A Pawn's Passage

Just when the three thugs were about to slowly grind the Innkeeper to death, they suddenly heard a gunshot.

The Diviner, who was concentrating on casting illusions, died on the spot. His brain matter splattered everywhere.

Someone actually ambushed them while they were focused on attacking the Innkeeper. The Diviner had a weak physique, so he was killed with one close-range shot to the head.

The scholar was so horrified that he did not know how to react. He shouted, “Big Brother—”

Before he could finish his sentence, something flew toward him. It turned out to be a five-kilogram Divine Dragon Pistol.

Although his brain would not explode like the Diviner’s, he would suffer a concussion if struck by this heavy gun. The scholar dodged in a panic. However, the attacker was relentless, not giving him the opportunity to catch his breath.

The attacker was holding two cutlasses, and the blades were ablaze, making it an interesting sight.

The scholar rolled away and stood up. He dropped the crossbow in his hand and waved his sleeves, shooting out some bolts in a counterattack.

However, the attacker waved the Dual Cutlass around, dodging the bolts with ease. Then he thrust the Dual Cutlass toward the scholar’s chest. One would not feel a chill in the heart when stabbed by this blade. Instead, they would feel their internal organs burning to ashes.

The scholar was an experienced assassin, so he managed to dodge the flaming blades at the critical moment by bending his back into a backward bridge pose. The scholar exerted some force in his limbs and pressed his back to the ground, rolling away just in time.

The attacker was none other than Qi Xuansu. However, his appearance was not a coincidence. After he parted ways with the Innkeeper, he noticed these three thugs stalking the Innkeeper, so he followed them.

This situation was the epitome of a mantis stalking a cicada, oblivious to the oriole behind it.

Qi Xuansu did not want to expose his true identity, so he did not use the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique but relied on his newly acquired Dual Cutlass to chase down the scholar.

The scholar retreated quickly, but Qi Xuansu was faster. The blades moved rapidly, creating mesmerizing arcs as the flames danced in the air. It was a captivating sight.

However, the scholar knew not to get tricked by their beauty because these cutlasses were fatally striking. He could be seriously injured by them.

The scholar had seen Qi Xuansu before, recognizing him as one of the recruits for The Inn’s “weeding” operation. If Qi Xuansu was able to take up that job worth 2000 Taiping coins, it was evident that his level of cultivation exceeded theirs.

More importantly, Qi Xuansu came back from the reclaimed land safe and sound. From this, the scholar could tell that Qi Xuansu was an experienced fighter, making him a difficult opponent. Even if the scholar had the same cultivation level as Qi Xuansu, the scholar would have little chance of winning in a one-on-one fight.

On the other side, without the restraints of the Diviner and scholar, the burly bald man was no match for the Innkeeper on his own.

The fight between the bald man and the Innkeeper reached a fever pitch. Suddenly, the Innkeeper retracted the nine-section whip in his right hand, stretched out his left arm, and tried to grasp the bald man’s face with his palm.

All the bald man felt was excruciating pain, as if his face had been slashed with a knife. He rolled out a few meters before jumping up, his heart pounding wildly, knowing that he just had a close brush with death. If the Innkeeper had caught him, he would have five bloody holes in his face.

At this moment, the bald man felt a strong wind hitting his face again and instinctively protected his throat. Sure enough, the Innkeeper grabbed him at the same time, scraping his throat and creating five marks. It was just a split-second difference, and the bald man could have lost his life.

Seeing that his moves were ineffective, the Innkeeper cracked his whip three times. The soft whip moved urgently until the bald man was wrapped in a golden aura. The bald man had no choice but to swerve left and right between the sweeping blows of the whip.

The bald man was in a desperate situation, as he could only focus on defense and had no power to counterattack.

The scholar’s cultivation level was not as good as Qi Xuansu’s, and he did not have weapons at his disposal. Even if Qi Xuansu did not use the Dayan Spirit Blade Technique, the scholar could not hold a candle to him. He could barely cope with his quick wit and cunning honed by years of street fighting.

However, there would be a time when the scholar could no longer hold on. In a moment of carelessness, the scholar was sliced into two pieces by Qi Xuansu’s cutlasses.

Many of the moves Qi Xuansu used made his cutlasses seem like a pair of scissors, but he did not do this intentionally.

The scholar was dead because he did not practice the Cicada Molting Technique, as this technique was only available to Daoist disciples. Although this technique was also spread among the people, this scholar could not afford to buy a secret book containing the know-how of these mystical abilities. He could not afford a flying sword either.

Qi Xuansu stopped injecting the qi into the cutlasses, so the flames on the blades gradually extinguished and the cutlasses returned to their original appearance. Qi Xuansu strapped his cutlasses back on his back and leaned over to search the scholar’s body.

He only found a few dozen Taiping coins, some bottles of poison, and a jar of medicine in the satchel. This was a reasonable find because, given the danger and unpredictability of one’s journey, no traveler would carry large amounts of money and valuables with them.

The same was true for Qi Xuansu in the past. He had exchanged his Taiping coins for Wuyou coins and kept his savings with Madam Qi. Later, Qi Xuansu found that it was easy to save money with her but difficult to take back the money, so he stopped doing so.

The scholar had two crossbows and two sets of bolts. Qi Xuansu flipped up the scholar’s robe, revealing two rows of short knives around his waist. Each knife was around 15 centimeters long, and there were at least 30 of them. They were neatly arranged on an embroidered wide belt around the waist.

