Steel Edge Style

Chu Hengkong was struck by a strange sense of disorientation. He had not expected the enemy to announce his background and name even at a time like this, as though they were not in the midst of a firefight, but sparring in a martial arena.

"No style. Chu Hengkong."

Yet he answered as well, as naturally as breathing. The two men facing each other with blades in hand shifted their feet slightly. Gestures, footwork, center of gravity, expressions... They watched with their eyes, listened with their ears, even sensed with their noses, feeling and guessing at the enemy's true nature beneath his blade. Then they drew their swords at the same time!

Chu Hengkong opened with a mighty horizontal slash. The forceful wind from the swing alone knocked over the chips on the surrounding gambling tables. Amid the clang of metal against metal, Du Muyan maintained a high guard and stepped forward, steadily blocking the opening strike. When Chu Hengkong's first blow missed, he turned his blade and slashed again. The stroke was shorter but swifter, while Du Muyan merely tilted his longsword slightly and took another step forward.

The sight was rather strange. Du Muyan was clearly the one defending with his blade, yet in terms of footwork, he seemed to hold an overwhelming advantage, pressing forward step by step. Chu Hengkong retreated half a step, his gaze growing more solemn. He feinted another slash with his third strike, but just as the blades were about to meet, he pressed down with his wrist and turned it into a thrust aimed at Du Muyan's throat.

But Du Muyan's blade moved as well, knocking the tip downward as casually as a tap. His move had come a beat later, yet would achieve its result sooner, because the two men had targeted different things. Before Du Muyan's throat could be pierced, his blade would first slash apart Chu Hengkong's sword hand.

White blade-light surged up like a bolt of silk. Chu Hengkong released his right hand and leapt back, using only a tentacle to coil around the sword and sweep it upward. Du Muyan's sword traced a smooth U-shaped arc, blocking again from an angle. His defense was watertight. Behind Chu Hengkong stood a shattered gambling table. He planted a foot on it and sprang up, his tentacle gripping the blade as he brought down a slash from above. Though below him, Du Muyan answered with the same vertical slash. His blade carried unbelievable force, and at the first contact, it knocked the white sword flying!

Blade-light joined into a black disc-like shape. Du Muyan reversed his grip and changed his move into a diagonal slash, a line of sword radiance sweeping straight toward Chu Hengkong's waist. Chu Hengkong arched backward in an iron bridge, narrowly evading it. With a flick of his fingers, two Water Bullets shot toward Du Muyan's eyes. Du Muyan charged forward against the Water Bullets with his sunglasses, slashing again, and Chu Hengkong abruptly straightened and swung his blade in reply!

After the instant their blades collided, both men retreated half a step. Chu Hengkong's right hand went numb. The recoil that penetrated deep into his bones reminded him of the training from his childhood, striking mountain rock. He looked into the enemy's eyes behind those sunglasses.

"Striking after yet arriving first. Fine swordsmanship."

The enemy did not possess Ji Huaishu's monstrous strength, yet he could block every one of Chu Hengkong's slashes. That was not something a good sword alone could explain. That troublesome recoil seemed to be some exquisite sword art. That sword art, together with his judgment and physique, made up this man's strength. He had yet to display any special ability, but Chu Hengkong was certain he was a Skillful Hands. Neither Faint Light nor Cornerstone could do this. Only Skillful Hands could wield such exquisite swordsmanship.

"You're very capable. You haven't been injured yet." Du Muyan spoke calmly. "Taking such a great risk to infiltrate alone—how many Flow Pearls did they pay you?"

"For free." Chu Hengkong smiled. "I'm a senior inspector!"

He kicked the scattered chips on the floor flying. His tentacle-held blade hid within the chaos as it thrust three times in succession. Du Muyan blocked the thrusts with a steady defense, but after the blade-light came a powerful gust from a leg. Taking advantage of the confusion, Chu Hengkong spun and kicked, the top of his foot striking Du Muyan's blade. This time, that rock-solid defense was shaken. Du Muyan, sword and all, was kicked into the corridor to the side. Chu Hengkong switched to gripping the sword with his right hand and charged after him, only to run headlong into a sharp sword thrust the moment he entered the corridor.

That thrust came too quickly—so quickly that even he had no time to dodge, because Du Muyan had deliberately taken the hit and feigned weakness to unleash this killing move. Yet Chu Hengkong did not dodge either. He tilted his head and clamped the blade between his head and shoulder, then raised his sword and slashed again with a desperate, life-risking ferocity!

