Chapter 986: [What Is the Purpose?] (Part 1)

The attack came too suddenly; Xi Yan had no inkling of it, and by the time she noticed it was already too late. The black-armored warrior had already delivered his full-force strike from atop the willow, and just as Hu Xiaotian poked his head out, the warrior's iron fist smashed into his face, sending him sinking back into the river, alive or dead unknown. Xi Yan, filled with grief and anger, let out a dainty shout, tapped her toe lightly on the lotus lamp, leapt up, waved her sleeves, and a multicolored whirlwind of blossoms formed, sweeping toward the black-armored warrior, followed by tens of thousands of hornets.

The hornet swarm surrounded the black-armored warrior on all sides, but at that moment his body suddenly burst into red flames, incinerating the hornets near him. Seeing the fire, the swarm did not flee but desperately flung themselves into the flames.

Xi Yan's heart jolted, and she cried out in alarm, "Seven-Layer Phosphorus Fire Armor!"

The black-armored warrior said nothing, seizing the moment of Xi Yan's astonishment to leap into the river; his phosphorus fire instantly detached from the armor upon hitting the water and continued to burn while floating on the surface.

Hu Xiaotian was struck in the face by the black-armored warrior's fist and fell into the river; as his body just sank below the surface, thousands of water snakes swarmed over him, coiling around his limbs and neck, and several began to bite his skin.

The pain cleared Hu Xiaotian's foggy mind in an instant; a surge of qi burst from his dantian qi sea, spreading rapidly through his major meridians, and his eyes, which had been temporarily blinded by the strong light, gradually regained normal sight.

Hu Xiaotian saw a black silhouette swiftly approaching him underwater; the armor allowed the warrior to easily overcome the water's buoyancy and move freely beneath the surface. He raised his water-dividing spur and thrust it violently at Hu Xiaotian's chest, which was entwined by the snakes.

At the critical moment, a massive wave of true energy erupted from Hu Xiaotian's body, shaking the water snakes clinging to him into scattered fragments, many torn into pieces. The river water, pressed by his true force, sent a powerful undercurrent slamming into the black-armored warrior; despite his Seven-Layer Phosphorus Fire Armor, the sudden burst knocked him off balance, and his water-dividing spur veered slightly off course—a tiny deviation that could miss by a mile.

The water-dividing spur grazed Hu Xiaotian's left arm, tearing his clothes and breaking his skin, but it did not inflict serious harm. He bent his right arm, drew it back to the limit, then unleashed a powerful thrusting punch; as his fist moved, it rotated from outside to inside counterclockwise, driving the water into a rapidly spinning vortex about three feet in diameter. The frantic water drill struck the black-armored warrior's chest silently.

The tremendous rotational force at the impact point staggered the black-armored warrior, and the water drill actually tore his chest plate from his body.

The black-armored warrior was greatly alarmed and hurled his water-dividing spur at Hu Xiaotian, whose vision had fully recovered; even in the dark water he could see every detail clearly, he gauged the spur's trajectory, reached out, and firmly caught it in his hand.

The black-armored warrior's toss of the water-dividing spur was merely to draw Hu Xiaotian's attention, buying himself a breather for his next move; from his right arm armor suddenly extended a black iron bone steel whip about three zhang long, each segment roughly two cun, covered in iron spikes, the tip a foot long with saw-tooth blades on both sides, flashing cold light and extremely sharp.

The whip moved like a water spirit snake, arcing to entwine Hu Xiaotian's waist; if it caught him, the iron spikes along its upper side would sink into flesh and tighten the more it coiled.

Hu Xiaotian wielded the water-dividing spur as a sword; the true power of the Slay-Heaven Seven Swords lies not in the sword technique itself, but the sword merely serves as a medium. He had once, by chance, achieved the state of releasing sword qi without a sword, but that probability is minuscule. In a life-and-death struggle underwater, he dared not gamble. The water-dividing spur is about four chi long; because it is used in water, its weight is considerably greater than an ordinary blade to counteract buoyancy. Its body is triple-edged, the edges not especially sharp, but the tip is needle-like with tremendous penetrating power.

As Hu Xiaotian thrust the water-dividing spur into the void underwater, he simultaneously pushed hard off the riverbed with both feet; the creek bed of Washing Flower Creek is hard gravel, allowing him to rely on reaction force to accelerate out of the sweep of the iron bone steel whip. If the bottom were mud, this would not work, and the harder he pushed, the deeper his feet would sink into the mire.

This thrust of the water-dividing spur was exactly one form of the Slay-Heaven Seven Swords, and it effortlessly released sword qi; the qi is formless, the water clear, yet the invisible sword qi shooting through the transparent water left a bright white trail like an arrow.

At that moment the iron bone steel whip suddenly burst into flames, eerie green phosphorus fire spreading over it, writhing through the water like a green python ablaze with phosphorus fire, doubling its attack range.

