Blade - Unbound

"The White Dragon Temple?!" The moment Qin Baihu saw the temple, his face turned the color of liver. Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Kuxin... you nearly fooled me, you bald donkey. Move! Get inside and seize them!"

Perhaps sensing something was wrong, the temple gates had already been barred shut despite it being broad daylight. Several soldiers stepped forward and delivered heavy kicks against the gate. When it refused to budge, they moved to the walls on either side of the courtyard, gave one another a boost, and climbed up.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Crossbow bolts streaked through the air, and several soldiers were struck before tumbling back down.

"You bastards!"

Qin Baihu was every bit as fierce as his reputation suggested. With an angry roar, he spurred his horse straight toward the courtyard wall. Just before colliding with it, he yanked sharply on the reins.

The warhorse let out a shrill neigh and reared onto its hind legs. Using the upward momentum, Qin Baihu launched himself into the air and vaulted clean over the wall. The instant he landed, more crossbow bolts flew toward him.

Unfortunately for them, Qin Baihu was clearly a master. The moment his feet touched the ground, he rolled to one side. The heavy armor covering his body did not seem to hinder him in the slightest. Dodging the arrows and bolts, he looked up and saw several men guarding the entrance to the main hall.

Some were monks, while others were dressed like ordinary townsfolk. There were seven or eight of them altogether. Some carried blades, while others held crossbows.

Crossbows were notoriously difficult to span. After killing several soldiers and failing to ambush the captain, they had already exhausted their bolts and were now bracing the weapons with their feet as they struggled to span them again.

"Die!"

With an enraged cry, Qin Baihu charged forward, his curved blade already raised. Yet those inside showed no trace of panic. Instead, murderous glints flared in every one of their eyes.

The monk leading them bellowed, "Kill this imperial hound!"

He rushed out with a blade of his own. Together with the two men beside him, three blades hacked toward Qin Baihu at the same time.

Qin Baihu showed no fear. Raising his curved blade, he intercepted the attack. His body rose and dipped while his footwork flowed like the wind, as though he were walking across the deck of a ship rocking upon the waves.

After knocking aside all three blades, he spun and swept his weapon back, instantly cleaving through one man's leg. Carrying the motion through, he swung horizontally, producing two sharp clangs as he blocked the long blades slashing toward him from behind.

Then he drove a vicious side kick into another bandit's chest. The man flew backward, tumbled across the ground three times, and spat out a mouthful of blood. He was already taking more air in than he could breathe out.

The vicious monk leading the group gaped in shock. "Water and Land Curved Blade? You're from the Canal Guild!"

The Water and Land Curved Blade Manual was said to have originated with the water bandits of Taihu Lake. Later, because of its remarkable practicality, it had spread far and wide. One branch specialized in combat aboard boats, the other in fighting on land. Combined, they became the Water and Land Curved Blade Manual.

As the saying went: Honor comes first upon rivers and seas; for all who travel by water and land, the curved blade is their courage.

That saying referred precisely to this style. It might have been hard to say elsewhere, but in Yunyang Prefecture, no one practiced it more than the Canal Guild, nor mastered it better.

Qin Baihu offered no denial. He merely sneered, and his blade grew ever fiercer. Meanwhile, the other soldiers had also climbed over the walls. They opened the temple gates from the inside, and flooded the compound.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Some immediately drew their bows and fired. These archers drilled every day in the army. They were not legendary marksmen, but at this distance, they could hit whatever they aimed at.

Several bandits were struck in the legs and collapsed at once.

Watching everything unfold around him, the lead monk gritted his teeth. He swung his blade, knocking aside several arrows. Then, seeing Qin Baihu thrust his blade toward him, he charged forward without the slightest attempt to dodge.

Puchi!

His blade plunged straight into his abdomen.

Instead of retreating, the monk roared through gritted teeth, "Let's die together!"

He lunged forward, allowing the blade to pierce completely through his body before wrapping both arms around Qin Baihu. Then, borrowing the force of the charge, he slammed downward.

Something concealed within his chest activated. Qin Baihu heard the unmistakable sound of pottery shattering, and his face instantly changed.

