Chapter 674: Wuxia: Even Archrivals Can Become Lovers 08

Mu Huaizhi's palm strike came like the wind, agile and extremely powerful; seeing the puppet's stance unstable, he suddenly spun, sweeping with a single leg, and indeed heard a creaking sound.

He broke the puppet's lower stance!

Realizing this, he turned all his moves into leg attacks, so fast they left afterimages.

Jin Chen beside him was no less impressive, his moves crafty and extremely brutal, dismantling the puppet's frame in just a few strikes.

The two almost simultaneously stopped their actions, looked at each other, and the number of puppets they had knocked down was astonishingly the same.

"Not bad, Mu Huaizhi; you seem to have recovered well."

Mu Huaizhi had no time to banter with him, crouching down to examine the human skin on the puppet's face.

The edges were neat and not whitened, as if cut from the face while alive.

Realizing this, Mu Huaizhi's heart sank slightly.

The mastermind behind the strange events in Yunshu Town is truly inhumane.

"Don't move!"

Fang Xun's cold shout interrupted Mu Huaizhi's thoughts; looking up, he saw those people also restrained, held immobile.

"I say, this puppet mechanism looks a bit familiar."

Jin Chen suddenly raised his voice, as if deliberately speaking to someone, "It feels like the Thousand Mechanism Palace's mechanism art, wonderfully similar yet different."

"What nonsense are you spouting, you bastard!"

The young master of the Thousand Mechanism Palace, Fang Xun, glared angrily, but seeing Mu Huaizhi's complex expression, he nodded slightly, also affirming that statement.

Fang Xun's expression changed abruptly; he rushed over to examine closely.

A few seconds later, he drew his sword and placed it at the throat of the lead black-clad person, voice harsh, "Who taught you this mechanism technique!"

Putting it bluntly, if we don't find out who did this today, and the matter spreads, the Thousand Mechanism Palace will bear the infamy of colluding with it!

"Huh..."

The black-clad person's throat emitted a strange sound, eyes dead and lifeless, staring fixedly at that coffin.

"... The coffin hits the ground... the moon has already shone on its face, everyone must die! You all must die!"

Another bout of incoherent words,

This time Jin Chen reacted with extreme speed, teleporting, he first wrenched the jaw, then struck the throat with a palm, forcing him to vomit the poison in his throat.

"Cough cough cough..."

The black-clad person coughed as if gone mad, his whole body beginning to spasm.

Jin Chen looked at him strangely, then simply knocked him out with a palm.

The remaining black-clad individuals had already all been knocked out, and the street finally fell silent.

Fu Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, comforting Fang Xun.

"Ah Xun, although this is related to the Thousand Mechanism Palace, it might just be an accident; we'll investigate carefully, and we won't blame you."

Jin Chen's mouth twisted, he muttered a "deserving a beating" sound, "It's not proven yet, why are you talking as if you're already convicted, you really know how to speak."

Fu Zhiyuan: "..."

"Is this person sick!"

"Strange."

Mu Huaizhi was just putting the coffin lid back when he noticed something odd, "Can't the households on either side of this street hear such a commotion?"

Jin Chen dragged the corpse's hand back slowly, hearing this he consoled, "Try to look on the bright side; maybe they're all dead."

Mu Huaizhi's brow twitched, "... Shut up."

"Oh, I won't."

Fang Xun looked at the desiccated corpse, his expression grim, "Unless family come to identify it, we really can't tell whether this corpse is a child from this town."

"We should first hide the coffin," Fu Zhiyuan walked to his side, hands clasping his sword, "otherwise it will frighten the townsfolk."

Bringing this up, Fang Xun glanced awkwardly at Mu Huaizhi, "Is there anything odd about the place where you're temporarily staying?"

Mu Huaizhi was surprised he would ask that, but after thinking, there was nothing odd.

"None, why do you ask so?"

Fang Xun took out a Bagua divination instrument from his sleeve, "Today I feel that household is too strange, so I used this to probe it."

