Chapter 193: Kill Her Publicly!!

Li Guanyi first opened the dossier on Lady Hua Rui.

On the dossier, the text described her in great detail; Li Guanyi read silently: "Lady Hua Rui, originally from Liuzhou, of humble origin, father a farmer, beautiful in youth, abducted by a martial artist, violated at fifteen, subjected to repeated abuse."

"Innately intelligent and spirited, she refused to accept this fate; using her beauty, she seduced her martial master's teacher, inciting teacher and disciple to kill each other, seized the Wu Gong scroll, stole silver, distributed most of it to women who had suffered as she had, and disbanded them."

"Even now, she retains kindness, exceeding ordinary moral stature."

"Some women remain by her side."

"In the following years, she attempted to cultivate martial arts; due to her beauty, she gained minor fame in the Jianghu."

"As time passed and her beauty faded, as her appearance withered, she found her path in the Jianghu increasingly difficult; she then first encountered an envoy of the Yin-Yang Cycle Sect, who initially deceived her with ordinary pills—Hua Rui, unaware, noticed her beauty gradually restored and her cultivation improving."

"Founded the Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Tower."

"Five years later, she learned the truth of the pills she consumed and refused to take them."

"But her beauty rapidly decayed, and due to long-term consumption, she gradually sank into decline, lowered her moral bottom line, still bought pills with gold, ingested them in large quantities, and finally, upon the Yin-Yang Cycle Sect envoy's claim that they needed medicinal subjects, began actively collecting young girls."

"Girls with impure Yin constitutions were kept within the Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Tower; those with pure Yin constitutions were taken away; since most girls remained and lived comfortably, no one suspected her actions."

"Even now, she claims it is coercion, yet she has killed countless."

"In the back courtyard, vast beds of peonies and tree peonies bloom, fertilized with human flesh, exquisitely beautiful."

"The Ghost Market judged her as having fallen into the rank of a Phantom Ghost."

"Pitiable. Hateful. Killable."

"The Ghost Market has a bounty: whoever severs her head may claim one treasure from the Xuan-grade vault."

"Wu Gong: thirty years of cultivation, refined by Blood Return Pill, Third Layer."

"Actual combat power weaker than the peak of Second Layer in the Military School, the Scholar's Palace Daozi, and the Sword Immortal; comparable to the combat power of an ordinary Confucian in the Third Layer Realm."

"Favored weapon: Twin Hook Swords, esoteric martial arts, superior techniques of the Yin-Yang Cycle Sect."

"Internal cultivation: Yin-Yang Cycle, Third Layer."

"Influence: Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Tower, Yin-Yang Cycle Sect."

"Weakness—internal cultivation entirely boosted by pills, unstable; during bursts, weaker than a normal Third Layer; lacks combat experience, no experience in life-or-death duels; on the chessboard of prediction, if she faced her fifteen-year-old self now, she would die by her younger self's dagger."

"Challenge—the Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Tower has over a hundred guest masters; Lady Hua Rui has wide connections."

"Killing her carries many repercussions."

These details were extremely thorough; Li Guanyi felt as if watching an ordinary girl, from initial victimhood, through resilience and intelligence, step by step transform into a twisted demon—he remained silent, staring at the name "Yin-Yang Cycle Sect."

He carefully reread Lady Hua Rui's dossier.

It also listed her accomplices and associates; Li Guanyi recorded them one by one.

After thinking, he turned to the most expensive dossier in Beicheng.

"Since I've come this far."

Li Guanyi touched his mask, then opened the dossier on the "Hunting Qilin Gathering," but after one glance, his gaze stiffened, eyes lowering.

"The Hunting Qilin Gathering is led by the Ying Kingdom's Jiang Gao."

"Publicly a hunt for the Fire Qilin, in truth a move to rally the Jianghuda Sect leaders and clan heads of Chen Kingdom's northern region for the impending invasion of Chen; afterward, the Ying Kingdom's famed general Yuwen Lie sought to kill Chen's Li Guanyi, leaving behind his nephew Yuwen Hua and three hundred iron cavalry."

"Yuwen Lie must kill Li Guanyi."

"The words 'Hunting Qilin Gathering' were written personally by Yuwen Lie."

"'Qilin' does not refer to the Fire Qilin—it refers to the Chaos Qilin, Li Guanyi."

