Chapter 331

"Come up!" However, it was Ji Feihua who gave the reminder.

Hu Xiaotian looked up; he didn't have that ability to leap onto the roof in one bound, but fortunately he had learned the Golden Spider Eight Steps. In the emergency, he didn't bother hiding his martial skill. He climbed up the wall, while the coachman whipped the carriage to keep galloping, trying to break through the mastiff encirclement. The two horses strained forward under his urging, when suddenly several mastiffs leapt up, their bloody jaws wide open in the air, their white fangs sinking hard into the horses' necks.

Hu Xiaotian climbed onto the roof amid the horses' neighs, breathless, when he saw a dark mass flying toward them. Ji Feihua snorted coldly: "Go!" He ran along the roof ahead, Hu Xiaotian strained to keep pace, leaping across the tiles, but his martial skill was lacking; soon Ji Feihua pulled ahead. Seeing the dark cloud draw nearer, he looked closely—it was a huge swarm of bats. Hu Xiaotian had seen this before; when fleeing Harmony Prefecture, Xi Yan had used the same tactic to punish him, but this bat swarm was larger than before, covering sky and earth, and even before it reached them he heard the chilling squeak.

Ji Feihua didn't throw Hu Xiaotian down; he snatched a tile and hurled it. The tile glowed green, tracing an arc in the night and shooting straight into the bat swarm. His inner strength was immense—this throw surpassed a strong bow's arrow, felling at least a hundred bats.

The bat swarm scattered as they fled outward, revealing a burly black figure. He wore black dark-gold armor, and a pair of dark-gold wings spread behind him, spanning about two zhang; he had been using the bats as cover to swoop down.

He raised his four-chi long blade overhead and chopped downward; his target was clearly not Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian watched the strange black-armored assassin glide past overhead; hundreds of bats lunged at him, and he struck out repeatedly with both hands to keep them from closing in.

Ji Feihua coldly eyed the black-armored assailant diving from above. His body remained still, the long blade only five zhang above his head. Suddenly the roof tiles lifted, as if pulled by a great force, flying up and striking the bats, forming a thick shield around Ji Feihua.

Black armor, black wings, black long blade—the saber swung with the force to split Hua Shan, striking the shield of green tiles. The dark blade cut silently through the night; the deep autumn chill surged like a tide to either side. Before the blade arrived, its aura struck the tile shield, causing the tiles to explode in succession, breaking the green tiles encircling Ji Feihua and revealing them empty. Where Ji Feihua had stood, a three-chi-wide hole now opened in the roof.

The black-armored assassin shook both arms; the huge metal wings behind him trembled likewise, and his body rose upward a zhang and more.

A loud crack came from the pit below; the roof collapsed inward, the house crashing down amid dust and smoke. Hu Xiaotian saw the roof falling, turned quickly, leapt up, and landed on the opposite roof.

The bat swarm surged over the collapsed ruins; from the wreckage rose a beam about five zhang long and as thick as a person's waist—a roof timber. A cluster of red light lifted it swiftly, shooting into the dark mass of bats. Those bats unable to evade were smashed into bloody pulp, the rest scattering, while the beam continued its charge straight at the black-armored assassin.

The assassin waved his arms; mechanisms on his arms controlled the rear wings, shifting him to glide south. Ji Feihua snorted: "No way I'll let him go easily." He twisted his torso, lifted the beam with one arm and pursued the assassin. The beam weighed at least a thousand jin, yet Ji Feihua wielded it single-handed as if it were light, his martial prowess truly astonishing.

The assassin vibrated his wings to rise, then made a nimble turn, facing Ji Feihua directly, wings spread, diving from the void with momentum, and stabbed his blade into the beam.

The blade pierced the beam's center, releasing a fierce aura that burst outward; the beam shattered, the blade gaining full advantage in the clash. The five-zhang beam offered no resistance—the black blade tore through it like rotten wood, its dark edge driving straight into Ji Feihua's palm.

A faint smile touched Ji Feihua's lips; his blazing red lips like a rose blooming in the night, his jade-white palm extended flat to block the blade with his palm. The contrast of ebony steel and ivory flesh was stark—how could mortal flesh stop such an invincible weapon?