Mu Huaizhi knew his divination never failed, so he immediately asked, "How is the omen?"

"A very bad omen."

Fang Xun's tone was solemn, his fingertips tapping the instrument anxiously.

"Fire above, lake below, the two are opposed; this is the hexagram of Fire over Lake (Kui)."

Jin Chen, pondering, stroked his chin, "The symbol of water and fire being incompatible; all endeavors are difficult."

"Exactly."

Fang Xun hadn't expected this person to also study the omens, he looked at him with new respect, and added, "This omen refers not only to that household, but to the whole town."

Fu Zhiyuan, unfamiliar with Bagua divination, heard this and thought a moment, "If so, we'd better seize the time and quickly find the mastermind."

"I fear it might scare the snake."

Fang Xun did not agree; tonight's affair was the same—he originally wanted to follow those people to see where they'd go, but Fu Zhiyuan suddenly blocked the path, and thus they fought.

"Actually, breaking this hexagon isn't that hard."

Jin Chen tapped the coffin, arms crossed leaning there, relaxed posture, "Fire over Lake, the upper trigram is Li, which is Fire; the lower trigram is Dui, which is Lake."

He slowly looked at Fang Xun, as if offering a hint.

"It also bears the name of minor good fortune."

Fang Xun immediately understood; his previously heavy gaze brightened, and he responded, "It means to undertake matters with gentleness, not that major affairs are inauspicious, but that minor affairs are auspicious."

"Since undertaking great things leads to nothing, it's better to resolve matters piece by piece, to unravel the silk and peel the cocoon; surely we can uncover the truth behind it."

Fang Xun stood straight, chest out, and clasped his fists toward Jin Chen, nodding. 'It turns out Brother Jin understands the hexagrams so well; you must also be a fellow practitioner of the Dao.'

I've offended you before; please forgive me.

Jin Chen waved his hand indifferently. 'It's nothing; the only person I dislike is Fu Zhiyuan.'

Fu Zhiyuan: '……'

His face was as black as soot, and he let out a cold snort.

Mu Huaizhi hadn't expected Jin Chen to know Zhouyi hexagrams either; hearing Fang Xun call him a fellow practitioner, he didn't refute and merely twitched his lips.

He really dares to go along with it.

Mu Huaizhi shoved the puppet stand aside, leaving only the coffin and the black-clad figure who had been knocked out and lay slumped at Jin Chen's feet.

"Yesterday when I entered the town, I saw a deserted ruined temple not far from the gate. Let's leave the coffin and the man there for now and decide in the morning."

Jin Chen raised his hand. 'Who will stand watch?'

"Mu Huaizhi: 'You.'"

"What right do you have? I want to go back to sleep!"

"Then I'll do it; you go back," Mu Huaizhi replied quickly.

"Jin Chen snorted. 'Mu Huaizhi, you did this on purpose!'"

"I just don't want to sleep under the same roof as him!"

"Cut the nonsense and get lost."

Mu Huaizhi shoved him aside and pushed the coffin forward.

"Then I'm not leaving—don't think you can sneak off!"

Jin Chen snorted, seized the black-clad man's arm, dragged him along behind Mu Huaizhi, treading on his shadow.

Their exchange was plain to Fu Zhiyuan, who narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

He had found it odd before—Mu Huaizhi had been obsessed with swordsmanship since youth, had few close friends, most of whom he knew.

The only exception is this Jin Chen, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere—he not only employs strange tactics, but also understands so much divination.

If he truly becomes Mu Huaizhi's ally, that would pose another serious threat to him.

"Zhi—" Fang Xun turned his head, saw Fu Zhiyuan's gaze, and his words caught in his throat.

It took a few seconds before he turned back, his eyes roiling with uncertainty.

After being candid with Fu Zhiyuan for so long, he had never seen such a dark look on his face.

"—"Be careful of Fu Zhiyuan.""

Mu Huaizhi's words from earlier rose again in his mind; Fang Xun tightened his grip on his sword, feeling uneasy.