Half a Scroll of Autumn Leaves, Half a Scroll of Wind; One Sword Frosts Nineteen Provinces

"Oh? Another one delivered to our doorstep." The one on the left licked his lips, revealing a sinister smile. "This one's blood and vitality are even..."

Before he could finish, the spear had already thrust out.

A straight thrust—simple and direct—aimed directly at the Black-Robed Man's throat.

The Black-Robed Man let out a strange laugh and twisted his body in an unnatural manner. At the same time, his right hand shot out, its five fingers curled into claws as they grabbed at Yang Guyun's chest.

His nails were pitch-black and gave off a faint gleam. They were clearly poisoned.

Yang Guyun neither dodged nor retreated. He turned his spear and swept it horizontally.

The Black-Robed Man was forced back, but the other Black-Robed Man had already pounced like a tiger. His hands spread wide, his nails extending to three inches as they stabbed toward Yang Guyun's back.

At that moment, a sword stabbed out.

Its chill was like the night wind of late autumn, instantly enveloping the entire courtyard.

The two Black-Robed Men both stiffened, and the blood-red color in their eyes faded somewhat.

"What the hell is that?" one of them cried out.

In that instant of hesitation, Yang Guyun's spear strike arrived.

The third Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

Third Soul Skill, Quake!

The spear shaft vibrated at high frequency. As he thrust, a roar burst through the air.

"Pfft!"

The spear tip pierced through the first Black-Robed Man's chest.

It had not simply pierced through him—it had shattered him.

The instant the spear tip made contact, its vibrating force reduced his heart to pulp.

The Black-Robed Man screamed and crashed to the ground.

Seeing that things had gone wrong, the other Black-Robed Man turned to flee.

But the moment he rushed out of the courtyard, a white-clad figure appeared before him.

Zhou Qiubai stood at the mouth of the alley with his sword in hand, blocking his path.

"Move!" the Black-Robed Man roared, his black nails clawing over like bolts of lightning.

Zhou Qiubai did not meet the attack, but neither did he retreat.

As he unleashed the Floating Cloud Nine Palace Steps, he circled to the Black-Robed Man's side and rear like a phantom, then slashed with his sword.

The White Clothes Sword flicked out, its blade sweeping across the Black-Robed Man's neck.

"Sshhk—"

Blood spurted out like a fountain.

Yet the Black-Robed Man did not die.

He clutched his neck as black mist surged from the wound, which actually began to heal slowly.

"An immortal body?" Zhou Qiubai frowned.

"Hehe~ You can't kill me..." the Black-Robed Man cackled. His wound had already healed more than halfway.

Just then, Yang Guyun arrived from behind and thrust out his spear.

The spear tip pierced through the Black-Robed Man's back and emerged from his chest, bringing out a spray of black blood.

The Black-Robed Man screamed, yet still did not collapse.

He grabbed the spear shaft with one hand, attempting to snap it.

"Watch out!" Zhou Qiubai cried.

Yang Guyun's eyes turned cold. The second Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up.

Second Soul Skill, Swift.

The spear's speed abruptly surged. With a flick of his wrist, the spear shaft spun inside the Black-Robed Man's body.

The Black-Robed Man finally stopped moving.

Yet strangely, the corpse did not fall. It remained standing ramrod straight.

Black mist churned wildly from its wounds, as though something was brewing within.

Alarm bells rang in Zhou Qiubai's mind. "Retreat!"

The two of them fell back at the same time.

The instant they withdrew, the Black-Robed Man's corpse exploded with a boom!

Dense black fog instantly spread, covering an area of thirty yards.

Countless shrill screams rang out from within the fog, like wronged spirits wailing in grief.

"Poison fog!" Yang Guyun shouted. Soul Power erupted beneath his feet, dispersing the black fog around him.

Zhou Qiubai activated his Dustless Soul Skill. Sword qi swirled around him, keeping the poison fog outside.

But those shrieks bore straight into their minds, disrupting their concentration.

"There are more accomplices!" He looked into the depths of the fog.

A third figure slowly emerged from the black mist.

No, more accurately, it floated out.

