Chapter 258: This House... Is

Night lay over Dangyang City like spilled ink.

Gongs and drums rang through the darkness; incense smoke curled through the streets; and torchlight stretched like a fiery dragon.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Head Constable Yang shouted at the top of his lungs. "By order of the county magistrate, the Rat Immortals are hunting demons! People, do not be alarmed!"

He wasn’t the least bit frightened as he watched the rats dart wildly across the street ahead. If anything, he looked rather excited. After all, a sight like this was not something one got to see often.

The commotion woke nearly everyone in the city. Some people panicked when they saw rats running out of their homes and instinctively grabbed sticks or straw sandals to beat them. But when they heard the shouting from the streets, they hesitated. Others took out incense burners, and began burning incense and praying.

The people of the Divine Continent had always had complicated feelings toward rats since ancient times. On the one hand, they loathed them deeply. Phrases like "short-sighted as a rat, shifty-eyed like a thieving rat," and "wavering like a rat at both ends" were all used as insults.

On the other hand, these little creatures had lived alongside humans for generations. They could never be completely killed off or eradicated, and coupled with the saying that the Rat of the Earthly Branches broke the divide between yin and yang, they were also believed to possess a certain spirituality. Thus, people sometimes worshipped them.

Thus, one of the Five Immortals of the Northeast was the "Rat Immortal."

Customs such as the "rats' wedding" and "rats marrying off a daughter" were especially widespread throughout the Divine Continent. The exact dates varied from place to place, but most fell around the Lunar New Year.

On those days, if people heard rats moving about in the middle of the night, they not only refrained from hitting them but would even burn incense or scatter grain along the corridors. There was an old saying: Disturb them for one day, and they'll disturb you for a year.

Seeing such a spectacle now, it was only natural that some residents began muttering to themselves. Dangyang had been anything but peaceful lately. If the Rat Immortal could truly expose the creature causing trouble, offering it a stick of incense afterward seemed perfectly reasonable.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

The rats of Dangyang seemed to truly be celebrating a festival. They poured out from every corner of the city, scurried wildly through the streets, and circled around the procession. The scene was bizarre, yet strangely dreamlike.

And yet this was only the beginning.

Holding the two rats in his hands, Lu San advanced while stepping in the formation of the Big Dipper. His gaze gradually became vacant as he chanted in a strange cadence. "At Jiuyi the winds flow free, the shaman's song rises far. Beasts dance in graceful form; spirit radiance shines resplendent. Follow now my command, guard and protect my land..."

Wang Daoxuan's eyes lit up. Stroking his beard, he murmured, "It seems Brother Lu's inheritance is most likely connected to the Mountain Ghost tradition of the Chu shamans."

As Lu San continued his incantation, the rats scattered in every direction, racing through streets, alleys and even people's homes, as though searching for something. At the entrance of the county courthouse, lanterns swayed in the breeze, casting flickering shadows.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

The rats streamed into the courthouse, crossed the main hall, and even searched the rear gardens and side rooms, their noses twitching as they ran. Magistrate Zhang clutched the hem of his official robe as rats flowed past his feet. His forehead was covered in cold sweat, and he did not dare move an inch.

Fortunately, once the procession moved on, the rats quickly dispersed as well. When they reached a cart-and-horse inn, rats burrowed through the hay in the livestock sheds, startling the mules and horses into neighing and stamping their forehooves.

The innkeeper and wagon drivers hurried to calm the animals, staring in stunned disbelief. When the rats passed a grain and oil shop, the owner was furious at first. Yet to his surprise, the rats did not enter the shop at all. They merely sniffed around the corners of the walls before swiftly moving on.

It was the same throughout the city. Whether they were wealthy households, local gentry or impoverished families, no one dared interfere for fear of offending the Rat Immortals.

The most delighted people were undoubtedly the wandering performers of the jianghu. They traveled from place to place both to earn a living and broaden their horizons. Whether it be mundane stories from the marketplace or strange cases handled by officials, everything could become material for their performances. The events of the night were enough to inspire several new tales.

The men of the Military Surveillance Department were also shaken by the spectacle, but they were disciplined professionals. Blades in hand and crossbows raised, they swept their sharp gazes constantly across their surroundings.

They had a feeling that tonight's search would definitely bear fruit.

Up on the rooftops, Li Yan, Captain Zheng, and several disciples from the mystic sects leapt from building to building while using their respective divine abilities to investigate.

The night wind whipped at their robes, yet none of them took their eyes off the surroundings.

Suddenly, the Taixuan Orthodox Sect disciple's eyes flashed sharply. He said in a low voice, "Someone on the second floor of the inn is trying to flee!"

