Shattered Porcelain

Amid a heap of broken rubble, the Old Ape's ears twitched. Hearing the faintest sound, he bared his teeth, bent down to pick up a broken tile, weighed it in his hand, then rose and hurled it with explosive force. The tile sliced through the wall and roof as easily as a knife through tofu, tearing through the air with the roar of wind and thunder toward the source of that sound.

Unfortunately, the Old Ape saw no trace of the youth. With a tap of his toe, his burly body shot up from the ground. One foot landed on an old roof beam, and using the rebound, he vaulted high through the hole in the roof and landed on the ridgeline.

Far in the distance, the Old Ape saw the youth with a wooden bow on his back standing at the upturned eave of a rooftop, staring gravely at the White Clad Old Ape.

The Old Ape knew he had miscalculated. Throwing that tile earlier had caused too great a disturbance and likely alerted the enemy, making that little mud-legged boy from Mud Bottle Alley realize something was wrong. The boy had clearly abandoned any thought of relying on his bow's range advantage to gain the upper hand. The Old Ape smiled and spread his hands, showing that he held nothing. Then he crooked a finger, indicating that the youth could keep playing his flashy tricks. He was willing to accompany him to the bitter end and loosen up his limbs some more.

If one said the old man was resorting to trickery, that would truly wrong this guardian ape of Zhengyang Mountain. With a thousand years of cultivation and a true body a thousand zhang tall, his movement techniques could rightly be praised as holding up heaven and standing upon earth.

Over the long years of the Mountain-Moving Ape's cultivation, especially during the early days when Zhengyang Mountain had first established its sect, the weak mountain gate had enemies on all sides, wolves and tigers staring all around. After Zhengyang Mountain's founding ancestor died in battle, what kind of desperate blood-soaked battle had the Old Ape not experienced as its foremost general? Today's little scuffle atop the rooftops and alleyways carried the same subtle melody as those old battles. In those stirring, soul-stirring wars, elite cultivators and great qi refiners had also used Magic Treasures and Heavy Items to restrain the Old Ape from afar, never daring to engage him head-on. Just like the Great Qiang light cavalry that came and went like the wind on mortal battlefields, they would never crash directly into Great Li's heavily armored infantry. Instead, they used a fast knife to slowly cut flesh, bit by bit seeking opportunities and gradually shaving away the outer layer of an iron-bucket battle formation.

At present, apart from feudal king Song Changjing, the Old Ape could be considered one of those most heavily suppressed by the heavenly laws of this place. That Military Strategist Grandmaster wearing a tiger tally at his waist was favored by this realm due to his special identity. Thus, although his cultivation was exceedingly formidable, the effect on him was not obvious.

At this moment, facing a nimble youth unlike the ordinary townsfolk, the Old Ape actually found a trace of the exhilaration he had felt while fighting bloodily in those bygone years.

The Old Ape did not deny that the youth had given him many unexpected surprises. He knew how to calculate people's hearts, set traps, exploit the terrain, and, most importantly, his courage was not small.

The Old Ape raised his head to glance at the sky. The western sun was sinking, dusk had arrived, and visibility would grow steadily worse. He was utterly unfamiliar with the town's terrain. That was probably one of the youth's supports, a passable talisman for protecting his life.

The Old Ape began to sprint wildly, charging like a galloping horse. A single stride covered more than a zhang—frightening beyond belief.

The instant the Old Ape moved, the youth turned and fled. He did not follow the endlessly winding rooftops and alleys northward. After all, Fulu Street and Taoye Lane lay there, where great households clustered and crouching tigers hid coiling dragons. If anyone stood up for the Old Ape, Chen Ping'an did not think he had the ability to escape their encirclement. So Chen Ping'an decisively fled west. The direction of the Covered Bridge to the south was too open, with nowhere to hide. Judging by the difference in their speed, Chen Ping'an estimated that once he lost the cover of obstacles, it would be difficult to escape the Mountain-Moving Ape's pursuit.

West of the town lay deep mountains and ancient forests, lush with grass and trees. Many concealed trails also held traps set by hunters.

Mountain roads were difficult to travel, and leaving the established paths made them even more arduous. Chen Ping'an understood this better than anyone.

The youth was not wrong in his thinking, but he had underestimated the Old Ape. As Zhengyang Mountain's guardian ape, the old man's understanding of mountains and rivers ran far deeper and farther than the youth's.

When the youth jumped down from the last rooftop and landed, his knees bent to cleverly disperse some of the force of his descent. He swiftly turned his head to glance behind him, then bent forward and continued charging ahead.

While running, his wooden bow and quiver had vanished without a trace.

Once Chen Ping'an entered the forest, if he chose to abandon the small paths trodden out by generations of his ancestors and flee in blind panic, they would inevitably become burdens.

Seeing the youth about to slip into the forest like a loach into water, the Old Ape grew somewhat irritated and glanced back toward the Li residence on Fulu Street. Once he entered the mountains, he did not dare claim every advantage of the terrain, but he would certainly be far more at ease than chasing that little brat as he darted east and west through the town.

