Chapter 361 - 344: Death
At the moment of life and death, a brilliant light erupted from between Zhou Bo’an’s brows as his Primordial Spirit emerged.
In his haste, he could only act on instinct, frantically channeling the Power of the Primordial Spirit into his right fist to meet the descending tip of the pitch-black staff.
Fist and staff collided in the void with no elaborate flair.
There was no earth-shattering boom.
But in the next moment, a scene that terrified Zhou Bo’an to his very soul unfolded.
His fist, which contained his entire Cultivation and was strong enough to withstand the Primordial Spirit attack of a peer Grandmaster, developed countless fine cracks the instant it touched the black staff. Then... it shattered and disintegrated, piece by piece!
It couldn’t even put up the slightest resistance.
"A divine... a Divine Artifact?!"
A cold dread surged from the depths of Zhou Bo’an’s heart.
He had just fought the old man with the abacus. His physical body was injured, but his Primordial Spirit had, at most, consumed some Primordial Qi.
The fight had taken its toll, but even if he were outmatched, there was no way he should have been this fragile, collapsing at the first touch.
The only explanation was the black staff in his opponent’s hands. Only a Divine Artifact could inflict such overwhelming damage upon a Primordial Spirit.
’Even a Divine Artifact has appeared...’
’What the hell kind of monsters and demons are lurking in this damn Liyang?!’
Zhou Bo’an wanted to curse out loud. He couldn’t fathom why his supposedly foolproof plan had provoked one terrifying existence after another.
It was as if the heavens were playing a cruel joke on him!
The golden Primordial Spirit gave him no chance to think or catch his breath.
After landing the devastating blow, its movements didn’t pause for an instant. With a flick of its wrist, the black staff, imbued with a conceptual weight as heavy as a mountain and capable of shattering all techniques, swept toward the waist of Zhou Bo’an’s Primordial Spirit.
The air distorted wherever the staff’s shadow passed, and faint spatial ripples spread out.
Zhou Bo’an’s Primordial Spirit was filled with terror, frantically mustering its remaining Power of the Primordial Spirit in a desperate last stand...
But it was all in vain.
BANG!
The black staff swept through without any flourish.
Zhou Bo’an’s Primordial Spirit let out a silent, piercing wail. Its entire form went BOOM, completely exploding into a shower of light that scattered and dissipated into the void.
「Meanwhile.」
On the bed, the seated physical body of Zhou Bo’an trembled violently. A trickle of blood slowly seeped from his seven orifices.
His body, having lost the support of its Primordial Spirit, slumped as his head drooped lifelessly. The vitality in his body receded like a tide.
His breath stopped. He was dead.
His face was still frozen in the ultimate shock and incomprehensible confusion he felt before death.
It was as if, even in death, he couldn’t believe that he, the great Jiangzhou Governor and a Grandmaster Guiyuan, would fall in such a manner in this small courtyard in a Commandery City.
The attic returned to a dead silence.
The two-foot-tall golden Primordial Spirit stood motionless in the void, its indistinct face betraying no emotion.
It merely gave the lifeless Zhou Bo’an a faint glance, and the black staff in its hand dissolved into specks of flowing light.
The next moment, the golden light receded, and the Primordial Spirit vanished silently into the void as if it had never been there at all.
The night grew deeper.
Outside the small courtyard, the guards continued their vigilant patrol, completely unaware of the silent demise of a Grandmaster inside the attic.
...
「The next morning, at the crack of dawn.」
Zhao Yuanhong returned to the Governor’s Mansion, his eyes shot with blood.
He had spent the entire night deploying troops, taking stock of his forces, and preparing provisions... doing everything he could to prepare an escort for Zhou Bo’an’s return to Jiangzhou.
Outside the courtyard gate, the stationed soldiers were still on guard. They gave him a silent salute upon his arrival.
Zhao Yuanhong waved his hand, signaling them to remain quiet.
He walked into the small courtyard and approached the attic.
Standing before the closed door, he took a deep breath, composed himself, then raised his hand and knocked gently.
KNOCK. KNOCK. KNOCK.
His knuckles rapped against the solid wooden door, the sound exceptionally clear.
