Because the five swords were many swords as one, within the Chao Mansion’s courtyard the rain had become indescribably more restless. Seeming as though the night sky had yet another intangible sun, the rain near the rain-listening pavilion unexpectedly began changing to white mist at high speed.
Seeming as though the many were one sword, but in fact it stored countless numbers of the human world’s utmost sharpest swords. Chao XiaoShu’s ma.s.sive psyche followed his gaze to the inside of the rain listening pavilion, making that thin blue steel sword stab at high speeds towards that copper bowl, then retreat at lightning speeds, then at an even faster speed stab again. Within an instant it unexpectedly struck continuously several hundred times!
Sword strikes faster than a woodp.e.c.k.e.r pecking a tree by innumerable multiples extremely terrifyingly struck the copper bowl in the central position, making dudududu sounds. Because of the high frequency of the sword strikes, in between sound after sound, simply nothing could be heard interrupting, such that the people in the courtyard could only hear one prolonged tight striking sound!
“He also can’t do it! Get in close and kill him!”
The leader of the Tang troops saw Chao XiaoShu sitting cross-legged in the rain, noticing that his face was becoming more and more pale. With a stern shout, in the moment none of these soldiers needed any discipline or glory to support their actions – they were very clear that they absolutely had to immediately kill Chao XiaoShu, or if they waited till those swords broke open the copper bowl, killing that ascetic monk from Yue Lun Kingdom, they would then have no chance of killing their opponent, or more accurately said, they would also die.
A thick rain of crossbow bolts again shot out, and tens of swift and fierce objects again came attacking. This time the elite Tang troops seemed even more resolute and absolutely even more valiant, because this absolute fort.i.tude and valiance was forced out by desperation.
They still hadn’t been able to get close to Chao XiaoShu’s body and kill this Great Sword Master of a fearsome realm, because in front of Chao XiaoShu always stood a youth.
Ning Que moved incessantly in the rain-soaked limestone tiles, not at all alert and seemingly especially heavily. Each time his boots struck the ground there was a splash of water, and each time there was a spray of water, his blade’s edge would reap one of the soldiers of the elite Tang troops.
Chao XiaoShu sat cross-legged in the forceful rain, which was the same as completely entrusting his life to him, so from beginning to end he guarded Chao XiaoShu’s front and back, using that plain blade in his hands turning it into a net of a path of death in front of him.
The right elbow bent, and the blade sank deeply into a Tang troop’s knee. Ning Que didn’t have time to pull out the blade, and his right foot shot out like a stone flying out, mercilessly kicking the b.a.l.l.s of a Tang soldier. Immediately grabbing onto the slender blade’s handle with his two hands in a spin, the blade’s edge from below rose upwards, cutting open the belly of a third Tang soldier. Another valiant shadow pounced over, half squatting on the floor, his waist spun, with a merciless stroke with a single hand wielding the blade, the blade’s shine split, slicing unknown numbers of calves.
The black mask had long been soaked by the rain, and the breath pa.s.sing through carried a bit of moisture, but the eyes exposed outside of the mask were as calm as before. Almost as though they appeared a bit numb, his movements were the utmost simple, but the effect of his lethal wounds were exceptionally horrifying. The blade before him, those brave elite Tang soldiers were like blocks of wood, unceasingly being chopped and kicked over.
No matter how dense the bolt rain was, how cold the blades were, throughout he stood in front of Chao XiaoShu, without retreating one step! Even if his shoulders were sc.r.a.ped by the bolts, even if his legs were slashed up by the edges of blades, he didn’t retreat half a step!
From within the rain-listening pavilion came an extremely ma.s.sive hard to bear sound, like a metal pot being smashed by someone with a brick – the copper bowl in front of the ascetic monk finally was shattered into pieces by thousands of swords!
The bamboo rain hat on top of the ascetic monk’s head followed the copper bowl splitting at the very same moment – on his dark face flashed an expression of absolution, and his hand seals again changed. The prayer beads always protecting him all around stopped spinning, suddenly changing into a black flood serpent – making swishing sounds, it coiled around the thin blue steel sword just about to directly attack it to make the sword’s force into a meal.
