"Let's stay here for the night... By tomorrow, the medicine's effects should have weakened. Then I'll try to see if I can circulate Tai Xu Sword Qi, and the two of us can leave."
"Of course, if I can't..."
"Then there's no need to wait until tomorrow."
Kaino directly cut Li Sushang off. He stood up, and a clank rang out inside the Black Prison.
"H-Hey? You got the shackles off?"
Watching Kaino stand there and rub his wrists, Li Sushang was utterly astonished.
"So you could get them off all along. Then why did you... Oh, right. At first, you thought the Golden Sands Gang were the housekeepers."
"...Right. After that, I just kept talking to you. Otherwise, I would've gone to eat ages ago. I've been hungry for almost a whole day."
Kaino sighed helplessly. Then he stepped forward, lightly tapped the shackles around Li Sushang's hands, and activated Wind Blade, instantly shattering them.
"All right. Wait here for a bit. I'll go out and look for the antidote. Once you take it, hurry up and fight that Old Eagle. Then we can get out of here."
"Wait, why are we looking for him to fight in the middle of the night? He might be asleep."
Li Sushang stepped forward, looking a little embarrassed. Then she puffed out her chest and said confidently, "And you don't need to find me an antidote. Without the shackles, I can beat him even without True Qi! Besides, whether the Golden Sands Gang even has an antidote is another question."
She could win without Honkai energy?
Kaino raised an eyebrow. He had previously analyzed Old Eagle using the Herrscher of Reason's power. The man was probably somewhere above C-rank but below B-rank Valkyrie level.
This Li Sushang was pretty confident, huh?
Thinking that, Kaino analyzed Li Sushang again.
"Huh?"
Her physical abilities were extremely strong... Though not on the level of Kaslana's monstrous strength, they definitely weren't something ordinary training could produce.
Especially while keeping her figure from changing shape.
And she looked about his age. If she kept training, would her physical abilities become even stronger?
But speaking of her figure... Could Tai Xu Sword Qi promote the development of certain areas? Should he go back and let Theresa and Big Auntie try it?
"What is it?"
Seeing Kaino stare at her in surprise, Li Sushang was confused.
"Nothing. I just think you really are pretty naive. Let me guess—you haven't even prepared yourself to kill him, have you? Honestly, people who choose to become gang bandits deserve to die."
Kaino shrugged.
"And do you really think Old Eagle will fight you one-on-one? No way, right? Fighting him at night, while there are fewer people around, is the best choice. In daylight, who's going to duel you? They'll just gang up on you."
"Y-You... Fine, I guess that really is a good idea. I'll go find him right away."
Though Kaino's sarcastic tone had angered Li Sushang so much that she nearly couldn't speak, she ultimately agreed with his plan.
"Then I'll go get something to eat in the kitchen. Li Sushang, you go find Old Eagle first."
"I'll probably come over after I'm done eating. Be careful. Don't lose before I get there."
With that, Kaino swung out a Wind Blade and destroyed the Black Prison's door. He grabbed the Nightlight he had constructed for illumination, electrocuted the two guards at the entrance unconscious, and strode away.
He really was hungry, and he really had come here to eat. He hadn't lied to Li Sushang.
Now that he finally had a legitimate reason to get out, why would he stay here instead of leaving?
"Hey, Raiken, wait for me... Why did you just leave by yourself?"
Li Sushang failed to catch up with Kaino and could only sigh before walking step by step out of the Black Prison.
...Actually, she was hungry too.
She had truly been locked up for an entire day.
Slurping Noodles and Sword Heart
"Slurp."
Covered by Soundproof Cloth and Optical Camouflage Cloth, Kaino sat on the rooftop and slurped down the final mouthful of noodles in his bowl. He glanced at Li Sushang and Old Eagle, the Golden Sands Gang's leader, who were still confronting each other in the courtyard, then silently set down the bowl.
In the courtyard, Li Sushang and a vicious-looking middle-aged man stood at a distance in silence, their stances set. At Li Sushang's side, a golden treasured sword was embedded in the ground, with only its hilt exposed.
That should have been the sword Li Sushang mentioned before, the one she had handed over.
Kaino could sense Honkai energy flowing through the man's body in a special manner, so he could roughly tell that both had already prepared to attack and were merely waiting for an opportunity.