The assassin issued a harsh, metallic laugh, his voice grating like metal on metal; he summoned his full strength, trying to pierce Ji Feihua's delicate palm and strike his throat. Though his blade could pierce a five-zhang hard beam, it could not penetrate Ji Feihua's thin flesh-and-blood palm; in the clash of forces, the dark blade bent like a bow.

The assassin caught a fleeting, inexplicable flash of shock; Ji Feihua raised his left hand, his phoenix eyes blazing with killing intent, his left middle finger and thumb forming a ring, and a fine ray of cold shot out.

The assassin's pupils contracted sharply; seeing that cold ray, he had no time to dodge, so in desperation he closed his eyes—yet still felt his eyelids prickled, the pain racing to his pupils and deep into his brain. He let out a heart-rending roar, dropped his blade, and struck his chest with his right palm; his body shot upward over a zhang. Ji Feihua seized the dark blade's tip, casually swung—its edge skimmed the assassin's ankle, spraying blood. The assassin's arms spread then clapped together; his huge black wings folded, and his body erupted with a boom! as the dark-gold wings shattered into countless black feathers falling like rain, engulfing Ji Feihua.

Ji Feihua's red cloak rose on its own, a formless aura radiating from him and pushing outward; the dust in the night air shifted direction, radiating out. Black arrow feathers striking this aura could not advance, falling to the ground with a constant tinkling.

Although the assassin's barrage of flying feathers failed to kill Ji Feihua, it gave him a rare breather; the bat swarm's dark cloud enveloped him, carrying him northwest in a dive.

Ji Feihua flicked his cloak behind him, his phoenix eyes watching the bat swarm recede, with no intention to pursue. A rustling sound reached his ears; he turned and saw Hu Xiaotian, grimy-faced, crawling onto the eaves where he stood, panting: "Commander, are you alright?"

Ji Feihua shook his head to indicate he was fine; only then did Hu Xiaotian climb up. Though he feigned clumsiness, Ji Feihua sensed something and whispered: "Did he pass the Golden Spider Eight Steps to you?"

Hu Xiaotian dared not deny it, nodding: "I've studied it, but my talent is dull—I still haven't mastered it."

Ji Feihua chuckled and leapt down from the eaves. Hu Xiaotian then noticed the coachman standing below, holding three bloody heads. During the rooftop crisis, the coachman had also been ambushed by the mastiffs; Hu Xiaotian had nearly forgotten him, but now realized the coachman was no ordinary man—he had survived an attack by over a dozen ferocious mastiffs and, while Ji Feihua repelled the black-armored assassin, had located the ambushers and severed three of their heads. No wonder Ji Feihua acted so arrogantly, daring to leave the palace alone; with his skill, few could defeat him, even if not invincible under heaven.

Hu Xiaotian saw the long blade still lying on the roof, reached down and picked it up; the sword felt extremely heavy in his hand. He gave it a test swing, thinking it was not ordinary steel and must be worth a good sum.

When Hu Xiaotian returned to ground level, he saw a convoy approaching—eunuchs sent from the palace to meet them, led by Li Yan.

Drawing near, Li Yan dismounted, knelt on one knee before Ji Feihua, and said softly: "My subordinate is late; please punish me, Commander."

Ji Feihua smiled faintly: "Whether you come or not makes no difference." His gaze swept over the three bloody heads in the coachman's hands: "Investigate their origins, find any remnants, and exterminate them."

Seeing Ji Feihua board the carriage, Hu Xiaotian hesitated whether to follow. Ji Feihua lifted the curtain and beckoned: "Xiaotian, come up."

Hu Xiaotian answered, hugging the blade as he climbed in. Though Ji Feihua had just survived a great battle, his clothes were spotless, while Hu Xiaotian was grimy and disheveled. He certainly wouldn't claim the sword for himself, offering it with both hands: "Commander, I present this blade to you."

Ji Feihua took the blade: "This sword is fine—dark-gold forged, worth a thousand gold; since you picked it up, it's yours." He had meant to return it to Hu Xiaotian, but then thought: "At court, carrying this sword would be inconvenient; let the Zajia hold it for you."

Please vote and rate! Assess Zhangyu's battle descriptions—there aren't many, so give me pointers! (To be continued~^~)