Unfortunately, he had no time to react. Flames suddenly erupted over both of their bodies. It was a strange fire made from phosphorus mixed with oil. The blaze roared skyward as thick smoke billowed into the air.

Screaming in agony, Qin Baihu kicked the monk away and rolled frantically across the ground. The other soldiers rushed over, desperately trying to extinguish the flames, but the fire burned with terrifying ferocity. Nothing they did could put it out.

Within moments, Qin Baihu stopped moving and gradually, he was burned into a charred corpse. As for the bandits who had been shot by arrows, every one of them proved equally ruthless. Seeing there was no escape, they simply raised their blades and slit their throats.

In a few short moments, the temple fell deathly silent. Only the raging flames remained, illuminating corpses scattered across the ground.

The soldiers looked at one another, terror filling their eyes.

Shangjin City was a place where all sorts of people mingled. They had dealt with plenty of martial artists and outlaws over the years, but this was the first time they had encountered enemies so utterly fearless of death.

Meanwhile, Li Yan's group also received the news.

"Qin Baihu is dead!" Official Guo's voice was shrill and his face deathly pale. Muttering to himself, he said, "It's over... It's over. This has become a disaster."

Seeing Li Yan frown, he forced a bitter smile and explained, "The White Dragon Temple was originally built by the people of the city to worship the Dragon King and pray against floods. Later, it fell into disrepair.

"A few years ago, a monk named Kuxin settled there. He raised donations and restored the temple. We all thought he was a truly virtuous monk. We had even invited him earlier to examine the corpse..."

In truth, there was something else he left unsaid. Not only had Monk Kuxin used the temple to amass wealth, but he had also maintained close ties with the county officials. Now, no matter what they did, they would never be able to shake the blame.

Sure enough, more bad news soon followed. A secret passage had been discovered behind the temple. The abbot, Kuxin, had already escaped through it and vanished without a trace.

The only thing was, all the gold, silver, and valuables stolen from Steward Hu's household had been recovered.

Sha Lifei naturally couldn't have cared less about Qin Baihu's death. Instead, he frowned in confusion. "Strange. These people were ruthless and knew powerful evil arts. Yet they slaughtered an entire family and made such an enormous mess... all just to rob some local rich man?"

His confusion was understandable. Everything about the affair was suspicious. If they truly possessed such techniques, they wouldn't even have needed to show themselves. They could simply have bewitched the wealthy man into handing over his wealth. Why go to the trouble of killing everyone?

"The robbery was only a cover." Li Yan fell into thought before saying, "Everyone, come with me."

With that, he led the group into the rear courtyard.

Steward Hu was the wealthiest man in Shangjin City, so his residence had naturally been built on a grand scale. The rear courtyard even contained a small garden, complete with a pond and an artificial rock formation.

Li Yan circled the rock formation, formed the Yang Seal once more, and drew in a deep breath before pointing to a particular spot. "There's a hidden chamber beneath here. Dig it up. This is what that group came for."

Official Guo immediately ordered his men into action. "Quick, start digging!"

Constables and soldiers alike joined in, sending dirt flying everywhere. Before long, they uncovered a hidden chamber about two chi underground. Inside were only two chests. There was nothing else.

Official Guo hurried forward and opened them to reveal bundles wrapped in oilcloth. He slit one open with his knife, and its contents came spilling out. Most of the objects that scattered onto the ground were about the size of coins. Their surfaces were smooth, jet black, angular, and all resembled trilobites.

Coal Essence!

Li Yan's eyes lit up in surprise.

Official Guo picked one up, his face filled with confusion. "What is this?"

Li Yan stepped forward, "Let me see."

He grabbed several pieces. Sure enough, streams of fortune flowed into his Great Luo Dharma Body. Joy welled up within him, though his expression remained perfectly calm.

He only knew the origin of this substance because Zhao Luzi had once told him about it. Coal Essence was often formed near coal mines. Sometimes it would even take shape underground before emerging to the surface, its glowing rear end flickering as it flew about like a firefly. If someone accidentally touched one and startled it, it would disperse the fortune it gathered before exploding.

