Trouble at His Elbow

What he had set up on the platform halfway up the mountain was also a trap hunters used for large Demon Beasts. Rather than capture them, though, it was meant to kill them.

He had arrived two days earlier, although by his calculations, he should only have had about a day and a night to prepare. Unexpectedly, Strategist Ji had been so deeply calculating, considering so many angles, that he had overlooked the clues Li Yan left and instead concerned himself with other possibilities. Of course, Li Yan had left that black cloth map deliberately. Judging by the situation now, Strategist Ji still believed he had fled too hurriedly to take it with him, and that the trap he set here was merely a precaution during his stay in hiding.

After leaving the city and entering the mountains that day, he had begun laying all manner of false trails along the way, hoping to confuse Strategist Ji and buy himself more time. Once here, he had spent nearly half a day choosing these two ambush sites.

On the platform, he had picked out that boulder. Years of exposure to wind and sun had loosened it, leaving gaps between it and the ground, but its sheer weight kept it deeply embedded in place. He had found two stone rods in the mountains, each as thick as an infant's arm, and taken out some simple tools he had prepared beforehand, including Demon Beast sinew.

Of course, before arriving, he had not known what sort of trap he would set. He had merely considered as many traps as he could remember setting in the mountain forests, then bought some easily carried tools in the city beforehand. He had not known which would prove useful, but neither could he buy anything too large or conspicuous. When escaping the strategist's residence, he had bound them close to his body over his underclothes. His black robe was loose, and he had secretly tested it many times, determining exactly how much he could conceal without the accompanying Chen An and Li Yin noticing.

He had hollowed out the ground beneath the platform's boulder bit by bit, slowly easing the two stone rods into place to support it. At last, he established a temporary balance, then tied one end of the Demon Beast sinew to a cord extending from the two stone rods.

Next, he had stretched that length of Demon Beast sinew taut, hiding most of it in the gap beneath the boulder while leaving a little exposed. At a glance, it looked like a cocked "heavy foot crossbow." He had happened to see such a thing in the military camp and, after some thought, applied the idea here.

Finally, he had placed a rope loop in front of the bolt, winding the rope back and secretly fastening it to the boulder. When someone reached into the gap beneath the boulder to remove the "heavy foot crossbow," it would be like pulling the trigger themselves, upsetting the boulder's balance. Since he had already hollowed out the ground on the cliff side and cleared away the loose stones, the boulder would slide down rapidly, pulling the rope loop on the ground with it. The loop would tighten instantly, cinching around anything inside it and hauling it over the cliff.

Each link depended on the next. A single miscalculation would make the whole thing fail, but there were two particularly difficult points. First, Li Yan occasionally had to sit on the boulder himself without upsetting the balance of the supports beneath it, or he would slide over the cliff with it before anyone else. Second was when to tip over the waterskin, so that the spilled water would land precisely on the Demon Beast sinew. Everything had to look natural, allowing the visitor to notice it without growing suspicious.

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When Strategist Ji saw the waterskins on the platform earlier, they had already aroused his suspicion. He had shaken each one and discovered that all of them were still half full, or a little less. After some thought, he realized this was part of Li Yan's scheme. Otherwise, who would drink from every waterskin in turn instead of opening one and keeping it close at hand?

There was one point Strategist Ji could not work out. He reasoned that Li Yan could not have known when he would arrive, yet he had been there for quite some time and had only seen Li Yan spill water once. If Li Yan had done it twice during that interval, he might have grown suspicious. How had Li Yan timed it, and how had he decided when to kick over the waterskin? No matter how he pondered it, he could not understand, but he was certain Li Yan had repeatedly kicked over the waterskin to lure his enemy.

After hearing Li Yan's words, Strategist Ji said no more. He rose and walked toward him. By now, he had recovered a fair amount of spiritual power and could perform the Spirit Absorption Art. He did not want to waste any more words, lest a long night breed more nightmares.

Reaching Li Yan, he extended his right hand—the only hand he could still move—and lifted him up, seating him against a tree. Once Li Yan was settled, he sat cross-legged beside him and tapped several points on his body with his right hand. Li Yan immediately felt the restraints loosen and regained his freedom. Just as he was about to move, a large hand clamped onto the crown of his head. A powerful suction arose, and he lost control of his body again. He could only feel the spiritual power within the sea of qi in his dantian surging uncontrollably toward the top of his head, filling him with alarm.

Strategist Ji had removed the restraints on him so that he could draw out the spiritual power in Li Yan's body without obstruction. He was not afraid that Li Yan would seize the opportunity to resist. Once his hand gripped the major acupoint at the crown of Li Yan's head, Li Yan would have no strength left.

Li Yan grew frantic. He knew his life now hung by a thread. If Strategist Ji continued drawing out his spiritual power like this, it would probably take no more than half a quarter-hour to drain him dry and extinguish his life. Yet even as alarm struck him, the spiritual power in his body was already on the verge of bursting out.

Then I have only one final gamble left. If I die, you'll die too. Li Yan's ferocity flared, and he prepared to reverse the attributes of his spiritual power, converting all the power in his body to the fire attribute.

This, too, was the result of his frequent experiments on himself lately. The Black Night Curtain Green Technique Strategist Ji practiced was wood-attributed, so the spiritual power he needed to absorb was also wood-attributed. Only then could he achieve a breakthrough. During his daily cultivation, Li Yan had noticed that when spiritual energy circulated close to the corner of his dantian where the fire poison was suppressed, that area remained calm only when wood-attributed power approached. When power of any other attribute drew near, he could feel it stirring, especially when fire-attributed spiritual power approached. All this indicated that the fire poison would be

more sensitive to fire-attributed spiritual power. Thus, Li Yan intended to convert all his water spiritual power into fire spiritual power and let Strategist Ji absorb it. Even if Strategist Ji did not die on the spot, he probably would not last much longer afterward.

