Chapter 36
Chapter 36
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 0
Chapter Title: Annihilation Under Moonlight
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Helian Zheng was furious beyond measure. His hand pinched a sword mudra while the other gripped a three-eyed fire gun. His face was dark and sinister as he stared at Chen Shi.
Now, eleven corpses lay on the ground inside the temple.
The only ones left standing besides the two of them were none other.
Chen Shi faced Helian Zheng as well. He slowly relaxed his palm. Young Master Zhao Rui's corpse slid slowly down along the wall.
Helian Zheng's position was extremely clever—precisely about one zhang away.
For Chen Shi, this was the limit of his instant-kill range.
If the distance were any farther, he would find it hard to close in in a breath.
—Though he had refined true blood and his body was far stronger than before, beyond one zhang his speed wasn't quite that fast. It would easily give the enemy an opening. Thus, within one zhang was the optimal range for close-quarters slaughter.
This distance Helian Zheng chose put him on alert. He couldn't help thinking of another person: Zhuge Jian.
When Water Buffalo County's bailiff Zhuge Jian had tested him, he too had stood at this distance—able to advance and attack, retreat and defend.
Helian Zheng's battle experience was vast. He had roughly gauged Chen Shi's striking range.
The fat diviner burst into loud laughter.
"I told you so! He'll kill you all—he'll slaughter every last one of you! He's a murderous deity! A murderous deity escaped from the underworld!"
Helian Zheng turned a deaf ear. Chen Shi ignored him completely.
The two stared fixedly at each other.
At that moment, several Embroidered Uniform Guards rushed into the ruined temple. They saw blood and corpses strewn everywhere and were startled. They were about to act when Helian Zheng barked coldly,
"Don't come in!"
The Embroidered Uniform Guards froze for a moment and pulled back the feet they had stepped over the threshold.
Chen Shi inwardly sighed in regret. If those Embroidered Uniform Guards had entered, Helian Zheng would have been forced to hold back, afraid to unleash spells recklessly. His strength would have been diminished.
The ancient temple was too cramped. The more people who came inside, the better Chen Shi's odds.
If it were just the two of them alone, Chen Shi would be the one in peril!
The two eyed the corpses and pools of blood at their feet. They shifted their steps lightly and evened out their breathing.
Suddenly, Helian Zheng let out a fierce roar. He took a step forward, his foot gliding on a clear breeze for one zhang straight toward Chen Shi. His other hand swung the three-eyed fire gun down at Chen Shi's forehead!
The Galloping Horse Talisman on his legs still held power, granting him swift speed. Combined with his massive frame, it matched Chen Shi's pace without falling short!
In this strike, he unleashed his full might. The three-eyed fire gun whistled through the air as it descended—heavy beyond measure.
Chen Shi moved to dodge. But he suddenly spotted the slight twitch in Helian Zheng's left hand pinching the sword mudra. Alarm bells rang in his mind, and he raised his hand to meet the three-eyed fire gun head-on.
An invisible sword qi slashed down from beside him, cleaving into the ground and shattering the brick tiles!
Had Chen Shi dodged, he would have run straight into that sword qi.
Chen Shi caught the three-eyed fire gun with his raised palm. His hand nearly shattered from the impact. Only when the immense force pressed down to his shoulder did he fully absorb the hammer's power.
"Boom!"
The three-eyed fire gun detonated at his shoulder. Thunderbolt pellets blasted out, punching a massive hole in the wall behind him. Flying bricks and shattered shot scored bloody gashes across his back!
Though the shot missed Chen Shi, the erupting Three Yangs Thunder Resonance from the fire gun left his eardrums ringing. He heard nothing at all.
Chen Shi tried to seize the fire gun. But Helian Zheng released his grip, letting Chen Shi take it.
An intense sense of danger surged in Chen Shi. He thrust the gun forward to block. With a sizzle, an invisible sword qi sheared the three-eyed fire gun in two!
Chen Shi retreated while swinging the two segments of the fire gun. They whirled like snowflakes. But sizzles rang out without end—the segments snapped inch by inch.
Suddenly, the invisible sword qi struck flesh. Even as Chen Shi darted frantically around the ruined temple, he took hit after hit. Sword marks bloomed on his arms, legs, back, chest, neck, and cheeks. Fresh blood soon oozed from them all!
Helian Zheng dogged his every move. Both hands pinched sword mudra to direct the blade. Invisible sword qi flew from the Divine Shrine. The Divine Embryo seated within the Divine Shrine also pinched the same mudra, mirroring Helian Zheng's gestures perfectly.