It was a woman, her face concealed beneath a black robe.

She floated in the air, and the strangest thing about her was her eyes.

Like the others, they had no pupils—only a sheet of blood-red.

"You... killed my blood slaves..." the woman said, her voice harsh as if her vocal cords were lined with sandpaper. "Then use your blood... to repay me..."

The moment she finished speaking, she raised both hands.

The black fog surged and transformed into countless black tentacles, winding toward Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun from all directions.

Zhou Qiubai spread his sword form, sword qi forming a ring as it knocked away the tentacles one by one. But there were too many of them, impossible to cut down completely.

Yang Guyun was even more direct. His spear moved like a dragon, shredding the tentacles apart.

Yet the severed tentacles regenerated, like an endless flood.

"This won't work," Zhou Qiubai said quietly. "She's draining our Soul Power."

"Find the real body." Yang Guyun was concise.

Zhou Qiubai nodded and fully activated Listen to Rain, searching for the woman's position amid the countless shrieks.

But the woman drifted unpredictably, appearing and vanishing within the black fog. She was difficult to lock onto.

"We need to force her out." Zhou Qiubai suddenly had an idea.

His sword form changed. Rather than defending, he began attacking.

Empowered by Flowing Wind, he charged straight into the depths of the black fog.

The White Clothes Sword turned into a streak of silver light and stabbed toward the woman's position.

The woman sneered as even more bloody hands surged toward him.

But Zhou Qiubai neither dodged nor evaded. With a point of his sword tip, Soul Power erupted.

The sword tip stopped three yards before the woman, leaving behind a faint imprint of Sword Intent.

The mark was so faint it was almost impossible to detect, but within the perception of Listen to Rain, it shone like a bright lamp in the night sky.

"Brother Yang, three yards ahead to the left!" Zhou Qiubai shouted.

Without hesitation, Yang Guyun threw his spear.

The spear tore through the black fog, shooting straight toward the marked location.

The woman tried to dodge in terror, but the spear was too fast.

She barely twisted aside. The spear tip grazed her shoulder, splashing black blood.

She was injured.

The woman shrieked as the black fog churned wildly.

But this time, Zhou Qiubai had already locked onto her position.

He swung his sword.

That desolate intent struck directly at her mind.

Her movements stalled, and the blood-red color in her eyes faded somewhat.

In that moment of delay, Yang Guyun's spear returned.

He caught the returning spear, and the first and second Soul Rings beneath his feet lit up simultaneously.

The spear struck, never to return.

Wherever its tip passed, the black fog immediately dispersed, as though space itself had been torn apart.

The woman tried to flee, but there was nowhere to run.

The spear tip pierced through her chest and nailed her to the wall behind her.

"Urgh..." She looked down at the spear shaft protruding from her chest. The blood-red color in her eyes rapidly faded, revealing her original amber pupils.

"Why..." she murmured. "I only wanted to live..."

Zhou Qiubai stepped forward and looked directly into her eyes. "But we want to live too."

The woman gave a bitter laugh. "If I don't drink blood, I'll turn into a monster. You'll never understand..."

Her voice gradually weakened until it vanished completely.

Her corpse slowly slid down. The spear tip withdrew, bringing out one final stream of black blood.

The black fog began to disperse.

Zhou Qiubai and Yang Guyun stood in the courtyard, looking at the three corpses in silence.

After a long while, Zhou Qiubai finally sighed. "Search them. See if there are any clues."

They did not understand, nor did they wish to.

A life for a life, a debt repaid with money—those had been the rules since ancient times.

It did not matter if she begged for mercy today. Even if Heaven itself begged for her, they would not accept it.

She wanted to live, and they wanted to live too, so they would not invent some excuse about her deserving death.

If they had lost this time, they would have accepted it.

But they had won.

There was nothing worth keeping on the first two Black-Robed Men, only several bottles of blood-red pills that gave off an evil aura. Zhou Qiubai destroyed them directly.

The woman, however, carried quite a few more items.

A black pouch containing some Gold Soul Coins, several letters with scrawled handwriting whose contents could not be made out, and...

A ring.