Obsession

Under the shroud of night, Blackrock City was sharply divided.

The Inner City blazed with brilliant lights and bustled with activity, while the Outer City lay in pitch-black silence.

Amidst it all.

In a dim corner of South City, two figures engaged in a fierce battle under the moonlight.

"Lady Jiang, you sure are persistent! Those old fogies in the Inner City merely lost some pocket change-do you really need to put a four-hundred-liang bounty on my head?"

One of the figures ricocheted off a wall like a ghost, leveraging the surface for momentum. He was lean and gaunt, and the occasional sweep of moonlight illuminated his face, revealing a distinct black scar on his forehead. It was none other than the wanted criminal Liu Wu.

"Silver and coin are merely external possessions. Did you really think the big shots of the Inner City would hunt you down to the ends of the earth just for the few coins you stole?" The figure in close pursuit ahead responded coldly.

She wore a crisp, tailored blue constable uniform, her features cold yet striking. Reflected in the moonlight, she looked like a celestial fairy from the Moon Palace. She was the newly appointed Chief Constable of the City Guard Office, Jiang Yue.

In truth, the big shots of the Inner City were furious about this matter. If she could flawlessly resolve it, she had a chance of quickly being promoted to Deputy Constable Director, which was why she took capturing Liu Wu to heart. She had personally issued the arrest warrant this morning, and upon accidentally discovering his trail tonight, she hadn't even called upon the other chief constables to join her, all to monopolize the merit.

Without breaking stride, Jiang Yue said coldly, "You touched his concubine-did you really think you could leave Blackrock City alive? Those four hundred liang are the price to bring you back alive! That lord has given his word: to take you back alive, personally castrate you, and hack you into a thousand pieces!"

Liu Wu let out a lewd, bizarre laugh. "If you hadn't mentioned it, I almost forgot. That concubine's touch was truly soul-stirring. The old fogie couldn't satisfy her himself, so I kindly stepped in to fulfill her-it was a good deed, to begin with. Why on earth is he so angry instead?"

Jiang Yue remained silent, launching into an unyielding flurry of swordplay. Her technique was dense as rain, every single move pressing directly upon Liu Wu's vital acupuncture points.

Liu Wu inwardly cursed his luck. He had assumed this young lady of the Jiang family had no real skills, otherwise she wouldn't have stepped down from the Inner City to serve as a mere chief constable. Yet upon clashing, he discovered her mastery of swordsmanship was exceedingly high, and she had even forged an aura. Her Body-Tempering Method should have already reached the Flesh Training stage.

Furthermore, whether it was the erratic agility of her footwork or the formidable force embedded in her sword strikes, she beat him—still trapped in the Skin Grinding tier—until he gasped for breath.

Barely a dozen rounds later, seven or eight new wounds marred Liu Wu's body. His left ribcage in particular bore a puncture straight through by Jiang Yue's sword tip, fresh blood instantly staining his night-walker garb crimson.

"Vile woman! Did you really think I was afraid of you?!"

Seeing his imminent demise, Liu Wu roared, a flash of viciousness crossing his eyes.

Gritting his teeth fiercely, his left hand swiftly fumbled inside his robe, pulling out a strange pink sphere before hurling it hard onto the ground between them.

Jiang Yue's expression changed drastically, and without a second thought, she drew her sword and leaped back several zhang.

Bang!

The pink sphere exploded upon impact, and a sweet, cloying fragrance accompanied by a massive plume of pink smoke instantly enveloped a radius of several zhang.

Though Jiang Yue retreated extremely quickly, the moment the smoke burst, she inevitably inhaled a tiny mouthful.

The moment a wisp of smoke entered her nose, Jiang Yue instantly felt an inexplicable, wicked fire surge violently from her lower abdomen.

Her cold, fair cheeks slowly flushed with an unnatural rosy tint. A wave of intense heat swept through her meridians across her entire body, and even the hand gripping her sword grew slightly weak.

"Passion Drug?"

Jiang Yue bit her lower lip to force herself to stay somewhat lucid, her eyes filled with fury.

"Hahaha, Constable Jiang, this is a potent aphrodisiac worth a thousand gold in the black market! You have no idea how much effort it took me to get my hands on it."

Clutching his bleeding ribcage, Liu Wu backed away while staggering, letting out a wildly arrogant and ferocious laugh:

"This drug is overwhelmingly potent. Even a Qi-Blood Fourth Stage martial artist will lose control if they accidentally fall victim to it, let alone someone like you at the Qi-Blood Third Stage! If you don't immediately sit in cross-legged meditation right here and use your qi and blood to suppress it, the drug will take full effect in less half an incense stick of time... By then, I'm afraid the dignified Lady Jiang will have to randomly grab some wild man off this main street and beg him for pleasure!"

At this, a toxic glee flashed in his eyes as he babbled with ferocious mockery:

"To tell you the truth, the Inner City lord's concubine fell for this very drug. Back then, that wild urge made her beg me to fulfill her! Today, I'll leave this blessing for Lady Jiang to slowly enjoy..."

