Li Xiaozong glanced at the row of people standing before him, and couldn't help but rub his increasingly swollen cheek. Although he was looking at the people in front of him, his mind was still on the fight he'd had with that perverted woman at the Yunji Dog Meat Shop. Since leaving the Martial Arts Academy, he had never been beaten so thoroughly.
Even within the Martial Arts Academy, no more than three of his initial cohort of students could beat him. And those three were universally acknowledged geniuses among geniuses of the Sui Dynasty. He was beaten because he happened to belong to that category. In fact, across the entire Sui Dynasty, very few people reached the seventh rank at twenty-six; even a careful consideration would place him in the top ten. Of course, there were probably many other hidden geniuses living in seclusion somewhere.
Yet, this proud and arrogant Li Xiaozong had been beaten into a pig's head by that domineering woman at the dog meat shop.
He thought about it carefully. He realized he must have thrown the first punch. His intention was to shatter the cabinet in Yun Ji's shop with one blow, hoping the woman would learn her lesson and let it go. But because he broke Yun Ji's furniture, he provoked a furious beating from the woman.
He had absolutely no chance to fight back.
He shook his head with a wry smile, thinking that if this got back to the capital, those three would laugh him to death. "General Li, what are you doing here?"
Seeing Li Xiaozong shake his head and smile bitterly, Wu Peisheng couldn't help but turn cold: "Just now, the bugle sounded, and I saw the soldiers in the camp assemble and then half of them went out. Why did those soldiers turn back when I was only halfway there? I just received news that Fang Jie, the spy from the Mongol Empire, is trying to escape through the west gate. Why aren't you intercepting him? What are you doing standing here?"
Li Xiaozong shook his head and said, "Fang Jie is an outstanding soldier in the Sui Dynasty's Fan Gu border army. Since joining the army, he has accumulated twenty-one merits, large and small. According to the rules set by His Majesty the Emperor of the Sui Dynasty, any soldier who has accumulated more than two merits..." "Anyone who takes the exam ten times, regardless of age or background, is eligible to participate in the Martial Arts Academy's entrance examination. I have already prepared a certificate recommending Fang Jie to go to Chang'an to participate in this year's Martial Arts Academy entrance examination."
"What did you say?!"
Wu Peisheng's face turned extremely ugly. He pointed a finger at Li Xiaozong's face and angrily said, "A spy of the Mongol Empire, how did he become a meritorious person?!"
"Half an hour ago, he was indeed a spy sent by the Mongol Empire into my Fangu City, someone everyone should kill. But half an hour later, he is a meritorious person of my Great Sui border army."
"Give me a reason!"
Wu Peisheng said coldly, suppressing his anger. "The reason is simple."
Li Xiaozong pointed to his face without shame and said very seriously, "Just recently, one of Fang Jie's friends beat me up badly. Then she went to rescue Fang Jie, and I reckon the men you sent have been dealt with. Fang Jie is fine, and I can't beat his friend, so she can't be a spy, only a hero."
"Mu San!"
Wu Peisheng coldly ordered, "Take some men to the west gate and take a look. I'd like to see just how many immortals are hidden in this small city of Fangu!"
"There are no immortals in Fangu City."
Li Xiaozong smiled and said, "It's very small, no more than three and a half li long, and wide..." "No more than three li. Eight hundred border soldiers and two thousand two hundred and sixty-one civilians. There's no immortal hiding here, just people... but undeniably, the more inconspicuous a place seems, the more likely some reclusive masters like to live in seclusion here."
Wu Peisheng snorted, ignoring Li Xiaozong: "Mu San, go ahead. There's nothing to worry about here. What I least believe is that General Li would dare do anything to us. Whether or not we arrest the spies of the Mongol Empire is no longer important. What's important is that Mu Da and Mu Er might perish here. Your Dali Temple can afford to lose face, but we can't."
"Yes, sir!"
Mu San responded, leading a dozen or so Dali Temple officials towards the west gate. Li Xiaozong didn't intend to stop them at all, instead smiling as he stepped aside. The smile made his swollen face sting.
