ChangNing’s Imperial Army

Chapter 74 – Those Are Mandarin Ducks
The intense pain brought about by the few arrows stuck to his back made Hei Yan’s eyes look more and more calm instead. Even though the speed at which he swung his steel rod at had slowed down, it was still powerful.

There were Guan Tang Kou’s men on both sides of the alley. Mu Liu’er’s plan was not very exquisite – it was just that they had more than enough manpower on their side.

More than half of them truly went over to Shen Leng’s small courtyard. Naturally, they needed to have a substantial amount of people headed there, or else they would not have been able to lure Liu Yun Sect’s experts.

The remaining people seemed to be sufficient to deal with Hei Yan.

 

Hei Yan, with three arrows pierced into his back, was still as ferocious as before, even though he had already lost a lot of blood. If he continued fighting like this, he would die from excessive loss of blood even before Lian Li had the chance to kill him herself.

However, he did not care at all.

Lian Li’s attack speed was extremely fast. There was a saying within the secret societies in Changan city – ‘a speck of time is more precious than an ounce of gold’. Lian Li killed in a speck of time.

Her fees were very high, and she only accepted gold. If one were to use her speed of killing to calculate the reward, then in that case, time was more precious than gold.

However, Hei Yan’s defense was extremely tight. Even if her ring blade was any more ruthless, or her dagger was any sharper, they could not get past his steel rod.

That year, from Changan city to Xishu, both of them had fought each other several times. That was how Lian Li lost her left eye.

Clank! Her ring blade and dagger struck the steel rod at the same time. Hei Yan retreated a few steps – clearly because he had lost too much blood and thus got his energy drained. He stabbed the steel rod into the ground and used it to stabilize himself.

“Whoa…you became stronger.”

He lifted his head and looked at Lian Li. He spat out a mouthful of saliva with traces of blood.

“For a woman to make herself this strong, it must have been really tough.”

“Shut up!”

Once again, Lian Li tried to attack first. Every move was faster than the one before. Guan Tang Kou’s men on both sides already knew what the endgame was going to be. If this continued, in fifteen minutes, Hei Yan would surely die without a doubt.

And at this moment, Mu Liu’er, who was standing at the top of a steep slope looking at the night view near the river, furrowed her brows hard. One of the Guan Tang Kou assassins ran over to her. “Young master wants you to go over right now.”

Mu Liu’er was slightly taken aback. “Right now? At this timing?”

She turned around and looked towards the village. “Is it done?”

“Not yet, but Hei Yan will surely die.”

“That’s good then.”

Mu Liu’er gestured to her subordinate to bring a horse over. “I have to rush over to meet with young master, after everything is done, leave the village. After Lian Li has killed Hei Yan, tell her that I will give her two months to go back to visit her parents. She does not need to come to see me.”

After she finished her sentence, Mu Liu’er got on the horse and left. All of Guan Tang Kou’s men at the entrance of the town started charging into the town. This dark night was fated to be chaotic.

There were markings on the walls on both sides of the alley, made by the steel rod, dagger, and ring blade. The sounds of weapons colliding against one another caused the families who lived on both sides of the alley to hide in their homes, as they trembled with fear.

A series of sparks started flickering; the sparks generated by weapons clashing against one another carried an intense murderous aura in them.

。

The ring blade left a long wound on Hei Yan’s chest. Hei Yan groaned in pain, but the steel rod in his hand had pierced Lian Li in the left shoulder. If Lian Li had not reacted fast enough, it would have pierced through her heart instead.

Hei Yan gripped his steel rod and charged forward, while Lian Li retreated. However, the steel rod slowly inched deeper and deeper, before it finally pierced through her shoulder. She gritted her teeth and did not let out a single sound.

“Between the two of us, one must die.”

Suddenly, Hei Yan stopped in his tracks. He was thoroughly drained of his energy, his knees buckled and he almost fell to his knees. The steel rod stabbed into the ground. He squatted halfway, and smiled, as blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Lian Li lifted her hand and pressed against the wound on her left shoulder. If it was any lower, she would have collapsed before Hei Yan did.