The sword qi collided with the phosphorus fire, which instantly flared up. Seeing the sudden surge of phosphorus fire, Hu Xiaotian planted his feet, bent his knees, and his dantian qi sea's inner breath swelled dramatically; buoyed by the river's buoyancy, he shot upward at full speed, yet still some phosphorus fire clung to his body.

Although the phosphorus fire surged, it could not block Hu Xiaotian's formless sword qi; a brilliant water arrow shot through it at astonishing speed, severed the iron bone steel whip, and pierced the black-armored warrior's left shoulder. His hard armor could not stop the sword qi, and a black mist of blood dispersed in the water. The already four-sectioned iron bone steel whip, still burning with phosphorus fire, slowly sank to the riverbed.

The black-armored warrior strode toward the riverbank's edge.

Although Xi Yan could not see the underwater struggle clearly, from the shifting light and shadow beneath the surface she knew Hu Xiaotian's perilous situation. First she saw a figure covered in phosphorus fire leap from the water, then a dark shape appear at the riverbank's edge; she recognized the burning figure as Hu Xiaotian. She raised her hand and shot a silver pellet, which struck him and exploded with a bang, turning into white powder that enveloped him, instantly extinguishing the phosphorus fire still burning on his body.

Xi Yan flicked her left hand, and a white silk ribbon shot out, wrapping around the black shape on the riverbank; she pulled hard, dragging it ashore.

Hu Xiaotian climbed to his feet; though his clothes were riddled with large holes burned by the phosphorus fire, his skin suffered no injury. Seeing Xi Yan succeed, he rushed over to help, lifted his leg and kicked the black-armored man squarely—ding, dang, clang— the blow sent the armor flying apart. Looking closely, he realized he had only struck the armor; the black-armored man had already fled, having used the golden cicada shedding shell ploy.

In fact, as Xi Yan dragged the armor from the river she already realized she had been tricked; she turned her gaze to the surging Washing Flower Creek, seeing no one on the water's surface, only a few flickering points of phosphorus fire, and sighed softly, "It turns out someone had been lying in wait here all along." Her beautiful eyes shifted to Hu Xiaotian, noticing his clothes riddled with burns, and she asked anxiously, "How are you?"

Hu Xiaotian touched his face: "I don't know; do you see if my face is hurt?"

Xi Yan snapped, "You're shameless anyway—why worry about injury?" The black-armored warrior's punch had indeed been heavy, landing squarely on Hu Xiaotian's face; though his skin was thick, he now sported a bruised nose and swollen face, his former handsome looks gone.

Xi Yan was certain he had not suffered a fatal wound, her worry easing, then quickly turning to anger: "Where did you provoke so many formidable foes, each eager to see you dead?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "What's it to me? You invited me here—he must be aiming to kill you!" Actually, Hu Xiaotian understood deep down that tonight's assassination was certainly aimed at him.

Xi Yan said, "Seven-Layer Phosphorus Fire Armor—as far as I know, only the Heaven's Secret Bureau can produce this armor."

Hu Xiaotian's heart sank; when the black-armored man appeared he had suspected a link to the Heaven's Secret Bureau, and Xi Yan's words confirmed it—was Hong Beimo out to kill him? He examined the armor and muttered, "No reason—I'm an envoy of Dakang; they have no motive to kill me!"

Xi Yan said, "You're the heaven's number one bastard—everyone wants to kill you."

Hu Xiaotian replied, "After all, we're husband and wife—no need to be so vicious."

Xi Yan said, "You only think of me when trouble arises?"

Hu Xiaotian suddenly laughed.

Xi Yan, bewildered by his laughter, snapped, "What are you laughing at? What's funny?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed, "Little girl, little girl, you're indeed clever—setting up a false front. I wonder why you invited me to meet here? Turns out you laid a trap for me to fall into, deliberately fabricating the illusion of an assassination attempt on me to make me suspect the Heaven's Secret Bureau, driving a wedge between me and Hong Beimo; it's truly impressive that you could devise something so complex."

Xi Yan's brows shot up, her beautiful eyes glaring at him: "You idiot, still thinking you're smart—why would I bother with a thankless task? Driving a wedge between you and Hong Beimo? What's in it for me? Open your dog eyes and see clearly: the Seven-Layer Phosphorus Fire Armor bears markings; fewer than five people in the Heaven's Secret Bureau can forge this set, each with his own traits, and from the armor's craftsmanship one can tell who made it."

Hu Xiaotian actually knew all along that this had nothing to do with Xi Yan; the black-armored man's punch was clearly aimed at killing him, and although Xi Yan's moods shift, he had never suspected she would ruthlessly kill him—he said those things only to test his own guess.

First update delivered; today is Sunday, I'm not going anywhere, just staying home to write—at least four more updates to come. Please cast your guaranteed monthly votes for the Medical Union! (To be continued…~^~)