Chapter 160: Rat and Cat

But Yang Yan had no time to care about those distant faces, because above them, a fine white old face had already stuck to his eyes.

The majestic power had arrived again.

Faced with a Seventh Life who was determined to kill him, for Yang Yan, every move was a life-and-death moment.

He abandoned his sword and drew his saber in the air.

Unless necessary, he would never draw this saber, and even less willing to draw it in front of everyone, but from the moment he lowered his head and saw this face, the situation was out of his control.

He could only respond passively. One move, two moves, three moves... every move was a life-and-death pass. Being able to survive was already a hard-won victory.

However, at this moment, Yang Yan knew that this saber would likely bring him a victory.

The Seventh Life's strike without holding back, that long staff was just a thin bamboo, but the momentum was no different from a heavy arrow like a pillar shot by a siege crossbow. There was nowhere to hide, and any obstruction would be destroyed.

The hard building wall on the side was like willow catkins flying away in the wind under the scraping of this strike. Yang Yan's forehead hair and clothes were forced to dance wildly by this incoming gale, but he stared without blinking, pursing his lips and leading the saber.

A soft fine wind rose under the gale, as if a giant whale swimming in the void had been summoned by this saber.

Then it opened its mouth.

The raging waves and rain were all swallowed by this mouth. The siege crossbow turned back into a thin bamboo, the wind stopped, the waves subsided, the sky was blue, and the sea was clear.

This was a saber that was almost demonic. It seemed to have the same destination as 【Eating Leaves】, but the "path" of 【Eating Leaves】 could be seen. It was to reduce layer by layer with extremely exquisite techniques. This saber, however, had no trace to follow—how could you annihilate such power silently? What about the process?

The battlefield seemed to be quiet for a moment. The next moment, this illusion was corrected—this power didn't disappear inexplicably, but followed the trajectory of the saber, erupting again without the slightest reduction on Yang Yan's right side.

In the eyes of those watching from afar, this move was easily classified under the high and subtle martial principle of moving stars and changing battles.

But if the vision was higher, the distance closer, and the look finer, one would find it wrong—the technique of borrowing force like four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds wouldn't make power disappear.

This saber was definitely not a guidance of power. It completely "swallowed" this power in a short period of time, and then it seemed that because it couldn't be digested, it had to be spat out.

But regardless, except for a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, Yang Yan handled this must-kill staff almost perfectly.

At this moment, the hard building wall on his right was opened with a big hole that could fit a tiger or ox. Yang Yan could enter with a side step, and there were more obstacles inside for him to maneuver, but he stepped on the building wall and instead moved away from it.

He must expose this battle to everyone's vision.

This move made the old man's pupils shrink and his face freeze, somewhat surprised, but he didn't produce any hesitation or greed because of this.

It seemed that the gazes of the people behind were also urging him. He also stepped on the building wall, just wanting to kill Yang Yan quickly.

His response was very simple—don't spend time analyzing and breaking this strange and unpredictable saber technique. You certainly retreated all over, but what you guided away was just a full-strength stab of mine.

I can make the second, third... I can sacrifice some power in exchange for faster moves.

Even if you have a sturdy shield, you always have to have time to turn around.

In a flash, he was behind Yang Yan, a palm destroying the back of his heart.

This move was indeed fast enough. He even gave up the inconvenient long staff for this.

Yang Yan couldn't turn back at all. The moment the old man's figure disappeared, his hair stood on end.

Too fast!

If it were a month ago, he would have died here, but at this moment, under the urge of instinct after experiencing danger, he backhanded a saber, pulling straight toward his back.

A lucky but imperfect interception.

He did indeed place the saber behind his back before the old man's palm arrived, but he didn't block this palm. The surging power roared from behind, pressing his saber body and hitting his spine.

Yang Yan turned the saber body flat at the moment of life and death, so he wouldn't have his spine broken by his own saber back. True Qi surged up to protect but was shattered with a roar, and his body immediately fell into a rapid fall.

A green line flashed by.

When Xiao Qiu arrived, he saw that swallow-like figure crashing into the Catch-Moon Building with a posture ten times more tragic than a bird with broken wings, where it crashed into unknown numbers of walls and furnishings with a roar.

The old man didn't give any breathing space, the cloak fluttered, and he pounced down again. If Yang Yan was a green swallow, he was a cold and fierce white falcon.