“The person who will die is definitely you. I need to be accountable to my eye.”

Lian Li took a deep breath. She charged forward and attempted to cut Hei Yan’s throat.

Just as her dagger was about to slash across Hei Yan’s throat, he abruptly fell backwards. Just as she swung her dagger across, Hei Yan’s face faced upwards. The blade of the dagger grazed the tip of his nose. Hei Yan was on the verge of collapsing. It seemed as though it was impossible for him to dodge her attack.

An extremely frightening power suddenly erupted from Hei Yan, who was supported himself against the ground with one hand. Supporting himself with just one hand, he withdrew both legs before kicking them out, trampling onto Lian Li’s chest hard.

Lian Li flew backwards. Hei Yan knew that this was his best opportunity – as long as he caught up with her, his steel rod would be able to pierce through her throat.

However, his energy was almost entirely depleted. The Guan Tang Kou assassins that surrounded the area would not give him the opportunity either.

One Guan Tang Kou assassin leapt down from the roof. He was holding onto a sword, as he charged towards Hei Yan, who was sitting on the ground. Just as he was one step away from Hei Yan, all of a sudden, chills ran down his spine. Thereafter, he saw a sword piercing out of his chest, where his heart was.

The masked man in white, who was used to having a long and short sword tied to his back, appeared behind him like a ghost. He drew his sword once more, causing the Guan Tang Kou assassin’s hands to go weak before falling onto the ground.

”How miserable.”

He looked at Hei Yan. “It’s my first time seeing you in such a miserable state.”

At a distance away, on the roof ridge, a masked man in white squatted there, like a cat. He tossed eight darts with both hands; the row of assassins on the roof started falling to the ground as a result.

On the other side, a ray of bright sword light erupted.

It did not look like a sword technique – it was more like a person dancing under the moonlight by himself. His silhouette drifted about erratically as he continued to circle the air on the roof. Six to seven Guan Tang Kou assassins ended up collapsing to the ground as a result of this sword dance.

The black tassel fluttered under the sword light.

With a short sword in his left hand and a long sword in his right, the masked man in white started charging forward and killing. An assassin swung his sword at him; he held the short sword in his left hand upright, slicing the assassin’s wrist. He swung the long sword up from below, disemboweling him.

One of the assassins charged towards him from the back. The assassin in white turned around; the shaft of the long sword in his right hand struck him in the temple. That person stiffened up. The short sword had already slashed across his throat.

The masked man in white who was squatting on the roof looked at Hei Yan and shook his head lightly. “Can you still handle it, boss?”

Hei Yan used the steel rod to support himself and stood up. “Don’t worry, don’t even bother to think you can take over my place. You will be my underling for the rest of your lives.”

The masked man in white seemed to be laughing with his eyes closed. He looked rather cool. He leapt off the roof and jumped to the wall on the other side of the alley. He walked on top of the wall, as though he was walking on a single-log bridge. He was extremely fast, but the speed of his hands throwing out darts were even faster. One by one, the Guan Tang Kou assassins standing on the top of the wall started falling down.

“Withdraw!”

It was uncertain whose voice it belonged to in the dark. The remaining Guan Tang Kou assassins started to retreat and withdraw. Even though they still had the upper hand when it came to numbers, everyone knew at this point that they no longer had much fighting spirit left.

“You cannot withdraw.”

Plop!

A black cord sword swept across, causing blood to spurt out and a head to roll onto the ground.

After Shen Leng swung his sword, he walked out of the rain of blood. His sword techniques were distinctly different from the ones used by the experts of Liu Yun Sect. People who used darts to kill were akin to reapers in the dark, whereas swordsmen were like dancers dancing under the moonlight. As for the fella who used two swords, his technique was extremely swift and effective.

Shen Leng’s sword was simple, direct and effective.

He only used one sword to kill one person – he definitely would never use two swords to kill one person. He executed a cruel and ruthless like killing in a very calm and ordinary fashion. Every attack from him did not have any other ulterior motives. His only goal was to take his opponent’s life.

