Chapter 26: Dongfang Xing

The cold moonlight poured onto the earth, so dim.

A gust of autumn wind blew, and the withered yellow leaves fell in profusion, mingling with the leaves on the ground, never to separate.

The black-clad thief who stole the carriage collapsed straight down; the carriage also crashed down, scattering leaves everywhere.

Chen Yi He and Long Wang stared at each other, dumbfounded…… They hadn't even made a move, yet the opponent collapsed outright!?

That person lay on the ground; upon closer look, he was short and slim, wrapped tightly in black clothing, wearing a black cotton cap on his head. Although his face was dirty, his features were quite regular.

"His breathing is ragged, his pulse chaotic—was he stimulated?" Long Wang felt the black-clad man's pulse, asking puzzledly.

"What does it matter? He stole our carriage—tie him up first!" Chen Yi He, fully dressed, flew into a rage; he took a long rope from the carriage and wound it round and round the black-clad man, muttering, "You brat, daring to steal our carriage…"

"Nothing serious; he'll probably wake up tomorrow morning." Long Wang released the black-clad man's wrist, glanced at Chen Yi He, and speculated, "Could it be that you frightened him with your bare butt?"

"Your bare chest isn't much different from mine; he only fainted after turning around and seeing you." Chen Yi He dismissed it.

"Bare chest and bare butt are worlds apart!"

"We're grown men—how could we be scared? Tch, making it seem like nobody's ever been frightened…" Chen Yi He tied the black-clad man to an old tree trunk, brushed off the dust on his hands, and said, "Mission accomplished; tomorrow you'll get to taste my torture!"

……

After a fresh rain in the empty mountains, the weather turns late autumn.

In the latter half of the night, a light pattering rain began.

By dawn, the sun had already risen in the east, and fresh sunlight poured onto the moist earth.

The flavor of autumn grew stronger.

Chen Yi He got off the carriage, stretched thoroughly, then faced the open countryside, the bright sunshine, the flowers and birds, and let out a wild shout, "Ah—woo—woo…"

Long Wang followed, also getting off the carriage, his hands rubbing his neck, "I slept wrong last night and got a crick—how tragic…"

"I slept quite comfortably."

"Help me twist my neck."

"Crack—" Chen Yi He showed no mercy.

"Oh oh oh oh…" Long Wang winced so hard he almost jumped.

"How is it now? Want another go?"

"Well, don't say that—it's much better." After the pain subsided, Long Wang twisted his neck and finally returned to normal.

They seemed to have already forgotten last night's carriage thief.

After a long silence, Chen Yi He suddenly asked, "Did we forget something?"

Long Wang slapped his forehead in sudden realization, "The carriage thief!"

"Hey hey, wake up, wake up." Chen Yi He shook the sleeping black-clad man.

After shaking him for a while, the black-clad man finally woke up, and the first thing he saw was Chen Yi He's face—he lunged forward headfirst!

Caught off guard, Chen Yi He was knocked to the ground, rolling over… rolling several times, two streams of blood flowed from his nostrils…… "You!"

"Hahaha! Hahaha!" Long Wang nearly laughed himself sick.

"Let me go!" the black-clad man shouted angrily, struggling to break free of the rope's bonds.

"No way!" Chen Yi He covered his nose, even angrier than the black-clad man.

Looking at Chen Yi He, then at Long Wang, a faint flush crept onto the black-clad man's dirty face, and his former vigor drained away by more than half; he stopped struggling against the rope binding him.

"Don't waste your effort—this is a specially made hemp rope, soaked in water; you can't break free!" Long Wang bent down and asked, "Tell me, what's your name?"

The image of the black-clad man raising both hands to lift the carriage last night still lingered in Long Wang's mind; he concluded the man was no ordinary fellow.

"It's none of your business," the black-clad man replied firmly.

"You have no grudge against us, we've never met—why steal our carriage?"

"It's none of your business."

"Where are you from?"

The black-clad man closed his eyes, not looking at the two before him, answering every question with the five words "It's none of your business."

"Fine, since it's none of our business, we can't let you go—just stay here and waste away; if a wild beast comes and eats you alive, don't blame anyone else!" Long Wang stood up and said to Chen Yi He, "Yi He, let's hurry on our way; don't linger here."

Chen Yi He's nose twinged again; he pointed at the black-clad man and said, "You, you wait—wait to be devoured by wolves and tigers! See who'll save you in this wilderness!"

