Xie Yan twisted his body to dodge an arrow, simultaneously kicking off a nearby tree trunk and fleeing in another direction. He couldn't remember how long he had been running, only that if he stopped, the people behind him would catch up, and his life would be cut down like a weed by them.
Thwack!
Xie Yan’s hand mercilessly plunged into a tree in front of him. Fresh blood flowed from the trunk. Unexpectedly, the tree was a person in disguise.
“The twenty-first!” Xie Yan soared up, spun around, and a dagger appeared in his right hand. Using an extremely cunning angle, he swiftly sliced across the person’s throat. Fresh blood spurted out, and a corpse fell to the ground. Wiping the fresh blood from his dagger, Xie Yan immediately retracted the blade, once again summoning his energy, and with a few leaps, he was amidst the reeds. By the time the people behind him caught up, only a corpse remained, its blood already congealed.
“Another instant kill.” The Fa Guan confirmed after examining the wound on the corpse…
Twenty-one imperial experts had died, not counting the bandits who had joined in. So many deaths were absolutely considered a shocking major case for the Zhou Fu, highly likely to have alarmed the Son of Heaven in Yan Jing.
“Damn it, how can this kid be so vicious!”
A scar-faced man carrying a saber stood nearby and spat.
This scar-faced man was the most famous Bu Tou in the Zhou Fu. No one remembered his real name, only his nickname, Lie Quan. Meaning, anyone he tracked could not escape.
“A disciple of the Blood Swordsman Shi Fengnian, it’s no surprise he has such methods.” The one who spoke was a woman in pink attire. Her beautiful eyes, beneath her hair, held chilling killing intent. This was the renowned Ming Bu Hong Xiezi, whose name shook Yan Jing.
A combination of two such powerful Bu Tou was only to deal with a sixteen-year-old youth.
“Although the higher-ups said to try and capture him alive, if I catch that brat, I’ll cut his throat directly.” A cold glint flashed in the scar-faced man’s eyes.
“That way, pursue.”
On the ground, the Gui Fa Guan stood up, heading towards the reeds where Xie Yan had fled, in pursuit. The two others followed closely behind.
***
Two days later.
Xie Yan hid in a crevice of the mountain pass, panting incessantly. His body was covered in wounds, big and small, the most severe being a gash on his chest, inflicted by the Fa Guan’s sword. Even with Xie Yan’s strength, he couldn’t completely evade it, only barely managing to dodge the vital points before using his last resort to escape to this place. Of course, his opponents didn’t get off easy either; the one nicknamed Lie Quan had half his head cleaved off by Xie Yan’s sword, becoming a dead dog, and the woman in pink had one arm crippled by him. It could be said that this pursuit was a costly battle for both sides.
Xie Yan himself never imagined a day would come when he would be hunted by the entire world like this.
A month ago, he was still the heir to the Marquisate, the personal disciple of the world-renowned Blood Sword Guest. He woke to maidservants attending him, and when tired, slept on piles of silver notes. Such a beautiful life vanished without a trace in just one month. As for the reason, it's almost laughable: his father, Marquis Xie, found being a Marquis a bit bothersome, so he decided to attack Yanjing, depose the young emperor from his dragon throne, and try sitting on it himself. One could only say that Old Marquis Xie was a man of grand ideals and aspirations, but the journey from ideal to reality is a cruel one. Old Marquis Xie's ambitious plans were crushed by the imperial court's retainers before he even had a chance to raise an army. To this day, he is still being pursued by imperial experts, truly in an unimaginable predicament.
Xie Yan felt not an ounce of sympathy for Old Marquis Xie's fate. In his mind, one must take responsibility for their choices. Having chosen rebellion, the current outcome was only natural. Furthermore, the Marquis's estate was as deep as the sea; Xie Yan had met Old Marquis Xie only a handful of times from childhood to adulthood, let alone developed any father-son affection. What's more, the old man had a flock of wives and concubines, and nineteen sons alone, so one could well imagine the nature of family affection within that household.
It was precisely because he detested growing up in an environment solely driven by schemes and self-interest that Xie Yan chose to apprentice himself to the Blood Sword Guest. Though he endured considerable hardship along the way, he also mastered a formidable set of skills, and in doing so, glimpsed a much wider world: the world of cultivators!
The Blood Sword Guest once told Xie Yan that in this world, the true masters of the imperial family's destiny were the Loose Immortals. Powerful Loose Immortals could summon wind and rain, ride clouds and mists; ordinary mortals were no match for them. Even the Blood Sword Guest himself aspired to the path of a Loose Immortal, but alas, he was past his prime, his immortal destiny exhausted.
After learning of the existence of cultivation sects, Xie Yan sought information on the subject. Unfortunately, Loose Immortals were truly too mysterious and elusive; it was rare for an ordinary mortal to ever encounter one in their lifetime. Even with Xie Yan's status, he couldn't find any useful information, only spending a large sum of money.
This time, he had ventured out precisely because he'd received a vague lead on a Loose Immortal's whereabouts. But he never expected that at such a crucial moment, his father's rebellion would fail. In an instant, he transformed from the admired young master of the Marquisate into a street rat, chased and beaten by everyone. Subsequently, he was relentlessly hunted by a swarm of imperial experts. Several days of pursuit had left him utterly exhausted.
“Three li out.”
