Water Ghosts Walk by Night, Breaking Bones to Draw Firewood

The icy river water rose past his waist, its resistance immense, but driven by Triple Brute Force, Ji Ye's legs were like two hydraulic piles, forcibly plowing two deep trenches through the silt.

"Who goes there?!"

Someone on the awning boat shouted in alarm and fury. Several shadows rushed out of the cabin, the steel blades in their hands reflecting the moonlight with a chilling gleam.

Ji Ye did not answer. He stomped hard against the riverbed, launching himself into the air amid a spray of water, then crashed heavily onto the bow like a black cannonball.

"Boom!"

The deeply laden awning boat rocked violently. Its bow plunged down, creaking under the unbearable strain.

The first man with a blade lost his footing and staggered toward the mooring rope. Ji Ye gave him no chance. The Wild Goose Feather Saber wrapped in black cloth swept across.

There was no technique in that strike, only absolute speed and power.

"Pfft!"

A dull sound of flesh being cut rang out. Half the man's neck was severed outright. Even his scream was trapped in his throat as his body rolled off the tilted boat and into the river, instantly dyeing a stretch of water red.

"This one's tough! Form up!"

At the cabin entrance, a bearded brute roared. He was the minor leader escorting the boat this time, one of the Black Tiger Gang's famed fierce fighters—Water Ghost Zhang.

The remaining four thugs immediately stood back to back, sealing off the cabin entrance tightly. The Water-Splitting Daggers in their hands gleamed with a bluish sheen; they had clearly been coated in poison.

At that moment, Pockmarked and the others climbed onto the stern and both sides of the boat. The narrow deck became crowded in an instant.

"Fire!" Pockmarked shouted, eyes bloodshot.

Crossbow bolts at close range were extremely threatening, but the four thugs were clearly well trained. They actually dragged over nearby corpses and planks as shields, forcibly blocking the first wave of arrows.

"Die!"

Water Ghost Zhang seized the moment when Ji Ye had yet to steady himself. The pair of Water-Splitting Daggers in his hands shot out like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, stabbing at Ji Ye's lower abdomen and knees. He had made his living on the water for twenty years, and was best at attacking the lower body from a rocking boat.

The planks beneath Ji Ye's feet were slick, and with the vessel pitching violently, it truly was difficult to borrow force.

But he did not need to borrow force at all.

Facing the poisoned blades, Ji Ye advanced instead of retreating. His left foot drove down hard, nailing itself into the wooden planks like a spike as splinters flew. Then he abandoned his saber and led with his shoulder, slamming sideways like a savage bull.

Mountain Leaning Push? No. This was nothing more than a human cannonball impact.

"You're courting death!" A flash of delight passed through Water Ghost Zhang's eyes as his Water-Splitting Daggers stabbed viciously at Ji Ye's shoulder.

"Clang!"

A crisp sound rang out.

The poisoned tips pierced Ji Ye's clothes and sank into his flesh. But then Water Ghost Zhang felt as though he had stabbed into a layer of tough old cowhide. The blades were clamped tightly by muscle, unable to advance even half an inch farther.

Initial Skin Tempering Realm!

Though it still could not withstand the slicing of sharp blades, this sort of piercing wound had already been mostly stopped by that layer of dead skin and tightly packed muscle.

The next instant, a tremendous impact struck him.

"Crack!"

Water Ghost Zhang felt as though a galloping carriage had smashed head-on into him. His breastbone collapsed instantly, and he flew backward, crashing hard into the wooden cabin door behind him.

The door shattered.

Water Ghost Zhang spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of organs, then slid limply down. He was clearly beyond saving.

"Boss!" The remaining thugs were terrified out of their wits.

Even an old hand like Water Ghost Zhang had not lasted a single exchange?

Ji Ye pulled the Water-Splitting Dagger from his shoulder, bringing out a string of blood droplets. The skin around the wound had darkened slightly—that was poison. But he did not care. To a martial artist with vigorous blood and vitality, this little poison would not kill him anytime soon.

"Kill them all. Leave none alive."

Ji Ye picked up the Wild Goose Feather Saber, his voice icy.

With their leader gone, the remaining thugs' morale collapsed. Under the joint assault of Ji Ye and ten elite constables, the fight swiftly became a one-sided slaughter.

Half an incense stick later.

No enemies remained standing aboard the boat.

The heavy scent of blood drew schools of fish to the river. The water churned as though they, too, were fighting over this feast.

Ji Ye had no time to tend to his wound. He kicked open the shattered cabin door and ducked inside.

