Across the waterway, a pair of cool eyes gazed at the procession of Embroidered Uniform Guards from a distant teahouse.
It was early morning. The tea girl prepared tea for the disciples of Yinjian Mountain, who drank with their heads lowered, murmuring among themselves.
"What's wrong with Senior Martial Sister Zhou today? Why did she sit down in this teahouse without saying a word?"
"Could she like the tea here? But this tea is nothing special. How could it compare to the thousand-year-old tea trees on our mountain?"
"Did you notice? Not only did she come to Capital City early, she looked straight over there as soon as she came upstairs, as if she were waiting for someone."
"Could there be a genius here with a deep affinity for the Dao?"
The disciples of Yinjian Mountain followed her gaze.
Their scattered whispers lingered seven feet behind the one-armed woman, yet she seemed not to hear them. Within those seven feet, she sat alone, with no one approaching.
Had anyone been beside her, they would have noticed the complexity in her eyes.
"Brother Zunming, have you been well?"
Hearing the hoofbeats and seeing the imposing Embroidered Uniform Guards in their official robes, the Bright-Dark Divine Sect's guardian elder sensed trouble.
Yet the Western Depot's Hundred Household wore a broad smile as he dismounted and cupped his hands.
"Elder Li, I brought my brothers here especially to see you off."
Elder Li was taken aback.
"Since you treated us to drinks, naturally, we must ensure you leave safely."
Chen Yi lowered his voice.
Elder Li was startled. Old fox that he was, he was dubious.
Was Chen Zunming, this Western Depot Hundred Household, actually a man who kept his word and honored righteousness?
"Isn't this... rather too conspicuous?"
Elder Li could not help asking.
Chen Yi sneered.
"With our Western Depot stepping in, would the Eastern Depot dare cause trouble?"
"Elder Li, the Eastern Depot hasn't been behaving itself. Someone there said they intended to arrest you."
Min Ning instinctively placed her hand on her saber hilt.
Hearing Chen Yi's words, Elder Li frowned and cupped his hands.
"Thank you for the warning. We also know the Eastern Depot's people are restless and cannot be trusted.
"In that case... you should..."
Chen Yi smiled.
"Naturally, we should see this through to the end. Come, let's have some tea at the ferry landing's teahouse. You can leave once the boat arrives. You ought to pay for this tea, wouldn't you say?"
At this, Elder Li grumbled inwardly. Such a grand display, and after all that, he was just here to squeeze money out of them!
Chen Zunming really would pluck feathers from a passing goose!
With that thought, Elder Li nevertheless breathed a sigh of relief.
At least he's only here for money...
One did not strike a smiling face.
Entering the teahouse, Chen Yi swept his gaze around and spotted quite a few Demonic Cult members disguised as merchants and laborers.
They were currently in the teahouse, discussing the Immovable Wisdom King and the Four Heavenly Kings with great animation. Anyone unfamiliar with their ways would have thought they were discussing Buddhist teachings.
In truth, however, the Immovable Wisdom King they spoke of referred to the Great Ming Venerable Buddha worshipped by the Bright-Dark Divine Sect. The Four Heavenly Kings referred to the Four Venerable Holy Virgins-Purity, Wisdom, Light, and Great Power-who represented the four venerable aspects of the Great Brightness Venerable.
Once they reached a tea room on the second floor, a waiter soon brought tea. Chen Yi took it himself, lifted the lid, and carefully felt around before nodding to Elder Li.
Elder Li could not help smiling.
"You worry too much, Brother Zunming. This tea isn't poisoned."
Chen Yi said,
"One should always be careful. Have some tea."
Talk of "Buddhist teachings" kept drifting up from downstairs, until Min Ning was sick of hearing it. With the Demonic Cult's guardian elder seated across from her, she grew nervous, her palms sweating.
This guardian elder was a Sixth Grade expert.
She considered herself only just above Eighth Grade.
One guardian elder could take on three of her.
That was why she had asked Chen Yi to bring men to help.
But now...
Min Ning watched Chen Yi chatting merrily with him. Where was any sign of punishing villains and rooting out evil?
Elder Li glanced at Min Ning and detected something amiss in her eyes.
"Brother Zunming, this brother of yours seems..."
Hearing this, Chen Yi immediately realized something. He promptly draped a hand over Min Ning's shoulder and even stealthily felt along her ribs.
Min Ning instantly lost her composure, but with the Demonic Cult elder before her, she could only press her lips together and remain silent.
"He's never seen a situation like this. Naturally, he's nervous."