But when he had started eating his noodles, the two had already been standing there in a standoff. Now he had finished eating, and they were still standing there.
Maybe he had eaten too quickly, but this was still way too slow. If this kind of duel took place at Schicksal, both sides would have rushed at each other immediately.
Could this perhaps be one of the reasons why Shenzhou had defeated Schicksal so badly back then?
Besides that...
Wasn't Li Sushang being a little too straightforward?
Since she had already taken back her weapon, why not just slash him? Why stick it off to the side and insist on a fair duel? She had been drugged, yet she was still talking about fairness with him?
Kaino sighed helplessly, but he had no intention of interfering with their duel or secretly warning Li Sushang.
There were three reasons.
First, Kaino respected Li Sushang's personal wishes. Since she wanted a one-on-one duel, he would let her have one.
Second, Kaino intended to carefully observe Li Sushang's fighting style. That way, even if she still refused to let him learn Tai Xu Sword Qi in the end, he could steal a few lessons from her.
Third... Though this was not very Kaslana-like, adding flowers to brocade was inferior to sending charcoal in the snow. Kaino did not know whether Li Sushang or her master would be willing to teach him Tai Xu Sword Qi, nor did he know whether they would tell him Red Sparrow Immortal's whereabouts.
But if Li Sushang truly reached the brink of death and could no longer turn things around, then if he saved her, she would owe him an enormous favor.
Fourth, if the above three points conflicted, the fifth point took priority.
Fifth, only three of the five points were reasons, so saying there were three reasons was perfectly correct.
Thinking that, Kaino was about to take out another bowl of noodles from Imaginary Space when his hand paused slightly.
Li Sushang moved.
Li Sushang took her stance and stared intently at Old Eagle, who stood motionless across from her, doing her best to find an opening in him.
In one-on-one battles in Shenzhou, unless one had absolute confidence in one's strength, both sides would inevitably remain locked in a standoff for a while, waiting until the other could no longer endure and revealed a flaw before attacking.
Logically, Li Sushang was a woman, and she could not circulate Honkai energy after taking Qi-Suppressing Powder. She should have been the first to lose patience.
But Li Sushang did not think so.
The Tai Xu Sword Qi Li Sushang cultivated had five essences—Heart, Spirit, Duality, Intent, Form, and Soul.
Among them, Heart Essence had four levels—Still Water, Dustless, Bright Mirror, and Tai Xu.
This Heart Essence was precisely the technique Kaino coveted most, one that could rapidly absorb Honkai energy from the outside world and use it. Li Sushang had only reached the Dustless realm, so she still could not completely ignore Qi-Suppressing Powder's effects and circulate Honkai energy.
But that was not Heart Essence's only function.
Heart Essence was, naturally, the cultivation of one's heart. Having reached the Dustless realm, Li Sushang could focus her attention entirely on the battle itself while fighting, without being disturbed by anything else.
Thus, Li Sushang firmly believed that if they competed in endurance, the one who lost would definitely be him!
Finally, almost imperceptibly, Old Eagle's posture trembled slightly.
An opening!
Li Sushang opened with Crescent Moon, the opening stance of the sword form under Tai Xu's opening sword form, rapidly closing in on Old Eagle. Then she used her hand as a sword and followed with Returning Swallows from the Li family's swordsmanship, striking toward Old Eagle.
Thanks to Li Sushang's excellent physical abilities and the exquisite Crescent Moon of the opening sword form, Old Eagle had not even reacted before Li Sushang arrived before him. Returning Swallows struck Old Eagle hard across the face.
The forceful slap scattered Old Eagle's momentum. He staggered back repeatedly, blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.
After succeeding with one strike, Li Sushang did not press her advantage. Instead, she adjusted her posture and stabilized herself again.
"That was the first slap."
Li Sushang grinned at Old Eagle, who looked quite miserable.
"Watch out, the second one's coming!"
As soon as she spoke, Li Sushang stopped searching for openings with him. She moved with her footwork and attacked first.
That brief exchange had already confirmed something for Li Sushang: even without True Qi, her martial arts were indeed superior to his.
Once she had confirmed that, Li Sushang had no more concerns. She believed that she would definitely win this duel.
...But she did not know that after taking that slap, Old Eagle believed the same thing.
