Chapter 37: Identities Are Self-Declared

…What?

What white jade capital?

What stole my immortal arts?

Upon hearing the black-robed man—or rather, Lin Yu’s words—all present, including the Four Ghosts of Youli, stared blankly.

Beneath his mask, Su Haoming’s lips twitched, gazing at Lin Yu with equal bewilderment.

These details were never agreed upon beforehand—they were entirely made up by Lin Yu on the spot…

Lin Yu paid no heed to the stares around him, continuing his improvised performance.

When traveling, your identity is self-made—why dwell on such details?

Yuan Lai snapped back to reality, frowning: “What white jade capital? What are you babbling about?”

“...Even as death approaches, you still dare to lie!”

Lin Yu snorted, then raised his right hand, fingers curling inward.

In an instant, a terrifying suction force materialized out of thin air; the smallest of the Four Ghosts, a dwarf, was lifted off the ground, his chain hammer clattering down as he flew helplessly toward the stone platform, face twisted in terror.

“Thud!”

A muffled sound—the black-robed man seized the dwarf’s skull, lifting him into the air with one hand.

The next moment, light blazed from his palm; the dwarf let out a shriek, his entire body trembling violently like a sieve.

What kind of demonic art is this?!

Everyone was startled; the other three of the Four Ghosts of Youli erupted in fury.

The wounded one clutched his chest, eyes blazing as he glared at the platform.

The other two roared, leaping high into the air, weapons swinging.

Seeing this, the other black-robed man stepped forward and brought his longsword down.

Xun Wind Seal: Shaoze Gale!

In an instant, torrents of spiritual power surged from the Shaoze acupoint at the tip of his fingers, coiling along the blade into a spiraling, razor-sharp airstream.

To onlookers, it appeared as if an invisible sword qi had detached from the blade, slicing swiftly downward toward the giant wielding the great axe.

“Slish!”

Blood sprayed; the giant’s chest erupted in a geyser, and he crashed to the ground.

Seeing this, the Chang’an constables exchanged uneasy glances.

Even arrows couldn’t pierce his hardened secret art—and yet this black-robed man shattered it with a single sword stroke!

…What is this?

Could it be the legendary sword qi?!

In that moment, everyone—including Su Wuming and Lu Lingfeng—stared at themselves in shock.

Su Haoming couldn’t help but feel a quiet thrill, even tempted to utter a few lines of dialogue.

But unfortunately, his elder brother had extraordinary hearing—he’d recognize Su Haoming’s voice the moment he spoke.

With no choice, Su Haoming clenched his lips, playing the role of a silent, mysterious master.

—No, even that role was hard to maintain.

His spiritual power was nearly depleted; the two wind blades he’d just unleashed were his last reserves.

Realizing this, Su Haoming subtly shifted his stance, standing silently behind Lin Yu.

Meanwhile, Lin Yu had finished soul-searching and obtained the Four Ghosts of Youli’s hardened secret art.

“That’s it?”

“Worth far less than Fan Xian’s ‘Dominant True Qi’…”

Lin Yu’s face darkened with disappointment; he shook his head and tossed it aside.

In an instant, the dwarf’s body launched like a cannonball, slamming into another giant of the Youli clan.

The two collided in midair; the giant who had just leapt upward now plummeted back down at even greater speed.

“Boom!”

A thunderous crash—the platform cracked beneath them, spiderwebbing with fissures along its edges.

Yuan Lai, closest to them, saw clearly: the dwarf’s skull had crushed the giant’s chest.

Both lay twisted, blood streaming from all seven orifices—clearly not alive…

In the blink of an eye, two of the Four Ghosts were dead, two wounded.

The entire cavern fell silent; all stared at the two black-robed men, their worldviews shattered.

Lin Yu leapt down from the platform, walking calmly toward the two severely wounded giants.

From the dwarf’s memories, he now understood the nature of the Four Ghosts of Youli—each carried over a hundred lives, and calling them murderers was almost merciful.

Given that, Lin Yu had no intention of sparing them.

The two giants, clutching their bloodied chests, gritted their teeth and rose from the ground.

Just as they reached for their weapons, preparing to fight to the death against this unprecedented foe, Lin Yu’s figure twisted and vanished—only to reappear instantly behind them.

“...Huh?”

They stared blankly at the spot where Lin Yu had vanished, still unaware of what had happened—then the world plunged into darkness.

