Chapter 85 - 83: Mental Simulation
The unmatched Sword Momentum soared into the sky, at this moment completely suppressing Song Changming’s Hundred Birds Blade Technique.
A loud ringing erupted in Song Changming’s ears, but he felt no beauty in it; under the sudden burst of the opponent’s Sword Momentum, he felt deeply suffocated.
He sensed a long-lost aura of death, his heart rate suddenly accelerated, and his blood circulation became rapid.
His pupils involuntarily contracted.
When he caught sight of the opponent’s piercing sword, the sword’s gleam was already about to touch his face.
Dodging was impossible now; at this moment, as if by instinct, he displayed the Flying Swallow Technique in his sword skills, attempting to block what seemed to be a sure-kill strike from the opponent.
He wasn’t sure if he could fend off that sword.
Once again, it was a life-and-death moment long overdue!
To speak of the last time, it was on the night when the Nine Bends Association was eliminated.
Afterwards, he had triggered a timed state of ’Potential Activation,’ gaining a rapid surge in strength.
As the sword’s gleam flew by, Song Changming felt a sting on his face under the sharpness.
The gleam of his blade followed closely, striking the side of the sword blade at the critical moment.
In an instant, the sword blade shifted by a few inches, grazing past the side of his eye socket.
As they passed each other, Song Changming took a couple of deep breaths, a sword scar at the corner of his eye oozing blood, trickling down and hanging on one side of his face.
He didn’t mind the scratch at the corner of his eye; it was already a great blessing for him to have survived.
Compared to having his head pierced by the opponent’s sword, this scratch was almost negligible.
Luo Haolin hadn’t expected his seemingly lethal sword strike to fail.
He wanted very much to turn back and attack again, feeling that unless he eliminated Song Changming, his thoughts couldn’t be put at ease.
But a few rational thoughts prevailed, and he merely cast a cold glance back at Song Changming, dealing another heavy blow to the surrounding Xiao Family guards, before leaping over the courtyard wall to escape.
Even without those Xiao Family experts coming to besiege him, his injuries wouldn’t allow him to stay and fight any longer.
He needed to find a safe place to treat and bandage his wounds quickly, to avoid further aggravation.
Song Changming watched the opponent flee and had no intention of pursuing.
Even though letting a tiger return to the mountain would bring endless troubles, his current strength was far from enough to slay the tiger.
If the opponent attempted a few more such strikes, he wasn’t confident he’d be lucky enough to block them all.
Moreover, he couldn’t keep up with the opponent’s agility, and even if he wanted to intercept, there was nothing he could do.
On the other hand, several Xiao Family experts appeared, learning that Luo Haolin had ravaged the place and escaped, and immediately chased after him.
Song Changming only hoped that the Xiao Family experts would not disappoint and apprehend all three invaders.
Xiao Shuyun hurriedly returned to the pavilion upon seeing this, noticing the continuous bleeding on Song Changming’s face, and promptly ordered someone to fetch gauze and top-quality external ointment.
"I’m fine," Song Changming said, waving his hand, sitting down to rest on the Long Tier beside him.
The sword mark at the corner of his eye only broke a bit of skin and flesh, with a slight bone fracture, nothing severe.
However, the intense battle with Luo Haolin just now left him feeling drained, his energy severely depleted in a short time.
"Luckily, the fierce opponent was already seriously injured before the fight, reducing his strength compared to the side courtyard confrontation; otherwise, I’d have no chance of resisting," Song Changming thought to himself.
This battle involved many elements of luck, and he considered his block of the final sword strike a fortunate one.
When he rushed back, thinking the person was going to kill Xiao Shuyun, he blocked without further thought, wielding his blade in defiance.
He owed a debt to Xiao Shuyun, and his primary task today was to ensure her safety; in every sense, Xiao Shuyun could not die under his protection.
Action was necessary, and he also relied on having an extra life as a safety net, so his mind was undisturbed by anguish.
"Please forgive me, Fourth Miss, for I returned too late," Song Changming said with a cupped fist salute to Xiao Shuyun after resting for a while.
"No, without Guard Captain Song, it is I who would have been in grave danger today. Besides, I sent you away to investigate the situation," Xiao Shuyun replied, shaking her head, not being an unreasonable person.
From her perspective, Song Changming arrived in the nick of time and protected her fearlessly.
Especially compared to those fleeing guests and useless guards, Song Changming’s commendability became even more pronounced.
Towards Song Changming, she felt only gratitude, not blame.
It also made her secretly glad she had supported Song Changming in the past.
Even now, Song Changming was the only good card she held.
None of the others were of any substantial use.
"Guard Captain Song, what precisely happened in the Xiao Mansion, for such chaos to erupt?" Xiao Shuyun asked urgently.
She worried about the safety of her relatives and other Xiao Family members.
Just a moment ago, the corpse of Xiao Yanli’s old family servant lay in his courtyard.
Song Changming recounted everything he had witnessed to her truthfully.
It must be said that most of it was indeed arranged by Governor Xiao himself, hiding that Second Grade official in his own mansion, attracting attackers, and causing chaos in the Xiao Family, not to mention numerous deaths.
It almost extended to threatening his children’s lives.
