Walking Heaven Street (13)

Heluo Huaibao flew through the sky and burrowed through the earth without restraint. The government troops had advantages in both numbers and quality, yet could do nothing to him. It was utterly absurd.

But on closer thought, it was not really absurd. The government troops did hold every advantage, but weren't they also certain to win this fight? Here was a veteran expert at the Condensing the Core Stage, perhaps even beyond it, who no longer cared about his life. He was not even hoping to kill some high official or cripple some expert; he just wanted to stab a few more common soldiers to death. What more could you expect?

Viewed that way, it all seemed quite reasonable. The only problem was that Zhang Xing happened to be one of the common soldiers within his reach.

"Lord Zhang, Intendant Cao and Superintendent Niu will be here any moment anyway. Shouldn't we withdraw a little?"

As another Jinwu Guard soldier was skewered into the sky, someone tremblingly asked Zhang Shizhao to withdraw.

"Are you an idiot?"

Left Vice Director Zhang reluctantly took his finger out of his mouth and turned to rebuke him. "If we leave, won't he chase us? Will fewer people die if we hold formation here and stand ready, or if we expose our backs? Besides, Zhengping Ward has already been smashed to pieces. Leaving is easy, but where would we go? To another ward for him to demolish?"

Chancellor Zhang's words made perfect sense, and perhaps precisely because they made perfect sense, he deliberately said them loudly.

But again, sense was sense. It did nothing to stop another Jinwu Guard soldier from flying into the sky.

This time, the little cluster of Jinwu Guard soldiers that had lost two men in succession broke completely and turned to flee. Chancellor Zhang covered his face and turned away, as though unable to bear watching. Sure enough, Heluo Huaibao, who was tangling with Bai Yousi in the air, spotted his chance. He first strained to knock her aside, then charged hard at Sima Zheng, only to use that momentum to swing his long weapon around and turn into a downward thrust.

An expert of his caliber, recklessly expending his true qi in a sweeping attack, instantly caught several Jinwu Guard soldiers in a raging tide of true qi. The two at the rear were cut in half at the waist, armor and all, while the others were flung into the air, their fates unknown... Watching across a great hole in Heaven Street, Zhang Xing felt he had entered the world of Dynasty Warriors. For a moment, he was dumbstruck with terror, his hands and feet numb.

What were you supposed to do if you transmigrated into a Warriors game and became a common soldier?

Yet it was this overly greedy strike that finally gave Bai Yousi and Sima Zheng an opening.

Sima Zheng pursued with his long halberd and made a level sweep, heavy with force. White light swept up the surrounding raindrops and sent them flying dozens of paces away, while that same white light forced Heluo Huaibao to leap upward to evade it. But Bai Yousi had already hidden herself behind Sima Zheng and jumped a hair's breadth earlier. A blade of golden light fully twenty feet wide flashed forward with her.

Caught off guard, Heluo Huaibao hurriedly mustered his qi to block, but only managed to stop its cutting edge before his chest. He had not had time to marshal his qi properly and could do nothing against the tremendous force following behind it. In midair, he seemed to take a heavy hammer blow and was smashed backward, crashing straight through the ward wall behind him.

Sima Zheng dared not delay and rushed in, but Heluo Huaibao had already sprung up after taking the blow and hurled his spear straight at him, forcing this "Second Dragon" and Bai Yousi close behind him to dodge hastily.

"Fine skills, both of you."

Given a moment to breathe, Heluo Huaibao swung far away, sweeping up a large shield and a spear from the ground as he went, then landed atop a damaged stretch of ward wall in the distance. The corners of his mouth were split, he was panting, and his upper garments were almost entirely torn away. He was clearly injured, yet showed not the slightest discouragement. Instead, he laughed. "You could wound me so easily. It seems trading my life for one of yours won't be easy... But a pity, a pity! At this point, do you think I'm still afraid of getting hurt? What does it matter if I can't take your lives with me?!"

Before he had finished, cries of alarm suddenly rose throughout the scene.

