Chapter 140
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Sha sha sha…
In the courtyard, the old tree’s branches and leaves swayed gently. Two martial artists passed under the eaves, speaking in hushed tones, then knocked on a door and entered the room.
On the wall of another residence nearby, a man in a scholar’s robe of pale green stood, the inverted Veiled Moon Sword slung across his back. His gaze lowered as he watched the two figures pass under the eaves and knock upon the door.
A breeze swept by. His robe and sleeves stirred lightly. In the next instant, the figure vanished from the wall, landing silently in the courtyard, then walked toward a row of rooms.
“There’s a ward on the door.”
From his sleeve leapt out the Toad Daoist. Tilting his toad face upward, he eyed the copper-locked door, the corners of his mouth twitching… Damn it, even the warding spell is one of this old man’s.
Just then, footsteps sounded from behind.
“Who are you people?”
Lu Liangsheng turned his face slightly, eyes narrowing. In the corner of his vision, a martial artist holding a lantern stood there. The man was just about to shout when the scholar flicked a sleeve backward. A sleep spell from the [Southern Waters Collection of Lost Arts] swept out.
The man’s mouth opened, but no sound escaped his throat. He swayed a few times before collapsing with a thud.
“Even the gatekeepers are martial artists—looks like this really is a stronghold of the Fire-Worship Sect.”
With that said, Lu Liangsheng had already stirred everyone inside. With a flick of his right hand, the Veiled Moon Sword rang out with a long hum as it flew from its sheath. His broad sleeve fluttered as he gripped the hilt.
The copper lock was cleaved in a stroke. The magical ward upon it—imperceptible to the eye—snapped in an instant.
Clang!
Sparks flew. The lock broke and fell to the ground, tumbling away. The toad smacked its lips, hopped onto the threshold, and followed its disciple inside.
Ding ding dang dang…
The room was pitch dark. What echoed was the dragging of iron chains. Lu Liangsheng drew out a fire striker, breathed on it to spark a flame, then shook it once—bringing forth a bean-sized flicker of fire.
Dim yellow light lit up the room. In that moment, his pupils contracted. Even the Toad Daoist, who had just hopped over the threshold and was slowly lowering his short legs to the floor, twitched at the corner of his eye.
Clang… The chains rattled where they were nailed into the wall, extending downward to where the other end was pulled taut around the neck of a disheveled woman. The iron collar had chafed red marks into her skin. Through the gaps in her tangled hair, her terrified eyes stared at the scholar holding the flame. Her bare feet scrabbled against the ground as she panicked and shrank toward the wall.
Her voice trembled with sobs as she shook her head desperately.
“…Don’t… don’t come any closer… please, I beg you, let me go home… my husband, my child, they’re waiting for me to return…”
The crying woman tried to kowtow, but the taut chain around her neck made it impossible. Yet she could still speak—unlike the others. Beside her, several more women in tattered clothing, bodies caked in filth, sat numbly on the floor. Their expressions were hollow, lifeless. Seeing Lu Liangsheng, they let out muffled sobs and raised chipped, broken bowls toward him, shaking them faintly—asking for food.
In one corner, another woman, emaciated to the bone, leaned against the wall. She slowly turned her face toward him with great effort. Her spirit had long been drained; her lips cracked and dry, she weakly moved them.
“…These people…”
Lu Liangsheng squeezed the words out from between clenched teeth. His fingers gripped the sword hilt so tightly they had turned white.
His cheeks puffed out with held breath. The blade in his hand let out a faint hum and swept forth in a cold arc. Even the air rang with a sharp ping ping ping—sparks flashed, and the iron chains around the women’s necks snapped and fell with a clang.
The numb expressions in the eyes of the four women flickered with a spark of life. The crying woman dropped to her knees despite her exposed body, kowtowing toward the scholar.
“Wait here for a moment.”
Lu Liangsheng turned his gaze aside, unwilling to meet her eyes. He strode quickly to the corner, extended two fingers, and pressed them to the forehead of the dying woman. A stream of his own cultivation flowed forth, easing her pain and giving her just enough strength to hold on until they could leave.
Withdrawing his hand, the scholar turned his head toward the remaining women. His lips parted slightly.
“Take her with you as well… and go as far as you can.”
At that moment—
Inside the two rear buildings of the compound, someone rose to their feet, facing the two martial artists who had just entered.
“A cultivator appeared in the city? When did he arrive?”
“…Just recently, I think. But that person suddenly locked onto me with his spiritual sense.”
“Couldn’t it have been a mistake? Maybe he wasn’t targeting you specifically.”
“Hmph. If not me, then perhaps all of us!”