Chen Yi spoke casually.
"Have some tea, have some tea."
Seeing this, Elder Li promptly lowered his guard.
After drinking his tea, Elder Li took a stack of banknotes from inside his robe.
"Consider this a farewell gift."
"This... you're treating me like an outsider! Just this once."
Chen Yi slowly gathered the banknotes into his hand. At a rough glance, there were about another thousand taels.
"Giving me this, Elder Li, you're hindering my path to Buddhahood."
Elder Li smiled faintly and replied with a Zen saying.
"All dharmas possess nothing and are ultimately empty. This is called suchness..."
Chen Yi looked toward the window and asked,
"Has it arrived?"
Elder Li looked over as well.
"It has. We should board now. Thank you, Brother Zunming."
"Time to be on your way."
Chen Yi smiled.
Elder Li smiled too, but his expression instantly froze. His eyes widened, as though he could not believe it.
Black blood spilled from his pale lips.
The tea was poisoned!
Chen Yi released Min Ning and caught Elder Li as he began to fall.
"You're being too formal! Why offer such a grand bow? Don't kneel, please!"
Black blood clogged his throat. Elder Li's legs weakened, and he dropped to his knees.
"Far too formal!"
[Li Shengling: a total of sixty ordinary years' worth of foreign True Qi.]
After opening the box, Chen Yi absorbed all the True Qi into his meridians.
Elder Li collapsed abruptly. Even a fool could see something was wrong, but they had been chatting so happily just moments ago that the Demonic Cult members struggled to react. For a moment, they merely stared at one another.
The Western Depot men outside the door were equally baffled, exchanging glances.
Chen Yi stood up. His Embroidered Spring Saber slid out inch by inch, scattering silvery light.
"Western Depot! Here at the emperor's feet, will you not root out evil?!"
With that, Chen Yi severed Elder Li's head and tossed it downstairs as though tossing a wine jug.
Blood traced a circle through the air before the head crashed heavily downstairs with a tremendous bang. A tea table shattered on impact. The head looked horrifying, its eyes still wide in death.
At the sight, Min Ning froze for a moment...
This man...
How could he be so chivalrous!
Elder Li's falling head ignited the powder keg that filled the room.
Now that all pretense had been torn away, how could the Western Depot men fail to react? They were all aboard Chen Yi's pirate ship now. Drawing their sabers at once, they shouted and charged into the teahouse to fight.
Saber flashes and sword shadows filled the teahouse. Bloody mist spread in an instant, and amid the clattering and crashing, teacups shattered everywhere.
The waiter frantically dodged this way and that. He was about to hide beneath the counter when he discovered the proprietor already trembling inside.
A Demonic Cult member took the opportunity to lop off the head of the waiter, who had nowhere left to hide.
The Demonic Cult members had been caught completely off guard, but even so, quite a few charged toward Chen Yi on the second floor.
A Demonic Cult member with bulging muscles carried a Demon-Subduing Pestle. With a loud shout, he swung it, intending to smash Chen Yi's head to pulp.
Chen Yi laughed loudly and raised his Embroidered Spring Saber. Its edge slanted aside, winding like a jiao dragon around the side of the Demon-Subduing Pestle before levering downward. The Demonic Cult member felt tremendous force, and his Demon-Subduing Pestle smashed straight into the floor, leaving a shallow crater.
Stepping forward, Chen Yi planted a foot on the Demon-Subduing Pestle and immediately pressed a hand atop the Demonic Cult member's head, like an immortal bestowing a blessing.
Unfortunately, Chen Yi was no immortal and could grant no immortality.
The sixty years' worth of foreign True Qi rampaging within him instantly poured into the Demonic Cult member's body. The man's veins bulged, and he spat blood. With a little pressure from Chen Yi, his entire head was crushed into a grotesque shape.
The Demonic Cult member fell to the floor, all strength gone.
[Wang Gu: a total of twenty ordinary years' worth of True Qi.] [Li Shengling: a total of sixty ordinary years' worth of foreign True Qi.]
Chen Yi immediately drew the True Qi back. All eighty years' worth entered his body and began rampaging wildly again.
A whistling sound cut through the air.
Several throwing knives flew straight at Chen Yi's face.
Min Ning raised her saber and slashed vertically with the force of slaying a jiao dragon. Metal clashed, and the throwing knives were actually cleaved in half.
The Western Depot had superior numbers, and the Demonic Cult members had been entirely unprepared. With Elder Li dead, they were instantly left leaderless.