The blades tore through flesh. Both sides withdrew their weapons at once. A bloody gash deep enough to show bone had opened across Chu Hengkong's shoulder; a moment slower, and his throat would have been cut. Du Muyan's sunglasses slid diagonally down his face, revealing a slightly shallower sword wound that marred the ordinary features beneath.

The use of a killing move that failed to work marked the end of their probing. Neither man held back any longer, both going all out. The shriek of colliding blades rang out like a sudden downpour. Blade-light flooded the corridor, and the slash marks splitting the walls resembled the claws of some enormous beast.

The one retreating was Du Muyan. Chu Hengkong's offensive had suddenly turned dense and relentless. Every slash was as fast as he could make it, yet also as vicious as possible. He was clearly the infiltrator and assassin, yet he fought with the crazed desperation of a trapped beast. Chu Hengkong did this deliberately, because Du Muyan surpassed him in the realm of defensive counterattacks.

When fighting against an art of striking after yet arriving first, one absolutely could not be slow. Slow down, and one would fall completely into the enemy's rhythm. You could only be fast—launching mad attacks with life-risking ferocity, using a tyrannical and brutal offensive to smash through that rock. Only then would a chance of victory emerge.

Their exchange continued to the twentieth round. They fought as they moved, reaching a T-shaped intersection. Du Muyan had also seen through his opponent's intent. He changed strategies, switching to a low guard with his sword held in reverse, using tiny upward flicks and thrusts to conserve strength. Chu Hengkong's heavy slash was easily blocked, and that recoiling force came again. Suddenly, both his feet left the ground. His elongated tentacle held the sword out in front to obstruct Du Muyan, while he himself ran along the wall toward the side.

Du Muyan's undefended upper body was completely exposed. In midair, Chu Hengkong clenched his fist and punched straight down at Du Muyan's head. Du Muyan suddenly released his left hand from the sword and raised it to block. Brown light gleamed in his palm! His left hand, transformed into rock, chopped toward Chu Hengkong's fist!

A dull impact rang through the corridor, like an iron shovel striking stone while quarrying a mountain. Chu Hengkong withdrew his tentacle and flipped to the ground, broken nails falling into blood. Du Muyan's left hand let out an explosive crack, and his petrified index finger snapped off and fell to the floor.

It was an exchange where both sides suffered. Du Muyan had lost the crucial index finger, but Chu Hengkong had broken two finger bones as well. Du Muyan silently gripped his sword and let the brown radiance spread over its blade. His Skillful Hands ability was "Petrification," turning even his weapon into an indestructible rock blade.

Chu Hengkong raised an eyebrow. "You failed to catch me off guard."

"I was overconfident." Du Muyan admitted it frankly. He had intended to use his Skillful Hands ability only when it came time to decide the victor, but Chu Hengkong's surprise attack had forced it out. "But there's no need to be so happy either. Or does the slaughter itself delight you that much?"

Chu Hengkong froze for a moment. Only then did he realize he was smiling, his mouth stretched wide, his excitement like that of a wolf discovering prey.

"It's in my nature," he said. "With swordsmanship as good as yours, it's a waste to be an assassin."

"I'm only a bodyguard. You're the assassin." Du Muyan looked at his sword. "The stench of blood on you is frighteningly heavy. Even holding a new blade, you carry the smell of rust. Can someone who kills as easily as hemp be an inspector too?"

"Want to hear a story?" Chu Hengkong smiled. "Forget it. I'm not used to telling it to a third person."

They turned their heads at the same time, looking toward the inconspicuous branch off the side of the T-shaped intersection. It was a dead end that could be seen through at a glance, containing nothing but a door leading to the pantry. The blind alley was cooperatively quiet as well. Yet the murderous intent in their gazes was so fierce that they seemed to glare colorless ripples into that dead end.

A "piece of cloth" that blended into its surroundings peeled itself off the wall. Behind the invisible cloth, the man in a white formal suit awkwardly waved his hand.

"Just a passing peddler," Kaning said. "Please continue, gentlemen. Don't mind me."

Chu Hengkong grabbed a chunk of rubble and hurled it at him. Kaning pulled out a talisman and gave it a shake, transforming it into a large azure banner that shielded him. The stone struck the banner but bounced back. Du Muyan caught it one-handed and hurled it back with force. Seeing Du Muyan attack with the stone, Kaning looked astonished. "Master Du Muyan, look carefully! You've got the wrong person!"

