Spring rain continued unabated, attacking Song Cheng's face as he walked, cold and ticklish, wantonly streaming.
His eyes were sharp, unwavering and unscratching, moving erratically, he patiently followed Ling in the pitch-black maze-like town.
After a long while, the ground began to turn muddy.
Ling quietly turned into an alley.
A lantern under the eaves jutted out at the entrance of the alley, emitting a faint glow.
Dates Lane.
Song Cheng recognized the place, he swept his gaze along the wall, noticing many unimpressive data like "1~1", "2~2", then suddenly spotted an extremely special set of data.
[Strength: 34~68]
[Favorability: 30]
This data clearly had not been there long, at least it hadn't been there when Song Cheng had patrolled the city last time.
And Ling's data was together with that data.
Rain pattered on tile roofs, wind whistled through wall cracks...
The young man followed the wall into the alley, came to a dark and deep corner, slipped inside, then visualized Nether Pagoda and went out of body divine soul towards the location where Ling and that data were.
He climbed over the wall and entered through a gap in the window.
A wave of searing heat emanated from afar.
Song Cheng looked up and saw a couple nestled together, the woman delicate, the man handsome.
And the core of the burning heat was that man.
This further clarified for Song Cheng a principle: Those with robust vigor could warm their own Yin soul and also ward off external sinister spirits.
That man was at the peak of Force Realm, half a step into Form Realm, his vitality fiery, already too much for his own Yin soul to come too close to.
"Brother Yi, you see, Miss really is something.
She clearly has you already, but why does she still need to nurture another man?
You haven't even seen her An Family's 'Extreme Force,' and she actually lets that man see.
She even said she wants to take that man as her brother.
I really feel indignant for you," Ling said.
Now, Ling was far from imperious as she was during the day, somewhat coquettish, a bit teasable.
Just as Song Cheng guessed, this man was indeed Ruyi Commerce Chamber's long-absent chief guard, Shi Yi.
Shi Yi said, "Chenyu is very independent, and I'm dominant. She doesn't want to be submissive, and she's afraid I'll snatch her things, so she deliberately distances me... But my love for her is deep, why would I take her things?"
Ling said in a soft voice, "It's not snatching at all, we are clearly a family. If Brother Yi puts in more effort, she could spare her energies, comfortably enjoy, wouldn't that be nice?"
Shi Yi said with a bitter smile, "If Chenyu could understand me like Ling does, that would be great.
But, not only does she not understand me, she still wants to raise a brother to checkmate me."
Ling disdainfully said, "Just a country bumpkin.
Self-righteous, arrogant and conceited, acting as if he's some kind of genius, watching him is just annoying.
He's really nothing compared to you, Brother Yi."
Shi Yi said, "It's fine, let Chenyu fuss if she wants to. I will make her realize, no matter what kind of person she wants to cultivate to checkmate me, it will be futile."
Ling looked at him somewhat worriedly, said, "But..."
Shi Yi confidently smiled, said, "Do you know why I came back late this time?"
Ling shook her head.
Shi Yi proudly said, "Because I've grasped an opportunity.
I can break through to Form Realm in less than four months.
Each step in Realm significantly enhances the strength.
What's the point if Chenyu exhausts her strength to produce a genius?"
He flashed a charming smile, "He will only become another stepping stone for my achievements."
"Brother Yi..."
Upon hearing this, Ling was inevitably moved.
But as she moved, she suddenly sneezed again.
Shi Yi said tenderly, "My love for you, Ling, is also deep, but the deeper it is, the more necessary it becomes to marry you formally.
Once I marry Chenyu, I will also propose to take you as my concubine, and then... we'll take your red pill, we have all the time in the world."
"Mm," Ling responded softly, her voice coquettish.
Suddenly, she thought of something else, said, "Oh right, Brother Yi, there's one more thing. I heard the young lady mention it."
Shi Yi asked softly, "What matter?"
Ling said, "Last month, the young lady said she wanted to take a son-in-law living with her family, targeting a weak and poor scholar."
Shi Yi pondered and said, "Chenyu is afraid she won't be able to control Ruyi Commerce Chamber, that's why she is hastening to find a son-in-law living with her family.
Otherwise, if she gets married off, what does the family fortune of Ruyi Commerce Chamber have to do with her?
Don't worry, that poor scholar is just for show to the outside world.
I guarantee, the son-in-law is just a bought decoration, not even hopeful of touching Chenyu."
Ling giggled, "Yes indeed, only Brother Yi can touch me, Ying, and the young lady."