“Thud! Thud!”

Two bodies, once deemed impervious to blades and spears, crashed to the ground.

Lin Yu didn’t even glance back at the fallen men; he continued forward at the same unhurried pace, expression calm, toward Yuan Lai.

Yuan Lai snapped back to reality, eyes wide with terror as he stared at Lin Yu.

“You… who are you?”

“You only wanted to capture the Four Ghosts of Youli—I didn’t steal your immortal arts! Don’t come any closer!”

Seeing the raw terror on Yuan Lai’s face, Lin Yu finally stopped, speaking in a low, haunting tone:

“All these years, you’ve been harboring the Four Ghosts of Youli?”

“...”

Yuan Lai’s pupils shrank sharply.

Su Wuming realized the implication—and couldn’t help but feel a flicker of schadenfreude.

“No, it’s not me!”

Yuan Lai stumbled backward, babbling incoherently.

Only when he reached the platform’s edge did he shed his earlier madness—he hurled his bone flute at Lin Yu and roared: “Quick! Kill him!”

As he spoke, he triggered some mechanism and leapt straight down into a hidden passage that had opened beneath him.

“Boom!”

The thrown bone flute exploded midair before it even neared Lin Yu.

Lin Yu watched Yuan Lai’s retreating back with calm eyes, then lightly stepped forward.

“Boom!”

A thunderous roar shook the entire platform; the tremor cracked the platform’s surface and precisely collapsed the hidden passage beneath Yuan Lai’s feet.

Yuan Lai stared in horror at the jagged pile of rubble below.

Before he could even fall, Lin Yu had reached the platform’s edge and extended his five fingers toward him, expression cold.

The next instant, Yuan Lai’s body froze midair—then shot upward, his neck deliberately guided into Lin Yu’s grasp.

At that moment, the black-robed death soldiers, under Yuan Lai’s command, charged the platform—only to be thrown off balance by the tremors beneath their feet.

After barely stabilizing their posture, the one they served had already fallen into the hands of the mysterious powerhouse.

The black-robed soldiers halted, exchanging helpless glances.

At that moment, Lin Yu turned and glanced at them.

In an instant, every black-robed soldier was struck as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies, sinking into a black abyss, struggling helplessly against suffocating terror.

In a single heartbeat, all the black-robed death soldiers lost their will to resist, standing frozen, utterly broken.

“Huh—huh—”

Yuan Lai’s struggling gasps came from below.

Su Wuming snapped back to himself, ignoring the presence of the other black-robed man, shouting loudly:

“Stop!”

“...”

Lin Yu’s eyebrows lifted slightly beneath his mask, surprised by Su Wuming’s outburst.

Their eyes met; Su Wuming’s heart leapt, yet he forced himself to speak:

“My lord… this man is a wanted criminal of the imperial court. If you have no absolute reason to kill him, perhaps you would hand him over to me? I swear by my life—he will receive the punishment he deserves!”

Upon hearing this, the Chang’an constables grew uneasy.

Only Lu Lingfeng regained his composure, face flushed with shame.

He clenched his teeth and stepped forward, speaking loudly: “What the Assistant County Commander says is also my own view. The Tang Dynasty has its own laws—if you consider yourselves subjects of Tang, then please surrender this man—”

Mid-sentence, Lu Lingfeng noticed Su Wuming frantically gesturing to him.

He was baffled—had he said something wrong?

It was a huge mistake!

Su Wuming glared at Lu Lingfeng with exasperation.

The situation is that they’re stronger—can’t you speak more politely?

After mentally rebuking Lu Ling, Su Wuming straightened his expression and bowed to Lin Yu below: “Your martial arts are unparalleled, your bearing extraordinary—I, Su, have lived thirty-six years and have never before encountered anyone like you!”

“Indeed, with your martial prowess, we are no match for you.”

“But this man treats human lives as grass, abducts brides, turns them into red tea, and plunges Chang’an into chaos—his crimes are heinous!”

“As County Commandant of Chang’an, I must apprehend him and bring him to justice.”

“Therefore, I humbly beg you, sir, to spare Chang’an, to spare me, to spare the twelve innocent brides who met cruel deaths—let me give their families the justice they deserve!”

At the end of his words, Su Wuming’s tone grew heavy; he bowed deeply to Lin Yu, his body lowering fully in reverence.

(End of Chapter)