It was late the next afternoon when they were about to enter Wuzhang City when they saw a fireworks sign shooting up into the sky. Jinshui and Huang Yu instantly recognized it as a signal belonging to Lin Jixuan. The two of them asked Xiaoshan and Xiaohu to take care of Xu Qiao, then run towards the origin of the signal.
Lin Jixuan was fighting four ax-wielding men on the riverbank. The four men were all wearing dark red long clothes, their heads wore the same colored headband, and they were all standing on a raft, slashing alternately at Lin Jixuan, tightly locking him up.
Lin Jixuan himself seemed to be overwhelmed, his folding fan was already torn, and he had no other weapon. Xiezhang's inner energy was also unusable at the moment, probably because the fight had been going on for a long time and Lin Jixuan was already exhausted.
When Jinshui and Huang Yu arrived at that place, they immediately found Yanzi lying on the grass nearby, unconscious and there was fresh blood on her face. Apparently, she was already deeply injured. Yue Songdai was not far away, sitting like a dazed person on a river rock, ignoring his body being half-submerged in water.
Huang Yu could instantly see that the four ax-wielding men didn't really want to hurt or kill Lin Jixuan, just wanted to exhaust him. The ax weapons in their hands were typical weapons belonging to members of Wuyuan Dian, the government organization that was once led by Lin Tongtian. Meaning those four men were Banye Xiake's bodyguards, and they did not dare to kill Lin Jixuan for being their young master, even though according to the orders of the great master they were allowed to injure, they were still quite reluctant.
Lin Jixuan wiped the blood at the corner of his lips, threw away the last trace of the fireworks on him, threw it at one of the guards, then bravely lunged at the other bodyguard. The rest of the fireworks were easily dodged by the guard, but the stubborn young master's palm still had time to grab the body of the guard's weapon he was attacking, about to grab it with a jolt.
Another bodyguard jumped off the raft, slashing an ax into his hand before snatching the weapon. If Lin Jixuan didn't withdraw his hand quickly, then the ax would definitely cut off one of his arms. The Xiezhang descendant laughed, desperately continued to draw the opponent's weapon, forcing the attacker to retreat because he didn't have the heart to hurt the master's son.
The last bodyguard did not stay still, at that very moment had jumped off the raft, his kick was aimed at Lin Jixuan's head, hitting him and sending him splashing into the water.
One chess piece had already shot, aiming for the last guard's chest before pressing Lin Jixuan into the river. However, the chess pieces don't seem to have much effect, showing that the guard had extraordinary strength.
Huang Yu and Jinshui charged at the same time, each directly facing two men at once, a fight broke out on the river bank, making the water churn and drenching the surroundings. Yue Songdai was half awake, then stepped aside onto the dry land. One strike of Huang Yu's chess piece hit his shoulder, and he then picked it up, watching it strangely.
The bodyguards of Wuyuan Dian were each not possessing high-leveled martial arts, but they had a lot of fighting experience. Seeing that two young men had come to help Lin Jixuan, these four bodyguards then returned to each of their rafts, with agile movements using the rafts as protection and at the same time a second weapon, blocking Jinshui and Huang Yu's attacks.
Huang Yu's secret weapon attack was pointless, forcing him to use the inner energy given by his master Chailang, wanting to destroy the raft first before finishing off the bodyguards. Jinshui had the same thought, but he didn't feel the need to draw a weapon, just relying on the inner energy given by Moying.
The four bodyguards turned their rafts around, blocking Jinshui and Huang Yu from finding a foothold. The river bank wasn't deep, but Jinshui and Huang Yu couldn't stand on the water either, and being underwater was somehow an obstacle for them to exert all their strength. It was an unusual battle for them.
Lin Jixuan was already internally injured, but he didn't give up either. He desperately tried to climb onto one of his father's bodyguard rafts, slashing his fan at the raft's straps and severing it. The raft split in two, but the man on it was still able to use half the raft to stand calmly on the water. His ax slashed at Lin Jixuan and forced him to dive into the water again.
Lin Jixuan put the last of his inner energy into his hands, smashed into the remaining half of the raft, hit the bamboo sticks, and sent the bodyguards on it to the riverbank. However using such power was also fatal to him, he vomited blood and fell into the water.
"Lin Jixuan!"
Yanzi was already conscious and saw what happened to Lin Jixuan just now. She immediately dived into the water, trying to find him there. Jinshui and Huang Yu saw their friend drowning, they were worried and the attack loosened up a bit, but after a while seeing Yanzi pulling Lin Jixuan out of the water, the two of them charged back at the remaining three bodyguards.
Huang Yu let Jinshui fight two men, he himself drew closer to one and used the same method Lin Jixuan had just now, smashed the raft into pieces and sent its owner to the land, and the man directly hit a large rock. Worried that the bodyguard could still wake up and attack again, Huang Yu rushed towards him and snatched the ax from his hand, slashing it into its owner's body and killing him instantly.
Jinshui was shocked to see his friend kill the bodyguard as he actually didn't want anyone to die. But there were indeed inside a kill or to be killed condition. He could only find a way so that the remaining two bodyguards would not suffer the same fate.
