Chapter 291 - 289: Cutting the Grass
「Hidden Emperor Castle.」
Xie Jinglan became a flash of sword light, speeding toward Hidden Emperor Castle.
Mo Wenqiu’s death left him shocked and enraged, but more than that, it filled him with a profound sense of dread.
He had to report this earth-shattering news to the Sect at once.
The tree stumps on either side of the road rapidly receded beneath his feet.
Just as he was rushing forward at full speed, his mind in turmoil,
the unexpected happened!
Without any warning, the dark, heavy shadow of a staff tore through the blackness. Accompanied by a sonic boom that ripped through the air, it came smashing down toward his head.
The strike was too fast, too fierce, and too abrupt.
Before the wind from the staff even arrived, a terrifying presence—as heavy as a mountain and capable of crushing anything—had already locked Xie Jinglan in place.
"Who are you?"
Xie Jinglan’s face paled in shock. He never imagined that anyone would dare to ambush him on the road near Hidden Emperor Castle.
At this critical moment, facing the inescapable blow, a blood-red madness flashed in his eyes. He didn’t retreat. Instead, he let out a sharp cry that ripped through the night sky.
"Surging Wave."
The longsword at his waist flew from its sheath, its blade vibrating with a hum like a tsunami.
Xie Jinglan chose not to dodge, but to counter-attack.
A tyrannical, ferocious blast of Sword Qi, like a furious, reverse-rolling tide, surged upward, brazenly meeting the black long staff that was crashing down.
CLANG!!!
The staff and sword clashed, releasing a deafening, metallic shriek.
A violent shockwave exploded outward, flattening all the grass and trees along the road and kicking up clouds of dust.
The web of Xie Jinglan’s hand split open, and his blood and qi churned violently. He was blown back several yards before he managed to stabilize himself, his sword arm trembling slightly.
He snapped his head up, glaring at the spot where the staff’s shadow had emerged.
There, in the middle of the road ahead, a figure had appeared, though he hadn’t seen when.
The man wore simple gray clothes and a carved wooden mask, regarding him with an indifferent gaze.
He held a long staff, pitch-black and faintly inscribed with a dragon pattern.
’A Staff Technique! A mask!’
Xie Jinglan’s pupils constricted. He reached a conclusion in an instant.
’This is the man who killed Mo Wenqiu!’
’He actually came back to kill me!’
But a moment later, doubt crept into his mind.
In that exchange just now, although he had been at a disadvantage and taken a small hit, he could clearly feel it. His opponent was stronger than him, but not to an incomprehensible or insurmountable degree.
The man was roughly within the Void Transformation Realm as well, just that his Power seemed more profound.
’Could it be that Elder Mo was taken by surprise?’
’Or perhaps he was countered by some strange technique, allowing this man to kill him in a single strike?’
Xie Jinglan’s thoughts raced, and he quickly made his judgment.
’If we fought one-on-one to the death,’ he mused, ’I might gradually lose after several hundred exchanges, but I would never be instantly killed like Mo Wenqiu was.’
’Since we’re in the same Realm, there’s nothing to worry about!’
His earlier panic vanished instantly.
In his eyes, only frenzied killing intent remained.
At this thought, Xie Jinglan’s courage returned, and his trademark frenzy flared once more.
His earlier shout had been an instinctive reaction, but it was also intended to alert the other Elder inside the castle, Jian Xi, and the other Celestial Sword Sect disciples.
’Why bother observing the code of the Jianghu when dealing with a skulking coward who hides his face?’
’As soon as the others arrive, we can surround him. I’m confident we can kill him on the spot.’
Suppressing his roiling blood and qi, he pointed his sword at Chen Li, his voice thick with irrepressible killing intent. "Who are you? Which sect do you hail from? What is your purpose in sneaking into Hidden Emperor Castle and murdering an Elder of my Celestial Sword Sect?"
He was trying to probe for information with his words.
He was stalling for time while also trying to fish for clues.
There were only a handful of Grandmasters within Jiangzhou’s borders.
Xie Jinglan wouldn’t dare claim to know them all, but he knew most of their names.
He refused to believe that a Void Transformation Grandmaster of this caliber could have just appeared out of thin air.
A man with his skills could not possibly be a nobody.
Moreover, the man was wearing a mask.
That only further proved he had something to hide. Perhaps if the man revealed his face, Xie Jinglan could make a good guess as to his identity.
But he was disappointed.
Beneath the mask, Chen Li’s eyes were calm.
He showed no intention of answering.
Of course, he had seen through Xie Jinglan’s attempt to stall for time and had heard the long, signaling cry.
But he didn’t expose the ploy. In fact, he was happy to see it succeed.
After all, he had returned for the express purpose of cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots.
After killing Jian Dian, he had departed with Bai San and the others in a carriage.
But a sense of unease still lingered in his heart, and he was worried.
’Although I haven’t exposed my identity,’ he thought, ’Bai San has been operating in Jiangkou for a long time. There’s no way he could avoid being noticed.’
’If the Celestial Sword Sect follows the leads from Bai San, they’ll easily find my brother-in-law, Bai Shixuan, and in turn, implicate my own family.’
’The Celestial Sword Sect isn’t the imperial Court or some Government Office. They don’t bother with things like laws or saving face.’
’They kill whomever they please and act on the slightest pretext.’
Take Hidden Emperor Castle, for instance. Chen Li suspected that years ago, the Celestial Sword Sect had coveted this prize, but lacked a just cause for an attack. So, they used one of Hidden Emperor Castle’s own spies to arrange for the Pig Emperor’s son to abduct the Snow Fairy, intentionally setting a trap.
As for the affairs of the Jianghu, as long as the innocent aren’t slaughtered indiscriminately and civilians aren’t affected, the Court mostly turns a blind eye.
Therefore, Chen Li couldn’t rest easy leaving the Sword Madman, Xie Jinglan, alive. Who knew how much the man had already figured out?
Rather than leave a loose end to cause trouble later, it was better to catch him off guard and eliminate everyone in the know.
This Sword Madman, Xie Jinglan, was the primary target.
If he could pin down this target to draw out reinforcements, he could lure the remaining Celestial Sword Sect experts out of Hidden Emperor Castle and wipe them all out in one go. Only then would he be free of future trouble.
Thus, while Xie Jinglan was stalling for reinforcements, Chen Li was also waiting for those same reinforcements to walk right into his trap.
The two men were each nursing their own schemes, but their goals had bizarrely aligned on one point: they were both waiting for backup.
In the face of Xie Jinglan’s questioning, Chen Li remained silent. His answer was the long staff, which he raised once more.