The Hunters Become the Hunted
At Cheon Un-gi's sudden question, Ouyang Qiangang's gaze sharpened.
"I've heard of it. A merchant guild of enormous scale—one that has made an enemy of the Giant Merchant Alliance, one of the Five Hegemons of the World that dominates Shaanxi and Shanxi Provinces."
"It seems the guild master there is searching for one of his grandsons. A grandson by the name of Ouyang Qiangang, I heard. For the grandson of such a wealthy family to go missing—is that not a truly strange affair?"
"……."
Cheon Un-gi studied Ouyang Qiangang with meaningful eyes and continued.
"But worldly affairs often differ from their appearance. They call it a disappearance, yet in truth that grandson may simply have left home of his own accord, for reasons of his own..."
"Brother Cheon, why are you suddenly telling me this?"
"I'm a man who babbles whatever comes to mind—what reason would I need? Heh heh heh."
Chuckling low, Cheon Un-gi went on.
"Young Master Hahu, when you disembark at Nanjing, take care of yourself."
"Pardon? What do you mean by that, out of nowhere?"
"Among the assassin organizations of the jianghu, there is a sect called the Blood Sea. They kill anyone for the right price, and their skills are said to be formidable enough that rumors claim they have never once failed a contract."
Gulp, gulp—
Having taken a few swigs of his drink, Cheon Un-gi continued.
"Word has it they recently accepted a contract to kill someone for an enormous sum, and they've been sweeping through the Jiangnan region ever since."
"What could their contract possibly have to do with me?"
"Nothing, I suppose. But as I said—they're sweeping through Jiangnan."
Cheon Un-gi regarded Ouyang Qiangang with deep, unfathomable eyes.
"There's a golden saying in the jianghu: a blade has no eyes. Nanjing is part of Jiangnan. Wander about down there, and if luck turns against you, you might find their blades at your throat without ever knowing why. So be careful. There's no loss in being careful."
"Thank you for the advice."
Ouyang Qiangang could not tell whether Cheon Un-gi was warning him or threatening him.
Just how much does this man know? I feel like a puppet dancing on his palm. A being even Akasha's analysis cannot penetrate...
Doctor, data analysis on Cheon Un-gi remains in a deadlock. I cannot determine the truth of his statements. However, I recommend vigilance regarding the Blood Sea he mentioned. The possibility that his information is accurate cannot be ruled out.
Ouyang Qiangang swallowed a sigh inwardly. Akasha's words had only tangled his thoughts further.
Cheon Un-gi was a man of inscrutable depths, impossible to read as friend or foe. Looking at him, Ouyang Qiangang thought for the first time that this world might hold unknown realms far beyond his own knowledge and Akasha's capabilities. It was a terrifying thought—the kind that raised gooseflesh.
He said, "By the way, Brother Cheon, for an idle vagrant you know an awful lot."
"When you wander the world, you make all sorts of friends. I merely picked up what I heard from them."
"Now I'm terribly curious who these friends of yours might be."
"If fate wills it, you'll meet them yourself. Heh heh heh."
At noon the next day, the Azure Dragon reached Nanjing's bustling harbor. The docks overflowed with vitality—a medley of boatmen's booming shouts, the creak of cargo being unloaded, and the fishy tang of the river wind.
Cheon Un-gi pushed through the crowd and stepped ashore, then paused and looked back at Ouyang Qiangang.
"I have a feeling you and I will meet again before long, Young Master Hahu."
"The world is wide."
"Fate is a curious thing. Those meant to meet will meet again, wherever they may be."
With those words, Cheon Un-gi turned his back without a trace of hesitation. It was a farewell like the wind, without a single regret.
Once beyond Nanjing, Ouyang Qiangang unleashed his qinggong and began his journey north. Unfurling the Heavenly Meteor Divine Art, he crossed the land like the wind. Each time his toes brushed the earth, an afterimage lingered—and even that soon scattered on the wind.
Even as he raced on without rest, Ouyang Qiangang kept turning Cheon Un-gi's ominous warning over in his mind.
The Blood Sea... he said they're sweeping through Jiangnan. If his words are true, and their target really is me...
He could not recklessly head for the Imperial Capital. He could not drag a shadow of death behind him all the way home.
Akasha, before we leave Jiangxi Province, I need to confirm whether the Blood Sea is truly on my tail. If Cheon Un-gi was telling the truth, they're hunting me even now.
Doctor, the nanobots' current detection radius is one hundred meters. I cannot confirm their presence until they come within that range.
I know. That's why I intend to set the board myself.
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes gleamed cold. He left the main road and deliberately took a route leading through sparsely populated plains and wild hills. As if knowing nothing, he kept his qinggong at a steady, unvarying pace.
About two hours had passed. Reaching the middle of a plain open on all sides, he spoke.
Akasha, send the nanobots up to thirty-three zhang overhead—about a hundred meters. At that altitude we should be able to spot pursuers before they enter the detection net.
Understood. Engaging high-altitude reconnaissance mode. Optical observation from thirty-three zhang can identify targets at up to five kilometers. Please note, however, that visual data relayed by the nanobots at this distance will be lower in resolution.
Moments later, Akasha's report echoed through his mind.
Four kilometers behind. Five figures confirmed approaching at regular intervals. They may be tracking you, Doctor.
Warriors?
Yes. Judging by their movement arts, they are highly trained.
"Mm...!"
A low groan escaped Ouyang Qiangang's lips. Cheon Un-gi's warning had been true.
How can they track me when I'm wearing a human-skin mask?
Questions rose in his mind like gathering clouds. At that moment, the sky suddenly darkened with storm clouds and raindrops began to fall.