"I only just realized that the spy sent by the Mongol Empire wasn't that insignificant border soldier named Fang Jie, but rather you, a fifth-rank military officer of the Sui Dynasty. Today, Li Xiaozong… even if I wanted to help you exonerate yourself, I can't. Allowing a traitor to kill a Sui Dynasty official—no matter how favored you are by His Majesty, you can't escape death."
Li Xiaozong sighed and explained, "If I don't change my mind, I'll die before His Majesty kills me. Even if I must die, delaying it a few days is better, isn't it?"
Wu Peisheng sneered, "You're so sure you can kill me? Don't pretend you didn't think that way. Since you planned to release Fang Jie and watched Mu Da and Mu Er being killed, you certainly won't let me go."
"Since you knew all this, why did you let Mu San go to the West Gate?"
Li Xiaozong asked. "Because you can't kill me, and tonight, anyone plotting rebellion, I'll kill."
"No wonder..."
Li Xiaozong sighed, "You're that talisman master who's been broken for so many years, aren't you? You've hidden yourself well... No wonder His Majesty values you so highly. A eunuch actually being a sixth-rank talisman master—I doubt many people would believe it. I've always known the capital is full of hidden talents, but only now do I realize that even among eunuchs, there's a group of penisless tigers."
...
...
Wu Peisheng slowly untied the cloak draped over his shoulders and casually tossed it onto the snow: "Li Xiaozong, you should know you have little chance of winning against a talisman master."
Li Xiaozong nodded: "Even ordinary people know that..." "In a direct confrontation, a martial artist is no match for a talisman master... but you and I seem to be from different ranks. You're a sixth-rank upper-level expert, not yet a seventh-rank. Even so, my chances of winning are still slim, but at least I have a chance to win."
"You're wrong..."
Wu Peisheng smiled, barely able to hide his smugness, and said, "Sixth-rank upper-level... you're talking about me three years ago, not now. I've seen the Ministry of War's records and know you were already a sixth-rank expert when you were at the Martial Arts Academy. These past three years of honing your skills in the border city, I imagine you've broken through to the seventh rank. Unfortunately... three years ago, because His Majesty bestowed upon me a mink vest, I was so happy that I broke through to the seventh rank."
Li Xiaozong's expression changed, and he subconsciously took a step back.
"Trying to back down now? Too late."
Wu Peisheng smiled sinisterly, slowly raising his right hand and pointing it at Li Xiaozong. His hands were beautiful, long and clean; if you didn't look at his face and only saw his hands, you'd likely mistake them for a woman's. Even among women, these hands were considered delicate and beautiful.
The nails were trimmed extremely short, without a trace of dirt in the crevices. The fingers were long and slender, the palms slightly thick, showing that he took great care of them.
The moment he raised his hand, Li Xiaozong immediately did one thing:
Escape.
He pushed off with his feet, and in the next second, he was already more than ten meters away. His movements were incredibly fast, and his reaction was even faster. This made Wu Peisheng look at him with new respect: "There are still people in the capital saying that your future is unpredictable. Dean Zhou even said that if you don't die by thirty, you might become the youngest governor-general in the history of our Great Sui Empire. A second-rank provincial official, with boundless prestige."
"Unfortunately… Dean Zhou is right, you won't live to thirty."
Li Xiaozong didn't reply, but instead fled again into the distance. In a flash, he was already more than ten meters away, his movements so fast that even the eyes couldn't keep up. But Wu Peisheng seemed completely unhurried. He bent his outstretched hand back down, leaving only his index finger, and slowly drew a talisman in the air.
Meanwhile, Li Xiaozong was already over thirty meters away.
Just as Li Xiaozong was preparing to retreat for the fourth time, he suddenly sensed danger behind him. In a split second, he lunged forward and landed face-first on the snow. Three sharp, spear-like ice spikes, though small, suddenly appeared behind him. Had he not dodged in time, these three ice spikes would have pierced his body—one to the back of his head, one to his neck, and one to his heart.
This was the way a talisman master fought—unpredictable and impossible to defend against.
"You can't escape. Our family's specialty is writing water talismans. In this freezing weather, water freezes into ice, making the talisman's power significantly greater. Even if you're fast, can you outrun the snow that blankets Fan Gu City?"
