Chapter 355: The Double

The final party in this grand drama of Shuntian Prefecture—the Jianghu—finally took the stage.

Though, it was in a manner bordering on child's play.

To put it bluntly, in this grand drama, whether it be the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the Eastern Depot, the civil officials, or Yingzhou, all were chess players; only the Jianghu were the blind chess pieces, led around by the nose.

As for how Yingzhou spread the news across the world and lured these Jianghu people to Shuntian Prefecture?

A face identical to Li Miao's, martial arts that exceeded the common Jianghu person's understanding, and the Profound Observation technique—just by showing up and playing the ghost, they could easily incite these Jianghu people whom Li Miao had suppressed with his fists.

An Ziyang couldn't be bothered to look into the details.

But for the moment, the trouble wasn't these Jianghu people.

An Ziyang's gaze swept over the dozen masked men, attempting to discern clues from their eyes.

At the same time, he suddenly spoke.

"Eunuch Liu, you're there, aren't you?"

The masked man leading the group opposite him frowned.

"What does Battalion Commander An mean?"

An Ziyang scrutinized them carefully, yet still found nothing suspicious.

But he also understood that since Liu Jin had hidden under his nose for so long without slipping up, it was basically impossible for him to be exposed unless he revealed himself voluntarily.

He spread his hands and smiled.

"Fine. Since Eunuch Liu doesn't want to show himself, I'll just finish everyone off. If my methods are a bit crude, I hope Eunuch Liu will bear with me."

The masked man was so angry he almost laughed.

Up to now, everything An Ziyang said was either an insult or a riddle; he hadn't taken them seriously at all. Being able to endure until now without attacking was already considered having self-restraint among Jianghu people.

But since An Ziyang had uttered the word "kill," they naturally understood that a peaceful resolution today was impossible.

Swords were drawn, blades unsheathed.

Fists were held at the waist, fingers and claws raised to the chest.

"Since Battalion Commander An says so, then let's—"

Bang!

The dozen men attacked in unison.

"—see who has the real skills!"

Even with disguises, one could see these were high-level techniques from famous sects, pouring toward An Ziyang like raindrops.

An Ziyang sneered.

"You're still not convinced when I call you idiots."

"Daring to come to my territory to seek death knowing who I am!"

Before his voice faded, he whipped his hand out.

The taut, transparent silk threads tied all over the courtyard instantly released their knots, rolling toward the dozen men like a giant net.

At the same time, poison needles shot from the eaves, Gu insects pounced from the foliage, and animal traps roared up from the ground.

From the cracks in the crates An Ziyang was leaning against, a thick, purplish-blue smoke suddenly sprayed out, shrouding the entire courtyard.

————————

Mei Qinghe opened her eyes, turned her head to look in the direction of An Ziyang, then stood up and brought the long sword resting on her knees before her eyes.

"Come out."

Her words fell, but there was no response at all.

Mei Qinghe did not waver in the slightest, only holding her sword and staring fixedly at a patch of darkness in the distance.

After a long while, a scoff came from the darkness.

"Worthy of being the fiercest sword under Li Miao."

"Among his subordinates, the most poisonous is Li Xiaosi, the most ruthless is Wang Hai, and the most insidious is An Ziyang. But when it comes to natural talent and attainments in martial arts, it is you—Mei Qinghe."

"No wonder he couldn't bear to let you leave the capital, only letting you practice martial arts in the capital every day, occasionally doing some killing errands to sharpen your sword's edge."

"Having just reached the Supreme Realm, you could already sense my arrival. If given more time, with the inheritance of the Three Paths and Profound Observation, you might become another Heaven-Man of the Three Paths combined."

The voice moved from far to near.

A tall figure stepped on the shadows, walking out from the darkness.

No fire was allowed in Wang Gongchang, so there were no lamps lit. At this moment, a cloud blocked the moonlight, and only a blurred shadow could be seen.

