Chapter 36

He would definitely buy Linglong candied hawthorn skewers.

Linglong giggled. "You'll definitely be able to afford them. As for whether it'll make your heart ache, I wouldn't know!"

No one who could gain a foothold in Blood Stained Alley was truly poor. Otherwise, the people here would not have been so hostile toward outsiders. Every additional outsider meant another competitor, another person coming to snatch their rice bowl. So they chose to strangle outsiders before they could knock on the back door of Master's Tower. At the same time, it was a test—only those who passed layer upon layer of cruel trials were truly qualified to put down roots in Blood Stained Alley. And anyone entering Blood Stained Alley carrying a great deal of money certainly was not here to settle down. The people of Blood Stained Alley were accustomed to calling such people "Calamity Stars." Of course, Calamity Stars were not disasters for Blood Stained Alley, but lucky stars and wealth stars.

Ning Chang'an smiled and said no more. He was not in good condition. His old injuries had yet to heal; although he had killed Blood Drinking Scholar with overwhelming force earlier, his wounds had been stirred to the point of nearly splitting open. At this moment, he was in excruciating pain.

But ever since comprehending the Three Pure Ones Nine Netherworlds Wondrous Dharma Lotus Heart Sutra, Ning Chang'an's will had repeatedly endured harsh tempering and become as steadfast as a rock. He could barely withstand this pain. Moreover, his familiarity with and control over his own body had grown ever stronger and more precise. He knew he still had the strength to fight again.

Linglong said that Master's Tower's back door was not far away, so Ning Chang'an decided to press on in one burst.

He walked forward, while Linglong continued following him, staying more than ten feet behind him.

After Blood Drinking Scholar's death, the people of Blood Stained Alley could no longer ignore him. Some began to regard him with hostility, some examined him with numb faces, and some bared their teeth at him in smiles.

Everything seemed to have returned to normal, simply because he was still alive.

Even the narrowest and most winding alley had an end. Ning Chang'an finally saw the mysterious back door of Master's Tower: a small, shut door, black and gloomy, with two rusty bronze rings hanging from it. Moss covered the ground before the door and its three steps, and everything around it was damp. Upon reaching this place, the pungent stench of blood in Blood Stained Alley suddenly vanished. It was as if a moist, cold wind kept circling here without end.

The bustling clamor of Master's Tower had turned into deathly silence and chilling cold at its rear.

A person stood before the door—a significant figure.

The man wore a brocade robe. He was a somewhat plump middle-aged man with a ruddy complexion, a small nose, large ears, and two drooping mustaches.

His gaze remained in a perpetual state of drifting, as if everything in his eyes lay somewhere impossibly far away and was terribly blurred—so blurred that it seemed unreal.

Ning Chang'an stopped thirty feet from this slightly potbellied middle-aged man. He sensed a faint, drifting killing intent silently winding around him. Linglong stood a hundred feet away, disbelief written across her face as she murmured nervously, "How is this possible?!"

The middle-aged man's gaze abruptly focused, locking tightly onto Ning Chang'an. In a level, unruffled voice, he said, "Master's Tower Guest Official, Brocade Blind Man!"

Brocade Blind Man was naturally not blind. It was merely a nickname, a codename. He was called Brocade Blind Man because most of the time, he did not use his eyes to observe things. His sense of touch, hearing, and smell had become powerful to a horrifying degree. He could perceive everything clearly without even looking.

Those familiar with Brocade Blind Man all knew one saying: What I see are only chests of gold and coffin lids. The gold is mine; the coffins are yours. Thus, once Brocade Blind Man set his sights on someone, that person ought to prepare a coffin. It also meant that Brocade Blind Man had surely received another sizable stack of banknotes.

Ning Chang'an's gaze also fixed upon Brocade Blind Man as he said in a low voice, "Was Blood Drinking Scholar your lackey?" He sensed an indescribable oppression from this man. Anyone who could sit in the position of Guest Official at Master's Tower was no simple character.

Brocade Blind Man shook his head. "No."

Ning Chang'an's expression turned cold, and he sighed. "Then you must be here to kill me."

Brocade Blind Man nodded. "I am the one who will kill you."

Ning Chang'an said, "Come, then. Let me see what a Master's Tower Guest Official is made of!"

Brocade Blind Man snorted. "You won't be disappointed!"

At that same moment, inside a quiet inn in Yongan Prefecture, low voices sounded from behind a tightly closed door.

"Is the time about right?"

"About right! The people from Master's Tower are always punctual. They should give us a little surprise!"

"Just a little surprise?"

"He is no ordinary man. A surprise at all would already be quite good."

Soon after, a series of rustling sounds arose, followed by a low roar and a soft, winding moan. Within the room, beneath the bed curtains, a man with a vicious expression pressed a seductive, delicate woman fiercely beneath him on the large bed, thrusting his hips with force.

The man was Cao Jing, and the woman beneath him was Guo Qingshui.

As Cao Jing panted and growled, he said bitterly, "Damn it, how could he be getting stronger and stronger? He had clearly become a worthless cripple."

