Chapter 60: Invitation Only
Thunder crashed!
The boom echoed out through heaven and earth as the clouds roiled. It sounded like there were invading gods launching attacks from above. Sometimes the thunder came as muffled booms. In other cases, it sounded like a string of explosions that dragged the citizens of the city out of their deepest dreams. Lightning pierced through the sky, ripping apart the darkness of night. It was almost like the sun, obscured by the dark clouds, had a fleeting chance to illuminate the human world below.
At dawn, the rain came down harder.
The wind grew in intensity, like a howling giant whose cries reached the most distant corners of the city. It almost vied with the thunder.
A figure walked along the street holding a black umbrella, barely visible thanks to the sheets of rain.
Rainwater smacked loudly into the umbrella, and seemingly in defiance of the obstacle, ran in rivulets down the sides. Only by struggling to fall to the ground below could the drops of water reunite with their companions on the street. That reunion caused ripples of water to spread out, cleaning the streets of the blood that had been shed during the night. However, it couldn’t wipe away the brutality of the crimes that had been committed.
“Everyone has evil in their heart. It’s just that the chaotic world we live in makes it easier for people to release it.”
That was something Sergeant Thunder had said once during dinner. Xu Qing had to admit it made sense.
The rain grew fiercer. The thunder boomed. And as the storm raged, Xu Qing’s thoughts grew calm. Without realizing where he was going, he ended up back at Harbor 79, where the water seemed to be boiling. Like usual, Xu Qing inspected the area, then took out his dharmaboat.
Once inside, he activated the defenses, and as the boat rocked up and down, he sat down cross-legged under the canopy.
The boat’s defenses blocked the rain, and Xu Qing had long since grown accustomed to the motion of the boat on the water. In contrast to the rocking boat, and the rain and wind outside, Xu Qing felt completely calm as he started concocting some pills.
In recent days, Xu Qing had consistently purchased medicinal plants to concoct white boluses, black boluses, and poison powders. Similar to his laboratory back in the forbidden region, he had created a latticework of cabinets within which were packed with all sorts of vital yang and unhealthy yin medicinal plants.
I still need to find a good place to experiment with concocting poisons. After examining the cabinets, Xu Qing made a grasping gesture, causing several plants to fly toward him. As the storm raged, he continued his concocting work.
Time passed. It rained all day, heavier and heavier, until it was a true, raging storm.
Waves surged into the port, causing countless boats and ships to rock violently. Thankfully, the dharmaboats were generally safe once their defenses were activated. From a distance, they looked like a host of fallen leaves bobbing on the surface of the water.
Because of the storm, there were no visiting trading ships entering the port, nor did anyone leave. Most of the sect departments closed for business, with many of the disciples staying in their residences. The Seven Blood Eyes port largely shut down during the shocking storm.
However, the slaughter on the streets… continued.
As night fell on the second day, and the wind and rain seemed to get even worse, Xu Qing sat in his dharmaboat. His eyes suddenly opened as a sense of profound danger rose up within him. That danger wasn’t because of the nasty weather, but rather, came from the shore just next to his dharmaboat.
Despite the rain and wind, he was able to detect the odor of poison powder. It came from some powders he had deposited in the area to act as an early warning system. If anyone got close to his dharmaboat, they would have to step through that powder. Then, if they stepped onto his boat without his permission, other poison gasses on his boat would mix with the powder to create something fatally poisonous. Furthermore, his psychic power, which had enabled him to take first place in the entry assessment, had advanced by leaps and bounds thanks to his cultivation of the Seaforming Scripture. His sensory abilities were far beyond the level of his peers.
Thanks to these two lines of defense, he knew that someone… had approached his dharmaboat and was now standing outside.
Eyes glittering coldly, he didn’t wait inside the boat. Instead, he stepped out onto the open deck and looked through the defenses to the outside world.
The dense rain and wind was interspersed by the flash of lightning, which illuminated someone standing on the shore wearing a woven rush raincoat and carrying a jug of alcohol. [1]
He was looking at Xu Qing.
Xu Qing looked back.
A moment passed, and then the man lifted up his wide conical hat to reveal the smiling face of a middle-aged man.
“Junior Brother Xu, you don’t need to be so overly cautious. It’s me! I went out to buy some alcohol, and was passing by, so I figured I’d ask if you’d like to have a few drinks together. How could it not be a wonderful thing to drink together in wretched weather like this?”