Heluo Huaibao had abruptly turned, clamped his great shield and spear around a stretch of ward wall several yards wide beside him, and actually swept it into the sky. His white River-Cutting True Qi churned the wall to pieces in midair, then sent it falling toward Zhang Shizhao and the others.

Sima Zheng immediately doubled back and released the same kind of true qi, trying to push aside the shattered wall. Bai Yousi said nothing, gripping her sword in both hands and driving it straight at Heluo Huaibao's chest, forcing him to stop directing his true qi and leap awkwardly away.

Yet however hard the two tried, the exploding bricks and stones still struck quite a few people, leaving those below in a sorry state. Some suffered agonizing, serious injuries; whether they could be saved was uncertain.

One chunk of masonry smashed straight through the side gallery, letting rain splash onto the face of the Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs.

"He's wounded now. Send another man." Seeing that Bai Yousi seemed to have gained a slight edge again, Zhang Shizhao wiped his face and gestured with his chin at a Vermilion Sash before him. "Keep him tied down at all costs. Don't give him a chance to breathe... Every time he catches his breath, someone dies. It's too damaging to morale."

The Vermilion Sashes exchanged looks, plainly unwilling to move.

Zhang Shizhao sighed, then pointed directly at one and demanded, "What's your name?"

With no choice, that Vermilion Sash steeled himself and shot into the sky. But no sooner had he risen than Heluo Huaibao smashed him back down with his shield. He fell into the great hole, sending up a splash several yards high.

At this sight, Lord Zhang, one of the empire's governing ministers, could only bite the joint of his forefinger again and stop urging anyone forward. Zhang Xing and Qin Bao had each picked up a large shield to shelter two or three people. Taking the opportunity, Zhang Xing passed his shield to Li Qingchen beside him and peered over the edge of the great hole. He saw clearly that the Vermilion Sash, though injured, was in no danger of dying. He was simply reclining in the water below. Who knew how many pounds of fish he could feel around for in the underground channel today?

While Zhang Xing was peeking, Heluo Huaibao pulled off another surprise attack, killing a Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry rider who had lost his nerve and tried to flee into Zhengping Ward behind them. This time, out of concern for her colleague's life, Bai Yousi held back at the last moment and failed to weaken Heluo Huaibao again.

Hearing another scream and sensing the agitation and unease around him, Zhang Xing began to find it unbearable... That suffocating feeling of waiting in class for the teacher to call his name made him intensely dissatisfied. And being called on here was not as simple as being made to stand. People would die.

"Twelfth Young Master Li."

Zhang Xing tried hard to keep his voice from shaking so much. "Aside from that Crouching Dragon Seal and experts of the same level... is there no way to deal with someone like this?"

"Of course there is." Beside him, Li Qingchen's voice trembled slightly as he held up the shield. "I know what you mean... but how can we form up according to true qi attributes now? We don't even know our own people well, let alone the Jinwu Guard. And the Jinwu Guard is a complete mess. They're nothing like the Upper Five Armies!"

"Besides formations?" Zhang Xing pressed. He had roughly gathered that the army possessed formations designed to counter experts, but could not organize them now. He could not be bothered to ask about such useless details at a time like this. "Is there nothing else?"

"Actually... whatever kind of expert someone is, once his true qi runs out, he can't use it anymore..." Two or three paces away, Qin Bao, who was also holding a shield over two Jinwu Guard soldiers, suddenly spoke in a low voice. "And every thrust that bastard makes, every block, uses up true qi!"

"Then... why aren't we having the Jinwu Guard shoot him with crossbows?" Zhang Xing suddenly demanded loudly.

"Because the inspector is still up there..." Qian Tang, whose cultivation was slightly higher and who had not hidden beneath a shield, finally could not hold back from behind the two great shields.

"What does that have to do with the inspector? She'd only be expending true qi too." Zhang Xing immediately retorted without turning his head.

"And we'd really struggle to hit him." Qian Tang fell silent for a moment, while Qin Bao earnestly explained again. "He's flying all over the sky..."

