Chen Qingzhou's fingertips dug deep into Ye Yun's robes. Blood seeped between his fingers and spread across the blue-gray fabric in a dark red stain. His breathing sounded like a broken bellows, every breath accompanied by the gurgle of blood, yet he still stared fixedly into Ye Yun's eyes.
"Thank you... friend... for coming to our aid..." Chen Qingzhou struggled to force out the words. His bloodstained lips pulled into a bitter smile. "On behalf of... my brothers... I thank you... for this great favor... no thanks can repay it..."
His pupils had already begun to dilate, yet he stubbornly refused to pass out. Ye Yun could feel the old constable's rough palm trembling violently, even as he used the last of his strength to clutch his robes tightly, as though he were trying to pass some vital message to him.
Yan Xiao Liu knelt beside them, shock and sudden understanding flickering across his eyes in turn. He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but Ye Yun stopped him with a glance. This usually careless young constable displayed astonishing perceptiveness at that moment—he understood the warning in Ye Yun's eyes and forcibly swallowed the words that had reached his lips, merely nodding heavily.
Ye Yun silently took a celadon medicine bottle from his robes and poured out three vermilion pills. These were Returning Yang Pills he had learned to make from the True Martial Secret Manual. Though they could not compare with the miraculous effects of the Vermilion Essence Fruit, they were remarkably effective against ordinary martial artists' injuries. He stuffed the pills into Chen Qingzhou's mouth and those of the two seriously wounded constables, then took out golden wound medicine and gave everyone a simple dressing.
"Go."
Ye Yun uttered only one word, his voice low as muffled thunder. He gave Yan Xiao Liu one last look, then turned and vanished into the depths of the dense forest. As his black robes billowed, his figure disappeared like a ghost.
The smell of blood had yet to disperse from the woods.
Ye Yun circulated Turtle Breath Stillness, concealing his aura until it was like that of withered wood and stubborn stone. His footsteps were light as a feather, each one landing precisely in the gaps between fallen leaves without making the slightest sound. A hundred yards ahead, the burly masked man fleeing in disarray staggered onward, intermittent trails of blood gleaming with an eerie dark light beneath the moon.
The pursuit lasted roughly half an hour before the trees ahead suddenly thinned. Through the gaps between the branches, Ye Yun saw a clearing in the woods—Sun Yu stood there with his hands behind his back, his ink-blue brocade robe glinting coldly in the moonlight. The burly masked man knelt before him, quietly reporting something.
"Trash!" Sun Yu suddenly flew into a rage and kicked the masked man to the ground. "Two 8th Rank martial artists, leading twelve Blood Blade Guards, and you still couldn't take down a few country constables?"
The masked man struggled to his feet. A crack had split across his bronze mask, revealing the pallid lips beneath. "Young master... a mysterious person intervened... at least 7th Rank strength... Old Seven, he..."
"7th Rank?" A flicker of surprise crossed Sun Yu's gloomy face before turning into viciousness. "Where would a 7th Rank martial artist come from in this godforsaken backwater?" He paced back and forth, his gold-trimmed boots grinding over the dead branches on the ground with a tooth-grating crack.
Ye Yun quietly retreated several steps and took a few pebbles from his robes. These ordinary stones became deadly weapons once he infused them with Essence Qi. He narrowed his eyes, shifting his gaze between Sun Yu and the masked man as he calculated the best angle of attack.
"No matter who it is, those constables must die!" Sun Yu suddenly stopped. He tapped his folding fan against his palm. "Can you still fight?"
The masked man managed a weak nod and was just about to speak when the sound of something tearing through the air suddenly rang out!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
Seven pebbles shot toward the group like meteors chasing the moon, flying in from different angles. The three men in black at the very front had no time to react before their chests were pierced by bowl-sized bloody holes. They fell dead without even managing to scream. The remaining pebbles struck the other four men in black. Only the burly masked man barely managed to swing his broken axe and block one, yet the impact still shook blood from his mouth and sent him staggering backward.
"Enemy attack!" The remaining men in black cried out as they formed a defensive formation, only to see the second wave of pebbles already upon them. This time, Ye Yun had aimed for their throats. Five blood arrows erupted almost simultaneously. The last five men in black clutched their spurting necks and fell in disbelief.
In the blink of an eye, only Sun Yu and the gravely wounded burly masked man remained in the clearing.