The Old Ape made up his mind and swiftly weighed the gains and losses. He drew a deep breath of "fresh air"—neither too much nor too little, just enough to kill someone, provided there was no major deviation. Waves of blue-purple ripples spread across his face, and his burly body suddenly blasted upward without warning. The pitiful residence beneath his feet was crushed by the force of his stomp, more than half of it collapsing. Fortunately, the people living in the western part of town were all poor, and their houses were far flimsier than those on Fulu Street. The wood used for their beams and pillars, for instance, was simply not worth looking at. The family of four living there had the good fortune, amid misfortune, of not being inside.

The Old Ape leaped high, tracing a massive arc through the air. When he landed, he was directly beside the youth. Two huge pits appeared beneath his feet, and soft spring mud splattered everywhere.

The Old Ape threw a punch at the youth's back, directly behind his heart.

The human back was where the many yang meridians gathered, so both meridians and organs connected with it. The spot directly behind the heart, in particular, lay only inches from the heart itself and was the most fragile of places.

At the very brink of death,

The youth, hearing movement beside him, suddenly exerted himself. His body was actually two or three parts faster than when he had lured the Old Ape into stepping on that rotten roof!

At the very least, this meant that the youth had been concealing his strength from beginning to end.

As a result, the Old Ape's punch not only failed to pierce through the youth's back and smash his heart, it merely "brushed" the spot an inch below the center of his back.

Though he had not taken the punch head-on, the youth was still struck like a bell hit by a great hammer, his feet leaving the ground as he flew forward.

What followed displayed that astonishing agility and flexibility of the youth's to the fullest.

Blood seeped from the corner of the straw-sandaled youth's mouth. After being sent flying by that punch, he should have crashed face-first into the ground and landed flat on his face. Yet he stretched his hands forward. The instant they touched the ground, his elbows bent first and then exerted force, sending his entire body through a smooth midair flip. Once his feet landed, he used his forward momentum to continue fleeing at full speed without slowing in the slightest.

Even the battle-hardened Mountain-Moving Ape, who had seen much and experienced much, could not help feeling his teeth ache at the town youth's resilience.

The Old Ape raised his hand. The back of it was a blur of blood.

Such a wound was nothing, and the Old Ape dismissed it with a smile. Yet his determination to kill the youth only grew firmer.

The reason for his injury was not complicated.

The spring chill was biting. When the poorly dressed youth from the shabby alley appeared before the Old Ape today, he was clearly wearing much thicker clothing. Besides his own clothes, he had found one of tall Liu Xianyang's old garments and worn it as an outer layer. Between the two layers lay another secret. The youth had made himself a "wooden porcelain armor." Six long pieces of seasoned wood had been drilled through and strung together tightly with silk cord, three over his chest and three over his back. More importantly, this crude wooden armor was embedded with countless tiny shards of porcelain.

The Old Ape felt terrible at that moment, like a nobleman who had carelessly stepped in a pile of stinking dog shit and could not shake it off anytime soon.

The Old Ape clenched both fists, held his breath, and stood where he was, forcibly suppressing the surging, majestic reversal of qi within his body. The blue-purple ripples on his face turned violet-gold, then vanished in a flash.

The Old Ape flew into a rage. At that very moment, a pebble shot out from the forest.

The Old Ape reached out and caught the unusually hard pebble, no larger than a fingernail.

Then came a rustling sound, showing that the youth was fleeing deeper into the forest.

The Old Ape's expression darkened to the extreme.

He turned to glance at the night descending over the town.

He feared this might be the other side's real ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain.

But instinct told the Old Ape that he had best swiftly kill that straw-sandaled youth in the mountains.

That Prosperity Locust Tree on Fulu Street had just endured the climbing of a youthful assassin. Now, on the highest branch that could bear a person's weight, far above the rooftops, sat another uninvited guest. Slightly lower down stood one more person.

The sudden appearance of these two people forced the Li residence, where every rustle of wind and cry of crane had put everyone on edge, to pinch their noses and pretend not to see them. The man in white robes sitting up there was none other than the Supervising Official. He had brought Song Jixin up the Prosperity Locust Tree, saying he would show him a good play. Yet twilight was already fading, and Song Jixin's eyesight was insufficient. He could only listen as Song Changjing described that laughable pursuit which had begun on the rooftops of Mud Bottle Alley.

The man rested one hand on his knee and propped his chin with the other, gazing into the distance. In the pauses between his account of the pursuit, he would occasionally weave in secret matters of the town that no one knew, or casual insights into cultivation.

"If we set aside opportunities and speak only of tangible artifacts and Magic Treasures, that famous Sword Scripture rumored for so long could currently rank among the top three in this town. If we stretch out the timeline and place it within the town's full three-thousand-year history, it might be difficult for it to make the top ten, but the top twenty would certainly not be a problem. Do not think that ranking is low. In truth, it is very high."

"Add that Wart Armor, and if that little one surnamed Liu can digest all of it, then in my view, his opportunity is not the least bit inferior to that of you five."

Song Jixin did not raise his head, because someone had his feet dangling directly above the youth's head. The youth asked curiously, "Then why was he still punched to death by the old ape of Zhengyang Mountain?"