His divine ability specialized in observing qi; it could also perceive changes in blood qi.

The moment Li Yan heard him, he drove both feet downward. With a crack, roof tiles shattered beneath him, and his entire body shot forward like a sword.

Crash!

Two figures smashed through a second-floor window of the inn.

Li Yan snapped. "Trying to run?"

Killing intent flashed in his eyes. Twisting his body in midair, he drew a throwing knife from his waist. Hidden force erupted through his arm, and he used the momentum of the twist to fling it.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The throwing knives ripped through the air with shrill whistles. Their speed was naturally astonishing.

"Aghhh!"

One of the men screamed as a knife buried itself directly into his hip bone. He tumbled off the roof amid a clatter of shattered roof tiles.

The other man was highly skilled and was also a cultivator. Having already sensed that something was wrong, he abruptly twisted to the side. Fragments of stone scattered as the throwing knife embedded itself in the wall with a sharp crack.

Li Yan, having exerted hidden force in midair, lost his momentum and had no choice but to flip like a sparrowhawk and land in the street.

Clang!

A ring of steel striking steel sounded. The instant his feet touched the ground, he exploded forward again, drawing his blade as he sprinted down the street in pursuit.

At the same time, he finally got a clear look at the evil cultivator. The man was dressed like a porter, with coarse cloth clothes and a broad-brimmed hat. A thick beard hid his face as he wielded a blade in each hand.

After dodging Li Yan's throwing knife, the man immediately accelerated, sprinting and leaping across the rooftops at a speed no slower than Li Yan's. What was even stranger was that despite such explosive movement, the tiles beneath his feet did not crack at all. His arms swung in wide arcs, and his body swayed from side to side like a willow branch in the wind.

He was an expert in Emei Boxing!

Li Yan immediately grew more wary. He had previously learned about the characteristics of Emei Boxing: Hands like springtime willow branches, steps like lotus leaves swaying in the wind.

Judging from this man's movements, he was also clearly an expert in the Jin Transformation Realm.

His body carried considerable weight, yet his footwork remained light and agile. He could bound across rooftops without breaking a single tile, freely directing force throughout his body. Only someone who had reached the Jin Transformation Realm could accomplish that. Moreover, he had dodged Li Yan's throwing knife and carried a faint aura of sinister yin qi. He was clearly also a practitioner of mystic arts.

A Jin Transformation Realm expert who was also a cultivator! No wonder he had dared infiltrate the city alone to cause trouble.

The two moved with astonishing speed and left everyone else behind in the blink of an eye. Seeing that he could not catch up, Captain Zheng gritted his teeth and leapt onto the higher roof of a nearby two-story building.

Standing against the wind, he removed the heavy bow from his back, drew three arrows from his quiver, and erupted with hidden force, firing all three in rapid succession.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The arrows screamed through the air.

Captain Zheng was one of the Military Surveillance Department's master archers. Although he used a heavy bow, the hidden force he added still sent his arrows flying with tremendous speed. The three feathered arrows streaked toward the man one after another.

The man had awakened a hearing related divine ability. Hearing the wind behind him, his body swayed like a willow in a gale, left, then right, dodging the first two arrows in succession. However, that was exactly what Captain Zheng had intended. The first two arrows had merely been setting up the third.

The final arrow left the man nowhere to evade, and its timing was viciously precise, arriving just as he reached the edge of a roof.

Even as a Jin Transformation Realm expert, the man could not possibly withstand an arrow with his bare body. He had no choice but to flip over and drop from the rooftop.

Before he could even land, he heard something tearing through the air behind him.

Li Yan had already burst forward, unleashing hidden force through his legs several times in quick succession. He thrust his blade straight out while airborne, aiming directly for the back of the man's head.

At the same time, the Soul-Hooking Chain whistled through the air toward his target.

The man had originally intended to keep fleeing, but the instant he heard the clattering rattle of the Soul-Hooking Chain, his expression changed drastically. He ducked low, narrowly avoiding the chain, while simultaneously crossing his twin blades and striking their hilts together.

Black powder had been concealed inside the hilts. The moment it was exposed to the air, it erupted into a cloud of black smoke, and the man's figure vanished along with it.

He knows an escape art too!

Li Yan was startled. He pulled his blade back to guard his head and abruptly blocked.

Clang!

Sparks burst behind him. The man, wrapped in black smoke, had somehow appeared behind Li Yan without warning. His right-hand blade had then come crashing down with tremendous force. The strike was so powerful that Li Yan felt his right arm go numb.

