join patreon.com/worldoffanfiction for advanced chapters and to support the daily update
Since Qi Shan said to just fight, Shen Tang naturally didn't hold back. Her momentum was unstoppable. The "Mother's Sword" in her hand was wielded so tightly that no air could get through, its gleam flashing. Even though the black-clad man used a long spear, taking advantage of its reach, her dense and suffocating offensive rhythm forced him to parry left and right, retreating continuously.
Thump—
A sword pierced the wall behind the black-clad man. Seizing the moment while Shen Tang withdrew her sword, the black-clad man roared, abandoning his long spear. He condensed gray light in his fist and punched towards her chest, the gray light accompanied by a faint explosive sound. Shen Tang didn't hesitate for a split second, raising her hand to meet the attack. Who knew that at this moment, the target would vanish into thin air! She didn't have time to retract her strength and punched a large hole in the wall.
Shen Tang: "???"
No—
Where's the man?
Qi Shan reminded her with a faint smile. "Young lord Shen, do not be distracted when facing an enemy."
"Did you just move him?" Before Qi Shan could reply, the black-clad man's face was so grim it looked like water could drip from it: "Military formation Spirit Language, 'Substitution'?" To strengthen themselves and avoid being swallowed up, various feudal lords heavily employed scholars and strategists skilled in military formations and Spirit Language warfare. Over two hundred years, Spirit Language had been manipulated by these black-hearted individuals into elaborate forms, also becoming a mandatory course for latecomers seeking to embark on an official career or enhance it.
However, cultivating Literary Heart was far more difficult than Martial Courage. Firstly, controlling Spirit Language was challenging, and even if controlled, its application effect was unknown; secondly, everyone's Spirit Language effects differed slightly, and the battlefield situation changed rapidly, requiring strategic adjustments. A single oversight could lead to total defeat.
"I didn't expect to find someone knowledgeable in this remote, impoverished place." Qi Shan tacitly acknowledged the black-clad man's judgment. The man chuckled in a deep, muffled voice. "In that case—all the more reason you cannot be allowed to live!"
Clang! Another loud bang! Qi Shan, who was about to be pierced in the face by a spear, neither dodged nor flinched. A smile played on his lips as he calmly watched the black-clad man, whose forehead veins bulged from channeling all his strength. The tip of the long spear was only two feet from him; any closer and it might have taken his life. But that small distance became an insurmountable chasm. It could not advance another inch.
Shen Tang, who bore the brunt of everything: "..." She cursed eloquently in her mind, gritting her teeth aloud: "Qi Yuanliang, have you had enough? Are you just going to stand there foolishly and not dodge?"
Qi Shan was, of course, unperturbed. Whether she liked it or not, young lord Shen had to protect him. With this guarantee, he could be (very) confident (and put on a show), occasionally helping Shen Tang alleviate some pressure. Overall, he was still observing from the sidelines.
In their renewed clash, Shen Tang clearly felt the black-clad man was different from before. Not to mention his strength and speed, his sheer aura was significantly weaker. Even she felt her tiger's mouth numb and her chest heavy, as if this person had undergone a complete transformation in a short period. At this moment, Qi Shan thoughtfully "explained" to her.
"Don't be surprised by his change. This is the most common trump card for martial artists. It forces out all the potential of the danfu and Martial Courage in a short time, giving the martial artist an extremely strong boost. A fourth-rank Bugeng can then rival a fifth-rank Dafu. Once the time is up, they will become weak and powerless, ready to be slaughtered. You just need to hold on a little longer."
Shen Tang: "..." Isn't this a desperate measure?! "Why didn't you warn me earlier?" The black-clad man's approach was fierce, his killing intent overwhelming. If she hadn't understood the situation and underestimated him, what if she had been cut down in a single encounter?