That substance was also one of the key ingredients in the new-style gunpowder. It also possessed another unique characteristic. The rate at which its fortune dissipated was extremely slow. Back when Zhao Luzi had found some, he had carried it on his person for one or two months, yet Li Yan had still been able to absorb some fortune from it.

This batch of Coal Essence had clearly only been acquired recently. It still contained a considerable amount of it. Without revealing anything, Li Yan casually rummaged through both chests with his hands.

Before long, he had completely absorbed every trace of fortune contained within all the Coal Essence. Each individual piece held only a faint wisp of fortune, but there were so many of them that, together, they were enough to completely restore his Great Luo Dharma Body.

Back at Mount Hua, ignorant of the true nature of the White Emperor's Fortune, he had stubbornly resisted it. Although he had ultimately gained tremendous benefits from the encounter, his Great Luo Dharma Body had lost one Soul Flame and had been shattered into pieces.

Now, the statue was restored. However, the missing Soul Flame had yet to be replenished.

Official Guo looked at him expectantly. "Mr. Li, have you discovered anything?"

Coal Essence was simply too important. Naturally, Li Yan feigned ignorance, shook his head, and replied, "No. They're just some strange pieces of coal. I thought they might have hidden some treasure here."

Hearing that, Official Guo could not hide his disappointment. Even so, he had already reached his own conclusions. Those bandits had used sinister arts to murder people and hidden themselves within the White Dragon Temple. They had most likely been after these very objects.

Moreover, the more he thought about it, the stranger Steward Hu seemed. It had been Steward Hu who had introduced Monk Kuxin to everyone in the first place.

Could this have been thieves turning on one another? Or was there an even greater conspiracy behind it?

The thought made Official Guo's heart pound uncontrollably.

***

"Brother Yan, what exactly happened?" After returning to the inn, Sha Lifei immediately asked.

Without wasting words, Li Yan took out the Summoning Writ and gave it a slight shake.

Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei understood at once. He had received a mission. Only Lu San remained completely bewildered. Now that they were companions, Li Yan no longer concealed the truth. He explained the duties of a living yin emissary and the mission he had received.

After listening, Lu San scratched his head curiously. "Oh, so that's how it is."

Naturally, he had no objections. Since they had chosen to travel together, they relied on one another for survival. Whenever one of them needed to grow stronger, the others would do everything they could to help.

As for the money they earned, part of it would be used for daily expenses, while the rest would be pooled as cultivation funds for the group. If anyone ever grew weary of such a dangerous life and wished to leave, they would be entitled to their proper share of the communal funds.

Those were the rules Li Yan had established for their team.

He knew his own personality well. Building some grand organization, plotting endlessly, and scheming against people was something he could neither do nor had any interest in. But gathering a handful of like-minded companions into a team that supported one another... That, he was confident he could manage fairly.

After explaining everything to Lu San, Li Yan smiled slightly and took an oil-paper package from his robes before handing it to Sha Lifei. "Take it. Keep it safe, and don't let anyone discover it."

Sha Lifei froze. "What is this?"

Li Yan's expression turned serious. "This is called Coal Essence. It's a type of heavenly treasure. More importantly, it's very likely one of the ingredients used to make the new-style gunpowder."

"What?!" Sha Lifei immediately perked up. He took out a piece of Coal Essence from the oil-paper package and examined it carefully with great interest. "No matter how I look at it, this just looks like coal. It can actually be used to make gunpowder?"

As he spoke, he even reached for a small knife, intending to shave off a piece.

"Don't!" Li Yan hurriedly stopped him, shaking his head. "This stuff can explode. If you fool around with it and something goes wrong, not only will we suffer for it, we'll also expose ourselves."

"Alright." Reluctantly, Sha Lifei put the package away before frowning deeply. "This matter's probably far bigger than it looks. It's connected to your living yin emissary mission, and now it also involves the new-style gunpowder. These waters run deep."

Li Yan rubbed his temples, looking troubled. "Exactly."

Originally, he had intended to use the imperial court's influence to force the demonic cultivator into the open. As long as they met face-to-face, he could simply summon the yin deity bestowed by the Underworld and capture him.

