The Six Doors Arrive

In front of the Chun'an County yamen, the atmosphere was as heavy as the sky before a storm.

With two young constables supporting him, Chen Qingzhou could barely stand. The wound in his chest still throbbed faintly. The old constable's face was as pale as paper, yet he kept his back straight, his gaze fixed like a torch on the far end of the long street. Behind him, more than thirty constables stood in formation, every one solemn, hands resting on their sword hilts. Even County Deputy Zhang, usually the slickest of them all, had wiped the ingratiating smile from his face and was nervously rubbing his hands together.

Dust billowed in the distance, and the clatter of hooves approached like muffled thunder. Twenty-six riders swept toward them like a black whirlwind. Every horse was a black steed, and every rider wore dark, close-fitting clothes and carried a standard-issue long saber at his waist. Most striking of all was the gray-haired elder at their head. He did not gallop; instead, he strolled along before the cavalry, as leisurely as if walking in a courtyard. With every step, the ground trembled faintly. He was using his own astral energy to keep the entire troop in perfect formation!

What formidable cultivation... Ye Yun's pupils contracted. The pressure this elder exerted was several times stronger than Prefect Zhou's. He was at least a peak 6th Rank expert! More terrifying still were the twenty-five riders behind him. The weakest was at the peak of the Ninth Rank, and three of them had depths to their auras like the sea. They were clearly 8th Rank martial artists.

The cavalry halted precisely ten zhang from the county yamen, every movement perfectly synchronized—a display of superb training. The gray-haired elder's gaze flashed like lightning as it swept over the assembled constables. A disdainful sneer tugged at his lips.

County Deputy Zhang hurried forward with an ingratiating smile. "Welcome to Chun'an, esteemed sirs! I have prepared a banquet to welcome you—"

"Get lost!" A middle-aged rider spurred out, pointing his riding crop at County Deputy Zhang's face. "The Sun Family's Seventh Elder is here. What gives you the right to speak?"

The riding crop's wind grazed County Deputy Zhang's face, leaving a bloody welt. He dared not protest and could only keep smiling obsequiously. "Yes, yes... This subordinate was out of line..."

The gray-haired elder known as the Seventh Elder slowly raised a hand, and the middle-aged rider immediately fell silent and retreated. The elder's gaze settled on Chen Qingzhou. "Are you the local constable chief?"

Chen Qingzhou endured the pain and clasped his hands in greeting. "Your subordinate Chen Qingzhou pays his respects to the Seventh Elder."

"I heard that one of my Sun Family's disciples, Sun Yu, died in Chun'an a few days ago." The Seventh Elder's voice was calm, yet it carried a suffocating pressure. "Tell me what happened."

Chen Qingzhou took a deep breath and recited the account he had prepared. "A few days ago, Young Master Sun Yu was investigating the cause of Young Master Sun Gan's death and searching for the things stolen by the bandits. So we escorted Young Master Sun Yu to the bandits' stronghold to search for them... We found two bronze boxes. Afterward, Young Master Sun left first with his men, while we took another route. Unexpectedly, we were ambushed by black-clad men..."

A glint flashed in the Seventh Elder's eyes. "What kind of boxes?"

"About a foot long, with strange patterns on the surface," Chen Qingzhou answered cautiously. "Young Master Sun considered them important and kept them himself. As for what was inside, this subordinate does not know."

The Seventh Elder stroked his beard and pondered. He knew Sun Yu had been ordered to find those two items. It seemed he had indeed succeeded. But why had he suddenly met with disaster? Had it been a case of thieves turning on one another?

"Could you identify the style of the black-clad men who ambushed you?"

Chen Qingzhou shook his head. "They were masked, and their techniques were strange, unlike ordinary bandits. We fought desperately to escape, but lost six brothers." He pulled open his collar, revealing the bandaged wound. "This subordinate nearly lost his life as well."

At that moment, County Deputy Zhang interjected, "Seventh Elder, please see reason! Chun'an is a tiny county. How could we dare harm a young master of the Sun Family? It must have been those black-clad men—"

"Shut up!" the Seventh Elder suddenly roared, his voice like a crashing thunderclap. County Deputy Zhang staggered back three steps as if struck, then spat out a mouthful of blood.