The bodyguard who had been thrown over the riverbank quickly got back up, realizing that his raft had been destroyed, but that his weapon was still in his hand. He walked over to Yue Songdai who was still staring at the chess pieces he just picked up, about to use him as a hostage.
Huang Yu was already watching that man, and he moved quickly and pushed Yue Songdai aside. For a moment the bodyguard's ax still had time to aim at his neck, but a moment later the ax owner dropped his weapon, Huang Yu had already hit his head and crushed his skull with one blow. The body was drooping and dying for a moment.
"You two should leave now," Jinshui had already drawn his xuanlong sword and used it to cut the raft of the two remaining bodyguards, leaving them to rely solely on a piece of bamboo to stay standing above the water. The two of them could see what had happened to their friends, and folded their hands for a moment to Jinshui, but they didn't just run away. These Wuyuan Dian members can see the opponent's forgiveness, but they were not cowards who fear death either.
The two remaining bodyguards had not yet continued to attack, the sound of the wind was heard, and the surrounding air seemed to turn into a piercing cold. Above the stream another small raft approached, above it was a human figure, it was not clear whether it was a man or a woman. He was tall and big with long, flowing hair, the darkness that had just descended made this figure look terrifying.
The huge figure set foot on the raft, hovering above it wielding a serrated saber, a significant weapon that Jinshui recognized as belonging to Lin Jixuan's father, Banye Xiake Lin Tongtian.
It was Lin Tongtian who had come, but even his own son barely recognized him anymore, Huang Yu and Jinshui both gasped at his appearance, really not the same as last time when he caught them on the Lin Family's ship and released them after a short fight.
This Lin Tongtian's face and appearance were much more terrifying, his hair had turned white, his eyes were closed, and his expression was blank yet fierce like someone who had been possessed to the point of being helpless.
The strike of the saber was immediately greeted by the xuanlong sword. Jinshui felt his hand tingling at that instant. Lin Tongtian's strength was much stronger than the last time they met. At that time Jinshui was in a poisoned state, and also injured, but he was still able to deal with it up to fifty moves. This time, he didn't know if he can fight that Banye Xiake who was in a state like an undead.
The two remaining Wuyuan Dian bodyguards had already stepped ashore. Jinshui grabbed the rest of their raft to stand on, struggling to withstand the strike of Lin Tongtian's saber, once even nearly slipped.
"Oh no," Lin Jixuan spoke to Huang Yu, "every eight months my father had to put himself in seclusion for at least nine days to practice beifeng qi. Someone had forced him to end his practice time, and got him into a trance, causing him to look like this."
"Someone abducted your sister Lin Guniang," Huang Yu shared what he heard from Shixiu Daozhang and Peng Yang. "My older brother, Huang Zhe."
"What?" Lin Jixuan asked.
"We have to disenchant him as soon as possible," said Huang Yu, "before he kills Jinshui."
"We can't," said Lin Jixuan, "we cannot knock him unconscious either. I'm afraid we can only...."
He almost said the word kill, but he surely didn't want the death of his own father.
The two guards who had just stayed on the ground had already attacked Huang Yu before he step in to help Jinshui. Lin Jixuan himself was injured, unable to help, and had to sit on the grass, trying to recover a little. Yanzi gave him a pill but he vomited blood again.
"Yanzi," Lin Jixuan quickly helped her sit, gave the pill in her hand to herself, and then also tried to help her using his inner energy. But he himself was seriously injured, unable to do much.
"I won't die," Yanzi said to him, "I haven't poisoned lot enough people."
"Yes," replied Lin Jixuan, "we are too young to die."
The air around the riverside was getting colder and darker. Jinshui used all his abilities, inducing the most complicated moves of wuqing xue. But even the xiao yao san bu (three free steps) and tong xing po yue (piercing through the stars to break the moon) moves from wuqing xue didn't have much power against Lin Tongtian, Jinshui's punch was like hitting a wooden block.
Huang Yu picked up the ax dropped by the bodyguard Wuyuan Dian who died with a cracked skull earlier, using it to confront the two remaining bodyguards. He knew he had to be cruel because one of his friends was injured, and another was in trouble. He used all the strength Chailang had given him, grabbing the two bodyguards as fast as he could, the ax in his hand slashing at their necks. His movements were very fast and also terrifying, blood immediately spurted and ran down his face.
At the same time, Xu Qiao arrived at the riverside followed by Xiaoshan and Xiaohu. She witnessed the scene, at the same time also saw Jinshui who was subdued by Lin Tongtian. Xiaohu blocked Xu Qiao, and protected her in a place some distance away.
Huang Yu shot toward the river, unleashing another secret weapon at Lin Tongtian. the dozens of baihua needles that had once belonged to his mother. Knowing that Lin Tongtian's condition was not like that of a normal human, he did not aim the needles at the dangerous acupuncture points but just threw them randomly. One needle apparently managed to hit a single point on Lin Tongtian's head, giving him an electric shock. His eyes widely opened.
