Chapter 384 - 209: Returning to the Carefree Jianghu of Old

Chapter 384: Chapter 209: Returning to the Carefree Jianghu of Old

Once their provisions were exhausted, they’d lack the stamina to hold out any longer. When the army from the Western Regions finally launched its real assault, all they could do was wait for death.

Xie Yunliu, the newly appointed General of Pingxi, scratched his bald head and bellowed in frustration. This stalemate was driving him mad. They couldn’t win a direct confrontation, but the enemy refused to advance and take advantage of the terrain. Even night raids failed to penetrate their lines. The word ’stifling’ couldn’t even begin to describe this situation.

As he bellowed and grumbled, he failed to notice that his words had reminded several of the married female Knights of something, causing them all to blush.

"Brother, that’s enough," Xie Luohe said. Recalling something, she tutted. Then, as quick as lightning, she gave Xie Yunliu a light chop on his bald head, knocking him unconscious.

"Urk~" Xie Yunliu’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped over, out cold.

"Wait."

Although Xie Yunliu was unconscious, his grumbling had suddenly given Zheng Xiu an idea.

Zheng Xiu whipped his head around to look at the overweight, out-of-shape, and balding Knights. He suddenly recalled the time they had competed in Qinggong on Hidden Sword Mountain all those years ago.

"You’ve all... let yourselves go for ten years. How is your Qinggong now?"

「Nightfall.」

The sprawling camp of the Western Regions army was lit up by countless campfires.

From a distance, their occupation of Richan Town looked like a sleepless city glowing in the dark.

The brilliant firelight illuminated the area as if it were day.

On the peaks flanking Richan Valley.

A group of over-the-hill Knights, led by Chu Chengfeng, donned their long-neglected black outfits. Even after so many years retired from the Martial World, they had all, without consultation, packed a set before heading west. As people of the Jianghu, even has-beens, they just wouldn’t feel right re-entering the fray without a proper set of night-raiding attire.

Their pitch-black attire blended into the night, leaving only their shining eyes visible. The Knights glanced at one another. Some struggled to suck in their guts, while the women puffed out their chests and held in their stomachs. Having come this far, none of them wanted the heroic return to their youthful prime to be soured just because time had passed, looks had faded, and figures had gone soft.

"Brother, your head... it’s too shiny." Xie Yunliu’s bald pate was reflecting the faint light. Speechless, Xie Luohe jammed a black hood matching his attire onto his head.

"Are you ready?"

Zheng Xiu asked in a low voice. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground with a basin of fine sand before him.

The Knights fell silent instantly, flashing various strange, coded hand signals at one another—a universal language in the Jianghu.

Zheng Xiu didn’t understand the signals, but he gathered they were all ready. So, he nodded, bit his finger, and let a drop of blood fall onto the sand tray. Seeing this, Xie Luohe, who stood behind him, looked on with a pained expression.

Zheng Xiu had been cultivating the sand in this tray for many years, and it was already saturated with his blood. As the fresh drop fell, old and new resonated, the medium connecting. A hazy, crimson light rose from the sand, bewitchingly beautiful in the darkness, like a small cluster of flowers blooming in the desolate Great Desert.

The sand in the tray instantly came alive, each grain trembling faintly. Zheng Xiu slapped his palms hard on either side of the tray. The sand immediately flew up before his eyes, nimbly transforming into various shapes.

First, it formed little figures, then tiny swords. Finally, all the sand coalesced into long, thin needles, standing neatly before Zheng Xiu like a forest of steel.

Such a bizarre technique made the scalps of the eager Knights tingle. They had only heard rumors of the many strange events plaguing the Jianghu lately. Now, the strangest of them all was unfolding right before their eyes, filling them with a mixture of shock, fear, and profound awe.

Slitting his wrist again, Zheng Xiu’s face grew another shade paler. His upper body swayed, but his eyes only grew brighter.

He waved the Luohe Brush. Its tip, made from Xie Luohe’s hair, acted like a dry sponge, instantly soaking up the blood flowing from his wrist. The bristles began to glow with a scarlet light.

"Threading the needle."

The tip of the brush swept through the air, creating fine threads that twisted like nimble snakes, weaving themselves through the eyes of the countless needles.

"Go!"

With the Miracle Technique as the medium, his Will followed his heart, and his heart followed his Will. Zheng Xiu pointed a finger, and the countless needles shot into the depths of the night, vanishing into the darkness.

The other end of each near-invisible "red thread" was connected to Zheng Xiu’s body. As they stretched farther and farther into the distance, they finally pulled taut. Zheng Xiu’s breath hitched, and he gritted his teeth. "Go!"

Some of the Knights looked hesitant, staring at the thin threads, worried they wouldn’t be able to bear their weight.

Chu Chengfeng and Xie Yunliu exchanged a faint smile. They took a step forward, ready to mount the red threads.

But one man was faster. Fan Yao leaped up and shot forward, his toes tapping lightly on a red thread. He left a trail of afterimages in his wake, disappearing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

"This old man is off!"

The former number one on the Weapon Manual, that mad old fisherman, shouldered his fishing rod. The foolish grin vanished from his face, replaced by an air of serene confidence as he stepped onto a red thread.

"Dugu Yibai, heading out! I’ll be back in a flash!"

Seeing this, the other Knights no longer hesitated. They too used their Qinggong, speeding along the red threads into the night.

With every Knight that stepped onto the threads, a sharp crack echoed from Zheng Xiu’s body. KAK... KAK... The sounds were crisp and sharp.

Finally, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of Zheng Xiu’s mouth.

"Husband?"

Xie Luohe saw the immense pressure he was under and asked worriedly.

"It’s nothing." Zheng Xiu wiped the corner of his mouth and grinned. "Don’t you underestimate your man."