The black-clad man before Ye Beizhi used an umbrella as his signature weapon, just like Alluring Elegy. However, his overwhelming strength far exceeded Ye Beizhi’s expectations.
Even though his hands were dripping with blood, Ah San seemed unfazed. He released the umbrella handle with his right hand and grabbed Ye Beizhi’s shoulder, gripping so tightly it felt like his fingers were about to dig into the flesh.
"Don’t even think about running!" Ah San’s face was twisted with rage, the blood vessels in his eyes starkly visible. "You’re not going anywhere. If you won’t talk, I’ll beat it out of you."
The force on his shoulder caused Ye Beizhi some pain. He furrowed his brows slightly and said, "I never thought about running... It seems you don’t understand the situation."
As he finished speaking, Ye Beizhi twisted his Tang blade sharply and slashed upward toward Ah San’s chin. Ah San quickly leaned back and flipped away, putting distance between them.
When Ah San steadied himself and looked again, Ye Beizhi had already sheathed his blade and stood still, silently watching him.
Ye Beizhi then said, "You haven’t answered my question... And you should be the one running."
Ah San calmed his emotions, his expression growing more serious. "I’ve heard of you, Stormqueller... But I can’t fathom what gives you such confidence."
Ye Beizhi answered the question with his actions. He slowly drew his blade, the answer was self-evident.
"Frozen Daybreak Lin Jiulao died under that blade, didn’t he?" Ah San pulled the black umbrella from the ground. "It’s a fine weapon, no doubt. The thing is, I’m not some fool like Lin Jiulao who doesn’t know how to adapt. You might have killed him, but that doesn’t mean you can beat me."
As soon as Ah San finished speaking, Ye Beizhi suddenly stepped forward. The air emitted a sharp, explosive sound, and his figure vanished from sight. Ah San’s eyes narrowed as he immediately gripped his umbrella tightly and forcefully swung it backward.
The black umbrella and Tang blade collided fiercely, producing a thunderous sound.
Ye Beizhi’s initial strike failed to land, and he immediately aimed a kick at Ah San’s temple. Ah San’s reaction was nearly instantaneous. Faced with the deadly kick aimed at his vital point, he didn’t even consider dodging. Instead, he bent his right arm, elbow meeting Ye Beizhi’s foot.
A muffled thud rang out as foot and elbow clashed and immediately separated, leaving neither side with an advantage. Ye Beizhi stepped back slightly and prepared to advance with his blade again, but suddenly his vision darkened as a shadow enveloped him. Ah San’s voice echoed in his ears.
"Such swift movements, almost too fast for my eyes. But if I can slow you down, will you still be so sharp?"
Ye Beizhi looked up and saw a circular dome above him, like an ominous, inescapable cloud. He immediately realized that it was Ah San’s enormous black umbrella. At this moment, the umbrella was spinning rapidly over Ye Beizhi’s head, hovering eerily in midair.
Ye Beizhi stared at the strange black umbrella, momentarily stunned. It reminded him of a weapon he had heard of before, one that would descend over a person’s head, spin rapidly, and sever their head: the Flying Guillotine.
Standing under the umbrella, Ye Beizhi looked up and, sure enough, saw the intricate mechanisms beneath its canopy. What first caught his eye were several sharp, spinning blades descending rapidly toward his head. With no time to observe further, he rolled urgently out of his position. To his dismay, the shadow above followed him closely, sticking to him like glue.
Ye Beizhi’s expression grew more serious. He abruptly thrust his blade upward, using it to stop the descending black umbrella in its tracks. The umbrella halted mid-descent. Before Ye Beizhi could breathe a sigh of relief, Ah San’s voice suddenly whispered from behind him, "Without your blade, can you still call yourself Stormqueller?"
A monstrous force struck Ye Beizhi heavily in the back. Clutching his blade tightly, he didn’t let go. Instead, he swung the scabbard backward with his left hand toward Ah San, who stepped back to dodge it.
Ah San sneered. "Not so confident now? Answer my question already. Where did you take my junior sister?"
Ye Beizhi’s response was a flash of blade light. He pulled out his sword again, delivering another sweeping slash at Ah San. Enraged, Ah San shouted, "You’d rather die than tell me?!"
Ah San dodged the hasty strike and forced Ye Beizhi to immediately raise his blade again to block the looming black umbrella.
Ah San seemed to be getting anxious, cursing at Ye Beizhi, "Damn it! Why won’t you say anything?! Is it... is it because my junior sister is... gone?!"
Ye Beizhi still didn’t answer. He simply stared at Ah San, silently thinking of a strategy.
As the two remained at an impasse, a voice suddenly came from behind Ah San. "Huh... Dummy? What are you doing with an umbrella in broad daylight?"
Hearing the voice, Ye Beizhi’s expression immediately changed. Ah San turned to look and saw a young woman standing a short distance behind him, staring curiously in their direction.
Ah San was overjoyed. "Perfect timing! Since you won’t talk, don’t blame me for disregarding the rules of the martial world!"
Ye Beizhi’s expression shifted drastically, and he furiously shouted, "Stop!"
In the blink of an eye, Ah San had already reached Chi Nanwei and gripped her throat with his right hand.
Chi Nanwei blinked in confusion, and turned pale when she finally realized what was happening.
"I’ll tell you, but don’t harm her," Ye Beizhi said with a measured tone.
Ah San slowly turned to face him, sneering. "I thought you were no different from those starving dogs from the Ghostbane Association. I didn’t expect you to have something you care about."
"Th-this young master..." Chi Nanwei swallowed nervously. She vaguely sensed that the black-clad man was trying to extract information from Ye Beizhi, so she asked, "What do you want to know?"
Ah San glanced at Chi Nanwei. "I want to know the whereabouts of my junior sister. But this vile man refuses to tell me, so I have no choice but to trade your life for the answer."
"Your junior sister?" Chi Nanwei thought for a moment, confused. "Why would Dummy know where she is... and why are you looking for her?"
When Chi Nanwei mentioned this, Ah San’s face twisted with anger again. "My junior sister was gravely injured and taken away by Stormqueller. Who else would I look for?!"
"Huh?" Chi Nanwei started to sense something was off. She asked, "Who exactly is your junior sister?"
"Alluring Elegy... Yang Lu," Ah San said, his expression instantly turning sorrowful as he uttered her name.
"Miss Yang?!" Chi Nanwei blurted out in surprise.
Seeing her reaction, Ah San immediately realized there was hope and asked excitedly, "You know her?!"