My Things

Tonight, the sky was clear and bright, without a wisp of lingering cloud. A brilliant moon hung high in the deep blue heavens, its snow-pure light bathing the whole of Taihe Imperial City.

Blue brick eaves and vermilion walls, pavilions and towers, all lay steeped in soft radiance. The night was tranquil and elegant.

Su Qingyang stood alone upon a glazed rooftop, raising his eyes to leisurely admire the moonlight. For a moment, he seemed quite at ease.

He had left Purple Pavilion Manor again, intending to visit Liu Qingni of the Secret Bureau.

He would also hand over the clues he had tortured from Yan Shengheng, asking her to investigate the origins of the Blood Shadow Tower and, while she was at it, look into the massacre of the city in Barbarian Prefecture.

Hmm... there seemed to be rather too many "while I'm at it"s...

Perhaps he should just hand Yan Shengheng over to her as well. It ought to count as some merit for Liu Qingni.

As he pondered intently, two figures soared up from a secluded alley in the distance.

One fled ahead while the other pursued from behind. Both used their inner force to execute lightness arts, constantly leaping between alley walls, rooftops, and the tips of tree branches.

And the direction in which the two were moving happened to lead straight toward Su Qingyang.

Su Qingyang frowned slightly. Having his rare mood for moon-gazing interrupted clearly displeased him.

Very soon, the two had arrived before him.

The man in front was an ugly old man. The one behind was hidden entirely beneath a black robe, revealing only his right hand's five pale fingers, each adorned with a ring.

Judging by the sheer strength of their auras, both were at the Innate Realm.

Two Innate Warriors were fighting, yet the disturbance they created was slight. They were likely wary of the experts within the imperial city.

At that moment, the ugly old man noticed Su Qingyang atop the roof. His gaze shifted, and a plan sprang to mind.

He pulled a cloth-wrapped object from his robes and hurled it directly at Su Qingyang, shouting at the same time:

"The item's in hand! Quickly, split up and retreat!"

At the same time, his inner force surged and forcefully redirected his body. He leaped rapidly toward another direction, every bit the picture of someone treating Su Qingyang as an accomplice.

Su Qingyang glanced sideways and reached out to catch the incoming object.

Since it had been given to him!

Then even if it had not been his before, it should be his now.

"Give me the item." Seeing this, the black-robed man landed directly on the roof ridge.

He had initially been uncertain, wondering when that old ghost had acquired an accomplice. Yet when he saw Su Qingyang not refuse but instead reach out and catch the object,

his expression immediately turned cold.

"Your matter can wait." Su Qingyang said without even raising his head.

"Courting death!" The black-robed man's eyes turned ice-cold in an instant. With a movement, he pounced like an eagle sweeping through the sky.

His pale hand turned over. As he thrust forward, it resembled a pristine white lotus bud yet to bloom, descending upon the lowered head of Su Qingyang.

Great Compassion Lifeless Lotus—the palm was the lotus.

There was not the slightest trace of Sha Qi within the black-robed man's incoming palm strike.

When the palm struck forth, it was like the great palm of a Buddha. One palm extinguished all living beings; such was the natural compassion of lifelessness.

The spiritual intent contained within it filled opponents with confusion. Those weak of will would likely abandon all resistance and wait for the palm to descend.

At that moment, Su Qingyang frowned slightly, then gently raised his eyes and fixed them on the pristine white lotus.

He extended his right hand, passing directly through the white lotus as though it were nothing. Before the black-robed man's horrified eyes, he seized his throat and lifted his entire body into the air.

"How could this be—"

The black-robed man could scarcely believe his eyes. If he had lost after a fierce battle, that would have been one thing, but what kind of defeat was this?

"Damn it, old bastard!"

"If you were giving away an item, you could've given me a good one!"

Su Qingyang tossed down the completely empty wooden box, then casually flung the black-robed man aside and said coldly:

"If you're smart, you'd better stay here obediently."

Just as the black-robed man was wavering between shock and doubt, Su Qingyang's figure suddenly vanished from the spot.

Elsewhere, after throwing out the cloth-wrapped empty box, the old man had kept his head down and fled without looking back.

He reached into his robes and felt the object resting safely inside, then glanced back at the two figures, now nowhere to be seen. The old man revealed a cold smile.

"A green little brat is still a green little brat. How could he compare to this old ancestor? I only hope the boy is of some use and can hold that man off for a while."

Extreme savagery and bloodlust churned across the old man's wrinkled face.

With that thought, the old man turned around and flashed around the corner of the alley ahead, leaping into another long street.

Yet after he had dashed only several yards,

he suddenly came to a halt.

There,

beneath moonlight silver-white as frost, a young figure stood in the middle of the long street, which should have been empty and silent, blocking his escape route.

"You... how could it be you?!"

The old man's bloodthirsty grin gradually froze, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

The young man before him had a face like polished jade and wore plain robes, still peerlessly handsome. He immediately recognized him as the youth he had used as a shield atop the rooftop moments ago.

Su Qingyang looked at him expressionlessly, then extended his hand and said indifferently:

"My thing. Give it to me!"

"Your thing?" The old man stood there blankly for a moment, then understood. Earlier, he had falsely claimed they were accomplices and thrown out an empty box.

So this young man had naturally taken it to be his own possession.

The old man hesitated. He faintly sensed that he had kicked an iron plate.

As he wavered in uncertainty,

Su Qingyang frowned slightly. "Troublesome. Do I have to take it myself?"

Boom!

Sand and gravel upon the ground slowly rose into the air.

Su Qingyang's figure flashed, vanishing from the spot in an instant.

"Wha—"

In that final moment, the old man's expression changed drastically!

The might of a fist that emerged within his spiritual senses instantly surpassed the limits of what he could react to.

That was...

weight!

Incomparable weight, like the weight of an entire mountain gathered into a single strike!

Su Qingyang's figure appeared above the old man.

One fist struck out!

A terrifying pillar of force swept forth like a crimson ocean, collapsing and scattering backward in an instant—

Boom!

Amid the thunderous roar, the old man exploded. Flesh and bones were riddled with holes, while a bloody mist filled the sky, at first glance resembling someone escaping through the Blood Escape Technique.

"Refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

Su Qingyang did not even look at the drifting blood mist. Resting quietly in one hand was a palm-sized silver ancient object covered in archaic star patterns.