Late at night, during the hour of Zi, all was silent, with only a bright moon hanging high in the sky.
In the dark alley outside the East Market, where Liu the Rascal had been found dead the previous night.
A man wearing a cast-iron bamboo hat and a blue scholar-martial robe with silver armor stood leaning against the wall, his posture somewhat lazy.
His bamboo hat was pulled down extremely low, hiding his eyes from view.
But just looking at the lower half of his face gave off an inexplicable impression of cold-bloodedness.
Tap, tap, tap—
An almost imperceptible sound of footsteps echoed from outside the alley, followed by a voice: “Debt-Lending Bladesman, I have long heard of your great name. It is a pleasure to meet you for the first time.”
“Meeting a rat from the sewers doesn't exactly make me feel pleased,” Zhuang Xun said, nudging his bamboo hat up with a knuckle to reveal a single eye as calm as stagnant water, though a discordant, careless smile played on his lips.
He looked at the red-robed emissary at the entrance of the alley and asked, “Speak. What do you want with me?”
A flash of anger crossed the red-robed emissary's face. He said coldly, “Our Blood Son wishes to see you. Put on this blindfold and come with me.”
Swoosh!
Just as he pulled a red blindfold from his breast pocket, a grappling hook shot in front of him, piercing through and tearing off the two fingers holding the blindfold.
Caught completely off guard, the red-robed emissary let out a muffled cry of pain and hastily retreated a few steps.
He clutched his right hand, which was now missing two fingers. His hands were covered in blood, and fresh blood dripped onto the ground.
He stared at the Debt-Lending Bladesman, who was reeling back his grappling hook, as if facing a formidable enemy.
“What do you think you're doing?!”
Ignoring him, Zhuang Xun wrapped the grappling hook back under his wide right sleeve and said in a low, raspy voice:
“You made me feel unsafe. This is your punishment.”
He calmly walked past the cold-sweat-drenched red-robed emissary.
“Lead the way.”
Shortly after, led by the red-robed emissary, Zhuang Xun made several twists and turns through Zechuan City before jumping down a dry well in an abandoned residence.
After winding through underground tunnels, he saw a long section of a giant blood leech's body buried in the dirt.
This blood leech was at least three meters tall. Since only a section of its body was exposed, its full length and width were unclear.
Looking at the exposed section of the body still squirming slightly, Zhuang Xun felt a wave of disgust rise in his chest.
Just as Zhuang Xun was wondering why the emissary had brought him here, the still-pale red-robed emissary walked past him and placed his hand on the exposed torso.
With a violent squirming motion, the emissary's body rapidly sank inward, swallowed up by the flesh folding over from both sides.
Zhuang Xun watched, dumbfounded.
Holy crap, so this worm's body is the headquarters of the Shengxue Cult. No wonder I could never find it. Should I go in? Or now that I know where their headquarters is, should I just leave and send people to wipe them out later...
After Yi Wangyou followed Yi Xiaoxiang to the Sword Sanctuary of the World, Zhuang Xun no longer had any intention of joining the Shengxue Cult.
That had been a cautious backup plan when he had no guarantees. Now that he had a stable source for an Innate Law through the Sword Sanctuary of the World, he naturally wanted to pursue speed.
And what could be faster than just charging in and taking it by force?
After pondering for a moment, Zhuang Xun decided to go in first to scout things out. Mimicking the red-robed emissary, he placed his hand on the blood-red torso in front of him.
The torso then began to squirm violently, and his hand sank into it as if sinking into a swamp.
It didn't hurt, but the force was immense, making it very difficult to pull out.
Soon, his head was also submerged. He instinctively closed his eyes, finding it a bit difficult to breathe.
After a bizarre sensation, he entered the inside of the blood leech. Everything in sight was a bloody red, and the ground felt somewhat squishy beneath his feet.
At the same time, a crowd of people surrounded him.
So he rushed off just to gather a crowd to capture me. If I hadn't come in just now, wouldn't you guys have been left hanging... Zhuang Xun ignored them and casually sized up his surroundings.
Among the crowd surrounding him, the leader was a handsome but shriveled man dressed in a solemn red sacrificial robe.
He looked calmly at the Debt-Lending Bladesman and spoke: “Debt-Lending Bladesman...”
“Shh—” Zhuang Xun withdrew his gaze, placing a finger to his lips to signal the speaker to be quiet. Then, with a completely cold smile, he said:
“No rush. Before that, I want to know... who impersonated me?”
From the outer circle of Shengxue Cultists, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
“We resorted to such a clumsy tactic just to arrange a meeting with Your Excellency. I hope Your Excellency Debt-Lending Bladesman can forgive us.”
“Hehehe, it's fine. I don't hold grudges against dead men.”
Before his voice even faded, Zhuang Xun raised his right arm. The grappling hook hidden beneath his wide sleeve shot out, piercing the man's throat before spinning a few times to wrap tightly around his neck.
With a slight tug, Zhuang Xun pulled the man over and effortlessly ripped off his head, his blood-soaked right hand hanging loosely.
Clang—!
Amidst the unsheathing of countless weapons, he watched the blood drip from his fingertips onto the ground as if no one else were there. Then, he lowered his hand, looked at the handsome leader, and chuckled in a raspy voice:
“Alright. You may continue.”
The Blood Son narrowed his eyes slightly and raised his hand to stop the cultists who were about to attack. He said slowly:
“The Blood Ancestor is merciful and is willing to forgive your insolence. But there will not be a second time.”
