Tang Lici's gaze shifted, glancing at Fang Pingzhai on his left and Qingxuzi on his right. If he could discreetly eliminate these two, seize Liu Yan, and hide him away again, perhaps the crisis at Good Cloud Mountain could be averted. The thought crossed his mind, and with it, killing intent arose. With a flick of his sleeve, his murderous aura locked onto Qingxuzi.
Fang Pingzhai laughed heartily, "As expected—Young Master Tang is quite confident. From the Hall of Sharp Virtue to here, even the swiftest would take but a moment. Are you truly willing to take such a risk and resort to murder?"
Tang Lici smiled faintly, "You'll know whether it's a risk or not after I kill you..." Before he could finish, he suddenly lunged at Qingxuzi. Qingxuzi had long been on high alert and responded with a light, illusory finger strike aimed at Tang Lici's brow. The last time Tang Lici had wanted to "speak a word" to him, Qingxuzi had nearly died from severe injuries, leaving him deeply resentful and venomous.
This finger technique, called "Silken Thread," was not an orthodox Wudang skill but a unique method personally taught by Yu Konghou specifically to counter Tang Lici's Great Art of Power Transfer.
Tang Lici's Great Art of Power Transfer was overwhelmingly powerful, but it ultimately originated from the excessively fierce Inner Energy of the Rebirth Scroll. Yu Konghou, understanding this deeply, had devised a specialized finger technique—its force as fine as a strand of silk. If it struck someone with a solid foundation cultivated from childhood, the force would dissipate harmlessly. But if it struck someone with flaws in their foundation—or someone like Tang Lici, whose power was externally acquired—the force would seep into their meridians, disrupting the flow of their True Power.
This technique was extremely difficult to master. Only someone with Qingxuzi's profound foundation, a true master of the Daoist arts, could condense their True Power into such a fine thread—even Yu Konghou himself could not achieve it.
As the Silken Thread strike shot forth, Tang Lici charged forward without hesitation, directly confronting the attack. Qingxuzi was stunned but pressed on, exerting all his strength into the finger strike before following up with a double-palm strike aimed at Tang Lici's chest.
A faint smile played on Tang Lici's lips. As the finger force neared his forehead, he abruptly raised his wrist to block. A soft clink sounded as the strike hit something and dissipated weakly. Tang Lici countered Qingxuzi's double palms with a single strike— crack! —and Qingxuzi spat a mouthful of blood that sprayed high into the air as he staggered back.
"You—!" Qingxuzi gasped.
Tang Lici, having injured his opponent with a single palm, smiled slightly. "Me what?" He leaned in again, striking once more at Qingxuzi's chest. Qingxuzi's face paled—if he retreated now, Tang Lici's strike would land on the carriage, intending to break it and seize his target!
In Qingxuzi's moment of hesitation, Fang Pingzhai silently sent a flying blade toward Tang Lici. With a flick of his finger, Tang Lici deflected it, but the white blade reversed course midair. Though repelled by his force, it still grazed his fingertip, drawing a thin line of blood.
Seeing this, Qingxuzi's confidence surged. With a roar, he drew his sword and lunged at Tang Lici. Tang Lici smiled at Fang Pingzhai, his bloodied fingertip aiming for the man's left eye as he murmured softly, "Aren't you currently a captive of Wudang's esteemed elder? Standing up to fight me will only expose your weaknesses..."
Fang Pingzhai retreated swiftly in the Seven Stars Formation, stepping back seven paces before darting into the carriage. "Hold on, Qingxuzi! Reinforcements are coming!"Just as Fang Pingzhai darted into the carriage, two figures emerged from the woods—one clad in peach-colored robes, the other in plain black garments and cloth shoes. They were Yu Konghou and Wenxiu Shitai. Tang Lici's thoughts raced. Due to Fang Pingzhai's interference with a flying dagger, he hadn't been able to kill Qingxuzi within two moves. But—he intensified the force in his palm and struck toward Qingxuzi's chest. Seeing the newcomers, Qingxuzi shouted loudly, "Wenxiu Shitai—"
Wenxiu Shitai was quite surprised to see Qingxuzi. "Qingxuzi?" She had been acquainted with him in her youth, and though decades had passed, she recognized him instantly. Qingxuzi raised both palms, mustering all his strength to block Tang Lici's strike, and spoke urgently, "I was escorting the Dissolute Shop's spy Fang Pingzhai and the villain Liu Yan up the mountain. Tang Lici wants to—" Before he could finish, Tang Lici's single palm clashed against his two. With a "wah," Qingxuzi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, the fine mist of crimson splattering across Tang Lici's pale cheeks. "...killing...witnesses..."
