Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen: It

The sea of fire churned.

Terrifying heatwaves swept in all directions, black smoke rising violently into the sky.

Under the crimson glow, Dou Changsheng could clearly see the armless warrior, positioned at the center, charging forward with overwhelming arrogance.

Dou Changsheng’s heart rose to his throat—he hadn’t been fooled at all; he hadn’t fallen for the trick.

Just as Dou Changsheng’s heart turned to ash, convinced this was certain death.

He never expected the outcome to take a sudden turn.

This formidable enemy, this deadly threat, ultimately died at the hands of his own men.

Dou Changsheng was stunned; his heart raced like a rollercoaster, up and down—so intense.

So much so that he remained dazed for a long time.

In this moment of distraction, Dou Changsheng suddenly realized that of the several men who had burst from the flames, only Feng Zhongyi remained alive.

The other warriors had all been slaughtered by Feng Zhongyi’s soft sword.

Feng Zhongyi’s lightness skill was peerless, his movements swift—he threw the corpses straight into the fire after killing them, turning them instantly to charred remains, erasing all traces.

All these actions happened with incredible speed.

Feng Zhongyi killed to silence them, and naturally, the warriors did not submit—they fought back.

But by the time Dou Changsheng focused his gaze forward, everything had already settled.

Feng Zhongyi slowly sheathed his soft sword, stepped forward two paces, and said in a deep voice: “I am no good man, but I uphold great justice.”

“I know the difference between Han and barbarians. I know that if the military funds are seized and Jianmen Pass truly opens to let the Hu Ren into the north, countless lives will be slaughtered, the northern lands will sink into ruin, drenched in stench and blood, and our people of Shenzhou will be ruled by outside savages—anyone with conscience simply cannot tolerate it.”

I have long wished to defect to the shogunate, but never found an opportunity.

“Heaven took pity and finally granted me the chance to abandon darkness and embrace the light.”

Dou Changsheng watched Feng Zhongyi’s sincere expression, bowed low, then sighed and turned away without accepting any conditions—he knew one thing: the more you speak, the more mistakes you make; silence brings no error.

In the end, Dou Changsheng had not become overconfident; he did not believe Feng Zhongyi was some malleable noodle to be trampled upon.

Even as he turned to leave, Dou Changsheng remained cautiously alert, fearing Feng Zhongyi might follow the previous example and stab him in the back.

Stabbed from behind, dying heroically.

Dou Changsheng walked into the darkness, and behind him, there was no movement—this eased his breath, but he dared not look back, fearing Feng Zhongyi might call out: “Still here, big brother!”

Feng Zhongyi’s gaze burned intently as he watched Dou Changsheng’s silhouette gradually swallowed by darkness, vanishing completely.

He remained standing still, then after a long while, his solemn expression faded—he quickly stepped forward two paces, walked to Long Ying’s corpse, personally lifted him up, and asked anxiously: “My lord!”

“Are you alright?”

Long Ying’s eyelids trembled, slowly opening, then exhaling a thick breath; his previously still chest began rising and falling again, as if his heart, once stopped, had now resumed beating.

Long Ying did not speak immediately, but waited over a dozen breaths before exhaling another thick breath, then spoke slowly: “I’m old.”

“Truly old.”

“Holding my breath, slowing my heartbeat—it’s no longer as easy as it was in my youth.”

“It seems all these years of smooth circumstances have made my old trick of feigning death a little rusty.”

“This is a profound lesson—I must take heed.”

Long Ying slowly rose, stretched his body, then felt better—he reached behind his back, tore off a shattered blood pouch, and threw it on the ground, wiping his hands and body with a handkerchief as he spoke: “Your acting was excellent—I truly believed you were going to kill me.”

Feng Zhongyi hurriedly explained: “My lord, you misunderstand.”

“How would I dare lay hands on you?”

“If you hadn’t arranged everything beforehand, I wouldn’t have dared even a single thought, even if given a thousand lives.”

Long Ying laughed, clapping Feng Zhongyi on the shoulder: “I believe you.”

I believe you—if I were certain he was a Patriarch, I would have killed him without hesitation.

Long Ying gazed deeply at the raging fire, then sighed: “This time, our guard was negligent—when we return, the True Person will surely question us.”

Feng Zhongyi said gravely: “Why worry, my lord?”

The shogunate sent a Patriarch—how could we possibly resist?

“I saw the situation clearly.”

“You raised your hand, and your whip slashed through the air like a meteor piercing the sun, its sound like divine thunder from the ninth heaven, shaking the heavens—each strike could shatter rocks and split mountains.”

“Yet the enemy merely raised his hand and effortlessly dispelled it.”

Long Ying shook his head: “Wrong.”

“To strike a pure Yin Patriarch—how could there be any chance of survival?”

“Today, from start to finish, we never saw Dou Changsheng. We never encountered a Patriarch.”

“It was merely an inside traitor who betrayed us, setting fires everywhere—we were forced to relocate due to the flames.”

“Without concrete evidence of a Patriarch, we cannot convince the True Person—but when he investigates thoroughly, he will uncover the Patriarch’s traces, and then we’ll be fine.”

“In the end, we were only guarding some nameless minor figures—not a single big fish.”

Long Ying sighed: “In my youth, I was stubborn, refusing to turn back until I hit a wall—but losing this arm taught me that the world is more than just fighting and killing.”

“Just as you said—what benefit is there in killing Dou Changsheng?”

“My bluff didn’t even make him flinch or reveal a weakness—he clearly had confidence. Even if no Patriarch possessed him, he must have other trump cards.”

“If Dou Changsheng had the military funds, it would’ve been worth a fight—we’d earn the True Person’s reward, flee to another country, and fear nothing from the Wang clan of Xiangzhou.”

“But Dou Changsheng has nothing, yet we’d still bear the risk—it’s not worth it.”

Feng Zhongyi agreed: “My lord is right.”

“Dou Changsheng was eighty percent bluff, but twenty percent real.”

“I deliberately delayed my attack half a beat to test his true strength—but I saw nothing.”

“So we followed the plan—minimal cost, yet we preserved our lives instead of fighting to the death against a suspected Patriarch or a powerful clan scion. Pure profit.”

“Today, meeting you, my lord, I’ve found my guiding light.”

“In the future, I beg you to guide and support me.”

“This feigned-death technique—could I learn it?”

“It’s too dangerous being a lone cultivator. With this true skill, I can finally feel at peace.”