But he refused to give ground. Without even turning around, he suddenly hooked his left leg backward, then followed through with a sideways kick aimed directly at his opponent.

This move came from Hong Boxing, and was called the Donkey's Back Kick.

Its name sounded ridiculous, but just like the move known as Yellow Dog Pissing, it was a genuine killing technique within the boxing form.

The Donkey's Back Kick looked as though it were aimed at the groin, but in truth, the feint merely built momentum for the real kick. False and true were mixed together in the move; even a ferocious beast would suffer badly if struck by it.

Not to mention the fact that Li Yan had even infused the kick with hidden force.

The apparent groin attack did indeed make the man dodge, but just as Li Yan's leg lashed out, the man's knee abruptly bent, catching Li Yan's ankle and dispersing the force behind the kick.

Emei Boxing, Slanting Flower Insert!

Li Yan was not surprised in the slightest. He already knew his opponent was a Jin Transformation Realm expert in Emei Boxing, so breaking this move was naturally easy for him. But Li Yan used the collision to turn himself around, swinging Earth Breaker around his body. After knocking aside the man's blade in his right hand, he swept the blade upward at an angle, attempting to split open his abdomen.

Earth Breaker was a larger blade, and thus rather unsuited to the fast-blade techniques of the Guanzhong Plains. But the reclusive elder on Mount Hua had possessed a wealth of experience. Merely by measuring Li Yan's bones and frame, he had already known what sort of weapon suited him best.

Earth Breaker was powerful when chopping and could be wielded with one hand or two, combining both overwhelming force and adaptability. For Li Yan, who was growing taller and stronger while his physical strength continued to increase, it could unleash even greater power.

After practicing with it for some time, he had now completely mastered it. As expected, it felt far more natural in his hands than his previous Guanshan blade.

Techniques for bigger blades were simple and direct. They included left and right horizontal cuts, bow-stance straight thrusts, the one-legged concealed blade, advancing upward cuts, slicing cuts, wrapping the head and guarding the skull, reverse-grip chops, reverse-grip figure-eight cuts, and so on.

The names were plain, but their power depended entirely on the person wielding the blade. For this advancing upward cut, Li Yan gripped the hilt with both hands. The force behind it was so tremendous that the blade produced a shrill whistle through the air.

The man wielded Emei twin blades, a style that emphasized alternating fast and slow blades, blending hardness and softness with far more intricate techniques. Yet, when faced with Li Yan's fierce strike, he could only raise both blades to block.

The weapons collided, scattering sparks. The man was about to continue attacking when his expression suddenly changed.

Crack! Crackle!

Lightning exploded across the hilt of Li Yan's blade. Yin lightning was particularly effective against the soul. The man had no time to prepare. His hair instantly stood on end; his vision went black; and his head filled with a deafening buzz.

Li Yan immediately reversed his grip and slashed left and right.

Reverse-Grip Figure-Eight Slash!

"Ahhh!"

A miserable scream rang out as both of the man's arms were severed and fell through the air. Li Yan showed no mercy. He immediately followed with a crushing kick to the chest, then flicked the blade left and right to shake the blood from it.

The man crashed heavily into the wall and slid to the ground.

Li Yan had already sheathed his blade with a metallic clang. He said coldly, "A member of the Huaguang Sect, and an orthodox practitioner of Emei at that. Since when did you start serving wicked cultivators?"

Indeed, Li Yan had long since recognized the man's background. The Huaguang Sect practiced martial sorcery, a tradition secretly passed down among martial artists. Those who cultivated it were often martial arts instructors or armed escorts. Its techniques included Greater and Lesser Closed Strikes, Five-Lightning Strikes, Shadow Strikes, Spirit Strikes, and others.

The technique the man had used earlier was precisely the Shadow Strike.

When Li Yan had fought Xiong Baodong in Chang'an, he had once asked Luo Mingzi for help. Luo Mingzi had then invited two experts. One was Night Crier, who had since become one of Li Yan's disreputable drinking companions.

But the other was the mysterious assassin known simply as Shadow. Though virtually unknown in the jianghu, he was extraordinarily formidable. Ordinarily, he concealed himself inside a pawnshop, posing as an unremarkable appraiser.

Shadow had left a deep impression on Li Yan that night. Not only had he killed numerous experts of the Fire Bear Gang, his techniques had been astonishing as well. He could hide within shadows and approach Xiong Baodong without making a sound, frightening the latter so badly that he no longer dared cause trouble for Li Yan.

But after that night, Shadow had vanished without a trace. Unable to contain his curiosity, Li Yan had later asked Luo Mingzi about him.

