Chapter 193: Soul‑Snaring Envoy

On the muddy official road, a plain carriage moved slowly.

The wheels crushed the melt‑snow mud, leaving deep ruts. The driver Zheng Xuan turned back and said softly, "Your Highness, the county of Chongyun lies ahead."

From inside the carriage, Li Jiancheng replied calmly, "Hmm, speed up a bit, today........."

Before the words finished, the roadside forest suddenly sounded with snow falling.

More than ten hulking men burst out from both sides; the leader was a broad‑shouldered, stout man who thrust his massive Long Sword into the mud with a "clang" and roared, "Stop!"

Zheng Xuan furrowed his brow and tightened the reins.

The horse stamped anxiously, splashing a few mud droplets.

"Who are you?" Zheng Xuan asked, frowning, in a cold voice.

The stout man slapped his chest, shaking his leather coat, and shouted, "Listen up! I, your grandfather, never change my name or surname; I am the Black Whirlwind Song Jiang!"

"If you're sensible, leave the money, otherwise......" he sneered, patting the sword hilt.

"Beware, I show no mercy under my blade!"

Zheng Xuan turned back and whispered, "Your Highness, to die or to live?"

The carriage curtain fluttered slightly, and Li Jiancheng said indifferently, "Ask who sent you, no mercy."

"Yes." Zheng Xuan replied and leapt from the carriage.

As he slowly drew the Long Sword at his waist, his aura changed abruptly.

His previously plain, even slightly simple face now resembled a layer of frost, and the sharp glint in his eyes made the surrounding constables step back half a pace.

Song Jiang clenched his teeth silently, "Looks like a trained fighter......"

But he immediately shouted to embolden himself, "Some skill! Yet you're alone, we're a dozen plus; numbers favor us!"

"You guys, forward!"

He charged forward at once, while the constables scattered.

"Good!"

Several constables immediately threw rope nets, trying to bind Zheng Xuan's movement.

A flash of cold light— the rope net, still midair, shattered into fragments that rained down!

Song Jiang's forward charge stalled abruptly, his Long Sword frozen in midair, leaving him unsure whether to press on or turn and flee.

In that instant, Zheng Xuan's Long Sword quivered lightly, countless Blade Auras swirled like silver serpents, and flesh flew everywhere in an instant!

When Zheng Xuan sheathed his sword, all the bandits except Song Jiang had become a heap of broken limbs.

Fresh blood stained the muddy road red.

Zheng Xuan walked slowly toward the stunned Song Jiang, the blood droplets from his blade blooming on the ground like red plum blossoms.

"Who sent you?"

Splash.

Song Jiang's Long Sword and his knee hit the ground together, his body collapsing in the blood pool, repeatedly kowtowing, "Spare me, brave man! I'm only begging for a morsel of food, just a morsel! Spare me, brave man!"

"My family still has mother and father, and an eight‑year‑old child waiting to be fed. Spare me this once, brave man, and I will...... ah!!"

A harrowing scream tore the sky.

Zheng Xuan, expressionless, crushed Song Jiang's right arm; the sound of bones shattering made teeth ache.

"Still not telling the truth?" Zheng Xuan's voice remained calm.

Song Jiang sweated profusely, beads of sweat the size of beans rolling down his cheeks, mixing with blood to stain his collar, "Brave man, brave man, I truly am only begging for a morsel, not sent by anyone! I swear a poisonous oath, I will......"

Before the words finished, a flash of cold light.

A head hit the ground, rolling into the mud.

Zheng Xuan's Long Sword remained as bright as snow, unstained by blood.

He turned and walked back to the carriage, bowed and reported, "Your Highness, they were just ordinary bandits."

Inside the carriage, Li Jiancheng replied indifferently, "Hmm."

The soft rustle of turning pages sounded, "Counting this time, it's already the fourth encounter with such scum...... the anti‑bandit campaign is imminent."

"Continue onward."

Zheng Xuan nodded, "Yes."

The whip cracked lightly, the steed neighed, pulling the carriage onward. The muddy ruts slowly rolled over the blood pool, gradually disappearing at the road's end.

Only broken limbs and fragments remained on the ground, slowly solidifying in the snow.

In the end, it's unclear which beast got the bargain.

Evening approached.

Zhongjia Village was shrouded in tranquility.

Cooking smoke curled upward, blending with dusk; the air carried the scent of meals, children chased each other before the doors, and adults busied themselves gathering tools, preparing to end the day's work.

Suddenly, a mournful wail shattered the peace.

"Father—!"

The cry made Zhong Kui's page‑turning pause; he looked up toward the window, his gaze landing on a low wooden house nearby, and whispered softly:

"Grandpa Li has gone......"

He set the book down, rose, and hurried out the door.

Zhong Xiao Mei followed closely, asking in a low voice:

"Brother, who left......"

Zhong Kui nodded, "It's Grandpa Li. You stay here; I'll go see what's happening."

He said so and walked toward the house from which the wail came.

Yu Lin did not follow; his gaze fell on the other side of the village—a dark area completely cloaked in night.

A figure slowly emerged from the darkness.

It was a Soul Reaper wearing a black robe, his face as pale as paper, his eyes empty, No Light, deep as a cold pool.

He held an ebony staff in his left hand, with several strings of ancient copper bells hanging from its top, which tinkled faintly as he moved; his right hand gripped a chain.

The hem of his robe moved on its own, as if countless shadows flowed within it.

The Soul Reaper's steps were soundless, and all vegetation bowed in his path.

Perhaps sensing Yu Lin's gaze, he stopped, turned, bowed to Yu Lin, then continued onward.

Yu Lin also remained still, merely watching as he approached the vicinity of that building.

The Soul Reaper did not enter.

Because Zhong Kui stood before the door, he merely paused to observe.

Only after Zhong Kui entered the house and emerged with several people carrying a coffin did he go inside.

Shortly afterward, he came out.

The copper bells on the ebony staff in his left hand emitted faint glimmers, while the chain in his right hand pulled an old man forward.

The old man looked at his descendants, at the home he had lived in for years; instinctively he did not want to leave with the Soul Reaper, but he had no way to break free.

He could only be led forward by the Soul Reaper.

After finally coming to terms, he sighed deeply, then willingly followed the Soul Reaper away; upon reaching that shadowy place, he glanced back once at the Human World before vanishing within it.

However, they did not see it at the moment they departed.

Zhong Kui, who had been leading the coffin bearers ahead, glanced back.

Of course.

Yu Lin saw it.