Chapter 80 - 74: Jiang, Kneel Down
"Are you sure this bug of yours is even reliable?"
Jiang Mu stared skeptically at the young woman beside him, who was completely absorbed in tending to her cicada.
Initially, he’d planned to just take the box and pursue them himself. It would have been more efficient.
But then Chu Lingzhu insisted that the Shadow-Chasing Cicada was one she’d raised by hand. It only recognized her as its master, and it wouldn’t work without its "Cicada Mother" around.
So, left with no choice, Jiang Mu had to bring this drag along.
Chu Lingzhu didn’t say a word.
Her full attention was on the shimmering green cicada in the box.
At times, she would tilt her head, listening to the frequency of its vibrating wings. At others, she’d purse her lips and let out a few strange shushing sounds, as if communicating with the insect.
All the while, she constantly adjusted their direction.
About half an incense stick’s time later.
The young woman suddenly halted, her bright eyes lighting up. "It’s right here!"
Jiang Mu was instantly on alert. He surveyed their surroundings, his brow furrowing. "Heitu Village?"
’He knew this place well.’
’He had, after all, just farmed a bunch of EXP from the Snake Demons here.’
Chu Lingzhu pointed a slender finger ahead and to the right. "The smaller cicada is just ahead."
She started to walk forward instinctively but Jiang Mu grabbed her arm. "Wait."
"What is it?"
Chu Lingzhu turned back, confused.
Jiang Mu narrowed his eyes, scanning the area. He pulled the breath-concealing bone tablet from his robes, activated it with a surge of Demonic Qi, and pressed it into Chu Lingzhu’s hand. "Hold this."
"What is this?"
"Don’t ask questions. Just hold it."
Jiang Mu circulated his Star Power, suppressing his aura as much as possible.
Chu Lingzhu clutched the bone tablet, his actions making her nervous. She kept her eyes on the cicada in the box as she stepped forward cautiously.
Soon, they reached the edge of a temple.
Chu Lingzhu stopped and pointed to a horse-drawn carriage in the distance:
"It’s right there!"
Jiang Mu pushed her head down, forcing her into a crouch, then pointed to a nearby ditch overgrown with weeds:
"Hide there, don’t move, don’t make a sound."
"Okay, okay."
Chu Lingzhu obediently ducked into the pit, hugging her knees. She pulled a handful of withered grass over her head, leaving only her large, dark eyes peeking out, displaying a rare moment of compliance.
One hand on the hilt of his saber, Jiang Mu held his breath and focused. He used the cover of overgrown weeds and crumbling walls to creep closer.
He reached the carriage.
The area was silent. The temple seemed deserted.
At the temple entrance lay a dead squirrel. Its body was strangely bloated.
Jiang Mu used his Sword Scabbard to gently lift the carriage curtain and peered inside.
The carriage was filled with familiar burlap sacks.
’Just as I thought. The Corpse Orchids.’
Just then, a sharp sense of danger flared in Jiang Mu’s mind, and he threw himself backward.
SWISH!
A biting flash of sword light shot past where he had been standing.
He Shuangying stood before the carriage, sword in hand. The moment he recognized Jiang Mu’s face, his pupils constricted:
"It’s you!?"
He had never imagined it would be Jiang Mu!
Since He Shuangying was wearing a mask, Jiang Mu had only found his figure familiar at first. But when the man spoke, Jiang Mu froze as well:
"He Shuangying!?"
’Holy shit, what’s this brat doing here?’
The shock lasted only an instant before being replaced by a surge of wild joy in Jiang Mu’s heart.
’The heavens are truly smiling on me.’
’I was just wondering where I could find a "legitimate" Star Official to mess with, and this guy serves himself up on a silver platter!’
’It must be fate!’
Suddenly, everything clicked into place.
’So the Divine Sword Sect really is raising Demons in secret.’
"Hmph. I’ve long said the Divine Sword Sect was in league with Demons. Now you’re caught red-handed smuggling contraband. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Jiang Mu demanded coldly.
The moment He Shuangying spoke, he regretted it.
Now that his identity was exposed, his first instinct was to deny everything. After all, the three words "Demon-slaying Bureau" represented the imperial Court.
Even as the young master of the Divine Sword Sect, the name struck fear into his heart.
"What Divine Sword Sect? I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’ve got the wrong person!"
He spun around and bolted for the woods.
’Forget the goods!’
’As long as I’m not caught, as long as I deny it to my last breath, he has no iron-clad proof. A mask isn’t enough for Jiang Mu to prove the Divine Sword Sect is colluding with Demons.’
’Trying to run?’
’You think I’d let a promotion that’s fallen into my lap just fly away?’
Jiang Mu snorted. He pushed his Spirit Snake Body Step to its limit, transforming into a blur as he gave chase.
But He Shuangying was also incredibly fast.
As the legitimate Star Official of the Earth Concealing Star, the Divine Abilities his Star Position granted him gave him a massive boost to his movement techniques.
