Chapter 34

"Good kid!"

Seeing the opponent so arrogant, Bao Fei intended to make an example of him—no need for further words—he grabbed the dagger at his attendant's waist and exploded forward with his legs!

Boom—

Clang—

Amid the explosive sound, the deck cracked open, the entire pleasure boat shuddered, and a flash of icy silver light streaked across the riverbank!

A three-foot silver blade suddenly unsheathed, appearing from afar like a sudden bolt of celestial thunder; bystanders could only catch blurred afterimages!

Far away, Princess Changning and others, seeing Bao Fei's excessive brutality, felt a chill of dread.

Yet the next instant, the riverbank fell utterly silent.

Boom—

Xie Jinhuan, standing on the grass, vanished from Lin Wanyi's side the moment Bao Fei moved, leaving behind only a circular depression.

When he reappeared, he was already lunging forward with the Tian Tian Gang Jian Club, slamming straight into Bao Fei's face!

Boom—

Faced with this terrifying burst of speed, Bao Fei's furious expression froze—he swung his blade downward with full force, leaving no room for hesitation or restraint.

But this lightning-fast slash still failed to breach the centerline—it struck solidly against the horizontal iron club!

Clang—

As blade met iron, a deafening explosion rang out along the lakeshore!

The Peony Pond held many martial cultivators with real skill; merely watching Xie Jinhuan's move, they knew this man was no ordinary mortal.

But Bao Fei was the young master of Jinghua Manor, a name well-known in Danzhou, and this technique, "Thunderclap Blade," was Jinghua Manor's signature art—renowned for its brutal, overwhelming power.

Under normal circumstances, Xie Jinhuan's direct clash would have sent him flying—or at least blasted back several zhang, leaving him trapped in a relentless chain of follow-up slashes!

Yet when Bao Fei's full-force strike landed on the Tian Tian Gang Jian Club, Xie Jinhuan stood like an immovable boulder, his feet rooted to the earth without a single tremor!

Boom—

Bao Fei's full-power slash struck as if cleaving a steel statue—the counterforce rebounded violently, shattering the tiger's mouth of his hand almost instantly, causing his blade to fly from his grip, the hilt nearly smashing into his own forehead.

Xie Jinhuan wasted no time on this trash—he had braced with "Pan Dragon Across the Ridge," and the instant the blade flew free, he lunged forward, slamming his shoulder into Bao Fei's chest!

Boom—

Before Bao Fei could react, arms like iron and petrified wood crashed into his chest.

Under the indescribable force of the impact, Bao Fei's back robe exploded open, revealing his knotted, muscular shoulders and back.

His entire body curled into a shrimp-like arc, hurtling backward, smashing through the deck railing and piercing clean through the cabin wall.

Boom—

Crack-crack-crack—

Amid flying splinters, the young masters and young gentlemen inside the cabin felt a gust of wind brush their faces; in their peripheral vision, a figure crashed through the wall from outside, slamming into the ceiling beam and sending down a shower of dust.

Boom—

Then he tumbled down midair, crashing onto the long table piled high with rare delicacies—porcelain plates and wine jugs shattered instantly, spewing forth a jet of crimson blood:

"Puh—cough… cough…"

"Ahh—!"

The singing girls and dancers inside the cabin screamed in terror!

Outside, by the riverbank, there was utter silence.

The exchange had been too swift—most had not even reacted in time.

After sending Bao Fei back to his cabin, Xie Jinhuan casually sheathed the Tian Tian Gang Jian Club, ignoring the steward disciples, and strode swiftly onto the deck.

Tap-tap-tap…

Lin Wanyi hadn't even had time to intervene before Bao Fei vanished; though not surprised, she still stared in shock, hurrying after him:

"Y-you… you didn't kill him, did you? He's the young master of Jinghua Manor…"

Xie Jinhuan marched straight through the pleasure boat, searching:

"Second-rate sect—worth nothing. Find the Ghost Witch."

Lin Wanyi never imagined a simple outing could stir up such chaos—she only wanted to go home.

But she'd already struck someone—she couldn't just stand idle now—so she followed behind Xie Jinhuan.

The steward disciples who had moments ago been roaring with arrogance now stood like statues, watching the two pass by without daring to move.

As the two entered the cabin, the onlookers gathered by the river finally snapped out of their daze, eyes wide with horror:

"What just happened?"

"Where's Bao Fei?"

"Looks like he got thrown back onto the boat…"

"One blow and he's out?!"

"Seems like he even held back…"

…

On the pleasure boat chartered by the Princess's mansion, numerous maidens poured out of their rooms, peering curiously—some still half-dressed:

"What's going on? What's going on?"

"A handsome young master was fighting by the river—his skills are incredible…"

Liu Qingzhi on deck, though aware of Xie Jinhuan's formidable strength, still stared in disbelief at how Bao Fei hadn't even lasted a single strike.

Princess Changning, observing the entire scene through her long-range lens, also showed surprise:

"Impressive skill! Though not the Xuan Yang Ba Ti Jue, it's akin in principle—such mastery at such a young age explains why Linghu Qingmo is always hovering around him."

Hou the steward snapped back to awareness and, unusually, showed a hint of admiration:

"This boy seems unremarkable, yet his martial arts level bears a striking resemblance to my own in my prime; I misjudged him a few days ago."

The maid Duoduo, whose eyes sparkled like stars, heard this and exclaimed in disbelief:

"This is unremarkable?"

"Merely handsome."

"?"

