Chapter 197: Like an Emperor in the Shadows
The night was deep. The moonlight was cold. The rain fell gently.
The moon was like a silver plate in the sky, casting down cold rays of light that merged with the rain and cast a cold glow over the Seven Blood Eyes Port District. And eventually, it reached the eaves outside the Dreamsense Mansion. Raindrops were pearls on a string, and the strings formed sheets. The moonlight couldn’t be avoided, and cast dim shadows. It was like a scroll painting of people in the night, especially the rare combination of the rain and the moon.
Walking through the murky streets was a person with a gray daoist robe and a white umbrella. It was impossible to see who was under the umbrella, but they were slender and stood straight. The aura this person emanated caused the rain around them to turn into a mist that they walked through. The soles of their shoes left ripples as they walked, creating small circles that widened outward.
The person with the umbrella was accompanied by two other individuals, who followed along in the shadows of the eaves. One of them also had an umbrella, the other ignored the rain. This newcomer was Xu Qing, and the people following in the shadows were the Mute and Xu Xiaohui.
It was nighttime, but in a bustling area like this, merriment had only just begun. The shops on either side of the street were busy. People ate and drank, laughter rang out, and playful, flirtatious banter could be heard everywhere. Quite a few disciples with powerful auras were gathered here, as though to keep watch over certain shops. Obviously, they were attendants to the important people enjoying themselves in the area.
Xu Qing’s target was here.
Li Zelin was a skinny young man lounging beneath the eaves of Dreamsense Mansion. He was chatting with a female disciple, but then his expression flickered and he looked up the street.
He wasn’t the only one. Virtually all of the shops on the street suddenly went silent.
Xu Qing didn’t release fluctuations from his cultivation base. But his baleful aura, backed by his 65 dharma apertures, ensured that everyone who noticed him was shocked. Countless eyes suddenly became fixed on him. As everyone watched him, Xu Qing expressionlessly approached Dreamsense Mansion.
As he did, a window on the second floor opened, and an anaconda stuck her head out. She made a few happy cooing sounds, which prompted Xu Qing to tilt the umbrella to the side and look up.
He smiled.
That smile caused the anaconda to cut short her cooing. Her body suddenly seemed to go a bit limp, and she was about to slide all the way out of the window when the old innkeeper grabbed her. At the same time, he cast an angry, wary glance at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing looked away from them to the trembling Li Zelin standing beneath the eaves of Dreamsense Mansion.
Li Zelin was bursting with anxiety; he was panting so hard he could barely breathe, and his eyes stung as he looked at Xu Qing. It seemed like he was looking at a god, around whom the very air distorted. It was like this person was a massive vortex, slowly spinning and spinning as it prepared to devour him. Li Zelin’s terror and astonishment were so intense that he felt himself going mad. He shook violently, and his flesh and blood were screaming at him that he was in incredible danger.
That was because... he didn’t just recognize Xu Qing. He also realized that Xu Xiaohui was with him, her eyes burning with hatred.
Xu Xiaohui had been there three months ago when he cut down that lackey Zhou Qingpeng. Later, he had come to realize someone was investigating Zhou Qingpeng’s death. After asking around, he found out it was Xu Xiaohui, the same girl who had stood around as helpless as a wounded deer when her friend was killed.
To Li Zelin, people who were so weak he could kill them with a single slap weren’t even worth paying attention to. However, seeing that Xu Xiaohui was so intent on her investigation, he’d pretended to help, then had some fun with her. Afterward, he found her disgusting and drove her away.
But right now, he was trembling to his core. Everyone in the sect knew who Xu Qing was. Back when Li Zelin killed Zhou Qingpeng, he knew that Zhou Qingpeng had joined the sect on the same day as Xu Qing. But in Seven Blood Eyes, that kind of thing wasn’t important. Disciples were venomous bugs in a jar, and didn’t bother developing friendships.
Even now, Li Zelin had trouble believing this was really happening. In fact, he was trying to convince himself that Xu Qing had come here for some other reason. Trembling, he clasped hands in greeting.
“W-well... well met... Sect Uncle Xu.”
“Is that him?” Xu Qing asked, looking over at the Mute and Xu Xiaohui.
The Mute nodded. Xu Xiaohui ground her teeth as she looked hatefully at Li Zelin. The moment she’d seen his name in that jade slip, she realized how much of a fool she’d been. She nodded her head angrily.
Upon seeing that, Li Zelin’s heart started pounding, and he instinctively started backing up. “Milord! Help! I—”
Before he could say anything else, a black iron skewer shot from Xu Qing into his neck.
The power of lightning within it instantly destroyed Li Zelin’s soul, and cracks spread out over his skin, like his body was about to collapse. The power of the iron skewer seemed to provoke lighting from the sky. In the blink of an eye, a massive lightning bolt shot down, like a silver snake, to smash into Li Zelin’s corpse.
A boom rang out, and the body exploded, becoming countless chunks of charred, smoking flesh, which landed hissing onto the rain-soaked street. It was an absolutely shocking scene that caused waves of astonishment to fill the hearts of all onlookers.
