Chapter 243: Night Killing

In the black night.

Fu Huai leapt from the county magistrate's wall like a night owl, his cloak snapping loudly in the night wind.

He landed without a sound, pausing not at all, heading straight westward.

He crossed half the city.

Two watch periods later, he appeared near Anning Guard, glancing back deliberately, confirming no one followed before exhaling in relief.

His eyes were dark and brooding:

"Zhuang—deserves to die!"

Even though Zhuang Renhe had been careful enough, Fu Huai still spotted it: Zhuang Renhe had sent men to spy on him.

To maneuver around Zhuang Renhe,

he had wasted too much time.

But it was all worth it—Zhuang Renhe's actions only strengthened his resolve: the Immortal Lord's matter must never be revealed to that ungrateful wolf.

'He didn't follow.'

Today, he had finally seized an opportunity to slip out under cover of night.

Fu Huai circled Anning Guard completely, finally halting at a hidden corner.

'A hundred zhang—perfect.'

He found his spot.

He pulled out Qiba bottles and jars from his robe.

The contents inside were even stranger.

Black leaves, seven-colored feathers—if not for his identity, one might mistake him for a traveling conman.

Fu Huai crushed the leaves and feathers, then mixed them with the unknown green beast's blood.

The stench made one want to vomit.

Fu Huai didn't even frown—he was used to it.

He raised the bowl, his Adam's apple bobbing, draining every drop.

This was the seer's secret elixir, called 'Huan Shen Soup,' enhancing eyesight.

Fu Huai had spent this entire period preparing this soup.

After consuming it,

he could see Jiang Linxian and Li Rui more clearly, determining who the Immortal Lord sought.

Of course.

The greater the power gained, the greater the cost paid.

Seers rarely live long.

Why?

Because each time he opens his eyes, he shortens his life—so unless something vital demands it, Fu Huai almost never activates his Divine Eye.

'Chaos first opened, yin-yang turned; spiritual eyes awaken, surveying heaven and earth. Minute details all enter sight; illusions and phantoms cannot escape.'

Fu Huai murmured incantations.

In an instant,

a pair of eyes glowed with eerie green light.

'Divine Eye—open!'

With a low command, the pupils faintly revealed the turning of the Eight Trigrams.

Fu Huai's lips curled slightly.

'Let me see—who is the exiled immortal.'

He slowly rose to his feet.

Just as he prepared to gaze toward Anning Guard, a voice came from behind:

'Are you looking for me?'

Fu Huai shuddered, whipping his head around.

'Who?!'

The next instant,

his gaze turned vacant.

'An immortal?!'

In his Divine Eye, Fu Huai saw a celestial king standing before him—boundless divine aura made his soul tremble, forcing him to kneel.

What is the aura of an exiled immortal?

This is it!

Thud!

Fu Huai could not overcome the terror deep in his soul—he collapsed to his knees, barely suppressing the urge to prostrate himself.

Jiang Linxian's face showed no expression.

'A seer?'

'From the Ghost Ming Sect?'

Fu Huai's voice trembled: 'Immortal Lord, please spare my life.'

His instinct for survival made him not want to die.

But Jiang Linxian paid no heed to Fu Huai's plea.

A flash of swordlight.

Fu Huai's throat split open in a bloody gash—the sword was too fast, even the blood hadn't reacted yet.

'Ugh—'

Fu Huai's pupils dilated, barely showing pain before his body collapsed, lifeless, thudding to the ground.

Breath gone.

Jiang Linxian glanced coldly at Fu Huai's corpse, sweeping his sleeve.

The corpse was shredded, disintegrated by dreadful sword intent, vanishing into nothingness.

Not a single drop of blood stained the ground.

If Li Rui had seen this,

he would have deemed it the supreme ash-scattering technique—Jiang Linxian's practiced Shoufa clearly showed he'd done this many times.

In fact,

Li Rui had already seen it.

Outside Anning Guard, in a derelict house, on the roof.

Li Rui squinted, silently astonished: 'Jiang Linxian—why is it him?'

Behind his back, he carried a long, black-cloth-wrapped object.

At a glance, it looked like a hammer.

Correct—it was the Divine Fire Burn Heaven Hammer given to him by Old Tie.

He had watched this new advisor of Zhuang Renhe for a long time; even though the advisor moved discreetly, the 'sparrows' bribed by the Heaven-Earth Alliance had provided ample useful intelligence.

After analyzing the intel and personally tailing the man outside the government offices, he had confirmed this derelict house.

He was lying in wait here, holding the Divine Fire Burn Heaven Hammer.

Of course—he was waiting to crush Fu Huai.