The two exchanged more sweet nothings before Ling reluctantly left.
Once the place was deserted, in the dark, Shi Yi's expression suddenly twisted.
"Chenyu, I have given you so much, strengthened myself step by step for you, why don't you love me? Why?!!"
"You even showed our family's secret techniques to outsiders! How could you do this to me?"
"You are a woman; isn't it your duty to support your husband and teach your children? Showing your face in public; which respectable woman does that?"
"You should have let your elder brother manage the family business; if your elder brother is not competent, I am still here. Later, you could simply have advised me, couldn't you?"
"I couldn't let you keep making mistakes, couldn't let you be trapped in this cage that isn't yours! Such a heavy burden should have been mine to bear!"
Shi Yi sternly uttered these sentences, then finally heaved a sigh of relief, changed into looser clothing, and pulled a small secret box from beneath the pillow. He took out a thin manuscript from the box and began reading by lamplight.
The night was boundless, the lamp glowed like a bean.
His efforts would surely be rewarded.
...
Swish!
Song Cheng's Yin Soul quietly turned back.
Since the time wasn't long and the distance of his night wandering wasn't far, his body hadn't cooled down extremely.
He took several deep breaths, circulated his breath and blood to warm himself, scanned Shi Yi's room briefly, then grasped the knife behind his back, eyed the lantern at the alley entrance, approached quickly, leaped, and with a gentle swing...
Crack.
The light went out.
The sole source of light disappeared.
Dates Lane was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Song Cheng in the darkness was unaffected. He lightly stepped forward to the front of the house where Shi Yi was, pressed against the wall to calm his nerves, then abruptly exerted his strength and raised his knife.
Inside the room, Shi Yi's page-turning action suddenly froze; his fingers clutched the long knife handle tightly, not straying from his body, as he shouted, "Who is it?!"
No sooner had his words fallen than a knife wind cleaved through the window.
Shi Yi sneered, stepped back holding the scroll, and confidently cleared a space, waiting for the night attacker to enter.
He had long mastered the Ruyi Commerce Chamber's Willow Brushing Force, and he was extremely familiar with the small house's layout. No matter where the attacker came from, his knife would instantly unfold, beheading the newcomer.
His long knife swayed like a willow in the spring breeze, poised to strike.
However, that slash through the window was merely a single strike.
That one strike had not been aimed at him.
So although his retreat was agile, timely, and just right, it was... superfluous.
Song Cheng's strike had cleaved the oil lamp.
Inside, darkness.
Outside, darkness.
The world was shrouded in black; the spring rain obscured the moon, leaving no light.
The young man picked a stone up from the ground, moved to the front door, slipped the knife into the crack of the door, and with a flick, broke the door latch.
The moment the latch broke, a deadly knife light burst forth with a force from inside.
The young man parried with a swing of his knife.
The two separated.
"Who are you?" Shi Yi's voice was filled with incredible doubt.
Because with that strike, he recognized that the force used by the other was the same as his own—Willow Brushing Force, both were... Perfection.
No one answered.
Shi Yi struggled to see, but the darkness and rain made everything extremely blurry.
Thus, he squinted and pricked up his ears, trying to discern sounds.
In the darkness, suddenly there was a soft "snap" sound.
Whoosh!
Like a fierce wind whipping a willow, Shi Yi rapidly turned his head, his eyes shooting cold light. Murderous intent surged, Force Power surged around his body, and the ferocious strength flowed from his arms into his knife. The vibrating tendons even produced a sharp noise similar to that of a bowstring being pulled and released.
Boom!
The knife swung, like a deadly willow, aiming where the "snap" sound had originated.
However, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his side; it was the pain of a blade piercing the flesh.
Shi Yi was shocked and enraged, his left arm whipped out like a willow, drawing a wind strong enough to split rocks; he struck towards the person at his side.
Time seemed to slow down.
He saw that person also make a move.
That hand, like a giant, cold, terrifying python in the dark, was venomous, long-bodiedied, explosive, "hissing" its tongue, and savagely bloodthirsty!
The two forces collided.
Crack!
The python tore through the fragile willow.
Shi Yi's left arm was snapped.
Even though he was full of shock and contention, he had no second chance to strike, nor to speak.
His neck chilled, and his head soared into the air, tumbling; his eyes still filled with terror, unwillingness, and disbelief.
Who wanted to kill him?
Who was it?
With his death, all thoughts ceased.
The last fleeting thought rapidly dissipated.
Song Cheng let out a breath, bent down in the dark, took the scroll Shi Yi had been reading earlier, and swiftly left.