Before anyone could see how he began, Xie Jinhuan shot forward from beside the carriage, crossing thirty feet in an instant!
Lin Wanyi was still frantically thinking what to do when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a black afterimage carrying a streak of cold light flash past Fu Dongping.
By the time she could see clearly, the figure had already stopped beside the stables, holding the Zhenglun Sword in a reverse grip in his left hand, beads of blood rolling off its dark blue-green blade!
Fu Dongping was no mediocrity, but his Horse-Slaying Saber had barely cleared its sheath by two inches. He stood frozen in place, caught in the posture of stepping forward to draw.
Drip, drip...
Blood splattered, gradually forming a pool on the ground!
The courtyard fell silent too. The Market steward who had come running from a distance to investigate, and even Lin Wanyi and Jia Zheng, stood rooted to the spot, their eyes full of bewilderment.
After pausing for an instant, Xie Jinhuan spun a sword flourish with his left hand:
Swish, swish, swish~
Clang-
The three-foot Green Edge returned to its sheath in the blink of an eye!
"You couldn't even draw your saber, yet you dared enter Jianghu and make a spectacle of yourself?"
Thud~
Holding his Horse-Slaying Saber in both hands, Fu Dongping staggered a step and dropped to his knees. Looking down, he saw blood gushing like a spring from his left ribs. A single stroke had sliced through his waist and abdomen, and his eyes filled with utter disbelief.
He raised his saber and tried to struggle to his feet, but with his waist and abdomen cut to ribbons, how could he muster any fighting strength? He desperately propped himself up with his Horse-Slaying Saber, only to topple to the ground amid his spasms.
Jia Zheng, who had braced himself for a formidable enemy, had initially assumed this exceptionally handsome young gentleman was a pretty boy the family head had found. Seeing the assassin dispatched in an instant, his gaze turned to shock, and he thought:
What was going on?
He was dead, just like that?
Only then did Lin Wanyi realize that this menacing assassin was simply finished. At the sight of that flowing, effortless sheathing flourish, even her heart skipped a beat, and she murmured inwardly:
So dashing!
No wonder, even though Martial Artists were the least useful of the Five Great Schools, and swordsmen the weakest fighters among Martial Artists, young maidens and married women still preferred swordsmen. When it came to looking handsome, they simply stood a whole realm above everyone under heaven.
Judging by that terrifying sword speed and the ease with which he handled it, he probably had the strength of a fourth-grade Martial Artist.
He was already this terrifying without using a Dragon Blood Pill to fortify his physique. If he did, wouldn't he go straight into third grade...?
Good heavens, a twenty-year-old third-grade Martial Artist! If the Pill King found out, wouldn't he get on his knees and beg Xie Jinhuan to become his son-in-law...?
Wait, if he was this strong, why had I set a three-year deadline?
Three months would have been enough...
Realizing she had vastly underestimated the Two-Headed Dragon's strength and set the deadline far too long, Lin Wanyi was filled with regret!
Xie Jinhuan wasted no more words. After sheathing his sword, he went over, crouched down, and searched Fu Dongping:
"Talk. Who sent you?!"
Fu Dongping lay on the ground, his body convulsing incessantly. He tried to struggle up but could do nothing. Faced with Xie Jinhuan's question, he showed some backbone before death and gritted out:
"Jianghu rules, I have nothing to... Aah-!"
His scream rang through the courtyard.
Holding the Heavenly Gang Mace, Xie Jinhuan thrust it into the wound in his abdomen, scooped out his intestines, and lifted them before Fu Dongping's face:
"As a man of Jianghu, you ought to die with some dignity. I'm no righteous hero. Say one more useless word and I'll cut off your cock and stuff it in your mouth. Then you'll really make a name for yourself in Jianghu. Are you going to talk or not?"
?
Jia Zheng had been about to come forward to help, but this behavior, like that of a Jianghu archfiend, frightened him into retreating, his eyes horrified.
Lin Wanyi instantly came to her senses too. Even as the Witch Cult Demoness, she hurriedly turned her head away, thinking, And he called that a benevolent weapon?!
Fu Dongping had slaughtered people like cutting hemp, but he truly had not expected this seemingly upright son of a county commandant to use such vicious methods, without so much as a change of expression, as though it were an everyday meal.
Perhaps believing this lunatic really would commit such a fiendish act, Fu Dongping instantly lost his backbone and answered through a mouthful of blood:
"It... it was a mysterious man. He said you raided his warehouse yesterday and cost him his goods..."
"Me?"
