For a fourth-grade martial artist at close range, it wasn’t difficult to instantly defeat others of the same level from different systems. A single set of moves could accomplish this.
The formidable strength of fourth-grade martial artists relied on two conditions: “Huajin” and “Intent.”
Martial artists in the Huajin stage were at the pinnacle of personal combat arts. Even Li Miaozhen, let alone Xu Qi An who was also a martial artist, would likely be on the receiving end when facing a Huajin stage martial artist.
Not to mention a fourth-grade practitioner who had cultivated “Intent.”
Of course, one was the Holy Maiden of Tianzong, and the other was a Silver Badge of Great Feng. Both had backup plans and trump cards. However, now was not the time for a death match.
A fourth-grade martial artist couldn’t be killed quickly. Once entangled by the opponent, the three of them wouldn’t be able to escape. By then, with other spies and soldiers pouring in, they would be unable to break free.
Xu Qi An couldn’t reveal his identity, so he couldn’t use his Confucian scroll or Golden Body. Therefore, he couldn’t let the fourth-grade practitioner get too close.
“Whoosh!”
Li Miaozhen raised her flying sword, soaring straight up into the sky, avoiding the turning arrow.
Below, a figure leaped onto the rooftops, sprinting and bounding across the tops of residential buildings, chasing after the flying sword. In the process, the black-robed figure kept drawing the bow, shooting arrows imbued with fourth-grade “Arrow Intent.”
Li Miaozhen, who had been ascending rapidly, was forced down by two arrows. Just as she escaped the arrows above her head, she suddenly heard a series of whistling sounds from below as several more arrows shot toward her.
The black-robed figure leaping across the rooftops had fired a total of thirteen arrows. These sharp arrows were like flying swords, attacking Xu Qi An and his two companions from different angles, imbued with the true intent of not stopping until they hit their target.
Li Miaozhen, like an experienced driver, maneuvered her flying sword to drift, turn, and spin… skillfully dodging arrow after arrow.
But as the black-robed figure shot more and more arrows, the three found themselves trapped in a formation composed of arrows.
“Caught in a trap, caught in a trap…” Xu Qi An cheered for Li Miaozhen’s driving skills while pondering how to shake off the pursuit on the ground.
He couldn’t use the Confucian magic book, couldn’t use Monk Shen Shu, and didn’t know how many people were watching below… He couldn’t use the Vajra Divine Skill as it would reveal his identity, and the Heaven and Earth Slash was the same…
Xu Qi An realized that he still hadn’t learned enough techniques; his skills weren’t diverse enough.
“Wait, not being able to use Confucian spells doesn’t mean I can’t use the magic book…” A flash of inspiration struck him.
As these thoughts flickered through his mind, he saw the building beneath the black-robed figure suddenly collapse. The figure leaped up, flying to a certain height, and just as their strength was about to fail, an arrow flew beneath their feet.
In this way, they stepped on arrow after arrow, continuously rising. During this process, they still kept shooting arrows, not giving Li Miaozhen a chance to breathe.
This must be the peak of fourth grade… Xu Qi An frowned.
A talisman slid out from Li Miaozhen’s sleeve. She held it to her lips, muttering incantations, then suddenly flicked her hand to throw it out.
The talisman burned in mid-air, the flames suddenly expanding into a massive fireball over ten meters in diameter, like a small sun.
The blazing light illuminated the city below, making people think daybreak had come early.
Xu Qi An smelled something burning and turned to look. Zhao Jin’s eyelashes were gone, and his hair had become curled and yellow.
My eyelashes must be gone too… Why does the whole world have to target my hair… Thinking of his current bald head and the eyelashes that had just left him, Xu Qi An felt a wave of sadness.
Li Miaozhen’s beautiful hair danced wildly as she extended one hand and pushed forcefully.
The fireball, like a meteor, hurtled towards the black-robed figure.
The figure moved sideways in mid-air, stepping on arrow after arrow to avoid the fireball, allowing it to fall and endanger the citizens in the city below without attempting to stop it.
Li Miaozhen frowned and suddenly clenched her outstretched hand.
Boom!
The flames exploded in mid-air like a grand firework, scattering in a circular pattern of fiery clusters that extinguished before reaching the ground.
Seizing this opportunity, the black-robed figure stepped on the arrows, moving through the air to rapidly close the distance between them.
Once they got close, they were confident they could quickly inflict serious damage on Li Miaozhen, or at the very least, knock her out of the sky. Li Miaozhen’s options were either to abandon her two companions and escape alone or become trapped beasts together.
