Chapter 287: Flying Sword

Seeing Pei Ye did not chase. The true Qi that entered his body at the ribs was still remaining, and blood was gushing out. He lowered his head; the silk-clad person at his feet had just stopped breathing. He bent down to pick up the long sword dropped by the silk-clad person, threw it at the first floor, and pierced the throat of the fire-scorched theater guest who had just crawled up.

Only then did he deal with the true Qi of the wound.

Seeing Pei Ye of course knew that the Huan Si Lou already had his tracks in their eyes. He had never hidden them from the beginning. All along, the only thought he had was to partially show his true combat power.

Kou Liyue was a Sixth Life with thick true Qi. Seeing Pei Ye did not kill him with one sword of the Snowy Night Flying Goose, but used Chi Fire and sword skills to fight.

The Huan Si Lou surrounded and killed him with four Fifth or Sixth Life experts who were high in skills. Chi Fire and sword skills were indeed not enough. So Seeing Pei Ye exchanged

Under such facts, he certainly could not defeat that Mr. Zhang.

Clearing the residual Qi from the wound, Seeing Pei Ye used his Qi to grip the edges of the tear, tore off a strip of cloth, wrapped it a few times, and bound it tightly.

Lowering his lapel, he squatted down and felt the man in the silk shirt—there were only a few pieces of broken silver. This was within expectations. Seeing Pei Ye left the person and leaped down, standing before the corpse whose throat had been cut by the bamboo hat.

The reason he had chosen the sword over the saber just now was precisely because he had seen from the beginning that this person's attire was different from the other two.

The first and third theatrical masks were both servant-like in consistent attire. When the saber-wielder spoke with Seeing Pei Ye at the head of the alley, he was not temporarily disguised as a servant; the reason he was so natural was that he had been living in the courtyard in this identity all along.

The coachman was the same.

But this sword-wielder was not like that. He wore casual clothes of unknown origin, a style picked at random from a tailor shop. It was just that the fabric was quite new, almost as if it were being worn for the first time. Seeing Pei Ye even suspected that he had just changed into it before coming over.

Therefore, this person should not have been from this courtyard; he was mostly likely from "Mr. Zhang's" side, either as reinforcements or for intelligence liaison.

However, the Huan Si Lou had indeed taken over Qiyun not long ago, and all supplies had just been procured. But as a person running errands and liaising, would these clothes be this new?

Therefore, he usually walked around Xiangzhou City in another skin. And that skin had to have two characteristics: first, the attire was normal and not eye-catching, so he could move through the streets at will; second, it exposed his affiliation and location, so before coming to carry out the ambush, this person had changed his clothes.

Seeing Pei Ye squatted down and rubbed the fabric of the hem. Now, under the young girl's tutelage, he already had some knowledge in this area. This kind of fabric was neither expensive nor cheap; it should be purchasable anywhere in the city. But if one thought deeper, there were actually some subtle differences—in the shops of the West City, this was the batch hung highest and most expensive, while in the Dongcheng, this was ordinary mid-range fabric.

When the Huan Si Lou purchased casual clothes, they naturally chose the most common kind worn on the street, so the range of this person's daily activities could be imagined.

Seeing Pei Ye stood quietly for a while, leaped away from the corpse, flew to the second floor, rummaged through the drawers and cabinets, and pulled out a map.

In the East of Xiangzhou City, there were many officials in the South and many merchants in the North. The Huan Si Lou had entered the city not long ago and naturally had no time to open up official channels. So, in what identity did the Huan Si Lou become the new proprietor of the Qiyun Chamber of Commerce?

Seeing Pei Ye thought for a moment and soon had a clue—to settle on a credible identity, it must be inseparable from the cooperation of the locals. And in Xiangzhou City, the only ones who would cooperate with them were naturally the Qiyun Chamber of Commerce itself.

Seeing Pei Ye put down the map and stood up again to rummage through the drawers. This time, he pulled out several account books, extremely thick and old. Clearly, the handover between the head stewards had already been completed, and these were passed down from the hands of the eldest grandson.

Which merchant had had an abrupt connection with Qiyun in the recent month?

Seeing Pei Ye spread out all the books. In fact, if one understood them, these books were extremely organized—outside the province and within the province, inside the city and outside the city, all income and expenditure were clearly classified. Besides transaction records, there was also a book specifically recording the merchants trading in the city.

Seeing Pei Ye's eyes lit up. He compared the two sides and flipped through them. Of the thirty-two large and small businesses in the Dongcheng that had trading relationships with Qiyun, most had not changed owners in the recent month, nor did he see any proprietor with the surname Zhang. He traced his finger line by line until he suddenly paused, stopping at a line of newer ink.

His eyes narrowed.

Linjing Painting Pavilion.

In the recent month, Qiyun had only had transactions for three famous paintings with this painting pavilion, which were the acquisition of "Golden Sun Ascending the Tower," "Lushui River Opening," and "Late Spring of the First Year." All three transactions were very normal.

But Seeing Pei Ye flipped five pages back in this book, and an earlier, brief record appeared in his field of vision.

