Chapter 84: Breaking Through the Door

Tossing down the rough paper, Li Yuan broke into a run, casually trying out the palm-control of the 'Six Harmonies Boots'—both boots together, "Treading on Flat Ground" and "Swift Stride" activated at once.

In an instant, Li Yuan felt as if he couldn't sense the earth's pull at all; a single step could now cover the distance of three steps before, the wind whistling past, and in the blink of an eye he vanished without a trace.

Before long, a clamor rose within the Lu residence. Fang Fang Yunxiu's movement technique was superb; with a few bounds, she had already reached the main gate.

She looked left and right but saw no one. Only when she turned back did she notice the rough paper pasted on the door.

"Incense Master: Han Han Chuijun has already been led away by Lu… …has now returned to the city. When shall we kill Fang?"

Rip!

Tearing down the rough paper, Fang Fang Yunxiu's brows knit:

"Signed: Cao Yan!"

……

"Beating around the bush is pointless. If I post it out in the open like this, even if Fang Fang Yunxiu thinks someone is framing me, she'll still have to go verify it, right?"

With Swift Stride activated, Li Yuan felt a tremendous rebound with every step beneath his feet—his speed was extreme, and the inner force consumed was minimal. Satisfied, he couldn't help but mutter to himself.

He didn't want to come face to face with Fang Fang Yunxiu, even with a different face.

Rather than explaining this and that, possibly even having to prove his own identity, it was better to just paste it on the door—believe it or not, up to you.

"With inner force erupting and these boots, my speed is quite a bit faster than Yu Zhen's and the Second Shopkeeper's. I wonder—can Cao Yan catch up?"

The Six Harmonies Boots and this human-skin mask are truly a perfect match!

Studying his own face in the mirror beneath the human-skin mask, Li Yuan felt all the more that he really needed to prepare several different palm-control weapon combinations.

Beyond training, fighting, and fleeing, it would be best to prepare a set for this face as well—one that is, preferably, completely different from 'Li Yuan.'

"The name Li Ba doesn't sound good. Li Yuan? Forget it, forget it—too easy for people to guess. Hmm, still Li Ba then, or maybe add a Yuan character?"

Touching the mask on his face, Li Yuan felt a bit of a thrill.

Wearing the mask wasn't just about concealing his original face; it seemed to also let him cut loose a little. Along the way, he had no idea how many wild thoughts had welled up in his heart.

"Hoo!"

Taking off the mask and washing his face, Li Yuan—who hadn't slept for a day and a night—was genuinely a bit weary. He yawned, lay down in his clothes:

"Lady Fang should make some move, right? After all, she's a disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley…"

……

Lady Fang moved quickly.

Early the next morning, Li Yuan had just opened the door of the forging room when he heard a tremendous crash from the gate of the Weapon-Forging Shop—dust billowing, the two solid wooden doors kicked open in one strike.

"Where is Cao Yan?"

The voice, surging with inner force, shattered the morning stillness.

"Who?!"

"Who is so bold as to break into my Weapon-Forging Shop?"

"Ah, L-Lady Fang?!"

The many disciples in the inner courtyard woke in a flurry. Captain Zhao, bare-chested, grabbed his spear and darted out, initially furious—but the moment he saw who had come, his rage was doused like cold water.

"Cao Yan, come out and face me!"

Fang Fang Yunxiu broke through the door and strode in, hand on her sword. Her cold, piercing gaze swept like a blade, and the apprentices and guards who came at the sound dared not take a single step closer.

'So overbearing!

Outside the forging room, Li Yuan couldn't help clicking his tongue.

He had guessed Fang Fang Yunxiu would make a move, but he hadn't expected this heroine to be so blunt and domineering—day had barely broken, and she was already at the Weapon-Forging Shop with sword in hand…

"L-Lady Fang, may I ask what this is…"

Captain Zhao gripped his spear tightly and braced himself to step forward, but before he could finish speaking, there was a 'clang'—and the long spear in his hand had already snapped into three pieces!

"Fang…"

Captain Zhao's face went ashen; he dared not take another step closer.

'Heavenly Cicada Sword Art?

Li Yuan, who had mingled into the crowd, had his eyes light up.

In the blink of an eye, Fang Fang Yunxiu

drew her sword, struck, and returned it to the scabbard—extremely fast, fluid as flowing clouds and water, and quite a sight to behold.

Swords do look better than hammers, huh!

