Stranger Danger

Ye Qing shrugged casually as if Moth Lady hadn’t just threatened to kill hundreds of people. “I’m a man of fairness, however. You may leave, but only after you’ve taken a punch from me. After all, you attacked me with the Beauty Moth earlier. It’s only fair that I pay you back for what you did, right?”

“If you can survive my punch, then your debt to me is settled. It’s very fair, right?”

“I’m assuming that your silence means that you accept my proposal. Here I come!”

Ye Qing rushed forward before he finished his sentence.

“You—”

Ye Qing had charged Moth Lady before Moth Lady could make sense of his nonsensical “proposal”. Caught off guard, she reacted instinctively and summoned her Beauty Moths to defend her instead of attacking the civilians as she had originally planned. A thick cloud of white powder filled the air in an instant, and the human faces on the moths’ abdomen released a strange, invisible power that seemed capable of sucking the soul right out of a person’s body.

Ye Qing ignored it all, however. Although he was one against many, he continued forward fearlessly like a cavalry troop ready to punch through a thousand formations. The wind howled, and the heart blazed with dauntlessness and audacity.

“Break Through”

His fist punched through the invisible power and countless Beauty Moths like they were nothing more but the wind. “Break Through” was best employed against tough defenses and could supposedly penetrate even ten thousand formations like nothing, but less a bunch of Beauty Moths.

By the time Moth Lady realized what was going on, Ye Qing had broken through the obstacle and appeared in front of her. Then, he punched her right in the face.

His fist easily punched through her astral qi like it was made of paper. The next second, her head exploded into bits of red and white.

After Moth Lady was dead, the Beauty Moths in the air abruptly fell from the sky as if their source of power was cut off. Ye Qing scanned them with his spirit and confirmed that they were all dead.

Ye Qing withdrew his hand and shrugged innocently. “I wanted to let you go, really. It’s not my fault you’re too weak to withstand my punch.”

“Ahhh!”

It was at this moment the civilians finally screamed out in earnest, but only because it was suddenly raining moths, and they saw Moth Lady’s headless corpse. Most of them didn’t realize that Ye Qing and Moth Lady were fighting each other, or that the dark cloud that suddenly blotted out the sky temporarily was really a bunch of killer moths, much less the fact that they were a hair away from being killed. You would be surprised how many people wouldn’t notice something that was right above their heads.

Speaking of people, the jianghu warriors who were watching the battle from the shadows and waiting for an opportunity were all wearing grim looks on their faces.

Who was Moth Lady? She was a powerful jianghu warrior who was infamous throughout Tian Yong. Moth Lady was only a middle-stage Astral Refiner, but she was proficient at manipulating the Beauty Moths and incredibly ruthless. Once, she had infested an entire county of people just to nurture her Beauty Moths and was pursued by the government and Purity Sword, one of the Five Profound Sects. However, she ultimately managed to escape pursuit.

Not only that, Moth Lady once ambushed and killed a Spirit Purifier from the Intelligence Department of Chu. It was this feat that made her famous throughout Tian Yong.

The Intelligence Department was an espionage agency Chu had set up to spy on other countries and monitor all intelligence within Chu. Few things were known about the Intelligence Department, and everyone who served it was an elite. Strength wise, they were on par with the Pacification Bureau.

Moth Lady was no weakling, and yet Ye Qing had still crushed her with insulting ease. Was she really that weak, or was Ye Qing too strong?

The answer was self-evident.

“Idiots. There’s a reason the Way of Taiping issued those rewards instead of killing Ye Qing themselves.”

On the top floor of the highest restaurant in the city, a middle-aged man with fiery red hair and a rough appearance was observing the battle with a disdainful expression. He was wearing a fiery red robe as well.

The restaurant was almost two kilometers away from the battlefield, but the red-haired man was acting like he had witnessed every detail of the battle from beginning until the end.

“It’s a good thing they’re so stupid though. They’ve given me a golden opportunity to claim the reward myself.”

“His breath is murky, his back is slumped, his muscles are relaxed, his spirit is unfocused, and his energy is spent. Yes, this is a great opportunity.”

He abruptly swiped the wine jar on the table and took a greedy gulp. Some of the wine trickled down the corners of his lips and drenched his shirt, giving him a wild and uninhibited appearance.

“Hahaha! A good wine deserves a good kill!” The man laughed loudly before kicking a massive red bow into his hands.

As soon as the bow entered his hands, he immediately bent his knees and slowly drew the bow into a full draw.

An invisible force spread throughout the room. The entire restaurant was shaking a little like it was experiencing an earthquake.

Whoosh!

The man let go as soon as he had drawn the bow fully. The arrow disappeared faster than the eye could blink.

With that done, the man abruptly collapsed back into his chair as if he had spent all of his energy. His forehead was covered in sweat as well.

He looked extremely excited, however. He swiped the wine jar and downed a few gulps of wine again. His face was unusually red as he laughed, “Hahaha! The wine is great, and so is my shot! Hahahaha!”

……

Ye Qing pulsed his spirit after killing Moth Lady. After confirming that the mice lurking in the shadows were intimidated, he hid a sigh of relief and released his energies.

He made it look easy, but he knew it was anything but. Moth Lady—or more accurately, the horde of Beauty Moths she raised because the woman herself wasn’t strong—was extremely dangerous, and the only reason he managed to kill her in one punch was thanks to Gu Suitang’s teachings. Otherwise, it would’ve been a pyrrhic victory at best.

“Wait… something is—”

Suddenly, Ye Qing’s spirit pulsed painfully like it had a life of its own. His skin prickled like a thousand needles, and his body felt ice cold.

The next instant, a blood red arrow abruptly appeared in front of him.