Not until this person walked to within ten zhang of Mei Qinghe did a sliver of moonlight illuminate half his face.

Mei Qinghe's pupils contracted sharply! "Commander—"

The person walking over wore a black bear-fur cloak, black gloves with gold trim, had ape-like arms and a wasp waist, and a heroic face. His gait was like a dragon and a tiger, and even the patterns on his gloves were stained with blood. From top to bottom, from left to right, there was not a single place that wasn't identical to Li Miao!

But Mei Qinghe immediately gritted her teeth.

"Yingzhou..."

"Oh?"

The man raised an eyebrow, his expression exactly the same as Li Miao's when surprised.

"They all say that among Li Miao's subordinates, you have the dullest mind. I thought you would be surprised for a while; how did you react so quickly?"

Mei Qinghe gripped her sword hilt tightly.

"You disguised yourself as the Commander; what do you want to do?"

The man smiled.

"What do I want to do?"

"Many things. Let me think."

"Kill the Xiaolingwei, kill the Embroidered Uniform Guard, assassinate the Emperor... or, how about directly slaughtering some commoners?"

"Very few people in this world know of Yingzhou, and on the surface, only Li Miao is a Heaven-Man who has cultivated more than two paths. Guess how many people will settle the account on Li Miao's head?"

The hand Mei Qinghe used to grip the sword hilt had already turned somewhat white.

Listening to this person's shameless words, her sword Qi was already becoming difficult to contain.

Seeing Mei Qinghe's anger, the man revealed the same mischievous smile as Li Miao's, and he spread his hands.

"It has been a long time since a Heaven-Man appeared in this world. Many people have forgotten how many people an unrestrained Heaven-Man can kill within a quarter of an hour."

"Jianghu, Jianghu."

"The chivalrous use martial arts to break the law. The Central Plains Jianghu has been bound for too long; we find it quite funny... Do you know what status a Heaven-Man had a thousand years ago?"

He spread his arms.

"Dare not speak in a loud voice, for fear of startling the people in Heaven."

"In front of a Heaven-Man, ordinary people actually dared to make a sound. Do you know how ridiculous that is? Today, outside the Fengtian Hall, when Li Miao killed those dog officials, he actually had to find excuses!"

"It doesn't matter. The prestige he dares not show, I will show for him... Anyway, he will have to bear the consequences."

The smile appeared and vanished instantly.

On the man's face, it was no longer Li Miao's expression.

Replacing it was a gloomy, sinister smile.

"Come, slash me."

He hooked his finger.

"After killing you, I'll see what Li Miao has set up here, and then I'll go kill some other people... If I'm late, the Island Master will punish me."

He was already prepared to toy with Mei Qinghe.

The next moment, however, Mei Qinghe put down her sword.

Not only did she put down her sword, but even the angry look on her face disappeared.

He frowned, about to ask a question.

But he heard an old voice from behind him.

"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate. Benefactor, you speak of a thousand years ago; this poor Daoist finds it somewhat ridiculous... If Yingzhou is so powerful, why didn't you come out to jump around when Ancestor Sanfeng was alive?"

"It seems Ancestor Sanfeng's sixty-year demon-cleansing didn't reach the sea. You noble Heaven-Men are also afraid of Ancestor Sanfeng's Taiji Sword."

His pupils shrank, and his body turned to strike a palm behind him!

He swung a single palm, but it was led and guided by an old, withered hand, dissipating his force.

And then—an incomparably fierce fist slammed into his heart!

Step forward, Parry and Punch!

In a flash of lightning, he locked eyes with the old Daoist.

The old Daoist spoke a sentence with a solemn expression.

"Since Ancestor Sanfeng couldn't cleanse you demons completely, let me, his unworthy descendant, clean up the loose ends for him!"

"Battalion Commander Mei, sit tight. Leave this evil thief to this poor Daoist!"

Bang!!!

A wave of sound exploded!