At this moment, the Guan Tang Kou assassin, who was heading towards him like the tide, would rather face someone from Liu Yun Sect, instead of this grim reaper.

The masked man in white who was squatting on top of the wall like a cat looked at Shen Leng. “How boorish.”

The swordsman shook his head lightly. “Not sightly at all.”

The double sword assassin stared blankly for a moment before sighing. “I can’t win him.”

At a distance away, after Lian Li collapsed to the ground, she gasped for air for quite a while. If Hei Yan had a little more strength in him, she would have already been dead. Perhaps, she was lucky. But unfortunately, her men were being killed at a rapid speed. The ones who were alive had fled off at an even higher speed.

She gritted her teeth and stood up. She looked at Hei Yan. She had resentment and hatred in her eyes, akin to ice that had been frozen over tens of thousands of years and would not melt despite being exposed to the scorching sun.

She turned around and charged into a small courtyard at the side. The man who used double swords charged over from the side. He drew out the long sword and stopped her. “My boss said that between the two of you, one must die. He is my boss, I don’t dare to kill him. So I have no choice but to kill you.”

Lian Li raised her chin slightly. “Just you alone?”

Shen Leng jumped down from the roof and landed onto the ground with a loud thud. It was not quite artistic – his landing was too heavy. If it was someone else, their knees would have buckled and given way. However, he never specialized in techniques that required agility.

“You seem to have been abandoned by your comrades.”

Shen Leng looked around. Most of Guan Tang Kou’s men took the opportunity to escape in the dark night.

“Leave it to me.”

Hei Yan supported himself up. He held the steel rod and walked forward. The friction between the ground and the pointed end of the steel rod created a sound that made people feel extremely uncomfortable.

Lian Li looked at Hei Yan. “You can still move?”

“I can. My arm, legs, and waist can still move.”

Hei Yan stuck out his hand, gesturing for them to leave. Shen Leng and the double sword assassin looked at each other. The double sword assassin shrugged his shoulders helplessly. “I don’t dare to disobey my leader’s words.”

Shen Leng nodded. He looked at Hei Yan, “Can you hang in there?”

Hei Yan turned around and closed the door. “You will hear screams of joy.”

 

He closed the door. There were only Hei Yan and Lian Li left in the courtyard.

Twenty breaths later, the door opened. Hei Yan dragged his feet and walked out of the courtyard. The blade of the ring was wedged into the flesh of his shoulder. It was about half an inch away from his neck. The dagger was pierced into his arm. It penetrated through.

Shen Leng looked at him. He felt that even the strange black of his was started to look adorable.

“You won?”

 

“Not only that.”

 

“You killed her?”

“Not only that?”

Shen Leng was dumbfounded for a moment. After that he lifted his head and looked at the sky. “In that case you must have been pretty quick.”

Hei Yan laughed. Blood was still dripping from the corner of his mouth. “You are so freaking annoying…she is a girl, of course I have to kill her in a dignified manner. It’s easier for her to accept the fact that she was killed by me, instead of other people. But it’s such a pity…a girl that I fancy, dying by my hands.”

He supported himself against the wall and sat down. “Help me with something.”

Shen Leng replied, “Ok. What is it.”

“Help me bury her. After all, she’s beautiful.”

Shen Leng answered, “Will do.”

He carried Hei Yan. “However, that’s something for your subordinate to do. If I don’t get your wounds treated and stop the bleeding, I might have to bury you two together. If you are willing to spend some money, I can even help both of you buy some wedding robes – the ones that are embroidered with golden threads and two ducks on the chest. I have seen them before, they look rather nice.”

 

Hei Yan thought about it and felt rather terrified.

“I think it’s better for me not to die. Thinking about it makes me feel an intense pain.”

Thereafter, he suddenly reacted to what Shen Leng said earlier and spat. “Those are freaking mandarin ducks!”

Shen Leng replied, “Oh…ok”