Qi Xuansu unashamedly kept the scholar’s belt of throwing knives and pocketed the Taiping coins before he checked out the wounds on the scholar’s body. Due to the flaming blades, the wounds were scorched black.

It was no wonder the Armaments Officer named them “Flaming Blades.” Although it was not a cool name, it was straightforward enough. The only drawback was that it was difficult to inject qi into the cutlasses during a sneak attack at night, as it was too eye-catching.

Qi Xuansu picked up his Divine Dragon Pistol again and walked toward the Diviner’s body.

As Qi Xuansu expected, the Diviner had nothing of value on him. He only had a compass, a few talismans, and some wound medicine. The Diviner must have hidden his valuables somewhere.

At this time, the Innkeeper suddenly let out a loud roar and cracked the golden nine-section whip in his hand, forcing the bald man to retreat.

However, the combat power of a Martial Arts Practitioner was one of the best. A Qi Refiner without a flying sword would be ranked below a Martial Arts Practitioner. Although the bald man was retreating, he still had the strength to hold on.

Qi Xuansu sighed, jumped up behind the bald man, and shattered the latter’s spine with just one punch. He punched the bald man again on the back of his heart, ensuring that his opponent would die.

This fight happened within half an hour, and all three of them died in Qi Xuansu’s hands.

It was no wonder Zhang Yuelu said that Qi Xuansu was shrouded in an intense killing aura. If they compared their body count, Zhang Yuelu would have less than half of Qi Xuansu’s. However, when it came to the quality of the kills, Zhang Yuelu would win.

But then again, these three thugs were assassins, so they deserved to die in this gruesome manner.

Qi Xuansu glanced at the bald man and realized that the armor on his body was worth some money. However, Qi Xuansu had too many things in his satchel, so he could not take it.

The Innkeeper finally caught his breath. Although he was still a little defensive, he kept a polite smile. He held the nine-section whip with both hands and saluted Qi Xuansu. “Thank you for coming to my rescue, Brother Wei. I will never forget your kindness and will definitely repay you in the future.”

Qi Xuansu waved his hand. “You don’t have to wait till later to repay me. You can do so now.”

The Innkeeper’s expression changed slightly, fearing that Qi Xuansu was out to get him as well.

Qi Xuansu cut to the chase. “Innkeeper, do you still remember why I went to your branch?”

The Innkeeper was stunned for a moment before he recalled, “White Jade Hall?”

Qi Xuansu nodded. “Exactly.”

The Innkeeper breathed a sigh of relief and told him everything he knew. “Since you asked, I won’t hide it from you. Brother Wei, you’re probably already aware that White Jade Hall is not a location but a council. They have no fixed place or time to gather, and they will constantly change their hideout. I know the location of one of their hideouts, but I can’t guarantee that they are still there.”

Qi Xuansu nodded to express understanding. “Please tell me the location of this place, and we’ll call it even.”

Hearing this, the Innkeeper took out a sheepskin map from his magical receptacle and handed it to Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu took the map and glanced at it. The map was not very large, marking the area around Cuowenbu. There was a red circle somewhere east of Cuowenbu.

The Innkeeper pointed at the circle and explained, “This is it. Brother Wei, you’d better go there as soon as possible if you want to catch them. If you go any later, I’m afraid they will have already left.”

Qi Xuansu nodded, put away the map, tied the Jiamas to his legs, and left in the direction of the red circle.

The Innkeeper stared at Qi Xuansu’s retreating figure, then looked at the three corpses on the ground before continuing on his way. He was heading to The Inn’s branch in Xiping Prefecture, where there were also masters from The Inn. Once there, he would be safe.

……

Cuowenbu was Tibetan for “Green Sea.” The fact that a lake was called a sea indicated just how big it was.

A huge warship was floating on the green lake at this time. The hull was about 400 meters long. But even so, it looked like a small boat compared to the vast and misty Cuowenbu Lake.

This was the Daoist Order’s flying warship, which the Daoist Order called the Yinglong[1] Warship. The keel of the hull was made of the bones of three dragons. Its core was also driven by three Dragon Pearls.

The size of the Daoist Order’s warship was even larger than the Green Dragon, which was the Imperial Armored Warship. However, the Daoist Order had limited numbers of the Yinglong Warship. In terms of fleet size, the Imperial Court’s maritime fleet was larger than the Daoist Order’s.

One could only imagine the energy consumption of such a giant ship. That was why Shangguan Jing came to Cuowenbu to replenish the flying ship’s moisture after killing the Great Asura.

Shangguan Jing stood on the bow of the boat, looking out at the vast lake.

Yongzhou was not far from Kunlun, so if something were to happen, reinforcements would arrive soon. However, if there was a problem within the Daoist Order, these reinforcements might not arrive in time.

The Seventh Deputy Hall Master wondered, Has it already gotten to that point? Should I report it to Tiangang Hall?

However, he had no evidence. This was just speculation. Some things could be mentioned in private, but they could not be put in writing. More importantly, this involved the Taiping Sect. If someone accused him of fabricating lies and slander, his career would be over.

Moreover, this was the Golden Tower Council’s decision, and Tiangang Hall had no right to retreat to Jade Capital without orders.

At this moment, a strip of black clouds appeared on the horizon, quickly approaching Cuowenbu.

1. A Chinese mythological dragon believed to bring rain and control the weather, responding to the people’s needs in relation to the weather. ☜