Stranger Danger

A blind old man carrying a bamboo stick slowly stepped out of the crowd. As he tapped the ground, the crowd automatically opened up a path as if the sound of his taps was magical.

The old man walked very, very slowly as if his legs were damaged, but there was some sort of special rhythm behind his footsteps and taps. It drew one’s attention almost like music.

“Blind Old Man? I wasn’t expecting to see him here.” A hint of seriousness entered Chu Nianjiu’s lazy expression when he saw him.

“Blind Old Man? Is he famous?” Wei Yueshan asked.

Lin Yuhuai answered, “Very much, and he deserves his reputation. The Blind Old Man normally operates around Hejian and Guangping[1], and he’s a famous killer who would kill anyone for money. Not much is known about his killing methods, only that his victims’ foreheads normally have a red dot on them. That is why he is also known as the ‘Red Dot’. He shouldn’t be here, but I guess greed is a powerful motivator.”

“Is he really that strong?” Wei Yueshan muttered to himself before looking at the old man. After the Astral Refiner had reached the shoreline, he surprised everyone by stepping on the water and continuing forward as if he was walking on solid ground.

When Blind Old Man tapped the water with his bamboo stick, eighteen water swords suddenly appeared in the air and shot toward Ye Qing. Ye Qing easily swatted them out of existence with a casual wave of his hand, but Blind Old Man ignored the failure and continued what he was doing. First it was eighteen swords, then it was thirty six. Seventy two swords followed afterward, and then it was one hundred and eight.

“The Thousand Change Gui Water Qi and the Water Manipulation True Sutra,” Fang Xuanlang commented after seeing this.

The Thousand Change Gui Water Qi was one of the seventy two average grade astral qis and a type of Gui Water. As its name might suggest, it could be transformed into anything.

The Water Manipulation True Sutra was the Water Manipulation Palace’s ultimate art. It could control water like one’s limbs and fingers.

“Is Blind Old Man a disciple of the Water Manipulation Palace?”

“I don’t know.” An Runyu shook his head.

In the arena,Ye Qing either slapped or swept the endless rain of water swords with his sleeves. Not a single one managed to get within one meter of him before they were evaporated by his Burning Wind Qi. The shockwaves of his defense even caused a wave to swell in Blind Old Man’s direction.

Still, Blind Old Man paid it no heed. He stepped over the wave like it was nothing more but an obstacle. When he finally set foot on the arena, Blind Old Man abruptly crossed thirty meters of distance in the blink of an eye and thrust the bamboo stick straight toward Ye Qing’s forehead.

The attack was sharp and swift as lightning. The attack was simple, but it was unstoppable. It sliced through the water mist and even the thick astral qi surrounding Ye Qing as easily as tofu.

Blind Old Man’s greatest martial art was neither the rain of swords nor the Water Manipulation True Sutra. It was the simple thrust he had practiced countless times in his life.

A human only lived once. Just the same, one hit in the right place was all it took to take a person’s life. That was why he had practiced one and only one move since he picked up the sword: the straight thrust. He didn’t include any unnecessary changes or movements to the attack. There was only speed, accuracy, sharpness and ruthlessness.

“What a swift and potent attack! No wonder his victims only had a single red dot on their forehead!”

The audience gasped in shock when they saw the attack. Most of them didn’t think they would be able to stop the attack from connecting, and even if they could, they would have to pay a severe price to do so.

What shocked them even more, however, was the fact that Ye Qing had stopped the bamboo stick dead in its tracks with just two fingers. It was like he was catching a strand of noodle. It refused to move forward no matter how hard Blind Old Man pushed.

Crack!

Ye Qing squeezed and crushed the bamboo stick with his fingers. The thin sword hidden within the stick also shattered into pieces.

The second the thin sword shattered, Blind Old Man immediately backed away from Ye Qing. He was moving even faster than when he suddenly charged toward Ye Qing in a sudden burst of speed. Unfortunately…

Swoosh!

He had just reached the edge of the arena when he suddenly wobbled on his feet. It was because a red dot had appeared on his forehead just like all the people he had killed until now. Even more ironic was the fact that he was killed by his own sword. Ye Qing had flicked a metal fragment at him. It was as pitiful as it was ironic.

Ye Qing sneered without even looking at Blind Old Man’s corpse. “Another trash. Next!”

For a time, there was only dead silence inside and outside the Luo Shui River. After waiting for a bit and finding no more willing victims, Ye Qing engaged his taunt mode once more.

“Is that it? Is this really the extent of your strength and courage? And you shit eaters thought you could kill me like this? How disappointing!

“You know what? Fine. I give you permission to attack me many-on-one. Now come get me!”

Ye Qing crossed his arms and bent his head forty five degrees toward the sky. His expression was carefully arranged into a look of abject scorn and arrogance as well. It was super effective.

“The arrogance!”

“You are courting death, boy!”

“He thought he could look down on us just because he killed a few people?”

“You dare underestimate the warriors of jianghu? Get him, brothers and sisters!”

