“What heavy rain.”
Pushing open the door, Liu Ye frowned at the lightning and thunder in the night sky, and the rain pouring down like a waterfall. He couldn’t help but pull his clothes tighter around himself.
He then turned to the servant boy who had come to deliver the message.
“Are you certain? My little brother Wang went to the Danfeng Brothel, conquered a hundred women in just a few hours, and disrupted the business so much that you had to close shop?”
“Master, it is absolutely true!”
The servant boy hurriedly swore, “That man is simply too formidable. No one in the brothel is his match. Before I left, even Lady Feng personally went into battle.”
“Bizarre…”
Liu Ye was utterly baffled. Counting the days, it hadn’t even been half a month since he gave him the 【Iron Bull Technique】. How could he have reached perfection in such a short time?
How many times a day was he practicing?
Could his body even handle it?
Despite his doubts, Liu Ye didn’t dare delay. Grabbing a bamboo hat and a rain cape, he leaped into the rainy night, sprinting toward the Danfeng Brothel.
However, he noticed something wrong halfway there.
Looking toward the Danfeng Brothel, a whistling arrow soared into the sky, trailing a fiery streak that glared blindingly against the rain.
“Hmm!?”
Liu Ye’s expression changed instantly. This was the agreed-upon signal among the county yamen’s constables. In this situation, it told everyone one thing:
“The White Lotus rebel has been found!”
“He’s at the Danfeng Brothel!”
Almost simultaneously, figures across Longxing County’s inner and outer cities responded. Streaking through the rain, they rushed toward the Danfeng Brothel with near-fanatical fervor.
“Catch! Catch that rebel!”
“A hundred taels of silver… no one is snatching that from me!”
“Get out of the way!”
Such a massive commotion naturally didn’t escape Xie Shi, who was currently hiding in the Danfeng Brothel. Seeing the whistling arrow, his expression shifted drastically.
Damn it! The yamen has spies here!
In an instant, Xie Shi, already brimming with resentment, saw red. He never expected his disguise to be blown so quickly.
He had clearly altered his face and shape!
How did this happen?
Damn it, I can’t stay here. I need to find a way out first and evade those black-robed hounds… Cursed spy, don’t let me find out who you are!
Xie Shi’s mind raced, yet his actions were decisive. With a thrust of his palm, he swept up over a dozen people around him and violently smashed open the Danfeng Brothel’s doors.
He then blended into the panicked crowd, sprinting into the rain, attempting to confuse the pursuers and increase his chances of escape.
During his peak, this method would have been flawless.
However, heavily injured, his footsteps were much heavier than usual. He couldn’t conceal his tracks and was recognized by the pursuing constables almost instantly.
“The third one from the left is the thief!”
“Don’t let him get away!”
Boom!
Under the pouring rain, invisible saber qi displaced the muddy water, transforming into a visible wave of saber light that slashed straight at Xie Shi’s chest.
Simultaneously, over a dozen crossbow bolts tore through the air, nearly sealing off all his avenues of evasion. The arrowheads gleamed with armor-piercing cold light and were smeared with lethal poison. Even a scratch would instantly incapacitate him, turning him into a lamb waiting for slaughter.
Damn it! If only I still had my 【Fine Scale Armor】…
Xie Shi frowned deeply. Had his inner armor not been pierced and shattered by Chen Haoyan’s arrow earlier, he wouldn’t even need to dodge these dozen bolts.
But a tiger out of the mountains is bullied by dogs.
He was forced to stop. Extending his right arm back over his shoulder like drawing a bow, he thrust a palm strike at the incoming bolts.
Bang!
As his palm struck out, a fierce wind erupted, printing a distinct palm mark against the rain. Wherever it passed, all the bolts were crushed and snapped by the palm force.
The palm print then collided with the incoming wave of saber light. The crash echoed alongside the thunder above, and the churning shockwaves blasted water into the air.
In that very instant, amidst the flying spray, a lotus flower suddenly bloomed.
Pale Moon Lotus Blade, A Thought Blooms!
Hidden beneath the rain, the throwing knife flashed and vanished. By the time the crowd saw it, the blade had already sliced across the throat of one of the pursuing constables.
Pfft!
A head fell to the ground, and a mist of blood sprayed into the sky, dyeing the surrounding rain a blinding red and adding the first scent of blood to this encirclement.
“Get out of the way! Don’t fight him head-on! Pin him down with hidden arrows!”
A constable shouted from the shadows. The county yamen constables primarily practiced 【Three Demonic Sabers of Yama】, which didn’t refine skin or flesh. Thus, their attacks were strong, but their defenses were lacking.
