Chapter 22: Chapter 22
But Qin Wuyang was fast — and Li Suifeng was no slower.
Without a moment’s hesitation, Li Suifeng met the finger strike head-on with the Great Tombstone-Crushing Palm.
THOOM!
Finger met palm. A deep, heavy impact rolled across the dock.
Both men were driven backward.
Qin Wuyang retreated five steps. Li Suifeng retreated seven.
“Good, good, good!”
Qin Wuyang said the word three times, unable to mask his shock.
“Li Suifeng — you’ve been hiding deeper than anyone imagined. You’ve actually stepped into seventh-rank, and your external hardening is at an extraordinary level.”
“I’d wager even that old fox Qi Hu has been fooled.”
“Quite the schemer.”
“Elder Qin flatters me.” Li Suifeng stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his voice mild.
“These herbs — Elder Qi has already instructed Brother Sun and his people to deliver them to the branch. I’m afraid I can’t hand them over to you.”
The seven steps backward had been deliberate.
If he suddenly appeared stronger than Qin Wuyang, it might draw Liu Zhenhe’s suspicion.
Every man on the dock was thunderstruck.
“No wonder…”
Zhou Chao murmured to himself.
No wonder Li Suifeng had suddenly become so dominant these past days. Retainer Jiang — killed without breaking a sweat. It was because Li Suifeng had been seventh-rank all along.
The man was terrifyingly calculating. Over a decade in the Canal Gang, never once drawing attention to himself — and all that time, he’d been concealing his true cultivation.
“And if I insist on taking them?” Qin Wuyang locked eyes with Li Suifeng.
“Then I’d have to trouble Elder Qin for a proper sparring match.”
The dock crackled with tension.
Every Canal Gang disciple’s palms were slick with sweat.
If this erupted into a real fight, whose side were they supposed to take?
TAP TAP TAP!
At that moment, hurried footsteps broke the standoff.
It was the Canal Gang disciple who’d gone to Qin Wuyang’s residence to deliver news. He rushed onto the dock, oblivious to the charged atmosphere, and blurted:
“Elder Qin — something’s happened at the Yang compound!”
BOOM.
Qin Wuyang’s heart seized. He abandoned Li Suifeng without another thought.
“The Yang family is the largest herb merchant in Nanyang. The Yang heir is a Divine Fist Gate man. What could possibly happen?”
“Hah… hah…” The messenger gasped for air. “A bunch of Yang family guards just fled the compound. Word is Ye Qingmei and a mysterious master broke in and killed the Red Lotus Sect’s branch master, along with another expert and the Yang family head. The whole northern quarter already knows.”
“Sounds like the rest of the Yang household has scattered too.”
Qin Wuyang’s vision nearly went black. His knees threatened to buckle.
He couldn’t spare Li Suifeng another thought.
“Move — to the Yang compound. Now.”
He vaulted onto his horse and led the pack north at a gallop.
His mind was in freefall. If Ye Qingmei had learned anything about his identity, he’d have to flee Nanyang tonight.
“Interesting.”
Li Suifeng watched Qin Wuyang’s panicked retreat with a contemplative expression.
Qin Wuyang had a problem. No question about it.
He’d seen the man’s face change just now — seen it clearly.
If Qin Wuyang had no ties to the Red Lotus Sect, a dead sect branch master in Nanyang was no concern of his. And the incident had been attributed to a masked stranger and Ye Qingmei — even if the Red Lotus Sect came looking for answers later, the trail wouldn’t lead to Qin Wuyang.
No need to rush, though. He could find the right moment to confirm it.
…
By the time Qin Wuyang reached the Yang compound in a frantic rush, Qi Hu was already there with over twenty Canal Gang disciples.
A dozen-odd Yang family guards knelt in the courtyard.
Qi Hu’s expression was grave.
What a night. First Li Suifeng massacred a platoon of Red Lotus Sect fighters at the docks. Now a Red Lotus Sect branch master had been killed inside the compound of the city’s biggest herb merchant.
At this rate, his dream of a quiet retirement was dead in the water.
By the time Qin Wuyang arrived, he’d managed to compose himself. He’d already learned from the Canal Gang disciples that Ye Qingmei and the mysterious master hadn’t lingered to interrogate anyone — his cover appeared intact.
His connection to Song Xian was single-threaded. He was Elder Yun’s man. Besides Yun himself and Song Xian, nobody knew his identity.
As long as Song Xian hadn’t leaked his status as a mole, he was safe.
“What happened? Who was with Ye Qingmei?” Qin Wuyang strolled up to Qi Hu with studied nonchalance.
Qi Hu’s face was grim.
“See for yourself.”
He pulled back the white cloth covering several of the corpses.
“HSSSS—”
“URGH—”
Canal Gang disciples who’d arrived with Qin Wuyang and hadn’t witnessed the scene before promptly emptied their stomachs.
“This — it’s the same person who killed Chen Qi and his men!” Lei Yun cried out.
He’d seen those bodies too. Cleaved in half, head to groin, with a single cut.
“A demon blade!”
“How can a technique this terrifying not be known in the jianghu?”
Even Qin Wuyang trembled.
Song Xian hadn’t been able to stop this blade-wielder. If it had been Qin Wuyang in his place, he’d have fared even worse.
In all likelihood, no one in Nanyang Prefecture’s martial circles could withstand it.
“Only Ye Qingmei would know who this person is.” Qi Hu shook his head. “If this person is under twenty-five and their identity becomes known, their place on the Human Rankings would be above Ye Qingmei’s… no — perhaps even above the Little Marquis of War, Zhuo Dongliu.”
“This person is beyond anything our Nanyang Branch should provoke. This matter is none of our concern. Stop investigating — unless you want to attract a deadly enemy.”
“Let the Red Lotus Sect handle their own problems.”
Every Canal Gang disciple nodded vigorously.
A master like that? They wanted no part of it.
Going against someone like that meant not even having the chance to run.
Qin Wuyang said nothing. He walked over to the Yang family guards whom Qi Hu had “invited” to stay, his voice cold:
“Tell me everything that happened here tonight.”
A ninth-rank guard scrambled to answer:
“We don’t know anything! Tonight we were doing our usual rounds. By the time we heard the commotion at the study and rushed over, the fighting had already started. All we know is the two who died were Red Lotus Sect. Everything else — we don’t know…”
By the time the guards had finished their jumbled, overlapping accounts, Qin Wuyang finally let himself relax.
Ye Qingmei and the mystery master hadn’t asked about a Canal Gang mole. He was in the clear.
With that weight off his shoulders, his mood lightened.
He drew Qi Hu aside, lowering his voice:
“Old Qi — a moment, if you will?”
Qi Hu raised an eyebrow. He and Qin Wuyang had never been particularly close. What required a private word?
Still, since Qin Wuyang had asked, Qi Hu followed him outside.
Once they were alone, Qin Wuyang spoke softly:
“Old Qi — what do you make of your man Li Suifeng?”
“The boy hides himself well. He’s already reached seventh-rank cultivation, yet he’s been concealing it all this time — only now showing his edge. Whatever he’s after, it’s nothing small.”