Chapter 8: Accomplices!

ZOOM!!! The twang of bowstrings erupted in the pitch-black night, continuous and unbroken.

Countless arrows, coated in fire-oil, rained down from all directions onto the Mountain God Temple—these were arrows from the Northern Dynasty’s Xuan State: slender, barbed, especially adept at piercing armor and breaking Qi, each arrow costing three taels of silver; now, in their dense swarm, they could instantly turn a hundred-man armored squad into a porcupine.

But in the next instant, the relentless Canglang arrows froze in midair, as if the air itself had solidified.

These arrows were fired from thirty-stone hardbows by Qi Condensation cultivators arranged in three rapid rows; each Canglang arrow could pierce three layers of armor at once—but now they hung suspended in the air, their tails trembling violently.

Even the archers paled.

Yet instantly, they drew more arrows and fired again, the piercing sound merging into a continuous roar.

The Canglang arrows, specifically designed to shatter Qi, could not even approach within a foot of the Mountain God Temple’s entrance.

As they drew arrows, a shrill whistle pierced the air—countless arrows suddenly froze in place, their tails trembling violently, the frequency accelerating; amid this buzzing, Fengqun -like hum, slow, deliberate footsteps sounded.

A giant stepped forward, his curled black hair dancing in the night wind, his clothes stained with grime, his back straight, his limbs thick, his brow calm as a tiger stalking prey.

The arrows suspended in midair slowly twisted backward.

He raised his hand and casually brushed aside the arrows before him; they fell to the ground and turned to dust.

The front-line archers each held a final, special arrow in hand.

Their backs were drenched in cold sweat.

Ahead, twelve men in ink-black armor stood rigid, right hands resting on their sword hilts; their lowered sleeve cuffs were embroidered with intricate cloud patterns, radiating lethal intent. The leader spoke slowly: “Great Chen’s Zhenwei General Yue Qianfeng—long time no see.”

Yue Qianfeng’s eyes were cold: “Just you? Where are Xiao Wuliang and Zhao Man Nu ? How long do you think you’ll live in my hands?”

The leader replied confidently: “General Yue, your prowess is unmatched—but your Law Form was shattered by the Grand General; you cannot wield your full strength for three months. Relying only on your body and internal Qi, how much stronger are you than us mere warriors?”

Yue Qianfeng sneered: “How much stronger? Come try and find out.”

The leader of the Night Gallop Cavalry said: “You shouldn’t have gone to save him.”

“You’ve wasted your brilliant future!”

Yue Qianfeng suddenly roared: “Marshal Yue defended the nation and was wronged! Twelve imperial edicts ordered him back to court to seal his Law Form! What future does a court like that offer?!”

The air around them stiffened, tension mounting as both sides sought gaps in each other’s Qi flow. The heavy humidity of the night condensed into rain, falling in a drizzle that splashed against armor.

A faint, tinkling sound of blades.

The Cloud-Embossed Night Gallop Cavalry drew their swords in perfect unison.

Their blades were long and sharp, slowly unsheathed, seeming to vanish into the darkness; the atmosphere grew colder by degrees—then, in the next instant, the Night Gallop Cavalry surged forward!

CRASHING LIKE THUNDER!

They blurred into afterimages, splitting apart instantly, each taking a position and unleashing complementary techniques; in the rain-soaked night, streaks of brilliant light fell—Yue Qianfeng suddenly burst into laughter, his wrist flicked, and the arrows hovering in midair reversed direction.

In an instant, the dense swarm of arrows turned toward the Night Gallop Cavalry and the archers ahead.

They coalesced into a Canglong! “You underestimated me, Night Gallop Cavalry!”

Yue Qianfeng laughed, flicked his wrist again—the arrows’ whistles merged into a single roar, a deafening buzz like a dragon’s cry.

In a flash, they pierced the archers ahead, tearing through flesh and bone; blood gushed across the ground. The Night Gallop Cavalry’s blades were already upon him—but could not cut his skin. The massive man spun, seized one of them by the skull, slammed his head into the temple wall, then twisted his body, dragging a bloody smear across the stone.

He raised his arm and hurled the corpse flying—it crashed heavily to the ground.

