Now that she brought Shen Wu to visit, Qiu Shui seemed to have no interest in the name Shen Wu, which seemed a bit unreasonable.
Wen Ran didn't answer Shen Wu's question. She sighed again, wondering how long she had to stay in Hidden Abyss Valley before she could leave.
Shen Wu blinked curiously and asked again, "Is repairing the Luoxia Sword really that important?"
What kind of question is that?
Doesn't he know the significance of a sword to a Sword Cultivator?
Wen Ran felt that this person was once again pretending to be foolish. She said irritably, "Of course it's important! That's my Luoxia Sword, the Luoxia Sword that has accompanied me for many years!"
Wen Ran didn't know what expression Shen Wu had under that bamboo hat, she only heard him say, "Alright then, I will find a way to restore the Luoxia Sword to its original state."
Upon hearing this, Wen Ran was taken aback. She wondered if she was experiencing auditory hallucinations and asked uncertainly, "You can think of a way?"
He straightened up, exuding the demeanor of a reclusive master, "Of course I can, Ranran, I'm very smart."
Wen Ran was skeptical.
That night, in the dead of night, all was quiet.
Suddenly, the panicked scream of a maid broke the tranquility of the night, "The young lady has been abducted!"
The Hidden Abyss Valley was instantly lit up brightly, and all the disciples rushed out in a panic.
Wen Ran, woken up by the commotion, sat up in bed and listened for a moment. She heard the passing disciples talk about how Qiu Shui had gone missing.
Wen Ran came to her senses, sensing something amiss. She hurriedly dressed and went to the next room, opened the door, and found that Shen Wu was really not inside.
Her bad premonition was indeed confirmed.
She should have known that it was strange for that lunatic to come up with a good plan!
Wen Ran forced herself to calm down first and needed to think about where Shen Wu might have taken the eldest miss of Hidden Abyss Valley. Thinking as a normal person wouldn't work; she had to think like Shen Wu...
Wen Ran left the room and grabbed a passing disciple, asking, "Is there any dangerous place near your Hidden Abyss Valley?"
The disciple was stunned, "Dangerous place?"
"For example, a place with steep terrain."
The disciple immediately replied, "There's a waterfall with a great height difference behind Hidden Abyss Valley."
"Got it, fellow disciple, let me borrow your sword." Wen Ran took the sword from the person's hand. In the next second, she was already flying in mid-air using Sword Flight, and she said to the stunned disciple, "I will bring your young lady back safely!"
Deep in the night, the waterfall's current still roared as if it was crashing from a thousand feet high.
Qiu Shui was tied hand and foot with ropes, hanging upside down on the cliff face, enduring the impact of the water. The night was dark, and the water was colder than during the day.
Her situation was dire, yet her temper was fierce, and stubbornly she said, "Wait for me... wait until I get back up! This lady will surely tear you to pieces! Cough, cough!"
As soon as she opened her mouth, she choked on several mouthfuls of water. The water battering her body was painfully intense, yet at this moment, this young lady refused to admit defeat.
A man in black, his face concealed, stood at the edge of the cliff. His voice was deliberately lowered, making it somewhat hoarse. "The young lady of Hidden Abyss Valley truly has spirit. If you want to tear me to pieces, you must first see if you have the ability to climb up."
"If you have the guts, come down and face me! Cough, cough! You... cough... you're a big man... hiding like this, what kind of hero are you?" Because she was hanging upside down, the water flowed into Qiu Shui's nose, making her uncomfortable, so much so that she couldn't even open her eyes. Yet she was not willing to lose in terms of spirit.
The man chuckled sarcastically, "Instead of being stubborn here, you should reflect on what you have done to deserve such a calamity today."
"I've always acted with a clear conscience!"
The man's voice deepened, "Relying on your identity as the young lady of Hidden Abyss Valley, you've been arrogant and tyrannical. You haven't done those things sparingly, have you?"
"I've done nothing I'm ashamed of!"
"Stubborn to the end." The man untied the rope from the tree, holding onto one end of the rope. Since the rope was released a bit, the person hanging upside down also descended a bit.
The loss of weight made Qiu Shui instinctively cry out. She was now in the middle of the waterfall, unable to say a word apart from coughing.
"Stop!"
A third person's voice, like a heavenly melody, rang out. Qiu Shui struggled to open her eyes, and in the darkness of the night, she seemed to see a green-clad girl arriving on her sword.
Wen Ran landed steadily and immediately grasped the situation. Initially, she thought Shen Wu just took the girl to threaten her verbally. Little did she expect he would go so far as to do such a harsh thing to a young girl!
From a female's standpoint, Wen Ran was furious, "Doing such a thing to a youthful girl, doesn't your conscience hurt?"
The sudden arrival of Wen Ran took the black-clad man by surprise, but only for a moment. He impatiently said, "What does this have to do with you?"
"It naturally has to do with me!" Wen Ran thought about how if the news got out that Qiu Shui was kidnapped by Shen Wu, the reputation of their Ascension Immortal Mansion would be tarnished. She couldn't help but feel distress for Old White.
Wen Ran said, "You need to stop the senselessness. I believe that where there's a will, there's a way. Even if Miss Qiu Shui doesn't want to cooperate, we can find another solution. Ultimately, whatever Miss Qiu Shui chooses to do is her freedom, and we have no right to interfere."
Wen Ran's principles didn't allow her to accept coercing others through threats to hand over their belongings.
"You've lived in Hidden Abyss Valley for some time, so you should know she's beyond help by now. I'm just giving her a lesson, which is nothing compared to her usual bullying."
"No matter what, what you're doing now is wrong. I won't argue with you anymore, release her immediately."
He laughed, "If you want me to listen to you, why not defeat me first?"
Wen Ran took a step closer, angry, and shouted, "Shen Wu!"
A voice suddenly came from a nearby tree, "Why are you calling me?"
Everyone present was startled.
Wen Ran looked up, and among the dappled shadows of the tree, a white-clothed figure was sitting rightly.
The boy sitting in the tree leaned against the trunk, with his legs dangling lazily. The breeze occasionally lifted the white veil of his bamboo hat, slightly revealing his handsome profile.
In his hand was a green plum, looking quite fresh, probably picked recently. If not for the wrong occasion, and the wrong attire, he really resembled a schoolboy who had turned into a little monkey on an excursion.