Zhang Dahu held his breath, his face tense.
Looking for trouble?
Should he sneak off and alert the other Constabulary Offices? He had a feeling Lord Shen was about to be slapped to death by that brute.
Chen Ji also sensed something was off. Could it be that the man had only paid lip service to his intentions, and had actually come to save face for Thin Ascetic?
"Well?"
Butcher Zhang tilted his neck. His thick, calloused fingers plucked the grass stem from his mouth.
Shen Yi watched him in silence. The man's gaze was guileless, without the slightest hint of provocation—only a surging, burning desire to fight.
He slowly turned sideways and let out a breath. "Come."
The instant the words left his mouth, Butcher Zhang shot out a leg. A stone lock weighing three or four hundred pounds flew like a pellet from a slingshot, whistling through the air as it hurtled toward the upright figure!
The attack was so imposing and so fast that no one nearby had time to react.
Shen Yi glanced at the courtyard wall behind him, clenched his right hand into a fist, and spun around to punch. Beneath his knuckles, the stone lock exploded into dust.
"I can tell now. You really do care about your silver."
The limestone briefly obscured their vision, but the absurdly massive figure had already appeared behind the young man.
Two thick arms lashed down like iron chains. If that blow landed, both shoulder blades would likely shatter even more completely than the stone lock.
Shen Yi remained composed. He dipped slightly, evaded the man's whip-like strike, then drove his elbow upward with the force of his whole body, smashing it into Butcher Zhang's stubbled chin.
With a muffled thud, he finally showed a hint of surprise.
Butcher Zhang staggered back two steps, making the whole courtyard tremble. He rubbed his chin, then grinned broadly as though nothing had happened. "Quick reflexes."
That elbow strike could shatter a demon's hard bones, yet it had only forced him back two steps.
The others couldn't see what was going on, but Chen Ji's pupils contracted.
Just yesterday, Lord Shen had kicked the tiger demon flat onto the ground, coughing up blood. What kind of monster was this fat man?
"..."
But that wasn't why Shen Yi's thoughts had shifted.
He had infused that elbow strike with the aura from his acupoints. He hadn't expected to take the man down in one blow, but... how had this martial artist from Qing Prefecture taken the hit without channeling any aura?
As the thought crossed his mind, he sprang into motion. With the aid of the Spirit Snake Eight Steps, he moved like a specter.
Butcher Zhang was incredibly quick, yet his enormous frame came with unavoidable drawbacks. He couldn't even see his toes when he looked down, and his field of vision was somewhat narrow.
But there was still no panic in his eyes. He let Shen Yi's fists rain down on him, his greasy skin as tough as a hundred layers of cowhide.
Seizing his chance, he reached to his waist with a huge hand and drew his dark Butcher Knife. At a speed invisible to the naked eye, he slashed viciously toward the ground.
Under the force of the blow, the Butcher Knife once again missed.
Instead, Shen Yi seized the opening while Butcher Zhang couldn't pull back in time. He raised a foot and kicked him in the waist, sending his enormous body crashing to the ground.
The Niu Brothers darted aside like startled rabbits.
"Not enough! Not enough!"
"Your boxing is so crude. What good is it no matter how well you use it? To be honest, it's barely enough to loosen my muscles."
Butcher Zhang clambered to his feet, covered in dust. His gaze fell on Shen Yi's waist, and he licked his lips. "Draw your blade, quick! I saw it yesterday. Don't think you can hide your moves from me."
At that, Shen Yi rubbed his wrist, then reached for the hilt with five fingers.
He'd thought they were only sparring, but the man was so solid that there really wasn't much point in continuing with just the Cloud-Parting Long Fist.
In the next instant, silver light streaked across the sky with a trail of crimson mist!
"Now we're talking!" Butcher Zhang finally grew excited and crossed his arms to meet the strike.
The long blade came down with a clear clang, like iron striking iron. A white mark appeared on his greasy skin.
"Is this a turtle that's become a demon?" Chen Ji's eyes widened, his breathing quickening.
But the smile on Butcher Zhang's face gradually faded. He stared at his arm. "Fine blade work..."
Before he could finish, the long blade came crashing down in an unbroken series of strikes, trailing a ferocious Killing Intent.
Butcher Zhang raised his arms to block three more blows in succession. When the fourth blade came down, he suddenly rolled like a donkey, evading it in a clumsy tumble.
With everyone watching, he waved both hands repeatedly. "Stop! Let me catch my breath!"
Shen Yi slowly came to a halt.
Chen Ji still hadn't figured out what was going on. How had the fight ended almost as soon as it began?
His gaze swept over the butcher's raised arm, and he felt a sudden chill. The earlier strikes had all landed in the same spot. Of course, that only proved how skilled Shen Yi was with his blade.
What truly shocked him was that the place where there had been only a white mark was now clung to by several strands of crimson mist. After just a few breaths, the bone was already faintly visible.
Beads of sweat the size of beans broke out on Butcher Zhang's forehead. He endured the pain and circulated his aura, slowly driving out the crimson mist. Only after a long while did he look up and let out a relieved breath, marveling aloud:
"That's not the sort of trick a good person would use."
"I like it!"
Shen Yi frowned, puzzled as to why the man hadn't used his aura to defend himself sooner.
Butcher Zhang had already jumped to his feet, patting his belly as he called out, "What do you think?"
Shen Yi nodded. "Your body-tempering skills are powerful."
"Want to learn?" Butcher Zhang asked, his gaze shifting to Shen Yi's saber.
"Lord Shen, you mustn't!" Chen Ji was usually scrupulous about the rules, but even he couldn't help speaking up at that.
The relationship between the imperial court and the martial sects was far more complicated than most people imagined.
Once you accepted something from them, it wasn't so easy to walk away.
"Tsk, what are you getting so worked up about?"
Though the constable had interrupted him, Butcher Zhang wasn't angry. He smiled magnanimously. "I came here with an ulterior motive, and I admit it wasn't very honorable. But I'm not going to harm Constable Shen."
He strolled over to Shen Yi and said quietly, "Did you figure out your blade technique from the Demon-Subduing Blade Technique yourself?"
At that, Shen Yi looked at him in surprise.
"Heh, I've seen it too many times. I recognized it at a glance." Butcher Zhang raised an eyebrow. "Even if you gave me the Demon Suppression Division's martial arts for free, I wouldn't dare lay a hand on them. But your own original technique? There aren't so many rules about that. As it happens, I've also grasped a little something. How about we trade?"
Shen Yi felt inexplicably tempted.
If he had the other man's physique, then even if he encountered another Snake Woman like last night, why would he need to panic?
A moment later, he turned to face Butcher Zhang and chose to be honest. "I have no objection, but you might not be able to learn this blade technique."
Butcher Zhang paused, then chuckled in his throat. "Of course I know. Such a vicious technique isn't something a court official like you could have encountered. You most likely grasped it from the dregs of some demon's Beast Essence."
"Only someone with nowhere else to turn—or a deranged martial arts fanatic—would do something so foolish."
"Just trade with me. Why worry about whether someone else can learn it?"
Seeing the two men discussing martial arts, Chen Ji ushered the remaining constables, who were staring at one another, out of the courtyard. He followed them outside and gently shut the gate.
(The chapter has ended.)
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