Immediately he left Jinshui, kicked one of his feet onto the riverbank like an eagle, suddenly grabbed Huang Yu by the neck, and choked him. Jinshui didn't stay still, quickly drew his sword back, and attacked. A single stroke of the sword slashed Lin Tongtian's waist, and for a second Jinshui felt like he was splitting iron. But xuanlong jian was not an ordinary sword, it could cleave steel.
Blood was immediately seen flowing on Lin Tongtian's clothes. Without letting go of Huang Yu, Lin Tongtian rushed toward Jinshui. Huang Yu and Jinshui felt both of their inner energy was sucked.
Fresh blood flowed out from the corners of Jinshui and Huang Yu's lips. Lin Tongtian shouted loudly, his voice deafening everyone. In one hit Jinshui and Huang Yu were thrown to the ground, and their internal injuries were quite severe.
Xu Qiao used her hand to cover her mouth, not daring to call out because she didn't want to make Jinshui worry about her and suffer a more terrible fate. Xiaoshan and Xiaohu were already wielding swords, ready to help their masters by using their own lives. But they hadn't moved yet when a shadowy figure appeared and flashed right into the middle of the fighting arena.
Jinshui and Huang Yu tried to quickly get back up. It was then that they felt someone coming behind them, someone's palms pressed against the backs of the two, giving off a warm flow of energy.
When Lin Tongtian once again exerted his energy-sucking power, the power of the newcomer protected Jinshui as well as Huang Yu, leaving the two of them unaffected. Lin Tongtian immediately realized the appearance of a real highly-skilled martial artist. He didn't say a word, only his screams were heard.
The figure who had just arrived was an old man who was much older than Lin Tongtian, his hair was all gray, the same color as his long robe. His old face still showed the dignity and beauty of a long past youth. He removed his hands from Jinshui and Huang Yu's backs and stepped in front of Lin Tongtian. Lin Tongtian's two eyes were blank, but he vaguely recognized this figure before him.
"Lin Laodi, how are you doing?" the figure asked. "Long time no see, you seem to be much older than me now."
"Zhang..." Lin Tongtian's lips moved, trying to pronounce a name. "Zhang Zheliang."
Jinshui gasped in surprise at his words, did not expect the day of the meeting with his father's killer to come so soon, also in the current state, for a moment he was silent in his place, for a moment did not realize Xu Qiao was already beside him.
"Jinshui Gege, are you hurt?" Xu Qiao wiped the blood on the corner of her lips with the end of her sleeve.
"I'm fine," replied Jinshui.
"Lin Tongtian," the new coming figure spoke to Lin Tongtian. "You practiced heresy until you turned like a madman, looks like laofu should help you regain consciousness a bit. Laofu hasn't fought with people in a long time, I'm sorry if I can't fight well today."
The two old figures had been attacking each other for a moment, the new coming man already holding a silver sword coming out of nowhere. Jinshui and the others couldn't do anything but watch them.
The movements of these two old figures were both fast and both seemed to be shrouded in a mist that obscured the eye. People who don't understand martial arts will not be able to catch a single move of theirs can only catch the deafening clanging sound of weapons clashing loudly.
The sword in the hand of the new coming figure chimed broken. None of those who witnessed knew what had happened. But the figure quickly managed to take one of Wuyuan Dian's bodyguard's axes which were still in its owner's hand.
Lin Tongtian seemed to be suppressed. That figure's attacks were getting nimbler, but Lin Tongtian didn't want to lose the fight. The moves he used were getting weirder, also seemed not to care about his own safety.
The ax was successfully slashed by Lin Tongtian's serrated saber, showing just how powerful the weapon was. His opponent continued with his bare hands, his movements became even faster, three moves later even almost managed to seize the weapon in Lin Tongtian's hands. The movements that person used were very similar to the movements of Xie Tianhu when playing the yin shou yang zhang. It was probably true that he was the Sword God Zhang Zheliang.
In the middle of the fight suddenly there was something happened. Lin Tongtian and Zhang Zheliang both retreated. The fight just now had no winner.
Zhang Zheliang had been locked in a basement for too long with a wound that could not be healed, he had not been able to exert all his abilities, while Lin Tongtian apparently did not care about his own life, desperately trying to defeat the opponent. If they intend to fight, then both parties will be seriously injured or even instantly lose their lives.
"Lin Tongtian, as I recall your nickname is Banye Xiake (midnight killer)," Zhang Zheliang spoke. "You used to catch criminals, but you have a habit to finish your job before midnight, every time. By now you should have retired, I wonder if this nickname is also retiring."
Lin Tongtian didn't say a word, only let out a loud snort. The nickname Banye Xiake was his. In the past he had always managed to catch his wanted criminals, always starting the pursuit in the dark and finishing before midnight. That was a well-known reputation of his, and indeed he remembered it clearly.
"It is now past midnight. If you still want to continue playing with laofu, that's fine," said Zhang Zheliang again. "On the contrary, if you want to continue your work another day, the matter of you breaking the habit today, I can assure you no one will spread it out and ruin your reputation."
His words apparently had a great effect on Lin Tongtian. He didn't want to ruin his past reputation, clearly, even with his current state. The Midnight Killer just snorted one more time, then spun around and sped away, quickly disappearing into the darkness of the night. No one was chasing him.