Chapter 687: Grasping The Situation
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After stabbing his sword into the dumpy man’s precordium and pulling it out again, the man was left half dead.
Then with a quick leap, he came behind the man with a long and narrow face, thrusting his sword forward.
The man reacted in a superbly fast manner.
Just as Chu Li had appeared behind him, the man had started to activate the Secret Technique of Great Light and by the time Chu Li’s sword was approaching him, the Secret Technique of Great Light had been completely activated. When the sword tip was just about to pierce his back, his body moved a foot sideways, barely dodging the attack. Then, he charged at Qin Jin and the others.
Chu Li’s sword suddenly changed its direction and went after the man, stabbing into his left shoulder.
The narrow-faced man showed no sign of stopping as if it was not him who had been stabbed and continued to charge at Qin Jin.
Qin Jin and Feng Jing threw out a punch at him simultaneously.
“Bang!” The man received the punch on his chest but seemed unaffected as his own fist launched out and hit Qin Jin.
Qin Jin tried to avoid the attack by dodging sideways but failed to evade it completely and flew backward at the impact.
The Divine Light Fist contained formidable power, causing Qin Jin to spit up a mouthful of blood while still in midair. Clearly, he had been seriously injured.
Chu Li did not bother to go after the man since Qin Jin and the three others were there to deal with him. Instead, he leaped behind the large, st.u.r.dy-looking man and thrust his sword at him.
The man huffed and threw a punch at the approaching sword tip.
“Clink!” Gusts of wind blew in all directions. The force of the Divine Light Fist was firm and solid and it was as if the sword tip had stabbed at a rock, for the resistance force from the fist was extremely great.
When the tip of the sword hit his fist, the st.u.r.dy-looking man suddenly unclenched his fist and stretched out his fingers. With a twist of his wrist, his nails struck the side of the sword’s blade as if he was strumming a zither.
“Ding…” An immense force surged from the blade of the sword.
Chu Li grunted as the Heavenly Demonic Orb fell.
The skills of these three men were stronger than he had expected and their reflexes were unusually fast. As soon as he had appeared, they immediately activated their secret skill and did not take any chances at all. It was no wonder they could be so bold as to remain in the Fairy’s Capital.
Following the fall of the Heavenly Demonic Orb, he instantly felt a violent surge of energy filling his body with extraordinary strength.
He tightened his grip on the sword to withstand the immense force flowing from the sword’s blade before going in for another stab.
“Clink!” The tip of the sword ran over the large man’s wrist like it was scratching on a leather surface as the man’s skin was tough and hard to pierce through.
Nonetheless, the Modesty Sword had the ability to cut clean through iron as though it were mud, so despite the toughness of his skin, it managed to pierce through it after all.
The sword tip circled his wrist and cut his skin open, exposing the white bone underneath his flesh. The blood vessels in his wrist had also been sliced open, from which blood came gus.h.i.+ng forth.
The man did not seem to be affected at all as he proceeded to launch his left fist.
The power of the Divine Light Fist appeared to be even more terrifying in close proximity and Chu Li could see the solid force of the fist coming at him like a lump of burning coal.
“Clink!” The tip of the sword collided with the force of the fist.
As the fist force began to disperse again, Chu Li’s white robe fluttered about violently as if he was standing in a strong wind.
The sword tip cut through the fist force and stabbed at the man’s fist.
The large man moved according to his technique as he loosened his fist and stretched out his fingers, twisting his wrist and swinging his fingertips at the sword’s blade once again.
“Ah!” groaned the man as two of his fingers dropped to the ground.
Chu Li’s Manifestation of Nature Restoration had already predicted this move and had been prepared to counter it.
As the man unclenched his fist, Chu Li immediately lowered the blade of the sword while tilting it by ninety degrees.
This slight difference led to a huge effect.
As the man turned his fingers, it was not his fingertips that struck the blade of the sword, but his knuckles that hit the edge of the sword.
The sharp Modesty Sword was filled with the inner energy of the Cloud Slas.h.i.+ng Power, enabling the sword edge to smoothly pa.s.s through the two fingers, which then silently fell to the ground.
Despite having had his right wrist slashed open and two of his left fingers chopped off, the st.u.r.dy-looking man kept a straight face and even appeared to be filled with a stronger fighting spirit. With a stomp of his foot, he flung his entire body at Chu Li.
Chu Li moved sideways and dodged him easily. “Who ordered you to do this?”
The large man shouted, “Elder Jiang, you guys can leave first. I’ll bring up the rear!”
The dumpy man who was leaning against the locust tree root smiled mirthlessly. The narrow-faced man who was being surrounded by three other men also shook his head. They had realized that there was no way they could survive this fight and escape today.
He had tried his best to cause destruction to both sides. Meanwhile, Feng Jing and the other two were also in a similar condition as they had used their secret technique to wear him out regardless of their personal safety and had now been wounded all over.
Chu Li said flatly, “Since you’re all so keen to die, I’ll help fulfill your wishes. Don’t even dream of entering the Ultimate Land of Bliss in the Western Paradise. As long as you’re alive, you’ll have a chance of survival anyway. Perhaps your comrades may come and save you!”
As soon as he finished speaking, he appeared behind the large man and hit the man’s back with his left palm.
“Bang!” The man flew forward and crashed into the locust tree roots, weighing down on the dumpy man.
His body was as stiff as a statue. He could only watch himself fall to the ground helplessly as his acupuncture point had been sealed off by Chu Li with his palm technique.
