Bloody Tianping Bridge

Many villagers from the villages near Huangji Town knew Su Yun, because he was simply too unusual. Within a hundred li, he was probably the only true human, and it was impossible for him not to draw their attention.

No-Man's Land was a place where demons, monsters, ghosts, and strange beings ran rampant, fraught with danger. There was no shortage of demons harboring crooked intentions toward Su Yun.

But Tianmen Town's formidable reputation made the demons wary.

Tianmen Town was one of No-Man's Land's taboos, the chief culprit behind the descent of another world six years ago!

After those people became Ghosts and Gods, they remained major powers in No-Man's Land.

No-Man's Land had not formed entirely because of Tianmen Town. Its history was in fact far older than Tianmen Town's, and its earliest origins could even be traced back to the appearance of Tianshiyuan.

It was only that No-Man's Land had not originally been so vast. Tianmen Town's meddling had brought about the Outer-World descent six years ago, causing No-Man's Land to expand.

Tianmen Town and the Outer-World incident six years ago were merely one of Tianshiyuan's strange occurrences. Tianmen Town had only gathered experts from all over the country in order to study Tianshiyuan's mysteries.

Tianshiyuan was the true enigma.

The demons who had experienced the Outer-World descent were deeply wary of Tianmen Town's residents, though No-Man's Land also had ancient demons that did not put Tianmen Town in their eyes.

Fortunately, the places where those ancient demons lived were usually in the heart of No-Man's Land. They rarely came to places like Tianmen Town and Huangji Town.

Flower Fox and the three little foxes followed at Su Yun's heels as he wandered around Huangji Market. Trade in No-Man's Land used Green Rainbow Coins.

Green Rainbow Coins came from Green Rainbow Crabs in the North Sea. These crabs had a streak of green, rainbow-like markings on their shells. Once a Green Rainbow Crab had been eaten, its shell could be smashed apart to retrieve a Green Rainbow Coin.

It was said that these Green Rainbow Coins were metal from the sea and could be used to refine treasures.

There were "people" in Huangji Town who specialized in collecting Green Rainbow Coins. Rumor had it that they took them into the city to sell to city folk in exchange for Five Zhu Coins.

In recent years, quite a few demons had gone into the city to make a living and brought Five Zhu Coins back with them. Gradually, demons at Huangji Market had begun using Five Zhu Coins in transactions.

"Xiao Yun, can you give me two Green Rainbow Coins?"

After thinking for a moment, Flower Fox said, "I want to buy something."

Su Yun took two bound crabs from his basket. The crabs were heavy, and each shell bore a streak of green rainbow.

Because his eyes were inconvenient and he had no means of earning money, he could only set fish traps by the sea during high tide, then barter the seafood at the market for daily necessities.

Few of the nearby "people" knew how to forage at sea, because the ocean contained monsters even more terrifying than they were, which often came ashore in search of food.

Su Yun was familiar with the tides and could precisely calculate their rise and fall. He also knew how to set fish traps, which was why he could sell seafood to scrape out a living.

But Green Rainbow Crabs were difficult to catch. Their pincers were incomparably sharp and immensely powerful, capable of easily snipping off fingers. They were extremely dangerous, so Su Yun could only trap them in fish cages and catch a few whenever the tide was high.

Flower Fox carried the two Green Rainbow Crabs to a stall in Huangji Market and set them down. The crabs were still alive, blowing bubbles from their mouths with soft pops.

The stall owner was an old dog with white brows, beard, and hair. Dressed in clothes, he sat there with his eyes closed in meditation.

"Grandpa Gou, I want to learn the Transformation Technique," Flower Fox said.

The old dog wore sable fur. He secretly opened one eye to glance at Flower Fox, then closed it again and said unhurriedly, "So it's one of Huqiu Village's little brats. Transformation is an unspeakable secret of our Demon Race, but who told me that Wild Fox and I are half-brothers born of the same father? Naturally, I can sell you the Transformation Technique. Though Wild Fox and I are half-brothers born of the same father, transformation is an unspeakable secret of our Demon Race, so I still have to charge you."

He picked up the two Green Rainbow Crabs, rose to his feet, and wagged his tail. "Follow me."

Flower Fox called over the three little foxes. The old dog frowned and halted. "Flower family's second child, it's fine if you enter the city. You're fourteen already. But they're entering the city too? They're far too young!"

"Grandpa Gou, only the four of us are left in Huqiu Village," Flower Fox said. "After I leave, no one will be left to look after them."

The old dog sighed and shook his head. "Isn't it good enough to stay tucked away in the countryside? Why insist on going into the city to die?"

Flower Fox fell silent for a moment. "We must avenge our teacher!"

The old dog fell silent as well. He turned and walked away. "Old woman, watch my stall for me! Learning the Transformation Technique takes two or three days. If you have anything to do, go make your arrangements quickly."

Flower Fox hurried to find Su Yun. "Xiao Yun, Xiao Fan and the others and I will be staying in Huangji Town for two or three days. You must be careful going back alone."

Su Yun smiled. "I've traveled this road more times than I can count. There's no need to worry about me."

Flower Fox left.

Su Yun wandered around Huangji Market a while longer. Without Flower Fox and the others, it truly was inconvenient, since he could not see what the stall owners were selling.

His interest waning, Su Yun returned alone by the way he had come. It was still early for the market to close. When he reached Tianping Bridge, no one was on it. The youth carried his basket onto the bridge and waited quietly.

His weight alone was not enough to cross the bridge. A few more people had to arrive first.

After waiting a while, he heard a voice call out, "Wait! Wait! I need to cross too!"

Su Yun heard footsteps rushing closer. Someone came onto the bridge and stopped not far from him. Smiling, Su Yun nodded in greeting. When that person saw him, his voice held surprise. "Are you that young fellow from Tianmen Town?"

