Chapter 386: Unexpected

Chapter 386: Chapter 187: Unexpected

Since Jiang Ran developed his Inner Strength, the Nine Shocking God Sabers had performed countless wonders.

Even when facing the Celestial Secret Scholar, Zhuge Mingyu, who was a master of the “Three Nines Calculation Sutra,” Jiang Ran had never been at the slightest disadvantage.

In fact, it was because the techniques of the Nine Shocking God Sabers were so complex and profound that even the “Three Nines Calculation Sutra” could not predict all their variations, leading Zhuge Mingyu to his doom.

Over time, Jiang Ran even began to believe that the Nine Shocking God Sabers were an invincible martial art.

He never expected that today, in a moment of carelessness, this person would break through his saber’s edge with a single move, his claws already at his throat.

It was an incredibly perilous moment, all happening in a flash.

Jiang Ran took a sudden deep breath, steadying his mind and forcing himself to remain calm in the face of danger. At the same time, he straightened his posture and stomped his foot!

Suddenly, a towering aura erupted from his body.

It was as if a sage had descended upon the mortal realm, making one subconsciously want to prostrate themselves in worship!

This was the “Righteous Bearing,” a wondrous movement technique where spirit and intent merged. Like the descent of a sage, it could intimidate petty villains from all directions.

As he took that step, the hand nearing Jiang Ran’s throat instinctively paused for a fraction of a second.

In that instant of hesitation, the Gold Shatter Saber in Jiang Ran’s hand flashed. Its blade carved an arc, aiming to take the man’s arm.

However, the man’s methods were exceedingly strange. He relaxed his arm with the momentum, his body rolling with the saber’s edge, and launched both feet toward Jiang Ran’s face.

Jiang Ran bent his arm to block, using the “Thirteen Mad Devil Claws of Kun” to grab the man’s ankles.

But he was a step too slow. With a sharp CRACK, Jiang Ran’s hand made contact with the sole of the man’s shoe. A tearing sound, RIIIP, followed as the boot disintegrated. The man, however, used the force of the blow to fly backward, letting out a soft chuckle.

“The Nine Shocking God Sabers are nothing special after all.”

“Young Hero Jiang, we will settle this another day!”

“Trying to leave!?”

Jiang Ran abruptly swung his Gold Shatter Saber!

Silently, a flash of saber light shot out, vanishing from sight along with the man’s figure.

Jiang Ran’s expression darkened. ‘This man’s Lightweight Technique is superb. I’m afraid that last move, “Ghostly God’s Fright,” hardly did any damage to him…’

Besides, from the sound of his voice, it was clearly the young master of Heterodox Manor.

He scanned his surroundings again, but there was no longer any sign of the four members of the Evil Sect.

‘They must have taken the opportunity to flee while the two of us were fighting.’

“…Jiang… COUGH COUGH, Young Hero Jiang…”

Jiang Ran had been about to give chase, but Cheng Tianyang’s voice reached his ears.

He glanced back at him, his expression a little odd.

“Chief Cheng?”

Cheng Tianyang gave a wry smile. “The one and only.”

Jiang Ran nodded slightly and walked over to Cheng Tianyang.

“Chief Cheng, where did you go today?”

“I was delivering a shipment to the Zhou family, but I never imagined that someone had already impersonated them and taken over their home.”

“I didn’t see through their trick and was ambushed by Qu Zhi of the Snake Sect. After a chaotic battle, I barely managed to escape the encirclement. I took a moment to recover and planned to continue tracking them.”

“At the very least, I had to retrieve the cargo.”

“I thought it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, but then… COUGH COUGH… I unexpectedly found their trail.”

“That’s how I ended up here… I arrived a step too late. By the time I got here, the Soul Shattering Array was already active.”

“When I heard Young Hero Jiang’s voice inside the array, I started trying to find a way to break it.”

As he spoke, he put down the firework-like tube in his hand.

“The disorienting smoke of the Soul Shattering Array is specially made by them. Before activating the array, they bury these tubes underground. All they have to do is pull a string, and the smoke comes billowing out.”

“But if you eliminate the source, the smoke will dissipate completely.”

“But, Young Hero Jiang, how did you end up here? And how did you get into a fight with someone from Heterodox Manor?”

“…There’s something you don’t know, Chief Cheng.”

Jiang Ran then relayed what Gu Xizhi had told him after waking up.

Cheng Tianyang had been present when Gu Xizhi was rescued, so he was already aware of that part of the story.

But when Jiang Ran finished speaking, Cheng Tianyang stood frozen on the spot.

After a long moment, he finally let out a long sigh.

“If we had been able to wake Hero Gu back then, my brothers, who went through thick and thin with me for so many years, might not have died.”

Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment, then sighed.

“Neither of us can see the future. We might know what happened five hundred years ago, but we can’t see what will happen even a moment from now.”

“Things in this world are always full of such strange twists and turns. When we look back on them later, it’s hard not to feel regret.”

“It’s as they say: ‘In life, things go wrong nine times out of ten.’ How can one force it to be otherwise?”

Looking back, when Jiang Ran first entered Cangzhou Prefecture, if he had gone to collect his reward instead of first looking for the old drunkard, and then gone to the Tang Mansion, the outcome would have been completely different.

But then, how many people in this life can have a god’s-eye view, able to weigh all the pros and cons of the entire situation?

Jiang Ran not knowing about the situation at the Tang Mansion that day, and not knowing that Gu Xizhi had urgent news for him today—it was all the same principle.

Cheng Tianyang sighed.

“What you say makes sense, Young Hero Jiang… but this feeling in my heart, sigh.”

“To be honest, after so many years of living on the edge, I thought I’d grown used to matters of life and death.”

“But enough of that, let’s not speak of it… Young Hero Jiang, we should part ways here. I have to continue tracking them and find a way to get that shipment back.”

“But Chief Cheng, you’re seriously injured…”

“These wounds are nothing compared to the anguish in my heart.”

Cheng Tianyang bowed deeply. “Farewell.”

“Go on, then.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ran didn’t try to persuade him further. People in this world couldn’t be expected to live according to another’s will.

They had their own goals and their own motivations.

There were always things that others could not control.