Without head or tail, it was just a single sentence: "Thirty-eight paintings, including the stored 'Late Spring of the First Year,' have all been sold."

First, hand over the famous paintings collected over the years to someone, allowing him to establish the identity of the painting pavilion's owner, and then any transaction made with this painting pavilion owner would appear very normal.

Creating something out of nothing, left hand to right hand—a painting pavilion with deep foundations thus appeared in Xiangzhou City.

Seeing Pei Ye smiled with satisfaction at being able to see the crux of the matter. He closed the book, picked up his sword, turned, and leaped, heading straight for the street.

————

The sky was deeply dim and dark; faint stars could already be seen in the gray sky.

In the autumn wind, Seeing Pei Ye raised his head. This painting pavilion was larger than he had imagined. The storefront was a four-story high building, with a large courtyard behind it, and behind the courtyard was another three-story small building.

It was also older than he had imagined. Clearly, it had been open here for a long time, and only the proprietor had been changed in secret.

Today, at this time, this elegant pavilion and courtyard located in a quiet place in the Dongcheng had already closed its doors to guests. Although there were lights in the rear building, the front door was already completely dark.

Seeing Pei Ye walked to the shop next door and tapped on the table: "Boss, let me ask, is this Linjing not open for business today?"

"It opened, just closed."

"Just closed, at the beginning of the You hour?"

"Mm, about that."

"Good, many thanks."

Calculating the time, it was exactly the time when the person who escaped arrived to report the news.

Seeing Pei Ye walked into the alley next to it, climbed over the wall, and leaped in.

Raising his head, the bright lights of the rear building swayed in the evening wind, and the courtyard was equally empty and quiet.

Before leaving that courtyard, Seeing Pei Ye did not do any cleaning, letting his wound blood accumulate into a pool on the floor, making the traces of his search look hasty and messy. Finally, he untied the large horse from the cart, making the hoof prints trot toward the government office in the South City.

In short, whatever a Fifth Life who failed to leave the last person behind after being injured should do, he let them think he was doing it.

Going to hunt him down was better than staying here to destroy traces and letters.

Seeing Pei Ye stood quietly for a while, his nerves taut. Like the courtyard just now, he did not detect any staring gazes.

He walked slowly to the front of the building, drew his sword with a clang, and with it behind his arm, pushed open the building door.

The door leaf opened gently. Amidst the bright candles, the scene inside the building gradually spread out from a crack to both sides: tables, tea, chairs, flowers—

Seeing Pei Ye's pupils shrank, and a cold light suddenly reflected on the sword body!

Behind the cold light was a matchless storm of snow.

It was as if a violent wind that had been accumulating for a hundred years was locked inside the building, pouring out completely the moment the door was pushed open by the ignorant youth's raised arm.

The door leaf exploded in the violent sword Qi, and the broken wood, scattering like darts, sharply cut the youth's face. In the sword wind and wood waves, Seeing Pei Ye's heart and lungs were already tightly constricted.

A Seventh Life standing quietly behind the door, with his sword already drawn to the limit!

————

The You hour was coming to an end.

The night curtain had completely descended.

The Dongcheng was bustling with lights; after all, it could not illuminate all the dark places. Amidst the scattered light and shadows, a figure swept past from the sky like a swallow in the rain.

Zhang He had his sword on his back, his face expressionless.

He found the horse two streets away; there was no one on the horse. Judging from the hoof prints, this horse had entered a state of aimless leisure as soon as it left the alley; the youth had not ridden it from the beginning.

Several people said he was making a feint to the east while attacking in the west, escaping in another direction. Zhang He was noncommittal.

He had actually already vaguely sensed a trace of the temperament of this youth he had never met.

Quick-witted, calm, decisive... daring and reckless, conceited.

He had stood in the open from the beginning, fighting all the way to now. Those who looked stronger than him, he insisted on defeating head-on; and facing enemies he could not resist, he also thought he could play them around in circles.

So he must not have escaped.

The account books in the courtyard had been thoroughly searched. If he was not on the horse now, he must already be in the Linjing Painting Pavilion.

Zhang He tapped his toes lightly on the eaves of the building, his figure sweeping again like a shadow. The eyes of the wine guests drinking and laughing inside the window blurred. They tilted their heads to look, but only saw the autumn wind blowing the window curtains under the night sky.

The sky gradually turned from dim to cold.

Zhang He landed in the courtyard of the painting pavilion, his lapels slowly drooping.

He did not see any human shadow.

The flower trees in the courtyard were toppled, broken wood stuck in the ground and walls; almost no place was intact. This sword wind had surged out from the first-floor door. The Seventh Life's released Qi had swept through the entire courtyard in an instant, turning everything into this state.

"Guo Huai" had indeed not held back at all.

When leaving him to guard this place, Zhang He had already instructed that if the person used a strategy to lure the tiger away from the mountain, one would know he could not defeat the tiger; but if he dared to enter the tiger's den, he must have something to rely on.

Winning against the strong with the weak was nothing more than "knowing the enemy" for a long time and "controlling the enemy" with one move.

