Blade - Unbound

"An escape art?"

Lei Zhen's expression changed slightly.

Martial arts had originated from hunting and warfare, while mystical arts had arisen from observing and experimenting with the unknown. The two seemed entirely unrelated, yet they had always been intertwined. Although the mystic sects held a higher status, martial artists had their own ways of dealing with cultivators. At least at Lei Zhen's level, as long as he carried a sufficiently good protective artifact, he could kill a cultivator once he closed the distance.

But cultivators also had methods for dealing with martial artists, such as escape arts. There were countless types of escape arts, each with its own strengths. No matter which one a cultivator mastered, their chances of preserving their life would increase dramatically.

This beggar had clearly used an escape art to lure him away!

Lei Zhen reacted quickly. He immediately turned around and headed back toward the Yan Family's residence.

Sure enough, the old beggar had already appeared outside the main gate. The man was in no hurry to enter. Instead, with a metallic clang, he drew a treasured sword from inside his erhu and slashed at the Yan Family's house-protecting plaque.

The protective plaque was a major hindrance to him. Certain techniques would be difficult to use while it remained intact, so he intended to destroy it first. It was why the old beggar had not entered the Long Wind Inn.

Many officials were lodging there, so protective objects were naturally plentiful, and the City God Temple was right next door. If anything happened, the troops under the City God's command could arrive at any moment. That was why the old beggar had come after Li Yan first.

What he wanted was The Classic of Lightning and Fire.

As long as he captured Li Yan, even if the scripture was not on him, he could still use him to threaten the others into handing it over. At the same time, the horde of venomous snakes began surging up the walls.

"Roar!"

Suddenly, a tiger's roar rang out from inside the courtyard. The surrounding snakes tumbled down, hissing in panic, and scattered in retreat. The instant the tiger's roar rang in his ears, the old beggar's head spun. Red light flickered in his eyes as he abruptly bent backward into an Iron Bridge stance.

A long blade stabbed out through the crack in the gate, narrowly missing the old beggar .

Yet the beggar did not retaliate. Instead, he rapidly retreated, hidden force erupting beneath his feet. His figure moved with astonishing speed, and in just a few steps, he had already leapt onto the opposite courtyard wall.

At the same time, Lei Zhen landed heavily in front of the main gate. However, the old beggar had already driven the multitude of venomous snakes into the street. They hissed and flicked their tongues, forming a barrier between the two sides.

No matter how skilled Lei Zhen was, he could not leap from one side of the street directly onto the wall across from him.

Behind him, the main gate creaked open.

Li Yan slowly stepped outside. With a casual flourish of his blade, he looked toward the figure atop the opposite wall and said calmly, "What took you so long? I've been waiting for you for quite some time."

He spoke lightly, but he remained fully on guard.

A moment earlier, he had heard the old beggar through the courtyard wall and immediately understood why the man had come. Thus, he had suppressed his killing intent and waited for an opportunity.

When he saw the man lure away Lei Zhen, a Core Jin Realm expert, then appear outside the gate and swing his sword at the protective plaque, Li Yan understood exactly what he intended to do. Once the protective object was destroyed, witchcraft, curses, and evil arts would all be able to enter the residence.

Naturally, Li Yan would not allow that.

He had first used the Northern Emperor Mountain-Climbing Technique to conceal his presence, then leapt forward and used his Waist-Strike Form, intending to stab the old beggar through the gate.

He had already been extremely cautious, yet the man had still detected him.

Looking at the faint red glow in the old beggar's eyes, Li Yan guessed that this man had to have awakened some sort of vision related divine ability.

However, despite facing both Li Yan and Lei Zhen, the old beggar atop the wall showed no trace of panic. Instead, he calmly sat cross-legged and leisurely began playing his erhu.

The sound of the instrument was mournful and weathered, echoing through the dark street. In response, the snakes on the ground immediately went berserk and surged toward them in a frenzy.

Holding the Divine Tiger Token, Li Yan immediately stepped in the formation of the Big Dipper, formed a hand seal, and chanted, "Nuogao, three stars upon the left, three prisons upon the right. Heaven overturns and Earth reverses. All nine paths are sealed. Lose your senses... By my command!"

"Roar!"

