On a rainy night, under the moonlight, a young man holding a short sword stood with blood slowly trickling down his still somewhat youthful face, creating a striking scene. Yue Qianfeng's eyes widened slightly, while Li Guanyi continued to grip the short sword tightly, his gaze fixed on Yue Qianfeng.
Only the sound of rain pattered softly.
Li Guanyi's breathing was steady.
He had not anticipated encountering such a situation.
He had come in the middle of the night to seek the beggar for the purpose of antidotes and the bronze cauldron, but he never expected to stumble upon the scene of the cloud pattern cavalry surrounding and attempting to kill Yue Qianfeng, nor the subsequent counterattack by Yue Qianfeng, and even less did he expect the cloud pattern cavalry to reveal Yue Qianfeng's conspiracy.
At this moment, although he had killed the cloud pattern cavalry and stood on equal footing with this man, Li Guanyi still did not have complete confidence in his own safety.
Even so, he maintained a calm expression, looking at the man, as the atmosphere in the air grew cold and nearly solidified. The rain fell upon them until Li Guanyi heard a hearty laugh, which broke the tension.
Yue Qianfeng looked at the young man before him as if he were a taut young tiger. He sheathed the long knife he held into the ground and laughed heartily, his eyes filled with admiration.
“Good lad, good ferocity, good decisiveness, good ruthlessness!”
“A true accomplice!”
“I underestimated you!”
He praised repeatedly, and with a flick of his hand, the short sword in Li Guanyi's grip had already fallen into Yue Qianfeng's hand. Li Guanyi had wrapped the sword's body and hilt with a layer of something, covering the four inscriptions on both sides, revealing only a mass of azure mist-like sword body.
It was this sword that allowed this untrained youth to pierce through the cloud pattern cavalry's formidable Night Rider Armor. The flesh of such martial artists was difficult to harm even for a fierce tiger, yet under his sword's edge, it was as fragile as tofu.
Yue Qianfeng released his internal energy defense and ran his thumb along the sword's edge.
There was no pain, just a tingling sensation, but when Yue Qianfeng lifted his thumb, a drop of bright red blood fell from his finger. He sighed, “What a top-notch sword! No wonder it can pierce the armor of the Night Rider Cavalry.”
“Even compared to the ninety-seven legendary swords of the Murong family, it’s not far off.”
He tossed the short sword back into Li Guanyi's scabbard and smiled, “I won’t ask where your sword came from; that’s your secret. Everyone has secrets, and that’s nothing rare.”
“However, a short sword of this shape is not meant for a man to kill enemies.”
“Its blade is too thin, too narrow. Rather than a weapon for killing, it resembles a sword given to a noblewoman in her final moments to avoid humiliation. The person who gave you this sword must regard you as more important than herself.”
Li Guanyi gently stroked the sword body, his sharp brows softening slightly.
In his eyes, the crimson Azure Dragon, which had been fiery red, was gradually losing its bloodthirst.
Yue Qianfeng's killing intent dissipated, and he laughed, “Then, accomplice little brother, we need to do what accomplices ought to do.” He pointed at the cavalryman lying on the ground, rain falling, the blood still thick in the air. Li Guanyi exhaled a breath of turbid air and nodded.
Destroy the evidence.
Li Guanyi inserted the sword into his waist and dragged the Night Rider Cavalryman, who had discovered his identity and died with unclosed eyes, pulling the body together in a heap. The sensation of flesh and blood reminded Li Guanyi that he was a fugitive who had survived under the pursuit of the Night Rider Cavalry ten years ago, still carrying a deadly poison.
He was ultimately just a child, poisoned, with a short life ahead, and lacking strength.
He was already panting after barely dragging one corpse.
At this moment, he suddenly felt a dull pain in his wrist, likely from the force he used to stab the Night Rider Cavalryman earlier, twisting his wrist in the process.
The cold night rain washed over him, gradually sapping his body heat. After a while, he felt a bit dizzy.
Suddenly, he felt a lightness in his hands; the corpse of the Night Rider Cavalryman had been effortlessly lifted by Yue Qianfeng, who then tossed all the bodies together. The sight was shocking, and Li Guanyi felt a wave of nausea rising. He gripped his thigh with his right hand, forcing down the feeling of revulsion.
Yue Qianfeng had been observing Li Guanyi and said nonchalantly, “This is what it’s like the first time you kill someone.”
“Throwing up will make you feel better.”
After a while, Li Guanyi replied, “No, thank you.”
Yue Qianfeng asked, “Why endure it?”
Li Guanyi thought of what he had seen upon arriving in this world and said softly, “I need to get used to it. It’s much better than seeing myself or those I care about killed and left here.”