Unexpectedly,

someone beat him to it—and that someone was Jiang Linxian.

This scene was utterly unforeseen.

The distance was too great—he could barely make out a profile; their voices were completely inaudible.

But even just a profile was enough to confirm it was Jiang Linxian.

Someone might mimic Jiang Linxian's face, but no one could mimic his sword.

Especially that sword—the Tan Lang he saw every night in his dreams.

Li Rui could not be mistaken.

But the question remained: why was Jiang Linxian here?

'Something's wrong!'

Under Li Rui's gaze,

Jiang Linxian finished erasing the corpse, then returned to Anning Guard as if nothing had happened.

Everything seemed as if it had never occurred.

Li Rui gazed into his Wisdom Eye's mist.

It had faded.

Clearly, the one who had targeted him was Fu Huai.

'Forget it.'

Li Rui leapt from the roof, pulled a handkerchief from his waist, meticulously wiped away every trace of his presence, then leapt over the wall and returned home via the hidden tunnel beneath the bridge outside Anning Guard.

Jiang Linxian's presence did not linger long in Li Rui's mind.

Who doesn't have secrets?

He has nothing but secrets.

Jiang Lin has become a Primordial Master, so naturally he has many secrets too.

These are not things he needs to investigate.

As long as he confirms one thing—that Jiang Lin's interests align with his own—that is enough.

Better to pretend ignorance.

Some things, if pursued relentlessly for the truth, will only bring trouble, even plunge one into irrevocable ruin.

Li Rui emerged from the tunnel.

Then he carefully removed the black sack behind him, revealing the Divine Flame Scorching Heaven Hammer within.

This is a treasure of Divine Weapon Manor.

Had it not been a matter of life and death, Li Rui would never have taken it out casually for killing.

Though he wields a blade, the Divine Flame Scorching Heaven Hammer is a top-tier fourth-rank weapon; with it, his strength could increase by several tenths.

This outing is to kill someone.

An extra bit of power means many more chances to survive.

Cannot afford to be careless.

Even a lion hunting a rabbit uses its full strength, let alone going to kill a person.

Li Rui's heart remained utterly still.

Even upon returning to his room, he immediately sat cross-legged on the mat and began meditating, circulating qi. Outside Qinghe County.

In the mountains.

"So… where is he?"

A roar like a lion shook the leaves from the trees, laced with unmistakable, barely contained fury.

Yuan Gao glared with bulging eyes, fixed on Zhuang Renhe, as if ready to devour the County Magistrate of Qinghe on the spot.

Zhuang Renhe's face turned cold. "What do you mean?"

"You deliberately avoided me, and now that he's gone, you want to turn the blame on me?"

"Let me tell you—I, Zhuang, am not so easy to bully!"

He showed not the slightest sign of yielding.

And as he said, Fu Huai left the county office without Zhuang Renhe's knowledge—no matter where he went, he had reason on his side.

>

Yuan Gao flew into a rage.

He was fifth-rank; once discovered inside the city, matters would become extremely troublesome, so he had waited outside all along for news from Fu Huai.

Originally, every so often,

Fu Huai would meet him. Today was already three days past their scheduled meeting.

He sensed something was wrong, and that was why he came to Zhuang Renhe.

Indeed, Fu Huai had vanished.

As for why Fu Huai avoided Zhuang Renhe—it was to keep the Immortal Lord's secrets from him.

Yuan Gao narrowed his eyes. "Zhuang, this is your territory—will you do nothing?"

Zhuang Renhe chuckled. "I'll look for him. But whether I find him or not—that's not up to me."

"If he brought it on himself, who can he blame?"

On the surface, he stood his ground, but inside he was muttering.

How did Fu Huai vanish?

He already knew the Ghost Ming Sect had come to Qinghe for the so-called Immortal Qi.

'Could Immortal Qi truly be here in Qinghe?'

Otherwise, why would Fu Huai disappear?

Thinking of this, Zhuang Renhe's heart burned hotter.

'That's Immortal Qi.'

He genuinely intended to find Fu Huai—but what he'd do after finding him? That was another matter.

At the very least, he wouldn't let him return to the Ghost Ming Sect.

Yuan Gao snorted. "You'd better search with all your strength. Otherwise, the Ancestor won't spare you."

Zhuang Renhe sneered inwardly.

'Threatening me with the Ancestor? Do you think I'm some scared child?'

He became the de facto head of the Zhuang family—not some soft-footed pup who's never faced storms.

"Goodbye."

Zhuang Renhe had no patience for more words.

He turned and left.

Only Yuan Gao remained standing in the woods, his expression shifting between dark and light.

Fu Huai vanished—and in Qinghe.