Do not give him this opportunity.

"Guo Huai" had always been obedient. The strongest strike of a Seventh Life with intent against the unintentional had indeed left a splash of blood at the foot of the stairs.

But... where was the person?

The movement inside the building was not concealed; a slight rustling sound was coming from it. That was... the sound of turning pages.

Zhang He's brows furrowed slightly. He walked forward slowly. At the first moment he stepped into the open door, his steps stopped, and he paused on the spot.

The candles were still bright.

"Guo Huai's" corpse was lying in the hall; tables, chairs, and tea were all knocked over, and blood flowed into a small pool beneath him.

Zhang He slowly raised his head and looked toward where the rustling sound was coming from—on the third floor, the tall and straight youth was facing away from him, his sword box and sword were taken off and leaned against the railing, and he was holding a booklet and slowly turning the pages.

Hearing the movement of someone entering, the youth turned around. His face was not triumphant or relaxed, but his lips were pursed and taut. A cold, condensed voice fell: "What is a 'Dragon Descendant'?"

Zhang He did not speak. His gaze looked at Guo Huai's corpse again, then he looked up, his fingers stretching on the sword hilt.

He felt the fragility of the youth in front of him with incomparable clarity.

A clear, solid Fifth Life. Every movement of his body fell clearly into his eyes. Those slow actions and reactions, the fragile tendons, bones, and flesh... there was no doubt; he could tear this thin paper to shreds with one sword strike.

Guo Huai was certainly far inferior to himself, but facing such a body, how could he, who had the first move, lose?

That marvelous sword technique of unknown origin?

At this moment, he felt the youth's gaze had already fallen on his left ear: "Are you that Mr. Zhang?"

Zhang He looked up at him: "Since you have this ability, why bother with these tricks of running and chasing?"

"If I didn't run, would you dare to chase?"

"."

The youth looked at him: "What is your relationship with the Zhu Shi Sect?"

Silence.

A cold, suppressed murderous aura slowly filled the entire small building.

Zhang He indeed discovered that he had thought some things wrong—this youth had not bumped into this by accidental recklessness, not knowing what he was about to face.

He had been heading toward the deepest part from the beginning, clearer about his own goal than anyone else. The Xiangzhou Huan Si Lou was just something on his path.

But this Fifth Life... what exactly did he have to rely on to dare to walk through the fog?

Zhang He raised his cold gaze, firmly locking onto the youth upstairs.

Of course, one could only know by making a move.

The man slowly stretched his arms and wielded his sword, setting up his stance from the moment he stepped into the door. By now, the building was full of his Qi.

Guo Huai, whom he had warned, was now a corpse, but he himself still followed the truth of a lion fighting a rabbit.

The long sword swept horizontally lightly. Three thousand strands of Qi inside the building immediately showed the shape of wind and snow, filling the entire space. The youth upstairs looked up in surprise, clearly not having anticipated this method.

But there was no time for him to be astonished. Zhang He and his sword had already connected into a dark dragon. With the full building's Qi as steps, he swept like a startled swan. The soul-stealing and shocking sharpness of this sword strike was aimed straight at Seeing Pei Ye.

In a confined space, facing head-on, an Eighth Life's killing sword combining Qi techniques—with a Fifth Life standing here, if one asked anyone to look, it was both impossible to avoid and impossible to block.

Then the youth's gaze, which had been looking at the flying snow in the building in surprise, retracted and fell on the man sweeping up from below.

His Qi did not move, his posture was loose. The only thing that could be faster than this sword was his gaze, but at the same time as his gaze, it was his raised arm.

The arm pointed exactly at the terrifying cultivator sweeping up on the wind. At its tip were his raised index and middle fingers.

————

Kongdong.

It was no more than two hundred miles south to Xiangzhou, but the mountains were high and the fog was heavy. At this time, a cold night rain was already drizzling.

Compared to the high, vast, and cold scenery of Tianshan, Kongdong was a place of overlapping peaks and mist-shrouded clouds. But it was different from the lush green forests of the southwest; the mountain shapes in the northwest were more distinct, and the stone colors were more obvious, thus revealing a kind of uprightness.

The stone steps were soaked cold by the autumn rain, and two sets of footsteps slowly walked up.

"The Ming Ming Jianzhu's intent is high; our sect has made a fool of itself today."

"A good meeting in the hundred-mile Kongdong, the stone swords of Yushan clanging. Qitian has only gained some fur."

The man did not answer again, but smiled and pointed: "Look."

Ming Qitian looked along the direction, only to see on the neighboring mountain peak, twenty or thirty figures in Kongdong sect uniforms were still lined up, looking over.

The man sighed lightly: "Asking about the Kongdong sword all day, the disciples are still convinced. These words cannot be spread out—the Ming Ming Jianzhu must stay another night and go to our Jianfu Mountain to take a look tomorrow."

Ming Qitian did not answer for a moment, tilted her head, and looked to the north. After a breath, she retracted her gaze, nodded, and smiled faintly: "Good."

(End of chapter)