Chu Li took two steps forward and watched the narrow-faced man who had fallen into a siege and activated the Manifestation of Nature Restoration to its limits before pointing out a finger all of a sudden.
“Bang!” The narrow-faced man’s body stiffened and was instantly hit by two palms and a fist.
He spat out a mouthful of blood and got rid of the stiffness in his body. Then, disregarding the condition of his injury, he threw a punch as Feng Jing, determined to make one of them a sacrificial victim.
“Bang!” Chu Li’s Divine Light Fist sent him flying.
The narrow-faced man was. .h.i.t by a finger force from Chu Li again in midair and had his acupuncture point sealed off before his stiff body fell upon the locust tree root and tumbled about on the ground with the other two comrades.
Chu Li said, “Elder Qin, are you heavily injured?”
Qin Jin shook his head with a grim look.
Chu Li turned to his three other companions. “Elder Feng, Elder Zheng, Elder Hua, are you guys okay?”
“We’re not that easily defeated!” Feng Jing huffed, glaring at the three men on the ground in an unyielding manner.
He had also been going all-in with his attacks without avoiding any of the other party’s punches, comparing to see which side could outlast the other.
He felt as if his whole body was falling apart as his body was aching all over due to the serious internal injuries he had suffered. He would have to be properly nursed back to health after this.
Despite his physical injuries, he was filled with exuberance and great satisfaction.
Chu Li said, “We should leave quickly in case anyone else comes to back them up.”
“Yes!” Qin Jin agreed.
Chu Li picked up two of the men while Zhen Dongxia went for the last one. Then, the group of them treaded on-air and returned to the Secret Guardians Hall, heading straight into the main hall.
During their journey, Chu Li did not say a word as his mind was spinning rapidly. Qin Jin and the others were tactful enough to leave him alone.
Since he had accepted the hundred thousand taels of silver from Chen Donghai, it would not be appropriate for him to play any more tricks. Given the urgency of the matter, even if Chen Donghai had not given him those hundred thousand taels of silver, he would not intentionally stall this matter either.
Upon entering the main hall, Chu Li waved a hand and said, “Go home and properly tend to your injuries.”
“Yes, Centurion.” Qin Jin and the others gave a fist salute before turning to leave.
In the main hall sat Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande.
“These are the a.s.sa.s.sins?” Fu Mengshan pointed at the three men.
Chu Li confirmed. “Disciples of the Holy Church of Light!”
“Good job, young lad. You’re very efficient!” Fu Mengshan clapped his hand on the armrest of the armchair and laughed. “As expected, I didn’t entrust this case to the wrong person!”
Chu Li responded with a faint smile. “After getting their confession, the Commander won’t be able to laugh like this anymore!”
“Why is that so?” Xu Huande asked with his eyebrows knitted together.
Chu Li replied, “They have acted under the orders of Minister Counsellor from the Ministry of War, Gu Qi!”
The smile on Fu Mengshan’s face froze while Xu Huande’s expression darkened.
This was a matter of extreme importance. The Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of War and the Holy Church of Light had already stirred up trouble before. Now, they were reappearing at the same time. Could this be a coincidence again?
It would be fine if it turned out to be a coincidence, but if it was true that they were working together, then chaos would ensue!
The Manifestation of Nature Restoration had allowed Chu Li to think at a faster rate, so on the way back, he had already been able to infer bits and pieces of the truth about the case. While he realized that he had been causing himself needless anxiety, what he speculated was no trivial matter either.
He took a deep breath and said in a low voice, “Actually, I’ve also been secretly investigating the a.s.sa.s.sin of the first a.s.sa.s.sination case and I found out that the a.s.sa.s.sination has been ordered by the Deputy General working under King Ping!”
“In that case, these two a.s.sa.s.sination cases aren’t related then.” Fu Mengshan nodded to himself.
Chu Li, on the other hand, shook his head. “It’s very likely that Prince Shan’s a.s.sa.s.sination happened because of his investigation into Prince Jiang’s a.s.sa.s.sination case.”
“Meaning they’re working together?” Fu Mengshan’s expression slowly became troubled as he turned his gaze to Xu Huande.
Xu Huande quickly interjected, “Chu Li, you better not spout any nonsense here!”
Chu Li replied, “How would I dare spout nonsense about such a matter?!”
He was not only suggesting that the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of War was colluding with the Holy Church of Light, but also that the Deputy General working under King Ping was colluding with the Holy Church of Light. That meant placing the Holy Church of Light, the Minister Counsellor of the Ministry of War and the Deputy General all on the same side, so of course, the Fu Mengshan and Xu Huande would be reacting as such.
“No, I have to report this to the throne right away!” Fu Mengshan quickly rose from his seat.
“Wait, Commander!” Xu Huande hurriedly stopped him before turning back to Chu Li. “Are you certain of this?”
Chu Li answered, “I have no evidence yet. This was all based on my speculations.”
Fu Mengshan cast him a glare. “You’re making groundless claims!”
Chu Li shook his head. “I should be very near to the truth.”
Fu Mengshan scrutinized him closely as if trying to read his mind. In response, Chu Li met his gaze in a calm manner.
Xu Huande, too, would not stop staring at him.
Fu Mengshan sat back down, drumming his fingers on the armrest of the chair. At first, his fingers drummed slowly on the armrest. Then, they began to pick up speed, drumming away faster and faster.
“Bang!” He slammed his palm on the armrest and stood up again. “I’m going to report this to the Emperor! … Chu Li, you make some preparations as well to enter the palace!”
Chu Li raised his eyebrows at this and held up a fist salute.