Facing the menacing approach of the black-robed figure, Li Miaozhen remained fearless. Her pretty face showed the calm of one unmoved even if a mountain were to collapse before her. She raised her sword finger to the sky and shouted:
“Release!”
Boom!
The sky was filled with rolling dark clouds and thunderous sounds. From the churning black clouds, a blinding bolt of lightning suddenly struck down.
The lightning was too fast, and the sky was not the domain of martial artists. This time, the black-robed figure couldn’t avoid it and was struck directly on the head.
Zzzzt!
The lightning was deflected by an invisible energy shield, with fine arcs of electricity crawling over its surface.
They had used their energy to withstand a lightning strike.
Zhao Jin’s face changed dramatically. If such a violent lightning strike couldn’t stop the black-robed figure, given the distance between them, the figure would be upon them in the next moment.
Li Miaozhen frowned slightly. Since there was no choice, they would have to land and fight to the death. With her and Xu Qi An’s combat power, perhaps they had the strength to kill this peak fourth-grade expert.
Just then, she heard Xu Qi An say, “Keep flying!”
She didn’t hesitate and immediately abandoned the idea of landing to fight to the death, piloting her flying sword upwards.
At this moment, the black-robed figure was just a few zhang away, already poised to pounce at any moment.
Shhhh!
Xu Qi An shook his hand, burning a page of paper, using his body to block the burning of the page, and proclaimed loudly: “Heaven has mercy for all life, one must not kill!”
The black-robed figure, poised to pounce, suddenly froze. Their sharp pupils turned gentle, their will to fight dissipated like smoke, and a feeling of remorse welled up in their hearts.
Remorse for pursuing the three before them, remorse for the killings they had committed in the past.
This process lasted only half a second before the strong will of the martial artist dispelled the influence.
But it was all too late. The arrows, now out of control, fell away. They could only see the dark silhouettes of Li Miaozhen and the others growing more and more distant, quickly disappearing into the clouds.
“Buddhist methods?” the black-robed figure muttered, seemingly angry yet helpless.
…
Li Miaozhen flew above the sea of clouds for a quarter of an hour, then changed direction and flew for another quarter of an hour. Finally, her toes dipped, bringing the two with her as they broke through the cloud sea and returned to the mortal world.
“Was that just now the Northern Frontier King’s spy?” she transmitted her voice.
“A Tian-grade spy,” Zhao Jin responded via voice transmission. “With such cultivation, it must be a Tian-grade spy. Sir Xu Silver Badge was right, we were indeed being tailed.”
He showed an expression of admiration and awe: “Fortunately, I had the two of you with me, otherwise, Zhao would have surely died just now.”
Having witnessed the prowess of Flying Swallow Maiden and Xu Silver Badge, he became increasingly confident about the upcoming mission.
As long as these two were willing to assist, they would surely be able to relay this matter back to the capital, allowing the court to punish the Northern Frontier King.
Half an hour later, following Zhao Jin’s guidance, Li Miaozhen landed outside a valley. As soon as they touched down, Xu Qi An sensed hostile gazes locked onto him.
This was the intuition of a Spiritual Realm martial artist, able to detect surrounding hostile gazes and thoughts.
There was no feedback of an impending attack, indicating that the other party had no intention of making a move for now… Xu Qi An discreetly turned his head to look at Zhao Jin.
The latter nodded slightly, stepped forward, and imitated the call of a night owl.
A few seconds later, an identical call echoed from within the valley, matching the frequency perfectly.
After a moment, a tall and burly figure emerged from the dense forest of the valley, wearing a long saber at his waist and carrying an ox-horn bow on his back—typical equipment for a Northern Border warrior.
“Brother Zhao, you’ve finally returned.”
The newcomer was a man with a full beard, standing seven feet tall, his clothes stretched taut over well-developed muscles. His features were rugged, bearing the strong characteristics of a Northerner.
He stood at a distance without approaching, scrutinizing Xu Qi An and Li Miaozhen. “Who are they?”
Zhao Jin explained, “This is Flying Swallow Maiden Li Miaozhen, also the Holy Maiden of Tianzong. As for this gentleman, hehe, he is none other than the renowned Silver Badge Xu Qi An.”
“You two, this is my sworn brother, Li Han, a sixth-grade martial artist.”
The burly man carrying the ox-horn bow remained cautious as he looked at the two: “How can you prove your identities?”
Li Miaozhen tapped her fragrant pouch, and wisps of green smoke rose and danced in the air, accompanied by the sound of wailing ghosts.