Chao XiaoShu silently looked inside of the pavilion. With his right hand at his side exposed from his sleeve he acc.u.mulated a strand of water, holding up a handful of rainwater he sprinkled it in front of him, and that thin blue steel sword within the rain-listening pavilion followed this motion. Suddenly it began to hum vibrating, like a real dragon about to break through the clouds, dauntlessly and unstoppably dashing forward!
Soybean-sized raindrops fell onto the limestone tiles, making a light pa pa sound; new branches torn off by the wind made a light pa pa sound; within the rain-listening pavilion made a light pa pa sound, and those ironwood prayer beads enveloping the blue steel sword were split, broken in all directions!
The ascetic monk bitterly smiled and closed both eyes – the blue steel sword howled pa.s.sing through the hundred plus ironwood prayer beads in the air of the pavilion, deeply stabbing into the center of his dark brow. Blood slowly oozed out, and the bitter smile froze as thus.
Beyond Chao Mansion’s gate, Ning Que saw the enemies not far away, slowly pulling out his blade from a Tang soldier’s chest.
Dadadada, the broken prayer beads struck onto the beads, onto the walls, then fell onto the wooden boards.
The elite Tang troops still living saw the slight smile of the middle-aged man sitting cross-legged in the pounding rain, saw the mysterious masked youth holding a blade and standing in the pounding rain, and their hearts were full of the feeling of despair.
From an alley came the sound of a carriage.
Chao XiaoShu’s brow slowly went upwards.
ChangAn’s South City. Lord Meng’s most money-earning Star-Reaching Gambling House had already turned into a pile of ruins. The gambling equipment smashed to bits were all over the street; chips ordinarily representing silver coins were soaked inside filthy, rank rainwater, no one daring to go out and get them. Along the road, women and children surrounding more than ten gambling house guards with their legs beaten till broken cried and screamed without stopping, but not one person dared to use words to curse at those d.a.m.nable a.s.sailants, not even daring to have hateful expressions.
A crowd of forty with black clothes, black pants and black boots stood indifferently in the four directions. They were there to maintain order, and at the same time to declare to everyone in South City that they had entered. At the very front of the crowd, Qi the Fourth received a blue-colored handkerchief from a subordinate, wiping blood from his mouth. On his face there was no appearance of pride or arrogance, instead it appeared to have a bit of disturbed anxiousness, because he knew that even though the Fish Dragon Gang had taken the advantage tonight and invaded many territories, but he knew that in this moment, Big Brother at Spring Wind Pavilion was alone facing the ambush of those powerful enemies – at his side there was no one else.
The same story with similar scenery, tonight in ChangAn City, every place within the city this was happening constantly. The p.a.w.nshop and brothel that Uncle Cat controlled were smashed by a group of swift and fierce black-clothed men, and yet another group of black-clothed men controlled Jun JieYang’s three extra homes, then directly smashed those three luxurious little courtyards flat.
The spring rain-like cold strands of harpstrings constantly came down with a pitter-patter, as well as a gradually growing sign, that tonight in ChangAn’s underworld, all the big powers holding onto the government, this tiger’s skin, all poured into East City in response to launch an attack against Spring Wind Pavilion’s Old Chao who had led ChangAn’s JiangHu for many years. And no one had thought that that legendary person of the underworld would actually use himself as bait, taking advantage of South City and West City deploying forces as an opportunity of empty bases, sending out all the brothers in the gang to control everything.
After tonight, as long as Spring Wind Pavilion’s Old Chao was still living, then he and his brothers could then completely control all of the Night Scene in ChangAn City in their grasp, but….. Chao XiaoShu of tonight only had a single person, those brothers who had followed him for many b.l.o.o.d.y years weren’t there. Could he still live through it? …… ……
ChangAn’s North City, the heavily guarded Yu Lin Army’s encampment, the deputy general of the Yu Lin Army Cao Ning looked at two junior officers with their hands tied in front of him, and then with a bitter smile said, “Chang SiWei? Should I address you as Chang the Third? Fei JingWei, should I call you Fei the Sixth? Truly I hadn’t thought that in my Yu Lin Army, there would actually be two members of the Fish Dragon Gang.”
Chang SiWei was a middle-aged man of mild temperament. Towards his superior with a slight smile he said, “Do you truly not know or falsely not know? Very many people in the army camp earn money outside it. As far as I know, General, you also have done a share from Lord Meng’s and Uncle Cat’s side.”