"Young Master Tang, you—" Before Wenxiu Shitai could grasp what was happening, she witnessed Tang Lici striking Qingxuzi to death. Horrified, she drew her sword. "You killed Wudang's Qingxuzi!"
Qingxuzi collapsed lifelessly to the ground. Tang Lici, half-drenched in blood, turned around. The crowd from Good Cloud Mountain in the woods had already gathered upon hearing the commotion, their expressions aghast as they saw Qingxuzi fall, staring in shock at Tang Lici, the murderer.
"Qingxuzi was escorting the villain Liu Yan up the mountain. Why did you stop him?" Wenxiu Shitai demanded sharply. "Qingxuzi was a revered figure of Wudang, a generation above even the sect leader. No matter his faults, how could you kill him?" Tang Lici's cold gaze shifted to Yu Konghou, whose face was full of feigned surprise, though the corners of his eyes curled with amusement. "Young Master Tang, is Liu Yan in the carriage? Why did you obstruct Qingxuzi from escorting him up the mountain? Why did you kill a Wudang elder?"
Tang Lici offered no reply. His bloodstained white sleeve fluttered lightly as he stood there, calmly observing the crowd before him. These hundreds of people were the result of his painstaking efforts, once revering him like a deity. But...how easily suspicion and fear in human nature could be stirred. To steadfastly trust someone was far too difficult. For a fleeting moment, he even felt no resentment toward them...
"Is Liu Yan truly in the carriage?" Wenxiu Shitai pressed sharply. Tang Lici remained silent, his expression indifferent. Several Emei disciples promptly pulled open the carriage curtain, revealing the two figures inside. The disciples gasped in shock. "Master, it really is the villain Liu Yan!" Wenxiu Shitai felt her limbs turn cold as a dreadful suspicion rose in her mind. She couldn't help but point at Tang Lici. "You...you were trying to rescue Liu Yan from Qingxuzi's grasp..."
The crowd erupted in uproar at her words. Tang Lici neither confirmed nor denied it, his gaze still fixed calmly on Yu Konghou, whose barely concealed amusement had now blossomed into open delight. Wenxiu Shitai ordered, "Unseal Liu Yan's acupoints! Bind the other person tightly with ropes and take him away for questioning!" Yu Konghou stepped forward and released Liu Yan's acupoints. Liu Yan glared at him furiously and, once freed, spat coldly, "You freak—you'll suffer endless torment in the future and die a gruesome death!" Yu Konghou presented him to Wenxiu Shitai with exaggerated deference. "Please proceed with your questioning, Shitai."Wenxiu Shitai raised her hand and slapped Liu Yan across the face with a sharp "Smack!" "Vile lecher!" Liu Yan glared back furiously, "You senile old hag..." Never in her life since gaining awareness had Wenxiu Shitai been insulted like this. For a moment, she was stunned. Her two disciples beside her immediately struck Liu Yan with slaps on both cheeks, shouting in unison, "How dare you!" Liu Yan lifted his chin defiantly, "This is clearly a trap set by the Dissolute Shop to frame Tang Lici. After all his efforts for you, none of you trust him in the end..." Wenxiu Shitai sneered, "Indeed! Coming from your mouth, this old nun believes it even less! What is your relationship with him? Why do you speak up for him when we don't trust him? You are Liu Yan of the Dissolute Shop, while he is the hero who repeatedly ambushed you and dragged you down from your position as its leader. Captured by Qingxuzi, yet he sneaks in to rescue you—when we distrust him, you defend him. What a remarkable friendship!"
Liu Yan was taken aback. Tang Lici sighed, his eyes faintly smiling—this man had always been simple-minded, always foolish. Just as expected...