The pressure of a 5th Rank martial artist burst forth without restraint! The constables felt as if an invisible mountain had come crashing down on them. Several of the weaker ones collapsed outright. Chen Qingzhou's wound split open, instantly soaking his bandages with blood, but he gritted his teeth and held on.

Standing among the crowd, Ye Yun pretended to struggle against the pressure, but a storm raged in his heart. The Seventh Elder's cultivation was even more terrifying than he had estimated! If not for Turtle Breath Stillness having reached perfection, he might have exposed his true strength on the spot.

"You fought desperately to escape?" The Seventh Elder advanced at an unhurried pace. With every step, the pressure grew heavier. "How could trash like you escape from the hands of an expert who could kill Sun Yu?"

The constables staggered and swayed. Only Ye Yun and a few Ninth Rank martial artists could barely remain standing. Blood trickled from Yan Xiao Liu's mouth as he rasped, "An expert saved us! A masked knight stepped in and drove off the black-clad men..."

"A masked man?" The Seventh Elder's eyes sharpened. "What did he look like? What techniques did he use?"

"It was... already late..." Yan Xiao Liu answered with difficulty. "He moved too fast. We couldn't see..."

The Seventh Elder suddenly laughed, his laughter steeped in icy malice. "Good. Very good. Since we can't find the killer..." He slowly raised a hand, astral energy gathering in his palm into a blood-red vortex. "Then you can all join him in the grave!"

The shadow of death fell over everyone! Chen Qingzhou's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He tried to throw himself forward, but the pressure pinned him in place. County Deputy Zhang had already collapsed to the ground, a wet patch spreading across his trousers.

At this critical moment—

"Which Sun Family is so arrogant as to slaughter imperial officials in broad daylight?"

A clear voice rang out from the other end of the long street. It did not sound loud, yet it effortlessly pierced the Seventh Elder's pressure. Everyone felt the weight lift from their bodies; that suffocating oppression melted away like snow beneath the sun!

The Seventh Elder's expression changed abruptly. He whipped around.

At the far end of the street, six figures approached at a measured pace. All wore dark teal official robes of a style quite unlike those of ordinary constables: crossed collars, cloud patterns embroidered on their cuffs, and rhinoceros-horn belts around their waists. Most conspicuous of all, each bore an embroidered, lifelike xiezhi beast on the chest.

At their head was a middle-aged man, around forty, with a face handsome as jade and three long strands of beard falling across his chest. He looked like a scholar, but whenever his eyes opened or closed, a keen light glimmered within. His left hand rested on the bronze hilt of the sword at his waist, and he walked with easy composure.

Behind him were five men and women of varying ages. The most eye-catching was a woman in her early twenties, her dark hair swept up high and her features as lovely as a painting. At her waist, however, hung two curved blades, one long and one short. Beside her was a chubby young man who looked harmless, but every step he took left a footprint an inch deep in the ground.

Ye Yun's heart shook. These six gave him an even more terrifying feeling than the Sun Family's people! The scholar-like middle-aged man's cultivation was unfathomable, at least 4th Rank! The other five also had deep, powerful auras. Even the weakest, the chubby youth, was at the 6th Rank!

"The Six Doors!" The Seventh Elder cried out, the arrogance vanishing from his face in an instant and giving way to deep wariness. "I didn't know you esteemed officials were coming. Forgive me for failing to welcome you..."

The middle-aged man smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping over the constables sprawled on the ground. "Old Sun, it's been years. You've certainly come a long way. Now you even dare lay hands on imperial officials?"

Cold sweat streamed down the Seventh Elder's face. He hurriedly clasped his hands. "Lord Zhuge, you jest... This old man was merely joking with these officials..."

"Joking?" Lord Zhuge raised an eyebrow. "Then how about I joke with you?" He casually lifted a hand, and a streak of purple lightning flashed from his fingertip.

Crack!

The black steed beside the Seventh Elder—the finest of the lot—suddenly had all four legs broken. It let out a mournful whinny and collapsed! More terrifying still, no one present had seen how Lord Zhuge struck!

The Sun Family's people went deathly pale. A few of the younger disciples even reached instinctively for their sword hilts, but the Seventh Elder stopped them with a fierce glare.

"Lord Zhuge, please calm your anger..." The Seventh Elder bowed and forced a smile. "It is only that a member of my family was brutally killed. This old man lost his head for a moment..."