Heroic Hong Jiu (Part 8)
Despite possessing the capacity to fight three of the Seven Stars on even ground for an hour straight, Master Qi couldn’t gain the upper hand whatsoever. Once she realised they were holding back to avoid killing her, she held her sword up to her neck to start negotiations. Even if they didn’t fear her sister, they had nothing to gain besides a formidable enemy out of her sister if they killed her. That being said, no matter the strategy, it’d only serve to stall the enemy when the strength discrepancy was so significant. From the get-go, their best strategy was to flee – including with Hong Jiu. As a consequence of their incorrect decision, they lost Hong Jiu, while Guan Ning suffered a beating at the hands of Drought Demon and Hai Yecha.
Nine-Lives Cat Fiend frisked Master Qi once she was unconscious, then sneered, “Look at how sneaky her hands are.” Nine-Lives Cat Fiend retrieved the incomplete seal that Master Qi pinched. “What a crafty girl. I now see why she threatened us with her life.” She then looked over to Drought Demon, who had his arms crossed whilst spacing out, and instructed, “She knows our plan. I have to sabotage her mind. Drought Demon, erase her skills.”
Drought Demon exhaled. “Nah, Old Hai can do that. That’ll help him blow off some steam before his head explodes.”
Hai Yecha snorted through his nose. “I’m going to sever that brat’s hands so that he can never fight again!”
“Wait!”
Nobody would’ve heard Fang Xiaoyu’s interjection if they weren’t the Seven Stars.
Fang Xiaoyu clumsily came out from behind the building beside Vivianite, prompting Guan Ning to yell, “Why did you come back?!” Guan Ning knew it was too late to tell Fang Xiaoyu to run at this point, so he banged his head on the ground in regret.
Fang Xiaoyu, face blanched with fear, walked up to the three Stars and stuttered, “L-leave them alone.”
Nine-Lives Cat Fiend hiked up a corner of her lips. “Who are you? What makes you think you can order us around?”
Fang Xiaoyu pulled out a sheet of paper and a square seal from his shirt. Hai Yecha snatched the two items over. The three Stars identified the imperial court’s letter of appointment and seal for the post.
“You are Liu Shan Men’s new judge? A seventh rank. That’s quite impressive.”
Fang Xiaoyu wore on a long face. “I am an official of the imperial court.”
Nine-Lives Cat Fiend smirked. “Young Official, it appears you don’t comprehend the situation. Henceforward, we’re going to be killing the imperial court’s civil servants; the higher their rank, the better.”
Hai Yecha replaced his scowl with a straight face. “The nightfires you shot tonight have summoned five thousand of our troops hiding in Jiangnan. At latest, Fiends’ Genesis will become the imperial court’s primary target for elimination. You must be very eager to die.”
Fang Xiaoyu inflated his chest with all the courage he could muster. “I know. As long as you are willing to hear me out, though… This one is from Shaolin.”
Drought Demon: “Oho?”
Hai Yecha pointed a finger at Hong Jiu. “That unconscious man is not only a disciple of Mount Daluo but also Beggars Sect’s Chief’s son. He’s about to become a cripple. Why should I care if you’re a disciple of Shaolin? Why should take orders from you?”
“A Shaolin disciple is no big deal. However, I wish to speak in private with you as a disciple of Shaolin and official of the imperial court,” answered Fang Xiaoyu, legs shaking.
Hai Yecha: He’s afraid, yet he’s trying to negotiate. He’s not stupid for sure. Unless he has something he truly wants to talk about, he wouldn’t ask to speak with me in private.
“Tell me here.
“I must speak with you in private. Would you happen to be afraid of an untrained kid?”
Drought Demon: “Hahaha, Old Hai, go listen to what he has to say. The kid is entertaining me immensely.”
Hai Yecha: “… Come with me!”
Two hundred steps later, Fang Xiaoyu shook his head. “They are all formidable martial artists. What if they overhear us?”