However, the room within was deathly silent.
There was no response.
Zhao Yuanhong’s brow furrowed slightly. He waited a moment, then raised his hand again and knocked with more force.
BANG BANG BANG!
Still, there was no sound from within.
Zhao Yuanhong’s heart sank a little.
Although Zhou Bo’an had been injured last night, with his Cultivation as a Grandmaster, he shouldn’t be sleeping so soundly as to be unresponsive to such clear knocking.
’Could it be... his injuries are far more severe than they appeared?’
’Is he at a critical point in his healing meditation?’
But he didn’t dare just push the door open and barge in.
He could only wait.
Time ticked by, second by second.
Zhao Yuanhong stood before the door like a statue, but his heart sank lower and lower.
An hour passed. During that time, he knocked tentatively three or four more times, his knocking growing more hesitant and anxious with each attempt.
"Governor? The troops are ready. I’ve come to ask when we should depart," he couldn’t help but call out.
The room remained as still as a pool of dead water.
Zhao Yuanhong frowned and carefully extended a wisp of his Divine Sense into the room.
Inside, there was none of the aura he expected, not even the vital energy and lifeblood a living person should have...
’Did the Governor leave?’
’How is that possible?!’
Zhao Yuanhong was stunned.
Even if he were seriously injured and unconscious, his aura would be weak, but it shouldn’t be completely undetectable.
He almost thought his Divine Sense had made a mistake, so he focused and scanned the room again carefully.
The result was the same: completely devoid of life, filled with a deathly stillness.
Zhao Yuanhong could no longer be bothered with etiquette. He shot out a hand and forcefully pushed the door open.
CREAK...
The door opened.
On the soft couch, Zhou Bo’an was sitting cross-legged, seemingly still meditating.
But his head was slumped lifelessly against his chest, completely still.
A pool of crimson blood on his chest was shockingly conspicuous.
Zhao Yuanhong’s heart nearly stopped.
He walked to the couch, reached out with a trembling hand, and checked for a breath and a pulse.
He was dead!
Zhao Yuanhong felt as if a clap of thunder had exploded in his mind, which instantly went blank. A ringing filled his ears, and his vision darkened.
He staggered back half a step, grabbing a nearby table to steady himself.
’How could this be! Who did this?’
’In all of Liyang Commandery City, who could kill a Grandmaster without alerting anyone?’
Even if he were defeated, the commotion should have been enough to shake half the city.
’How could it be so... so eerily quiet?’
’Could that old man with the abacus have returned and used some sinister, treacherous method?’
Other than him, Zhao Yuanhong couldn’t think of anyone else in the Liyang area who had the ability and the motive.
Time passed, and Zhao Yuanhong stood frozen in place, cold sweat having long since soaked his undergarments.
After the initial shock and blankness, fear washed over him like a tidal wave, completely submerging him.
Zhou Bo’an was dead.
’Who’s next?’
He shuddered violently as a bone-deep chill shot up his spine.
He wasn’t just a participant last night; he was the executor of Zhou Bo’an’s plan.
’Would the killer, who could assassinate a Grandmaster without a sound, spare an insider like me?’
’Escape? Rush to Jiangzhou to report this immediately?’
The thought had barely surfaced before Zhao Yuanhong extinguished it himself.
’I’m afraid I’d be a corpse before I even made it out of Liyang City’s gates.’
’Since they could silently kill Zhou Bo’an inside the heavily guarded Governor’s Mansion, taking my life would probably be easier than crushing an ant.’
Zhao Yuanhong slumped into a nearby chair, his body cold, his thoughts a tangled mess.
His future, his official position, his Cultivation... all of it seemed insignificant at this moment.
’What do I do... What should I do?’
’Surrender?’
’But I don’t know who the enemy is or what their goal is.’
All sorts of thoughts crashed wildly in his mind. Cold sweat trickled down from his temples and dripped onto the cold floor.
After a long while, the clatter of a patrolling soldier’s armor jolted him from his chaotic thoughts.
’I can’t panic! And I certainly can’t just wait for death!’
Taking a deep breath, Zhao Yuanhong slowly stood up.
