The storm suddenly intensified. At the ship’s bottom, one could clearly feel the surging of the enormous waves. Tiangong Ichiro remained silent for a long while, then shook his head and said, “God-Catcher sir, it seems everything I’ve said to you for so long has been wasted words. There’s no benefit in saying more. The gates of the underworld have already opened for you—let us never meet again.”
“Kill him.”
Aihara Hideo was like a raging wild bull spurting the flames of murderous intent. With both hands he brandished his samurai sword, locking onto Meng Rui. Meng Rui’s face was deathly pale. He tried several times to draw “Death God” but failed each time. Was he going to die in this ship’s hold where no sunlight reached? Meng Rui dejectedly closed his eyes.
If it’s already destined by fate, then I can only…
“Die!” Aihara Hideo’s cold blade had arrived.
Meng Rui suddenly opened his eyes, “Then I can only defy heaven!”
With a violent roar, “Death God” tore through the dark space. A great blood flower bloomed between Aihara Hideo’s eyes. Even in death, he couldn’t believe that such a fast blade existed in this world!
“Thud!” Aihara Hideo fell dead to the ground. Tiangong Ichiro’s cheeks twitched incessantly, as if an invisible hand had slapped him left and right a hundred times. He said in shock and bewilderment, “This is impossible! You’ve been affected by the Eight-Headed Serpent Incense… how can you be fine?!”
With “Death God” in hand, Meng Rui looked at Tiangong Ichiro like the god of death himself.
Tiangong Ichiro suddenly understood. He whipped around and stared fixedly at Inoue, “Inoue, you betrayed me.”
Inoue spat at him, “You tore apart my wife and children from me. I’ve long wanted revenge.”
It turned out that the one who had delivered that mysterious handkerchief to Fang Zhi’s home that night was Inoue. He had revealed Tiangong Ichiro’s plan to use the Eight-Headed Serpent Incense to trap Meng Rui, and had attached the incense’s formula in one corner of the handkerchief. Meng Rui had then prepared the antidote according to the formula, breaking through Tiangong’s carefully laid trap in one stroke.
“You’ve harmed me, so I’ll make sure you don’t die well either!” Tiangong Ichiro suddenly pounced on Inoue. Because the two were too close together, by the time Meng Rui arrived it was already too late. A poisoned dagger stabbed into Inoue’s heart. Inoue stretched his throat to shout something, but his head tilted to the side and he was already dead.
“Your hands are stained with yet another innocent life. It seems the underworld is already before your eyes.” Meng Rui’s entire body emanated towering killing intent. Tiangong Ichiro laughed wildly and shouted, “My heart has long since fallen into the eighteenth level of Avici Hell—what is there to fear about the underworld! Hmph, hahahaha… Even if I die, I’ll make you all accompany me in burial!”
Tiangong Ichiro swiftly threw out an iron ball. The ball smashed into wooden crates placed in the hold. The crates instantly caught fire, followed by a series of explosions one after another. It turned out the crates were filled with gunpowder—twenty or thirty crates’ worth.
Meng Rui’s face was grim and fierce. With one blade, he killed Tiangong Ichiro.
Looking back at the green-eyed youths, Meng Rui said, “You all follow me!”
But the several hundred, perhaps even a thousand youths still stared fixedly at the corner. Meng Rui shouted anxiously, “Hurry up and leave! Leave… the fire is about to burn down the entire ship.”
The youths still didn’t move at all. Meng Rui remembered the green stone. He held the green stone high above his head and shouted, “Follow me!”
But still no one moved.
Explosion sounds rose one after another. In the blink of an eye, scorching, suffocating waves of fire swept over the youths. There was no time for anything.
Meng Rui only felt his heart bleeding. He closed his eyes and leaped up the wooden ladder.
The entire ship had already begun to burn. Fire serpents burned through the anchor ropes. From a distance, a brilliantly blazing red sea vessel gradually sailed toward the dark blue ocean with the storm. Meng Rui jumped onto the deck. A flame chased after him and caught up, burning madly—looking at the fierce fire, Meng Rui suddenly remembered Ye Huancheng’s words:
“Dingshui City is like a giant spider web woven across a thousand-ren cliff. People survive in the crevices by the spider silk that connects them to each other. Once the silk thread supporting them breaks, what awaits them is a bottomless abyss that devours bones and seizes souls.”
Without knowing when, he too had become a small insect in this spider web, with his hands and feet bound. And the Spider Queen was using the bound him to expose Prince Ding’s scheme and shatter an alliance. Yet the Spider Queen had never shown herself, hiding in the web, coveting another kind of calculation. A blade meant to find someone had become a blade given to others to use. Wasn’t he the pitiful and laughable one!
Fire and sky became one color, instantly devouring half the sea vessel. Meng Rui retreated step by step. Ahead was towering fierce fire, behind was the storm’s giant waves. Half a step from life and death, Meng Rui stood firm as a mountain, looking up at the sky with sorrow.
Once upon a time in a dream—in the wild fields of Sanfen Village, Meng Rui and his sister held each other’s hands. His sister said: I’ll hide, and you come find me. But you must find me, or else I won’t come out. Meng Rui nodded heavily: No matter where you hide, I will find you.
Time had passed, and many things had changed. The waves shattered the final illusion, sliding saltily down his cheeks. Meng Rui faced the deep black sea surface and murmured with a smile, “Wan Xiang, I’m sorry… this time your big brother might break his promise.”