“Hmph.” Hai Yecha accommodated another five hundred steps. “Good enough?”
“Brother Hong stated everything within a square kilometre was within earshot if he tried. Are you telling me your friends are inferior to him?”
Refusing to take it, Hai Yecha walked another kilometre. As he went to stop, he caught Fang Xiaoyu shaking his head again. “What are you trying to pull?! I’ve given Shaolin enough respect! Shake your head one more time, and I’ll slap it off your shoulders!” Hai Yecha prepared his hand to bring it down.
“The argent sphere reflects off the water. The vigorously flowing water reflects off the moon in a crescent shape. Darkness shrouds the heavens once again. The ocean reverses its flow as the wind rises.”
Hai Yecha froze.
“The blade assembles intent slowly like accumulating snow. His appearance shows when thought is there. When thought is gone, his appearance is gone. The lead blade enters the defence. Tai A breaks from afar.”
“Stop, stop, stop! If you continue, this old one w-”
“Do you really intend to kill me? If you do, I will never be able to speak again.”
Hai Yecha froze the hand he was lowering.
“I did say we had to go far away, did I not?” Fang Xiaoyu continued forward, then looked over his shoulder. “Not coming? I might walk off, you know?”
Hai Yecha gave chase and, in a muffled voice, responded, “You think you can outrun me? With your qinggong? What a joke.” In spite of his threat, he was all smiles.
They continued for a few kilometres, but it was Hai Yecha who took the lead this time, even utilising qinggong, and Fang Xiaoyu was the one who had to try and stop him. When they finally stopped, Hai Yecha had no clue where to start.
“W-was that really the moves?”
“If not, why were you so eager to drag me here?”
“Thought so… Wh-where did you learn Vivianite’s broadswordplay from?”
Vivianite’s broadsword discipline emphasised winning through power. As a show of confidence, he carved his discipline onto his vivianite broadsword’s big blade. That said… only his next target would ever see the text, and they were all dead. In the three times Hai Yecha met with him, Hai Yecha could never see Vivianite’s appearance properly due to the way Vivianite moved. When Drought Demon tried to provoke a scrap, Hai Yecha managed to catch a glimpse of the line, “Darkness shrouds the heavens once again,” which was one of the lines that Fang Xiaoyu recited. That was the reason they had to make sure they were out of Vivianite’s hearing range.
“I committed it to memory.”
“H-how?”
“I looked at his blade and memorised what I saw.”
“You’re lying!”
“I’m not!” Fang Xiaoyu stared straight back into the elder’s eyes. “Prior to becoming a monk, my shifu’s name was Fang Shuiyu… His Dharma name is now Kongluan.”
“Kongluan? One of Yan Shisan’s assistants?”
“Correct.”
Kongluan, as one of Yan Shisan’s Divine Constables, was a specialist in investigation. Realising Kongluan’s disciple was watching him, Hai Yecha felt his spine turn cold.
“Although Shifu never taught me martial arts, he taught me an ability called ‘Pre-Eminent Perception’.”
Hai Yecha: I thought so.
Unlike martial arts, Pre-Eminent Perception required an innate knack for it and dedication to honing it in order to achieve mastery. Yan Shisan passed the skill on to Kongluan.
“Because he carries his weapon on him, I couldn’t see the text until he drew it out to fight Brother Hong. I memorised the section I saw. Considering how formidable he is, I imagine you fear him, as well. If you know how his discipline works, however, you can prepare yourselves to an extent. If you could master some of it, then that would be even better. Further, you must have paid an exorbitant amount to hire League of Assassins’ best assassin. I don’t think I need to list the benefits of having his discipline. I can share everything I remember with you in exchange for my friends’ safety. If you disagree, I won’t tell you zip even if you kill me!”
The two soon returned to the estate and, to the surprise of almost everyone, Hai Yecha publicly promised not to harm the four in any capacity.
Glossary
Tai A – The name of a treasured ancient sword that Gan Jiang forged.
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