Chapter 213 - 213: Diversion? (3)
Chapter 213 - 213: Diversion? (3)
“Your path in Jianghu ended in Jiang Zhahu’s hands twenty years ago. You’re just a Jianghu rebel struggling at death’s door now. Don’t flatter yourself.”
There was silence in the rain. The two of them didn’t speak again and only stared into each other’s eyes.
The chief constables of the Black Office on the wall knew how powerful Liu Qiansheng was. Seeing this, four of them watched Nangong Shaofeng while the other four fell into the courtyard and pointed at Liu Qiansheng’s back with their spears, sabers, and shields, creating a chance for Ye Jingtang to kill him in one strike.
Tread, tread…
Even though Liu Qiansheng was 80 years old, he could still punch these constables one by one. But if he turned around and punched four times, with Ye Jingtang’s strength, he would definitely be able to stab him two or three times. He clenched the fists behind his back and gritted his teeth. “Ye Jingtang, you’re winning dishonorably. Do you dare to fight me fair and square?”
Ye Jingtang stood 30 feet away and looked at the white-haired Liu Qiansheng in front of him with an indifferent gaze, as if he was looking at an old fool.
One of the chief constables who had circled to the back saw that the white-robed old man in the courtyard was fully on guard against Ye Jingtang, so he took the lead in attacking and swung his left hand violently.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Five snowflake darts flew out of his sleeve like butterflies through the rain. They drew five elliptical arcs in the air and shot toward various parts of the white-robed old man’s body.
Bam!
At the same time, Liu Qiansheng’s figure, which was as immovable as a mountain, almost disappeared from the spot. With his shocking explosive power, he created a line of white mist in the courtyard and punched at Ye Jingtang’s face.
Ye Jingtang reacted extremely swiftly. He took a big step back and raised his right hand in a fist. His aura instantly soared and dispersed the surrounding rain as his fist punched out.
But the last time they fought, Liu Qiansheng could tell that Ye Jingtang was too strong. When their fists collided, he was too old and hadn’t been able to stand steadily at all. With his lower body unstable, he had been suppressed and beaten. Thus, he had no intention of taking the punch head-on.
The moment the heavy punch came, Liu Qiansheng used his martial arts attainments to the extreme. His figure instantly changed from a charging bull to a willow leaf in the wind, switching between hardness and softness without any trace.
Whoosh!
The punch missed. Liu Qiansheng’s body brushed past the fist like cotton. He pressed down with his right hand to guard against the saber in Ye Jingtang’s left hand that he could draw at any time. His figure lowered, and he slipped under Ye Jingtang’s arm like a ghost.
Ye Jingtang’s reaction was not slow at all. He turned around and kicked at Liu Qiansheng’s back.
Liu Qiansheng only wanted to escape through the gate. Instead of wasting his energy to dodge, he ran with all his might, wanting to rely on his speed to escape Ye Jingtang’s attack range, but…
Whoosh!
‘Phantom Impermanence’ Shang Jianli, who was hiding in the dark, silently descended from above the gate. His right hand was like a ghost claw as it aimed at Liu Qiansheng’s forehead!
Liu Qiansheng’s expression changed drastically. He raised his palm and struck Shang Jianli’s palm. A terrifying shock wave instantly erupted.
Bam!
With one palm strike, Shang Jianli, who had fallen from the sky, flew diagonally upward like a broken sack and shattered the archway of the gate.
Clatter!
But Liu Qiansheng was forced to stop for a moment.
Ye Jingtang’s spinning kick followed Liu Qiansheng out almost immediately. The moment he paused, the kick landed on his back.
Liu Qiansheng’s thoughts and experience could keep up, but his body could no longer react like a peak martial artist should. He couldn’t dodge in time, so he could only use the Thousand Pound Drop to dig into the ground and arch his back to withstand this kick.
Bam!
Boom!
Amidst the explosion, cracks appeared on the school gate, and the shock wave forcefully pushed out the rain in the alley.
The chest of Liu Qiansheng’s white robe exploded, and his body immediately leaned forward. Then he flew out of the gate like a polo that had been swung with all its might. He smashed through the wall of the limestone alley diagonally and rushed into the air.
Clatter!
Shang Jianli, who had been sent flying, was like a ghost floating in the air. The moment Liu Qiansheng suffered the heavy blow and was forced to fly toward him, his figure moved to the front like a ghost. A golden needle as thin as a strand of hair was sandwiched between his fingers as he slapped the palm that Liu Qiansheng struck out.
