Rainy night, moonlight, a young boy holding a short sword, and fresh blood slowly trickling down that still somewhat youthful face—all of it formed an image of striking impact.
Yue Qianfeng's eyes narrowed slightly, while Li Guanyi still gripped the short sword tightly, his gaze fixed firmly on Yue Qianfeng.
Only the sound of the rain whispered around them.
Li Guanyi's breathing remained steady.
He hadn't expected to find himself in such a situation.
He had come in the middle of the night to find that beggar to detoxify his poison and investigate the bronze cauldron. But who could have foreseen that he would stumble right into the cloud-patterned cavalry's nighttime ambush on Yue Qianfeng, let alone witness Yue Qianfeng's brutal counterattack? And least of all had he expected to overhear the secret of Yue Qianfeng's conspiracy spoken aloud by that Night Rider.
Although, by killing that Night Rider, he had forcibly placed himself on the same side as this burly man—
—Li Guanyi still didn't feel fully secure about his safety.
Even so, his expression remained calm. He stared straight at the man before him, while the atmosphere around them was so tense and cold it was almost solid. Rainwater soaked their clothes, until—
A bold, hearty laugh broke the stillness.
The tension evaporated instantly.
Yue Qianfeng looked at the youth before him, as if he were watching a young tiger with its body tightly coiled, ready to spring. He reversed his grip on the narrow blade he held, stabbing it into the ground, and burst out laughing, eyes filled with genuine admiration.
"Good lad! Such murderous intent! Such decisiveness! Such ferocity!"
"A fine accomplice indeed!"
"I underestimated you!"
He offered praise again and again. With a casual wave of his hand, the short sword in Li Guanyi's grip flew into Yue Qianfeng's hand. Around the hilt and guard, Li Guanyi had wrapped a cloth band, hiding the four engraved inscriptions on both sides, leaving only the bluish-green mist surrounding the blade exposed.
It was this very sword that allowed an untrained boy to pierce through the armor of the Night Riders, whose bodies were so powerful that even a tiger might struggle to break their skin. Yet under this blade, they were cut like tofu.
Yue Qianfeng released his inner energy defense, running his thumb carefully along the blade's edge.
No sharp sting, just a slight itch—but when he lifted his thumb, a bead of deep red blood dripped from his finger. Yue Qianfeng sighed, "What a supreme sword. No wonder it could penetrate Night Rider armor."
"Even compared to the Murong family's ninety-seven legendary swords, it's probably not much inferior."
He reversed his grip and returned the short sword to Li Guanyi's scabbard, smiling as he said, "I won't ask where you got this sword. That's your secret. Everyone has secrets. It's nothing unusual."
"However, this kind of sword… is not made for a man to kill with."
"The blade is too thin, the edge too narrow. Rather than a killing weapon, it's more like something noblewomen carry as a last resort—to kill themselves, to avoid humiliation. Whoever gave this sword to you must value you more than they valued themselves."
Li Guanyi gently stroked the blade, his sharp features softening slightly.
In his eyes, the blood-red dragon gradually faded away.
Yue Qianfeng's killing intent had completely dispersed now. Laughing heartily, he said, "Then, fellow accomplice, we've got accomplice's work to do."
He pointed at the fallen Night Riders on the ground. Rain continued to fall, and the air was thick with the smell of blood. Li Guanyi exhaled a long breath and nodded.
Destroy the corpses. Eliminate the evidence.
Li Guanyi sheathed his sword at his waist, then dragged over the corpse of the Night Rider who had discovered his secret and died with eyes wide open in disbelief. He dragged the bodies into a single pile. The cold, sticky feeling of dead flesh under his fingers reminded Li Guanyi once again—he was still the fugitive from ten years ago, hunted by the Night Riders, still bearing deadly poison in his veins.
But in the end, he was just a child, poisoned, weak, and soon to die. He didn't have much strength.
After dragging just one body, he was already panting for breath.
It was only now that he realized his wrist throbbed with dull pain, most likely from stabbing that Night Rider too forcefully earlier, wrenching the joint.
The cold rain sapped his body's warmth bit by bit, and after dragging bodies for a while, his head grew dizzy and light.
Suddenly, the weight in his hands vanished—the Night Rider's corpse had already been picked up effortlessly by Yue Qianfeng, who casually flung it onto the heap. The pile of mangled bodies formed a grotesque sight, making Li Guanyi instinctively nauseous. His right hand clutched his thigh, teeth gritted, forcing down the urge to vomit.
Yue Qianfeng had been watching Li Guanyi the whole time. With a carefree tone, he remarked, "The first time killing someone is always like this."
"Go ahead and puke. You'll feel better."
After a while, Li Guanyi finally replied softly, "No need."