Xie Yan panted, pressing his ear against the stone wall. Through the rock, he heard a faint whistling sound carried on the wind from afar… it was the sound produced when light-body martial arts were pushed to their limit, inaudible to ordinary people. Xie Yan had only learned this technique thanks to his apprenticeship with the Blood Sword Guest.
“These dogs are truly troublesome.”
Pulling away from the stone wall, a cruel glint flashed in Xie Yan's eyes. Anyone would be furious after being senselessly hunted for two days, let alone Xie Yan, who had cultivated under the Blood Sword Guest for six years. Influenced by his master, Xie Yan's temperament was naturally far from gentle.
“Since that's the case, I'll send you on your way!”
Tạ Diễn reached into his chest and pulled out a porcelain bottle. The white porcelain bottle had a red paper seal on top, and the ancient seal script character "Jue" was written on its body. The contents of the bottle were ten times more precious than gold, an item that money alone couldn't necessarily buy. If not for being hunted down with no escape, Tạ Diễn would absolutely not waste this item. After carefully opening the porcelain bottle, Tạ Diễn slowly and meticulously sprinkled the powder from within around himself. A fine layer of the white powder he scattered clung to all the plants and grass around the cave entrance, yet ordinary sight and smell couldn't detect it. Only Tạ Diễn and his master, the Blood Sword Guest, could recognize this substance.
"All that's left is to collect the corpses."
After putting away the porcelain bottle, Tạ Diễn took out a bamboo leaf from his chest.
It was an Yin Bamboo Leaf, the only thing Tạ Diễn had loved as a child. But now, the Yin Bamboo Leaf had become a deadly weapon. The sound it emitted could control venomous insects within a certain range. Given enough time, Tạ Diễn could summon an army of venomous insects, turning his enemies into mere skeletons.
Just as Tạ Diễn finished setting everything up, two presences finally drew near. Tạ Diễn's expression shifted. Disregarding everything else, he quickly retreated into the mountain cave. A moment later, seven figures descended, treading lightly on the leaves. Leading the seven was the zombie-faced official – the renowned imperial constable who had been pursuing Tạ Diễn for the past two days. Behind him was the woman in red, whose arm Tạ Diễn had severed. Besides these two, there were five more individuals. These five wore crimson monk robes, their temples bulging, indicating they were masters of external martial arts, almost reaching the level of invulnerability to blades and spears. Ordinary swords and knives would find it difficult to harm them.
"Young Marquis, there's no need to hide anymore. I've already sensed your presence," the zombie-faced official said coldly. Beside him, the one-armed woman's face was filled with venomous hatred; her arm had been severed by Tạ Diễn's sword.
"Will you come out yourself, or shall we invite you out?"
"Why bother with pleasantries? Let's just charge in and chop him into mincemeat!" the one-armed woman said icily.
As for the five newly arrived masters in monk robes, they stood expressionless, muttering incessantly. Only by listening closely could one discern that these five monks were chanting the Rebirth Mantra. Hidden within the mountain cave, Tạ Diễn watched the newly arrived pursuers with a cold expression.
This was an irreconcilable conflict. These people were agents of the imperial court, their goal to apprehend him and bring him to justice. Tạ Diễn, however, could not simply surrender, for his father's crime was no ordinary offense; rebellion meant implicating nine generations of his family. As a direct descendant, his lightest fate would be dismemberment by five horses; a more gruesome end would be death by a thousand cuts, leaving nothing but a skeleton after three thousand six hundred slices.
Tạ Diễn did not want to die, so he absolutely had to kill these people.
There was no right or wrong, only differing stances.
"If Young Marquis is unwilling to come out, then I, Ning, will have to personally invite you in," the zombie-faced official said, walking towards the mountain cave.
He walked very slowly, observing everything around him.
If Xie Yan had set up any traps or mechanisms, they would certainly not escape his notice. Even under normal circumstances, nothing could injure him, for he was the Yan Kingdom's foremost constable, the Ghost Judge. The pursuit over the past few days had been enough for Xie Yan to experience this man's formidable power. After a brush with death, he had barely managed to escape, thanks to his exquisite swordsmanship and some unique secret techniques learned from the Blood Swordsman.
This porcelain vase, though it was the most powerful killing move of his master, Shi Fengnian, still left Xie Yan feeling a little uneasy. He was at the end of his rope, with no path left to retreat.
Sure enough, the Ghost Judge suddenly stopped when he reached the spot Xie Yan had prepared.
Xie Yan's expression subtly changed, and without a moment's hesitation, he blew the Yin Bamboo leaf.
The sound was so faint that no one could hear it as it spread. None of the people opposite him sensed anything. Only the Ghost Judge seemed to realize something was amiss, his expression changing.
"What's wrong?"
The one-armed woman asked, placing her sole arm on her leather whip.
The fighting over the past few days had made her keenly aware of the young man's formidable skill. Though she hated him enough to tear him limb from limb, she would never underestimate her opponent. Such arrogant foolishness could not be found in a seasoned constable like her.
"There's a problem. It's too quiet here." The Ghost Judge drew the soft sword coiled around his waist, but did not advance.
Where he stood was exactly one step away from the circle Xie Yan had set up.
"Leave the rest to us. You two, step back." Five red-robed monks simultaneously opened their eyes wide.
Faint golden patterns appeared on their faces.
"It's a spell!"
Hiding inside, Xie Yan's expression changed drastically.