Conversely, Xie Shi’s throwing knife skills were phenomenal. With his perfected 【Pale Moon Lotus Blade】 bolstered by a signature technique, and hidden weapons being naturally hard to detect at night, lacking defensive measures meant an easy one-hit kill.
Therefore, instead of rushing in with sabers, it was better to harass him with crossbows from a distance.
“This thief is heavily injured; he can’t throw many knives.”
“He doesn’t have a horse and is on foot. Drain his stamina with arrows first. Force him to dodge and counter. Once he’s exhausted, we’ll go up and hack him to pieces.”
Voices rang out one after another.
Faced with such a tactical formation, Xie Shi, who had just unleashed his might hoping to deter his pursuers, saw his expression darken. Shock and fury warred in his heart.
These black-robed hounds… they’re too experienced!
Undeniably, this tactic perfectly targeted his weakness. In his current condition, he truly might be dragged to death if this continued.
However, he was a veteran rebel. He had faced desperate situations at least a dozen times. Recognizing the reality, he acted with extreme decisiveness. Planting his feet, he gathered his qi and raised his palm.
His slightly pale face instantly flushed crimson as if engulfed in flames, and his entire body abruptly swelled three inches taller.
Then, he exhaled and roared:
“Kill!!!”
Rolling thunder whipped up visible waves in the rain. Simultaneously, Xie Shi stomped hard and charged toward an alley, riding the waves.
With this momentary burst, he seemingly unleashed a secret art, temporarily casting off his heavy injuries and reproducing his peak external perfection martial arts. Wherever he passed, overwhelming force exploded repeatedly, knocking down all the arrows nearing him.
“Trying to leave?”
Just then, a figure abruptly appeared by Xie Shi’s side. The person didn’t draw a saber. Instead, he smoothly extended his arm and thrust a heavy punch.
Boom!
With a deafening crack, the fist print tore through the rain, carving a clear trajectory, and slammed directly into Xie Shi’s spine from a distance.
“Hundred-Step Divine Fist!?”
Xie Shi seemingly recognized this punch technique. He spat out a mouthful of blood on the spot, feeling as if his spine had been pulverized, yet he dared not stop moving.
The next second, his figure didn’t pause at all. Instead, borrowing the propulsion from the punch, he burst out of the encirclement even faster. He smashed through several walls along the way, kicking up a cloud of dust that mixed with the rain, and finally vanished from the sight of all the pursuing constables.
“Liu Ye, you old dog… It’s you or me until death!”
Xie Shi’s hate-filled voice mixed with the torrential downpour and was quickly drowned out. However, Liu Ye, the one who struck, showed no joy.
“He didn’t die from that?”
The old constable grimaced, yet his pace didn’t slow. He chased straight after Xie Shi, clearly not intending to let him go.
After all, while he didn’t have the guts to fight to the death, he definitely had the guts to kick a dog while it was down.
A lot of guts.
The chase continued across nearly half the county town. During this process, the despair in Xie Shi’s heart grew increasingly intense.
I can’t escape…!
That old dog Liu Ye’s nose is too sharp. He must have trained some unclassified tracking martial art. His tracking skills are too good; I can’t shake him off!
What should he do?
Xie Shi frantically racked his brain for a solution. Just then, in the hazy rain, a figure suddenly entered his vision.
Wearing a black-and-red official uniform, with a saber at the waist… a constable?
Appearance… quite young, and somewhat familiar.
Perfect timing!
Xie Shi’s eyes lit up. He stomped heavily, accelerating further, and charged straight at the young constable, intending to grab him as a hostage first.
Even if I can’t use him as a hostage, I can use him as a meat shield and throw him at that old dog Liu Ye. He’ll have to dodge, which will buy me a chance to escape…
While plotting, the figure of the young constable grew clearer. Piercing the heavy rain, Xie Shi arrived in front of him in just a few breaths.
Meanwhile, Liu Ye was closing in too.
His martial arts were higher than the heavily injured Xie Shi’s, and his eyesight was better. Thus, even from a distance, he saw through the rain and recognized the person.
Instantly, Liu Ye’s pupils shrank.
He recognized the young constable targeted by Xie Shi as Wang Ping! But shouldn’t he be battling women in the Danfeng Brothel?
Why was he here?
In a split second, Liu Ye had no time to think and could only yell, “Dodge, quickly!”
Despite shouting, he sighed internally.
Too late.
How high was Xie Shi’s martial arts? Even heavily injured, he wasn’t someone an ordinary martial artist could handle, let alone a rookie constable who hadn’t even crossed the threshold yet.
He was dead for sure.
Given Xie Shi’s ferocious nature as he was driven into a corner, dying quickly would actually be lucky. If he survived, he would only experience more torment.