Song Changjing smiled blandly. "His luck was too good, inviting jealousy, and he had no backer. Is that hard to understand?"

Song Jixin's face was full of confusion. "Then why, back in Mud Bottle Alley, didn't you win him over more thoroughly?"

The Great Li Prince above the youth's head burst into laughter, utterly delighted. Only after laughing for a long time did he say, "As for this prince's attitude toward those cultivation geniuses in the mountains... In any case, once you leave and hear one of this prince's nicknames, you will understand why."

Song Changjing suddenly rose to his feet and looked into the distance, his expression changing slightly. One hand gently rubbed the jade belt at his waist, while his gaze burned hot.

In the eyes of this Grandmaster of Martial Arts, who had nearly reached the peak where mountains rose and all others became mere foothills, the Mountain-Moving Ape's breaking of the rules in the far west of town had instantly sent qi surging and churning. The aura in that entire region became disordered, like shattered porcelain exploding and scattering.

Song Changjing said slowly, "You may find it strange why those Outsiders all look at others as though they were ants. Do you truly think it is merely their naturally arrogant nature? That their eyes grow on top of their heads? Personality is only a small part of it. More often, it is the inevitable tide of the times. You have never left this town, so you do not know the transcendent status these immortal masters possess in the world outside."

Song Jixin replied, "I do not find it strange at all."

"Talking with someone who has read books is tiresome."

Song Changjing was not surprised. He continued on his own, "Because a line stands between you and them. That line is not especially great. To some people, it is not even as formidable as a small ditch; once they encounter it, they can cross it in one stride. You, Liu Xianyang before, and that Reading Seed Zhao Yao whom a great Daoist sect from another continent has taken a liking to all belong to this category. But it is not small either. For most people in this town, that line is like a heavenly chasm. They cannot even summon the desire to cross it."

"The difference between the two groups separated by that line is in truth like... humans and vegetation. It is no different from the divide between yin and yang—perhaps even greater."

As he spoke, the Great Li Prince suddenly gave an interested sound. Somewhat surprised, he then smiled with glee at another's misfortune. "That old beast has terrible luck this time, picking a fight with such a little hedgehog. He has hidden himself deeply. Song Jixin, this prince understands you a little now. Anyone would feel miserable with an opponent like this. Unless you kill him cleanly with one punch, he is truly a disgusting nuisance."

Song Jixin's expression soured.

From the great Li residence not far away came a great uproar of shouts, and the hidden Sea-Stabilizing Divine Needle struck out in fury.

That straw-sandaled youth truly had reinforcements answering his call.

And they were no ordinary people.

Song Changjing smiled. Even as that assassin's figure flashed beneath the Prosperity Locust Tree, the feudal king had no intention of stopping him.

Within his field of vision, the Old Ape's burly form strode back from the west, constantly rising and falling across the town. As for whether his landings crushed houses or ruined others' courtyard arrangements, he did not care in the slightest.

That Old Ape of Zhengyang Mountain seemed to have fixed upon someone as an outlet for his anger.

Song Changjing suddenly frowned, then relaxed, before battle intent burst forth from him in an instant.

Great Li's Martial Cultivator Song Changjing loved three things in this life: building a mound of severed heads, killing geniuses, and battling immortals.

The next moment, Song Jixin's eyes widened. At some unknown moment, the man above his head had already landed on Fulu Street and charged with simple, almost savage force toward the burly old man racing over from afar.

The Great Li Prince and the Mountain-Moving Old Ape.

Each threw one punch, striking the other in the chest.

Song Changjing advanced rather than retreated, taking one step forward, while the Old Ape took one step back.

They each threw another punch, this time striking one another between the brows.

Song Changjing strode forward. This time, only he threw a punch.

He stepped heavily forward and stamped the ground, his knees bending slightly. His left hand extended forward while his right fist drew back.

This man wore a Snow White Robe, its broad sleeves billowing, while shattered bluestone slabs covered the ground beneath his feet.

His punch went straight forward.

The Old Ape had no choice but to extend one palm and block Song Changjing's fist.

Between heaven and earth, two faint cracking sounds seemed to ring out one after another.

The Old Ape slid backward more than a dozen zhang, plowing a shocking trench through the bluestone pavement.

Song Changjing lightly flicked his sleeve. One hand rested behind his back, while the other held the white jade belt at his waist. Smiling, he said, "Qi Jingchun, you still will not come out and stop this? Are you really going to smash the jar because it is already broken? Do not. Hold on a little longer."

The Old Ape exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

Song Changjing raised one palm, shook it, and smiled. "We will fight after this prince gets out. For now, let each of us attend to his own business."

The Old Ape bared his teeth in a smile. "Song Changjing, then you had best defeat me when that time comes. Otherwise, Great Li's southern frontier army will have a hard time."

Song Changjing smiled. "As you wish."

The Old Ape snorted coldly and entered the Li residence alone. The young lady was safe and sound, not even truly frightened. After the Old Ape learned the detailed circumstances, he discovered it was merely a clumsy trick. After a brief consideration, he grinned viciously and headed for the west of town.

Into the mountains to hunt.