A blade struck his Dantian, and the black-clad commander sank helplessly to the ground.
Intense dizziness swept over Liu Wuxie. Using the Ghost Pupil Technique had depleted his soul sea. Stars swam before his eyes, and his body swayed on the verge of collapse.
"Deacon Qi, kill them, quickly."
Bringing down the black-clad commander had pushed him to his limit. He barely remained standing. The luster faded from his right eye, and he closed his eyes, seizing the time to recover.
The four remaining men in black stood frozen, forgetting to flee. Their commander had actually lost-lost to a mere Xiantian Realm cultivator.
Deacon Qi recovered from his shock and charged forward with his saber. Caught completely off guard, three of the remaining men in black died beneath a single slash, while the last fled into the distance.
"Where do you think you're going!"
Letting even one escape would bring a nightmare upon the Xu Household. They had to cut out the weeds by the roots and leave no one the wiser. The Stone-Breaking Army was the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty's elite army. Even the loss of a single soldier would draw an investigation from the dynasty. No information could be allowed to leak.
The saber suddenly flew from his hand. The man in black had fled only ten steps before he was pinned in place. The saber pierced his body, and blood gushed down his chest, staining the purple-gold ore on the horse cart red.
After killing them all, Deacon Qi still looked shaken. He pulled out his saber and walked toward Liu Wuxie.
"Young master, are you all right?"
His tone was filled with respect. His attitude toward Liu Wuxie had undergone a complete reversal, and his eyes were full of awe.
"I'm fine. I'll be all right after resting a little. Clean up the battlefield quickly and erase every trace."
The fifteen guards sprang into action, fetching clean water and washing the blood from the cliff walls. After an hour of work, Perching Wind Gorge was restored to its original state, with not a single clue left behind.
Several guards went to the gorge entrance, brought back the two horses that had fled, and hitched them to the carts again.
The bodies of the slain Stone-Breaking Army soldiers were burned to ashes. Only the black-clad commander remained, kneeling where he was, his eyes filled with venom.
"Brat, you're dead. You killed members of the Stone-Breaking Army. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, you'll have nowhere to hide. Just wait for your death."
The black-clad commander tore off his mask, revealing the face of a middle-aged man. A full beard covered his fierce-looking face, and he let out a grating laugh.
After an hour of recovery, Liu Wuxie's soul sea was full again. He opened his eyes and looked toward the black-clad commander without a trace of emotion.
"If we hadn't killed you, would you have spared our Xu Household?"
Liu Wuxie scoffed. Their presence here was suspicious to begin with. They would certainly have killed everyone to silence them, ensuring no evidence of the Stone-Breaking Army's arrival in Canglan City was exposed.
The only way was to wipe out the Xu Household, settling the matter once and for all.
He drew his short blade and walked toward the black-clad commander step by step, then laid it against his neck. With his Dantian shattered, the man was no different from an ordinary person.
"You're right. Your Xu Household is doomed. You've offended the Stone-Breaking Army. Even the reigning Human Emperor couldn't keep you safe."
The black-clad commander laughed savagely. It was just as Liu Wuxie had thought. They had come to seize the Xu Household's purple-gold ore vein first, then wipe out the household, leaving no one the wiser.
Song Tianhao had not told the truth. He must have known who these people were. Afraid of implicating himself, he had not mentioned the Stone-Breaking Army, only telling Liu Wuxie that powerful experts had arrived in Canglan City.
"Speak. What's your name, and who sent you?"
Liu Wuxie questioned him coldly. The Stone-Breaking Army did not interfere in disputes between lineages. For them to risk punishment by ambushing the Xu Household, someone must have been fanning the flames behind the scenes.
"Brat, don't waste your efforts. We in the Stone-Breaking Army have undergone special training. Don't dream of getting a single word out of me."
The black-clad commander spat, not taking Liu Wuxie seriously at all. The boy had relied on some sinister technique to grievously wound him. In a straight fight, Liu Wuxie would surely have been the one to die.
The fifteen guards spread out around them, with several heading toward the entrance and exit to prevent anyone from wandering in.
"Young master, I've heard of the Stone-Breaking Army. They've undergone the cruelest training. One of the trials trains them for being captured and brutally interrogated by the enemy. Every kind of torture is used on them, and anyone who confesses is punished under military law."
Deacon Qi walked over, frowning. The Stone-Breaking Army maintained strict discipline. How could something like this have happened?
Hearing those words, the black-clad commander looked proud. Everyone who could join the Stone-Breaking Army was a genius.
"Is that so? Then I'd like to see just how hard your bones are."
No particularly powerful presence erupted from Liu Wuxie. Calm and unremarkable, he sheathed his short blade and walked behind the black-clad commander.
For some reason, the moment Liu Wuxie stepped behind him, the black-clad commander shuddered. This brat was far too uncanny. There were many things about him that defied understanding.
"If you can last ten breaths, I'll let you leave."
With that, he pressed his right hand against the black-clad commander's neck. A strange cold gleam burrowed into the man's body, and he began trembling violently.
"Aaah..."
Before even a single breath had passed, he let out a piercing scream. Deacon Qi jumped in fright. What had the young master done to cause such a drastic change in the black-clad commander? Even his expression had twisted.
The other guards looked over in lingering fear, not daring to come too close. The black-clad commander's screams made their hair stand on end.
"Young master, what did you do to him?"
Deacon Qi's legs shook. The black-clad commander had contorted into a ball, his bones giving off teeth-grating cracks. His entire kneecaps jutted up, bending upward like those of a deformed monster.
"The Tendon-Separating and Bone-Dislocating Hand, combined with the Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Heart Technique."