Pit... pat... shhhhhhhh—
Before he could count to ten, the raindrops had become a torrential downpour so heavy it was hard to see three zhang ahead.
Akasha, find the most advantageous terrain nearby for fighting multiple enemies.
Two li ahead stands an old abandoned temple surrounded by forest. It is sizable, and the surrounding terrain is complex—an ideal location for combat against superior numbers.
Good. That's where we're going.
Ouyang Qiangang's eyes turned as cold as ice.
Whoever you are, whatever methods you use—I will make you regret, down to your marrow, that you ever made me your prey.
Like a traveler seeking shelter from the pouring rain, he naturally changed course toward the abandoned temple. The time had come for hunter and prey to trade places.
The Great Hall of the abandoned temple.
KRAKOOM—!
Thunder shook heaven and earth, and lightning flashed. Each flash revealed rotting pillars on the verge of collapse and Buddha statues with their faces broken away—a macabre sight. Inside, the damp smell of dust mingled with rotting wood and rain-soaked earth, lending the air a clammy, oppressive gloom.
Ouyang Qiangang surveyed the interior with deeply sunken eyes.
Akasha, scan every structure and feature inside this hall in three dimensions, and analyze the most efficient movement paths and attack positions.
Understood. Initiating 3D mapping and tactical analysis.
Outside, a storm raged as if to overturn heaven and earth, but inside, the heart of Ouyang Qiangang—waiting for his enemies—settled as calm and still as a mountain lake.
Shhhhhhhhh—
In the midst of the torrential downpour, the Seventh Shadow Lord of the Blood Sea gazed at the forested mountain into which Ouyang Qiangang had vanished and spoke.
"We take him there."
His voice, woven into the sound of the rain, was thick with a killing intent so chilling it crawled up the spine of anyone who heard it. The Eighth Shadow Lord, a man of imposing build standing beside him, nodded.
"Agreed. A place like that is perfect for our hunting ground."
The Ninth Shadow Lord frowned as he watched the sheets of rain pour down.
"I still cannot understand it—how the Tenth Shadow Lord and his elites were annihilated by a mere whelp." His voice carried disbelief mingled with a grim premonition.
The Seventh Shadow Lord replied coldly.
"There is no need to understand. Our work is not to understand—it is to kill." With a grim smile, he continued. "Enough chatter. Ninth Shadow Lord, block his line of retreat with your men. Eighth Shadow Lord, you come with me to cut his throat. This time, we do not let him slip away. Move!"
At his command, more than thirty black shadows pierced the pouring rain and surged silently toward the mountain like a black wave.
The Blood Sea had ten Shadow Lords under its Sect Master, and each Shadow Lord commanded two Top Grade, eight First Grade, and ten Second Grade assassins. Today they had deployed three Shadow Lords and thirty First and Top Grade assassins.
"Come out!"
Standing tall in the center of the Great Hall with his hands clasped behind his back, Ouyang Qiangang's cold voice rang through the empty chamber. As if responding to his words, countless shadows began to stir in the darkness—through the gaps of shattered windows, behind broken statues, even from atop rotting beams. More than thirty black shadows moved with drilled precision, silently sealing off every route of escape.
It was a perfect encirclement, but Ouyang Qiangang remained composed. This was the board he had laid himself. No matter how formidable the enemy, there was no reason to be cowed by the atmosphere.
Akasha, analyze the enemy's numbers and level.
Analyzing... thirty-three intruders confirmed.
Akasha's calm voice continued to resonate through his mind.
These individuals are using the same Hidden Stealth Art as the group that abducted Gu-yang Cheong-cheong.
The Blood Sea assassins Cheon Un-gi mentioned, then.
Three possess qi fields estimated to be on par with the assassins' leader from that incident—Peak master class.
And the rest?
Six possess qi fields slightly below that level, and twenty-four are beneath them.
Akasha continued.
Each of their individual martial arts is certainly weaker than yours, Doctor. But do not forget—they are not ordinary warriors. They are assassins.
A cold smile touched Ouyang Qiangang's lips.
They mobilized this many assassins to take down one man... I'm truly being honored beyond my station.
Instead of fear, he felt a fierce rage and fighting spirit at being rated so highly by his enemies.
Doctor, activating maximum combat mode. At your current two-Gapja internal energy level, maximum sustained duration is twenty minutes. From this moment, all computational power is devoted to combat support.
With Akasha's voice, Ouyang Qiangang's senses transformed. The pouring rain resolved into such clarity that he could distinguish each individual droplet's impact, and every structure of the light-swallowed temple rendered itself perfectly as a three-dimensional map in his mind.
Then—
Shhhwiiiing—
Beneath the clamor of the rain, a faint whistle of parting air—and a streak of red traced itself across his mental image, cutting through the darkness. At the same instant, Ouyang Qiangang's pupils dilated, and the world began to flow in slow motion. His cognition had accelerated, maximizing his dynamic vision to its absolute limit.
Unfurling the Nine Palaces Subtle Movement Art, Ouyang Qiangang's form slid smoothly aside.
Thwack—!
The jet-black hidden weapon that had pierced the spot where he stood buried itself in the wooden pillar behind.
Fwoosh! Sizzle—
With a hideous hiss, blackish smoke rose from where the projectile had struck. It was coated with a virulent poison—a mere graze would surely mean death.
At that moment, lightning cracked.
KRAKOOM—
In that flash of an instant, a horrifying scene was laid bare: dozens of black shadows charging through the darkness straight at Ouyang Qiangang. And in the same instant, his impassive face was revealed watching them—then swallowed by the dark once more.