But suddenly a light yellow figure slid in front of him, as fast as the wind and as floating as a cloud.

The young girl held a long sword that didn't fit her hand, stabbing at him without any retreat.

The old man condensed his eyes and looked. This sword was very beautiful and somewhat threatening, but it didn't have the strangeness of the youth's saber. Whether it was dodging it or knocking it down wouldn't take much effort.

But the young girl's brows and eyes suddenly entered his field of vision. The old man frowned and hesitated for a moment.

Cuiyu direct descendant.

If he killed her here, the Cuiyu Jianmen would definitely investigate this identity with all its strength.

Between thoughts turning, the old man dodged and clamped the girl's sword, hit her shoulder with a palm that was neither light nor heavy, and knocked her down from the air.

And at this moment, following this yellow figure flying up, figures with varying skills jumped up one after another, at least five or six.

The old man frowned again. This was a scene he was quite unwilling to face. He glanced at where Yang Yan disappeared and judged quickly whether it was still in time to kill this injured youth.

Killing him wasn't his goal tonight. He just came to drink, so there was no need to take the risk of being entangled by others for him.

But if he could kill, he wouldn't leave his life.

He looked at these people rushing up, Third Life, Fourth Life, Fourth Life, Fourth Life, Fifth Life... his mouth hooked, and he pounced toward where Yang Yan landed.

But at this moment, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a tall figure moving. The old man turned his head to look, his gaze froze, and his figure had stopped violently.

Then he turned and folded toward the back of the building, avoiding everyone's vision.

Everyone chased after him, but when they arrived behind the building, the figure was gone.

Li Piaoqing was thinking about returning to help that youth, turned around and returned, and once she left, the rest naturally didn't chase anymore.

A sudden battle seemed to end inexplicably like this.

At this moment, the building was already noisy, but most people didn't know what had happened. Those martial world heroes who were not unfamiliar with fighting had already begun to understand this battle according to the usual order.

Suddenly seeing people fighting, there was nothing to panic about. The first thing was to figure out who the two sides were, the second was to figure out why they were fighting, and the third was to think about whether it had anything to do with themselves.

However, the first thing was stuck—after discussing a circle, no one actually recognized these two people.

Although the youth revealed a face from afar, it was very strange; although he seemed to have used a mysterious saber technique, no one had seen it either. Not to mention the old man, not only was he covered by a hood the whole time, but the long staff in his hand only poked twice, revealing no martial arts foundation.

It seemed as if two such experts had appeared out of thin air in Bowang City. Were they dragons crossing the river, or something that had been submerged under the water surface and accidentally revealed a bit of wind?

People talked and raised their heads to look. The traces left by the battle were still shocking, imprinted on the Catch-Moon Building, like a wound wiped by a tall beauty.

It seemed that one was still left inside.

Intentionally or unintentionally, people walked toward that side in groups.

——

Guarding against this, Li Piaoqing had already jumped in lightly when the hole opened with a roar.

She held her sword, her eyes turning rapidly, looking for the youth just now. According to Zhang Junxue's account, he should be the person Pei Ye asked her to take care of as much as possible.

But the ruins that fell were just so many, where did the youth go?

Hid?

Li Piaoqing looked back, and the crowd was gathering. She controlled her voice and called out in a low voice: "You come out quickly! I recognize Pei Ye."

However, no one responded. Just waiting for a moment, the second person had already jumped up.

"Miss Li!" the person cupped his hands, "Do you recognize that green-clothed person just now?"

The third, fourth, and fifth people crowded over. Li Piaoqing turned her head, her brows were appropriately confused, and she shook her head lightly: "Where would I recognize him? Just heard that green-clothed man shouting accusations, and the cloaked man was indeed hiding his head and tail, so I couldn't help but help."

She smiled embarrassedly: "But my hand skills are too clumsy, didn't catch a single move, shameful."

But she thought: That person recognizes me...

One person said loudly: "What's shameful? The Cuiyu Jianmen has always been ancient and warm-hearted. No matter when or where, whether they know each other or not, as long as there is a high shout, the Cuiyu disciples present will definitely come to help teach the evil people a lesson!"

"Then that's over!" another person sighed, "How do I know I'm not an evil person?"

Everyone laughed.

Li Piaoqing raised her eyes to look, but saw that the first person was Xiao Qiu.