"Then everyone should shoot together. Every bolt counts." Beneath the shelter of the shield, Zhang Xing remained dissatisfied. "So many Jinwu Guard soldiers, so many crossbows. If they all shoot and use up three or four strikes' worth of his true qi, three or four fewer people die. Even using up one strike's worth could keep one more person alive!"

"You don't understand. If it really worked, Lord Zhang would have given the order already." Qian Tang looked back as he struggled to keep his voice low.

"I understand." Zhang Xing's expression flared with anger. "I understand what you mean. I understand everything... What's there to avoid saying? It's nothing but rank and hierarchy! The Vermilion Sashes and Black Sashes could do a great deal, but they have to protect Lord Zhang, so they don't move at all. And if we shoot with all our might to save ourselves, we'd only use up three or four strikes' worth of his true qi and lose three or four fewer people. But those three or four worthless lives aren't worth a special order from a chancellor of the Southern Office! I fucking fled Fallen Dragon Shoal carrying my companion's corpse on my back. How could I not understand?!!"

Horrified, Qian Tang fearfully turned to look to his side again. A few dozen paces in that direction stood the side gallery where Zhang Shizhao sat. Yet whatever they said beneath the cover of their shields, Left Vice Director Zhang Shizhao remained seated beneath the gallery with his face covered, utterly motionless, as though he had heard nothing.

The several Vermilion Sashes, Black Sashes, and Crouching Dragon Guards beside this deputy national-level leader, however, had long since turned in unison toward the source of the voices.

As for the surrounding Jinwu Guard soldiers and Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry, they had been staring at these two talking shields from the very beginning.

"That Vermilion Sash down below doesn't need to protect Lord Zhang either. Why did he hide down there after taking just one blow?"

The three figures in the sky, like gods and demons, still wheeled back and forth. Amid the nearly frozen atmosphere, Li Qingchen suddenly stamped his foot and shot the question back at Zhang Xing, as though he had only just discovered that the Vermilion Sash below was feigning injury. Then, without waiting for Zhang Xing to answer, he supplied the answer himself. "Because he's afraid to die... Look at it another way: that man's strength up there is waning. How many more can he kill in the next little while? But whoever shoots first will draw him over! If the Jinwu Guard fire together, perhaps three or four more will survive, but whoever fires that first bolt may die for the others! In circumstances like these, who would risk himself for someone else?"

"Unless we all shoot together!" Qian Tang looked back at the other patrol riders and spoke through gritted teeth.

Though rain was falling, most people present had sharp ears and eyes. How could they fail to realize that these three or four men, seemingly talking among themselves, were actually trying to stir up and persuade others? Their last few remarks, in particular, almost carried an angry accusation against their superiors.

Several Vermilion Sashes and Black Sashes looked around at their subordinates, feeling considerable unease... Unlike the Jinwu Guard, the Jing'an Directorate's organization inherently made for close relationships between superiors and subordinates. They did not want to bear the reputation of "abandoning their men," either. Some even recognized the voices of Twelfth Young Master Li and White Ribbon Qian.

Yet after exchanging looks, they fell silent beneath Zhang Shizhao's undisguised, icy glance.

Ultimately, rank made all the difference. Only the circumstances made it inconvenient to have you beheaded. Otherwise, what right did you have to hide beneath a shield and mock a minister of the court?

Those below remained utterly still, but a moment later, Sima Second Dragon found an opening in the sky. His long halberd pressed past the shield and sliced across Heluo Huaibao's arm, sending a mist of blood blooming through the air.

Yet drawing blood did not weaken Heluo Huaibao. Instead, his savagery erupted. With one hand, he braced his shield hard against the halberd biting into his flesh, while stabbing back at Sima Zheng with the spear in his other hand. He clearly meant to trade his life for an injury.

Without the slightest hesitation, Sima Zheng abandoned his halberd and turned away. Evidently, like his opponent, he intended to go down and take a fresh weapon from the Jinwu Guard soldiers rather than stake his life against him.