His right hand already seized the Night Gallop Cavalry’s waist-sword, parried the incoming slashes, then flicked his wrist—the blade slid along another warrior’s sword edge, shearing off half the man’s arm. Blood and flesh sprayed.

Tall and broad, he charged into the fray wielding the waist-sword—a blade meant for thrusting, yet he wielded it as a heavy cleaver; in the night, waves of lethal blade-light surged, like a lion standing tall amid a pack of wolves.

Even without his Law Form, Yue Qianfeng remained stronger than these Night Gallop Cavalry.

Like a slaughter, he cut them down one by one—these Night Gallop troops had abandoned their mounts to avoid alerting him with hoofbeats, yet in doing so, they lost part of their combat power; they forgot Yue Qianfeng’s martial prowess and his fearsome battlefield reputation.

All twelve Night Gallop Cavalry lay dead in the rain-soaked night.

Yue Qianfeng bore new wounds; he raised his hand, tracing the dented, pitted surface of the waist-sword, murmuring: “A swift blade, indeed. But alas—like a man without backbone, it’s merely a killing tool, not a famed weapon.”

The Night Gallop Cavalry whose sword he’d taken still lived, his face twisted, flesh torn, crawling forward weakly. Yue Qianfeng prepared to end him—when suddenly, he sensed another faint Qi.

His tiger-like eyes lifted, sweeping across—crouched in a narrow alley beside the street was a slender figure.

Li Guanyi.

Both sides had focused entirely on each other; this frail child had been instinctively ignored. Now, with the battle over, Li Guanyi’s presence could no longer be hidden—he had come here to learn martial arts, yet had witnessed the Night Gallop Cavalry, eight hundred strong, dominating the land, and this giant’s slaughter.

The crippled Night Gallop Cavalry instinctively crawled toward him, his body a ruin of blood and flesh.

Beneath the moonlit rain, the towering Yue Qianfeng, sword in hand, drenched in blood, stared at Li Guanyi—and his mind immediately conjured the first possibility: Could this child be sent by someone? He dismissed it instantly, yet a sliver of killing intent rose within him.

Mercy does not command armies. He had taken countless lives. Bold as he was, he was no kind man.

He had just slaughtered the Night Gallop Cavalry, and Marshal Yue’s secret had been exposed by one of them—now this child had heard it all. It threatened his grand plan. Yue Qianfeng’s tiger eyes lowered; the rain grew louder, his aura more terrifying. The wounded Night Gallop Cavalry crawled to Li Guanyi’s side, gasping for breath.

Li Guanyi stared at Yue Qianfeng through the rain, at the man before him, at the cloud-patterned sleeve—recognizing the Night Gallop Cavalry as the arrogant youth from earlier. The bronze tripod’s Qi flowed—he saw the twin eyes of the fire dragon slowly glow red. He knew he had heard what he shouldn’t have, seen what he shouldn’t have—awakening this giant’s killing intent.

Yue Qianfeng raised his broadsword: “You saw. You heard.”

“I am indeed a monstrous criminal.”

The boy nodded.

Yue Qianfeng’s killing intent rose slowly, firmly.

He looked at the pale-faced boy with dark eyes, and sighed inwardly.

A weak child.

The crippled Night Gallop Cavalry realized Li Guanyi knew Yue Qianfeng—he seized the last thread of hope.

He reached out, grabbing Li Guanyi’s clothes, trying to drag him close—the hem tore, revealing the poison pattern on his chest.

The Night Gallop Cavalry’s pupils shrank.

This poison!!!

Then he saw the weak child suddenly reach for his waist—next instant, a flash of green light—Li Guanyi gripped a short sword in both hands and drove it down hard into the Night Gallop Cavalry’s throat; the man’s Qi barrier vanished as if nonexistent—the blade pierced straight through.

He yanked it out, then stabbed again—deep into the heart.

He hesitated, then pulled the blade free once more and drove it deep into the right chest—adding a final cut.

Warm blood spurted, mixing with cold rain, soaking the cloud patterns. The rain-soaked night of ten years ago seemed to merge with this one. Yue Qianfeng froze—the killing aura dissipated. He watched the slender boy gasp for breath, then lift his head, blood splattered across his face, offering a pale smile:

“Now, we are accomplices.”

(End of Chapter)