Chen Yi He and Long Wang truly walked away without looking back, heading for the carriage, not turning around.

Actually, the black-clad man couldn't see the two's faces; if he could, he'd surely vomit blood from rage.

They were communicating with their eyes; Long Wang even whispered a countdown, "Eight, seven, six…"

With each number counted, they took a step.

"Three."

"Let me go! Let me go!" the black-clad man panicked.

"Two."

"Don't abandon me! Don't leave me!" the black-clad man pleaded, voice trembling.

"One…" As long as the black-clad man didn't answer the question, they wouldn't stop.

"Wait! I'll speak!" the black-clad man finally yielded.

"Hahaha!" Chen Yi He laughed loudly.

"Mission accomplished!" Long Wang hurried back, "I'll give you only one chance!"

"First, untie me."

Having been bound all night and unable to shift position, the black-clad man's body had stiffened; it took a while before he loosened up.

"Can you speak now?" Long Wang urged.

"My name is Dongfang Xing, the 'Xing' of stars." the black-clad man replied, still avoiding looking directly at the two.

Long Wang's dark complexion suddenly froze, turning a bit sallow—"Dongfang Xing? Dongfang…" That name seemed to hold a special power, gripping his thoughts; he struggled to recall something…

The sun rises in the east, only I am invincible—has your family not produced an expert called Dongfang Bupei? Hahaha! Chen Yi He had a particularly deep impression of Dongfang Bupei.

Silver needle in hand, threading flowers… Even if you're not a martial arts fan, the four words "Dongfang Bupei" are a name that rings like thunder, known to all.

Mention Dongfang Bupei, and one inevitably thinks of the *Sunflower Manual*, the Lustful Divine Skill—first you have to… Chen Yi He silently glanced at Dongfang Xing's lower body.

Chen Yi He's roguish gaze was caught by Dongfang Xing, his face flushing crimson again—"What are you looking at!? Our family doesn't have the Dongfang Bupei you speak of!"

"We're all grown men, what's there to be shy about, really!" Chen Yi He said disdainfully.

"Dong… Dong…" the Dragon King was still pondering, his memory hit a bottleneck—something clearly familiar or at least heard before, yet he just couldn't recall it.

"I've got it! Dong! Isn't that the clan from Dong Hai?" the Dragon King suddenly shouted, unintentionally stepping back two steps, pointing at Dongfang Xing and saying, "Are you from Dong Hai?"

Dongfang Xing smiled and nodded.

Chen Yi He didn't know why the Dragon King had such a strong reaction—"Is it really that big a deal…?"

"The Dongfang Clan hasn't appeared in the jianghu for three hundred years; I never expected to meet one today… Yi He, we need to be careful of this person," the Dragon King said to Chen Yi He.

"Why?" the speaker was not Chen Yi He but Dongfang Xing.

Obviously this was also Chen Yi He's question.

However, Dongfang Xing was asking knowingly, while Chen Yi He truly had no idea.

"In the entire Tian'an Continent, there is only one Dongfang Clan. Three hundred years ago, a person named Dongfang Wuji suddenly emerged from the Dongfang Clan; starting from Dong Hai, he entered the jianghu, his demonic power making people pale at the mere mention, turning the martial world upside down, killing anyone he met—countless jianghu fellows died at his hands, he slaughtered his way all the way to the Western Desert. Possessing divine strength, his breath could lift mountains and his power surpassed the world, earning him the nickname 'Dongfang Giant Demon'."

Dongfang Xing smiled and nodded, indicating the Dragon King was correct.

"But after reaching the Western Desert, he vanished without a trace. Meanwhile, your Dongfang Clan suffered frenzied retaliation from all sects in the jianghu; the Clan Chief even swore on his knees that from then on, no member of the family would set foot outside Dong Hai."

The Dragon King finished speaking, and Chen Yi He listened as if to a story.

"What you said is correct, but you forgot that the Clan Chief's oath back then had a time limit. And that limit is three hundred years; now three hundred years have passed, so it's time for our Dongfang Clan to enter the jianghu." Dongfang Xing said calmly to the two people before him.

"Three hundred years have passed—I never expected our Dongfang Clan to still be remembered by the jianghu!" Dongfang Xing proudly lifted his head, sunlight spilling onto his face, drop by drop.

Chen Yi He couldn't care less about all that—"What does it matter what clan you are—stealing our car is a crime! Figure out how to resolve it, huh?"