Li Yuan was a little envious. He trained with the hammer not because he liked the hammer, but because the hammer was the only thing available to train with.

If possible, he'd rather don a Daoist robe, with a long sword strapped to his back…

"Cao Yan!"

Fang Fang Yunxiu called his name a third time. The long sword at her waist hummed and sang, her phoenix eyes brimming with killing intent, as if she would charge into the rear courtyard the very next moment.

The guards and apprentices, faces ashen and at a loss, had not known what to do when Cao Yan's voice finally rang out:

"I did not know of Lady Fang's arrival. Cao Mou has failed to greet you from afar—I beg your pardon…"

Apparently having come in haste, Cao Yan's outer robe wasn't even properly worn, and from afar he was already cupping his hands in a bow.

"Take him!"

Fang Fang Yunxiu's cold gaze swept once.

Only then did the crowd notice that two Lu residence retainers had followed behind her. At her command, the two pounced forward and pinned Cao Yan's arms behind his back.

"Lady Fang?"

Cao Yan did not struggle, but seemed quite shocked and angry: "May I ask the heroine, where has Cao Mou offended you?"

Cao Yan was truly shocked and angry.

Before returning to the city, he had considered Fang Fang Yunxiu's possible reactions, but he had never imagined that she would come knocking on his door the very next day—without a word, ready to take him down.

Not even a shred of evidence?!

"Take him away!"

Fang Fang Yunxiu gave no answer, only swept a cold glance across the rear courtyard, pressed her sword, and turned to leave.

"Behave!"

"Move!"

The two retainers did not hesitate in the slightest, hauling Cao Yan—who was twitching in the face, veins about to burst—outward as they went.

"Heroine Fang, may I ask which law of the land has Cao Mou broken?"

Cao Yan shook his body, flung off the two retainers, his face dark:

"And by what authority are you taking Cao Mou?!"

Hiss—!

A streak of cold light burst forth, sweeping across like a bolt of silk; the instant the sound of tearing air rang out, it had already slashed straight toward Cao Yan's neck.

"You—!"

Cao Yan recoiled in shock and fury, yet still took a sword strike to the chest. With a rip, his outer robe split open, the blade scraping across his inner armor and sending up a shower of sparks.

Hiss, hiss—

The sound of tearing air became a continuous sheet.

The surrounding guards and apprentices all retreated in horror, feeling only that the silver light flowed like quicksilver spilling across the ground, endless and unbroken, its speed swifter than a startled swan.

"This is superior swordsmanship!"

Li Yuan's eyes lit up.

He felt only that the sword art flowed with an indescribable roundness and smoothness, magnificent and beautiful, yet brimming with a fierce killing aura.

"Fang Fang Yunxiu!"

Cao Yan retreated again and again, finally unable to dodge in time. His outer robe was shredded to pieces, and despite his inner armor's protection, several wounds were carved into him, blood gushing wildly.

His reaction could not be called slow, yet he had not expected Fang Fang Yunxiu to strike with such ferocity. The tiger's roar within his body had only just begun when that long sword was already resting against his neck.

"In all matters of the Zhe Dragon Prefecture, anything involving my Divine Armament Valley, my Divine Armament Valley may judge for itself. This is the decree of the Grand Progenitor. Do you have any objection?"

Fang Fang Yunxiu's dress fluttered, her phoenix eyes brimming with killing intent:

"I suspect you took part in the ambush-murder of my Divine Armament Valley disciple Qiu Long. I mean to take you in for questioning. If you dare resist, I will cut you down on the spot, and even the Zhen Wutang will have nothing to say about it!"

"You—!"

Cao Yan's eyes bulged in fury, blood streaming down his neck, yet he dared not move again.

His chest churned with frustration until the whites of his eyes turned red.

If only his long saber were in his hand—how could he have fallen so swiftly!

"Bind him!"

Those two retainers had also been cowed by the swordsmanship, frozen in terror for a long while. Hearing the order, they came to themselves as if waking from a dream, pulled hempen rope from their waists, and bound the seething, furious Cao Yan up.

Too overbearing!

The guards and apprentices all around the martial practice ground were shocked and angry, yet who would dare approach.

"Does Divine Armament Valley bully people like this

?!"

Li Yuan had been savoring the beauty of that sword art when he heard the voice. He inwardly cried out that things were bad, strode forward three steps as one, and blocked the furious Zhang Ben.

"Let go of me, stop her!"

