountain up ahead, we’ll be at the sect,” Lín Zhong said.

“If I had known your sect’s gate was here, I would have thickened my skin and asked to stay,” Zhu Minglang said.

“Our sect is quite hidden, and it’s normal for people to be unaware of it. It’s already late; I will have someone arrange accommodation for you now. You should rest early, and tomorrow morning, I will come to take you on a tour of our White Robe Sword Sect,” Ming Xiu, the swordswoman, said.