The arrow was as red as blood, and the silhouette of a dragon was swimming around its shaft. He could hear faint draconic roars as well.

The blood red arrow had appeared without a sound and seemingly out of nowhere. By the time he noticed it, it was already right in front of him.

Caught off guard, Ye Qing could only grab the arrow and try to stop it with his bare hands.

“Hmph!”

Ye Qing let out a muffled groan as soon as his hands made contact with the arrow. A blazing, terrifying energy poured into his body as the arrow pushed back his arms until the tip touched his forehead.

Bang bang bang!

The streets behind Ye Qing abruptly exploded into pieces. The trail of destruction was at least fifty meters long, and it was ashen black like it was scorched by fire.

“Phew…”

When the explosion came to a stop, Ye Qing breathed out a puff of fiery red force, and the surrounding air suddenly became unbearably hot.

“I can’t possibly receive a gift from a stranger! Here, you can have it back!”

Ye Qing’s complexion returned to normal after he breathed out the force. Despite his quip, his expression was as furious as it was murderous.

Holding the arrow like a javelin, he spun a full circle on his right foot before tossing it into the air.

The arrow shot back into the sky just as quickly as before, and the limestone floor beneath Ye Qing’s foot cracked like a spider’s web.

……

“He’s probably dead, but I should check!”

At the restaurant, the red-haired man set down the wine jar and slowly rose to his feet. Then, he looked out of the window.

It was at this moment a shrill sonic boom deafened his ears. Before he could figure out what was going on, he saw his arrow flying back even faster than when he released it a moment ago.

What the—?

The thought hadn’t even disappeared from the red-haired man’s mind when the arrow pierced through his heart and hit the pillar behind him. It kept shaking like it was mocking the red-haired man.

“How can this be? How can… this…”

Why did my arrow fly back?

Why did my arrow kill me?

Bright red blood bubbled between the man’s lips as his wide open eyes slowly lost their liveliness.

He died without finding out the answer.

……

“I wonder if the archer is dead?” Ye Qing wondered out loud. He wasn’t planning to check his kill because he literally couldn’t. He had tossed the arrow back to where it was originally released, but he didn’t actually know where it came from. If his counterattack successfully killed his opponent, then all was well. If not, well, he wasn’t going to waste his time searching for them when it was entirely possible that they had run away.

Plus, he didn’t want to give the archer another opportunity to shoot him. The arrow was untraceable until the moment it was about to hit, and it contained so much power that it came very, very close to killing him.

“You really can’t underestimate the jianghu!”

Ye Qing sucked in a deep breath and frowned. “This is going to be a pain.”

It was clear that Moth Lady and the mysterious archer were targeting him because of the Way of Taiping’s bounty.

Before this, he thought that these jianghu warriors would think twice before attacking a Patrolman of the Pacification Bureau. However, reality proved that he had sorely underestimated their courage and their greed. Who would’ve thought that these bastards would attack him in broad daylight?

Anyone could be bought. It was just a matter of how much!

Worst of all, this wasn’t the end, but the beginning. More and more jianghu warriors were entering Luo Shui every day, and his troubles had just begun.

“Ugh! What a headache!” Ye Qing rubbed his forehead in annoyance. He could tell that he was going to be busy for a long time to come.

It was at this moment someone called out, “Lord Ye! What happened?”

Ye Qing turned around. It was Li Lang [1]and a squad of bailiffs walking toward him.

Ye Qing’s eyes immediately lit up. “Constable Li, someone just tried to have me killed. Surely this falls under the commandery hall’s jurisdiction?”

Li Lang took a moment to scan his surroundings and listened to the people’s gossipings. He quickly figured out what was going on and let out a bitter chuckle. “About that…”

The administrative division was in charge of public security and civil affairs, so technically, Ye Qing was perfectly right.

However, everyone and their mothers had heard of Ye Qing’s exploits, and the victim of his heroism, the Way of Taiping, was so pissed that they issued an official bounty for his head. As a result, countless jianghu warriors were converging on Luo Shui to kill Ye Qing. How the hell were they supposed to handle them all?

In fact, they had been working non-stop to quell these people for the past week or so. Jianghu warriors were used to living by their own rules, and many of them were hard-boiled criminals, killers or madmen who would kill without batting an eyelid. Their presence already meant trouble, but it was a powder keg waiting to explode when they were all gathered in one place. Already, they had dealt much damage to Luo Shui.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, jianghu warriors weren’t ordinary civilians that they could push around as they pleased. Every single one of them was a powerhouse in their own right. Even with the aid of the Black Feathers Guard and constant patrols, they were only treating the symptom and not the cure.

That was why Li Lang really wanted to say, “Yes, but what can we possibly do to stop this?”

Li Lang wasn’t stupid enough to voice his thoughts out loud, of course. He adopted a righteous tone and answered, “But of course! If it is okay to assassinate an imperial official in public, then what is the point of law and order?”

“Do not worry, Lord Ye. The administrative division has you covered. I will mobilize the men to arrest your assassins this instant.”

“Let’s go, men!”

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, fleeing is best. Sorry, Lord Ye, but you’re on your own!

Ye Qing: “...” The gall of this guy! His words sounded pretty, but it’s completely useless! The assassins are lying right there on the floor, so who the fuck are you trying to arrest? A corpse? You might as well tell me that you’re going to arrest the bitches who sicced these idiots on me, the Way of Taiping then!

Don’t think I don’t know that you’re just trying to abscond your responsibility! Where is your sense of duty and professionalism as a public official? Have you fed it all to the dogs?

1. Some of you might have forgotten, but he’s the chief constable who investigated Luo Feibai’s death. You know, the Nameless Hair incident. ☜