Du Muyan could not be bothered to waste words on him. Making a living with blades and fists did not mean everyone lacked brains. He had long felt that the City Lord's Manor's attack had gone too smoothly. Now it seemed the one pulling strings behind the scenes was almost certainly Kaning. The rubble struck the water banner again, only to shatter into pieces.

Kaning strode out, holding the water banner in one hand to shield himself while tossing a silver metal sphere with the other. The metal ball bounced upon hitting the ground, extended eight sharp legs, and became a lifelike spider. The metal spider opened its mouth and spat a beam at Du Muyan. Du Muyan cut the beam apart with one slash, then became entangled in combat with the nimble spider.

Chu Hengkong seized the chance to attack Kaning himself, but his blade was knocked away by the water banner. Kaning flipped his hand and produced a revolver, firing three shots in succession. Chu Hengkong turned his head to evade, and the bullets grazed past the tip of his ear.

"You must be that famed new inspector." Kaning put away the revolver and took out a handkerchief. "My name is Kaning. I'm a merchant. Pleased to meet you."

"I'd recognize you even without the fire." Chu Hengkong snapped out his tentacle whip. "You brought the Glowing Corpse in the swamp, didn't you?!"

Kaning remained utterly composed, smiling without the slightest sense of danger. With a flick of his wrist, the handkerchief turned into a rapier with the texture of cloth. He fought Chu Hengkong's tentacle whip with the rapier while tossing out two more metal insects to join the encirclement around Du Muyan. This man carried an astonishing number of Relics. He was practically a walking armory. Relics treasured by every sort of person in the city were disposable items to him—used once, then discarded.

"Of course. It was me." He admitted it without the slightest concern. "But I was also the one who delivered that bottle of blood. Shouldn't you consider stopping? This time, we're on the same side!"

Chu Hengkong had not expected him to state his own deeds so openly. His attitude was so calm it bordered on arrogance; from the bottom of his heart, he simply did not regard the two men present as worthy of notice. Yet they truly had no way to deal with him. Du Muyan was tied up by the metal insects and could not spare a hand, while Chu Hengkong had no means for breaking through the water banner's defense for the moment.

"I had no intention of interfering in your duel. Can you stop now?" Kaning took off his hat and dusted it off. Sheltered by the water banner, he appeared especially at ease. "With the battle situation so tense, I wouldn't advise wasting time here. Your methods are useless against me..."

Before he could finish, Du Muyan sheathed his sword with a reverse motion. The sound of the blade entering its sheath was as clear as flowing water. He gazed deeply at Kaning behind the water banner, murderous intent carved into his eyes like scars.

He drew a blade condensed from killing intent!

Brilliant blade-light stabbed into both men's eyes, and the rough blade burst forth with the sharpness of steel. That slash instantly cut apart three metal insects. It pierced through the water banner's defense, directly severed the flagpole, and cut Kaning's legs into two pieces along with it!

Kaning's eyes flew wide open. He reached down to touch the wound on his lower body, as though he had yet to realize that he was injured.

"Terrifying," Kaning said. "I almost got bisected at the waist..."

He suddenly began to laugh, as though he had just told a joke that greatly pleased him. A scorching wave of air formed with his laughter, surging like a storm and forcing both Chu Hengkong and Du Muyan back. They saw that his severed lower body had transformed into a mass of blue-green fire.

Laughing wildly, Kaning raised his arms and scattered sparks toward the towering edifice of sin, then lifted a hand to put on his top hat.

"I underestimated you, Master Du Muyan! It wouldn't be convenient for me to wade into these muddy waters, so I'll take my leave first!" Kaning's voice rose high. "One final friendly suggestion for Inspector Chu—Maiweia's summoning array is on the top floor. Keep wasting time, and Black Moon will swallow you!"

As easily as breathing, he burned through the floor and descended through the building wrapped in blazing flames. His blue-green fire spread at an inconceivable speed, as though everything material would become fuel for the flames. Chu Hengkong wanted to seize the opportunity to go upstairs and investigate, but Du Muyan held his sword across the path before him, the killing intent in his eyes as hard as raw iron.

"Leave now, and I won't kill you," Du Muyan said.

Chu Hengkong grinned. "Looks like Kaning wasn't lying."

In an instant, battle erupted again. The two men, who had only just called a truce, resumed their slaughter. Burning chunks of wood fell from above them. The blue flames had burned through the floor, revealing the sight of the upper level as well. Surrounded by the same raging fire, a blond knight was battling a horde of demons!