Snake-Catching Eagle

Fu Nanhua snapped back to reality, his gaze sweeping the surroundings, not even sparing the rooftops of the alley, and detected nothing unusual. He took a deep breath, neither stepping forward nor backward. He instinctively reached for the ancestral jade pendant again, and upon finding nothing, quickly recited a fragmented Daoist incantation. This wasn't a spell or divine ability, but merely a way to calm his mind and gather his energy. If his state of mind was a small boat on a lake, this incantation acted as its anchor.

He began to turn sideways, his back against a wall, and sidestepped to the intersection of two alleys. His muscles tensed, adopting a defensive posture, daring not to let his guard down for a moment. He stared intently down one alley. In his line of sight, the straw-sandaled youth stood beside Cai Jinjian's blood-soaked corpse. The youth was slightly hunched, maintaining a subtle offensive stance, also staring intently at Fu Nanhua. They faced each other like tigers and wolves, one seeking answers, the other seeking survival, each with their own agenda. The youth, who had appeared out of nowhere, should have only been targeting Cai Jinjian. Fu Nanhua's appearance was met with a posture born of instinct, conveying a clear "you don't bother me, I won't bother you" message.

Fu Nanhua asked a redundant question, "Did you kill her?"

The youth remained silent, still clutching the murder weapon: a shard of broken porcelain, slightly smaller than his palm. The part of his fist that was exposed was extremely sharp. The youth's hands were covered in blood, it was unclear if it was Cai Jinjian's blood or from the porcelain cutting his palm, dripping onto the alley floor. After confirming no one else was around, Fu Nanhua felt both a sense of absurdity and immense relief. Finally, he cast his gaze upon Cai Jinjian's delicate body. Even in this disheveled state, her natural beauty, graceful posture, and full chest were undiminished. Her chest rose and fell slightly, crimson blood continuously gushing from her neck and mouth, her life force about to completely extinguish. However, her robust physique, tempered by repeated refinement of her vital energy, meant her suffering would be more intense and prolonged than an ordinary person's.

A smile touched Fu Nanhua's lips, though it carried a bone-chilling coldness as he asked, "Why did you kill her? You had no enmity with this sister, and you'd kill her just because she played a joke on you in Mud Bottle Alley? Has this small town become so lawless? Do you know that murder demands a life and debts must be paid, no matter where you are?"

The youth remained like a mute, offering no words. Fu Nanhua paid no mind to the youth's thoughts and began to walk forward slowly, his steps firm.

He knew Cai Jinjian was doomed. This was not a celestial abode of Cloud Mist Mountain, filled with immortal energy. This was a Heavenly Dao prison where cultivation arts were forbidden. Unless a Land Immortal with heaven-shattering power, or a Golden Arhat, was willing to sacrifice half their cultivation to save her life, it would be impossible to suppress her soul and bring her back from the brink of death. Unfortunately, Cai Jinjian would never have such immense fortune. The sage in this small town bore a heavy responsibility, overseeing all living beings, and would never show favoritism, only acting according to the natural order.

On the path of cultivation, it was not uncommon to perish unexpectedly on the broad road of Yang, or to die struggling for a sliver of opportunity on a precarious bridge. While not excessively frequent, these occurrences were certainly not rare.

If one could achieve eternal life, progressing steadily, cautiously, without disaster or misfortune, enjoying all benefits without bearing risks, then the carefree immortals in the eyes of common folk would seem too cheap.

Therefore, Fu Nanhua had even prepared for the worst, a life-or-death struggle, for his trip to this small town. But to witness his temporary ally, with whom he had walked side-by-side, being so swiftly slaughtered, right under the nose of a sage in this town, was a first for the young city lord of Old Dragon City. There were no dazzling magical artifact duels, no earth-shattering immortal techniques, just this – killed by the most lowly, dirt-poor country bumpkin? Fu Nanhua was shocked, utterly unable to accept this absurd reality. If not for this small town, a nobody like the straw-sandaled youth, whose life was as cheap as wild grass, would never even have the distant, extravagant hope of glimpsing Cai Jinjian of Cloud Mist Mountain.

Fu Nanhua's expression turned solemn, and he said in a deep voice, "Although I couldn't save Fairy Cai, nor can I kill you to avenge her, I did witness you commit the act. If I do nothing, my reputation in Old Dragon City will be ruined once word gets out. Therefore, both out of reason and emotion, I must teach you a lesson. As for how Cloud Mist Mountain will handle this later, and how they will bring justice to Cai Jinjian, that will be your concern."

The young lord of Old Dragon City's grand pronouncements were directed at the sage of this place, a courtesy to avoid appearing too ruthless and incurring the sage's displeasure. In the future, it was possible these words would also be for the elders of Cloud Mist Mountain. Fu Nanhua merely wanted to appear dutiful and righteous on the surface. Otherwise, Fu Nanhua, who already harbored a killing intent towards Cai Jinjian, truly wished to properly reward the youth before him. His accidental, reckless actions had saved him a great deal of trouble; he was truly a fortunate general.