"Yuwen Lie…"

Li Guanyi whispered softly, as if seeing again that solemn, silent world-famous general, cold gaze looking down upon him.

During the great sacrifice in Chen Kingdom, Li Guanyi escaped successfully—with help from friends and elders, and his own desperate efforts—he not only fled Chen Kingdom, but even slipped past the primary line of sight of most people.

Except Yuwen Lie.

This world-renowned general seemed to possess battlefield instinct.

In the first instant, he held sufficient regard for Li Guanyi; had Li Guanyi defected to the Ying Kingdom, Yuwen Lie would have been his best teacher, willing to train him without reservation, even promising the Crown Prince he would beg forgiveness before all the world's heroes.

But if Li Guanyi refused.

His eyes would hold only killing intent.

A supreme-level determination to kill Li Guanyi.

While recruiting the Four Masters, he feared Li Guanyi might alter his appearance, so he left behind Yuwen Hua, the brightest young scion of the Yuwen clan, and gave him three hundred heavy cavalry—necessary to ensure Li Guanyi's capture.

Li Guanyi recalled the young officer he had once dueled—a peak Third Layer cultivator who, during the duel, had already summoned the nascent aura of the Bai Hu manifestation through a Phase-level martial art, clearly nearing the Fourth Layer.

Is Yuwen Hua in Beicheng now?

Li Guanyi wondered.

The Ghost Market dossier noted its source; Li Guanyi looked—and was startled to see a familiar name: "Yuwen Lie." This dossier had been voluntarily delivered to the Ghost Market by the world-famous general before leaving Beicheng.

Li Guanyi's pupils contracted sharply.

At the end of the dossier, he saw a single line of text, different from the prior entries—its brushstroke like spear and blade, calm yet domineering:

"I leave this dossier with the Ghost Market. Li Guanyi, you should see it."

"The 'Hunting Qilin Gathering' is prepared for you."

"So—will you retreat, or will you come?"

Far beyond the border, the Tie Futu of the steppe and the Ying Kingdom's Hu Man cavalry marched side by side on the road, their great cloaks pointing skyward like spearheads, solemn and vast; the refined, ornate armor of the Central Plains marched alongside the rugged heavy armor of the steppe.

Dressed in Ink-Black Weight armor, Yuwen Lie rode his warhorse, spine straight; his hand gripped the reins, gaze calm as he stared ahead, his back a sea of ten thousand soldiers, his eyes fixed on the sky.

In the Beicheng Ghost Market, Li Guanyi stared at those words.

"The world is a chessboard; the so-called masters of the Jianghu are mere commoners."

"Today, I have placed this move. I await your arrival!"

The world-famous general, Yuwen Lie.

Li Guanyi fell silent for a long time, exhaled a breath, and placed this intelligence here: when two tigers fight, their momentum cannot coexist—this was an invitation, a provocation, a mighty tiger pressing its claws and fangs, gazing down at another mighty tiger.

If the other tiger retreated, its momentum would surely be damaged.

Yet he delivers this intelligence so openly, so straightforwardly.

Even as an enemy, Yuwen Lie's spirit far surpasses those so-called masters of the Jianghu.

Li Guanyi put away this intelligence.

He then went to read the intelligence on the other four Masters.

The sect leader of Motian Sect, the Diyida Sect of the northern Dachen realm, wielded unmatched fist and palm arts; his Dharma Form was the Motian Eagle; his disciples numbered in the tens of thousands; his lightness technique was exceptionally strong—he could strike once and flee a thousand li, with a divine eagle mount capable of flying ten thousand li.

The lord of the seventy-two linked fortresses along the Dajiang River, the Furious Scale Dragon King.

Claiming tens of thousands of followers, he gathered his bandits along the Dajiang, chaining iron links together to rob merchant ships, plundering the rich to aid the poor.

His chain technique was extraordinarily powerful; he was a ready-made naval commander, once a general of the Chen state, later defected, ranked among the top five strategists in water warfare nationwide; his Dharma Form was a dragon.

The elder of Kunlun Sword Sect on Kunlun Mountain, the Furious Sword Immortal.

One of the three greatest sword sects, Kunlun Sword Sect's four elders, two of whom were Anger and Joy.

