Deities Abandoning Children (Part 2)
Yangliu, a small town with a small population located 150 kilometres from the capital, was not a memorable town until acts of savagery caught the attention of the magistrate and Liu Shan Men. While the case was never passed on to Liu Shan Men, Su Xiao had read through numerous cases that had been left aside or unsolved at Liu Shan Men.
Several months ago, a man woke up after a peaceful night to see his pregnant wife’s corpse beside him and find his face smeared in blood. The culprit dug her innards out, and her stiff expression proved that she suffered the torment with self-awareness.
The awful act of cruelty sabotaged the peace of the town, but that was only the beginning. Night after night following that first case, more pregnant women in the town suffered the same ill fate, totalling more than forty women.
Due to it coinciding with the timing of Jiang Chen’s rampage, there was no spare manpower to handle the case. Shen Yiren was out, while Song Ou was too incompetent. In the end, the case was handballed to the Qilin Guards.
Upon recalling what he had read, Su Xiao turned to the steward. “That’s why you wanted to drive us off as soon as you learnt we’re with Liu Shan Men?”
The steward uncorked a lightning-imbued palm strike at the man out of the blue without telegraphing it.
“That was just a joke, but it looks like it wasn’t for you.” The chirping sound remained, but the tattooed man had retreated, still maintaining his casual smile. “We can only act seriously if you’re serious.”
The swordsman and two youngest members backed off instinctively upon hearing lighting crackle again and seeing another strike, with Wei being forced a few steps back. All three consecutive palm strikes were “Forbidden Wind Lightning” techniques.
Before Wei could swing her three-section nunchaku, the steward had already caught one end with a vice-like grip whilst reaching for her with his other hand. He struck at the swordsman before aiming for the two younger ones based on his assumption of who the easiest targets were. The fact that he struck without hesitation, missed the first two strikes and then managed to catch Wei proved he attacked them on purpose and that he was not their match when outnumbered. Therefore, he used the first two strikes to test the waters and make them underestimate him so that his final strike would land.
Langya wanted to intervene twice, but she could not due to the steward positioning himself behind Wei, so she shouted, “Do something, will you?!”
“I am, aren’t I?” responded the lion-like man. In no time at all, his hair was fluttering in the wind as the air around him changed.
Warriors’ bodies would subtly change when they switched into combat mode and began building up energy. Whether it was due to their own transformation or the pressure they mentally imposed on their opponent, it was detectable in the air. Noticing the changes and setting up a defence was the phase of being sensitive to qi. The more advanced one was, the more sensitive they were to qi fluctuations. That said, since each discipline and individual was different, the difference in sensitivity levels varied enormously. Nonetheless, being able to sense the opponent’s qi was a foundation for combat. Few argued this as, if someone could strike without you ever noticing them move, they were either able to use sorcery or so significantly superior that it was pointless to try resisting.
The steward was able to pick up on the man’s qi, except there were traces of a myriad of weapons as if he was trained in every weapon, and he could not erase it; it was ridiculous. While he was thinking, his opponent had already made a move, forcing him to unleash three palm strikes of his own, each faster than the previous one. However, he felt as if he was banging against a wall since he felt all his force rebound straight back at him. In order to cancel out the force of one strike, he had to uncork another one, creating a cycle whereby he had to keep throwing faster and faster to cancel the previous one. After the three palm strikes, his arms were somewhat numb. Moreover, he had to retreat with each strike so as to not smother himself and to give himself enough time, effectively cutting him off from Wei.
The big man smiled. “You’re a decisive striker, but you’re too conniving for your own good. You limited yourself to just one arm when you decided to go for Wei.”
Capturing the steward’s other arm whilst speaking was nothing unimaginable, but the way he grabbed resembled multiple disciplines. It resembled the most popular form of trapping, Beijiang’s Asura Wolf Claw, and he used his fingers to seal acupoints at the same time, which was how internal discipline practitioners fought.
Bai Lian identified him as the strongest between the five, but he exceeded her expectations. In the short exchange, he had already utilised several disciplines, and they were not haphazardly thrown together.
“Do you… know where you are?” coldly questioned the steward. “Is living so miserable for you that you are courting death?”
“You tried to assault us for no reason. I would like to excuse you on better grounds than being guilt riddled, but thinking is not my forte. How about you explain yourself?”
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