Gathering Clouds

Gathering Clouds

Zhao Rong spoke as though he meant it, but in secret, he still sent someone to deliver news of Lu Zhaojin to the Chen Family in Yanling Commandery.

To prevent any leaks, Zhao Rong had the messenger buried as well.

Probationary Centurion Chai and General Banner An were his own people, people he could trust.

Besides, if jianghu folk were killing people in Luoxia City, their True Martial Division still had to do something about it. Even if they could not keep it under control, at least they had acted; the common people would not curse them too harshly.

The True Martial Guard of the True Martial Division arrived at the scene and saw the headless corpses of Lin Qicheng and Elder Gou. The stench of blood flooded their nostrils, and their stomachs churned as they fought the urge to vomit.

They had lived in comfort for too long. Many of the younger True Martial Guards had inherited their positions from their fathers and had scarcely ever witnessed such a scene. Their faces turned pale as they forced down their nausea and collected Lin Qicheng's body.

The crowd stirred restlessly.

Lin Qi arrived with the Lin Family guards.

Someone cleared the way ahead of him, roughly shoving aside the crowd blocking the path. When Lin Qi saw the people from the True Martial Division, his expression darkened further. "Put down my son."

This squad of True Martial Guards was led by Wei Kailang. He was a Minor Banner Officer of the True Martial Division, with late Eighth-Rank cultivation. He wore the True Martial Guard's specially made flying-fish brocade uniform, a black gauze cap on his head, and a True Martial Saber at his waist. His right hand rested on the hilt as he looked at Lin Qi and the others, speaking solemnly. "Patriarch Lin, our True Martial Division must first put this matter on record. You may come to the True Martial Division later to retrieve Lin Qicheng's body."

His own son had died, and Lin Qi's fury surged skyward. He had never held much fondness for the True Martial Division to begin with, so his face was anything but pleasant. "The Lin Family will settle this matter ourselves. There is no need for the True Martial Division to interfere. Get the hell out of here."

If not for the True Martial Guard uniform, he would have slapped Wei Kailang to death long ago.

The True Martial Guard had been established by the Great Ding Emperor. As for its purpose, one could glean a thing or two from the words "True Martial"—either for the martial path, or to suppress the jianghu.

True Martial could also be called Martial Suppression.

The Great Ding Dynasty had already unified the world, leaving no foreign enemies. Thus, the untamed force of the jianghu was like a tiny thorn lodged in the flesh: leave it there and it hurt, but pulling it out also carried risks.

And so, the True Martial Division had been established to proceed gradually.

Wei Kailang had an upright face. Though he was only in his twenties, he did not fear the authority Lin Qi had cultivated through years as head of the family. Neither servile nor overbearing, he looked Lin Qi in the eye. "Patriarch Lin, are you trying to violate the True Martial Division's rules?"

Lin Qi's expression grew even darker, yet he said nothing more. He watched the True Martial Guards gather Lin Qicheng and Elder Gou's remains. The hand hidden within his broad sleeve had already clenched into a fist, only to slowly loosen again. He ordered several men to retrieve the young master's body from the True Martial Division later, while the rest followed him to seek vengeance.

Watching them leave in such an aggressive manner, Wei Kailang knew they were probably not headed for anything good. His thick brows furrowed as he wanted to stop them and tell them to leave the matter to the True Martial Division, which would give them an explanation.

But a middle-aged True Martial Guard grabbed him.

Wei Kailang looked at the middle-aged guard. The man shook his head and said gravely, "We should not get too deeply involved in this matter, or we may end up setting fire to ourselves."

Wei Kailang's brows furrowed even more deeply. "But we are True Martial Guards."

The middle-aged True Martial Guard smiled, though there was a trace of mockery in it. "Though we have the imperial court at our backs, the people we face are those vicious, murderous jianghu folk."

He spoke earnestly. "You only get one life. One careless step, and you could die in your sleep."

The middle-aged True Martial Guard suddenly pointed at Lin Qicheng's corpse. "You saw it too. Those jianghu folk do not care what power or influence you have."