The instant the Northern Emperor Protection took effect, another tiger's roar rang out. The snake swarm immediately became somewhat agitated. However, to Li Yan’s shock, the sound of the erhu actually suppressed the Northern Emperor Protection. The snakes grew increasingly restless and continued surging toward them.

This old beggar's cultivation is higher!

At that moment, Lei Zhen snorted beside him. "Hmph! What do you think you're doing?"

He curled the fingers of his right hand into a claw.

Crack!

He actually gouged a chunk of broken brick directly from the wall beside him and hurled it at the beggar with a sharp whistle. A fragment of brick thrown by a Core Jin Realm expert was more than enough to kill.

The old beggar twisted aside to evade it, and the sound of the erhu abruptly stopped.

At the same time, the Three Talents Demon-Suppressing Coin tassel attached to the hilt of Li Yan's Earth Breaker jingled, once again driving away the snakes that had drawn near.

Seeing that he could not break through the two men's defenses, the old beggar no longer made another move. He merely glared coldly before smoke rose around his body and he vanished.

Li Yan could smell that the man's so-called escape art was merely combined with some kind of illusion. His aura was still present, but it was already rapidly moving away.

But even after sensing his departure, Li Yan did not pursue.

Lei Zhen frowned beside him. "Who exactly is that man? He actually dares to use evil arts to harm people inside Yichang City. Why has there been no response from the City God Temple?"

Li Yan replied, "He set up a formation. Senior, stay here. I'm going to catch a few people."

Before he had finished speaking, hidden force erupted beneath Li Yan's feet. With a whoosh, he leapt several zhang into the air. Using the wall as leverage, he sprang over the horde of snakes and headed toward a dark alley at the street corner.

Sure enough, bamboo poles had been planted around the corner. White talismans were pasted onto the poles, which were linked together by red threads. Faint yin energy coiled around them, encircling the entire Yan residence.

Several figures were rapidly fleeing through the dark alley. Without saying a word, Li Yan scooped up a stone from the ground and flicked his wrist to hurl it at them.

Bang! Bang!

"Ow!"

Cries of pain rang out as two figures tumbled to the ground.

The two beggars were dressed in rags, each holding a snake flute. Blood covered the backs of their heads, and they were so dazed that they could not get back up for quite some time. Seeing Li Yan approach with murderous intent written all over his face, the two beggars panicked and hurriedly dropped to their knees, kowtowing repeatedly.

"Hero, spare our lives! We were forced into this!"

"That man's nickname is 'Old Ghost'!"

Inside the Yan Family's residence, the two beggars knelt on the ground.

One of the older beggars wept bitterly as he said, "As soon as he arrived in Yichang, Lord Snake ordered us to obey his commands. He even poisoned us to keep us under control. If not for that, how would we have dared cause trouble at the Yan Family's residence?"

"Old Ghost?" Li Yan narrowed his eyes and asked, "What's his background?"

The other beggar shook his head. "We've never heard of anyone by that name in the jianghu either."

As he spoke, he seemed to suddenly remember something and hurriedly added, "Right! When he first arrived at our place, Lord Snake immediately knelt down and called him 'General'! Only afterward did he change how he addressed him."

"General?" Lei Zhen murmured thoughtfully from the side.

Li Yan, however, was completely baffled. He knew who "Lord Snake" was. The man was the leader of the western beggars within Yichang City, and knew a few tricks involving snake handling and hypnosis. Whether in mystic arts or martial skill, he was second-rate at best. If not for the fact that someone was needed to manage the city's beggars, as well as handle filthy work such as fencing stolen goods and dealing with roadside corpses, the Beggars' Gang would have been wiped out long ago.

But calling that man "General" was another matter entirely...

Just then, Yu Lingzi hurried over with several Daoists. During the commotion, the Yan Family's guards had gone to notify the City God Temple.

The City God Temple was responsible for safeguarding the city, particularly against powers originating from the mystic sects, as well as all manner of evil entities. It was not yet midnight, yet someone had already dared to use large-scale mystic arts to attack a prominent clan within the city. Naturally, the City God Temple had to come investigate.

Yu Lingzi was visibly surprised when he saw Li Yan. "Young Hero Li, why are you here too?"