Before long, the Demonic Cult members suffered a crushing defeat, corpses piling up inside. A few fled blindly out the windows and jumped into the water, only to be shot dead by volleys of arrows from the Embroidered Uniform Guards.
Chen Yi sheathed his saber, slowly descended the stairs, and approached the sole remaining Demonic Cult member.
"When the Wisdom King descends, he shall surely restore... the World of Ignorance..."
The Demonic Cult member was covered in blood, his words slurred.
"All dharmas possess nothing and are ultimately empty."
Chen Yi smiled.
A saber drove straight through the head, then swept left, sending half the skull crumbling to the floor.
Watching this brutal scene, Min Ning did not turn pale. Instead, an excited flush spread across her face.
I misjudged him before.
I actually mistook him for a beast in human clothing!
This was clearly...
A thunderous hand and a bodhisattva's heart!
Min Ning's hands trembled slightly as she wiped the blood from her saber. She panted, not from exhaustion, but excitement. As servants of the imperial family, when did they ever get to enjoy the carefree exhilaration of the martial world? It was nothing but petty scheming and currying favor with the powerful. When had they ever known the satisfaction of punishing villains and rooting out evil as they had today?
[Negative emotions: 5]
Chen Yi turned his head and glanced at a certain spot.
[Foreign True Qi within the body: two hundred and ten years.]
He began panting incessantly. Beneath his black official robes, half stained red, bulging veins covered his body, and his eyes kept reddening.
The foreign True Qi in his meridians rampaged everywhere, and numbness gradually spread through his hands and feet.
During the fighting, Chen Yi had repeatedly poured foreign True Qi into other people, rupturing their meridians and making their bodies burst apart. Only that had allowed him to hold on until now.
But now there was no one left for him to transfer his True Qi into.
Blood seeped from Chen Yi's lips.
Left with no choice, Chen Yi silently recited the Grudge Yin-Yang Art.
As the Yin-Yang Art circulated, the rampaging foreign True Qi eased somewhat, but an indescribable urge took its place.
"Let's go."
Chen Yi spoke hoarsely and turned away.
I have to get home immediately.
Min Ning hurried after him. Seeing him sway as he mounted the tall horse, she could not help reaching out to steady him.
Chen Yi clenched his teeth, then seized her hand and pulled her up.
"Ride with me. If I collapse, take me home."
Chen Yi sat behind her, leaving Min Ning to grip the reins.
Min Ning also noticed something was wrong. Without delay, she urged the horse onward.
Hooves raced over the bluestone paving with a thunderous clatter. Under the gazes of the Western Depot men, they set off on their way back.
Chen Yi's rapid, labored breathing came from behind her at intervals. Realizing the situation was critical, Min Ning cast everything else aside and spoke without any distracting thoughts.
"Hold on tighter!"
A tight pressure followed around her waist.
The tall horse galloped through the streets. Min Ning shouted while keeping an eye on Chen Yi. Before long, they were about to reach his residence.
Meanwhile, Min Ning felt the man behind her holding her ever more tightly.
"Giving this back... Min Ning."
Panting hoarsely, Chen Yi pulled a martial arts manual from inside his robe.
Min Ning glanced at it hurriedly. It was actually the Jiao-Slaying Saber Technique he had taken, and astonishment appeared on her face.
This man really has changed!
Min Ning felt she could no longer quite understand him.
The beast in gentleman's clothing was only his disguise. He was clearly a chivalrous man!
At this thought, Min Ning could not help feeling admiration.
[Negative emotion: 0]
She did not see Chen Yi's lips curl upward.
When they reached the courtyard gate, Min Ning told him to get down, but he still refused to let go of his tight embrace.
Min Ning could not help feeling puzzled, then a wave of worry rose in her heart. She was about to turn her head, but he rested his chin on her shoulder.
"Min Ning..."
Chen Yi's voice was weak.
"What's wrong?"
Min Ning asked urgently.
Tormented by the Yin-Yang Art, Chen Yi could barely hold back as he slowly said:
"Thousand Household Min, has anyone ever told you
that your subordinate, Chen Zunming, the Western Depot's Punishment Supervising Hundred Household, has... amorous feelings for you?"
The spirited woman's face instantly turned pale. The reins fell heavily from her hands, and she shuddered, her entire body trembling uncontrollably.
He reached out toward somewhere he should not.
The favorable impression she had formed of him now took a drastic turn for the worse. Her negative emotion instantly soared, nearly reaching its peak!
[Negative emotion: 92]
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