Chapter 381 - 204: Counter-Espionage! Planting a Mine

Chapter 381: Chapter 204: Counter-Espionage! Planting a Mine

The night was still, the moon bright, the stars few.

Chu Kuangfeng stood poised in the sky above Yunze City, like the stark silhouette of a lonely peak.

The night wind howled, whipping at his slightly tattered robes, yet it could not scatter the deep gravity and hesitation etched upon his brow.

Below, the scattered lights of the City Lord’s Mansion sketched an imposing silhouette against the night.

And his target was within.

’Frankly,’ he thought, ’I’ve spent my life repaying kindness with kindness and grudges with vengeance. I despise nothing more than this sordid business of being controlled by others, forced to carry out assassinations and sneak attacks.’

’The fact that those bald donkeys from Golden Spring Temple are so impatient for Chen Sheng’s life proves the man is extraordinary. He must have done something that’s making that whole gang lose sleep at night.’

’For such a remarkable individual, I even feel a sliver of admiration, though we’ve never met.’

’Alas, some things are beyond one’s control.’

’My beloved is imprisoned in the Cihang Institute, and I’ve been forced to refine that damn Vajra Heart Relic. It’s like being bound by invisible Shackles.’

’Until I find a way to break this hold on me and rescue Hong Xiu, I have no choice but to play along.’

However, Chu Kuangfeng had his own plan, and his own bottom line.

Golden Spring Temple wanted him to kill someone, but he didn’t necessarily have to take a life.

As long as Chen Sheng could last a hundred breaths against him and alert the city’s Jingwu Guard, Chu Kuangfeng would have a legitimate reason to retreat in failure.

To that end, he had even leaked a faint trace of his aura as he approached, hoping to alert someone within the mansion.

At this thought, the last trace of hesitation in Chu Kuangfeng’s eyes vanished, replaced by icy resolve. He took a deep breath, as if to expel all the turmoil from his chest, and then let out a sudden, furious roar that shook the night sky.

Before the roar faded, he struck down with his palm.

A massive, tyrannical Palm Seal, like a toppling mountain, descended with the terrifying force of a thunderstorm, crashing straight toward the most brightly lit study in the City Lord’s Mansion.

The strike’s momentum was so immense it could wake half the city, but it also deliberately gave its target time to react and dodge.

SWISH—!

At the very instant the Palm Seal descended, a clear, piercing cry of a blade shot skyward from the study.

A crimson blade-light, like a bolt of blood-red silk, slashed upward to meet it, striking the very center of the massive Palm Seal with unerring precision.

BOOOOM—!!!!

A deafening roar erupted.

A violent shockwave erupted from the point of impact, sweeping wildly in all directions.

The study bore the brunt of the impact. Like a tower of blocks struck by a giant hammer, its beams splintered and its tiles flew. With a thunderous crash, the entire structure collapsed, kicking up a cloud of dust and smoke.

A figure shot out from the dust and smoke, coming to a steady halt in mid-air. It was none other than Chen Sheng. He brandished the Dragon Roar Blade, its body still humming, and his electric gaze shot toward the uninvited guest in the night sky. He bellowed harshly:

"Who are you, you madman?! How dare you raid a Government Office at night and attempt to murder an official of the court?!"

"Your killer!"

Chu Kuangfeng wasted no more words. With a sharp ring, the blood-soaked Nine-Ring Saber at his waist was drawn. The gleam of the blade was like snow reflecting the cold moon.

Gripping the saber with both hands, Chu Kuangfeng channeled immense force into his weapon. A terrifying blade-light, condensed to its absolute limit and stretching for dozens of yards, tore through the night. It carried the tyrannical power to cleave rivers as it slashed horizontally at Chen Sheng.

Chen Sheng retreated in a blur, moving like a phantom to narrowly evade the mountain-cleaving strike.

Its momentum unspent, the blade-light slammed into the decorative rockery in the courtyard below. With a deafening crash, the rock formation was utterly pulverized.

In the fleeting moment between their clashes, a subtle yet clear voice transmission slipped silently into Chen Sheng’s ear:

"Chen Zhenfu, my name is Chu Kuangfeng. I’ve come here against my will, forced by those bald donkeys from Golden Spring Temple.

I have no intention of taking your life. Just play along for a hundred breaths until the city guard is alerted. I will retreat then and cause you no real trouble!"

Chen Sheng knew this perfectly well, but he let none of it show on his face. Parrying another follow-up strike, he sent a voice transmission in reply, his tone laced with just the right amount of shock and doubt:

"Chu Kuangfeng? Could you be the same Hero Chu, the ’Gale Blade,’ who became famous in Ning’an six years ago for upholding justice before mysteriously disappearing?!"

"You... you recognize me?"

The momentum of Chu Kuangfeng’s blade never faltered, but inwardly, he was taken aback.

While "arduously" fending off the attacks, Chen Sheng quickly sent another transmission:

"I may have never met Hero Chu, but I have seen your portrait in the Jingwu Bureau’s Archives Pavilion. What I don’t understand is why you’re now helping evil men, turning your blade against me?

Have you... have you really submitted to those bald donkeys and become their attack dog?"

"Alas!"

Chu Kuangfeng’s voice transmission was thick with profound helplessness and indignation:

"My hands are tied. My loved one is imprisoned in the Cihang Institute at Golden Spring Temple, and I’ve been forced to refine a mind-controlling Buddhist Relic. For the time being, I’m at their mercy and must obey their orders.

But rest assured, Governor. I only came today to put on a show. I have absolutely no intention of taking your life. As soon as the opportunity arises, I will be gone!"

"To think they would do such a thing!"

Chen Sheng’s ’shock’ was clearly conveyed in his transmission:

"Golden Spring Temple preaches about mercy and compassion, but behind everyone’s back, they use despicable tactics like taking loved ones hostage and controlling people’s minds! Hero Chu, you can’t let these hypocritical bald donkeys have you by the throat forever!"

"You think I don’t know that?"

Chu Kuangfeng’s blade strikes grew even more frenzied, churning the night sky into a tempest, but his transmitted voice was laced with bitterness:

"I’m just waiting to find a way to remove this accursed relic from my body. Then I’ll no longer be at the mercy of these bald donkeys!"

The two fought to an ’inseparable’ standstill in the sky. Flashes of blades crisscrossed and palm-winds howled. The ceaseless, thundering booms of their battle woke more than half the populace of Yunze City.

In the distance, torchlights were already converging, and the faint shouts and alarms of the Jingwu Guard drifted through the air.