"Shameless wretch!" Furious, Jiang Yue tried to raise her sword in pursuit, but the wicked fire in her body instantly flared up due to the circulation of her qi and blood. A sudden soreness swept through her legs, nearly causing her to collapse to the ground.

She knew Liu Wu was by no means exaggerating. To forcefully fight under the influence of such a vicious aphrodisiac would only accelerate the drug's effects.

Watching Liu Wu stumble away into the darkness, Jiang Yue had no choice but to bite her teeth hard, sheath her longsword, and cross her legs right where she stood.

She closed her eyes, concentrating all her qi and blood to suppress the boiling, scorching heat surging within her.

A full quarter of an hour passed.

Jiang Yue let out a long breath, the unusual flush on her face finally fading gradually.

Although the medicinal potency was not entirely eliminated, as long as she refrained from engaging in immediate, fierce life-or-death combat, she would have no problem moving freely for a short time.

She opened her eyes and, relying on the faint moonlight, gazed at the few drops of dried blood on the ground.

"You won't escape."

Jiang Yue snorted coldly, stood up, and vanished into the night along the trail of bloodstains.

To ensure she could capture this man alive, she had long since coated her sword with Qi-Dissolving Powder bought from the black market.

The drug itself posed no fatal threat, but it could enter the meridians through wounds. As long as the victim engaged in strenuous activity, the potency would accelerate its spread, causing the martial artist to gradually grow weak and limp until they ultimately lacked even the strength to lift a sword.

Deep into the night.

Not a single glimmer of light pierced the silent, deep alleyways. Thick clouds and fog obscured the moon, plunging street after street into an inky darkness where one could not see their own fingers.

Right amidst this pitch-black expanse, Liu Wu stumbled forward in a frantic run. He panted heavily, one hand tightly pressing against the wound on his flank as warm blood continuously seeped through his fingers.

"Vile woman! Don't let me catch a break, or I'll... torment you to death!"

He gritted his teeth, his eyes burning with resentment.

Though he had forced Jiang Yue back with the potent secret drug, he knew full well that such a trick couldn't stall her for long; she could track him down at any moment via the blood dripping from his body.

Liu Wu gritted his teeth, forcefully ignoring the waves of dizziness brought on by blood loss and pain, and vigilantly scanned his surroundings.

Soon.

A weathered brick-and-soil low wall came into view.

Liu Wu took a deep breath, kicked off hard with his feet, and vaulted soundlessly into a courtyard like a night cat.

Landing, he held his breath and swiftly assessed the surrounding environment in the faint moonlight.

The courtyard was small and sparsely furnished. A stack of firewood sat neatly in the corner, next to a common coarse-porcelain water vat.

Three rooms stood in total. The room directly ahead looked somewhat aged, the paint on its doors and windows long since peeled away, exuding the rustic poverty of an ordinary commoner's household.

Having worked this trade for many years, Liu Wu possessed a sharp eye. With a single glance, he could tell this was an ordinary Outer City household-devoid of wealth, let alone family guards or attendants.

A poor family like this can't even afford to keep a watchdog. It's just right for hiding out, Liu Wu calculated inwardly.

He could not afford to stay in the completely exposed courtyard any longer; he had to find a place to bandage his wounds immediately, or he would collapse from blood loss before long.

While none of his current injuries were fatal—if he had refined his Body-Tempering Method to the Flesh Training stage, he could forcefully contract his muscles and temporarily staunch the bleeding—as bad luck would have it, his Body-Tempering Method was stuck right at the perfection of the Skin Grinding tier, leaving him reliant on manual methods to stop the flow of blood.

Looking past the main house, Liu Wu fixed his gaze directly on the side room. The door was left ajar without a lock, clearly a place usually used for storing sundries.

Lightening his steps, he walked slowly toward the threshold of the ajar side room. A wave of stale, musty air drifted over, causing his tightly strung nerves to relax a fraction.

Without hesitation, Liu Wu gently pushed the wooden door open.

Yet just as the door pushed halfway open.

A sudden change occurred.

Thud!

From the pitch-black room, a massive cloud of gray-white powder was splashed out without the slightest warning.

Caught completely off guard, Liu Wu-preoccupied with guarding against Jiang Yue tracking his blood trail-never imagined that a poor peasant dwelling lacking even a watchdog would harbor an ambush.

Such a low-blow tactic of throwing dust directly in someone's face was a trick he had long since grown tired of playing as a veteran criminal, yet he had been blindsided by it precisely when he least expected it.

Struck with horror, he threw his head back, closed his eyes, kicked off the ground, and instantly leaped back several paces.

Had he been in his prime, dodging such petty tricks would have been a breeze, but he had just emerged from a fierce battle, the wound on his ribcage was still bleeding profusely, and the relentless loss of blood brought wave after wave of dizziness.

He was still half a beat too slow.

A speck of dust entered his eye, instantly triggering a searing heat and sharp pain.

Liu Wu's heart instantly plummeted to rock bottom. This burning pain, even if not caused by poisonous powder, came from something like potent quicklime.