"Two-Hand Sword Qi!"
Though Chen Shi couldn't track the sword qi's path, he discerned that Helian Zheng's technique differed from the Noon-Midnight Evil-Cleaving Sword in the Heavenly Heart Righteous Qi Art.
The Noon-Midnight Evil-Cleaving Sword consisted of six forms. The moves were simple: thrust, slash, draw, lift, cloud, and cleave. Simple though they were, their power was immense. They could fly twenty zhang and still sever a tree two men could embrace.
Helian Zheng's technique was swordplay as well, but weaker in raw force. Yet its finesse was exquisite.
Controlled by both hands, the sword qi extended at most a chi—never straying far from the body. At farthest, it reached just over a zhang. But it obeyed his will completely, flipping and weaving at whim!
This spell was made for close combat—tailor-made to counter brute-force fighters like him with tough hides!
Suddenly, Chen Shi kicked a corpse flying at Helian Zheng. Helian Zheng shifted fluidly aside to evade. At the same time, his precisely controlled sword qis swerved around the corpse without marring it.
When he turned back, Chen Shi was nowhere to be seen.
"He escaped through the hole in the wall!" The fat diviner gloated.
Helian Zheng's face darkened. He burst through the breach. Though he hadn't heard the fat diviner, he could see Chen Shi had used the corpse to block his line of sight and fled the temple.
Outside came urgent shouts without end. Chen Shi was clashing with Embroidered Uniform Guards along the path.
Helian Zheng gave chase. At a corner, he found a corpse on the ground—one of his Embroidered Uniform Guards. The chest was caved in, ribs driven into heart and lungs. Clearly crushed to death by knees slamming the chest.
Helian Zheng pressed on. He found another by the roadside, neck snapped.
This one had been throat-locked, windpipe crushed, then neck bone punched through!
Rage boiled within him. He pursued relentlessly. By the time he reached the village edge, he had passed three more corpses.
Beyond the village, Embroidered Uniform Guards activated their Galloping Horse Talismans one after another. They raced along the post road like the wind, charging toward Chen Shi.
Ahead, Chen Shi sprinted at full tilt without a talisman—yet faster still than they!
"No need to chase!"
Helian Zheng halted the men. Moments later, the Embroidered Uniform Guards wheeled back. They looked to him—some fearful, some uneasy, most seething with fury.
Helian Zheng seemed to age years in an instant. He shook his head.
"No need to chase. Brothers, go your separate ways. Heh heh, we failed our duty. Third Young Master and five other Zhao scions died here—what's the point in chasing? Even if we catch him, does that erase our guilt?"
An Embroidered Uniform Guard spat in fury,
"Sir! This brat slaughtered six young masters and ladies of the house, plus so many brothers. We just let it slide? Blood debt demands blood repayment!"
"How much silver does the house pay you a month?"
Helian Zheng asked.
"Seven taels,"
the guard replied.
"Heh. Seven taels a month. Is your life worth so little?"
Helian Zheng slumped in defeat and waved them off.
"The house pays me thirty taels a month—and I'm walking away. What about you lot? Scatter. Everyone find your own path."
They hesitated but gradually saw reason. Thus, they dispersed bit by bit.
Helian Zheng wasted no time. He oriented himself and departed.
With six young Zhao prodigies dead, the family would erupt in fury. These guards had failed utterly—punishment was certain, perhaps even death.
Catching Chen Shi wouldn't absolve them.
Especially since they couldn't catch him.
Fleeing was the best option.
Helian Zheng walked deep in thought. He halted abruptly, scanned about with a puzzled look, then resumed.
Moments later, he stopped again and chuckled.
"Little Talisman Master Chen Shi, is it? You've shadowed me for ages. Why not show yourself?"
As his words faded, Chen Shi stepped out from behind a great tree to his rear.
Helian Zheng saluted from afar with a smile.
"Little brother, so many Embroidered Uniform Guards and experts in that temple—yet you slew eleven straight and slipped my grasp. I truly admire your prowess. Pray tell, why track me?"
"Revenge,"
Chen Shi said.
Helian Zheng frowned faintly, then smiled broadly.
"Little brother, we've no grudge between us. I was hired by the Zhao family of the provincial city to safeguard their scions—duty called. If I gave offense back there, forgive me. But I'm no longer in their employ, duty discharged. Any grudge should be settled here and now."
"Clang."
Chen Shi tossed over a heavy chunk. It rolled several turns across the ground to Helian Zheng's feet.
"Revenge for him,"
Chen Shi said.
