Chapter 1 A Farce

Dong!

Dong, dong~

It wasn't so much a knock as a battering!

After a few thuds, the wooden door splintered and burst open!

A junior officer, draped in rain and clad in what appeared to be red armor, stumbled into the courtyard. As the crowd focused their eyes, they realized that the soldier's armor was not red at all, but black armor stained crimson with his own blood!

In the torrential downpour, the stench of blood instantly intensified.

The expressions of everyone present tightened.

Amidst the ringing of swords, Yun Qian'er cried out in alarm, "Stop! That's Li Hua, Brother Li!"

"What? Li Hua!"

Everyone else was shocked.

Li Hua was an adopted son of the Yun family. They knew the prisoner transport route precisely because he had provided the information.

Could they have been exposed?

"Brother Li Hua, what's wrong?"

Yun Qian'er's expression changed drastically. "What about my father? How is he?"

"Puh!"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood into the mud, Li Hua cried, "Run! Run! They're coming! They're coming!"

"Brother Li!"

Two people rushed forward to help Li Hua up.

Yan Xiake stood under the eaves, gazing out into the night. The continuous rain and darkness obscured his vision, but the long sword at his waist trembled, as if sensing something.

The group was thrown into chaos.

By the kitchen door, Sa Wuling leaned against the frame, watching Yan Xiake with a look of surprise. "This big, dark guy is actually a sword cultivator?!"

He had sized up the ugly, dark-faced man before, but hadn't paid much attention.

After all, sword cultivators' swords were all flying swords. He had never heard of a sword cultivator using a sword like a martial artist.

A sword cultivator could take a man's head from a hundred paces with a single thought. Who had ever heard of a sword cultivator engaging in hand-to-hand combat?

He hadn't expected that the ugly, dark-faced man was not only a talisman master, but also a sword cultivator!

"Sword cultivator."

Inside the room, An Qisheng held his teacup, his eyes flickering slightly as he digested the information.

The Heavenly Book Yan Xiake possessed was called *Wan Jian Jue* (Myriad Swords Manual). It was at the lowest level of cultivation methods, among the *jue*, *fa*, *dian*, *jing*, and *dao* levels, but it was also the most common inheritance.

Logically, achieving *benming* (one's original destiny) would be the limit, but Yan Xiake's achievements in his original trajectory far exceeded the *benming* realm.

Clearly, either he had encountered some extraordinary event later, or he had elevated the level of the *Wan Jian Jue*.

Whichever the case, for a rogue cultivator to have achieved such a thing, he was undoubtedly someone who possessed great luck.

Tap, tap, tap…

Before long, the sound of hurried hooves echoed outside the village.

A squad of soldiers in black armor rode towards them.

"Black Banner Troops!"

Yan Xiake's gaze sharpened. As he stepped forward, his long sword rose with him, unleashing a wave of cold, sharp sword light that slashed through the air.

Clang, clang, clang, clang…

Immediately afterward, a continuous rain of arrows came whistling through the air, colliding with Yan Xiake's raised sword light, producing a series of metallic sounds.

A volley of powerful arrows!

Without a word, not caring if there were others present, or if they would accidentally kill them, they launched a direct volley!

Nakedly ruthless and forceful!

"Spirit-breaking arrows?!"

Sa Wuling's scalp tingled. He shrank back into the kitchen and hid behind the White Bone Demonic Figure propped up against the door.

Spirit-breaking arrows, as the name suggested, were arrows that could break through a cultivator's energy field.

Only the Heavenly Will Sect could produce such arrows. Ordinary armies were not qualified to use them. Where had these elite troops come from?

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

Wave after wave of arrows tore through the air, drowning out the sound of the torrential rain.

Even though everyone present possessed considerable martial arts skills, and Yan Xiake was blocking most of the incoming arrows, some were still hit and wounded, crying out in pain as they desperately sought shelter under the coffins.

At this point, they no longer cared that the coffins were eerie or frightening.

The arrow rain washed over the ground, wave after wave. Soon, everyone in the courtyard had hidden, except for Yan Xiake, who stood in the rain before the gate, his long sword dancing, creating a zone three feet around him where not even a drop of water could penetrate, let alone an arrow.

Tap, tap, tap…

Finally, through the rainy night, the hurried sound of hooves grew closer, charging towards them.

The speed was terrifying.

They seemed intent on smashing the entire village flat!

Elite troops!

These were definitely Black Banner elites!

Yan Xiake's expression darkened.

The Great Qing Dynasty had eight banner elite troops: White, Black, Red, Yellow, Green, Blue, Purple. Except for the Purple Banner, which guarded the royal city, the other banners were more or less equal, but elite troops were elite troops.

From the rain of arrows to the charge, their decisiveness was astonishing.

Such elite troops were being used to escort prisoners. Could it be that Lord Yun had betrayed the country?

Yan Xiake's heart trembled. Recalling what An Qisheng had said earlier, he had a nagging feeling that he had been tricked.

"Hey!"

His mind racing, Yan Xiake knocked away a spirit-breaking arrow hidden in the rain of arrows, and suddenly roared:

"I am Yan Xiake! Who comes?!"

If he had encountered such a situation on a normal day, he would have charged forward without hesitation, eliminating the threat first.

But thinking of An Qisheng's words, he forcibly suppressed his urge to attack.

Bang!

Sound waves mixed with magical energy exploded outwards, instantly dispersing the rain in front of him, carrying out. For a moment, even the sound of thunder couldn't drown it out.

Whoosh~

The night wind blew through the rain.