Curiously, Su Yun said, "Brother, do you know me? But your voice is unfamiliar to me."

The other person seemed young. His voice held the deep timbre of someone whose voice had only recently changed. He laughed. "You're famous now. Who hasn't heard of you? I heard you killed several city people and escaped the divine arts of a Confucian Scholar from the city at Snake Ravine. That's truly impressive."

Su Yun frowned slightly.

"I've seen you from afar before, but I've never approached you, so it's only natural that you haven't seen me. I just bought a load of firewood at the market."

The firewood carrier said, "My name is Li Yanzhen, from Lijia Village."

At that moment, someone on the far side of the bridge shouted, "Stop dawdling and get across already! I'm waiting to cross from this side!"

Su Yun's ears twitched. "The brother waiting to cross on the other side also has an unfamiliar voice. Brother, we don't have enough people to cross the bridge!"

The person on the far side snapped, "You're both carrying things. One person weighs as much as two. Hurry over and don't delay me from getting to the market!"

Li Yanzhen laughed. "That fellow has a point. Let's try it. If we can get across, we will. If not, we'll come back and wait for more people."

Su Yun walked ahead, and Li Yanzhen urged him, "Walk faster."

Su Yun smiled. "I'm blind. I can't walk quickly. Why don't you go ahead?"

Li Yanzhen shook his head. "I'm carrying firewood, and the bridge is so narrow. How am I supposed to get in front of you? Hurry up, hurry up."

Su Yun walked forward. Before he knew it, he had reached the middle of the bridge. He took several more steps, and the bridge deck swayed slightly, about to sink toward the far bank.

Su Yun raised his brows. "Brother Li, could there be other people on the bridge?"

Ahead of him stood two strange Ram-horned Humanoids. One crouched low with a long blade in hand, while the other stood behind him, holding a sword and gathering force, ready to strike.

The two monsters held their breath, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads, yet they made no sound. Even their breathing was so faint as to be imperceptible.

The blade and sword in their hands were aimed at Su Yun, their points utterly motionless. In just a few more steps, Su Yun would walk straight into their blades!

"Where is anyone?"

Behind Su Yun, the firewood carrier said irritably, "You blind man, why are you dawdling? Move!"

Someone on the other side of the bridge also shouted, "Get over here already! I still need to cross to get to the market!"

What Su Yun could not see was that the person on the far side of the bridge was also a strange Ram-horned Humanoid, and the firewood carrier behind him had ram horns growing from his head as well!

With a smile on his face, Su Yun apologized to them, lifted his foot, and continued forward at an unhurried pace.

The firewood carrier's eyes flickered. His right hand slowly drew a long blade from the pile of firewood.

He was immensely strong. With his left hand, he slowly lifted the firewood load, bent down, and noiselessly set it on the bridge deck.

Tianping Bridge was a narrow stone bridge, only a little over one step wide, barely enough to accommodate the firewood load.

The firewood carrier stared fixedly at Su Yun's back. His breathing grew slightly hurried as he slowly straightened—and at that moment, he suddenly saw Flood Dragons swimming beneath Su Yun's skin!

It was autumn, and Su Yun had added several layers of clothing. Only the skin at the back of his neck and around his ankles could be seen.

The firewood carrier could not mistake the Flood Dragon's claws and head. From a glimpse of the spots, one could see the whole leopard. From merely scales and claws, he could "see" that Su Yun's circulation of qi and blood must be extraordinarily violent at this moment!

His qi and blood were so intense that they manifested outwardly, turning into Flood Dragons that flowed from his heart, winding over the surface of his skin and spreading throughout his body, forming immense power!

For a short time, Su Yun's lungs could take in several times more air than usual!

The compressive force of his heart was also several times stronger than usual, greatly increasing the speed at which his blood surged!

All more than six hundred muscles in his body had made their preparations. Every contraction and extension of each muscle could provide several times the explosive force!

If his strength erupted, it would surely be as astonishing as an explosion of gunpowder!

"Watch out!"

The firewood carrier roared, but just as the word "watch" left his mouth, Su Yun took a step forward, his body only a hair's breadth from being impaled upon the blade and sword ahead.

Under the resonance of their vital auras, the two Ram-horned Humanoids before him erupted instinctively, thrusting their long blade and sword forward!

At the very moment they thrust, Su Yun had already retreated. As though he had foreseen it, he evaded their weapons. While retreating, he unleashed half a move of Flood Dragon's Tail Sweep, lashing one foot backward!

Bang!

The firewood load exploded, blocking the firewood carrier's sight!

"Out!"

As the firewood carrier sprang up, he roared the second syllable. Su Yun's left hand shot forward, qi and blood hissing as they spilled from his body, forming the shape of a Flood Dragon's gaping maw around his palm!

With a clear clang, the long blade of the sword-wielding Ram-horned Humanoid was caught in Su Yun's left hand. The sharp edge failed to harm his palm in the slightest.

"Mooang!"

A dragon's roar suddenly rang out. Su Yun's left arm spun and twisted. The long blade rang again and again as it was twisted into a fried dough twist. Horror appeared on the Ram-horned Humanoid's face as he saw that the arm holding the blade had also been twisted into a fried dough twist!

Cracks and pops came from his wrist bones and joints as his fascia tore. Then the muscle groups in his forearm—flexors, extensors, short muscles, finger muscles, and more—rotated and twisted, and the bones of his arm rotated with them, transmitting that invading force into his upper arm.

Crack!

His shoulder blade dislocated. The arm holding the blade twisted like a fried dough twist rolling in boiling oil. He could even see the violently throbbing muscles in his arm, along with the blood vessels bursting apart!