Wei Kailang was briefly dazed, but he quickly steeled his heart. He gripped the hilt of his saber tightly, recalling unpleasant memories from the past, and silently swore that he would one day purge the jianghu.

Lu Zhaojin returned to the inn.

The people inside looked at him somewhat differently, fear lingering in their eyes. As he approached, they kept their distance. Those who could not avoid him lowered their heads, not daring to look at him.

Lu Zhaojin had not expected word of him killing Lin Qicheng to spread throughout Luoxia City so quickly.

He did not care much about it and merely wanted to go upstairs to his room.

At that moment, a middle-aged man sitting in the corner suddenly called out to him. "Young hero, would you dare come have a drink with me?"

Lu Zhaojin turned to look at him. The man wore a black, close-fitting outfit. His face was weathered, with a bit of stubble, giving him the appearance of a mature man. Lu Zhaojin had never seen him before, nor did the previous owner of this body's memories hold any impression of him. Why was he inviting him for a drink?

Lu Zhaojin ignored him and continued upstairs, returning to his room.

The middle-aged man was not angered. A faint smile appeared on his face as he murmured, "Cautious indeed. Still, being cautious is a good thing."

He looked toward the spot where Lu Zhaojin had vanished. "At such a young age, he hides a restrained sharpness within himself. His attainments in the sword must be far from shallow. He may very well have touched upon Intent."

The middle-aged man raised his wine cup and took a sip. "If Mistress Xiufang learns of this, what might she think?"

This man was none other than Lu Wenxiu.

Lu Zhaojin returned to his room and used the more than ten thousand experience points on the panel to improve the Jade Purity Heart Method.

Though it could not bring the Jade Purity Heart Method to great mastery, his true qi became increasingly abundant, as if it would never run dry.

Jade Purity Heart Method (70/100)

Experience: 318

Experience points were scarce once more.

Lu Zhaojin could not help thinking of Zhao Jinzhi.

He simply did not know where Zhao Jinzhi was now, nor whether there was any organization that sold intelligence.

Lu Zhaojin suddenly thought of the Brothel District.

A place where fish and dragons mingled was most suitable for gathering intelligence.

Lu Zhaojin acted the moment he thought of it. Besides, the sky outside was already darkening as night fell—the very time when places of wind and moon were at their liveliest.

However, before he could set out, a figure crashed through the wall facing the street like a savage brown bear.

"Netherworld Soul Suppressing Palm."

The middle-aged man in loose robes saw Lu Zhaojin inside the room and, without a word, struck out with his palm.

As his palm shot forth, his dense true qi seemed to transform into an enormous Netherworld ghost. Waves of ghostly wails were not only piercing to the ear, but could also devour one's soul, causing a momentary daze.

At the same time, the enormous Netherworld ghost brought down its own palm, as though it would smash Lu Zhaojin into a meat patty.

But Lu Zhaojin, who had already comprehended Gale Sword Intent, would not be affected by this sort of palm technique that disturbed the mind.

Sword Intent could sever all illusions.

The palm imprint came crashing down. Lu Zhaojin neither dodged nor evaded. With only a ringing sword cry, a streak of Sword Light cut across the air like a glowing white line, cleaving the palm imprint apart and revealing the astonished face behind it.

The middle-aged man stepped on the footboard of the bed and borrowed the force to retreat, narrowly avoiding the strike as well.

The Sword Light surged straight onward, nearly splitting open the roof.

Lu Wenxiu, who had been hiding above, suddenly felt a sense of danger rise in his heart. Relying on the instinct honed through years of licking blood from the blade's edge, he dodged the Sword Light that had nearly severed his foot.

Lu Wenxiu looked at the sword mark, deep in thought.

He had underestimated Lu Zhaojin's strength.

Lin Qi thought the same. He had not expected this youth to have not only reached the Seventh-Rank Realm, but even the middle stage. What baffled him even more was that Sword Intent.

Lin Qi was filled with uncertainty. Seeing how young he looked, could he be some senior expert with an art that preserved his youth?