“Brother Meng, Brother Meng, where are you?” A resounding voice came through. Meng Rui’s entire body trembled. On the pitch-black sea surface, a small boat struggled forward. Fang Zhi stood at the very front, waving and shouting, “Hey, over here!”
Meng Rui smiled. At first, he thought Fang Zhi was an oddball, but now Meng Rui thought he was the most lovable person.
The small boat stopped at the left side of the sea vessel. Fang Zhi said foolishly, “What are you standing there in a daze for? Want to watch fireworks on the sea?”
Meng Rui leaped into the small boat. Fang Zhi produced a jug of wine from who knows where, drank a large gulp himself, then passed it to Meng Rui, “Surviving a great calamity—we should celebrate with a great drink!”
“Glug glug glug glug!” The pungent bitter wine went down his throat, but at this moment Meng Rui felt it was as sweet as honey.
“Captain, what’s that ahead?” A dark-faced yamen officer at the bow said in surprise, “It looks like a warship.”
Fang Zhi widened his eyes. Suddenly, a great shower of arrows shot from the warship, falling toward the small boat like locusts filling the sky. Two yamen officers were the first to die from arrow strikes. Meng Rui was also hit by two arrows. In the blink of an eye, a second wave of arrow rain attacked, and Meng Rui could no longer dodge.
Suddenly someone pounced over and pressed Meng Rui firmly beneath him. It was Fang Zhi.
“Fang Zhi, what are you doing! Quickly move aside!” Meng Rui forcefully tried to pry Fang Zhi’s body off, but couldn’t budge him no matter what.
Fang Zhi still had that foolish smile, looking at Meng Rui sincerely, “You still have many things to do, but I… have nothing left.”
The arrow rain arrived. Meng Rui heard muffled sounds from Fang Zhi’s back. Fresh blood covered Fang Zhi’s face, but he was still smiling, “Having you as a friend in this lifetime—it’s been worth it! Hahaha!”
“I miss the girl so much… She must still be drifting somewhere on the vast sea, waiting for her big brother to find her… I’m going to find the girl now, and I’ll have to listen to her nagging again…” The girl nagged so much, but her words stayed with Fang Zhi until the very end of his life. Tears moistened Meng Rui’s eyes. The Fang Zhi before him no longer moved.
The warship sailed away.
Who sent it?
Prince Ding? The Crown Prince? Meng Rui’s brain was completely blank. He could no longer think.
Rising and falling in the sea for who knows how long, he finally drifted to land.
Meng Rui held Fang Zhi. After a long while, he sent the corpse back to the sea. Go, go find the girl.
The shore was brightly lit with torches. A large contingent of soldiers suddenly appeared. The two leaders—one was Dingshui County Magistrate Kong Pei, and the other was an old man dressed in black.
The old man had white hair at both temples, and his eyes were like those of a hawk or falcon. Meng Rui said in shock, “Elder Yan!”
The black-clothed old man was none other than the chief of the Four Great God-Catchers of the Great World, the head constable of the Six Gates of the Holy City—Eagle Catcher Yan Cheng.
Yan Cheng looked at Meng Rui with a complex expression, “It’s been a long time, Meng Rui.”
Having spoken, he waved his hand, “Come, apprehend the murderer who assassinated General Chi Yun.”
Soldiers came forward with ropes. Meng Rui said in shock and doubt, “Elder Yan, what is this about?”
“Alas, General Chi Yun of the Nanhu Camp was killed. Before dying, he wrote down two characters—Green Blade.” Yan Cheng paused slightly, then continued, “Chi Yun died by the blade—one blade, fatal!”
“The ‘Death God’ of the Green Blade Catcher is renowned throughout the Great World Dynasty. If you’re not the murderer, who is!” Kong Pei shouted, “Quickly apprehend him.”
Meng Rui’s eyes flickered. After a long while, he looked up to the heavens and laughed loudly, “One scheme after another to kill me and silence me. Good, excellent! I’d like to see which of you can kill me. Come on.”
Several soldiers were all knocked down by Meng Rui’s punches. Kong Pei glanced sideways at Yan Cheng, “Elder Yan, what do you think…”
Yan Cheng said nothing and leaped from his horse. From beneath his sleeves, a pair of sinewy, bony hands struck at Meng Rui horizontally. This was Yan Cheng’s famous ultimate technique, “Vajra Eagle Claw Kung Fu”—seventeen moves of Eagle Claw Kung Fu, each move fierce and unmatched. Meng Rui’s body was already at the end of its strength. He was defeated at the tenth move, and Yan Cheng’s move “Eagle Pouncing Rabbit” struck directly into Meng Rui’s chest.
Meng Rui spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood and retreated wretchedly to the shore’s edge. He nodded his head miserably, “Thank you… Elder Yan for fulfilling my wish.”
Having spoken, Meng Rui leaped into the icy seawater.
“Don’t let him escape! Quick, quick, go into the sea to find him.” Kong Pei shouted frantically. But after searching for a long time, they couldn’t find Meng Rui. Yan Cheng mounted his horse again and said, “Having been struck by my Eagle Pouncing Rabbit, he cannot survive. As for his corpse, it was probably swept away by the seawater long ago.”
“What a waste to let him off so easily.” Kong Pei sighed with regret. Actually, he had wanted to capture Meng Rui and take him to the Nanhu Camp to claim a reward.
The troops withdrew and returned to the city. Walking at the very rear, Yan Cheng looked deeply at the pitch-black sea, shook his head, and finally left.
On the other side of the shore, in the forest, Ye Huancheng revealed his face and murmured, “I hope we can meet again.”