Logically, shaking off Jiang Mu, who was in the same realm, should have been easy.
He Shuangying thought so too.
However—
But Jiang Mu was playing with cheats.
Every time he surged forward with his Spirit Snake Body Step, he would simultaneously throw a Demon Shadow ahead of him, then use Instant Teleportation to appear at its location. He’d surge forward, throw the shadow, and teleport again...
His Demonic Qi cycled between expenditure and recovery, his breathing never once faltering.
To He Shuangying’s horror, he discovered—
No matter how he pushed his Star Power or how often he changed direction, he couldn’t shake the guy behind him.
In fact, the distance was slowly closing!
"FUCK!!"
He Shuangying was flushed with anxiety, his mind on the verge of shattering.
’How is he sticking to me so closely?’
’Is he using some kind of Secret Skill?’
Sensing his own aura beginning to wane, He Shuangying started to panic. If he kept running, he’d be the first to collapse from exhaustion.
Just then, a Spiritual Light flashed in his mind.
’Wait!’
’This guy appeared from the temple... and this whole chase... from start to finish... has he been alone this entire time?’
’No ambush.’
’No squad from the Demon-slaying Bureau.’
’It’s just him chasing me, a single Third Realm pseudo-Star Official Cultivator.’
’So why the hell am I running?!’
’Killing someone from the Demon-slaying Bureau is a capital offense, sure.’
’But that’s only if someone sees it, if you’re caught in the act.’
’Especially since Jiang Mu didn’t even recognize me at first. Even if they investigate later, there’d be no way to prove anything.’
’Out here in the middle of nowhere, getting rid of a body would be easy.’
At this thought, murderous intent flared in He Shuangying’s eyes.
’Let’s do this!’
He skidded to a halt, spinning around to stare coldly at the approaching Jiang Mu.
"Not running anymore?"
Jiang Mu stopped as well. "Can’t run anymore? You’re so young, Young Master He. How can you be so frail?"
He Shuangying couldn’t be bothered to pretend anymore. He reached up, tore the mask from his face, and slowly drew the longsword at his waist:
"Lord Jiang, do you realize you’ve made a fatal mistake?"
"Oh? Do tell."
Jiang Mu replied casually, but inwardly his mind was racing, calculating how to kill He Shuangying.
’Yes, that’s right.’
’Kill him!’
’If I just capture him and hand him over to the Demon-slaying Bureau for trial, following standard procedure would make it nearly impossible to seize his Star Position.’
’Killing him here and now is my only chance.’
"You shouldn’t have come after me alone."
He Shuangying’s expression was grim and arrogant. "Even a cornered rabbit will bite, let alone a tiger like me."
His uncle had always taught him to be decisive when killing an enemy and to avoid talking too much.
But right now, He Shuangying just wanted to run his mouth.
He couldn’t help it; he’d been holding it in for too long.
Besides, his Star Position held a natural, absolute suppression over Lord Jiang.
He reveled in this feeling of lofty superiority.
He wanted to thoroughly humiliate the man before he died.
Especially since this was the guy who’d killed his little bubble-blowing fish.
’Even though he’d been on his way to kill the fish to silence it himself, it was a matter of principle—’ ’My precious fish could only be killed by me! Who the hell do you think you are?!’
"You think you’re a tiger?"
As Jiang Mu spoke, he secretly cast a Demon Shadow behind his opponent, planning a sneak attack.
’Dealing with a legitimate Star Official wouldn’t be easy. He had to be fully prepared.’
He Shuangying raised his longsword, a trace of pity in his eyes. "Lord Jiang, do you know what a Cultivator’s greatest tragedy is?"
Before Jiang Mu could answer, he continued,
"It’s when, after enduring endless hardships and finally thinking you’ve reached the summit, you stretch out your hand to grasp the stars... only to find that what you saw as the peak is merely the dirt beneath someone else’s feet."
"The Great Dao is boundless, the starry sky vast. Some are born standing among the clouds, while others... spend their entire lives looking up from the mud below."
Jiang Mu raised his saber:
"In that case, I’d really like to see whether Young Master He is standing on the clouds or on the edge of a cliff."
"You will never see it."
He Shuangying’s gaze suddenly sharpened. "Because—you’re not worthy!"
The longsword in his hand flashed out!
He only used thirty percent of his strength in that strike.
’A rat like him wasn’t worthy of his full power!’
At the same instant, Jiang Mu swung his saber to meet the blow, holding nothing back. His Spiritual Qi surged like a tidal wave.
"You, a mere pseudo-star, dare to draw your blade before a legitimate one?"
Star Power erupted from He Shuangying’s body. The immense pressure of a legitimate Star Official of the Earth Concealing Star washed over Jiang Mu, crashing down like a collapsing sky!
He let out a thunderous roar:
"KNEEL!!"
CLANG—
The deafening clang of metal on metal shattered the silence.
Followed by a dull thud.
He Shuangying’s legs buckled, and his knees slammed into the dirt.
He knelt.