“This ghost-controlling technique belongs only to the Wizard Religion or the Taoist sect,” the burly man with the ox-horn bow said, then turned to look at Xu Qi An and cupped his fists in salute:
“We are in hiding, avoiding pursuit, so we must be cautious. I hope you understand, brother… How can you prove that you are Silver Badge Xu?”
Without speaking, Xu Qi An took out the waist token that symbolized his identity, tossed it over, and said, “Give this to Zheng Xinghuai, he will naturally know my identity.”
Common people in the jianghu might not recognize a night watchman’s waist token, but Zheng Xinghuai, as the Provincial Administrative Commissioner of an entire province, would certainly be familiar with it.
The burly man caught the waist token, pondered for a moment, and said, “Please wait here, you two.”
He immediately strode into the valley. After about a quarter of an hour, Xu Qi An saw the light of torches moving towards them.
A group of people came to greet them. At the forefront was a thin, elderly man in his early fifties with a goatee. His first impression was one of stern dignity, exuding the solemn, no-nonsense air of a person in authority.
Behind him were six jianghu figures, one of whom gave Xu Qi An a strong sense of threat. He was tall and thin, with heavy bags under his eyes, as if excessive indulgence had drained him.
Among the remaining five were Zhao Jin’s sworn brother Li Han, and three men and one woman.
As Xu Qi An scrutinized the group, they were also observing him and Li Miaozhen. Everyone found this young man, who tilted his head and looked at people’s askance, to be somewhat arrogant.
The thin, elderly man stared at Xu Qi An and bowed, asking, “Might you be Silver Badge Xu?”
“Indeed, I am!”
Xu Qi An nodded, cupping his face with his hands and gently massaging it, restoring his true appearance.
“It is Silver Badge Xu,” Li Han smiled with delight.
The people present seemed to have seen Xu Qi An’s portrait before and breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking, “As expected of Silver Badge Xu, no wonder he tilts his head and looks at people askance. This arrogant and domineering aura is not something an ordinary person can match.”
“I am Zheng Xinghuai, the Provincial Administrative Commissioner of Chu Province,” the thin, elderly man bowed and said, “This is not a place for conversation. Please, come inside.”
Xu Qi An and Li Miaozhen followed them into the valley, where there was a natural cave, spacious and deep, extending into the heart of the mountain.
Zhao Jin moved some branches from the cave entrance, making a simple camouflage.
Inside the cave, a bonfire was burning, with simple “beds” made of dried grass, and bones scattered on the ground. Additionally, there were iron pots and food supplies.
They escaped the city and hid in the deep mountains… Xu Qi An scanned the cave and, at Zheng Xinghuai’s gesture, sat down by the bonfire.
“They are all guest advisors in my mansion. Originally, when we escaped, there were over twenty of us, but now only six remain,” Zheng Xinghuai introduced.
The tall, thin man was called Shentu Baili, a fifth-rank Huajin expert. After the two fourth-rank experts perished, he became the strongest in this group of refugees.
Among the remaining three men, the stout fellow was called Wei Youlong, with sixth-rank cultivation. He wore a dirty purple robe and wielded a large cleaver as his weapon.
The one using a long spear was called Tang Youshen. He had a scar on his left cheek and his gaze was sharp as a knife when looking at people, reminding Xu Qi An of Jiang Lvzhong, who was also known for his piercing eagle-like eyes.
According to Zheng Xinghuai, Tang Youshen had a military background but was dismissed for offending his superior. Later, Zheng Xinghuai recruited him as a guest advisor in his mansion.
The last man carried a long sword on his back and had refined features. His name was Chen Xian. The pretty young woman was his wife, and the couple both used swords.
Adding Zhao Jin’s sworn brother Li Han, there were exactly six people.
Xu Qi An’s gaze swept over everyone before turning to Li Miaozheng. She understood immediately and untied the red string on her sachet, releasing a wisp of green smoke.
The green smoke transformed into a man with blurred features in the air, murmuring, “Blood massacre for three thousand li, please send troops to suppress…”
He kept repeating this sentence.
Wei Youlong, leaning on his large cleaver, stared at the remnant soul with a grief-stricken expression:
“His name was Qian Youyi, a brother I used to roam the jianghu with. We were once bodyguards and even killed the local gentry. Later, I served under Lord Zheng, while he continued to wander the jianghu.
“After the massacre in Chu Province, the six of us, including Lord Zheng, were already being hunted by the Northern Warlord’s spies. We couldn’t travel long distances. The first person I thought of was him.