Qi Shan observed Shen Tang with a smile: "I saw that young lord Shen becomes stronger when facing strong opponents and is quite at ease, so I feared speaking might distract you." A mere fourth-rank Bugeng was not even in his eyes, nor worth his concern. He was more curious about this mysterious young lord Shen. This person was too interesting! Despite possessing a Literary Heart, she rolled up her sleeves and fought head-to-head with a brute, not losing an inch. She could fight a fourth-rank Bugeng, and even withstand him after he used a secret technique to temporarily boost his Martial Courage to fifth-rank Dafu. This truly defied common sense. Could she even contend with higher ranks?
A young lord who carried the National Seal, possessed a unique Literary Heart, whose frontal combat strength was no less than any fifth-rank Dafu, and who was closely related to the Gong clan that had been raided and exterminated. All these factors made him unable to suppress the urge to investigate and uncover the mystery.
After a hundred moves, the black-clad man's momentum plummeted. Shen Tang cleanly impaled him against the wall with a sword, rendering him immobile.
"Caught him alive."
Qi Shan said, "No, he's already dead." Shen Tang paused her sword-retracting motion.
"Dead? How could he be dead..." Her gaze shifted to the black-clad man. He hung his head, black, foul-smelling blood oozing from his mouth. He was truly lifeless! Qi Shan said, "This man wasn't a bandit; he was a death-squad operative. His mission failed, and death was his only option! Suicide offered a quick end; staying alive might not have been so merciful."
Seeing the situation, his previous judgment was wrong. The black-clad man was not with the earlier second-rank Shangzao. The latter was probably the true bandit, intending to rob and kill but was preempted by the black-clad man, and then unluckily ran into both of them.
"Death-squad operative? Sent to assassinate whom? Could it be A'yan?"
Qi Shan said dismissively, "Perhaps."
"What's the point of killing a mentally disabled child who was born with a brain illness?"
"Young lord Shen lacks experience, so naturally, you don't know the dangers of the world. How can you be sure this brain illness is real? Perhaps this child is cunning, knowing from a young age to hide his abilities and protect himself from harm with a facade of foolishness... There are many examples of people biding their time."
"This..."
Qi Shan said, "Earlier, young lord Shen gave him three pieces of malt sugar, but he refused to eat them, insisting you eat one first. How can you be sure his action wasn't a test for you, making you try out poison for him?"
Shen Tang: "..." She was unsure: "But he's at most six years old..."
Qi Shan said, "If forced by circumstances, let alone six years old, even a two-year-old or one-year-old would use cunning to protect themselves."
Shen Tang: "..." If a six-year-old child could be so cunning, how could she, an otaku with slight social anxiety, possibly survive? She said, "If that's truly the case, A'yan's background is not simple." To kill a child, they even dispatched a fourth-rank Bugeng death-squad operative. Impressive!
Reason told Qi Shan that the matter could stop here. Whether A'yan was dead or alive had nothing to do with him; he should extricate himself early to avoid getting entangled. However, young lord Shen lacked common sense and wanted to collect the corpses of the manor's deceased. One by one, they were found and dragged to the main hall. Feeling the bodies' temperature, Shen Tang judged that these people had died shortly after A'yan's disappearance, around the time the village chief of Qianjia Village called people to search.
"Sigh, eleven lives just like that..."
Qi Shan said expressionlessly, "Human lives are the cheapest in this world. It is so now, and it will be so in the future."
Shen Tang shook her head: "That's not right. If the situation were stable and laws were orderly, those who kill without cause would surely pay with their lives."
Qi Shan was amused by her words. "In these four directions, there has never been a time of 'stability'." There wouldn't be now, and there wouldn't be in the future. Shen Tang was choked by his words and couldn't help but retort.
"Mr. Qi, with all your abilities, have you never thought of assisting someone to bring peace to this chaotic world? You only speak cynically..." Qi Shan smiled but said nothing.
Shen Tang was about to go fetch firewood to dispose of the bodies when she suddenly remembered something and paused, her gaze shifting to the hands of the corpses. She looked around.
"Something's not right."
Qi Shan asked, "What's not right?"
"One body is missing."
"You mean A'yan? Perhaps he's still alive..."
Shen Tang said, "Not A'yan, someone else." One more person was missing!