Zhang Ben was very angry. Unable to break free, he loudly berated the apprentices and guards around him.

His prestige was high; many inside and outside the forging hall were disciples he had personally taught. Hearing his rebuke, quite a few smiths instinctively moved to block the way.

That Captain Zhao gritted his teeth and led a number of guards forward as well.

Old Zhang, you're ruining things!

Releasing the furiously glaring Zhang Ben, Li Yuan sighed inwardly.

The Weapon Forging Shop had been passed down for several hundred years; the Cao family naturally had quite a few die-hard loyalists—Zhang Ben, for instance. Zhang Ben was born a vagrant; had the Cao family not taken him in, his whole family would have frozen to death on the streets decades ago.

There were quite a few people like that in the shop.

With this delay, I'm afraid the man simply can't be taken away.

Sure enough, with this delay, Cao Yan's family had also poured out from the inner courtyard, weeping and pleading, blocking Fang Fang Yunxiu's path.

The stewards of the inner and outer courtyards, the apprentices of the outer courtyard, also came swarming over. A hundred-odd people sealed off the surroundings watertight.

Fang Fang Yunxiu frowned slightly. Though her hand rested on the sword hilt, seeing the women and children kneeling before her, she could not bring herself to strike again.

She was not Han Han Chuijun…

"Heroine Fang."

Cao Yan suppressed his fury and spoke first:

"Cao Mou certainly had past grievances with Commander Qiu, but would never go so far as to ambush him! If you wish to question me, Cao Mou would not dare utter a single falsehood!"

……

"Heroine Fang is still too soft-hearted. If it were me, I'd just cut off his head—any problem would be solved!"

Within the crowd, Fang Fang Yunxiu had not yet retreated, but Li Yuan already knew the outcome.

No matter how much Divine Armament Valley ruled the skies of Zhe Dragon Prefecture, a single disciple would never dare to slaughter openly in broad daylight.

"This Heroine Fang acts decisively, but her hand isn't ruthless enough, and she doesn't seem to have much experience. Once the crowd swells, that killing intent of hers just dissipates."

Li Yuan felt a touch of regret inwardly, but was not greatly surprised.

If Fang Fang Yunxiu truly wanted to kill, she wouldn't have broken down the door in the first place. Since she never intended to kill, whether she took him away or not made no difference.

"Still, after this affair, Cao Yan should quiet down for a while. At least, this Heroine Fang can still keep him in check for now…"

If that Talent-Seeking Commissioner were here, would things be different?

……

Over the next few days, Fang Fang Yunxiu's rampage at the Weapon-Forging Shop became the talk of the town.

Many families inside and outside the city even banded together to go to the Lu Residence to demand answers. After days of uproar, Fang Fang Yunxiu finally flew into a rage and struck out, wounding quite a few people on the spot,

and several even died inside and outside the Lu Residence, causing an uproar. With the deliberate stirring of interested parties, the various family forces grew furious, and some family members even wore mourning clothes and wailed at the funeral.

It forced this heroine of the Divine Weapon Valley to not even dare step outside.

Gao Liu County was very lively.

But the Weapon-Forging Shop showed no reaction; everyone carried on with their duties, the forging rooms clanging away as if nothing had happened.

Li Yuan rarely settled his mind. Each day he took his pills and medicines, tempered his qi and blood, and nurtured his White Ape Strength. Before long, he had once again forged two superior-grade sharp blades in succession.

"A sword like autumn water, the Superior-grade among them!"

Zhang Ben's face brightened, his mood finally lifting:

"Counting from that inner armor of yours, you've forged eleven superior-grade sharp blades in a row, every single one a success. Your control of the fire no longer loses to this old man! Good, good, good! This old man recently took on a top-grade heavy hammer; you can try your hand at it!"

Zhang Ben was very satisfied, and felt Cao Yan would be very satisfied too.

"This disciple wishes to try forging a top-grade sharp blade on his own!"

Li Yuan understood the principle of striking while the iron is hot; he had been working day and night precisely for this moment.

"You?"

Zhang Ben frowned: "You're being too hasty."

"This disciple feels the timing has already arrived. If I can't do it now, I'm afraid it will be very hard to do so later."

Li Yuan did not dodge, meeting his gaze.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed. Lu Lu Yunqing still hadn't returned, and he could wait no longer.

"This disciple needs three taels of red gold, more than ten catties of dark iron, more than ten catties of jade-essence cold iron…"