The young man had only arrived at noon, yet by evening he had already gotten caught up in trouble.

After learning what had happened, the old Daoist was even more astonished. "I had also heard about Madam Yan's condition. To think that it was the doing of those native clans as well..."

"The matter is even more troublesome than that." Since he was speaking with someone from the Taixuan Orthodox Sect, Li Yan saw no need to conceal it. "The technique came from the Immortal Longevity Treasury. There should be an evil cultivator who practices its arts nearby who has joined those native clans."

"There's something like that too?!" Yu Lingzi's head hurt even more upon hearing this. He said helplessly, "Fine, fine. We'll talk about that later. What happened tonight?"

Li Yan said solemnly, "The people from the phosphorus mine at Zhu Clan's Fort have appeared."

Naturally, he would not mention the The Classic of Lightning and Fire or the new type of gunpowder. Instead, he only revealed part of the situation.

"Oh?" Yu Lingzi's expression turned grave. "The Military Surveillance Department has also been investigating those people in secret. They suspect there's some connection to the Heavenly Saint Cult, but they haven't found any leads."

Turning to the side, he asked, "Did you catch the leader of the westbound beggars?"

A constable from the prefectural courthouse who had come to assist cupped his hands and replied, "By the time the Military Surveillance Department reached his place, he had already fled. They've dispatched trackers and hounds to search for him. He probably left through the Lesser East Gate and headed into the mountains.

"We also discovered that this 'Lord Snake' was once a member of the Rising Dragon Army..."

"What?!"

Both Yu Lingzi and Lei Zhen's expressions changed drastically upon hearing him. Even Yan Bonian's gaze became grave.

Li Yan frowned. "What is the Rising Dragon Army?"

Yan Bonian explained in a deep voice, "They’re remnants of the previous dynasty.

"A hundred years ago, when Great Xuan established the dynasty, there were still remnants of the former regime active everywhere, attempting to restore it. They hid throughout the various provinces. Sometimes they became bandits in the mountains; other times, they infiltrated the martial world to raise funds.

"The Military Surveillance Department was originally established precisely to deal with them. The branch in Ezhou called itself the Rising Dragon Army. They hid among the outlaws of Yundu's dense forestry, gathering numerous mountain bandits and building up considerable strength. But they were extremely cautious and never revealed their true identity to outsiders.

"It was not until the northern frontier rebellion twenty years ago that the Rising Dragon Army openly raised its banner and began carrying out sabotage everywhere. Later, they were scattered by Ezhou's garrison. Now it seems they merely went underground."

Li Yan was somewhat speechless. "That was a hundred years ago. The old people from back then should all be dead. Why are there still people thinking about restoring the previous dynasty?"

"That, no one knows." Yu Lingzi sighed, then helplessly advised, "Young Hero Li, since this concerns the Rising Dragon Army, the Military Surveillance Department will definitely pursue them relentlessly. They probably won't have much attention left to spare for causing trouble for you.

“Right now, every kind of demon and monster seems to have gathered in Yichang City. My head is already splitting. If you take pity on this old man, lend us a little more help. Otherwise, if public sentiment becomes unstable, the consequences could be disastrous..."

"Daoist, rest assured." Li Yan cupped his fists together and bowed his head slightly. "We'll go to the City God Temple tomorrow."

Since the matter concerned remnants of the previous dynasty, it naturally fell under the jurisdiction of the Military Surveillance Department. After offering a few words of reassurance, Yu Lingzi hurriedly left. There were simply too many troublesome matters in Yichang City.

The City God Temple was short-handed, and there was little he could do to help at the Yan Family's residence.

Li Yan had originally planned to spend the night at the Yan Family's residence after the banquet, but now that the enemy had appeared, it was naturally no longer appropriate for him to stay. He cupped his hands in farewell and left.

Watching his departing figure, Lei Zhen suddenly smiled. "Brother Yan, that brat isn't entirely honest. I clearly heard that old beggar say he took something belonging to the Rising Dragon Army, yet he didn't mention a word of it just now."

Yan Bonian sighed. "Young Hero Li is a righteous man. He certainly wouldn't commit evil deeds. It's just that at such a young age, he's already facing such storms. It really is..."