The cabin was piled with crates concealed beneath straw.

He pried open the largest wooden crate with his saber.

Under the faint moonlight, Ji Ye's pupils contracted slightly.

More than a dozen porcelain bottles were neatly arranged inside, each bearing the seal of Hui Chun Tang. Beside them sat an exquisite purple sandalwood box.

Ji Ye opened the box.

A rich, pungent medicinal fragrance rushed into his nose.

Inside lay a dark-red herb shaped like withered bones, along with two black lumps of medicinal paste.

Bone-Penetrating Grass.

Tiger Bone Paste.

"So it really is here." A smile tugged at Ji Ye's lips, but before it could fully spread, it froze on his face.

Because in a nearby crate, he saw something he should not have seen.

It was another long wooden crate. There were no medicinal herbs inside, only layer upon layer of oil paper.

Ji Ye sliced through the oil paper.

Cold light flashed.

Inside were finely made repeating crossbows, along with curved blades engraved with wolf-head markings.

"Barbarian weapons..."

Ji Ye's heart abruptly skipped a beat.

Great Liang law decreed that anyone caught privately hoarding armor or weapons would have their entire clan executed. Those who colluded with the Barbarians would be sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.

The Black Tiger Gang was not merely trafficking Contraband Salt and monopolizing medicinal herbs. They were actually transporting arms for the Barbarians? Or rather, they were trading with the Barbarians?

No wonder Zhao Hei Hu had risen to power in only a few short years. No wonder even the County Magistrate had to yield him three parts of the road.

The waters behind this ran deeper and colder than this river.

"Captain Ji! There are people below!"

Pockmarked's startled cry came from the hold.

Ji Ye closed the crate, swiftly tucked the box of Bone-Penetrating Grass and Tiger Bone Paste into his robes, then descended into the lower hold with his saber in hand.

The hold was dark and damp, reeking of excrement and urine.

In that cramped space, more than a dozen ragged children were curled up together. They had been threaded together by ropes, their mouths stuffed with rags, their eyes terrified and numb.

One of them was a little girl who looked only six or seven years old, so thin she was little more than skin over bones.

Ji Ye looked at the sight before him, the fingers gripping his saber turning white from force.

Human trafficking.

In these chaotic times, children were called Two-Legged Sheep. Transported to the Barbarians' side, they would either become slaves or... rations.

"Boss, this..." Pockmarked and the others sucked in cold breaths. "If this gets exposed, the Black Tiger Gang is finished. But this matter is too huge. We..."

The constables hesitated.

They dared to take bribes and embezzle. They dared to murder and plunder. But a major case of treason and collaboration with the enemy—once they got involved, they might end up being silenced.

Ji Ye remained silent.

He looked at the children, then touched the medicine in his robes.

If he chose rationally, he should take the medicine and leave, burn the boat, destroy the evidence, and pretend none of this had happened. That was the safest course, and the one most in line with his persona as an "Eater of Ghosts."

But just then, the frail little girl suddenly raised her head. Ji Ye's figure was reflected in those hollow eyes.

That look was so much like Little Mute on that rainy night, desperately crying out, "Father."

Ji Ye closed his eyes.

He drew a deep breath.

When he opened them again, all hesitation had vanished from his gaze, replaced by utter madness.

"Pockmarked."

"Here!"

"Move two crates of these weapons back to the yamen. Burn the rest, along with this boat."

"And the children..."

"Release them." Ji Ye turned around, his voice hard and cold. "Let them each flee for their lives. Whether they live or die will depend on fate."

"And one more thing." Ji Ye paused, his gaze sweeping over every brother present. "Tonight, we only seized medicinal herbs. We saw no weapons, and we saw no children. If anyone has a loose tongue..."

"Understood!" Everyone's hearts chilled, and they hurriedly answered.

Ji Ye walked out of the cabin and watched the east gradually turn the pale white of a fish's belly.

He had taken the medicine Zhao Hei Hu needed to break through, cut off his source of wealth, and now held irrefutable proof of his treason.

This was no longer a simple feud of the martial world. It was a deathmatch with no end until one side died.

Three days?

No. Perhaps he did not even have three days.

Ji Ye took out the Tiger Bone Paste from his robes, snapped off half of it, and stuffed it straight into his mouth. Without even chewing, he swallowed it.

A pungent, scalding current instantly exploded in his stomach.

"Since I'm going mad, then I'll go mad to the very end."

Killing intent boiled in Ji Ye's eyes.

"Back to the yamen. I'm going into seclusion. Before Zhao Hei Hu comes for me, I'll peel off his skin."