Of course, having all his current water spiritual power absorbed would also throw Strategist Ji's internal spiritual power into chaos, but fire spiritual power should cause greater harm and stir the fire poison more violently.

However, the instant that spiritual power entered Strategist Ji's body, he would notice something was wrong. In his fury, he would only need to exert force through the palm pressed against Li Yan's crown, and Li Yan would die before him. But Li Yan no longer had time to worry about that. As his thoughts flashed and he changed his spiritual power, he stirred up all the power in his body, intending to release it in a single instant—only for an unforeseen change to occur.

Suddenly, swift sounds of rushing air came from the forest. Two figures swept toward them, their robes snapping in their wake.

"Ha ha! Young Brother Li, don't worry. I'm here." As the words rang out, the two figures shot up before them. They were Hong Linying and his burly junior martial brother.

Strategist Ji was startled by their arrival and hurriedly steadied his spiritual power, but his palm remained on top of Li Yan's head.

"Strategist Ji, have we come at the right moment?" Hong Linying asked after coming to a stop.

"You two? What impressive concealment. I just searched several li around here and noticed nothing at all. How did you manage it?" Strategist Ji asked without turning his head, one hand still resting on Li Yan's crown.

He was furious, though he had not let it show. More than anything, however, he was astonished. To ensure that no one disturbed him while he absorbed spiritual power, he had searched several li around them. Apart from small animals and birds in the trees, there had been nothing that could threaten him.

"Oh? So you knew about this junior martial brother of mine? In that case, you're the truly brilliant one, Strategist Ji, pretending all along that you knew nothing." Rather than answer, Hong Linying countered with a question. The first thing he had picked up from Strategist Ji's words was that he apparently knew of his junior martial brother's existence.

"Then why have you come, Marshal Hong? To spy on my disciple and me as we practice?" Strategist Ji likewise answered with a question.

"Heh, Strategist Ji, why put it that way? We came only because we admire your sect's martial arts. Could you bring out your sect's secret manual and let us have a look? In your present situation, I imagine you can neither advance nor retreat, can you?" Hong Linying was even more direct, tearing away all pretense the moment he spoke.

"I never imagined you had such a discerning eye, Marshal Hong. Letting you read our sect's secret manual is hardly out of the question, but your subordinate hasn't brought it along. Why don't I return to my residence at dawn, fetch it, and send it over?"

Strategist Ji was truly seething. Hong Linying had chosen neither an earlier nor a later moment to appear, arriving just as he had activated the Spirit Absorption Art. His timing was remarkably precise. Once this art was activated, it could not be stopped, or a backlash was inevitable. Fortunately, he had only just begun and could still hold his spiritual power steady, but at most

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he could only delay for a little while longer.

In truth, this was a coincidence. Hong Linying knew that even together, he and his junior martial brother were no match for Strategist Ji. But he knew one thing: among martial practitioners, being disturbed while cultivating or circulating power to heal was taboo. At best, it could cause grave injury; at worst, cultivation deviation and death. Thus, the two of them had kept trailing Strategist Ji from far away. Knowing how outstanding his abilities were, they dared not approach, but they only needed to be able to make out his movements.

They, too, were waiting—waiting for Strategist Ji to begin healing himself before coming over. Then every difficulty would fall apart like bamboo beneath a blade.

With Strategist Ji's cultivation at the third level of the Qi Condensation Stage, his divine sense could not extend very far outside his body. Though his gaze was sharp as a torch, he was unsuspecting while they acted with purpose. Whenever he went out to search, they saw him approaching from afar and retreated farther back. Once he returned, they immediately began creeping closer again.

Only when Strategist Ji activated the Spirit Absorption Art did the two exchange a glance and immediately reveal themselves. Who could have known that their move would also happen to strike precisely at the Spirit Absorption Art's weakness?

"That won't do. Why don't you recite a few passages of the formula now, Strategist Ji, and let the two of us study them?" Hong Linying shook his bald head, rejecting the suggestion repeatedly.

"Heh, it seems you don't trust me, Marshal Hong. As you can see, I'm practicing with my disciple. Could you wait just a little longer?" Strategist Ji could already feel the spiritual power within him beginning to surge rapidly.

"On... on his waist." A strained voice came then. It was Li Yan, who had circulated his power for some time before barely resisting the suction at his crown enough to speak.

"Oh?" At those words, Hong Linying and his junior martial brother hurriedly looked toward Strategist Ji's waist. The jade book was tucked at an angle into his sash. In the darkness, a faint sheen seemed to flow over it. One glance was enough to tell that it was no ordinary object.

The two exchanged a look, then suddenly sprang into motion, attacking simultaneously. The burly man struck at Strategist Ji's back with his palm, while Hong Linying curled his fingers into claws and reached for the jade book at Strategist Ji's waist. As he moved, Hong Linying continued speaking.

"Strategist Ji, since you're unwilling to get up and bring it over, I'll take it myself. Ha ha!"

There was a faint rumble of thunder in his voice. He had secretly employed the Buddhist Lion's Roar. They were seasoned martial experts who had fought and killed for years, and they knew that Strategist Ji, presently circulating power to heal, must not be disturbed. As they attacked, they also channeled power into their voices to unsettle his mind.

With one hand crippled and the other bound by the suction between it and Li Yan's crown, Strategist Ji could not pull away. How could he possibly block them? Yet he still sat with his back to them, his face expressionless, answering with a question rather than a reply.

"Marshal Hong, when I came through this afternoon, I searched this area beforehand as well. I'm confident of that much. The two of you weren't lying in ambush here with this brat in advance. That means you must have tracked me here, hanging far behind me so you could observe my every move. Am I right? What I don't understand is how you managed it."