Leiji Town

Leiji Mountain.

The mountain range rose and fell in layer upon layer of peaks, vast and magnificent as it stretched across the land. From east to west, mountain after mountain surged upward, each peak vying to outshine the rest.

Leiji Mountain was the tallest mountain in Qingzhou and the surrounding provinces. The Ghost Market had originally been established at its foot because the mountain was so vast that, if anything went wrong, people could flee into it at any moment. No matter who came after them, they would be hard-pressed to track anyone down.

Over time, the Ghost Market's location at the foot of Leiji Mountain had become a given. People no longer needed to duck into the mountains at every hint of trouble.

Because of the Ghost Market, travelers from north and south gathered at the foot of Leiji Mountain, where a town eventually took shape.

It was called Leiji Town.

The town was prosperous. People from every corner of Great Sheng could be seen there. Crowds streamed through the streets, carriages rolled by, and shops lined the roads. It was a lively, bustling place.

Upon entering the town, Lu Yuan saw that nearly everyone coming and going was a martial artist, with sabers at their waists and swords across their backs.

"The Ghost Market opens at random. I'll settle in town for now and ask around for news. Once it opens, I can head over and take a look right away..."

As Lu Yuan pondered this, he soon found a Four Seas Inn in Leiji Town. The place looked decent, so he rented a room.

After bathing and eating at the inn, Lu Yuan went out for a stroll.

"A pair of mandarin ducks play in the rain upon the water; longing tastes bitter, yet sweet... I won't ask how many of the three thousand currents could make me grieve..."

He hadn't been wandering for long when he heard a mournful song. Following the sound, he saw a barefoot woman with disheveled hair wandering down the street.

"Hey, is that the new third concubine Cheng Yuanwai took in?"

"Yeah. Cheng Yuanwai was drawn to her singing when he heard her at the market."

"But she had a husband and a three-year-old child."

"Then how did she end up marrying into his household?"

"Her husband died, her child was killed, and she had no parents."

"So she just married him like that?"

"Her, I think the shock broke her. All day long, she keeps saying Nannan loves listening to her sing. Nannan was her daughter."

"She's gone mad, and Cheng Yuanwai doesn't bother with her anymore. She sings day and night without even a drop of water. I don't think she'll last much longer."

Lu Yuan watched the woman stumble past him as she sang, and couldn't help sighing. How many people in this world were suffering like her?

It was easy to find out where the Ghost Market opened. Leave town and head seven or eight li beyond Leiji Mountain.

At dusk, beneath the setting sun.

Rumble!

A string of deafening explosions rang out like firecrackers going off in rapid succession.

Two figures bounded through the mountain woods on foot. Every step sent sand and stones flying, leaving dense footprints in the earth.

Trees whipped past them. A long trail of dust streamed behind the two men.

"Xu Ziyi! Did I sleep with your mother or cuckold your wife? Instead of chasing those blood-soaked murderers, you're after me, a mere lecher!!"

The man in front had a handsome, refined face, but it was twisted with anger.

Xu Ziyi's expression was icy. "Murder and abducting women are both serious crimes. Tang Ying, what you've done is enough to get your head chopped off!!"

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"Hahahaha, Xu Ziyi, all I did was sleep with a few women. Why are you so furious? Could one of them be a woman in your family? Let me guess—your wife, your daughter, or your mother?"

Tang Ying laughed wildly.

"Don't think I'm afraid of you. You've been chasing me for so long, and still you can't do a thing to me! Even with you on my tail, I can still take a girl. Once I shake you off, I'll kill the woman in my arms! Then you can collect her corpse!"

His lightness skill was excellent, not only because he was unusually gifted, but also because the Divine Speed Electric Light Steps he practiced was rather unique.

Other lightness techniques trained the whole body as a matter of course. The Divine Speed Electric Light Steps, however, abandoned the entire body and trained only the legs.

It was precisely this skill that had allowed Tang Ying to spend years as a notorious lecher, roaming across several provinces and evading repeated attempts by Six Doors to capture him.

And now, even with a woman in his arms, he was no slower than Xu Ziyi, who was chasing him.

Without the woman, it wouldn't have been hard for him to shake Xu Ziyi.

"You're like a ghost that won't leave me alone! Xu Ziyi, Leiji Mountain will be your burial ground!!"

Xu Ziyi's eyes grew colder, the killing intent in his chest reaching its peak. Images of the women who had taken their own lives after being violated circled in his mind. He swore to himself that he would catch Tang Ying, even if he had to chase him to the ends of the earth.

Suddenly, Tang Ying's heart jolted. He sensed a surging killing intent rising from Xu Ziyi.

"Could Xu Ziyi have another trump card?"

Tang Ying furrowed his brow.

After all, Xu Ziyi was a constable of Six Doors, one of Great Sheng's two great institutions of force, tasked specifically with handling affairs of the martial world. It was no surprise if he had any number of secret techniques up his sleeve.

The killing intent came so fiercely that it felt as if a giant hand had clamped around Tang Ying's throat, leaving him unable to breathe.

"Not good! Xu Ziyi's going all out!!"

Tang Ying's eyes reddened. His legs swelled with qi and blood until his trouser legs puffed up as if inflated, nearly bursting. His entire body's qi and blood erupted, boosting his speed by another third. He flung the woman in his arms backward.

Xu Ziyi's rugged, iron-black face flushed an unnatural red. He had used a secret Six Doors technique, instantly unleashing his qi and blood to trade them for several times his usual strength and speed.

"Die!!"

Amid the roiling wind and thunder, Xu Ziyi let out a long howl and thrust both arms forward. His force rolled through the air like a landslide and a roaring sea.

But Tang Ying wasn't a stationary target. In an instant, he flung the woman at Xu Ziyi like a shield. Xu Ziyi's gaze sharpened, and he abruptly changed the direction of his palm force, slamming it into Tang Ying's shoulder.

"Pfft!!!"

Tang Ying cried out. A mouthful of blood sprayed from his lips, but he endured the pain of his shattered shoulder bone and kept running.

After unleashing that palm strike, Xu Ziyi's face turned pale. What a pity, he thought. He caught the woman, glanced around, then leaped up and placed her on a tree before continuing his relentless pursuit.

"Xu Ziyi, even if you wounded me, you still can't catch me. I said it!!"

Tang Ying's furious voice drifted through the forest.

"He's still mouthing off after getting hurt?"

Lu Yuan heard the angry shouts from afar and was slightly surprised. He looked toward a spot over a hundred meters away and saw two people chasing each other through the woods. He had no intention of getting involved and was about to leave. But the next moment, he heard the pursuer's furious voice:

"Tang Ying! You've got some nerve, daring to collude with the Taiping Sect!!"

"Hahaha, Xu Ziyi, you already say I've committed a crime punishable by beheading. What difference does it make whether I colluded with the Taiping Sect?"

Lu Yuan's eyes flashed. He sprang forward, his body bobbing as he darted toward them.