Guo Qingshui closed her eyes in intoxication, twisting her waist as she desperately catered to the man riding her. Between breathy moans, she said, "No matter how strong he becomes, he'll be ground down bit by bit. Hehe, Ning Chang'an, I must make you die in my bed. Better yet, let Liu Ruyan be nearby too, so she can watch how her beloved man makes me feel like an immortal in ecstasy, how he dies bit by bit... Hehe, just thinking about it feels so good..."

As Guo Qingshui spoke, her waist twisted even more fiercely. Her legs clamped around Cao Jing's waist as if she were struggling with all her might. How could Cao Jing endure that? With a long cry, he immediately spilled like a river bursting its banks, left without strength for another battle.

Guo Qingshui frowned. A glittering silver needle silently appeared in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, she drove it into one of Cao Jing's acupoints. Cao Jing cried out in alarm, fine beads of sweat erupting across his body, yet he became vigorous as a dragon and lively as a tiger once more, beginning to take whatever he wanted. He had completely sunk into it, dazed and delirious. As he wildly conquered Guo Qingshui beneath him, he called Su Yueru's name.

Guo Qingshui's brow furrowed even tighter, and she "struggled" even more fiercely. Whenever Cao Jing was utterly exhausted, the silver needle in her hand would stab into another acupoint. An unhealthy flush had appeared on Cao Jing's face, yet this battle seemed endless.

Within the inn, the collision of flesh and the frenzied coupling continued. Every winding moan and low roar seemed to have twisted out of shape.

Clusters of rosy radiance bloomed over Guo Qingshui's face, and her energy seemed to grow ever more abundant.

There seemed to be no man in this world who could completely satisfy her in bed, tame her there, and fill her completely. Cao Jing could not. Again and again, he reached his limit, yet Guo Qingshui would not let him go, demanding from him as though draining him dry. Her needle moved faster and faster. Cao Jing's face had turned deathly pale, but his emotions had become frenzied to the brink of madness. He roared, hysterically calling Su Yueru's name, clutching Guo Qingshui's breasts viciously as he attacked with savage force.

A strange smile surfaced on Guo Qingshui's face. Her slender waist and full hips twisted as she desperately catered to Cao Jing, releasing soul-melting, bone-eroding whimpers, looking like a lustful goddess lost in an ocean of desire.

This was a vivid, fragrant battle.

In Blood Stained Alley, Brocade Blind Man walked toward Ning Chang'an step by step, killing intent lurking on every side.

Ning Chang'an narrowed his eyes. Through the resonance of their auras, Brocade Blind Man resembled a ferocious beast, carrying a suppressed brutality ready to erupt at any moment. Ning Chang'an felt his blood begin to boil, as though his entire body had caught fire.

He had no doubt that this was the strongest enemy he had faced thus far.

Brocade Blind Man's essence, energy, and spirit had all reached an exceptionally full state. An invisible momentum radiated from him, a kind of majesty born from his very bones, invisibly influencing his opponent and skillfully taking command of the battle.

Brocade Blind Man suddenly closed his eyes and no longer looked at Ning Chang'an.

Ning Chang'an instinctively shifted sideways, landing soundlessly beside Blood Stained Alley's high wall. Brocade Blind Man's entire body swelled in an eerie manner. He sucked in a fierce breath, and his body bloated to a shocking degree. Then Brocade Blind Man bent slightly at the knees, curved his waist and spine, and assumed a stance. Suddenly, Brocade Blind Man kicked off the ground with both feet, his body shooting forward like a cannonball.

It was a marvelous trajectory, and an angle no one would expect, yet one that made the heart tremble at the sight of it.

An endlessly circulating true qi wrapped Brocade Blind Man's body, forming a flawless shield of qi as he crashed brutally toward Ning Chang'an. Ning Chang'an's expression darkened. He did not know what kind of Qi Gong this was; he could not find the slightest flaw in it. This move was simply too crude and overbearing, leaving him no choice but to suddenly straighten his sword and thrust forward.

Brocade Blind Man crashed directly into the razor tip of the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword, yet did not dodge or evade.

A piercing grinding sound rang out. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword bent sharply, and the violent impact made Ning Chang'an's arms tremble. He could not help letting out a muffled groan.

Ning Chang'an's eyes flew open, his gaze turning icy. Great strength erupted from him. The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword shook violently, bent to its limit, then suddenly straightened and rebounded.

Brocade Blind Man flew backward and landed like a thousand-pound boulder. Ning Chang'an, meanwhile, was hurled backward into the wall. A hole appeared in the thick wall, and broken stones and dust billowed outward. A point of cold light suddenly shot from the hole. Frosty stars flashed wildly along the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword's tip as Ning Chang'an charged out like a fierce tiger.

The instant Brocade Blind Man landed, the ground cracked inch by inch. Shattered stones shot in every direction like hundreds and thousands of hidden weapons. Brocade Blind Man did not pause in the slightest, charging toward Ning Chang'an again.

The Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword bent once more.

Another hole appeared in the wall.

Ning Chang'an's face was pale, but his fighting spirit soared. With a roar, he leaped from the broken wall and launched another incomparably domineering attack. He refused to believe that his swordsmanship could not break Brocade Blind Man's protective true qi, that it could not inflict even the slightest injury upon him.

He believed in his own strength.

He knew Brocade Blind Man was not without flaws; he had merely hidden them all away. So long as he broke Brocade Blind Man's protective qi barrier, he was confident he could kill Brocade Blind Man.