Yue Qianfeng asked, "Why hold it in?"
Li Guanyi thought of what he had seen in this world since his arrival and murmured, "I have to get used to it. Compared to me—or the people I care about—being killed and dumped here… this is much better."
"That's why I have to learn real martial arts."
Yue Qianfeng grinned. His appreciation for this boy deepened. Nodding, he had originally intended to handle the corpses himself without involving the kid but now thought better of it.
Suddenly recalling something, he stepped forward to search through the corpses and soon retrieved a pile of miscellaneous items.
He pointed to the bodies. "Remember—always check the cuffs, hidden pockets, and waist sashes. You never know what you'll find."
He tossed a small bag to Li Guanyi. It was heavy. Opening it, Li Guanyi found medicine—various healing pills and medicinal pastes. Yue Qianfeng casually said, "Bury these somewhere. After a few months, when things quiet down, you can come back and dig them up. By then, they'll be very useful."
Yue Qianfeng then grabbed a waterskin from one of the corpses, wiped it halfheartedly, sat down against one of the temple's large pillars, and began to drink in the moonlight. Around him lay bodies, weapons driven into the ground, and crimson blood flowing along the ground, gradually seeping into the mud.
The moon illuminated the earth like a forest of white bones.
The burly man sat cross-legged, drinking boldly. Seeing the boy organizing and examining the medicines, he raised the waterskin and tossed it over without hiding anything, saying freely, "The name's Yue Qianfeng. Thirty days ago, I was still a fourth-rank Zhenwei General of the Chen Kingdom. Kid, what's your name?"
Li Guanyi tilted his head back and took a big swig of the wine.
Under the bone-pale moon, two drinkers shared their drink.
After a slight pause, he finally answered, "I'm Li Guanyi. Just an apprentice at a local pharmacy."
The big man laughed loudly. "Good guts!"
"You want to learn martial arts from me—not just to protect yourself, but to try to suppress the poison in your body too, right?"
"Haha, easy guess. I may not know medicine, but I know a thing or two. Arsenic, taken in small amounts, is medicine. In excess, it's poison. Camphor balm? Deadly to insects, harmless to humans—because we're stronger than mosquitoes."
"To you, it's a deadly poison. To me? Useless."
"Why? Because my blood is strong, my body powerful, far beyond yours. And if you train in martial arts and cultivate qi, your body and blood will strengthen too. This poison that's killing you now—by then, it'll be nothing. You might even be able to force it out of your body with pure inner qi."
"I gave you my word and a real man keeps his promises. Come here."
He called Li Guanyi over and produced a bracer he'd taken from the Night Rider captain's body. The bracer was heavy, like a chunk of iron. Yue Qianfeng smiled. "Hold it steady."
Then, with a slap—
A deep mechanical click echoed. The recoil almost broke Li Guanyi's arm, and the rain around them scattered into mist as a faint shadow shot forward—
It smashed through one of the Mountain God Temple's massive pillars, crashed into the hall, and with a muffled grunt, a man in black fell to the ground.
Beneath the black robe was soft armor, now punctured, with blood flowing down, staining his clothing dark red. The man knelt weakly on one knee, staring at the two of them in disbelief.
The rain mist slowly dispersed. Yue Qianfeng stood beside Li Guanyi, placing a firm hand on his shoulder, and said:
"Remember this: any operation like this—there's never just one batch of assassins in the open."
"There's always a second team, lurking in the dark, waiting for the target to relax—or waiting to pass along intelligence."
Li Guanyi looked at the kneeling assassin. Just moments ago, Yue Qianfeng had sat there with his back exposed to the threat, yet nothing had happened.
He asked, "Why didn't he ambush you?"
Yue Qianfeng replied calmly, "Because he was afraid."
"Because he knew—he wasn't worthy to be my opponent."
"Li Guanyi. Pick up the blade."
On a rainy night, the long blade Yue Qianfeng had stabbed into the ground buzzed softly. Li Guanyi's trembling fingers reached out, lightly gripping the hilt.
Yue Qianfeng's broad hand closed over his, tightening the boy's grip, and guiding him as he slowly drew the blade.
In that fleeting moment, the hand on Li Guanyi's shoulder seemed to transform—its scales and claws emitting blazing blood qi—it was as though a dragon's claw guided him. Yue Qianfeng's voice was solemn, his murderous intent sharp as he taught:
"Martial skill… is the art of killing. You won't learn this in any school."
"If you want to learn the martial arts of killing… you have to start by killing."
"That one's meridians have been shattered by the hidden mechanism bolt—he's a perfect target. Go on, accomplice—grip your blade."
"I'll teach you… what martial strength truly means!"
(End of Chapter)