As Fu Nanhua walked forward, he said, "Judging by your killing method, your instantaneous explosive power is no less than that of an ordinary young man. This is quite rare. If not for this incident today, you only needed an opportunity to join the army, to be brave and willing to fight, and with some luck, to be favored by a prominent military figure or a general from a martial family. If they gave you a cultivation technique for forging the body, and you diligently trained for twenty to thirty years, you might just carve out a new path for yourself."

As Fu Nanhua advanced, the youth began to slowly retreat, facing the young lord of Old Dragon City with his high cap and wide sleeves.

Fu Nanhua, tall and slender, walked through the alley with the grace and elegance of a jade tree in the wind, possessing an innate noble bearing.

Fu Nanhua extended a hand, palm down, resting it at his waist, and chuckled, "What a shame. Your fate is not good. Otherwise, according to what I said, you would have had the chance to achieve such great things... It's impossible."

Fu Nanhua was amused by his own joke, his smile widening. As he took a step forward, his foot suddenly hovered half a foot above the ground. "My apologies, it's this high."

Fu Nanhua couldn't help but be happy.

After entering the small town, he first had a transaction with Song Jixin of Mud Bottle Alley, yielding profits far exceeding expectations.

Then, Cai Jinjian, who was very likely an obstacle to his Great Dao, died before his eyes. Not only could he walk away with clean hands, but he would also gain her two bags of Golden Essence coins for free. Perhaps he could even find a treasure or two from Cloud Mist Mountain, even if not a treasure of the sect, it certainly wouldn't be bad. He didn't believe Cai Jinjian would be without any protective talismans. For example, he, Fu Nanhua, besides the Old Dragon Spreads Rain pendant, which was merely a deceptive item, also carried two small items of excellent quality and high grade, almost bottom-of-the-barrel treasures from Old Dragon City.

Thus, among rogue cultivators of unorthodox paths, there was a popular saying: "Collecting corpses for others will surely bring good fortune."

Fu Nanhua passed by Cai Jinjian's corpse without even glancing at her.

Instead, the faint smell of blood put him in a state of inexplicable excitement.

With one advancing and the other retreating, the two maintained a distance of about ten paces.

Fu Nanhua only needed to ensure the youth couldn't escape the alley. Then, trying to catch a native youth like him would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, the still-warm beauty's corpse behind him served as a stark warning. Once the youth was given enough breathing room, a "surprise" might befall him.

Fu Nanhua appeared to be playing cat and mouse, but in reality, he was adjusting his body's rhythm. After all, since officially beginning his cultivation at the age of nine, he had never had an opportunity to settle a victory purely through close-quarters combat.

He certainly didn't need to fight the youth to the death; that would be a net loss for him. Together with Cai Jinjian, they represented two easily obtainable opportunities. However, he absolutely had to ensure this unexpected youth would be incapacitated for a while, leaving him no room for any further trouble.

Fu Nanhua suddenly asked with a laugh, "Right, what was your name again?"

The youth, with blood still flowing from his hands, answered out of context. His dark face was etched with the resilience of wild grass. "You and she might not know, but I have very good eyesight. So, when she was talking to me in Mud Bottle Alley, the way you looked at her then, and the way you're looking at me now, it's exactly the same."

Fu Nanhua paused, truly impressed by the youth this time. He chuckled, "Interesting, very interesting."

Fu Nanhua's words and actions, though seemingly nonchalant, were constantly observing the youth's left hand, which was still dripping blood.

This indicated that the youth's grip had not loosened. An ordinary person would have long since succumbed to the piercing pain.

Fu Nanhua now felt that his earlier casual remark, "What a shame," was truly prophetic.

Fu Nanhua felt the time was about right and asked his final question of interest, "You killed her so decisively. Someone must have tipped you off. I'm not curious about their identity. What I can't understand is, how did you, a child who grew up here, overcome your own mental block so quickly, killing so... righteously? Do you understand what I mean? Even I, after killing for the first time, once the initial excitement faded, would start trembling and had to recite a calming mantra for a long time before feeling better. How could you be so calm, as if it were just eating and drinking? That's not right..."

The youth, who had maintained a blank expression, suddenly showed eyes of horror and a panicked face. His gaze was fixed on the direction behind Fu Nanhua, as if the tall woman who had died had come back to life.

The cautious Fu Nanhua instinctively turned his head. Halfway through turning, his heart was greatly shaken.

When he turned back, due to the height difference, the youth's trace had vanished from his direct, downward line of sight!

At the critical moment.

As it turned out.

After displaying that look and expression, in an instant, the straw-sandaled youth unhesitatingly began to sprint. After three steps, he suddenly exerted force with his left foot, leaping high into the air. Finally, his right foot landed on the side wall of the alley, and after a rapid, angled rebound, the youth raised his left hand high towards the man with the high cap.

The youth truly resembled a Snake-Catching Eagle.