Consort Ji

The soldiers gripped their long spears and thrust straight at Jiang Shuo's chest. The person inside the carriage was of noble status; to disturb them in the slightest was a crime punishable by beheading.

Jiang Shuo twisted aside and raised a hand, gripping the spearhead firmly with one hand while knocking upward with the other forearm. Crack! The shaft snapped into two pieces. The next second, Jiang Shuo drove the broken spear back into the soldier's shoulder, blood immediately streaming down. The soldier let out a heart-rending scream, clutching his shoulder as he collapsed to the ground, only to be swallowed by the companions rushing forward in the blink of an eye. Jiang Shuo gave a low roar, knocked back the foremost soldier with a palm strike, then leaped into the vast torrent of battle.

After fighting in the melee for a while, Jiang Shuo's brows drew together. He suddenly realized that, whether in Martial Arts or discipline, these men were far stronger than the Yulin soldiers he had encountered before—the soldiers had recognized Jiang Shuo's formidable Martial Arts and stabilized their formation, surrounding him in a circle. They were in no rush to attack. They intended to trap him to death. Jiang Shuo's strength and agility had nowhere to be used; whenever he picked a direction to break through, countless threats sprang up behind him before he had taken more than a few steps. By the time he diverted his attention to resolve them one by one, the gap he had struggled to tear open had already been filled by the enemy.

After several failed attempts, Jiang Shuo felt as though he were being toyed with. Thinking of Yu Yuhan, whose life hung by a thread, he could not help but become frantic with anxiety.

If this continues, I'll definitely run out of strength and be captured!

Golden radiance flickered between Jiang Shuo's fingers. His fist shot out like lightning and struck the enemy's chest in an instant.

Smack! The Golden Wheel shattered. The enemy's eyes froze wide, as though lumps of gray mud had been stuffed into his chest, leaving him stifled and sluggish. Then he fell straight backward.

Golden light flashed and leaped through the crowd. Any enemy it so much as touched fell, and in the blink of an eye, the seven or eight enemies around Jiang Shuo had all collapsed to the ground. Acupoint strikes used fingers to jab pressure points, targeting tendons, muscles, and joints to leave them numb, weak, and wracked with unbearable pain. Jiang Shuo's attacks, however, acted directly upon the bones themselves, as though the very bones supporting the body had been forcibly plucked away. Combined with that bizarre golden light, it filled even the battle-hardened soldiers with dread. They instinctively pulled farther away, their hearts clouded with uncertainty. What kind of demon art is this?

The formation loosened accordingly, and Jiang Shuo seized the sliver of opportunity to force his way several zhang forward.

"Stop him! He must not be allowed to approach Consort Ji!" the general-like man shouted. Clad in light armor and possessing dignified features, he had remained by the carriage all along, not daring to leave it easily.

At his shout, the soldiers rallied their spirits and regrouped before surrounding Jiang Shuo again. However, the image of Jiang Shuo wielding demon arts had already taken deep root in their minds. The soldiers were beginning to lose their nerve; though they forced themselves forward, they put in effort without putting in strength. After his mad charge, Jiang Shuo drew ever closer to the city gate.

The general placed a hand on his sword hilt, watching everything unfold before him with a grave expression.

At that moment, several slender, jade-like fingers, as delicate as scallion whites, lifted a corner of the carriage's Cloth Curtain. Then a voice, like an orchid blooming in an empty valley, drifted out. "General Meng, what has happened?"

General Meng's entire body shuddered. He hurried to the carriage and cupped his hands in apology. "It is Nothing More Than a troublesome commoner. This Meng has failed in his duty and disturbed Consort Ji."

"Oh?" A corner of the Cloth Curtain lifted, revealing Consort Ji's face behind a veil of white gauze. Her vivid crimson lips and exquisite jade-like nose, faintly visible through the haze, only accentuated her peerlessly beautiful features. Her autumn-water eyes paused slightly when they fell upon Jiang Shuo, a ripple flashing through her Eyes before vanishing. Then, her snow-white hand withdrew. "Meng Xiong."

"Your subordinate is here." Meng Xiong answered solemnly. From beginning to end, he did not dare raise his head even a fraction. Everyone knew that the current Emperor favored Consort Ji alone. Meng Xiong strictly observed propriety and did not dare overstep in the slightest.

"Bring him to me. I have a few questions for him."

Suspicion rose in Meng Xiong's heart. Could Consort Ji know this troublesome commoner? Yet upon further thought, it seemed impossible. Their temperaments and backgrounds were as far apart as clouds and mud; there was simply no way to connect them.

"This subordinate obeys." Meng Xiong slowly lifted his foot and walked toward Jiang Shuo, one step at a time.

The soldiers encircling Jiang Shuo revealed looks of astonishment and quickly moved aside, clearing a path.

Seeing his hesitant Subordinates, Meng Xiong snorted coldly. He walked up before Jiang Shuo, spread the five fingers of his right hand wide, and grabbed for Jiang Shuo's shoulder.

Jiang Shuo suddenly sensed an invisible pressure behind him, squeezing his breath away. He turned around in panic, but Meng Xiong's palm had already reached his face. What looked like a casual grab enveloped the area within a zhang with its force. It was as though an invisible Giant Net had wrapped Jiang Shuo tightly within it. Forget dodging left or right—even leaping back would not allow him to evade this palm. Jiang Shuo gritted his teeth and struck out with a palm carrying the Golden Wheel. He had no choice but to meet force with force.

Their palms collided. Meng Xiong's expression did not change as his five fingers suddenly clenched. Smack! The golden light shattered like glass and vanished without a trace, having no effect whatsoever.

"Such powerful Martial Arts!"

Jiang Shuo was Greatly Shocked. His hand had already been locked tightly in Meng Xiong's grip, unable to break free by even half an inch. In his desperation, he struck out with his other palm. Just as it was about to hit Meng Xiong in the face, Meng Xiong violently twisted his right hand. Bone-piercing pain shot through Jiang Shuo's wrist. Jiang Shuo cried out miserably and, to keep his wrist from being snapped alive, had no choice but to turn his back, abandoning his attack halfway through. Meng Xiong followed through by striking Jiang Shuo's right shoulder with a palm. Jiang Shuo only felt half his body go numb, completely losing all sensation.