This was naturally praise for the Cuiyu Jianmen, but as long as the people present had a little more thought, it wouldn't be difficult to associate it with other things—Zhang Mozhu and Shang Huaitong were also in the garden, why were they not seen?

"I was too reckless," Li Piaoqing shook her head and smiled.

Sixth floor.

Yang Yan wasn't deliberately not responding to Li P

At the very moment he was blasted into the building, he endured the sharp pain and numbness to flip himself up, yet the old man did not pursue him. Thus, he saw the subsequent exchange, and he also saw the old man's hesitation to strike.

Then he saw the old man turn toward the back of the building.

In all fairness, at that moment, he truly felt a deep sense of relief.

Even though he had experienced many incidents over the past month, he had never faced the unreserved killing intent of a Seventh Life expert so directly.

In just two or three exchanges, he felt as if he were hanging by a thread before the King of Hell; had his hands been a fraction slower, his execution less than perfect, or even his luck slightly worse, he could have been smashed to pieces in an instant.

No wonder Master said that the Sixth Life defeating the Seventh is the true hallmark of a genius.

He himself was only at the Fifth Life now; he wondered if, when he reached the Sixth Life, he would have this capability—no, he *must* have this capability.

As he thought of this, his body stiffened, and he remembered that his goal was not to survive.

He was to hold this Seventh Life expert back, waiting for Pei Ye to arrive with reinforcements.

This decision was overly arduous, like a young mouse pinned to the ground by a cat's claw, nearly suffocating, its tiny bones already crushed; then, the cat suddenly retracted its claw and left, and it had to turn back to bite the cat's tail.

Yang Yan gasped, leaning on his blade to stand up, and bared his teeth as he touched his chest and abdomen—it seemed a rib really had broken.

He did not hesitate in the slightest; watching the old man drift toward the back of the building, he immediately grabbed his blade and leaped out, pursuing in the same direction inside the building, and upon reaching the end, he pushed open a window.

It was precisely because of this that he saw the area behind the building a step earlier than those chasing from outside—there was no sign of the old man in the garden in the distance.

He did not rush to leave; it seemed he had returned to the Zhuoyue Tower.

Yang Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

He looked at his feet and then at the roof beams, but he did not know which floor he was on.

But this was not very important; this was the state he wanted. The opponent clearly did not yet know that someone had gone to report to the authorities; for every moment he remained in this building, it meant he had delayed the man by another fraction.

The corners of his mouth could not help but curl up slightly.

But soon, the youth frowned again—the commotion just now was too great, officials would surely come, and that old man would certainly think of this too; he would not stay long.

Upon realizing this, Yang Yan's mood became anxious again; he looked around unconsciously, his mind racing, digging for a way to cope.

Why didn't that man just leave directly?

Because people were chasing too closely, and leaving the garden meant losing the building's cover; he was worried about being tracked, so he hid his form first.

Why was staying in the Zhuoyue Tower a better choice?

He intended to wait for the storm to subside slightly and then leave quietly in another direction.

Which direction?

Yang Yan hit a snag here; he pondered—the west and north had just been surrounded by crowds and were not paths out of the garden, so they could be ruled out. But how to choose between east and west?

He walked over and pushed open the window to take a look; looking east from this building, one could see the main gate of the garden, with grass, trees, pavilions, ponds, and a huge plaza.

"Too exposed." Yang Yan frowned; based on his escape experience over these days, he instinctively rejected such an environment.

Therefore, it was most likely the west.

Yang Yan stared fixedly at this side, waiting for that figure to reappear.

But the pain in his chest and abdomen and the experience just now reminded him that he had neither the strength to block him nor the charisma of that girl in green; even if he saw this person, how was he to keep him here?

In five or six breaths at most, the old man would vanish without a trace.

He should have established contact with that girl in yellow first; once she called out, people would immediately respond, or she could even organize people to wait for the rabbit!

Yang Yan hurriedly endured his pain and ran back, fearing that he would let the man slip away during his absence. However, upon running back, as soon as that place came into view, his heart went cold again.

She had actually already left with more than ten people; only a few attendants remained at the ruins.

The girl's good intentions could almost be inferred; she knew he did not wish to be exposed and had deliberately taken people away from here.

But that old man hadn't left yet!

They had turned to the back of the building and disappeared, naturally assuming the cloaked man had moved too fast and escaped; only he knew that the man had no time to leave.

Yang Yan faced a choice once again.

(End of chapter)