Liu Wuxie spoke indifferently, as though mentioning something utterly commonplace.
The Tendon-Separating and Bone-Dislocating Hand was easy enough to understand, but what was the Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Heart Technique? Could it really inflict such agony on a person?
Compared with it, those methods of torture were on an entirely different level.
"I'll confess! I'll confess! Please, undo it!"
In less than five breaths, the black-clad commander struggled to force a few words from his mouth, willing to confess. He could barely endure it any longer. This pain came from his soul, not his flesh.
The Stone-Breaking Army mostly used physical punishment to train its soldiers. Once they endured it, it was over. The Ten Thousand Ants Devouring the Heart Technique was different. It burrowed into the mind, leaving its victim unable to live or die.
Even the ten breaths Liu Wuxie had promised him had been giving him too much credit. He had not expected the Stone-Breaking Army to amount to so little.
He patted the man's back several times, and the pain in his body slowly faded. Sweat soaked his clothes, leaving him looking as though he had just been hauled out of the water.
"You're not human. You're a devil. You must be a devil."
The man in black was terrified, his body trembling and his face utterly defeated.
Deacon Qi actually nodded, agreeing with the black-clad commander. Only immortals could possess the means to wield such a monstrous spell. If he was not a devil, what was he?
"Speak. Who are you, and who sent you?"
Liu Wuxie brought over a rock and sat on it, in no hurry. Ordinarily, no one passed through this place anyway.
"My name is Zhou Hu. I'm a thousand-man commander in the Stone-Breaking Army's Heaven Character Battalion. A few days ago, I passed through Canglan City on business and visited the City Lord's Estate for a chat. The heads of the Tian Household and Wan Household happened to be there too, and we discussed some recent affairs in Canglan City."
Zhou Hu slowly recounted the story. Just as Liu Wuxie had suspected, it really was connected to the Tian Household and Wan Household. He had not expected the City Lord's Estate to be involved as well.
"The Stone-Breaking Army stands high above others. Surely the insignificant Tian Household and Wan Household couldn't order you around."
That was true enough. Puzzled, Liu Wuxie continued questioning him. The Stone-Breaking Army had no grudge against the Xu Household. Why would they stir up trouble for the sake of the insignificant Tian Household? If word reached the Great Yan Imperial Dynasty, Zhou Hu would have no way to explain himself.
"As it happens, Canglan City's lord was once a member of the Stone-Breaking Army too. We were comrades-in-arms and had a close relationship. I came here on business and was only catching up with an old friend. Who knew I'd run into something like this? Qi Enshi happened to mention the balance of power in Canglan City and asked me to do something for him. All I had to do was frighten the Xu Household and seize some goods without hurting anyone."
Zhou Hu dared not conceal anything and told him everything he knew.
"Were you the ones who robbed our goods a few days ago?" Liu Wuxie asked. During the robbery a few days earlier, more than a dozen guards had died, but they had not been wiped out entirely.
"Yes."
"Then why did you want to kill everyone to silence them today, when you only stole goods a few days ago?"
Liu Wuxie pressed further. Today, the Stone-Breaking Army had intended to wipe everyone out. It was not as simple as stealing the goods.
"We were too greedy. The Tian Household and Wan Household were willing to pay ten million gold coins for the Stone-Breaking Army to do something for them, guaranteeing that it would be done without anyone knowing and that no one would learn the Stone-Breaking Army was responsible. I lost a large sum of gold coins in Imperial Capital City last month and was short of money, so I agreed."
When they had helped Qi Enshi seize the goods a few days earlier, they had not brought out their black crossbows, and few people knew about it. They had intended to quit while they were ahead, but then people from the Wan Household and Tian Household appeared, offering ten million gold coins to hire them.
"Why did the Wan Household and Tian Household hire you to deal with our Xu Household? Why didn't they send their own people to intercept us?"
Spending ten million gold coins to hire the Stone-Breaking Army was truly extravagant.
What did ten million mean? It could hire a hundred thousand mercenaries to guard this place, yet they had been willing to spend it on the Stone-Breaking Army.
"I'm not too sure about that. I heard they had something more important to do."
That was all Zhou Hu knew. He had only wanted to skim off a little profit, only to stake his fortune and life on it.
The two households were indeed playing at luring the tiger away from its mountain. Their aim was to draw Xu Yilin away into the Sunset Mountain Range, then seize the Xu Household's businesses in his absence. Every calculation was seamless.
"To think a grand thousand-man commander of the Stone-Breaking Army could be as stupid as a pig. You don't even know you've been used. If I'm not mistaken, you must have something incriminating on Qi Enshi."
A trace of contempt appeared on Liu Wuxie's face. Zhou Hu reacted as though his hackles had risen, suddenly standing and staring at Liu Wuxie in terror. This only confirmed what he had been thinking: this man was a devil.
"You... how did you know?"
Zhou Hu panicked, his face filled with fear. Deacon Qi looked bewildered. How did the young master know so much, deducing so many things from a single matter?
"It's simple. Since you were comrades-in-arms, I don't believe the Stone-Breaking Army's hands are so clean. You must have done something that couldn't bear the light of day. Am I right?"
Liu Wuxie spoke slowly, and Zhou Hu nodded involuntarily. The Stone-Breaking Army was notorious for its ferocity. Who could guarantee that they had never killed innocents?
"You suddenly came to Canglan City, ostensibly to catch up with an old friend. In truth, you'd lost a large sum of money and wanted to use this matter to blackmail Qi Enshi. He first placated you. If you wanted the gold coins, you had to help him complete a task first: seize the Xu Household's goods. So you agreed."
Zhou Hu's mouth fell wide open, and he turned completely to stone.