The person who had broken his rib smiled elegantly and gently, “Does it hurt?” The man glared at him viciously, “Bah! It doesn’t hurt…” Before he could finish speaking, with another “crack,” another rib in his chest broke. Tang Lici’s soft, slender fingers undid one button on his chest. The man was sweating profusely from pain when suddenly his chest was exposed. He saw with his own eyes the broken rib protruding through his flesh and suddenly screamed, his entire body going limp. Tang Lici’s brand-new cloud shoes still stepped on his chest as he reached to undo the second button on his clothing. The man felt as if under a demonic curse, unable to move his entire body, and suddenly began shrieking, “Don’t… don’t… don’t anymore… I’ll tell… I’ll tell, I’ll tell…”
The slender, snow-white fingers stopped at his button, slowly tracing a circle along the button. Yet Tang Lici didn’t question him, instead turning back to smile slightly at the other two lying on the ground, “I wonder if you three take orders from Spring Peach and Summer Lotus, or if Spring Peach and Summer Lotus take orders from you three masters?”
“Spring Peach and Summer Lotus take orders from us. Poisoning Consort Yun and then monitoring her to steal the ‘Green Enchantment’ from the Emperor—all of that was their… their business…” the man under his foot said rapidly, “But we were just… just people watching over them. This matter absolutely wasn’t masterminded by us. How would we have such balls to target Consort Yun? It’s truly… truly orders from above that we had no choice but to follow!”
“Who gave the orders?” Tang Lici focused on another person. That man’s face instantly changed from ruddy to iron-blue, “Above… above means above, the… the person who distributes medicine. They said… that kind… that kind of medicine is too domineering and needs to be neutralized with extremely cold medicines, which might be better.” Tang Lici’s eyes moved, “Who is the person distributing medicine?”
“Every month on the fifteenth at the hour of zi, a monster with wings on its back that looks like a bat flies into the palace to distribute a divine medicine. Whether it’s headaches and fever or colds and coughs, or long periods without progress in martial arts practice, eating that medicine has miraculous effects, so many palace guards take it.” The man spoke haltingly, “But that… that’s not human. How could humans have wings on their backs and pig noses and pig eyes…” Tang Lici sighed and said gently, “Since you recognize that monsters with wings on their backs that look like bats can cure illnesses, I think mere flesh wounds should be no problem.” The man showed a terrified expression. With several “crack” sounds, Tang Lici extended his foot and broke the ribs of the remaining two men. As the three rolled on the ground in pain, they heard Tang Lici say indifferently, “Next time, if I learn of anyone being disrespectful to Consort Yun, I’ll break their limbs and stuff them in their mouths. Did you hear?”
The three endured the pain and agreed. With a “tap” sound, Tang Lici waved his hand and threw over a light green small jade box, then departed with flowing sleeves.
One of them picked up the jade box and opened it to look. Inside was a layer of light green, fragrant ointment. The man was stunned for a moment, then suddenly shouted, “Azure Dragon!”
This was actually one of the most effective ointments for mending broken tendons and bones—Five Nights Little Azure Dragon! It was said that applying this medicine could heal even the most serious external injuries within five nights. This medicine was extremely precious and difficult to buy even with a thousand gold pieces. Looking at the Azure Dragon, the three men’s joy instantly far exceeded the pain of broken bones.
Tang Lici left the imperial palace. Yang Guihua would certainly handle the matter of the bat demon in the palace cautiously. Today could be considered a favor he had given Yang Guihua. Otherwise, even Jiao Shiqiao and Yang Guihua might not be able to find any traces of that bat demon. Such mysterious affairs had gone on for so long without being exposed, showing that the bat demon acted with such caution and care that it was beyond comprehension. And the Green Enchantment… so someone with intentions wanted to use the Green Enchantment to neutralize the toxicity of the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills. Green Enchantment pearls were extremely rare in the world. Even if they could neutralize the poison, very few people could be saved. To dare target the Emperor showed this person’s audacity. Who wanted to neutralize the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills poison? To be able to mobilize so many people, it must be a very important figure—who? Xifang Tao? If it was Xifang Tao, or a master with martial arts as supreme as Xifang Tao, why couldn’t they break into the palace to steal the pearl? They couldn’t—was it because this person’s martial arts weren’t high enough, or because they couldn’t be in multiple places at once?