“Ha, then I truly must thank the Blood Ancestor for his mercy.” Zhuang Xun laughed hoarsely, tapping his chest randomly a few times before clasping his palms together and bowing. His movements were utterly casual, showing not a shred of respect.
This Blood Son is such a pushover.
He had originally planned to let the Debt-Lending Bladesman die here to lower the Shengxue Cult's guard, making them think their headquarters' location hadn't been compromised. Then, in a few days, he would control Bai Yujing to lead the Wanxing Martial Academy here to seize the Innate Law by force.
But this wasn't bad either; he could play along and toy with them a bit longer.
“Speak. What do you want with me?”
The recent unpleasantness left the Blood Son with no desire for pleasantries. He went straight to the point: “Your martial arts are decent. Kill someone for me.”
“Who?”
“The Chief Disciple of the Wanxing Martial Academy, Bai Yujing.”
Asking me to kill myself? This guy is practically my dearest, closest friend! It wouldn't be too much to ask for more money, right... Zhuang Xun made an exorbitant demand:
“I want an Innate Law.”
“Impossible,” the Blood Son replied flatly. “I see no signs of a martial physique on you. You must be cultivating low-tier martial arts. Once the deed is done, I can give you our Shengxue Cult's high-tier martial art, the Chiyang Technique.”
Zhuang Xun sneered. “That kind of thing? I could easily torture it out of any random Shengxue Cultists I capture.”
With that, he looked at the cultists standing beside the Blood Son, tilting his head as he asked:
“Hey, do you guys know the Chiyang Technique?”
“Presumptuous!” the Right Protector shouted, unable to hold back as he slammed his staff onto the ground.
Hearing this, Zhuang Xun slowly turned his head, smiling at the old man whose skin was as dry as tree bark.
“Do you know it?”
In an instant, the Right Protector raised his right hand.
But just as he was about to strike, the Blood Son beside him stopped him.
The Blood Son said coldly, “I see your martial arts are at the Third Rank. Once the job is done, I can help you break through to the Second Rank. If you want an Innate Law, you must make greater contributions to the Blood Ancestor in the future.”
“Ah, sounds good. Then help me break through to the Second Rank.”
“Kill Bai Yujing, and I will naturally help you.”
“I always get paid before doing the job.”
“Then we will have to see if you have that kind of value...” Just as the Blood Son finished speaking, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the Debt-Lending Bladesman standing behind him, having looped the chain of his grappling hook around his neck.
“Well? Does Lord Blood Son think I have that value?” Zhuang Xun crossed his arms, gently tightening the chain.
Shua—!
A massive clamor of weapons being drawn echoed all around them.
The Right Protector standing nearby was even more horrified, shouting, “Bastard! Release the Blood Son!”
Feeling the chain slowly wrapping around his neck like a cold snake, the Blood Son fell silent for a moment before saying:
“Hope you won't disappoint me.”
Hearing this, Zhuang Xun released the grappling hook, a brilliant smile spreading across his face, though the nearby cultists felt a chill run down their spines just looking at him.
“Hehehe, don't worry. As long as the money is right, I can even pluck the head of the City Lord for you.”
“Come with me.” The Blood Son ignored his boast and walked ahead to lead the way.
Zhuang Xun followed behind him, casually putting an arm around the shoulder of a nearby cultist. “Hey, brother, what's the deal with you guys? Living inside a bug's body?”
The cultist tensed up, remaining silent.
Zhuang Xun stared at him for a moment, then patted his shoulder heavily. “You're lucky. I'll pretend you're a mute today.”
After that, he stopped his antics and followed the Blood Son to a pool of blood.
The blood in the pool was still bubbling and boiling.
The Blood Son introduced, “This is our Sacred Cult's Primordial Blood Pool. It can adapt to anyone's body. Once the Primordial Blood in the pool is absorbed into your body, it can be directly converted into blood qi with no side effects. Go in. You have three days. Whether you can break through to the Second Rank depends on your own ability.”
Ugh, soaking in blood? I wonder how many people have bathed in this... Zhuang Xun felt a bit disgusted.
He looked up and asked, “With such a good thing, how is it that your Shengxue Cult only has three First Rank martial artists... One, two, ah~ it seems there are only two left now.”
The Blood Son frowned. “That is not a question you should be asking!”
“Oh? Did I strike a sore spot? Hehehe, fine,” Zhuang Xun laughed in a low voice. “But if I can't reach the Second Rank, I won't be coming out. Remember to top up the blood.”
“...”
He stared at the crowd of motionless Shengxue Cultists for a few breaths, then raised an eyebrow. “Aren't you guys going to leave? You're making me feel quite self-conscious.”
The Blood Son said expressionlessly, “The Primordial Blood Pool is highly precious.”
“Nice excuse. Consider yourselves lucky then. Take care of my hat for me.”
Zhuang Xun took off his bamboo hat and placed it on the Blood Son's head.
He had no habit of stripping in public, so he jumped directly into the blood pool.
Splash!
Like a massive boulder crashing into a calm lake, a large amount of blood splashed up, drenching the Shengxue Cultists standing by the edge.
Many of them clenched their fists in secret.
Wiping the blood from his face, the Right Protector, who was standing closest, said with a dark expression:
“Blood Son, this man is too arrogant and has shown you such disrespect. Why don't we just kill him and find someone else?”
“Right Protector, as long as we can revive the Blood Ancestor, I can tolerate a little offense.” The Blood Son quietly watched the Debt-Lending Bladesman in the blood pool without moving. The bamboo hat remained crookedly on his head as blood dripped down his wet hair and face.
Rate on N.U.