His sword qi was brutally dominant, capable of slicing through the upper clouds.

His Dharma Form was a divine sword.

And the Grand Elder of Yin-Yang Wheel Turn Sect—the intelligence was scarce, known only for her peerless beauty and mysterious methods; among these four, she was the strongest in Wu Gong.

Li Guanyi glanced at it and decisively refused Yuwen Lie's challenge.

He was barely over fourteen, at most fifteen by lunar age.

But these men, the youngest among them were over fifty.

All were prodigies from youth, cultivated for decades, with extraordinary encounters and power bases—true regional magnates; Li Guanyi had no interest in fighting them to the death.

Yet these four Masters, like General Yue Qianfeng, had condensed their martial wills and possessed Dharma Forms; unlike the Dao Sect elders, whose Dao methods were natural and flawless, their bodies were immune to the Bronze Cauldron's bite.

Li Guanyi's Bronze Cauldron hummed, as if anticipating.

If he went, the Bronze Cauldron could likely feast fully.

But it might also choke him to death.

Li Guanyi still had no intention of getting involved; he merely stored the intelligence, then rose silently. The one who hosted him this time was the Immortal Lord of Beicheng's Ghost Market, a beautiful woman who smiled gently: "I wonder, sir, after reading this intelligence, what do you intend to do?"

Li Guanyi tossed the intelligence on 【Lady Huarui】 over, his voice calm:

"I accept."

The Immortal Lord said: "Good."

"As before, using the name 【Situ Deqing】?"

Zu Lao had said the Ghost Market recognized the badge, not the man; he thought a moment, then said: "Change it."

He picked up his brush and wrote a new name.

The Immortal Lord glanced at it, surprised, then smiled: "This name is quite unique."

Li Guanyi replied: "Merely a memorial."

"To remind me not to forget certain things."

The Immortal Lord nodded, and the tenth-ranked assassin's badge was handed back to him—the name now changed; she smiled: "You've accepted the assassination of 【Lady Huarui】; I assume you're just testing your hand. When it's done, return here."

"Your kind of skill—talking of gold is vulgar."

"Choose any one item from the Xuan-level treasury; of course, if nothing appeals, you may convert it to gold. I trust the Ghost Market's reputation won't disappoint you."

Li Guanyi and the Black Tortoise were both tempted.

The Black Tortoise's Dharma Form seemed to sense what its master intended.

It emerged, perched on Li Guanyi's shoulder, its pea-sized eyes glowing, desperate to rush there immediately—then it bit down hard on the black hair at Li Guanyi's temple and swung there.

It nearly cried out in urgency.

No money!

Li Guanyi ignored it—he could barely afford his next meal.

Leave.

And on this day, the ranking of the world's assassins changed.

The deceased 【Situ Deqing】 was replaced by an obscure name; all who had intelligence channels watched this change.

The world's tenth assassin—

【Jing Ke】.

………………

After returning that day, Li Guanyi waited until the next day, when Yao Guang had slept enough; the two set out together. On this day, many women dressed in fine attire passed by, all heading toward a tall tower in the city—the Liufeng Huixue Tower, built and maintained for decades by Zhao Huarui.

A place for drinking, idle chat, listening to the qin, and sipping tea.

Perhaps due to her past, she had spent the past twenty years committing many evils, yet absolutely refused to engage in flesh trade; she had once fought many martial heroes and strongmen to protect the women in the Liufeng Huixue Tower.

A martial artist, relying on his strength, broke into the tower, seized a singer, raped and murdered her; Zhao Huarui, in response, humbled herself to a powerful lord, spending seven or eight nights in his bed, making him personally capture the killer.

Later, the martial artist was bound before the Liufeng Huixue Tower, and each of the weak women held a dagger, slowly flaying alive the bandit who had reached the fourth level of cultivation.

Zhao Huarui wept bitterly, saying she was already defiled, but she would not let her girls be defiled; she wept with them.

Only then did she secure the right to life for the women in her tower.

Yet after that, she still sought out women whose physiologies matched her pill requirements, then refined them into Blood Pills; her heart, perhaps sincere when saving, never hesitated when killing to refine pills.

Yao Guang wore a robe with a hood, concealing her aura, her voice calm:

"They're holding the Huarui Gathering. What will you do?"

