Hunted

Ming Yue was somewhat worried over these developments. While she did not know the extent at which the Sanctuary would do to find her, it would be at least two or three time harder to move around. Her prediction had indeed come true, now the many lord's underlings were actively searching for her.

Ming Yue only had two advantages over them, her divine ranked sword and the fact that she is only one person. Trying to find her in the Mist Valley is like trying to find a needle in a haystack and that gave her a fair bit of relief.

"This could be good", she thought, "At least there will be more people to find."

She would have to be very careful, if she was too slow then more people would be alerted of her presence. She laid low for the next several days managing to snag some lone cultivators. It was not long before she bumped into a familiar face.

"Yao Ci, are you sure that the reaper is that girl you met before?"

"Of course, Bai Meng, I could recognize her in a heartbeat!"

It was Pin Yao Ci along with some of her comrades, presumably looking for Ming Yue. Both women were incredibly beautiful, wearing revealing clothes.

"Do you think Miss Daiyu will let you kill her? Bai Meng asked.

"I am a lieutenant of her faction. As long as I capture her, Miss Daiyu will most likely give her to me", she responded confidently.

"Capture me? Not unless I kill you first!" Ming Yue watched from the trees before silently landing on soft dirt.

She quickly closed in on the pair, throwing out her dagger at Bai Meng before brandishing her blade. She would kill the both of them at the same time.

Unfortunately, that did not happen. Yao Ci seemed to have sensed something strange and looked behind her. Finding Ming Yue just several feet away she pushed Bai Meng away and faced her head on. The dagger just barely missed her neck, fly past her and striking a tree trunk.

"Damn", Ming Yue cursed that her plan did not work and immediately evaded Yao Ci, grabbing the dagger and disappearing again.

"I'm not going to let you leave just like that!" Yao Ci chased after her, slowly shedding her human nature.

Just like their first encounter, Yao Ci became a cackling creature, hellbent on capturing Ming Yue.

"Where are you! Come back here you wench!" she screeched, practically chasing Ming Yue on all fours.

But Ming Yue was not afraid, this time she was prepared. She hid behind one of the trees with the dagger hidden in her arm sleeve. Waiting for Yao Ci to find her, she brought the Parting Sun Blade close to her body. As the cackling grew louder, she could hear Yao Ci's approach, jumping out of her hiding spot to attack her.

Yao Ci blocked it with her nails before using her other hand to attack. Ming Yue responded by meeting her other hand with her dagger. Thus, they were at a stalemate with no way to move forward. But then, Ming Yue had another play in her hands. Hei Yue leaped from its hiding spot, biting Yao Ci constantly. Xiao Yin aided him in the attack, scratching her face with its claws.

"Aghh, you fucking beasts. I'll kill you!" she shouted wildly, attacking Xiao Yin and Hei Yue.

Taking advantage, Ming Yue stabbed Yao Ci in the stomach.

She screamed from the pain and pushed Ming Yue away.

"Just because you have some stupid mutt to help you doesn't mean I'll let you off!" Yao Ci threw Hei Yue away from her arm. Still biting hard, his jaws ripped off a piece of her flesh before he was flung off of her.

Bleeding profusely, she charged at Ming Yue, her hands ready to tear her throat apart. With her dagger, Ming Yue stabbed it right into the palm of Yao Ci's hand before using it as a handle to pull her arm away. Throwing Yao Ci off balance, she created an opening for herself and brought down her blade, swiftly cutting Yao Ci's neck.

A quick end to an evil being. Her crazed expression still present on her face as her head fell to the ground. As strong as she was, Yao Ci was simply to narrow-minded only focusing on one thing at a time. Ming Yue had noticed this when she did not bother to look at Ming Yue when Hei Yue attacked. Taking full advantage of this weakness, Hei Yue and Xiao Yin were both acting as distractions in order for Ming Yue to deal a deadly blow. Although her initial plan did not work, they managed to weaken her by a great deal allowing Ming Yue to fight her one on one.

She quickly took the head and fled the scene.

"Scatter!" she yelled at Hei Yue and Xiao Yin. It owuld be much easier for them to escape if they took different directions.

Minutes later, multiple groups had converged on Yao Ci's location.

"The wounds are still fresh! She is nearby!" one of them said.

"Yao Ci!" Bai Meng called out her name in shock, staring at her lifeless corpse.

Everyone quickly searched the area leaving only Bai Meng, shocked by the death of her superior.

"Miss Daiyu will get revenge for you. I'll make sure of it", she said, vowing to avenge her comrade.

Ming Yue continued to run, she could hear the sounds of crushed leaves and twigs behind her.

"I see her! Over there!"

"Surround her!"

Multiple figures emerged from the mist, encircling Ming Yue.

"Finally caught you", one of them said, "Come with us, the sanctuary lords will deal with you later."

Surrounded on all sides, Ming Yue thought quickly, trying to formulate a plan to escape. However before she could execute such a plan, all those that surrounded her bowed in front of her. Rather, they bowed for the one behind her.

"I will surely avenge my lieutenant, girl. So if you don't want to die right now then behave yourself", Ming Yue looked behind her, finding the Lustful Lord standing there. Her beautiful face had a slight hint of rage, losing one of her own angered her.

With no other options, Ming Yue sheathed her sword and surrendered.

Daiyu smiled, "Happy to know that you surrendered so swiftly. I guess you are a really smart girl. Bring her back! We four lords will decide her fate."

Everyone went back to Redmist Sanctuary, putting her in a prison cell before celebrating their catch. Along the way, Ming Yue took a good look at the sanctuary. It was very different from what she would expect of a town of criminals. It was not shabbily made with little make-shift houses. There were numerous buildings, an auction house, restaurants, inns. It looked like any other city but there was a faint scent of blood in the air.

Reaching the prison, it was an oppressive sight. No form of decoration or color, just metal and stone formed this complex. Some of the jail cells were empty but others contained other criminals or even normal citizens. Why they were inside was beyond her. Perhaps they broke some rules or started a fight, she did not know.

Stripped of her weapons, she sat inside the cell. Only a small window on the wall illuminated her surroundings.

"Hah, wait till tomorrow. Your fate will be decided soon." one of her captors said.

She could not get out of the cell and waited to be taken out. If she was going to escape, that would be the best time to do so. She waited, sitting on the cold stone floor.

"Hey, you need some help?" Ming Yue heard a voice outside of her cell and looked up.

"It's you, from the Stone Forest. What are you doing here?" the huntress who battled her for the Swallow stood outside of her prison cell.

"First off, My name is Xuan Yin. Once I caught my own swallow, my grandfather sent me on another mission to go kill some bandits here. When I entered the sanctuary, I saw your face on some posters and the rest I could deduce. Anyways enough of that, do you want to get out?" she said.

Ming Yue was stunned, "But I have to get my weapons."

"Do you mean these?" Xuan Yin tossed out her sword and dagger, "I really don't understand how someone like you uses a sword this long."

Ming Yue did not know what to say, she was fully prepared to fight her way through but now, luck was truly on her side.

"Let's get out."