He glanced at Zhou Bo’an’s body but did nothing further with it.
He turned, pushed open the door, and walked out of the small courtyard.
「On the long street before the Commandery Magistrate’s Office.」
Rows of government soldiers in gleaming helmets and armor, with a forest of blades and spears, stood in solemn formation. Banners fluttered gently in the breeze.
Seeing Zhao Yuanhong, a garrison officer stepped forward and asked, "Sir, the troops and provisions are all ready. Shall we depart immediately?"
Zhao Yuanhong stood on the high steps, his gaze sweeping over the military formation. He was silent for a moment before his voice, having regained its usual composure, rang out, "Pass down the order: all units are to return to the barracks for now and await further instructions. No one is to move without my personal command."
The garrison officer was stunned, almost thinking he had misheard. He shot his head up, his face a mask of confusion and disbelief.
He vividly remembered how this Acting Governor had been so anxious and had issued such strict, urgent orders just last night.
How could it be that after a single night, with everything finally ready, he was calling it all off?
"Sir, this..."
The officer couldn’t help but speak, wanting to ask more.
Zhao Yuanhong’s gaze suddenly shot toward him.
His eyes were filled with nothing but red veins and a coldness that was nearly solid.
The officer’s remaining words caught in his throat. A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to meet the man’s gaze. "This general... obeys!" he said in a low voice.
The grim, assembled troops, filled with confusion and bewilderment, slowly turned and marched away.
Zhao Yuanhong watched the army depart, then beckoned a trusted subordinate and whispered, "Prepare a carriage, a plain one."
He then set off alone, heading toward the nearby County Captain’s Mansion, which had been reduced to ruins the night before.
He went straight to the ruins of the small building where he had previously lived.
He picked a corner and, with a flick of his sleeve, blasted away the piled rubble and rotten wood, revealing a cleared patch of ground.
He walked to the center of the clearing, applied a bit of force with his foot, and stamped down gently.
CRACK. With a soft sound, a bluestone slab shattered, revealing a dark hole beneath.
Zhao Yuanhong bent down and pulled out a three-foot-square box.
He didn’t return to the Commandery Magistrate’s Office. Instead, he wound his way through the streets and alleys to the relatively intact Commandery Governor’s Mansion.
After Yan Wenlu’s death, the position of Governor had not been filled, so no one lived there. Only a few old servants were responsible for daily cleaning, making it seem particularly desolate.
Zhao Yuanhong, familiar with the layout, entered a room in the inner residence, found a secret compartment, and placed the box inside.
He found a food box in the mansion, took out most of the gold from the chest, and placed it in the food box. Carrying the heavy container, he left the Commandery Governor’s Mansion.
An unremarkable, green-canopied carriage was already waiting.
He silently boarded the carriage and said in a low voice, "Go near the Zhou Mansion. Find a quiet place to stop."
The carriage passed through the gradually bustling market streets and stopped in a quiet alley next to the Zhou Mansion.
Zhao Yuanhong alighted from the carriage. His Divine Sense spread out silently, instantly blanketing most of the Zhou Mansion.
He took a deep breath, and his figure shot up into the air, gracefully leaping over the Zhou Mansion’s wall and landing in the courtyard.
The moment his figure touched the ground.
The sound of rending air echoed as five figures flashed into existence from different directions, instantly forming a loose encirclement around him.
Zhao Yuanhong’s gaze swept over them quickly.
Besides Chen Shouheng and Zhou Shuwei, there were three others.
The young lady of the Cao Family, Cao Wenxuan; an elegant, middle-aged beauty; and a young man in close-fitting attire, holding a Short Halberd.
’Since when did the Chen Family get so close to the Cao Family?’
Zhao Yuanhong’s heart sank, but he forced a smile onto his face. "So, the distinguished guests from the Cao Family are all here. What a coincidence. This saves me the trouble of making two separate visits."
Chen Shouheng clearly hadn’t expected Zhao Yuanhong to barge into the mansion in this manner. A flash of astonishment crossed his eyes, but he quickly concealed it. "Governor, your esteemed presence graces us. Please forgive us for not coming out to greet you! Please, take a seat in the main hall."
...