Old Black Dog, Counterkill

After entering the town and finding an inn, Kong Nian asked for only one room, then ordered a table full of vegetarian dishes at the inn's side restaurant.

Zhao Ping'an did not deliberately make a fuss about wanting meat. He simply kept his head down and ate.

Only after eating his fill would he have the strength.

When the meal was halfway through, an old black dog crawled out from beneath the table.

Old Black was not small, but he was truly ancient, thin and gaunt. His black fur had not the slightest sheen, and his tail was half bald.

Old Black wandered through the restaurant looking for food. The waiter did not chase him away, and the diners were accustomed to it.

Because the guardian deity of the Great Qian Dynasty—the Black Emperor—was a black dog.

The Black Emperor was one of Great Qian Kingdom's three Saint-level Great Powers. He had originally been a loyal dog raised by the First Emperor Qian. After the First Emperor Qian passed away, he had continued guarding Great Qian Kingdom in his master's stead for more than three thousand years, right up to the present day.

Therefore, the Great Qian Code expressly forbade killing black dogs and prohibited casually driving them away.

Old Black had been begging for food in the restaurant for some time. Some people tossed him gnawed bones or half a bun, but he would not eat them, as though he wanted something better.

Kong Nian seemed to dislike dogs. When Old Black crawled beneath their table, he softly rebuked him, "Go away!"

Seeing this, Zhao Ping'an immediately grabbed an untouched bun and offered it to Old Black with a grin. "Here, eat this."

Old Black immediately opened his mouth and took the bun. Then he lay down on the floor, lowered his head, and began eating it slowly.

"Little brother, thank you for the bun."

Suddenly, Zhao Ping'an heard an aged voice ring in his ear. Startled, he could not help lowering his head to look at Old Black.

Old Black was still keeping his head lowered, slowly gnawing at the bun.

Just as Zhao Ping'an was about to ask, that aged voice sounded in his ear again. "Don't speak. Don't stare at me. Be careful not to let the little monk notice."

Once he confirmed that Old Black was speaking to him, Zhao Ping'an was inwardly shaken. But with Old Black's warning, he barely concealed his astonishment, withdrew his gaze, and continued eating.

"Don't be surprised. This old dog has lived so long; I naturally know a trifling Secret Sound Transmission." The aged voice sounded in Zhao Ping'an's ear again. "Do you want to learn it? I'll teach you."

While Kong Nian was not paying attention, Zhao Ping'an swiftly nodded once at Old Black.

The next moment, the technique for using Secret Sound Transmission sounded in his ear.

Once Old Black had finished teaching him, Zhao Ping'an immediately opened the panel and saw that Secret Sound Transmission had been recorded under Martial Arts.

Secret Sound Transmission [Mid Grade] (0/300)

Without a moment's hesitation, Zhao Ping'an maxed out Secret Sound Transmission's proficiency. Then, unable to wait, he used Secret Sound Transmission to say to Old Black, "Senior Dog, hello."

"What did you say? Are you cursing me?" Old Black's aged voice sounded in Zhao Ping'an's ear, seemingly somewhat displeased.

Zhao Ping'an hurriedly used Secret Sound Transmission. "Please forgive me, Senior. I did not mean it. May I ask your honored name?"

"I'm merely an old dog. What name could I have?" Old Black said. "Just call me Old Dog."

Zhao Ping'an was somewhat speechless. He grumbled inwardly, Old Dog and Senior Dog are pretty much the same, aren't they?

"This junior would not dare." He used Secret Sound Transmission. "Then how about I call you Senior Old Black?"

"Whatever."

"Senior Old Black, save me! I was kidnapped by that old Bald Donkey." Zhao Ping'an wasted no time and immediately begged Old Black for help.

Old Black said unhappily, "I've only eaten one bun from you, yet you want me to risk my life for you. Is your bun made of gold?"

"Then I'll give you buns made of gold—a whole basket of them—as long as you save me." Zhao Ping'an immediately said, "My family has plenty of Golden Buns."

Old Black asked with considerable interest, "Is that true?"

"Of course it's true!" Seeing there was hope, Zhao Ping'an was thrilled inwardly.

But Old Black began to hesitate. "The little monk is rather formidable. It seems I can't beat him."

"Then that means you can more or less beat him?" Zhao Ping'an reacted quickly. "With me added in, we can beat him."

No matter what, he had to give it a try.

Willow Branching Movement had previously prevented Kong Nian from catching him for a time, giving him some confidence in Xun Star Swordplay.

"Fine, we can try." Old Black reluctantly said. "But let's make this clear first: if we can't beat him, this old dog will run away first. When the time comes, don't say this old dog was disloyal."

Zhao Ping'an was elated inwardly and hurriedly said, "If we can't beat him, please rest assured and flee."

"It's inconvenient to fight here. Innocents would be caught in the disaster." Old Black added, "Can you lure the little monk outside the town entrance?"

Zhao Ping'an said, "No problem! Thank you, Senior Old Black."

Old Black finally finished the bun. He got to his feet and inconspicuously left the restaurant.

Zhao Ping'an finished all the food on the table and said to Kong Nian, "Do you want to know the answer to why I would reward you with silver for reciting Buddhist sutras?"