……

Princess Changning, long accustomed to her chief general's unreliability, waited a moment but saw Xie Jinhuan not emerge, so she ordered:

"Liu Qingzhi, take some men to check. Beat Bao Fei as you please, but do not beat those young masters; if anything truly goes wrong, Linghu Qingmo will certainly come to me to protect him."

Liu Qingzhi also feared Xie Jinhuan's violent temper and the possibility that he had dismembered someone again; he immediately bowed and accepted the order, then led two Wu Zu running toward the riverside...

——

Thump, thump, thump...

Footsteps, neither hurried nor slow, approached from the corridor, moving from far to near.

The hall, once bustling and lively, was now deathly silent; only Bao Fei, slumped on the long table, coughed hoarsely, unable to turn over and rise:

"Cough... cough..."

The dozen or so young masters seated nearby, though maintaining their original composure, had all turned slightly pale; had it not been for the guards standing behind them like they faced a great enemy, they would likely have panicked and crawled under the tables.

Meanwhile, the singing girls playing the zither hid behind the beaded curtains, not daring to breathe.

Thump, thump...

Soon, the footsteps reached the entrance of the banquet hall.

Xie Jinhuan paused before the door, scanning the many young masters inside, all either wealthy or noble, searching for anyone resembling the Ghost Wu.

Lin Wan'yi followed behind; fearing she might cause trouble, she did not dare show her face, only secretly searching for traces of residual poison.

After a long while, Bao Fei finally came to his senses; looking up and seeing the white-clad killing star standing at the door, he was so startled that he scooted backward on the table.

Splash...

After confirming no familiar figures were in the hall, Xie Jinhuan ignored Bao Fei and headed toward other rooms.

Lin Wan'yi carefully sensed every clue, finally stopping outside a riverside guest room.

Xie Jinhuan raised his guard slightly, holding the Zhenglun Sword as he entered the room.

He discovered a man and a woman lying on the bed, naked except for a single autumn quilt draped around their waists; both were in a coma, their faces flushed with wine.

The clothes that had hung on the clothes rack were nowhere to be seen; a robe stained with dust lay on the floor.

Lin Wan'yi frowned, not daring to look at the eye-popping scene on the bed, and went to inspect the bath tub behind the screen:

"That Ghost Wu used medicinal water to wash away the residual poison on his body; we probably cannot catch up now."

Xie Jinhuan approached the bed, checked the man and woman's pulses, found they were merely unconscious, then went to the robes and used the Tiangang Mace to pry them open for inspection.

Unfortunately, that Ghost Wu was extremely cautious and well-versed in Wu Sect techniques; he left no object that could identify him, not even any gold, silver, or valuables...

Realizing he had completely lost the trail, Xie Jinhuan could not help but frown tightly.

He did not know his father's whereabouts, but he remembered encountering a demon beast at that time.

Although that Ghost Wu today was certainly not the same thing encountered then, his wandering movement style did bear some resemblance; perhaps there existed some kind of connection...

Thump, thump, thump...

Just as he was pondering this, the quiet ship tower echoed again with the light sound of footsteps, followed immediately by voices from outside:

"My lord! Just now a bold rogue... Eh? My lord?"

The footsteps did not pause in the slightest; they quickly reached the room's entrance.

Liu Qingzhi was about to ask what Xie Jinhuan was up to, but in the next instant he saw a garment lying on the floor and a man and woman on the bed whose life or death was unknown; startled, he drew half of his sword:

"What is going on?!"

Seeing it was someone from the Prefecture Guard, Lin Wan'yi immediately resumed her harmless, gentle demeanor:

"My lord Liu, you have finally arrived. Just now Xie Jinhuan encountered demon bandits on Jiguan Ridge..."

"Ah?"

Liu Qingzhi was stunned and instinctively asked:

"Young Master Xie, why do you keep encountering demon bandits every day?"

Xie Jinhuan stood up and explained: "They are the same group. Today, during the autopsy at the government office, I found clues regarding the Gu Flower; I searched accordingly, found the flower-raising place outside the city, which contained a large number of corpses, but then I encountered two Wu Sect demon people trying to destroy the evidence and cover up the tracks, carrying two puppets..."

Among the several major branches of the Wu Sect, Gu Poison and Sacrificial Rituals are a mix of good and evil, while Corpse Wu and Ghost Wu, as their names suggest, belong to genuinely anti-human branches; whenever they appear, it is always a major case.

Liu Qingzhi had thought Xie Jinhuan simply came to cause trouble, but he never expected such a huge matter behind it; he immediately asked:

"Is Young Master Xie alright?"

"I just fell; upon returning, I happened to meet Physician Lin, who has already examined me."

Xie Jinhuan casually explained why Lin Wan'yi was present, to avoid exposing the Wu Sect identity, and continued:

"I collided with that group of demon people on Jiguan Ridge; I killed three on the spot, and one Ghost Wu escaped here; unfortunately, I lost him."

Killed three...

Liu Qingzhi was still considering whether to send a signal fire to summon a large number of personnel, but seeing that Xie Jinhuan had almost finished them all off, his eyes inevitably grew blank.

However, having the precedent from a few days ago, he was not entirely surprised; he turned and ordered:

"One who can control puppets is certainly no ordinary demon bandit; this may be related to the 'demonic qi of Mount Zihui.' You go summon people and thoroughly search the nearby ships."

"Yes."

The two attendants immediately ran down.

Xie Jinhuan, still anxious to take the government office personnel to see his fabricated evidence, interjected:

"The corpse pit is right on Jiguan Ridge; I will take My lord Liu there, lest these demon bandits return and erase all traces."

"Good..."

As the matter was of great importance, Liu Qingzhi dared not delay and quickly mustered his men...

(End of this chapter)