Moonlight flowed like water over the corpses strewn across the ground. Sun Yu's expression shifted between dark and bright, and his folding fan had opened at some point, faint green light flowing across its surface. He stared fixedly toward the direction from which the pebbles had come, yet his voice was unexpectedly calm. "Friend, since you've come, why not show yourself?"
Ye Yun slowly stepped out from behind a tree, his black robes snapping in the night wind. He deliberately altered his gait and breathing rhythm, making his identity impossible to discern.
"We had no grudges in the past and no enmity recently." A sinister smile appeared on Sun Yu's face, but his eyes were cold as blades. "You killed so many of my men today. Shouldn't you give me an explanation?"
Ye Yun deliberately lowered his voice, making it hoarse as sandpaper. "You wanted those constables dead. They had no grudge against you either."
"They were nothing but ants." Sun Yu sneered and gently waved his folding fan. "Friend, was it really worth risking your life for them?"
Beneath the moonlight, Ye Yun saw Sun Yu's fingers lightly stroking the ribs of the fan. The tiny movement instantly put him on guard—there was something strange about that folding fan!
"It's those very ants you speak of who protect the peace of Chun'an County." Ye Yun subtly adjusted his position, keeping himself upwind at all times. "They have families and friends too. What gives you the right to treat human lives as worthless?"
"Naive!" Sun Yu suddenly burst into laughter, his voice brimming with mockery. "Ants are ants. Why should anyone care whether they live or die?" His tone shifted, and killing intent blazed from his eyes. "As for you, with strength at the 8th Rank, or at most the 7th Rank, are you really going to throw your life away for these ants?"
Ye Yun said no more. He drew his long saber, fully releasing the aura of an 8th Rank peak martial artist. The blade gleamed coldly beneath the moonlight, while the fallen leaves around him stirred without wind and spiraled away in every direction.
"Interesting." Sun Yu closed his folding fan, solemnity finally appearing on his face. "Looks like I'll have to stretch my muscles today."
Before his words had even faded, his figure suddenly blurred, leaving behind only an afterimage. The real Sun Yu had already appeared at Ye Yun's left, his folding fan stabbing straight toward Ye Yun's throat like a sword! Three fine needles glowing blue sprang from the tip of the fan ribs, clearly coated in deadly poison.
Ye Yun swept his saber across to block. Sparks flew in all directions. His heart tightened in secret—Sun Yu's speed was more than thirty percent faster than that of an ordinary 7th Rank martial artist! If he had not been prepared, that strike would have taken his life.
The two exchanged more than ten moves in an instant, their saber flashes and sword shadows slicing down every tree within a ten-yard radius. Sun Yu's techniques were sinister and treacherous, targeting the lower body and vital joints. Ye Yun, meanwhile, fought steadily and solidly, using the basic saber techniques from the True Martial Secret Manual to respond. They were not flashy, but every move was deadly.
After a head-on clash, the two retreated three steps each. Several slashes had torn open Sun Yu's brocade robe, revealing the golden-thread soft armor beneath. The sleeve of Ye Yun's robe had also been cut open by the fan ribs, but fortunately, his flesh remained unharmed.
"You're not an ordinary 8th Rank martial artist." Sun Yu's breathing was slightly labored, uncertainty filling his eyes. "Who exactly are you?"
Ye Yun did not answer. His saber momentum suddenly changed. This time, he used the saber intent recorded in the True Martial Secret Manual. The long saber traced a perfect arc through the air, and wherever its edge passed, the air let out an explosive cry as though unable to bear the strain.
Sun Yu's expression changed dramatically as he raised his folding fan with all his strength to block. With a crisp crack, the fan ribs forged from refined steel were cleaved apart by the saber! The saber's momentum did not diminish. It carved a wound deep enough to show bone across his chest, tearing through the golden-thread soft armor as easily as paper.
Pfft—
Sun Yu spat out a mouthful of blood and staggered backward. Fear finally surfaced in his eyes, and all his former composure vanished. "Wait! I can give you..."
The saber flashed, and Sun Yu's voice abruptly stopped. His head flew high into the air, an expression of disbelief still frozen on his face. His headless corpse swayed twice before crashing heavily to the ground.
Ye Yun sheathed his saber and turned toward the burly masked man, who had long since been frightened senseless. The 8th Rank martial artist sat collapsed on the ground, his broken axe lying beside him, despair filling his eyes beneath the bronze mask.
The masked man shuddered all over before suddenly letting out a shrill laugh. "You killed Sun Yu... Hahaha... you're finished! The Sun Family will never let you go, and neither will that lord..."
The saber flashed again, and the laughter abruptly ceased.
Before you continue