The black-armored cavalry stopped instantly in the rain, as disciplined as if they were a forest in motion and a mountain in stillness, making Yan Xiake's eyelids twitch.

"Yan Xiake? This old one seems to have heard that name before. Ten years ago, Qingyan Prefecture produced a dual *zhuangyuan* (top scholar) in both civil and military examinations, who later observed three years of mourning for his parents and became a constable. Is that you?"

From within the rigid formation of cavalry, a pale-faced old eunuch dressed in brocade slowly walked forward.

The old eunuch strolled through the rain, but remained perfectly dry. No rain could penetrate within three feet of him. It was as if an invisible energy field was constantly protecting him, and even his boots were free of mud.

"Brother Xiake is a dual *zhuangyuan*?"

Hiding under a coffin, Yun Qian'er's eyes widened, her expression incredulous.

She could understand that such a burly man had obtained the top military rank, but the top civil rank? How was that possible?

Leaving aside everything else, his face alone wouldn't have passed the palace examination.

How could someone so ugly become an official?

It would be unsightly…

"An expert!"

Yan Xiake's pupils shrank, and then he shouted in reply:

"If there isn't another Yan Xiake, then it's me!"

"A good child, but a pity he was delayed and has fallen to such a state today."

The old eunuch's slightly hoarse voice sounded again, the rain failing to obstruct his words:

"You are a talent. This old one doesn't want to kill you. Step aside. You can't protect the people inside!"

"May I ask you, esteemed eunuch, what crime have the people inside committed?"

Yan Xiake stood against the wind and rain, asking loudly:

"This Yan has heard that you are escorting Lord Yun back to the capital. I wonder what crime Lord Yun has committed?"

"You ask too many questions."

The old eunuch's face darkened, and he snorted:

"Even if you weren't a constable, you wouldn't be qualified to question the court's decisions!"

"Everyone in the world has the right to oversee matters of the world!"

Yan Xiake did not yield an inch, standing his ground:

"If this Lord Yun is truly heinous, then Yan will naturally retreat. Otherwise, if I were to retreat like this, Yan can promise, but Yan's sword cannot!"

A sword cultivator's mind is like a sword. Once a decision is made, there can be no deviation.

Otherwise, it would be insincere.

If one is not sincere to the sword, the path of sword cultivation will be difficult to advance.

"This Yun Jiegao, while somewhat greedy as an official, who wouldn't seek wealth after traveling thousands of miles to take office? Even if he really committed some corruption, it wouldn't be a major issue. One could turn a blind eye and let it pass. However, he shouldn't have, under any circumstances, conceived designs on His Majesty's longevity herbs!"

As the old eunuch spoke, his tone grew impatient:

"Li Hua! It's been so long, can't you even capture one person?!"

"Hmm?!"

Yan Xiake was still shocked by Yun Jiegao's audacity when he heard the last sentence, and his body trembled.

A scream sounded from behind him:

"Ah! Brother Li, what, what are you doing?!"

In the courtyard, Li Hua, who was supposed to be seriously injured, had somehow gotten to his feet and was gripping Yun Qian'er's neck with his fingers as he slowly stood up:

"Esteemed Eunuch, I have fulfilled my mission and captured Yun Jiegao's only daughter!"

"Li Hua!"

"Beast! Release my cousin!"

"You ungrateful wretch! My uncle took you in, and you betrayed us?!"

The people of the Yun family in the courtyard were instantly filled with outrage.

They pointed their swords at Li Hua, who was carrying Yun Qian'er towards the gate of the village.

"Betrayal?"

In the rain, blood dripped from Li Hua's armor, and his face twitched as he retorted angrily:

"Betrayal? Beast? Ungrateful wretch? What did Yun Jiegao take us in for? Don't you know? It sounds nice to say we're adopted sons, but we're just cannon fodder!"

He chuckled coldly, his fingers nearly breaking Yun Qian'er's throat:

"I've been working for him for more than a decade, and what about him? He arranged for us to intercept merchants. Did he tell us that we were intercepting the Emperor's men?! Thirty of my brothers died, leaving only six of us alive!"

"You!"

Everyone was speechless.

Li Hua looked coldly at Yun Qian'er:

"I told you that Yun Jiegao was seriously injured and could only be saved by an elixir. You must have brought something with you. Where is it?!"

"Cough, cough!"

Rain streamed down Yun Qian'er's face. Her face was flushed, and she coughed a few times with difficulty, but she didn't speak. She just glared hatefully at Li Hua, her eyes seeming to spew fire.

"Everyone, get out of the way! My only target is Yun Qian'er. If you escape now, you can still live."

Li Hua didn't care about the swords around him. He dragged Yun Qian'er towards the gate.

The people of the Yun family exchanged glances, their eyes flickering. None of them stepped forward to stop him.

Just as the two were about to leave, Yan Xiake, who was facing away from the courtyard and blocking the gate, suddenly reached out and stopped them, without even turning around. He said calmly:

"You can take the things, but Yun Jiegao's crime has nothing to do with Yun Qian'er!"

"Enough!"

Outside the village, the old eunuch had grown impatient. Seeing that Yan Xiake was still trying to stop them, he flew into a rage:

"Kill! Kill them all! Take the things and leave no one alive!"

"Yes!"

In a unified chorus, dozens of cavalrymen raised their curved sabers and spurred their horses forward!

Clang, clang~~

The blades flashed like a forest, instantly cutting through dozens of feet of rain, and charged towards the village.

Whoosh!

Just then, a calm sigh, like a cold current, instantly enveloped the surroundings, filling everyone's hearts:

"What a farce!"