He was almost certainly dead.

The only question was who killed him.

"Was it Jiang Lin? Or Cao Wei?"

"Or perhaps the exiled Immortal hiding in Qinghe?"

Qinghe now felt incomprehensible even to him—this wasn't Qinghe; it was a chasm.

The blacksmith shop was bustling.

Tie Kuang and Liu Tiezhu worked in perfect sync; nearly every day, a high-grade weapon emerged from the furnace.

Such efficiency

made others envious.

The Heaven and Earth Alliance's business was growing ever more prosperous: besides selling weapons, they'd secured supply routes from Wu Country, so their return trips were no longer empty.

One trade journey, two profits.

Of course, the bulk of the profit still came from weapons.

Buying military arms has always been the most profitable business, in any age.

Li Rui stood watching from the side.

His gaze settled on his disciple, Liu Tiezhu.

'Approaching Golden Bone?'

He was secretly astonished.

Liu Tiezhu's progress was terrifyingly fast—only slightly slower than Li Rui himself, and far outpacing every so-called prodigy in Qinghe.

Born with Golden Bone—terrifying indeed.

Of course,

the more crucial factor was having an excellent master.

Tie Kuang taught well—and taught appropriately.

His entire martial foundation seemed tailor-made for Liu Tiezhu: strong base, paired with a gifted teacher.

Breaking through was as easy as drinking water.

Perhaps in less than two years, Li Rui would have a seventh-rank Willow Vein disciple.

Of course,

once Liu Tiezhu reached seventh-rank, his innate Golden Bone advantage would weaken considerably—just look at Tan Hu.

Half an hour later,

a brand-new sixth-rank weapon emerged from the furnace.

Tie Kuang and Liu Tiezhu finally approached.

Liu Tiezhu had seen Li Rui long ago, but had been too busy forging to speak; he grinned broadly. "Master, you're here!"

Li Rui nodded at Liu Tiezhu.

"Master Tie, you've worked hard."

He took two cups from the food box:

"This is the first batch of plum drink of spring—perfect for cooling down. I bought it specially for you to taste."

Tie Kuang was used to Li Rui's flattery.

At first he'd scolded him, but now?

He didn't even bother.

And the things Li Rui brought truly suited his tastes.

Who was born loving hardship? If comfort's available, why not enjoy it?

Tie Kuang took the large porcelain cup Li Rui had prepared, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

The chilled plum drink, sweet with a hint of tartness, instantly dissolved the heat baked into him by the furnace.

Tie Kuang smacked his lips. "This is good. Bring more next time."

"If Master likes it, I'll buy more."

Li Rui chuckled.

Relationships are built this way.

A stone won't warm up because you're warming it the wrong way; making yourself likable and catering to preferences is itself a skill.

Only those who have served others long enough understand this.

Li Rui didn't want to learn it—he was forced to when he was a stable boy, and later he just got used to it.

He took the opportunity to ask: "Senior, are you close with Brother Jiang?"

Tie Kuang glanced at Li Rui: "You mean Little Jiang?"

"Fine."

"He's absurdly talented and has no ill intentions—don't worry about him."

Li Rui ventured: "Did Brother Jiang have prior dealings with the Ghost Ming Sect?"

Tie Kuang paused thoughtfully:

"It must've been because of the Immortal Treasure that he clashed with the Ghost Ming Sect—I never heard of it before."

Li Rui's heart stirred slightly.

The image of Jiang Lin killing that Ghost Ming Sect expert that night surfaced in his mind.

Tie Kuang rested for about the time it took to drink a cup of tea, then resumed urging Liu Tiezhu to work.

In the matter of blacksmithing, these two simply never tired.

Days passed one after another.

Following Tie Kuang's guidance, Li Rui trained diligently every day, forging his body with the Hammer Qi Method.

The Immortal Xuan Qi grew increasingly dense and solid.

The Divine Fire Scorches Heaven Hammer, as the treasured artifact of Divine Forge Manor, proved astonishingly effective at reinforcing his bones and sinews; when combined with the Hammer Qi Method, the results exceeded all expectations.

Advancing too quickly is a problem many geniuses face.

But for someone nearly eighty years old, it was exceedingly rare.

Only Tie Kuang's sharp eye and skill in bone-reading could detect this hidden danger.

Li Rui's training not only stabilized his foundation but also forged his true qi—truly a double benefit.

One day.

In Li Rui's room.

Li Rui sat as usual, eyes closed in meditation, the dragon-shaped qi winding through his body, steadily consolidating the Immortal Xuan Qi.

Suddenly,

He opened his eyes.

"It's time."

(End of Chapter)