"Wait for an opportunity? Or, following the Pojun lineage's methods, ruin her reputation, turn all against her, then kill her?"

"No…"

"That's what the Po Jun Society would do."

Li Guanyi replied: "There's no such skill left. I no longer care whether she had reasons, whether there were other..." The wind stirred the trees on either side, petals fell; the young Daoist extended his hand, and a flower landed in his palm, his five fingers closing.

In chaotic times, people are twisted—but the fault of chaos is also the fault of man.

The young Daoist swept his sleeve and said:

"Kill directly."

Yao Guang nodded; they went to a teahouse far from the Liufeng Huixue Tower. The teahouse wasn't expensive, but it was beyond the means of the impoverished boy. The silver-haired girl rummaged through her bundle for a long while, and finally pulled out a money pouch.

There wasn't much inside the pouch; she held it and shook it for a long time.

Ding ding ding ding—several copper coins fell out.

The silver-haired girl's face showed no expression; she reached in and took out three.

"Enough for steamed buns."

Then she shoved the remaining copper coins straight in front of Li Guanyi, her voice calm:

"The rest is for you."

Li Guanyi went upstairs to the highest private room; Yao Guang used her mystic art to conceal the boy's killing intent and qi signature. Li Guanyi opened the window and looked down from above, seeing only the towering majesty of Zhenxi Xiongcheng.

Women everywhere wore splendid garments, like butterflies.

Flowering trees on either side swayed, petals dancing in the wind—a beautiful scene.

This place was over six li from the Liufeng Huixue Tower; converted to his past life's measure, roughly three to three and a half kilometers—such a distance, even with his eye acupoint opened, allowed Li Guanyi only a faint grasp of Zhao Huarui's figure.

Inside Li Guanyi, the Nine Cauldrons rang and howled.

At his ear, he seemed to hear the roar of Bai Hu; ripples stirred the air beside him.

A massive Bai Hu stepped forth, standing silently beside Li Guanyi. Its fur was slightly long, gently swaying; its golden, detached pupils gazed into the distance. The young Daoist tied up his sleeves, extended his five fingers, and faint light gathered.

Then his fingers closed.

He grasped that streak of light.

The light spread through Li Guanyi's palm like Lei Ting, forming and solidifying into an ancient, simple battle bow; final streaks of light surged from both ends, colliding in midair to form the bowstring.

Divine Weapon · Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow!

Li Guanyi stood by the window, gazing at the bustling mortal world. His left hand gripped the bow, his right lightly rested on the golden-lighted bowstring. His eyes opened—he had seen Lady Huarui yesterday; now, holding the divine bow, he locked onto the woman over six li away.

Crackling, faint golden Lei Ting sparked along the bowstring.

Li Guanyi unleashed all his strength, his entire cultivation, and the full power of this body. The divine weapon slowly drew back; as he pulled, qi seemed to coalesce in the air, gathering slowly into a golden arrow upon the Po Yun Zhen Tian Bow.

His fingers loosened slightly.

With a soft hum.

The golden arrow vanished in a flash of light.

Inside the Liufeng Huixue Tower, many girls gathered, their eyes filled with hope and longing, faces lit with eager smiles. Zhao Huarui sat above, watching them—yet suddenly she grew dazed, remembering the day she was taken from her parents.

Back then, her own face had been just like this.

One girl gazed at her, timidly asking: "Can I be as beautiful as Lady Lady?"

Zhao Huarui smiled: "Of course—you're so lovely..."

"You'll surely be even more beautiful than I am."

Pure Yin constitution.

Excellent medicinal vessel.

She thought: Is what I'm doing wrong?

Of course not!

In their own families, they couldn't live well, couldn't be happy. At fourteen or fifteen, they'd be married off—perhaps spending their whole lives without silk garments, without fine food. I give them these pleasures, then let them die in bliss—this is happiness.

Isn't this better than a brief, miserable existence?

I gave their parents plenty of silver.

I protected other girls who weren't Pure Yin—saved many lives. Even gods and Buddhas wouldn't blame me.

I'm just trying to survive—what's wrong with surviving?

She thought for a moment, then sat at the head of the table. The girls sat around the four sides; wealthy martial guests from the city served as honored attendees—it was a splendid, grand banquet. But at that moment, Zhao Huarui's smile froze.