The matter of the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills would become more complex the longer time dragged on. Tang Lici boarded the carriage returning to the mansion, looking through the window at the desolate official road with withered vegetation, raising his hand to smooth his slightly disheveled silver hair. A’Yan… if the antidote for the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills doesn’t appear soon, the situation could spiral out of control at any time. When that happens, no one could control where the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills would lead the martial world and court politics… no one knows.
But before speaking of the antidote for the Crimson Ghost Nine Heart Pills, A’Yan must be found first. Where was he? Shen Langhun’s whereabouts were unknown. After he and A’Yan left that day… by his estimation, Shen Langhun wouldn’t easily kill Liu Yan, but some humiliation was inevitable. After these two disappeared, he had Chi Yun investigate, resulting in Chi Yun’s death… afterward he stopped investigating, and Liu Yan also vanished without a trace, as if truly dead.
If… it was because he stopped investigating that Liu Yan truly died at Shen Langhun’s hands, then… Tang Lici sat in the carriage, flipped down the tea tray embedded in the carriage wall, poured himself a cup of tea, and took a light sip.
Then… after saving Fu Zhumei, let’s all die together! Fang Zhou was dead, Chi Yun was dead, Liu Yan was dead… many people, events, and things he wanted to salvage had all left him. Loss… had almost become a habit.
He rarely failed, but often lost.
Tang Lici took another sip of tea. Victory often gained nothing, and those who won more seemed lonelier… but what victory couldn’t obtain, perhaps death could…
The carriage wheels rolled, moving neither fast nor slow. The night was clear and cold, moonlight like intoxication. Suddenly, the carriage stopped. “Young Master,” the coachman called out, “what is that strange thing ahead?”
Tang Lici lifted the curtain and saw in the gradually descending night, in the middle of the desolate, empty official road, a huge brown, long-haired object lying prostrate. The night wind blew, and the brown object seemed to have wings. The huge wings lying on the ground rose and fell gently with the night wind, actually seeming to breathe.
“Young… Young Master…” The coachman was so frightened his entire body went soft. The closer he looked, the more he felt it was a monster, “Traveling… traveling at night really… really encounters ghosts. Let’s flee quickly! That must be a demon!” Tang Lici said gently, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here. We’ll go around it.” The coachman steadied himself, suddenly remembering that the young master behind him was a “fox demon.” Perhaps fox demons were specialized in controlling the long-haired monsters on the ground? But his hands were still trembling, “Young… young young young master… it… it won’t suddenly jump up and bite me… will it?” Tang Lici said softly, “I guarantee it won’t. Go around it, don’t be afraid.”
The coachman mustered his courage and let the carriage slowly pass by the brown monster. As the carriage drew closer, he could see the monster more clearly. Under the moonlight, the brown fur was indeed rising and falling with breathing, but the closer he looked, the less it seemed like a living creature—more like a huge piece of cowhide… The horse went around the edge of the monster. When the carriage was halfway past, suddenly the fine horse reared up with a wild neigh, cried out miserably and fell to the side, instantly split in two with blood and flesh flying—it had been cut in half at the waist! The coachman opened his mouth wide, so frightened he was stunned and couldn’t say a word. Suddenly his body felt light as Tang Lici carried him soaring upward, leaping onto a large tree beside the official road. The coachman watched helplessly as a bright, long-handled large blade slashed through the air. The long-haired monster on the ground leaped up, revealing itself to be a strange man with wings on his back and an extremely ugly face, holding a four-foot long-handled curved blade, a pair of sharp, glittering small eyes coldly watching him.