Maybe it was because Ye Qing’s attitude and words were too insulting, maybe Ye Qing’s permission spurred them into thinking that they stood a chance if they attacked him together, or maybe it was both. Regardless, at least a dozen jianghu warriors launched themselves toward Ye Qing from every direction.

……

“The Crying Boy, Lady Pear Blossom, Growth and Wither, Ghastly Willow…”

At the restaurant, Chu Nianjiu and the others turned pale. “Has Joyless gone insane!?”

Every name he recited was a famous and powerful late-stage Astral Refiner in Tian Yong. While the rest of the group were weaker, even the weakest of them was an Astral Refiner. Forget an Astral Refiner, even a Spirit Purifier would have to get out of harm’s way.

With that in mind, what the hell was Ye Qing thinking? Did his victories get into his head, or were the attackers hired actors or something?

Lin Yuhuai, Fang Xuanlang, An Runyun and more all looked worried and puzzled.

“Hahaha! He thought he’s invincible just because he killed a few useless pieces of trash!” On the other side, Xue Shiwu let out a bark of laughter. “He overestimates his power[2]!”

Wen Zailai looked like he was smiling, but the veins popping on the back of his hand betrayed his true feelings. He wanted Ye Qing dead, but only if Wang Luori was the killer. If Ye Qing died in another person’s hands, then Wang Luori would surely punish him for it.

What the fuck is wrong with this guy? Is he really so reckless and arrogant that he couldn’t recognize the sheer folly of his actions?

Some people were happy, and some people were worried. Ye Qing himself was perfectly calm, however.

He opened his mouth and spat out Lightning Bolt. One of the attackers were immediately crushed into bits.

While Lightning Bolt was cutting through the air, Ye Qing charged toward his opponents and grabbed the head of a swordsman, crushing it like a watermelon.

That was all he managed to do before a spear, a halberd, a hook and a battle axe attacked him from four different directions.

The spear was known as the Sorrowful Spear. The wind howled mournfully as it thrust toward Ye Qing.

The halberd was known as the Joyful Halberd. When it cut through the air, it sounded like someone was laughing on top of their lungs.

The hook was known as the Parting Hook. It was shaped like a crescent, and it was both fast and unexpected. One second you were saying goodbye, and the next your head had already left your shoulders.

The battle axe was the Union Axe. The axe style was fluid and majestic.

The four attackers were the four famous brothers, Sorrow, Joy, Parting and Union. They were also quadruplets. Their cooperation was perfect because they shared a sixth sense with each other, and their combined attack cut off any possible retreat for Ye Qing.

However, Ye Qing’s silhouette flickered in multiple directions as if it was splitting apart before four Ye Qings appeared behind the four brothers. A swing of the saber later, and all four brothers were beheaded just like that.

“Haha… trash!”

Ye Qing flicked his blade once before splitting into even more afterimages. They appeared up, down, left, right, behind someone, beside someone, or even above their heads. For a time, it looked like they were fighting an army of Ye Qings. One thing for certain, every time his saber flashed, someone would drop to the ground and died.

And so everyone watched in astonishment as Ye Qing cut down his attackers like they were nothing more but wheats. Luo Shui was packed with people, but now only a handful of them were still standing. The rest had collapsed on the ground or into the river, dying the bluish green waters red.

“He can’t have much energy left! Let’s get him together!”

Crying Boy, Lady Pear Blossom, Growth and Wither, and Ghastly Willow hadn’t participated in the attack because they didn’t want to appear dishonorable in public, but now? Now, there was no time to consider such things. Someone growled out the order, and Ghastly Willow attacked first by waving his willow branch and growing multiple willow trees on the arena.

The willow trees were grayish black in color, and their twisted branches looked like snarling faces. It was the Hatred-class Stranger, the Ghost Willow. When the trees dissolved into nothing, their branches and leaves were scattered all over the place.

Amidst the willow leaves, Lady Pear Blossom danced as elegantly as a celestial from the moon. The way her limbs twisted and turned with supernatural grace, her sleeves flew elegantly across the air, and the pear blossoms clinging to her curvaceous body all combined into a potent poison that could easily suck out the soul of a weak-willed man.

“Sky Demon Dance”

But Ye Qing was neither weak-willed nor unprepared for a mental attack. While visualizing the “Emperor Fuxi Visualization Method” to protect his mind from her influence, he made a beeline for her. All the willow branches and leaves in his path were crushed with insulting ease.

The Ghost Willow’s strength lay in its willow branches and leaves. It could turn intangible, pass into a person’s body, and fill up their insides to suffocate them. It was an excellent assassination tool, but not so much against someone who was prepared against it.

When Lady Pear Blossom saw that Ye Qing was rushing her, she twirled on her feet and surrounded herself in layers upon layers of force. When Ye Qing entered its range, he suddenly felt like he was wading through a swamp.

“Hoo…”

Ye Qing didn’t back down, however. Sucking in a deep breath, he focused his qi, essence and spirit and threw a punch. No one and nothing could stand in his way!

“Break Through”

The punch force punched through both the layers of force and Lady Pear Blossom’s torso. It was like they were made of paper!

1. Both are counties of Tianyong. ☜

2. I totally didn’t translate this thinking of a certain meme. ☜