Battle in the Rain

"Beast!"

The Coir Raincoat Knight, wielding an axe, had eyes bloodshot as he let out a battle cry and charged towards Jiang Shi. While running, he flung his hand axe and cursed, "She owes me a year's worth of gambling debts!"

This person appeared outwardly reckless, but his fighting style was extremely insidious and cunning. After throwing the flying axe, he not only immediately drew a short sword, but also took out a small ball from his belt with his left hand and threw it.

Yan Qing perfectly blocked the flying axe, and upon seeing the thrown object, naturally didn't think twice before slashing at it with his blade. However, the moment the ball was hit, it exploded into a cloud of white powder. Jiang Shi couldn't dodge in time, and her right eye was directly hit.

Yan Qing of the Thieves' Den was stunned, seeing an abnormal status, 'Right Eye Blinded,' appear above her health bar, temporarily decreasing her hit rate by 40%.

Although it was her first time seeing it, Yan Qing, who had seen similar plots in countless entertainment works, naturally recognized what this item was at a glance.

"Go, she's been blinded by lime!"

The Lime Knight shouted loudly, "It's raining now, her eyes will burn soon!"

Although he said so, his pace slowed down, not approaching Jiang Shi immediately, but instead blocking in front of the carriage. As expected, his recklessness was just a disguise. Even with the advantage in hand, he was still very cautious. Even before capturing Jiang Shi, he was prepared to deal with the Baiyun Qian Clan's intervention.

As early as when the Lime Knight stepped forward, his companions had already flanked from the left and right. Upon hearing the order, they immediately rushed up, not giving Jiang Shi any chance to breathe. In order to protect her eyeball, Jiang Shi could only cover her eyes with her left hand, wielding her sword with one hand to fight them. Even with her exquisite skills, she could only protect herself, and in just a few breaths, she had already faced death multiple times.

The girl in the carriage only came back to her senses now. The scene of Jiang Shi not getting on the carriage but suddenly rising up to kill people had really shocked her for a while. But even so, she was still anxious about Jiang Shi's situation, and with both hands propped on the carriage, she was about to jump out.

"Are you harboring this criminal!?"

The Lime Knight, who had not participated in the battle but was staring at them, immediately shouted loudly upon seeing this, "Is the Baiyun Qian Clan going to protect this Taihu Rebel who killed our brothers? If so, we brothers will immediately withdraw and report this matter to the county magistrate for a decision!"

The Lime Knight emphasized the words 'killed our brothers,' causing the girl's movements to suddenly freeze.

Just now, she could say that these constables were slandering and spreading rumors, but now Jiang Shi had actually killed someone, even if she wasn't a rebel, she was still a criminal, and this reasoning made sense anywhere.

Seeing that the girl and the coachman didn't move, the Lime Knight breathed a sigh of relief. If Jiang Shi was slightly more ordinary, he would have given the Baiyun Qian Clan face and retreated long ago. Even though the Baiyun Qian Clan was just a Blue Belt Esteemed Class, wasn't he himself a Black Belt quick-response constable who relied on the county office to show off his power? Not to mention that these two people from the Baiyun Qian Clan seemed to be Martial Dao Heralds, they could kill everyone here with a breath.

However, the county magistrate from the Zhanhe Huang Clan was the only channel he could seize to rise, and the county magistrate liked beautiful women the most. The moment he saw Jiang Shi, the Lime Knight knew that as long as he offered this woman up, he would definitely be appreciated by the county magistrate, and this year's Herald token quota would naturally be in his grasp!

There were as many as seven or eight Heralds like him in the yamen who had already changed jobs but had no Herald tokens, not to mention those brave and fierce village braves in the county who had already changed jobs. And the only way for so many people to obtain Herald tokens was to wait for the state government's quota. A constable like him with no status, wealth, or family would never get his turn for the Herald token quota in his lifetime, and would only be a constable at the mercy of powerful families and officials for the rest of his life!

Only by seizing the only opportunity was it possible to stand out! Even if it meant offending the Blue Belt Esteemed Class, it was worth it!