Seeing Li Sushang attack again, Old Eagle did not panic in the slightest. He completely abandoned his defenses over the rest of his body and limbs, focusing only on protecting his face before charging toward her as well.
From their earlier conversation and exchange, Old Eagle had already confirmed his suspicions. She was upright to a fault. For the sake of so-called fairness, she had truly set aside her treasured sword. Likewise, he believed that since she said she would strike his face, even if the rest of his body was completely exposed, she would never attack it.
And that was indeed the case.
Li Sushang noticed Old Eagle's little trick, but she still stubbornly attacked only his face.
What the heck... Good thing I have martial virtue. Otherwise, I could have struck one of your body's vital points and ended this right now!
But even so, I'll still win in the end!
After exchanging two or three moves with him in midair, Li Sushang retreated slightly. Then Crescent Moon of the opening sword form appeared once more, and Li Sushang rushed toward Old Eagle at a speed far faster than her retreat.
After exchanging several moves with Li Sushang, Old Eagle was beginning to run out of steam. But unlike Li Sushang, although his stamina and skill were inferior to hers, he could still circulate True Qi.
With True Qi empowering him, Old Eagle guarded his face desperately while launching a storm of attacks at Li Sushang. With True Qi's enhancement, as long as Old Eagle landed a single blow on Li Sushang, he could quickly end the battle.
But Li Sushang nearly ignored his attacks. Weeping Willow, a guarding sword form, was continuously executed in her hands. No matter how frequently Old Eagle attacked, he could not hurt Li Sushang in the slightest.
Her Dustless Sword Heart allowed Li Sushang to focus on the battle, ensuring that she made no mistakes when defending against any of Old Eagle's attacks. But Old Eagle's True Qi was indeed limited. If this continued, he would certainly lose.
What's going on... Why is he fighting like this?
Though puzzled, Li Sushang's movements did not stop. As they exchanged blows and shifted about, they gradually approached the spot where Ancient Sword Xuanyuan was embedded in the ground.
At that moment, as though his strength had failed or his True Qi circulation had gone wrong, Old Eagle's body faltered, and a gap suddenly appeared in his facial defense.
Seeing such an obvious mistake from him, Li Sushang frowned slightly. But she did not slow down. Instant Dust, the most accurate and fastest opening technique among the Five Essences Sword Forms, struck in an instant.
Yet Old Eagle allowed the attack to come at him without any intention of defending.
Li Sushang hesitated. At the same time, a voice rang out in her mind.
"Let me guess—you haven't even prepared yourself to kill him, have you?"
When Kaino had asked her that before, Li Sushang had not answered. She had pretended not to hear him and acted as though nothing had happened.
But now, that question was placed before Li Sushang once again. For a moment, panic was all that remained in her heart. And in the end, she truly received her answer.
...What am I doing? I've never even killed anyone.
I only wanted to have a duel, to test my swordsmanship.
Thinking that, Li Sushang gritted her teeth.
Li Sushang forcibly withdrew the Instant Dust that had already been unleashed. Ignoring the pain of forcefully retracting her move, she changed her footwork. Swallow Returns to Nest unfolded, and Li Sushang forcibly pulled back.
And almost at the same time, a gust of sword wind brushed past Li Sushang's shoulder.
Li Sushang's eyes widened slightly as she looked at Old Eagle before her in disbelief.
Ancient Sword Xuanyuan, which had originally been embedded in the ground, was now held in Old Eagle's hand.
Old Eagle laughed excitedly, his smile cruel and savage.
Bright Mirror Sword Heart, Judgement of Shamash
A wave of lingering fear rose in Li Sushang's heart.
If she had not withdrawn her attack and retreated in time out of fear of killing him, she would definitely have been cut down by Old Eagle's sword.
...But if she had resolved herself to kill from the beginning, instead of remembering the grudge of those two slaps, she would have long since killed Old Eagle, whose skill was inferior to hers.
But there was no use thinking about that now, was there?
Staring blankly as Old Eagle missed his first strike, then pounced at her and swung his sword again, Li Sushang knew that she had nowhere left to evade.
Yet her Dustless Sword Heart remained calm and undisturbed. In the moment before death, Li Sushang felt no despair. Beyond regret and indignation, there was only emptiness.
Li Sushang closed her eyes as though accepting her fate, and her consciousness sank into Heart Lake.
I can't dodge it anymore...
Before you continue