For no reason, a sense of panic arose.

She reached out and touched the protective treasure she had paid dearly for—the jade pendant, warm and smooth, calming her heart. But then her fingers prickled with pain.

She saw the jade pendant fall, shattering instantly with a crisp sound.

The one who gave her this jade said it would guarantee safety—but now it shattered faster than a knife to the throat!

Her expression changed.

The girls, in sweet voices, chorused congratulations on Lady's birthday, then bowed; their robes fluttered like butterflies. And in the next instant, golden light pierced through everything ahead—pierced the tower's signboard, pierced the thick walls.

Zhao Huarui saw a streak of golden light.

The next moment, she felt a piercing pain at her third eye.

The golden light pierced through the back of her skull.

It passed through the room, striking the old woman lying on the bed, groaning.

She opened her eyes—next instant, her ancient head exploded like a watermelon.

Only then did the golden arrow slowly dissipate.

No one heard a response; they looked up and saw Lady Huarui seated there, a finger-sized blood hole in her forehead, terror in her eyes, no breath left. Then, her impossibly beautiful face began to twist.

Wrinkles appeared, aging before their eyes.

Only now did the delayed sound of the arrow's flight reach the air.

Boom!!

The plaque of the Flowing Wind and Returning Snow Tower crashed down with a roar.

Complete silence.

Zhao Huarui is dead!!

This so-called "great benefactor," who controlled thousands of women, was slain right before the eyes of the crowd, at the very height of her triumph!

He killed in the marketplace, then walked away without a word.

That was the bearing of a heroic knight.

He paid no mind to how the woman had exposed her ugliness before everyone, or to her screams and cries; even at a straight-line distance of six li—over ten li by horse on the streets—the teahouse remained calm, its laughter and chatter still audible.

The young Daoist released his weapon.

The Cloud-Piercing Thunder Bow vanished, dissolving into golden light that flowed out from the rolling sleeves of his robe.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

A waiter held a tray with pastries and tea, politely saying:

"Your order has arrived, sir."

Perfect timing.

Li Guanyi swept his sleeve and sat down, smiling: "Good."

The waiter placed a teapot and a plate of honey-filled mantou on the table, then withdrew. Li Guanyi ate the mantou, thinking that after going to the Xue family's bank to inform Xue Lao about the Yuwen clan, he could wait for the right moment.

Li Guanyi suddenly remembered something and frowned: "You ordered mantou on purpose, didn't you, Yao Guang, just because I said I wouldn't eat them?"

The silver-haired girl nibbled the mantou slowly, her face expressionless:

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just a sorcerer."

"I don't know what you mean."

The young man burst into laughter.

……………………

Beicheng.

Lady Gongsun Feixue had feasted with friends yesterday; today she came to visit her grandmother, who, though sixty or seventy years old, still looked no older than thirty or forty, her deep internal energy slowing her aging—but today, Lady Gongsun Feixue noticed a visitor.

He was an old man in indigo robes, white-haired and composed, radiating an extraordinary aura.

Lady Gongsun Feixue bowed with a grin: "Senior Chen, you're here too!"

The man before her was none other than Chen Chengbi, the Mad King of Great Chen, a childhood friend of Lady Gongsun Wuyue. The old man laughed heartily: "I grew restless from stillness. After meeting the old bald monk and Zu Wenyuan, I thought it had been too long since I saw Miss Wuyue, so I came to the Lady Gongsun household and learned she was in Beicheng—so I came straight here."

Lady Gongsun Feixue smiled:

"What a coincidence—I met one of Master Zu's disciples just yesterday."

Chen Chengbi blinked: "Disciple?"

Lady Gongsun Feixue said: "Yes. He held one of the Twenty-Four Mystic Weapons of the Daoist Sect—【Lingyun Mu】."

"He looked fifteen or sixteen, very handsome."

"And his Wu Gong was exceptional."

Chen Chengbi's eyes widened, locking onto one name: "Fifteen or sixteen? What's his name?"

Lady Gongsun Feixue said: "Li Yaoshi."

Chen Chengbi roared with laughter: "Li Yaoshi?"

"Bullshit Li Yaoshi!"

Suddenly he leapt into the air, exuberant, shouting and laughing: "You brat!!!"

"Old man's here!"