"Amitabha. Young Benefactor, please enlighten me." Kong Nian immediately pressed his palms together toward Zhao Ping'an.

After capturing Zhao Ping'an, he had pondered this question for a long time while flying, yet still could not figure it out.

Zhao Ping'an smiled. "Let me escape once more, and I'll tell you."

"It seems Young Benefactor still refuses to give up." Kong Nian smiled. "Very well. You must know the boundlessness of the Buddha Dharma before you can understand just how precious the Buddhist affinity this old monk is giving you is—something ten thousand gold could not buy."

He continued, "Young Benefactor, please tell me the answer."

Zhao Ping'an said, "I want to say it outside the town entrance."

"That is acceptable." Kong Nian agreed, believing that Zhao Ping'an wanted to go outside the town entrance to make escaping easier.

Thus, Zhao Ping'an and Kong Nian left the restaurant and headed toward the town entrance.

After walking out of town, Zhao Ping'an did not spot Old Black, and could not help muttering inwardly, Could Senior Old Black have merely humored me? No, no. He must have hidden himself in ambush, waiting to launch a sneak attack.

"Young Benefactor, say it here." Kong Nian suddenly said.

Zhao Ping'an had no choice but to stop and give up looking for Old Black.

"The answer is Two Thousand Taels of Silver." He stated it directly.

Kong Nian instead became puzzled. "Why exactly two thousand taels?"

Zhao Ping'an smiled. "The solution is actually very simple."

As he spoke, he drew his sword and used its tip to draw a square on the ground. Then he said, "Suppose one thousand taels of silver, spread out, would fill this much."

"Recite a second line of sutra, and I'll reward you with another Five Hundred Taels." He then drew a rectangle immediately to the right of the square.

The rectangle's top edge was equal to and aligned with the square's side. Its width against the square was only half the square's side length.

He said, "This rectangle has half the area of the square. It can hold Five Hundred Taels, no problem, right?"

Kong Nian lowered his head and carefully studied the shapes on the ground, then nodded in agreement. "No problem."

"Recite a third line of sutra, and I'll reward you with another Two Hundred Fifty Taels." Zhao Ping'an continued.

At that moment, Old Black's aged voice sounded in his ear. "Little brother, I'm in position."

Without betraying any reaction, he continued using his sword tip to draw a smaller square on the ground. The square abutted the rectangle's lower edge and also the large square's right side.

The smaller square's side length was half that of the larger square, and its bottom edge was perfectly aligned with the large square's bottom edge.

"This square represents Two Hundred Fifty Taels. No problem, right?" he continued, guiding Kong Nian with his question.

Kong Nian stared at the diagram, deep in thought. He nodded in agreement, seeming to have begun understanding.

Zhao Ping'an drew another smaller rectangle, but this time, when he had drawn only halfway, he suddenly followed the stroke and slashed his sword at Kong Nian's throat with explosive speed.

True Essence coursed through the Taiyin Meridian, and his speed surged Ten Times. His sword was swift as a shooting star, like a flash of lightning and a spark from flint.

Kong Nian had never expected Zhao Ping'an to dare draw his sword against him. Caught off guard while thinking, he could not dodge in time.

In his haste, he only managed to raise an arm to block the sword.

Clang!

The longsword infused with True Essence sliced through Kong Nian's sleeve and flesh, cutting into the bone of his arm.

Kong Nian was, after all, a Divine Treasury Realm expert. His bones were as hard as diamond, and the longsword could not sever them in a single stroke.

"You beast, how dare you?!" Kong Nian frantically leaped backward to open the distance. The agonizing pain in his arm sent his fury blazing.

Seeing that his sneak attack had succeeded, Zhao Ping'an immediately pushed Willow Branching Movement to its limits and pursued Kong Nian closely. At the same time, he unleashed Xun Star Swordplay again, attacking Kong Nian in a frenzy.

Kong Nian was shocked and enraged, and murderous intent surged within him. With his other arm, he swung his broad sleeve fiercely at Zhao Ping'an.

A dense aura force like a mountain wall crashed head-on toward Zhao Ping'an, containing the force of tens of thousands of jin. Zhao Ping'an pushed Willow Branching Movement to its limit, and with the Taiyin Meridian's enhancement, his body flickered with ghostly agility on the wind to Kong Nian's right side by the narrowest margin, evading the aura force.

At that instant, a black shadow suddenly shot out and bit down on Kong Nian's left calf with a speed too swift to cover one's ears.

Kong Nian instantly felt all the True Essence in his body completely sealed. He could use none of his martial techniques, spells, or divine abilities. Even his mind became muddled, as though he had suddenly become a frail old monk with sluggish wits.

"Die!" Zhao Ping'an shouted, driving his sword through Kong Nian's glabella and piercing his skull.

Kong Nian died before he could utter even half a scream.

Zhao Ping'an pulled out his sword and leaped back One Zhang, his eyes fixed on Kong Nian's corpse as disbelief appeared on his face.

That sword strike had been ruthless, but logically speaking, it should not have been enough to take the life of a Divine Treasury Realm expert.

He had clearly only been providing support.