Chapter 72: Chaos on the Long Street
"Crazy, crazy!"
In a restaurant at the far end of the long street, the Rong Family Patriarch Rong Yichu was standing by the window, watching the chaos unfold below. His face was pale, full of disbelief, muttering, "How could he dare... Gu Zhan, is he insane? How could he dare to do this..."
The guard beside him wore a look of terror as well. "Patriarch... th-this... this Gu Zhan... he..."
Rong Yichu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, swallowing hard. "Quick, go to the Clear Transport Department and inform my uncle. Tell him to immediately order all our official contacts to destroy any traces related to the Rong Family!"
The guard immediately clasped his fists and turned to leave,
but at the very moment he turned, his whole body shuddered and he froze.
Rong Yichu turned around in confusion, only to see a team from the Embroidered Uniform Guard Inspection Team. Leading them was a middle-aged man in regular clothing, wearing a slight smile, slowly chewing on an apple stabbed through with a dagger in his hand.
The moment he saw this man,
Rong Yichu’s mind immediately conjured up a person’s dossier—the Embroidered Uniform Guard Thousand Households, Wan Yan!
The instant he saw Wan Yan,
Rong Yichu trembled all over. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but ultimately they all converged to a single point—the Rong Family... is finished!
"Patriarch Rong," Wan Yan smiled, walking up beside Rong Yichu, gently patting his shoulder. With a sigh, he said: "What a pity. In this generation, the Rong Family actually has talents like you. Sadly, the old men in your family are too selfish. Otherwise, the Rong Family wouldn’t have ended up like this."
Rong Yichu pondered for a while, sighed, and said: "Lord Wan... brilliant!"
Wan Yan smiled, saying, "It’s not really all that brilliant, it’s just about mentality. I came up from the bottom, so I’m not as aloof as the Rong Family. The Rong Family lost because you were too arrogant, looking down on the lower-class families from the bottom of your hearts. Yet, you forget, didn’t your ancestors once belong to the common folk as well?"
Rong Yichu closed his eyes lightly. "So, Lord Wan, you actually left no backup plan. You were simply certain that Gu Zhan’s strength would be enough to escalate this affair."
Wan Yan chuckled, "My appreciation for Gu Zhan is genuine. True, part of it was intentionally displayed for the Rong Family to see, but Gu Zhan is truly someone worthy of my admiration. Men like him, for a general’s success ten thousand bones must wither. In a small place like Linjiang City, men like him are extraordinarily rare. Otherwise, why would the Gu Family’s direct descendant Gu Chuan value him so highly?"
Rong Yichu let out a desperate sigh and asked, "But, aren’t you afraid you might have misjudged? Dozens of Embroidered Uniform Guards, plus all those Hundred Households, Chief Banners, and Small Banners—such a grave crime. How can you be sure Gu Zhan truly dared to go this mad?"
Wan Yan said, "Because Gu Zhan is a rational madman. He appears crazy, but he’s methodical. He gave me an out with that Five Stone Powder. He knows I’m after the Rong Family—so long as he wins, I only have two options: one, destroy the Rong Family and spare Gu Zhan; two, destroy Gu Zhan and spare the Rong Family. Tell me, should I save Gu Zhan or the Rong Family?"
...
On the long street,
cries of pain rang out endlessly. The Rong Family and East City Embroidered Uniform Guard were fighting desperately, but faced with the countless flying axes, they simply could not break out of the encirclement.
"Gu Zhan, you madman!"
Rong Hao roared, his Brocade Spring Saber spinning, dazzling flowers of saber light blocking the onslaught of the flying axes.
Then, in one instant,
the air thrummed and vibrated with bowstrings,
a feathered arrow streaked like a meteor, carrying massive force, tracing a beautiful arc in the sky, heading straight for Rong Hao’s back.
"Look out!"
Rong Wanlin shouted, his longsword surging with mighty True Qi, slashing out seven or eight streaks of Sword Qi that cut that arrow into pieces.
At the same time,
another Innate Expert in the Rong ranks—Third Master Rong—gathered his strength, burst forth in an instant, slashing through several flying axes, his figure ghost-like as he shot out from under the flying axe siege. But instead of attacking the Martial World men, he went straight for Gu Zhan.
To catch the bandits, seize their leader first—an unchanging truth.
At the same moment Third Master Rong broke through, some from the Rong Family and East City Embroidered Uniform Guard also seized the chance to break free from the encirclement, with Rong Wanlin and Rong Hao preparing to charge out as well.
They were all Martial Artists of high cultivation—Rong Wanlin, even, was an Innate Realm expert. Trapped inside the flying axe array, their power was greatly restricted. After all, even for Innate Martial Artists, it was impossible to kill from such a distance.
Thus, they had to plunge into the crowd,
render the flying axe array useless.
But at that very instant,
those Martial World men on the street suddenly withdrew several steps, all turning sideways to open a path,
as Embroidered Uniform Guards stepped out from their midst,
over a hundred Embroidered Uniform Guards, all wielding crossbows, kneeling half-crouched, thirty-some crossbow bolts at once shooting toward Rong Hao, spraying in fast chaotic angles,
forcing Rong Wanlin, who was just about to charge, to stop in his tracks,
Rong Hao was not an Innate Martial Artist; without Innate Gang Qi, he could not withstand so many bolts. Rong Wanlin’s sword slashed, Gang Qi around him like a shield, blocking that first salvo of crossbow bolts, ringing out with a series of muffled thuds.
But after one volley, another wave followed,
dozens more bolts pouring down like a torrential shower. No matter how exquisite Rong Hao’s Saber Technique, he could not block them all. Rong Wanlin had no choice but to halt, pinned down by the crossbow array.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Third Master Rong advanced rapidly,
to his surprise,
after all Gu Zhan’s careful preparations, he apparently left himself exposed—there were barely any people guarding his side.
He had also heard of Gu Zhan’s nickname, God of Slaughter,
knowing Gu Zhan was a top-notch First Grade Martial Artist. With his Saber Technique and Archery, he had even ambushed and killed the Innate Martial Artist Yao Chen.
Knowing Gu Zhan’s Archery was uncanny,
so he always kept an eye on Gu Zhan’s bow and arrows. Therefore, he did not bother to fight off those Embroidered Uniform Guards or South City Martial World people trying to stop him, all in order to remain hidden, so that Gu Zhan would not have a chance to shoot him with the bow.
As expected, things progressed just as he anticipated.
Gu Zhan, indeed, as the rumors said, though arrogant and brutal, quick to kill, was exceedingly protective of his own. Tough on the outside, tender within—a man of fierce loyalty.
He exploited this flaw in Gu Zhan’s character,
successfully closing in on Gu Zhan,
and for an archer, the most feared situation was the enemy in melee range—his archery was now all but useless.
As expected,
just as he had predicted,
Gu Zhan threw aside his hardwood bow and drew his saber.
Third Master Rong smiled; the moment to break the impasse had come.
In close quarters, he, being an Innate Second Layer Martial Artist, was absolutely confident he could behead a First Grade Martial Artist in one blow.
So, his sword, in the morning light, slashed at high speed, sometimes low and resonant, sometimes shrieking—like some strange musical instrument. The trajectory abruptly twisted, the shriek growing sharper, slicing the air, and a massive sword shadow crashed down,
the full-force strike of an Innate Second Layer expert.
Yet, to Third Master’s bewilderment,
the famed-for-Qinggong Gu Zhan did not dodge,
instead,
he swung his saber!