He bet right.

There were Scholar Clan disciples who disregarded the law and killed people at will, and there were many of them.

But the Baiyun Qian Clan, a Blue Belt family, was not powerful enough to dare to offend the county government representing imperial power!

"Big brother, big brother—"

A panicked shout came from the rain, and the Lime Knight turned his head in confusion. Two constables fighting a half-blind woman, it had been so long and they hadn't taken her down yet, could it be that they couldn't beat her?

He saw a constable with a broken right hand screaming and running out of the alley, his face terrified, his steps hurried, as if there were evil ghosts chasing behind him.

Tap.

Jiang Shi walked out of the alley with unhurried steps. She still covered her eyes with her left hand and held a knife in her right hand, but compared to just now, the coarse linen clothes she was wearing had been dyed black and red with blood, and even walking in the rain could not dilute the blood on her body. She was clearly just walking, but her speed was faster than the constable running away in front.

When did they move to the alley to fight?

The constable was so frightened by the footsteps behind him that he stepped on air, fell to the ground facing the female demon Jiang Shi, and shouted in a panic, "No, big brother, save me, no, please don't—"

Zheng!

A sharp, mournful flash of blade light cut through the rain, causing the Lime Knight to squint. The fallen constable instinctively raised his only remaining left hand to block, but the result was naturally that his left wrist and head were chopped off together. His head retained its terrified expression, rolling to the side with a glug glug sound, while his body twitched slightly on the ground, like a fish that hadn't been properly gutted.

The rain grew heavier, almost to the point where one couldn't see beyond ten steps.

But the Lime Knight saw clearly that Jiang Shi hadn't used any Herald power when killing; she had simply used her single-handed blade to sever the constable's head. It sounded simple, but beheading was by no means an easy task. Even executioners could fail to cut through the neck, the blade getting stuck in the cervical vertebrae, or even shattering the blade itself.

Beheading in combat was already difficult, let alone with Jiang Shi wielding the blade with one hand.

Most astonishingly, despite having already killed three people—although one person hadn't emerged from the alley, no one would think he was still alive—Jiang Shi remained expressionless, her face, as perfect as a celestial maiden, filled with indifference.

A chill ran up the Lime Knight's spine, and fear drowned his world like the rain.

If Jiang Shi had revealed anger, curses, disgust, or even killing intent, he wouldn't have been afraid. Having risen from the bottom ranks to become a Herald, he had seen countless enemies. But Jiang Shi, despite being covered in blood and surrounded by corpses and severed heads, seemed oblivious, her beautiful eyes, one open and one closed, calmly fixed on him.

If a county official were gazed upon by such a beauty, he would probably be so captivated that he would lose his Soul and rush forward.

However, the Lime Knight could only tremble, wishing he could run as far away as possible.

He felt that in her eyes, he wasn't an enemy, or even a person, but just a fish.

A fish struggling in its death throes!

Tap!

Jiang Shi broke through the rain, her right-hand blade drawing a semicircle in the air, as if to slash from the right. However, as the Lime Knight raised a shoulder, preparing to attack Jiang Shi's undefended left side, the tip of Jiang Shi's blade suddenly shifted downward, instantly changing from a right slash to a downward stab!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In just three exchanges, the Lime Knight knew how his subordinates had died—the opponent's swordsmanship was so skilled that she could feint and change direction at will, making it impossible to determine her attack path; at the same time, she was also very adept at 'tendon-cutting counterattacks,' which meant cutting the tendons along the trajectory of the enemy's weapon to break down the attack and then counterattack.

These two techniques might only take a few lines to describe, but very few ordinary people could achieve them. Even among constables, being able to hold a knife steady while cutting someone was considered elite. If they were to learn feinting and changing direction, they would probably just fling the knife away; and tendon-cutting was an even higher-level skill, because failure meant standing there like an idiot and getting hacked, while retreating to dodge was much safer, so most people wouldn't even consider it.

So they died.

With their meager skills, facing a master who could skillfully use feints and tendon-cutting, all their attacks would be broken down, and the opponent could take the opportunity to change direction and attack where they couldn't defend... What difference was there between them and scarecrows with legs?