Meanwhile.
Facing Xie Shi charging right at him, Wang Ping felt an unprecedented calm. His body felt light, utterly devoid of fear or tension.
Xie Shi, Senior Brother Xie… I really missed you.
In all fairness, Wang Ping held no grudge against Xie Shi. However, as a constable seeking advancement, he was missing a top-quality stepping stone.
Xie Shi showing up now was truly a timely gift.
A crossfire in the county town, a rebel dying a violent death… How pleasing to the ear!
What’s happening!?
At that exact moment, Xie Shi seemingly sensed something as well. A piercing pain erupted from the center of his brow, accompanied by an overwhelming sense of crisis.
This was also a White Lotus Cult secret art, capable of sensing fortune and disaster. That night, he relied on this secret art to avoid being instantly killed by Chen Haoyan’s arrow. And now, he felt as if he was back on that night, seeing that unrivaled arrow and the suffocating vision of his own death!
Is it that old dog Liu Ye? Can his Hundred-Step Divine Fist strike from this far away?
Xie Shi’s eyes were bloodshot. He felt as if his throbbing brow was about to split and cleave him in half. Absolute terror morphed into blind rage.
Trying to kill me? Keep dreaming!
With this thought, Xie Shi ignored his rapidly failing body and stimulated the secret art once more, tossing aside his injuries and pushing out every last ounce of his remaining strength.
Boom!
The massive boom even eclipsed the thunder in the sky. Churning water expanded outward from Xie Shi in the rain, symbolizing the rampage of matchless divine power.
At this moment, a muffled thud like a beating drum echoed from Xie Shi’s chest. Crystalline blood-sweat visibly seeped from his pores, rolled down, and merged with the rain.
This was proof of the ferocity of his force erupting after his qi and blood circulation reached its absolute limit!
Spare no cost! Escape in the shortest time possible!
Xie Shi lunged forward, intending to grab the young constable and hurl him at Liu Ye, before taking the opportunity to throw a throwing knife with all his might.
I’ll let the throwing knife pierce right through this young constable’s chest; that will be the most unexpected.
Xie Shi calculated internally. Although his hand reached for the young constable, his mind was already focused entirely on Liu Ye chasing from behind.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
Heavy rain, fierce wind, two men.
Only at this moment did Wang Ping finally look up. The image sensed by his spiritual sense overlapped with the image seen by his naked eyes, reflecting Xie Shi’s vicious face.
Instead of retreating, he advanced.
Clang!
He drew his saber.
Every movement flowed like water; every movement felt divinely guided. Yet, it was all condensed into a single instant, making it impossible to see the process clearly.
Therefore, in Xie Shi’s eyes, he merely saw the young man make a drawing motion, and then the gleaming tip of the blade completely occupied his vision. The three saber intents of Greed, Anger, and Ignorance struck directly at his soul, causing his life to uncontrollably flash before his eyes.
Is this… the 【Yama’s Summons】!?
The signature technique condensed after achieving perfection in 【Three Demonic Sabers of Yama】. Known as “Where the saber goes, Yama follows,” it served as delivering an invitation claiming a life on behalf of Yama.
This wasn’t even the most terrifying part.
The most terrifying part was the resonant saber hum erupting from the constable’s body, echoing the blade, triggered by the snapping of large sinews all over his body after he executed this slash.
It was an incredibly bizarre sound, melodious and drawn out, faintly blending into the torrential rain.
A dragon’s roar… True dragon sinews!?
Boom!
The saber light flashed. The center of Xie Shi’s brow finally stopped hurting. The sense of crisis vanished, leaving only boundless emptiness and a tranquil mind.
In his daze, he saw the person’s face again.
This face was indeed very familiar, just a bit older. If it were a bit younger… Hmm?
Xie Shi’s pupils suddenly shrank. Hovering on the brink of death, he experienced a terminal lucidity and looked at the person before him in sheer disbelief.
It was him!?
That mole sent by the county yamen who didn’t even know martial arts, the junior brother abandoned by Master and himself?
Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
He wanted to roar, but he was powerless. The momentary spark brought by his terminal lucidity extinguished rapidly, and the image before his eyes plunged into complete darkness.
Thud.
A figure, split cleanly in two, crashed to the ground. Blood poured out like a ruptured dam, merging with the torrential rain.
Dead? He’s dead!?
Liu Ye, rushing to catch up, stopped in his tracks in bewilderment. He stared at the young constable leaning on his saber in the rain, unable to recover his senses for a long time.
It wasn’t until the young man looked up and chuckled lightly at him:
“Rest assured, Master Liu, no need to dodge.”
“The rain is heavy tonight; it’ll wash the blood from my saber.”