The root cause of all this was indeed Governor Xiao himself.
Perhaps he believed this act of concealment would be impossible for his opponent to discover, but in the end, he only drew his own people into danger.
The chaos at the Xiao Family didn’t last long in reality, ending in about the time it takes to burn an incense stick.
Not a single one of the Dongcang Three Dragons was caught in the end!
Just like years ago, when the three committed a great crime, the Governor of Dongcang didn’t manage to catch them, and now they escaped easily from Donglai County City again.
As to their escape skills, these three are indeed exceptional.
Although the Xiao Family was thrown into turmoil, the Second Grade official from the court was still unharmed and not truly in danger.
Even if Xiao Mansion lost soldiers and suffered casualties, and two innocent concubines died, this was not entirely unacceptable to Governor Xiao.
"Dongcang Three Dragons." Song Changming only learned of these three’s identities afterward.
He hadn’t heard of them before, but looking at their famous deeds, they are certainly fierce and formidable men.
Most crucially, the bandit leader behind Tengya Mountain is precisely these three.
As the three escaped Donglai County, the bandit army outside the city ended their feigned attack, and withdrew with the sound of gongs.
The county soldiers tried to pursue them out of the city, but the bandits had already planned their dispersion, disappearing into the mountains and forests quickly and without a trace.
In the end, the county soldiers only managed to kill or capture a few hundred bandit members, which barely affected the bandits.
At Xiao Mansion, upon learning that Xiao Shuyun was in danger, the eldest son Xiao Hongyang quickly sent people to gather his siblings to where he was, where a group of experts from the Xiao Family provided solid protection.
Song Changming, being an outsider to the Xiao Family, couldn’t go to the eldest son’s place, and his temporary protection task ended early. He joined the Patrol Guard in regrouping with Xie Shihuan.
"In this encounter with the bandit army, do you think we won or lost?" On the way back to the General Department in the evening, Lu Zheng suddenly asked Song Changming.
"I wouldn’t say we lost." Song Changming glanced at him, then replied.
Neither lost nor won.
In his view, from the moment the Dongcang Three Dragons were able to show up composed in the Xiao Mansion courtyard, and the bandit army arrived at the city gates, they were already on the back foot in this clash.
Even though the key Second Grade official was protected, the battles at the Xiao Mansion and the Governor’s Mansion remained fierce with significant losses.
Though the bandit army didn’t really attack the city, they still managed to cause panic among the people in the county city, with public morale and security suffering greatly, having severe impact.
In the end, the Dongcang Three Dragons weren’t caught, the bandits escaped, leaving a mess to clean up.
Of course, for the bandits and Dongcang Three Dragons, failing the main assassination mission also meant they didn’t win either.
If we must declare a win or loss tonight, it was a loss for both sides.
Midnight.
[Today’s Evaluation: A precarious day, lifespan -10, gained a limited-time state ’Potential Activation’]
The daily evaluation popped up right on time.
Seeing the state of Potential Activation he had gained, Song Changming was pleased yet unsurprised.
Tonight, he only acted once, but it was a life-or-death moment, making this evaluation unsurprising.
This was also his second time triggering it.
The experience of hovering between life and death wasn’t pleasant, but the subsequent ’Potential Activation’ cultivation state was precious.
Song Changming decisively used the excuse of being injured on duty to bid farewell and go home to recuperate, not wanting to waste this precious state of time.
Hastily returning home, Song Changming first put on a large pot of meat to cook.
Exhausted from a night of busy activities, with excessive consumption, he was now starving, and the intensive martial arts practice in the state of Potential Activation consumed even more.
During this process, he could skip a day of sleep but needed constant food intake; otherwise, the intense martial arts training would just deplete his body.
While stewing the meat, Song Changming swallowed the Bisho Silkworm that Father Song had brought him that morning.
This was a One Pattern Bisho Silkworm, unfortunately dead for unknown reasons, now appropriate for Song Changming, to aid in physical recovery post-battle.
While waiting for the food, Song Changming didn’t idle, replaying tonight’s battle with Luo Haolin in his mind.
It’s undeniable, for a martial artist of Luo Haolin’s caliber, there was so much worth observing and learning from.
Especially his superb swordsmanship and his Light Body Skill, which were unparalleled anywhere.
Originally, Song Changming just wanted to review the battle, reflecting on his shortcomings, which was something he often did in the past.
But gradually, he realized tonight’s review process was somewhat unusual.
In his mind, like a slideshow, scenes he had just experienced appeared vividly as they were.
Every detail and process unfolded completely.
The most memorable was Luo Haolin’s final deadly strike, which was so clear.
It felt as though he was there again, experiencing the suffocating feeling, smelling the dreadful scent of death again.
Then.
Even those pieces of information that he should have ignored were also reconstructed in his mind as he focused more intensely.
The angle of the light cast by the lantern in the pavilion, the intensity of the evening breeze.
The fleeting light on the sword, the changes in the grip and fingers on the sword handle by Luo Haolin, his gaze, facial expression, the steps under his feet, the rhythm of his breathing, and the way he applied force...
Song Changming could even slow down all the images emerging in his mind.
Could this also be the result of ’Potential Activation’? Greatly boosting his deduction abilities!