Helian Zheng peered closely. It was the gun barrel of the three-eyed fire gun.
Bewildered, he noted the bloodstains. Memory flashed to the farmer whose brains he had bashed out with two blows. A chill gripped him.
"You mean to avenge that farmer? Little brother, he's just some illiterate peasant. Why risk your life for him? Kin? Friend? Debtor of a favor?"
Chen Shi shook his head.
"Not kin. Not friend. No favor. Just someone I met."
Relief washed over Helian Zheng. He grinned.
"If just a stranger, why make enemies? Jianghu paths are long—we may cross again. Here's an idea."
He drew a silver ingot from his bosom—some ten taels. He stepped back, eyes fixed on Chen Shi, and slowly set it on the ground.
Helian Zheng's expression turned solemn.
"Take this ingot back to the little brother. Give it to the farmer's widow and orphans—my compensation. One life, ten taels. Generous for the countryside."
He turned and strode off. After a dozen paces, he halted and glanced back. Chen Shi still trailed him. The ingot lay untouched.
Helian Zheng's anger flared. He sneered.
"Little brother, don't think me scared. You're just a strong kid—your skills pale beside mine. Killing you would be child's play!"
Chen Shi didn't flinch.
"I'll keep following. You'll slip eventually. Even a nap, and I'll have you."
A shiver ran through Helian Zheng. He pressed on. Chen Shi matched him. Helian Zheng stopped; so did Chen Shi.
"This persistent wraith—how long will he stalk me?"
Helian Zheng swallowed his rage, calculating silently.
Chen Shi's speed outpaced his own. He couldn't shake him—only wait for an attack and counter with sword qi!
Yet Chen Shi merely shadowed, biding his time for laxity.
All the while, Helian Zheng sustained the Divine Embryo in the Divine Shrine. His true qi drained steadily. Prolonged like this, exhaustion loomed.
"That's what the little monster waits for!"
They walked who-knew-how-long. Helian Zheng hadn't eaten since noon; hunger gnawed fiercely. A glance back—Chen Shi still there. He gnashed his teeth.
"Keep this up, and night falls!"
He clenched his jaw and trudged on. He looked skyward—the heavens reddened, the sun a thinning sliver.
Dusk at last descended.
Cold moonlight bathed the world. Eerie cries echoed from the woods, like wailing ghosts.
Then, enormous heads rose slowly from the forest. They ascended while drinking in the moon's essence, ballooning like inflated hides.
Heads of all ages and sexes: some with sparse wisps of hair, others in topknots, some with sultry eyes, others rugged and hale. All wore uncanny smiles, eyes rolling to fix on the pair trudging the path.
"Heh heh."
They laughed, drifting swayingly toward the two.
Helian Zheng's scalp crawled. The most common evil: Floating Heads. Come every night, the first evil to appear was always Floating Heads.
Tension gripped him. He quickened his pace, eyes darting about to ward off close approaches—while constantly checking back on Chen Shi.
In mere moments, sweat soaked him. He faltered.
"Chen Shi's gone!"
Eyes bulging, he peered back desperately. The shadow that had trailed him moments ago—vanished!
As worry mounted, one Floating Head drifted silently overhead. Its mouth gaped, a long tongue uncoiling—crimson and slender. The tip self-knotted into a noose and snagged Helian Zheng's nape.
Helian Zheng saw more Floating Heads drifting nearer and whipped around to hasten away. Suddenly, his neck constricted. The Floating Head hoisted him skyward, body helpless as it ascended!
Cool under duress, he seized the looped tongue. But it cinched tighter, choking his breath.
Light blazed from the Divine Shrine at his back. Divine glow flared; sword qis lashed out at the tongue.
In that instant, a figure streaked like lightning and leaped high!
Chen Shi hurtled toward Helian Zheng in midair!
"He used a Galloping Horse Talisman—faster than I thought!"
Shock seized Helian Zheng's heart. He moved to unleash his final reserved sword qi—but agony exploded in his groin from Chen Shi's brutal kick.
Chen Shi's right hand rose. Two fingers plunged into his eyes, popping both orbs. As his right withdrew, his left fist—half-clenched—rammed straight, pulverizing the throat bone.
Then his right hand clamped the shoulder for leverage and spun. A bear-paw slab of a palm whistled back in a slap to the occiput, driving the jade pillow bone into the skull!
"Too fast—no time to react!"
Helian Zheng thought.
Chen Shi dropped behind him and landed lightly. Before the Floating Heads closed in, he sped away.
Right Three, dead!
Twelve in the ancient temple—all dead.