Shadow had indeed come from the Huaguang Sect, though from a secret assassin lineage specializing in the Shadow Strike. The method was extreme and carried hidden dangers in cultivation, but its power was equally terrifying.

Even now, Li Yan had never seen anyone with an escape technique more advanced than Shadow's. The man before him was still far inferior in comparison. Even so, the Shadow Strike was extremely troublesome. Afraid that the man might flee again the moment he heard the Soul-Hooking Chain, Li Yan had used yin lightning to incapacitate him instead.

At the same time, Captain Zheng arrived with his men. The moment he saw the man's face, he was stunned. "Blood Blade Cheng Qu?"

Li Yan frowned slightly. "Is he famous?"

Captain Zheng said solemnly, "He's a well-known expert in Sichuan and Shu. How did he end up joining the Heavenly Saint Cult?"

As he spoke, he glanced at the severed arms on the ground. The corner of his eye twitched, and he lowered his voice. "Young Hero Li, we can't kill this man. Just leave him to us."

Li Yan looked surprised. "Why?"

Captain Zheng glanced around before whispering, "He's from the Cheng clan of Sichuan and Shu. Their patriarch is Cheng Jianxin, a Grandmaster. I've also heard he's a Sword Immortal capable of controlling flying swords."

Li Yan was immediately taken aback. "A Sword Immortal?"

Red Yaksha, the demon hunter from Chang'an, had once told him that she and her master had encountered a Sword Immortal in Shu. They had only caught a glimpse of his traces and never learned his name.

The Military Surveillance Department monitored the jianghu, so naturally, it possessed far more intelligence. Li Yan knew of the Cheng clan of Sichuan and Shu. They could be considered the most powerful family of the Emei lineage, but this was the first time he had heard the name Cheng Jianxin. As it turned out, the man was a Grandmaster!

"Hahaha..." At that moment, Cheng Qu, lying on the ground with blood frothing from his mouth, let out a cold laugh. "Don't worry. I left the Cheng Clan long ago. I have nothing whatsoever to do with that old bastard Cheng Jianxin. If you're going to kill or torture me, get on with it!"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes and asked, "Whatever happened between you and the Cheng Clan has nothing to do with us. But since you came from a renowned jianghu family, why help villains commit evil and tarnish the good name of Lord Guan?"

"Good name? Pah!" Cheng Qu spat out a mouthful of bloody foam, revealing cold white teeth as he sneered. "Everyone praises him for his loyalty and righteousness, but has anyone ever thought about how many innocent lives died beneath his blade? You're the same as him. Nothing but lapdogs of the Han people."

Li Yan caught the implication. "You're not Han?"

Cheng Qu merely gave a cold smile and refused to answer.

Li Yan looked thoughtful before saying in a deep voice, "Take him away first. Don't let him die. We'll interrogate him carefully afterward."

"Mm." Captain Zheng immediately ordered his men forward to bandage Cheng Qu and stop the bleeding. At the very least, the man could not be allowed to die before they extracted information from him.

Li Yan, meanwhile, strode quickly out onto the street. The Rat Immortals' patrol of the city was not yet finished. Lu San's technique was still underway.

As far as Li Yan knew, the Huaguang Sect specialized in martial sorcery, while whoever had impersonated Lord Guan had to be some kind of demon. There was definitely still something else wrong within the city.

Sure enough, after they had searched more than half the county town, they passed an abandoned old residence where the densely packed rats suddenly erupted into agitation, racing wildly up and down around the courtyard walls.

"Break the door!"

At Captain Zheng's command, several men from the Military Surveillance Department immediately stepped forward and kicked open the old residence's wooden gate. Strangely enough, the rats only scurried around outside and did not dare enter.

No one lived in the old residence. Weeds grew everywhere, and a huge locust tree in the courtyard had long since withered and died. Half the roof of the old house had collapsed. A locust tree planted inside a courtyard looked ominous no matter how one viewed it.

Yet when Li Yan formed the Yang Seal and used his divine ability, he could not smell the slightest strange odor from the dead locust tree. The disciples from Mount Zigai also activated their respective divine abilities. Three of them also discovered nothing.

Only the Taixuan Orthodox Sect disciple who had awakened the hearing-related divine ability and could hear the speech of ghosts and gods began to grow pale. His ears started to twitch repeatedly, and then his expression turned to shock.

He suddenly shouted, "Quick! Get out of here!"

Everyone immediately withdrew from the old residence.

Li Yan looked puzzled. "What did you hear?"

The disciple stared at the abandoned house, gritted his teeth, and said, "This house... is talking."