Xie Jinhuan's icy expression froze. He had thought this was a straightforward business feud turned murderous. Only now did he discover that the assassin had actually come for him!
Were these Demon Bandits out of their minds?
He had slaughtered three hardened bandits, Chen Yuan included, in a blink, and today they had sent this small fry to take revenge?
Could they not know what had happened at the warehouse...?
If they didn't know, how had they found his location?
He had only left prison last night...
Xie Jinhuan's head was full of questions, and he wanted to ask more, but unfortunately, he had assumed this was a petty crook sent to assassinate Lin Wanyi. He had struck too hard and left little time for interrogation.
With his waist and abdomen sliced open and even his intestines pulled out, Fu Dongping had no hope of survival. After a few struggles, he stopped breathing.
Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan could only hurriedly search his body.
But apart from the enormous sum of three hundred taels, Fu Dongping carried only a small, empty black bottle.
Xie Jinhuan examined the little black bottle, realized it had contained poison, and turned around:
"There really isn't an antidote. What now?"
Lin Wanyi was an inheritor of the Gu Poison Sect and could refine away the poison herself. Poisoning her was no better than throwing meat buns at a dog.
But it would not do to reveal her abilities in broad daylight. She leaned against the carriage, her face flushed and beads of sweat rolling down her forehead:
"It's all right. I have a way to neutralize the poison myself. Jia Zheng, hurry and report this to the authorities. Xie Jinhuan, take me back to the Medical Clinic first."
Jia Zheng dared not delay and hurried off to summon the constables.
Xie Jinhuan tossed the empty black bottle aside, put away his windfall, and returned to Lin Wanyi.
Since the carriage was covered in poisonous powder and could not be driven, he scooped Lin Wanyi into his arms, commandeered a random carriage, and headed toward the Lin Family Clinic:
"Do we have time? Should we find a Medical Clinic nearby instead?"
Being carried in his arms like a princess made Lin Wanyi's face turn scarlet, but this was hardly the time to discuss propriety between men and women:
"I'm a disciple of the Gu Poison Sect. I can refine it away myself. Just find me somewhere quiet to rest for a while."
At that, Xie Jinhuan said no more and drove swiftly back the way they had come. After a short distance, however, he realized they were near the Academy, with his home close at hand, so he charged straight into Wencheng Street.
Rumble, rumble...
The blood vessels throughout Lin Wanyi's body were blocked, and bruises even appeared on her arms, only to fade again soon afterward. As she secretly circulated her power to suppress the poison, the carriage suddenly stopped. Xie Jinhuan carried her into Clear Spring Lane and vaulted into a residence.
Taken aback, Lin Wanyi asked, "What are you doing here? The Medical Clinic is still farther ahead..."
"This is my home."
"Huh?"
Xie Jinhuan leaped over Clear Spring Lane and landed inside a residence with two courtyards, then carried Lin Wanyi into the main room in the rear courtyard.
Lin Wanyi glanced around, truly not expecting a bachelor like Xie Jinhuan to live in such a top-tier luxury residence, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold.
But she did not ask for details now. After he carried her into the main room and set her on the bed, she propped herself up, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes to begin refining away the poison.
The poison was so potent that Lin Wanyi was already drenched in sweat. Her glossy black hair clung to her cheeks, her dewy face was as red as an apple, and her dress clung to her body, outlining her lush, graceful curves.
Xie Jinhuan had intended to leave, but he was afraid Lin Wanyi might die, so he could only sit on a stool beside the bed and carefully watch her complexion.
Whoosh~
As Lin Wanyi sat cross-legged and entered meditation, faint white vapor rose from her coiled hair. Although bruises appeared on her tender skin from time to time, they were quickly dispelled and faded.
Between her hands, held one above the other, he could also see eerie green flames stirring. Wisps of black vapor emerged from her palms and flowed into them, then vanished completely.
Blood-Coagulating Powder was extremely poisonous. It could congeal a person's blood, causing clots throughout the body, and ordinary people died upon exposure. Judging by Lin Wanyi's condition, however, she really had no trouble dealing with it.
After watching for a while, Xie Jinhuan inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, picked up Coal Ball to use as a cushion, and kneaded and squished him to pass the time...
Meanwhile, at the County Commandant Guard Office.
Because a "Transcendent Grade greater demon" might have appeared recently, all the constables had been sent out on patrol under military orders, leaving the office rather quiet instead.