But this also gave Heluo Huaibao an opening. He hurled his spear to drive Bai Yousi back, then swung the halberd around and charged fiercely, smashing himself shield-first into a cluster of Jinwu Guard soldiers beside the great hole in Heaven Street. They were only a dozen or so paces from where Zhang Xing and the others sheltered. Zhang Xing saw clearly how they burst apart under the impact, truly as though struck by a cannonball. Some even jumped straight into the hole in the street, preferring to fall into the underground channel wearing armor rather than face this ferocious outlaw.

Even so, these men failed to escape with their lives.

Heluo Huaibao rolled upon landing and used his River-Cutting True Qi to sweep the great halberd around. As his hand rose, clothes and armor were sheared clean through, blood gushed like springs, and seven or eight Jinwu Guard soldiers died on the spot.

Even the two great shields above Zhang Xing and the others, a dozen or so paces away, had half their raised surfaces sliced off by the remnants of his true qi.

The previously bustling area around the great hole in Heaven Street abruptly sank into a strange stillness. For a moment, there was only the patter of fine rain.

For no other reason than that the scene was too bloody.

Heluo Huaibao alone, drenched in a rain of blood and riding his momentum, simply tore off his upper garments, exposing his wounded shoulder on one side and snow-white muscle on the other. Shield in one hand and halberd in the other, he stood amid the government troops and howled at the sky. "You brats think you're worthy of killing me?! Without Cao Lin or Niu He here, who can kill me?!"

That roar seemed finally to bring the surrounding government troops to their senses. Many Jinwu Guard soldiers and Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry immediately fled in disarray, throwing the scene into chaos. Even Sima Zheng and Bai Yousi, who had intended to engage him, found their own subordinates blocking them. Forced to hold back, they looked somewhat dispirited.

"What the fuck are you yelling for?!"

Just then, Zhang Xing, finally unable to endure any more, suddenly shoved aside the damaged shield above his head and snatched a crossbow from a fleeing Jinwu Guard soldier in front of him. He braced it, stepped down to cock it, then raised it and fired a bolt straight at Heluo Huaibao. "It's just killing you, isn't it? If you want to die so badly, I'll go first!"

Only a dozen or so paces separated them. The bolt caught even Heluo Huaibao off guard, all the more so because everyone around him had been fleeing. Only when it struck the snow-white left shoulder that had not been splashed with blood and pierced his flesh did this utterly reckless expert of the age instinctively release his true qi and shake it loose.

Yet a wound had unquestionably opened on that one clean shoulder, and blood seeped out.

Heluo Huaibao froze slightly, scarcely able to believe it. He looked down at the wound before curiously turning to see who had raised a crossbow to shoot him.

But he had no time to think further. Sima Nan and Bai Yousi seized the opening and flew in almost together, a spear and a sword driving straight at him from front and rear. Heluo Huaibao dared not stay and hurriedly rose into the air. Having escaped death, Zhang Xing felt relieved and had already thrown all caution aside. He stepped down to load a second bolt, then fired at the figure in the sky without even looking.

Only after loosing the second bolt did he clench his teeth, turn back, and shout:

"I've gone first! What have you got left to worry about? Have you got any guts at all? If you've got guts and a crossbow, then all of you fire with me!"

Several nearby Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry hesitated no longer. They seized steel crossbows and fired wildly into the sky. Even among the small Jinwu Guard formations farther away, some began shooting.

"Lord Zhang." A Vermilion Sash withdrew his gaze from Zhang Xing and made a deferential gesture, speaking softly.

"Since someone dares to lead the way, have the whole army fire! Save those three or four lives! Lest someone say I treat human lives like grass!" Zhang Shizhao glanced at the Vermilion Sash and spoke coldly. "But anyone who abandons his weapon and flees is to be killed without mercy! Go supervise the troops!"