Rendered speechless by Wenxiu Shitai, Liu Yan could only stare. She then turned to Tang Lici, "Young Master Tang, you must give us a reasonable explanation for this matter. Otherwise, the thousands gathered on Good Cloud Mountain may not accept your authority." Tang Lici stood with his hands behind his back, utterly unperturbed, even maintaining his faint smile, his demeanor as elegant as ever. "What if I don't wish to explain?" Wenxiu Shitai was stunned. Cheng Yunpao remained silent. Yu Furen and Meng Qinglei had witnessed Tang Lici kill with their own eyes. Though Yu Furen had once fought Qingxuzi, the latter had been veiled in black at the time, so he hadn't recognized the masked figure as Qingxuzi. Now, he too was dumbfounded.
Tang Lici's smiling remark—"What if I don't wish to explain?"—left the entire hall in silence. Everyone stared at him in shock. Yu Konghou spoke softly, "Young Master Tang, are you joking?" Tang Lici ignored him, his gaze sweeping from Wenxiu Shitai's face to Zhang Hemo's, then to Qi Xing, Zheng Yue, Yu Furen, Meng Qinglei, Cheng Yunpao, Dong Hubi, and the others. After a long pause where everyone waited for him to speak, he merely chuckled lightly, bent down to pull his sword from Qingxuzi's corpse, and stood facing the crowd, weapon in hand.
What—what did this mean? Yu Furen and Meng Qinglei grew even more alarmed, unable to hold back their urge to question him. Cheng Yunpao grabbed them both and whispered, "Silence." Wenxiu Shitai, seeing him draw his sword, was incensed. "You—what is the meaning of this?" Tang Lici flicked the blade, casually twirling it in a flourish as if testing its flexibility and resilience. "For now... I have no particular meaning."
"Master!"
"Teacher!"
The two Emei disciples who had carried away the bound Fang Pingzhai rushed back, their faces pale. "We found this hidden weapon on him—it's a Grandeur Blade." Wenxiu Shitai took the short, snow-white throwing dagger and examined it briefly, immediately recognizing it as the signature hidden weapon of Layered Petal Grandeur. She sneered, "That man is none other than the sixth of the Seven Cloud Traveling Guests, Layered Petal Grandeur, who vanished from the martial world years ago. Since Raging Orchid No Trace and Plum Blossom Numerology are both underlings of the Dissolute Shop, I doubt Layered Petal Grandeur is any different. No wonder Qingxuzi brought him up the mountain along with Liu Yan.""Wenxiu Shitai, isn't this the very man who caused trouble at the Shaolin Temple's Abbot Assembly?" someone in the crowd remarked. "He said his name was Fang Pingzhai. At that time, Gui Mudan of the Dissolute Shop appeared at Shaolin Temple and personally called him 'Sixth Brother.'" Wenxiu Shitai's sneer deepened. "That makes it even clearer. Fang Pingzhai is rumored to be Liu Yan's disciple and the sixth of the Seven Cloud Traveling Guests. He is absolutely no good. Qingxuzi capturing him was a righteous act indeed."
Whispers spread through the crowd in the woods, their gazes lingering on Qingxuzi's corpse on the ground, occasionally darting to Tang Lici with looks full of fear. Tang Lici, however, only stared at Liu Yan, who had been thrown before Wenxiu Shitai. Suddenly, his expression shifted. Yu Konghou shouted, "Be careful—he's going to snatch him!" Before the words even finished, Tang Lici had already grabbed Liu Yan and retreated gracefully, stopping just three feet away. Strangely, he made no attempt to flee further. After placing Liu Yan behind him, he stood there calmly, as if nothing had happened.
Tang Lici's bizarre behavior piqued Zhang Hemo's curiosity. He stepped forward and dragged Qingxuzi's corpse over, immediately examining it to confirm whether the fatal blow truly came from Tang Lici's palm. Though he held Tang Lici in high regard, he was also deeply suspicious. He had hoped Qingxuzi's death might have another cause, unrelated to Tang Lici. But upon inspection, his hopes were dashed—Qingxuzi had indeed been killed by Tang Lici's overwhelmingly powerful strike.
As Zhang Hemo searched the body, his hand brushed against something resembling an envelope inside Qingxuzi's robes. Without hesitation, he pulled it out. The crowd, seeing him retrieve a letter from Qingxuzi's chest, perked up at once, pressing closer to Zhang Hemo to get a look. The envelope bore bold, hastily scrawled characters—so thick and messy they were nearly illegible. Cheng Yunpao took the envelope from Zhang Hemo's hands, aware that few in the Martial Arts World were well-versed in calligraphy. He read aloud coolly, "To Wenxiu Shitai."
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