That's what combat was like. Whether you were a flawless jade or a mud that couldn't be plastered on a wall, you had to collide with someone else's stone that had been tempered a thousand times.

If you were shattered, you died.

The Lime Knight was well aware of how terrifying his opponent was.

Because he, too, was proficient in feinting and tendon-cutting.

His body temperature was dropping, but his Vitality was surging. Although he still had Lime bombs on his belt, the Lime Knight couldn't find the space to throw them, and could only rely on his short sword to fight Jiang Shi back and forth!

Just like when he was twenty-two, when he and a group of colleagues broke into a Great River Gang ship, and he was the only one left alive, blocking the door and facing more than a dozen gang members with knives!

Just like when he was twenty-five, when he encountered a large worm while traveling at night, and fought it to the death with only an axe and a short sword!

Just like when he was twenty-nine...

Clang!

The glorious years in his mind vanished like smoke, and the sharp pain in his tiger's mouth and the cold rain brought him back to reality.

The Lime Knight looked at Jiang Shi with trembling lips, as if he were looking at a monster.

Her swordsmanship was still improving, and her Vitality was constantly rising in battle. The Vitality advantage that the Lime Knight relied on had disappeared. And the disadvantages of her being half-blind and one-handed were masked by her skills.

Could it be that I...

Impossible!

The Lime Knight's eyes widened in fury as he roared and charged towards Jiang Shi.

I am a Herald, a Martial Dao Herald proficient in martial arts! My martial skills are all from hard training, and I've experienced dozens of fierce battles in my life. How could I lose in a place like this—

Clang!

The short sword flew high, spinning in the air.

The Lime Knight stared blankly at his empty hands, unable to believe that he couldn't even hold his weapon. Being disarmed in a head-on confrontation could only prove one thing—his Vitality was inferior to his opponent's.

That's right, ever since I became a section chief, I've been scheming to obtain token quotas all day long, either at banquets or on the way to banquets. I haven't been tempering my strength much, nor have I been fighting on the front lines...

Even a stone that has been tempered a thousand times will eventually be worn through by the constant dripping of water. Others can't see it, and I deceive myself, mistakenly believing that the stone is still the same as before.

Until I collided with another stone that is undergoing transformation.

Clang!

Jiang Shi swung her blade, tearing through the rain curtain as if tearing a painting, and tearing apart the person in the rain curtain as well.

The head flew high, and the short sword spun and landed.

Jiang Shi turned around, wiped the blade with her sleeve, and sheathed it. The corpse behind her seemed to only now come to its senses, falling heavily into the accumulated water on the ground.

Coming to the side of the first dead constable, Jiang Shi squatted down and took off the other's boots and coat. Just as she was about to put them on, the four-horse carriage came to her again.

"There are clothes and shoes that fit you in the carriage, as well as vegetable oil that can remove the lime."

The girl in the carriage poked her head out, her eyes filled with both respect and awe towards Jiang Shi, and perhaps even a hint of admiration. She extended her hand again and asked in a solemn tone, "Do you want to come up?"

Jiang Shi didn't speak, but simply extended a right hand stained with blood towards her.

Yan Qing examined the screen, thinking that the option to 'extend a right hand stained with blood towards her' was truly brilliant.

After all, 'Jiang Shi' had now killed four constables, and 'Jiang Shi' getting on the carriage would undoubtedly implicate the other party, while extending her right hand was a silent question.

My hands are covered in blood, do you really want to touch them?

If the other party was willing to hold this blood-stained hand, it would mean that the other party didn't care about 'Jiang Shi's' crimes.

Even if stained with blood, she still extends a helping hand, what a heroic and tender scene!

But...

Yan Qing watched as the girl in the carriage was first stunned, then suddenly realized, took out a handkerchief from her bosom, helped 'Jiang Shi' wipe clean her palm, and then took 'Jiang Shi's' hand to pull her into the carriage.

I'm asking if you're willing to associate with a criminal, not asking if you're a germaphobe