Chapter 413

Yu Baihu, you're in your prime—how could your eyes be dim and blurred?

Wei Yuan gave a brief compliment, glanced at the suffering Tang Anzhi, his face and eyes full of astonishment, suppressing his inner fear, his voice trembling, he exclaimed in doubt:

"Yu Baihu, you say, this mysterious person who attacked Imperial Attendant Tang—is he human or ghost? How could he possibly be this powerful?"

This mere lowly art—Ghost Wall—has been cultivated by him to such a degree; now he can even deploy the Small Five Elements Sword Formation, and within your Silkworm Sword Formation at that—could he be that reclusive grandmaster of formations?

Wei County Magistrate, don't ask me—I've been in the Demon Suppression Office for so long, yet I've never heard of someone like him!

Yu Die spoke with a complex expression.

"Not……"

Wei Yuan's face showed even greater shock; the Demon Suppression Office may not be the foremost power in Daxia, but it's certainly among the top, directly under the imperial court, its intelligence network possibly broader than any other faction's.

No matter how mysterious the person, if he didn't just crawl out of a stone crack, there will be traces.

Yu Die would surely have heard at least a whisper about him.

"Not good!"

Before Wei Yuan could finish speaking, Dai Zhishang suddenly cried out in alarm, panicking: "Yu Baihu, Imperial Attendant Tang is likely dying—can you save him?"

"Is Imperial Attendant Tang going to die?"

In the depths of Wei Yuan's eyes, a flash of pride flickered and vanished; he quickly looked up, only to see that after the great cauldron atop Tang Anzhi's head was shattered again, the powerful battle aftermath directly blasted Tang Anzhi away.

Tang Anzhi, mid-air, spat out a mouthful of blood, crashed heavily to the ground, spat another mouthful, tried to rise but hadn't even stood before collapsing again.

Obviously he was severely injured, lacking even the strength to get up.

At this moment.

Originally, the azure dragons baring fangs and claws, attacking Tang Anzhi from all directions, ceased their assault and instead coalesced into a single, larger, multicolored azure dragon.

It seemed to be gathering momentum, aiming to deliver a fatal blow to Tang Anzhi.

Wei Yuan hurriedly said: "That mysterious person is likely about to execute Imperial Attendant Tang; Yu Baihu, if you can, save him if you can."

If you can't, don't force yourself; above all, don't ruin yourself trying to save Imperial Attendant Tang—I think he wouldn't want you to come to harm either.

What is Tang Anzhi, that he wouldn't know? In the face of life-and-death danger, let alone Yu Die sacrificing her own life to save him, even if it cost him his parents' or even his descendants' lives, as long as he could survive.

He believed Tang Anzhi would certainly do that.

How could he possibly be unwilling to let Yu Die risk her life to save him?

He said that because he didn't want Yu Die to risk her life to save Tang Anzhi—even if there were no danger, he wouldn't want her to go save him.

Just.

Out of concern for his reputation, Tang Anzhi is at least a retainer of his household; he'll still need to hire other retainers and hopes those hired retainers will protect his life.

Even if he hated Tang Anzhi and wanted him dead, he dare not show it, lest it affect his reputation and cause the hired retainers to have second thoughts.

"I have no ability to save Imperial Attendant Tang!"

Yu Die shook her head, her face full of self-mockery, and said: "Actually, Imperial Attendant Tang should have died long ago!"

She wasn't indifferent to his death or wishing him dead; although Tang Anzhi's deeds—killing the innocent to claim merit—had made her very dissatisfied, if possible she would still want to save him, for Tang Anzhi was the former Immortal Official of Qingyang County, having served as such for many years; even if he had no merit, he at least had toil.

Given Tang Anzhi's recent conduct, he might have done some bad things in office, but they were likely minor faults, not heinous crimes that provoke heaven and resentment.

Otherwise the court could not have allowed him to retire peacefully and enjoy the benefits of a retired Immortal Official.

"Yu Baihu, what do you mean by that? What do you mean, Imperial Attendant Tang has long been dead?"

Wei Yuan started, although he wished Tang Anzhi would die soon, he never expected Yu Die to say such a thing, fearing she was blurting out her inner thoughts; he hurriedly spoke up to defend her:

"Yu Baihu, you mean we've all been hit by the Ghost Wall technique, seeing only illusions, while the real Imperial Attendant Tang has already been slain by that mysterious person?"

"Wei County Magistrate, I think you've misunderstood Yu Baihu's meaning!"

Yu Die looked strangely at Wei Yuan, never expecting him to say such things; just as she was about to explain, Dai Zhishang rushed to explain:

"Yu Baihu's true meaning is that the mysterious person, from the start, if he wanted to kill Imperial Attendant Tang, could have done so long ago!"

Wei Yuan retorted: "Impossible; if that were the case, why hasn't Imperial Attendant Tang died yet?"

"'Die? Perhaps in that mysterious person's eyes, letting Imperial Attendant Tang die so easily would be a mercy to him!'"

You have reached this point in the novel.

Dai Zhishang lifted his gaze to the distance, seeing Tang Anzhi still struggling, not yet resigned to death.

Just a glance made him tremble uncontrollably, not from fear of Tang Anzhi's ferocity, but from seeing his wounds—Tang Anzhi's body was covered in sword injuries, hardly resembling a person.

Dai Zhishang said full of sympathy:

"\"So the mysterious person's intent from the start was to torture and kill Imperial Attendant Tang; otherwise, how could he have kept him alive until now! \""

"\"Torture-kill? \""

Wei Yuan gasped, wanting to refute, but catching a glimpse of Tang Anzhi's miserable state, it truly resembled a slaughter scene he had once witnessed; he couldn't help swallowing, his voice trembling, he spoke in panic:

"\"Yu Baihu, once Imperial Attendant Tang loses his life, only you remain as a cultivator here; you must protect me—cough, cough—and also all the innocent civilians around; you must absolutely safeguard their lives, and never let this mysterious person wantonly slaughter, causing blood to flow like rivers around. \""

"\"I'll do my best! \""

Yu Die spoke with a solemn expression.

"\"Doing my best? \""

Wei Yuan jumped, never expecting such an answer from Yu Die's mouth.

But upon reflection, considering the mysterious person's displayed abilities—even Tang Anzhi, before him, was left to be tortured at will—Yu Die saying "I'll do my best" already shows considerable skill; her eyes shifted.

Wei Yuan hurriedly said:

"\"Yu Baihu, why don't we first leave this place? After I return to the county seat, I'll summon reinforcements to have them avenge Imperial Attendant Tang. \""

"\"Reinforcements? \""

In the depths of Yu Die's eyes, a flash of mockery flickered and vanished; she said: "Wei County Magistrate, you're not a cultivator, your speed isn't comparable to mine—why don't you stay here to delay that mysterious person while I go fetch reinforcements?"

(End of chapter)