Chapter 43: The Aftermath
Chapter 43: The Aftermath
Pfft!
Ding Hao was fast, but someone moved faster.
A dagger silently pierced Ding Hao’s throat, its tip jutting out from the back of his neck.
A fatal strike!
Black Shadow yanked the blade free and drifted like smoke to Li Yuanyuan’s side, tugging her clear of the danger.
“You… coward!”
Ding Hao clutched his bleeding throat, glaring at his attacker before collapsing. The summoned roc and gray tiger dissolved into dust, their remnants harmlessly passing through Jie Nian’s body.
“Master Luo San proves why shadows fear him. In killing, this monk cannot compare,” Jie Nian remarked, watching Luo San sheathe his weapon.
They’d arrived together. Though Ding Hao of Ask Immortal Pavilion had detected the monk, he’d missed Luo San’s presence—proof that “each skill has its master.”
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“Miss Li,” Luo San stated coldly, “the debt for the cultivation method is repaid. We’re even.” He vanished without another word, knowing the commotion would draw unwanted attention.
“So this is real Jianghu bloodshed?”
Li Yuanyuan’s hands trembled. She’d fantasized about heroism and immortality, but never imagined such brutality. Her past swordplay with guards now seemed childish pretend.
“We must go,” urged Jie Nian.
Nodding, she fled with him.
Long after they left, a head peeked from a neighboring yard.
“Safe!”
Zuo Meng would’ve recognized his frequent customer—Zhi Hua, the girl who’d canceled her engagement on his advice.
“Who knew Sister Li practiced cultivation? That monk’s no ordinary priest either!”
Zhi Hua had come to collect debts, not witness murder. She knew Li Yuanyuan from poetry gatherings—the governor’s daughter, though aloof, sometimes attended. When danger struck, Zhi Hua stayed hidden. Better cowardice than death for someone who’d never swatted a fly.
“Home. Now.”
She scurried through alleys, leaving the cooling corpse behind.
By dusk, Li Yuanyuan reached the governor’s compound with Jie Nian.
Inside official walls, she breathed easier. Few dared assault a magistrate’s residence, even Ask Immortal Pavilion.
“What now, Master?”
“They’ll return.” The monk frowned. “You’re their excuse to pressure Governor Li. Stay vigilant.”
Jie Nian felt outmatched. A mere martial monk from Cold Mountain Temple, he knew little of Immortal Cultivator clans and their schemes.
“You can send someone to find Mr. Luo San. He’s more experienced than this monk in handling such troubles.”
“Mr. Luo San is too aloof. He’s hard to track down.”
“Luo San belongs to the underground world. If you pay enough, he’ll definitely take the job.” Though Jie Nian hadn’t ventured out much, being born into a Jianghu sect meant he knew more about these matters than Li Yuanyuan.
“Fine!”
Li Yuanyuan clenched her teeth. The Ask Immortal Pavilion members clearly meant harm. Though they’d temporarily resolved one threat, more would come. Their survival depended on next steps.
At Qing Stone Alley, Zuo Meng’s silhouette drifted through several streets until reaching the battle site.
Ding Hao had altered this street with magic before his death. Ordinary people couldn’t enter until the spell faded – like encountering a ghost wall. Only those like Zhi Hua and Li Yuanyuan, who’d transcended being ordinary people, possessed the ‘ticket’ to enter.
“Who dares kill my brother?!”
A Scar-faced Man checked Ding Hao’s pulse and roared. Gray energy leaked from his body like suppressed power overflowing.
“I don’t care who you are! You’ll all pay with your lives!”
Smearing blood from Ding Hao’s wound, the man knelt and drew a strange talisman on bluestone.
“Brother, I borrow three days from your lifespan. After avenging you, I’ll lay you to rest properly.”
Green light flowed from the man’s body through the talisman into the corpse. Ding Hao’s neck wound healed unnaturally. The dead man’s eyes twitched before he coughed violently.
“I… died?” Ding Hao moved stiffly, realizing his cold body told the truth.
“Who killed you?”
“It was…”
Before finishing, Ding Hao shuddered. His wound reappeared as blood reversed flow, corpse collapsing again.
“Ancient era power? But dead should stay dead.”
“Who’s there?!”
The Scar-faced Man’s scalp prickled. Someone had approached undetected – had they meant to kill, he’d already be dead.
Zuo Meng emerged from shadows in green robes, expression tranquil.
Though motionless, Zuo Meng radiated extremely dangerous energy. The Scar-faced Man froze like prey before predator.
“Almost time to exit the stage.”
Zuo Meng’s cryptic words hung in the air.
“Enough tricks! DIE!”
The terrified man broke free, hurling ten talismans. They circled into a Formation unleashing strange power – his ultimate attack.
“Meaningless.”
Zuo Meng turned away without glancing back.
Both man and talismans froze mid-air. Only after Zuo Meng left did the Scar-faced Man tremble. Blood erupted from his body, painting the stones red.
“You… who…”
BANG!
The man died without understanding his death.