This man was a fellow constable from the Violent Crimes Division, and was actually in the same unit as Xu Qing. He was the same person who had invited him out drinking previously.
Xu Qing said nothing. He just stared coldly at the man.
This caused the man to chuckle helplessly. “Well, never mind. In this damnable sect, it’s hard to trust anybody. All I can say is that I don’t have any ill intentions. I just want to make friends, Junior Brother Xu. Lots of members of our unit have had drinks with me, but if you’re not interested, I’ll take my leave.”
Shaking his head, he turned to go.
But that was when Xu Qing said, “Alright. Step aboard.”
The man stopped walking and looked back curiously at Xu Qing. He looked at his boat, and a deep glimmer of light passed through his eyes. Then he shook his head.
“Forget about it. I’m not interested in forcing the issue.”
Then he started walking a bit faster. However, he’d only taken five or six steps when a high-pitched whistling sound erupted out as a dagger shot toward him with spectacular speed.
He immediately jumped out of the way, his face falling as he looked at Xu Qing leaping out of his dharmaboat, his iron skewer in hand.
“Junior Brother Xu, what are you doing?”
His pupils constricted as he realized Xu Qing was rushing right toward him. Quickly performing an incantation gesture, he caused the raindrops in the area to turn into arrows that shot toward Xu Qing. However, before they got close, Xu Qing waved his hand, and the raindrop arrows shivered, then shifted directions and shot toward the middle-aged constable.
The constable was shocked by this, and as a sense of profound crisis rose up in him, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. It instantly expanded into a blood mist that blocked the incoming rainwater arrows. Meanwhile, he started moving backward as if to flee.
But he wasn’t quick enough. He had misjudged Xu Qing’s cultivation base. In the blink of an eye, Xu Qing shot toward him, his iron skewer shining like a lightning bolt as it closed in on the man’s head.
It radiated a coldness that could pierce bones.
The constable’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he howled as he unleashed the full extent of his cultivation base. A glittering defensive shield sprang up, while a vicious-looking mouth appeared on his chest, ripping through his garments and unleashing a piercing shriek in Xu Qing’s direction.
The man’s defenses shattered, but the sound waves erupting from the mouth on his chest managed to slow down the iron skewer. Taking advantage of that extra time, the man threw the jug of alcohol at Xu Qing, turned, and fled at top speed.
Halfway to Xu Qing, the jug shattered, revealing that it didn’t contain alcohol, but rather, a viscous poison liquid. As it splattered, it began to corrode everything it touched. Even the defenses of the dharmaboat began to melt.
Xu Qing’s eyes glittered coldly. He had suspected from the beginning that something fishy was going on, but couldn’t be sure. But given the weather, and the fact that this constable had shown up under such strange circumstances, Xu Qing decided to act first. Killing intent glittered in his eyes as he looked at the fleeing man. He didn’t give chase. He just reached out and made a vicious grasping gesture.
Inside of him, the Seaforming Scripture roared to life.
In response, the surrounding rain shivered, then flew through the air madly and converged in the area surrounding the middle-aged constable. There, they transformed into a huge hand that clasped around him. His eyes went wide with astonishment, and he struggled to free himself, but failed.
RUMBLE!
The man was suspended in midair, his face ashen as death, his eyes filling with terror. He was just opening his mouth to say something when Xu Qing arrived and slashed his throat open with his dagger.
The force of the blow sent the man’s head flying off his shoulders.
As blood sprayed everywhere, the huge mouth in the constable’s chest bulged out and tried to bite Xu Qing’s hand.
Xu Qing’s Sea and Mountain Incantation surged, and the spectral hobgoblin appeared, howling noiselessly. At the same time, the hand of rainwater smashed down toward the ground.
A boom rang out as the man’s headless corpse was smashed into a paste, and the mouth was crushed. Afterward, Xu Qing stood in place, breathing hard.
The battle had ended quickly. But the truth was that this man’s cultivation base was extraordinary, and his battle prowess shocking. In fact, it was about the same as Xu Qing’s before he entered the city.
Not even Master Greencloud would have been a match for this man. After all, people who cultivated the Seaforming Scripture had battle prowess that surpassed small organizations by a wide margin.
Xu Qing looked around to see if his dead foe had any companions in the area. But because of the wind and rain, the port was pitch black, and was only illuminated by the occasional bolt of lightning.
1. I’m sure most of you have an idea what a Chinese woven rush raincoat looks like, but just in case, of a historical raincoat and matching hat. ☜