My goodness! What kind of monster was this! The coachman only wanted to faint, but being overly nervous, he couldn’t faint for the moment and continued staring wide-eyed at the strange man. This staring allowed him to see some details—this person actually didn’t have wings growing from his back, but was wearing an extremely heavy suit of armor. The armor was made from the hide of some strange animal that had wings, and this strange man hadn’t removed the wings when roughly skinning it to wear, nearly causing people to mistake him for a monster. But this person was pig-headed and pig-brained, so even without those wings he wouldn’t be far from a monster—couldn’t really say he was wrongly accused. He stared dumbly at this monster, feeling for a moment that he had entered hell. Suddenly his waist tightened as Tang Lici pulled off his belt and bound him firmly to the tree, then leaped down from the tree and swept toward the distance. That strangely shaped, furry monster pursued relentlessly, raising his long-handled large blade in urgent pursuit. In several bounds, both disappeared from the coachman’s sight. The coachman stood dazed for a long time, looking at the dead horse below his feet and the desolate wind and cold moon in the sky above, “Young Master—Young Master—” he raised his voice and shouted, “How am I supposed to get down later—”
Tang Lici in white robes was elegant. His lightness skill and movement techniques were naturally superb. Tonight he had no intention of fighting this long-haired strange man, but the faster they ran, the more distance they covered—in moments both had run westward for more than three li, yet the long-haired strange man was getting closer and closer. Tang Lici’s eyes lifted slightly at the corners as he looked back. The strange man wore that seemingly cumbersome armor, and the huge furry flesh wings on the armor created air currents as he ran, lifting more than half of the strange man’s heavy body. Although he couldn’t truly fly through the air, it had unique advantages. The strange man was very familiar with this odd outfit and could even briefly glide through the air when encountering complex terrain—naturally much more convenient than Tang Lici. Seeing he couldn’t shake him off, he suddenly stopped. The strange man also stopped abruptly, the flesh wings behind him fluttered once, and his entire body flew up more than two feet off the ground before slowly landing.
The long-haired strange man still had that odd pig face, a pair of sinister small eyes looking at Tang Lici. Tang Lici was looking at the pair of wings behind him. What could those be? And this strangely shaped face was clearly a mask—who was underneath the mask? Coughing lightly, he smiled at the long-haired strange man, “Could Your Excellency be the bat demon quite famous among the palace guards?” The long-haired strange man didn’t speak, but his gaze fell on Tang Lici’s chest. Tang Lici reached into his bosom and took out the brocade pouch he had taken from the incense burner at Emerald Willow Little Lotus, saying gently, “So Your Excellency came for this?” He lightly tossed it forward. The brocade pouch landed on the ground with a “tap,” the mouth untied, revealing what was inside—a string of lustrous jade beads.
The long-haired strange man’s gaze instantly became angry, and a deep roar came from his throat, “Eh—” Tang Lici smiled, “If Your Excellency likes this thing, giving it to you is no problem.” The long-haired strange man struck his fists against his chest, let out an earth-shaking roar, and pounced toward him. Although this person’s face was unclear and voice hoarse, his skills were surprisingly agile, with tremendous strength and flexible moves. When attacking swiftly, the pair of flesh wings behind him created sharp wind sounds that could also injure if they hit. Tang Lici lightly touched the ground with his foot, retreating and dodging, his robes fluttering, rising and falling like an immortal. After exchanging dozens of moves, each had a measure of the other. Tang Lici’s eyes lifted even more at the corners, appearing to smile slightly in the moonlight, “If you like what’s on the ground, feel free to take it. The night is already deep—aren’t you tired if we keep fighting?” He had won against this long-haired strange man by more than a level. As this light laugh escaped, his heart suddenly felt slightly alarmed—something was wrong… Just as his heart became alert, the long-haired strange man gave a long roar, leaped forward, his fingers like knives stabbing toward Tang Lici’s neck. Tang Lici chopped at his abdomen with his palm. With a “pa” sound, his palm struck solidly, pushing the strange man away. With a “wa” sound, the strange man spat fresh blood. Just as he struck his enemy, Tang Lici felt a slight wind behind him. He suddenly turned and struck forward with his palm. With a “bang,” both palms connected solidly. The person attacking from behind was actually another strange man wearing flesh-winged armor with a pig-like face! Moreover, from this solid palm connection, this sneak attacker’s martial arts were considerably higher than the previous one. A thought flashed through Tang Lici’s mind—what had made him alert earlier was that if the so-called bat demon was just such a reckless brute, how could he make the palace guards submit obediently? Indeed, there was more than one strange man dressed this way—the bizarre outfit was merely a method to deceive people. Two strange men joined forces to surround and attack. Tang Lici defended with every move, gradually developing thoughts of retreat. Suddenly he felt a chill behind him as a familiar voice said, “I truly despise Young Master Tang very much, but no matter what I want to do, I always seem to have ‘chance encounters’ with Young Master Tang…”