Chapter 16: Chapter 15 Tang Quan
Looking down from a high vantage point, the entire Yu City was enveloped in darkness. The night sky showed no stars, and even the moonlight appeared only dimly through the thick black fog, while the Inner City and the Outer City stood distinctly apart like two banks of a river.
In the Inner City, many places still shone brightly with lights, some pleasure districts were even bustling with activity, but the Outer City was cloaked in darkness and deathly silence, with hardly any lights visible, and everything within sight was pitch black.
Among them.
A vast corner of the South City District.
In the dimness, under the faint and intermittent moonlight, two figures were engaging in combat.
“Hey, to think that taking some Silver Coins would provoke the Chief Constable herself to chase me down personally, I, Tang Quan, am truly honored,” one of them said.
One of the figures, clad in black clothing, seemed somewhat gaunt. Occasional flashes of moonlight illuminated his face, revealing a distinct black mark on his right cheek, and he was letting out a strange laugh.
The person chasing him from behind was dressed in a white uniform, strikingly conspicuous under the moonlight. Her face was cold yet pretty, and the occasional moonlight that spilled over her gave her the appearance of a Moon Palace Fairy descending from the heavens. She was none other than the renowned Chief Constable of the South City District, Hongyu Xu.
“Silver Coins are nothing but external possessions, yet there are certain things that, even if merely glimpsed at once, bring great disasters. You should understand this principle,” Hongyu Xu said faintly.
With a light tap, she seemed to transform into a fleeting shadow and suddenly closed in on Tang Quan’s back, her soft sword stirring up dim moonlight.
Tang Quan swung his blade in an attempt to block, but could only slightly parry before failing to withstand her attacks. Several cuts instantly appeared in his black robe, revealing a somewhat coarse iron-colored soft armor underneath.
“I haven’t seen anything I shouldn’t have seen. Why falsely accuse me?” Tang Quan said with an unsightly expression.
“Perhaps,” Hongyu Xu said somewhat listlessly.
Some things, not to mention actually seeing them, even the mere possibility of seeing them can be an unbearable menace for some people. They will invariably investigate thoroughly, and she, the Chief Constable, had been coerced into this chase.
Seeing that Hongyu Xu was unwavering, with every move of her swordsmanship aimed lethally, Tang Quan inwardly cursed his plight. He had initially underestimated the Chief Constable of the South City District, thinking a woman would mostly rely on her background to ascend to her position, lacking substantial skills. However, the moment they clashed, he realized he had underestimated her. Her Body Tempering method might have already reached the level of ‘Tendon Changing’. Her movement technique and sword force were both far superior to his own, which was still struggling at the ‘Body Refining’ level.
Even more.
Her swordsmanship was flawless, a true and complete form of the ‘Qian Heaven Kun Earth’ out of the Kan Water Sect. She had already mastered it to Perfection. The Sword Momentum flowed freely like water; if this swordsmanship did not prioritize defense over aggression, he would have been dead on the spot even with his Iron Scale Armor. And yet, he still found it difficult to shake off her pursuit.
After a few more exchanges, Tang Quan had accumulated seven or eight wounds. Some were blocked by the Iron Scale Armor, but parts of his legs, shoulders, and upper arms were slashed open, the wounds deep and shocking.
“Hongyu Xu! Do you really want to make an enemy out of me?” Tang Quan roared in anger.
Hongyu Xu did not reply, continuing her advance with her sword. The sword light, complemented by the moonlight, thrust forward. Although it was an extremely soft sword, in that moment it appeared like a flowing rainbow and felt like persistent drizzle melding into a single thread, forcefully breaking through Tang Quan’s blade momentum.
Hiss!
The Iron Scale Armor, which could withstand swords and blades, could not block this thrust, and was forcefully penetrated!
Tang Quan spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, his face a ghastly pale, but his eyes flashed with a ruthless hue. With a flick of his right hand, he mysteriously produced a sinister black sphere and fiercely threw it to the ground.
Hongyu Xu’s expression changed dramatically. Without hesitation, she swiftly backed away several meters with a light tap on the ground.
Bang!
The black sphere hit the ground and exploded, instantly bursting into a dense, gray fog that spread around, quickly covering an area nearly ten meters in diameter. Nearby weeds wilted rapidly as the gray fog enveloped them, visible to the naked eye.
“Corpse Poison Jade?”
Xu Hongyu’s expression turned somewhat ugly.
As she knew, this item was made from corpse poison, and extracting it required at least tens of thousands of bodies. It was one of the most brutally malicious hidden weapons, so much so that the Imperial Court had strictly forbidden its manufacture, and discovery of such would lead to severe punishment.
However, the Imperial Court’s power was now waning, and its control over various regions was nowhere near what it had been in its heyday. As a result, such previously banned venomous weapons had resurfaced, truly a sign of chaotic and disordered times.
As the gray fog thickened, Xu Hongyu dared not get close.
Once the fog dimmed somewhat, she swung her sword, cutting through the thin mist, but Tang Quan’s figure had already disappeared.
“You won’t get far.”
Xu Hongyu’s gaze was ice-cold as she discerned the direction and moved forward.
Tang Quan had been struck by her sword, a thrust that went through his chest and abdomen, a fatal wound for an ordinary person, and certainly a severe one for someone who had achieved a certain realm in the Body Tempering Method. Even with meticulous care, recovery was uncertain, and if he didn’t tend to his injuries, he would soon die.
…
Under the night sky.
The streets were silent and dim, devoid of even a flicker of light; coincidentally, the moonlight was completely obscured by clouds, rendering the streets almost pitch black to the point of blinding.
In one such alley, Tang Quan staggered forward, clutching the wound on his chest and abdomen.
“Damn woman, just wait till I get the chance, I’ll eventually…”
He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment.
The wounds on his shoulder and leg were bearable; though deep, his almost perfected ‘Body Refinement’ allowed him to forcibly close his muscles and temporarily stop the bleeding. However, the sword wound between his chest and abdomen was serious. Even though he had managed to avoid vital organs, the injury was not light, and he now dared not exert force for fear of tearing the wound completely beyond repair.
He definitely couldn’t run far, and without tending to his wound, he would pass out and die within half an hour.
A dim beam of moonlight shone down.
Using this bit of moonlight, Tang Quan hastily scanned the alley, his eyes settling on two unremarkable, dilapidated low houses not far from him, obviously homes of the very poor.
Tang Quan stumbled over, reached the door, and first pushed it. It was bolted from inside. Without much hesitation, he shook his left hand and pulled out a piece of wire from his bosom, deftly inserting it into the door crack to unlatch the bolt silently.
Then, he carefully pushed the door and moved inside.
But just as the door was halfway open.
A sudden change occurred.
Phut.
A handful of white ash unexpectedly spurted out from the dark interior of the door.
Caught off guard, Tang Quan, who was attempting to make no noise and had his attention focused more outside and in other directions, hadn’t anticipated a half-open door causing such an incident. In fact, as a seasoned thief, he had long abandoned such rudimentary tactics, but he never expected to encounter it at that moment.
Tang Quan hurriedly closed his eyes and retreated, but it was still a step too slow. A small amount of white ash got into his eyes, causing an immediate, burning pain. He guessed it was likely not poison powder but something like lime.
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