Fei JingWei stayed silent, only coldly staring at Cao Ning’s face as though he wanted to beat some blossoms into this old face.
Cao Ning picked up a teacup and drank two sips, saying, “What was the point of saying these things now? It was just some energy used on words for an argument. The two of you are just tiny little captains. If they weren’t seen by Spring Wind Pavilion, why would I have to say these useless words to you? But don’t think that because you rely on Spring Wind Pavilion’s backing, that you could be pretentious in front of me, the general. I, the general, only need one order that you two cannot leave the camp. As long as you two dare to leave the camp, I, the general can behead you without asking for an Imperial Order, and if you two don’t leave the camp, Spring Wind Pavilion will be forced to death tonight.”
“Spring Wind Pavilion is dead for sure.” He slowly got the next teacup, and indifferently said, “That’s why you guys have no use.”
Chang SiWei slightly smiling said, “In this world, very many people died, but my big brother won’t die.”
“This world has never had someone that can’t be killed.” Cao Ning stared with his face and in a cold voice said, “My Great Tang Dynasty has so many n.o.bles that want to reward Spring Wind Pavilion’s face, but he didn’t want it. I also want to see, with so many n.o.bles wanting him dead as such a miniscule person in ChangAn’s JiangHu, how he can still overturn it!”
His tone had sounded out, and the entry curtain was lifted open, and the cold night wind enveloping several rain drops floated inside. Cao Ning slightly paused, about to angrily reprimand, then subconsciously standing up and cupping his hands in salute he said, “Old Sir Lin….. it’s so late, why would you come here? You……. this is?”
Old Sir Lin with a short and stumpy stature looked at him with a face full of smiles, and said, “Not something different, just that today at the Palace’s Forbidden Gate, I heard that at night the Yu Lin Army has raised alertness levels. I came over to ask what exactly happened.”
Afterwards Old Sir Lin turned around looking towards the two military officers with their hands tied, and frowning he asked, “How did this happen again?” …… ……
Within the army camp’s brave rider formation, torches illuminated the horse yard, and the continuous vertical rain had no way of snuffing them out. The deputy commander of the brave rider formation Chu Ren angrily glared at a man with a square-face atop a horse, roaring he said, “Liu Si you d.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Sealing the camp is a military order from the army department! If you dare to rush out the camp, then I’ll dare to behead you!”
The square-faced man’s stature was exceedingly tall and st.u.r.dy. Even though he was sitting on a steed, it was as if a pair of legs also almost hung down to the ground. Hearing the deputy commander’s rebuke, his face as before was still expressionless, his right hand slowly stroked the iron spear on the saddle’s side; his gaze penetrated through the night rain watching somewhere in ChangAn’s East City called Spring Wind Pavilion.
He was called Liu Si, ranked number five in the Fish Dragon Gang. In those years Spring Wind Pavilion’s Old Chao depended on a stiff sword by his side forcefully fighting for a slice of the JiangHu in in ChangAn City, it was exactly this person that followed closely behind and stood by Chao XiaoShu’s side, and this night he had no way of standing at Big Brother’s side blocking arrows for him, and could only silently hope that the young fellow that Big Brother selected could manage the matter well.
Liu Si looked back towards Deputy Commander Chu Ren at the army camp’s entrance, looked at those dense and numerous army soldiers, and without an expression he said, “Commander, I, a lowly officer, don’t dare to defy the military order of breaking out of camp, but after ten years ago when you personally tore away the promotion order, I always very much wanted to fight with you, I don’t know whether you dare to or not.”
Somewhere inside of the Imperial Palace in a remote and quiet room, a sound a voice carrying a heavy HeBei accent, “Old Chen, you are an elder of the Imperial Bodyguard. Although in your younger years you had already left office, but you served a day as an Grand Inner Imperial Guard, then you are an Grand Inner Imperial Guard for life. You are the Emperor’s face, where should we join in this kind of JiangHu quarrel? I know that the friendship between you and Old Chao is good, but tonight on this matter you should be very clear whose grandfather’s plan it was, who dares to go hinder it?” …… ……
In the middle of the rain, that carriage slowly stopped. The distance from Spring Wind Pavilion Chao’s residence was only 100 feet apart. …… ……