It was a given that a Foundation Establishment cultivator would be able to kill a Qi Condensation disciple with ease. But Xu Qing’s methods were simply spectacular. He actually caused lightning to fall from heaven, and that was enough to leave everyone stupefied.
The skewer flew back to Xu Qing and hovered behind him, blending into the shadows.
That also caused the onlookers to tremble.
As silence prevailed, Xu Qing prepared to leave. However, it was at that moment that a quizzical voice emerged from the second-floor window that Ling’er had opened.
“Aiya, Little Jianjian. Wasn’t that guy one of your attendants? And wasn’t he just calling for help?”
The voice belonged to the Captain.
When Xu Qing looked at the anaconda and the innkeeper earlier, he had noticed the two familiar individuals inside the private dining room. Inclining his head, he looked through the window.
Inside the private room, First Peak chosen Wu Jianwu was looking at the Captain, who was smiling enigmatically.
After a short moment of silence, Wu Jianwu snorted coldly, then flicked his sleeve. Life flame fluctuations rolled out from him, filling the area.
“Woo-hoo!” the Captain shouted.
In Wu Jianwu’s opinion, the Captain was an idiot, and he didn’t like wasting time talking to idiots. Therefore, without sparing a glance for the Captain, he walked toward the window, his expression deeply grim.
By the time he reached the window, his cultivation base fluctuations were rolling out wildly. As lightning crashed above, countless bronze swords appeared in the clouds overhead, and all of them were pointing down. It seemed almost like heaven itself was furious. And as Wu Jianwu stood there, explosive killing intent building within him, he looked down at Xu Qing.
“Why did you kill my attendant??” he asked arrogantly.
His dramatic display of energy plus his grim expression made him seem exactly like what everyone expected a chosen to be. His words boomed like thunder, filling the entire area. At the same time, the countless bronze swords flickered with brilliant light.
Everyone in the area was deeply shaken. In fact, many people started leaving. They had the feeling that... a monumental fight was about to take place.
After all, Xu Qing had killed Wu Jianwu’s attendant right on the street, and that could be considered a slap in the face to Wu Jianwu. Besides, everyone knew that First Peak disciples cared a lot about face, and would never rest to avenge slights.
Meanwhile, inside the private dining room, the anaconda’s eyes glittered as she looked at Wu Jianwu. It seemed as if she wanted to thrash him. However, the old innkeeper kept his arms wrapped tight around her.
At the same time, the old man was actually feeling very pleased, and was thinking, Ahhhh, Xu Qing. What are you going to do now? The First Peak watches out for their own. Wu Jianwu has eight Elder Brothers who love big brawls.
Down on the street, the Mute and Xu Xiaohui were both shaken. The Mute, despite the fact that the pressure rolling off of Wu Jianwu made him tremble, he was baring his sharp teeth and eyeing Wu Jianwu’s throat. As for Xu Xiaohui, she was biting her lip, anxiety building within her as she berated herself for dragging Xu Qing into this matter.
However... though everyone else seemed shocked, Xu Qing’s expression was the same as ever. He looked up at Wu Jianwu standing next to the window, and his eyes were cold. Not saying a single word, he extended his right hand, causing his iron skewer to float out of the shadows behind him.
Right then, laughter erupted from Wu Jianwu’s mouth. In fact, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Then he spoke in a very loud voice that seemed designed to make sure everyone could hear him clearly.
“So, that’s what happened. Well, that makes total sense. Now I understand that it was a matter of personal vengeance. I, Wu Jianwu, should definitely not interfere.”
Xu Qing frowned but didn’t say anything. A moment passed.
“No, no. You don’t need to treat me to a meal. I completely understand.” After a pause, Wu Jianwu again laughed loudly. “Hahaha! Brother Xu, you really don’t need to go through that trouble, and besides, I don’t have the time right now. Really, just forget about it. By the way, I heard about your heroic undertaking in Seazombie territory. Amazing…. What? No, you’re being too polite! Alright, considering how well you’re treating me, I, Wu Jianwu, will go ahead and pay the 10,000 spirit stone fine for killing this person!”
Ling’er’s eyes went wide as she looked at Wu Jianwu, then she scanned the street, as if she was having trouble understanding what was going on.
“Mm-hmm,” Wu Jianwu continued. “Yes. Okay, fine. We’ll hang out later when we both have time. Well, I need to say farewell for now. It was wonderful to see you, Brother Xu. Truly a pleasure!”
Wu Jianwu had started out sounding very serious, but ended up seeming very happy. Smiling broadly, he clasped hands and bowed to Xu Qing.
Xu Qing, who had not said a single thing the entire time, just looked up at him with an odd expression on his face.
Taking note of Xu Qing’s expression, Wu Jianwu shivered, then flicked his sleeve, laughed, and walked out of the private dining room. As he flew off into the lightning and rain, he looked exactly like an immortal from a beautiful painting.
“Surpass mortal life and be refined; I’ll become an immortal and surpass mankind.”
Surrounded by thrumming bronze swords, he disappeared off into the distance.