Dressed in a snow-white dress with a veil covering her coldly beautiful face, Linghu Qingmo stood at the Morgue entrance, frowning as she watched the coroner examine the corpse. After a whole night without results, she was somewhat distracted, recalling her fight with Xie Jinhuan yesterday.
Although he had touched her breast, her head had been muddled at the time, and she could not even say how it had felt. Strange, at any rate.
Thinking back now, she somewhat regretted pinching Xie Jinhuan's chest in retaliation.
After all, when Xie Jinhuan pinched her, she suffered a great loss. When she pinched a man's chest, wasn't she still the one losing out?
But what was done was done. She would count it as a tooth for a tooth...
The corpse on the plank bed had been fished out of the river after soaking for an unknown length of time, then left in the Morgue for another five or six days. By now, it had swollen and rotted severely into a bloated giant. Never mind its face-it was impossible even to tell whether it was male or female.
Even Liu Qingzhi, who had dealt with corpses for years, was thoroughly sickened by this thing. Standing behind her with cotton stuffed up his nostrils, he urged:
"Lord Linghu, you're injured. Go back and rest. Even if this corpse really is connected to the Demon Bandits, we can't find anything from it. The seniors from the Dan King Pavilion have already examined it."
Linghu Qingmo knew the senior from the Prince's Manor had found nothing, but this corpse was clearly connected to the Demon Bandits. Even if they could not find any clues, surely they should at least establish how the person died? They had no other leads at present anyway. What if this solved the case?
Linghu Qingmo did not know how to examine corpses either. After watching for a while without finding any leads, she asked instead:
"Are you certain Xie Jinhuan's father died in the line of duty?"
Liu Qingzhi shook his head and sighed. "The Scarlet Qilin Guard verified it personally. There shouldn't be any mistakes. Young Brother Xie has had a hard life too. His mother died early, and now his father is gone. He's the only one left in his family. Still, it's good that he's alive. With his father having served the nation loyally, he'll receive some preferential treatment when he enters official service and seeks promotion."
Yesterday, Linghu Qingmo truly had not realized Xie Jinhuan had endured such a troubled life. Given those circumstances, however, his current martial prowess made sense.
Any young man whose closest kin had been harmed by demons would probably risk his life training, swearing to cut down every evil fiend under heaven!
As the two discussed this, footsteps suddenly came from outside the office.
Tap, tap, tap...
Linghu Qingmo looked back and saw Yang Dabiao run in, brimming with excitement:
"Lord Linghu, someone's died on Golden Gate Street again!"
??
Because he sounded far too happy, the constables, the coroner, and even Linghu Qingmo all turned toward him, their eyes seemingly saying, Have you gone mad?
With so much going on, someone else had died, and he was still beaming?
Linghu Qingmo's face darkened. "Yang Dabiao, are you still half asleep?"
"No, no."
Yang Dabiao was simply happy. He approached and explained:
"Fu Dongping, the hardened bandit we've been hunting for half a month, was slaughtered right in the street. My brother Xie Jinhuan did it. The way he dealt with him was so satisfying-he even pulled out his intestines. That son of a bitch deserved to have his corpse left in the street..."
Hearing the good news that the hardened bandit had been brought to justice, Linghu Qingmo inwardly sighed in relief. After a moment's thought, she said:
"Wasn't Xie Jinhuan under house arrest? How did he run into Fu Dongping on Golden Gate Street?"
"Uh..."
Slightly embarrassed, Yang Dabiao offered a muddled explanation:
"He had a headache this morning and went to the Lin Family Clinic to have it checked. Maybe because he's too handsome, he ended up accompanying Doctor Lin shopping, then the Demon Bandits hired an assassin to take revenge..."
Hearing that the Demon Bandits were involved, Linghu Qingmo immediately grew serious and headed outside:
"Why didn't you say so sooner? Xie Jinhuan wasn't hurt, was he?"
Yang Dabiao spread his hands. "Lord Linghu, you might be giving Fu Dongping too much credit. Even you couldn't withstand one blow. Could Fu Dongping have touched the hem of his clothes?"
"..."
On reflection, Linghu Qingmo agreed, then asked in bewilderment:
"Have the Demon Bandits got water in their brains? Hiring small fry like him to kill Xie Jinhuan?"
"I reckon they wanted to poison him and only drew a blade when that failed. Xie Jinhuan is fine, but Doctor Lin seems to have been poisoned a little..."
"Where are they?"
"They went back to Clear Spring Lane. I was just about to go have a look..."
"Liu Qingzhi, bring the antidotes."
"Yes."
I really am almost out of stockpiled chapters, or2!
Before you continue