“He was still the same brother as before, willing to risk his life for his friends…”
At this point, his eyes reddened, and he rubbed his chubby face forcefully.
His companions lowered their heads slightly, the atmosphere becoming somewhat oppressive.
Zheng Xinghuai sighed, “We found several jianghu heroes to help deliver messages to my old friends in the capital, exposing the Northern Warlord’s atrocities. But we never expected…”
“Why didn’t you expose the Northern Warlord within Chu Province’s official circles?” Xu Qi An asked.
“It would have been useless and only harmed others. Once the news spread, it would have invited assassination attempts from the Northern Warlord’s spies. Moreover, they say Chu Province’s city is still intact… Who would believe us? It would only lead to pursuit by the Northern Warlord’s spies.”
Zheng Xinghuai shook his head, his eyes showing confusion and fear, not of the spies’ assassination, but of Chu Province’s current state.
Both the barbarian tribes and demon clans were searching for the location of the Northern Warlord’s massacre, but you don’t know about this level of conflict. Otherwise, just spreading the news would have been enough, without needing the imperial court to send an investigation team.
Xu Qi An nodded, accepting the explanation from Administrative Commissioner Zheng.
“You should know that the imperial court has sent an investigation team to look into this case,” Xu Qi An probed.
“We heard from Zhao Jin, who sends messages back regularly. But we dare not approach the investigation team, fearing we might be silenced. If the Northern Warlord could massacre an entire city, what’s stopping him from dealing with an investigation team?” Li Han, carrying the ox horn bow, said indignantly.
“I am the chief investigator,” Xu Qi An emphasized his identity.
Everyone’s faces lit up with joy. Although the capital was ten thousand li away from Chu Province, they knew of Constable Xu’s reputation, which was as resounding as thunder.
Constable Xu had solved numerous strange cases, and with the Buddhist confrontation incident, his fame had soared. Though Constable Xu wasn’t in Chu Province, his legend was.
Zheng Xinghuai stood up, straightened his clothes, and bowed, “Please, Constable Xu, seek justice for the people of Chu Province.”
Xu Qi An didn’t respond, but instead asked, “What’s Lord Zheng’s view on Chu Province’s current situation? According to what you’ve said, if Chu Province was massacred, how can it now appear to be a scene of peace and prosperity?”
Zheng Xinghuai’s face stiffened, and he said dejectedly, “I too am horrified and puzzled.”
Shentu Baili and the others showed equally bewildered expressions.
Xu Qi An looked at Li Miaozheng and transmitted, “I’ve used my Aura Observation technique, and they’re not lying. But this contradicts reality. Besides Aura Observation, do you have any other ways to detect lies?”
The crude warrior had no choice but to seek help from the flamboyant female Daoist.
Li Miaozheng pondered for a moment before transmitting back, “There’s a spell called Empathy that can temporarily merge two souls, allowing memories to be shared. Have you heard of it?”
Empathy?
Xu Qi An was startled, recalling the day he bought a house and, with Caiwei’s help, empathized with the female ghost in the well, witnessing the Qidang Minister of War’s collusion with the Witch God Cult.
At that time, he experienced everything from a first-person perspective, being entered countless times by the warlock called Tamraha.
Although there was no real physical sensation, it was like watching a first-person movie, but it still left a huge psychological shadow.
This won’t work. I’m full of secrets. If we empathize, I’d have to silence them before the Northern Warlord’s spies even find us… Xu Qi An transmitted:
“Is there a way to empathize one-sidedly? I don’t want my memories to be pried into by others.”
Li Miaozheng smiled, transmitting confidently, “Of course there is.”
Xu Qi An took a deep breath. Well then, let me see the scene of that day’s massacre.
“Lord Zheng, we need to see the scene of that day’s massacre. I hope you’ll cooperate,” Xu Qi An said, then looked at Li Miaozheng.
The Holy Maiden of the Heavenly Sect added, “Close your eyes and recall the details of the day of the massacre.”
Zheng Xinghuai nodded, sat cross-legged on the ground, closed his eyes, and recalled that bloody, cruel night that often woke him in terror.
Li Miaozheng slid three talismans from her sleeve, placing them on her own, Xu Qi An’s, and Zheng Xinghuai’s foreheads. Then, she gripped Xu Qi An’s shoulder and leaped.
Xu Qi An felt himself jump up. Looking down, he was shocked to find that he and Li Miaozheng were still in their original spots.
Was this an astral projection? Before he could ask, he felt a tremendous suction from the talisman on Zheng Xinghuai’s forehead. It turned into a vortex, swallowing him and Li Miaozheng.