There were five people in the room. Besides the two martial artists who had just arrived, the other three were clad in black Daoist robes. One held a red-headed staff, another a ritual sword. After questioning their subordinates, they turned to leave—just as one man’s face changed dramatically.
“Damn it—the ward has been broken…!”
The two cultivators who had just stepped outside turned back sharply.
“Where?”
“The room where the women were kept…!”
“Move!”
The three cultivators pressed off the ground, their figures dipping and rising as they moved—crossing several zhang in the blink of an eye. Around them, Fire-Worship Sect disciples rushed out of nearby houses, weapons in hand. There were more than twenty of them, following close behind the three figures as they encircled the nearby building.
Their footsteps were chaotic, weapons clanging noisily.
“Inside that room!” “Surround the building—let the Three Flame-Bearing Elders slay the intruder!”
“Damn it, who the hell is this guy, daring to break in here—”
“Don’t care who! He comes out, we kill him!”
Amidst the raucous yelling of the outlaw bandit-style warriors, the three Daoists each held a magical implement and pressed closer to the doors and windows. They looked at the pitch-dark room and exchanged glances.
“He’s inside.”
One of them muttered, while another barked, “Go!”
Boom!
The instant the word left his mouth, a deafening blast erupted. The wall shook violently and bulged outward—bricks and stones burst apart, scattering in all directions. The explosion sent bandits flying with cries of pain and confusion.
Across from them, the three Daoists unleashed their magic tools, forming barriers to shield against the hail of bricks. A second later, the window frame exploded—and a longsword streaked through the air with a shua!
One of the cultivators hastily summoned his spiritual power to block it. But the sword point struck with a clang, embedding itself midair. As ripples spread through the air, the force flung the man—along with his red-topped staff—clean off the ground.
The sword pierced through his spiritual barrier. With a dull puff, it sank into his flesh and nailed him straight into a tree in the courtyard.
All around, the twenty-odd Fire-Worship followers recoiled in terror, crawling away on hands and feet. The remaining two cultivators glanced at their companion skewered to the tree. Their expressions darkened visibly. They turned back toward the shattered wall of the building, swallowing hard.
Ka-cha…
Chunks of broken masonry rolled from the fractured wall, making everyone tense. A moment later, a voice drifted out from within.
“I originally came here just to ask a question…”
The calm voice was accompanied by the slow emergence of a figure in a scholar’s robe of pale green.
“…But now, there’s something else I have to do.”
Lu Liangsheng stepped out through the opening. His eyes opened, clear and resolute. As his voice faded, his sleeve swept outward.
—Heaven and Earth Cast!
Dozens of copper coins burst forth from his sleeve, clattering in the air with chaotic ringing. All around, people cried out: “Watch out—hidden weapons!”
“Tricks like that won’t—argh!” “My knee!!”
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The coins didn’t fall. Instead, they shot toward the surrounding figures, tearing through cloth and flesh. They burrowed into thighs, knees, elbows—exploding in bursts of blood.
The bandits rolled on the ground, clutching shattered limbs and howling in agony. Tendons were snapped, joints crushed—even if they lived, they were ruined.
The bloodied coins shot out from their bodies, rolling and clinking as they returned toward the scholar, swiftly assembling around him—forming a formation.
“You two are from the Fire-Worship Sect, aren’t you?”
Lu Liangsheng’s gaze swept across the courtyard to the two Fire-Worship Sect cultivators who were still standing. The two exchanged a glance, then turned and summoned their techniques, their figures lifting onto the rooftop as they fled beyond the compound.
The Toad Daoist darted out from the ruined house, clinging to his disciple’s pant leg. “Liangsheng, hurry and give chase!”
“Mm.”
Lu Liangsheng didn’t spare so much as a glance at the mortal martial artists writhing in pain all around. He reached out with one hand—Veiled Moon pulled free from the corpse and flew back into the scholar’s grasp.
“Master, hold on tight.”
With those words, he soared up to the rooftop. His feet tapped lightly across the tiles, and as the dust and fallen leaves scattered beneath him, a crack resounded—the roof tiles around him splintered outward in all directions.
Even the air reverberated with a thunderous boom.
Lu Liangsheng pursued the two fleeing figures at full speed.
The lanterns stretched into the distance, and the once-bustling night market had begun to thin and quiet.
“Hurry up, Brother! It’s rare for Father and Uncle to be away—we finally have a chance to see the night market…”
“That’s you, not me.”
In the flow of the crowd, a pair of figures—one tall, one short—wandered about, glancing here and there. Whenever they saw something novel, the younger one would invariably take out his money pouch to buy it and hold it in his hands.
“Brother, what’s a brothel like? Why don’t you take me to see one? I promise I won’t tease you anymore after that.”
These two were none other than Yang Yong and Yang Guang, the brothers who had snuck out together.
