Chapter 71: Moluo Night Banquet, A Sword Stabbed in the Heart of the River

After the literary gathering, the rumors in Jiangnan temporarily receded.

But Hei Xuan's third strike came soon.

That night, the lights on the Qinhuai River shone like daylight.

Jiang Che, invited by the Jiangnan Local Council Hall, boarded a boat to attend the banquet.

Xie Tingxue had not wanted him to go.

"The liveliest places are best for assassinations."

Jiang Che said, "I know."

"Then why go?"

"They want to make me afraid to show my face."

Jiang Che looked at the lights on the river.

"If I avoid everything, the rumors will say Jiang Che is guilty."

Xie Tingxue said coldly, "When did you start caring so much about rumors?"

Jiang Che smiled, "It is not about caring for the rumors, but for the people swept up by them."

The banquet boat was large.

Officials of Jiangnan, representatives of the Merchant Association, and famous scholars from the academies were all present.

Shen Wanjin had come too.

He said Jiangnan was a key location for the Wan Tong Merchant Association, and he had to supervise it personally to prevent Jiang Che from messing up the accounts again.

Halfway through the banquet, the music and dancing were at their peak.

Jiang Che suddenly smelled a faint fragrance.

The scent did not seem like poison.

It seemed more like a dream.

His eyes sharpened.

Xie Tingxue also pressed her hand on her sword hilt.

In the next instant, the lights on the entire banquet boat suddenly turned a ghostly green.

One by one, the guests' eyes grew hazy, as if trapped in a nightmare.

On the river surface, dozens of small black boats had appeared at some point.

On each small boat stood a black-clad figure wearing a ghost mask.

Assassins of the Demon Luo Dao from the Human Realm.

The leader among them smiled lightly and said:

"Sword Master Jiang, the Moluo Night Banquet invites you to enter the dream."

As his words fell, the Dream Fragrance suddenly grew thick.

Jiang Che's vision swayed.

He saw the Dragon Throne.

He saw countless people kneeling below the hall, shouting "Long live the Emperor" like a mountain.

Xie Tingxue stood beside him and said expressionlessly, "Sit. The world needs you."

Chen Shanhe said, "Young Master, sit upon it, and the Northern Garrison Army will be at ease."

Gu Chongming said, "A nation cannot be without a ruler."

Shen Wanjin said, "If you sit, the debts are easier to repay."

All the familiar people were urging him to sit.

Jiang Che looked at that golden, glittering chair and suddenly smiled.

"Too fake, too obvious."

The illusory Xie Tingxue asked, "Where is it fake?"

Jiang Che said, "She would never urge me like this."

"Then how would she?"

Jiang Che thought for a moment.

"She would say, if I dare to sit, she would first ask me with a sword."

The illusion suddenly twisted.

In reality, the assassins had already reached the bow of the boat.

Xie Tingxue's sword light was like snow, blocking more than ten assassins by herself.

But many guests on the banquet boat were still trapped in the dream; if the assassins set fire, everyone on the boat would die.

Jiang Che did not draw his sword.

He raised his hand and slapped the table.

Tea cups rattled up, and water droplets scattered.

In every drop of water lay a trace of Sword Intent, piercing the guests' foreheads.

"Wake up."

Everyone suddenly woke with a start.

The banquet boat instantly descended into chaos.

Shen Wanjin's first reaction was to hug his account book; his second reaction was to shout:

"Help!"

Jiang Che sighed helplessly, "Shopkeeper Shen, your order is quite realistic."

Shen Wanjin hid under the table: "Even if the ledger is gone, I still need my life!"

The assassin leader, seeing Dream Fragrance broken, narrowed his eyes coldly.

"Jiang Che, is your Heart Demon so shallow?"

Jiang Che said, "It is not shallow."

"It has been asked too many times; it is no longer fresh."

The assassin leader sneered and removed his mask.

It was a young, handsome face, with a Black Lotus Mark on his brow.

"Lower Envoy of the Demon Luo Dao, Night Lotus."

"By order of Adult Black, I take the blood from your heart."

His figure flashed, bypassing Xie Tingxue to thrust directly at Jiang Che's chest.

The speed was extremely fast.

Almost unlike a Martial Artist of the Human Realm.

Jiang Che finally drew his sword.

The Green Bamboo Sword left its scabbard.

The Black Thorn in Night Lotus's hand collided with the Green Bamboo Sword.

There was no sound of metal on metal.

Only a crisp sound like a dream shattering.

Surprise flashed in Night Lotus's eyes: "Your injury has healed?"

Jiang Che said, "Healed a little."

"Enough to kill you."

Night Lotus laughed loudly, and countless phantoms condensed from the black mist behind him.

Every phantom was someone Jiang Che knew.

Jiang Xuan.

Su Qingzhu.

The Sword Spirit.

Xie Tingxue.

Chen Shanhe.

They attacked Jiang Che simultaneously.

This was the Heart-Seeking Thrust of the Demon Luo Dao.

Xie Tingxue's face changed: "Don't look!"

Yet Jiang Che looked at those phantoms, his expression calm.

He said softly:

"Fakes are ultimately fake."

He did not strike the phantoms.

Instead, he slashed his sword at the reflection beneath his own feet.

Night Lotus's pupils contracted sharply.

All the phantoms shattered simultaneously.

Because the true Demon Seed was hidden in the river's reflection.

The Green Bamboo Sword pierced the river water.

The entire Qinhuai River flashed with Green Light.

Dozens of black boats exploded simultaneously.

Night Lotus spat blood and retreated.

Jiang Che took a step forward, the sword tip stopping at his brow.

"Where is Adult Black?"

Night Lotus smiled.

"Heart Demons exist everywhere in the Human Realm; naturally, Adult Black is everywhere too."

Having spoken, the Black Lotus on his brow ignited, turning his entire body into black ash.

Jiang Che frowned.

A Death Soldier.

The lights on the banquet boat returned.

Guests who had survived the calamity collapsed onto the ground, many of them.

Shen Wanjin crawled out from under the table; his first words were:

"Young Master, the boat is broken; whose fault is it?"

Jiang Che looked at him.

Shen Wanjin immediately changed his tune: "It's the assassins' fault."

Xie Tingxue sheathed her sword and walked to Jiang Che's side.

"Adult Black has started killing you directly."

Jiang Che gazed at the river surface.

"It means Wenxin Hall and Jiangnan Storytelling are useful."

Xie Tingxue said, "It also means he is more desperate."

Jiang Che nodded.

Beneath the river, a wisp of black qi quietly dispersed.

High above in the Upper Realm, Hei Xuan smiled faintly.

"Jiang Che, you can break the dream."

"But can you break the heart of one who is awake?"