"Brother Yan, there's no need to worry." Lei Zhen laughed. "From what I've seen, that brat is ruthless enough when he needs to be. He's cunning and bold too. He'll definitely be able to turn danger into safety. Besides, the path through the jianghu has always been filled with blood and storms. Who among us didn't make it through one step at a time? Go get some sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'll gather the Divine Fist Association and properly clean the city!"

***

Because of the formation, the disturbance at the Yan Family's residence had not caused much commotion. When Li Yan returned to the Long Wind Inn, Sha Lifei and the others were still awake. He called everyone into his room and recounted what had happened.

Sha Lifei was startled, then shook his head. "Remnants of the previous dynasty? Well, once the world falls into chaos, every demon and ghost comes crawling out.

"The forests over there aren't very large. They probably fled into the Jingchu mountain ranges and mixed in among the refugees. That's likely how they've managed to survive until now. Maybe they even had a hand in this rebellion.

"How should we deal with them?"

Some things were simply like that. An unknown enemy was terrifying, but once they knew who the opponent was, they actually relaxed considerably.

Li Yan said solemnly, "They're most likely producing firearms for the war in the southwest. It’s all the more reason we can't hand the thing over. They're busy contending with the imperial court, and are also being hunted by the Military Surveillance Department. They can't possibly send too many people after us.

"Since that's that case, we'll kill without restraint! We'll kill enough of them until they no longer dare send anyone."

Li Yan naturally had the confidence to speak that way. He had six astral decrees within his Summoning Writ that could command six battalions and three thousand soldiers of the Underworld. Even an ordinary City God Temple could be crushed by such a force.

Of course, they still needed to make the necessary preparations.

"Brother Lu, I'll have to trouble your hawk. Starting tomorrow, have it constantly scout for enemy movements so we don't get ambushed! Also, Uncle Sha, how's that thing of yours coming along?"

"Don't worry. With Brother Lu and me working together, we're not afraid of anything. It's just that we're running a little low on the medicinal powder that little Fatty gave us. Without that stuff, cultivators can detect us more easily."

Li Yan asked, "If I remember correctly, it needs Mandrill and Lichen, right? When we go to the City God Temple tomorrow, we'll see whether they can get some..."

Just like that, the group discussed their strategy for dealing with the enemy until the hour of the tiger.

***

The next morning, the sky was somewhat overcast. Before they had even left the inn, several muffled peals of thunder sounded, and a light drizzle began falling, making Yichang City feel even damper.

On the other hand, Li Yan was rather pleased by the sight. Weather without sunlight meant that he could summon yin soldiers to fight even during the daytime.

That left him even less to fear.

The City God Temple was nearby, so none of them bothered putting on bamboo hats or rain cloaks. They simply carried umbrellas and made their way there. The half-collapsed temple wall had already been repaired for the most part, but because of the rain, the workers were working.

Under the eaves beside the side gate, a young Daoist was sheltering from the rain. When he saw them, he hurriedly asked, "Are you Young Hero Li?"

He had clearly received instructions from Yu Lingzi beforehand. As he followed the young Daoist into the City God Temple, Li Yan's impression of their strength became even stronger. The strength of Yichang's City God Temple was far inferior to Chang'an's. Not only had all its experts been transferred elsewhere, even the size of their spirit battalion was quite limited.

Yu Lingzi had already come out to receive them. Seeing Li Yan looking toward the main hall, he immediately understood what he was thinking and shook his head helplessly. "Troops aren't something you can recruit as many of as you please. First, you need a source for them. Second, you need to be able to suppress and support them.

"The local lineages here are quite powerful. The troops of their ancestral altars are even more numerous than ours. If the people grow unsettled and the incense offerings to the City God Temple decline, we probably won't even be able to maintain the forces we have now.

Li Yan couldn't help but console him. "Once the imperial court suppresses the rebellion and replaces the native chieftains with appointed officials, the situation will definitely improve."

Yu Lingzi froze for a moment, then gave him a meaningful look. "You certainly know quite a lot, Young Hero Li."

Some things did not need to be spelled out too clearly.

He immediately changed the subject. "Everyone, please follow me. The matter involving that village is the most urgent issue at present. You are exceptionally knowledgeable, Young Hero Li. Perhaps you may be able to resolve it..."