He had never expected this enormous complication involving the new-style gunpowder to emerge as well.

"Oh, there's one more thing." Lu San spoke up suddenly, sounding somewhat hesitant. "I heard the garrison soldiers caught quite a few foxes earlier, so I went to have a look. They kept crying that the old ancestor on their mountain had been murdered. If those foxes are released, I might be able to communicate with them and get them to help us find people."

"Oh?" Li Yan's interest was immediately piqued. "The foxes are really that obedient?"

He naturally had no reason to doubt Lu San. When they had first met, he had already seen foxes gathered all around him. What intrigued him was that Lu San clearly meant he could use foxes as informants throughout the mountains.

Lu San nodded. "Foxes are naturally intelligent creatures. They have friends everywhere in the mountains. Not only are they familiar with the forests, but they can also communicate with other spiritual creatures, and even with yin ghosts.

"The reason I discovered the conflict between the Maitreya Sect and the Military Surveillance Department back then was because the foxes had brought me the news. They were also the ones who stole Fire Ghost's firearm back for me."

Li Yan smiled. "That's excellent. As long as those creatures don't violate any taboos, it's worthwhile maintaining a good relationship with them.

"But there's no need to rush this. The authorities will definitely keep those foxes alive if they're hoping to use them to track down that demonic monk. And if I'm not mistaken, someone will be coming to see us very soon..."

Li Yan had assumed the Military Surveillance Department would be the first to arrive. After all, this matter involved the new-style gunpowder. Official Guo might not recognize Coal Essence, but once the discovery was reported up the chain, it would certainly attract the Military Surveillance Department's attention.

Unexpectedly, the first person to come knocking was someone else entirely.

***

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Less than half an hour after they returned to the inn, someone knocked on the door.

Li Yan frowned slightly.

Why is it him?

Sha Lifei hurried over and opened the door to find a middle-aged man dressed in a blue robe. His face was lean, his complexion sallow, and his posture perfectly straight. Two sturdy men stood behind him.

The person who arrived was none other than Han Kun, the former chief of the Xianyang Canal Guild.

Although puzzled, Li Yan stood up with a smile and cupped his fists in greeting. "Senior Han, it's been a while."

He had dealt with Han Kun before. Back in Manchuan Pass, it had been Han Kun who had arranged for people to help locate Lu San.

Han Kun smiled warmly as well, clicking his tongue in admiration. "Brother Li, you've truly opened my eyes. I knew from the beginning that you weren't someone destined to remain trapped in shallow waters. But I never imagined that you would make such an enormous name for yourself in such a short time."

Xiong Baodong of the Fire Bear Gang was famous throughout the Guanzhong Plains. Even the Chang'an Canal Guild had been unwilling to provoke him too much while he was fighting against the Five Trades, which spoke volumes about how formidable he had been.

Who would have thought that Li Yan would simply slay him on the streets? When Han Kun had first heard the news, he could hardly believe it. After all, only half a year ago, Li Yan had still been fighting desperately against the younger generation of the Zhou Family. Now he was capable of slaying a master of the Jin Transformation Realm.

He most likely relied on the mystic arts...

Naturally, Han Kun had no intention of saying that out loud.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Yan got straight to the point. "Senior Han, let's not beat around the bush. What brings you here today?"

"I've already stepped down as chief of the Xianyang Canal Guild," Han Kun said with a smile. "I'll soon be heading to Yunyang Prefecture to serve as one of the guild's elders."

Li Yan immediately cupped his fists in congratulations. "Congratulations, Senior."

Being the chief of a regional branch might make one the local king of that territory, but the actual status wasn't especially high. Becoming an elder at the headquarters, on the other hand, represented a substantial increase in authority.

"It can't be helped." Han Kun smiled and shook his head before his expression turned serious. "I've only come to ask about one thing. Do you know who was behind the killing of the Hu Family?"

Li Yan paused and frowned. "Why is Senior Han interested in this matter?"

Han Kun glanced around before giving a helpless smile. "To be honest with you, Qin Baihu was my eldest disciple."

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