Bam!
The palms of both hands met, and the golden needle penetrated Liu Qiangsheng’s body.
Liu Qiansheng sent Shang Jianli flying again with a palm strike in midair. He smashed through the house behind the wall, but he still didn’t lose his balance and landed steadily on the ground.
But just as Liu Qiansheng was about to circulate his qi and escape, he staggered and fell in the rain.
Thud!
An unbearable heart-wrenching pain came. Liu Qiansheng’s expression twisted as he held his arm and knelt on the ground. His muscles were twitching violently, and his eyes were bloodshot as he gritted his teeth and cursed, “Despicable villain!!!”
Crack!
Shang Jianli landed in front of Liu Qiansheng as fast as lightning. He held the Soul Separating Needle that Divine Doctor Wang had specially made between his fingers, injected his internal energy into it, and forcefully stabbed it into an acupoint on Liu Qiansheng’s back. His voice was indifferent as he said, “As one of the former Eight Chiefs, you have been in the limelight all your life. When you’re old, you should retire peacefully. But you’re still in Jianghu at this age. Don’t you feel embarrassed to be kicked down by a junior and be unable to even stand?”
The Soul Separating Needle was taken from the meaning of ‘it hurt so much that one wished one’s soul could leave one’s body’. The pain felt when trying to forcefully break free after the death meridian was sealed was on the same level as bone-burning hemp. It was something that willpower couldn’t resist at all.
Liu Qiansheng only gave it a try before giving up on struggling with his qi circulation. He gritted his teeth and cursed, “Ptui! Shameless villain, how dare you talk when you used a hidden weapon to hurt me? If we had fought fair and square, you wouldn’t be my match…”
Ye Jingtang stood in front of the door with his hand on the hilt of his saber. He frowned and said, “The government is arresting rebels. Do you think it’s a private battle between Jianghu people? Moreover, I gave you a chance to fight me fair and square, but you insisted on choosing such a cowardly way to lose. If you didn’t think about running away, would you have been hit and couldn’t avoid being struck by the needle?”
“Ptui! If you have the guts, remove the golden needle…”
Ye Jingtang couldn’t be bothered with this old fart. He turned to look at Nangong Shaofeng, who was standing at the side with an ashen face. “Mr. Nangong, do you want to resist fearlessly and be beaten half to death before being caught? Or do you want to be more dignified and seal your meridians yourself before going back to stand trial?”
The ashen-faced Nangong Shaofeng knew that the plan had failed before it even began.
At this time, resisting meant death. If he didn’t resist, he wouldn’t be able to live or die. He gritted his teeth and suddenly flew back. A pill slid out of his hand, and he wanted to stuff it into his mouth.
Clang!
A saber light flashed in the courtyard, drawing a line of white mist in the rain.
In an instant, Ye Jingtang had already flashed behind Nangong Shaofeng and sheathed his saber.
Crack!
A severed arm flew up from behind him and fell into the rain.
Thud!
“Ahhhh!” A scream followed.
The eight chief constables present quickly stepped forward with their weapons and pressed down Nangong Shaofeng, who wanted to rush to his severed arm to pick up the poison, and Liu Qiansheng, whose death meridian had been sealed by the golden needle.
Ye Jingtang turned around and walked out of the courtyard to Shang Jianli. “The Black Office is asking for help. Are we going back to the office now or?”
Shang Jianli patted his robe and looked in the direction of the sounds of weapons clashing not far away. “Madam Meng has already gone back. It’s too late for us to rush back.”
“Is there an important prisoner in the dungeon?”
“The imprisoned Eunuch Cao is very powerful, but it’s not as important as removing the Prince of Wu’s title. Let’s prioritize this matter first. Sir Qin has to protect the deposed emperor and the Imperial City. She Long and the others alone might not be able to defeat Xiao Yuan, Hao Yuanzhou, and the others. Let’s go and end the battle quickly.”
Ye Jingtang thought about it and agreed. No matter how powerful Eunuch Cao was, he was still a single martial artist. If he really escaped and entered Jianghu, it would be nothing more than the Eight Chiefs becoming the Nine Chiefs. He wouldn’t be as threatening as the Pacifying Heaven Cult Master.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to remove the Prince of Wu’s title and take back his fief. To the empress, this matter naturally had a higher priority.
Ye Jingtang didn’t say anything else.. He beckoned for the bird circling in the sky to find the location of the fight and flew over with Shang Jianli…