“So, I want to learn true superior martial arts.”
Yue Qianfeng grinned, increasingly satisfied with the boy. He nodded, initially planning to avoid this child while dealing with the corpses, but now thought it unnecessary. Suddenly recalling something, he stepped forward and rummaged through the bodies, quickly finding a pile of scraps.
Pointing at the corpses, he said, “Remember, search the hidden pockets in the sleeves and bags; there might be something useful.”
He tossed a pouch to Li Guanyi, which felt heavy. When opened, it contained some healing medicines and pills. Yue Qianfeng casually remarked, “Bury these somewhere. After a few months, when the heat has passed, you can take them out and use them slowly.”
Yue Qianfeng casually pulled a water pouch from the corpse of a fallen Night Rider Cavalryman, wiped it off, and leaned against the pillar of the Mountain God Temple, drinking under the moonlight. Beside him were piled corpses, swords and knives stuck in the ground, and bright red blood flowing down the path, gradually seeping into the muddy earth.
The moonlight shone on the ground, eerily resembling a forest of white bones.
The big man sat cross-legged, drinking heartily, and seeing the child over there sorting and identifying the medicinal properties, he lifted the wine pouch and tossed it over without any concealment, saying straightforwardly, “My name is Yue Qianfeng. Thirty days ago, I was a fourth-rank General of the Chen Kingdom. What’s your name, boy?”
Li Guanyi tilted his head back and took a big gulp of wine.
The moonlight was like white bones, with two drinkers.
After hesitating for a moment, he replied, “My name is Li Guanyi, just an apothecary apprentice in a medicine shop.”
The big man laughed, “Good courage!”
“You want to learn martial arts from me, not only to protect yourself but also to alleviate the deadly poison in your body?”
“Haha, not hard to guess. Although I don’t understand medicine, I know some principles. A small amount of arsenic is medicine; too much is poison. There’s also mosquito repellent, which is deadly to mosquitoes but harmless to humans because the human body is much stronger than that of mosquitoes.”
“It’s a lethal poison for you, but it has no effect on me.”
“That’s because my qi and blood are vigorous, and my physique is robust, far exceeding yours. If you practice martial arts and refine your qi, you will naturally strengthen your body and qi. The deadly poison that troubles you now can be easily suppressed later, or even expelled with strong internal energy.”
“I promised you; a man’s word is worth a thousand gold. Come here.”
Yue Qianfeng gestured for Li Guanyi to step forward and handed him a wrist guard he had taken from the Night Rider Cavalry captain. The wrist guard was quite heavy, like a piece of iron. Yue Qianfeng smiled, “Hold it well.”
Then he reached out and slapped the wrist guard.
The sound of the mechanism activating was dull, and the recoil nearly broke Li Guanyi's arm. The rainwater in the air was shattered into mist by a fleeting shadow, which pierced through the wooden pillar of the Mountain God Temple, crashing into the hall. A muffled grunt followed, and then a man in black fell down.
The abdomen beneath the black clothing was covered in black soft armor, which had been pierced through, blood oozing out, staining the dark clothing red. He looked at the two men in disbelief.
As the rain mist slowly dispersed, Yue Qianfeng stood beside Li Guanyi, his palm resting on his shoulder, saying:
“Remember this: the spies in this world will definitely not be limited to those on the surface.”
“Behind the scenes, there’s a second batch waiting to strike the moment their target lets their guard down or to relay information.”
Li Guanyi looked at the man in black kneeling on the ground. Just moments ago, Yue Qianfeng had been sitting there with his back turned, yet nothing had happened. He asked, “Why didn’t he ambush you?”
Yue Qianfeng replied lightly, “Because he is afraid.”
“Because he knows he is not worthy to be my opponent.”
“Li Guanyi, pick up the knife.”
Under the rainy night, the knife that Yue Qianfeng had just thrust into the ground whistled. Li Guanyi loosened his grip and placed his hand on the hilt. Yue Qianfeng’s large hand grasped Li Guanyi's hand, urging him to tighten his grip on the hilt, then helped him draw the slender battle knife.
In a daze, the hand resting on Li Guanyi's shoulder transformed into clawed scales, exuding a fierce blood aura, clearly resembling the hand of a Azure Dragon. Yue Qianfeng's voice was serious in teaching, yet carried a chilling killing intent:
“Martial arts are the skills of killing, not something learned in a classroom.”
“If you want to learn the art of killing, you must start with killing.”
“He has already been rendered incapacitated by that mechanism crossbow, making him a perfect opponent. Come, accomplice, grip the knife.”
“I will teach you what martial arts truly are!”
(End of Chapter)