Yet the order had barely been issued, and Zhang Xing and the others had only fired their third volley, when a cold laugh, seemingly tinged with anger, abruptly came from the sky. "You can't even keep the lads safe from a mere fugitive, Lord Zhang. Isn't that a bit much?"

The Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry looked somewhat bewildered at these words, but the Jinwu Guard, who made up most of the government troops, plainly received a tremendous boost to their morale. Some even rose to cheer, disregarding their earlier disgrace.

Soon, the Brocade-clad Patrol Cavalry understood as well. As those words ended, an immense stream of Longevity True Qi, seemingly solid and dozens of yards long, wound across the sky. Like an azure dragon, it coiled in midair, swept up all three battling Condensing the Core Stage experts, and smashed them down onto Heaven Street.

The true qi dispersed. Bai Yousi and Sima Nan were each flung more than a hundred feet away and barely managed to steady themselves. Though disheveled, neither seemed seriously harmed. Heluo Huaibao, meanwhile, still stood on Heaven Street with his arms folded, but his weapons were gone. Dark red blood stained his entire body, and several crossbow bolts protruded from him at varying depths.

At the same time, a tall, middle-aged man in a dragon-embroidered brocade robe and a warrior's cap, with a short beard beneath his chin, had already appeared beside him as though from nowhere. His hand rested on the shoulder of this adopted son of the former Supreme Pillar of the State, Heluo Fu... He looked as though he were greeting an acquaintance on the street.

Everyone knew that Superintendent Niu He must have arrived.

"Old Niu." Zhang Shizhao was somewhat disheveled himself, but rose at these words and warned him solemnly. "I'm a scholar, the Left Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs. Faced with something like this without warning, I've already handled it very well... Aren't you and Lord Cao the ones truly derelict in your duties? If either of you had come sooner, would we have been reduced to such a state? Speaking of which, why hasn't Lord Cao come?"

Niu He was just about to speak when Heluo Huaibao, already half covered in blood but still standing there with his arms folded, suddenly gave a snort, then struggled to smile. That very movement made Niu He's expression turn icy. He merely removed his hand from Heluo Huaibao's shoulder, and blood abruptly began seeping from his entire body.

Though the sight was uncanny, once the blood reached Heaven Street, it was no different from the other blood on the ground. The rain swept it straight into the underground channel.

Niu He waited a short while, until the blood-soaked man beside him had bled dry and collapsed with a crash. Only then did he stare at the reigning chancellor before him and tell the truth. "Lord Zhang, we've both fallen into a trap."

"Oh?" Zhang Shizhao stroked his beard.

"Just now, while Heluo Huaibao was wreaking havoc on Heaven Street, Gao Changye, a former subordinate of the former Duke of Ping, Gao Lü, led a mere thirty-five outlaws openly into Xiūyè Ward. They killed the Minister of Justice, the Southern Office's other Lord Zhang, Zhang Wenda, as easily as carrying out an execution!" With his hands behind his back, Niu He let out a heavy breath. "Lord Cao and I received the call for help together. Halfway here, he sensed something wrong and discovered what had happened. He's already turned toward Xiūyè Ward."

The people around them clearly had not taken it in. Even Zhang Shizhao merely stroked his beard and remained silent for a long time.

Zhang Xing, however, suddenly seemed to think of something and looked at Zhang Shizhao in surprise, only for Bai Yousi to shift slightly and block his view with her body.

"This was an open stratagem, a coordinated action in north and south, not a feint east to strike west!" After stroking his beard in thought for a moment, Zhang Shizhao offered a more convincing explanation. "Could we possibly have ignored Heluo Huaibao? As for Minister Zhang, Heaven truly granted him too few years."

On Heaven Street, Zhang Xing felt no current of warmth, only an expanse of cold.

PS: Happy New Year's Day, everyone.

And while I'm at it, let me offer up a new book that started a week earlier-"What Do You Do When the Heroine Runs Out of the Book?" It's a sweet romance with a single heroine, going premium this week... Very strange. It updates less than I do, yet its results actually surpassed mine for a while... Also, barring any surprises, I'll be going premium next week.