Wu Peisheng smiled smugly, his fingers drawing talismans faster and faster. With each movement, more and more icicles the size of chopsticks appeared around Li Xiaozong's body. No matter how he dodged, the icicles followed him relentlessly. A seventh-rank master was a rare sight even in the army. Just as Li Xiaozong had predicted, once he returned to the court, he would soon be promoted to the fourth-rank Eagle General, with a bright future ahead. But now, this promising future star of the Sui army was being forced into a corner by a seventh-rank talisman master.
With a hiss, an icicle finally pierced Li Xiaozong. The seemingly fragile icicle easily tore through his cotton-padded clothes. A trickle of blood slowly seeped from inside his cotton-padded coat, but Li Xiaozong had no time to check his injuries. In the brief moment he paused, at least thirty ice spikes surrounded him.
"Isn't it frustrating?"
Wu Peisheng said with a smile, "A seventh-rank expert, utterly powerless to resist. If it were me, I would definitely feel incredibly frustrated."
...
...
Li Xiaozong gasped for breath, kneeling on one knee, barely able to breathe. His body was covered in wounds, and an ice spike was deeply embedded in his shoulder, slowly melting from the warmth of his blood. His cotton-padded robe was torn to shreds, with blood visible in many of the cuts.
Wu Peisheng slowly flicked his fingers, and at least twenty ice spikes floated up again, aimed at Li Xiaozong: "From the moment you tried to kill me, you made a mistake. You are a martial artist; apart from close combat, you have absolutely no chance of killing me. But you didn't seize the opportunity. Do you know why?"
He said smugly, "Because from the moment I saw the border soldiers retreat, I began to suspect you. And since I suspected you, how could I not be wary of you?"
He sneered, "The geniuses of the Martial Arts Academy... are nothing more than groveling before me like dogs, panting heavily. You should cherish the smell of this world, because the smell of hell probably isn't this fresh. Li Xiaozong... after I return to the capital, I will tell His Majesty that you died fighting valiantly while capturing a spy. This is good for you, for me, and for your Longyou Li family."
"Thank you."
Li Xiaozong solemnly uttered two words. "Haha! You can actually say 'thank you'? Is it to thank me for saving your face?"
Li Xiaozong shook his head, slowly straightening up. "It's to thank you for being so smug, which is why you exposed so many flaws."
Wu Peisheng was startled. Just as his fingers were about to move, a sharp pain shot through the back of his head. Immediately afterward, an ice spike pierced his forehead, protruding about an inch long. Wu Peisheng looked at Li Xiaozong in disbelief, collapsing limply before he could utter a word. As he fell, all the ice spikes floating around Li Xiaozong landed on the ground.
Li Xiaozong let out a long sigh of relief, slowly walking to Wu Peisheng's side and squatting down. He looked at the ice spike and then smiled with some satisfaction.
"Since you know I'm a genius from the Martial Arts Academy, you should know that geniuses always want to learn more. Those three guys have suppressed me for three years at the academy. If I don't hone my skills now, how will I get back to suppress them? But I've only been practicing talisman techniques for three years; I can't use them as smoothly as you do. So I always need time to prepare. If you're not satisfied, how can I deceive you? How can I kill you? You might not know why I volunteered to come to Fan Gu back then. It's because it's too remote; nobody knows I can practice talisman techniques… Won't those three be shocked when I get back?" "Oh…no, that's not right."
Li Xiaozong smiled and said, "Actually, I just wanted to test if my talismanic arts would work. Even if they don't, you can't kill me. As for my injuries…I need to accumulate some experience for the future. What if I encounter a more powerful talisman master? Right? There are so few talisman masters. It's rare to meet one, so naturally I want to play around with them a bit more."
He tossed a short, lightweight crossbow from his sleeve, then patted Wu Peisheng's unseeing face: "Anyone who doesn't prepare at least two options is a fool."
Just then, footsteps sounded behind him.
Li Xiaozong stood up and turned around. He saw a woman wearing an extremely rustic blue floral cotton-padded jacket, one hand gripping Mu San's ankle as she slowly walked towards him. The cold, lifeless Mu San had become a cold, lifeless corpse, dragged along by the woman like a dead dog, leaving a trail in the snow.