SS CH99

Xie Li’s wise pretense of sleep lasted only a short while before a noisy commotion startled his eyes open.

The sound came from downstairs. Ye Fusheng and Xuan Su paused their conversation. The former walked to the window and looked down, only to see that the previously peaceful street had suddenly fallen into chaos. Two martial arts factions, clashing over some unknown conflict, were actually fighting openly in the street.

Ye Fusheng’s gaze quickly swept over both sides. One side consisted of disciples from the Heavenly Sword Sect, while the other was made up of members of the Four Seas Gang. Both were mid-tier factions in the martial world; not exactly elite, but not at the bottom either. However, the former had always acted with high-profile arrogance, while the latter spent their days rolling in the mud of worldly affairs. Although both belonged to the orthodox martial world, they very much gave off the vibe of “walking different paths and sharing no common goals.”

However, regardless of whatever private grudges they held, to openly fight in Jialan City at a crucial juncture like this, and in front of so many people to boot, was utterly brainless. Win or lose, they were just making a joke of themselves for outsiders to watch.

Gripping the windowsill, Xie Li poked half his little head out. Seeing the chaotic street below, he couldn’t help but frown. “Why are they fighting?”

Ye Fusheng placed a hand on his head, the corner of his lips curling up. “Either they ate too much and have nothing better to do, or their brains are full of water and they can’t listen to human reasoning.”

Xie Li heard a thick layer of mockery in those words and felt that Ye Fusheng’s tone was somewhat strange.

He was too young to understand the twists and turns. Although Xuan Su was new to the mortal world, he was ultimately a smart and perceptive man. Processing the words, he asked, “Are you saying… they are being instigated by someone?”

Ye Fusheng smiled. “Along our journey, we’ve seen sects and factions casually resorting to brawls like this at least a dozen times.”

Xuan Su’s expression grew solemn.

This Martial Arts Assembly was incredibly grandiose, rallying almost every notable orthodox sect in the Central Plains. Nearly a thousand martial artists were rushing toward Wuxiang Temple. Emotionally speaking, the orthodox martial world had been leaderless for years. Finally grasping a chance for a grand gathering, with a villain’s head serving as a prize, their enthusiasm was understandable. Rationally speaking, however, at a time when everyone should be united and ambitious for the assembly, the friction and grudges were intensifying instead. For the sake of trivial fame and fortune, many sects were openly and covertly drawing weapons against one another. That was definitely problematic.

“Zhao Qing is a protector of the Burial Soul Palace and the culprit behind the bloodbath at the Huangshan Sect. It’s understandable that the crowd is highly emotional, but…” Ye Fusheng narrowed his eyes. “First of all, the Huangshan Sect massacre happened a long time ago. Who would still harbor such deep-seated resentment and righteous indignation over it now?”

As time passed, the victims of those years were no longer around. Were there truly that many righteous heroes in the world willing to exert so much effort over an old bloodbath? Yet, along this journey, they had heard martial artists chatting in tea stalls and inns countless times. Whenever someone mentioned Zhao Qing, their faces would flush as they listed his crimes, wishing they could immediately chop off his head and step on that puddle of blood to ascend the long-empty throne of the Alliance Leader.

Zhao Qing was originally just meant to be a prize to rally morale and display power. Now, he had become a gimmick for the crowd to vent their wild ambitions.

Under the guise of eliminating evil for the people and enforcing justice on behalf of heaven, how many people were actually looking right past him, staring straight at the throne of the number one person in the martial world?

Xuan Su was merely pure-hearted, not stupid.

Looking at both sides already crossing blades below, he frowned. “The undercurrents here are unclear, but it’s not good to just let them continue damaging their own strength like this.”

Seeing him catch on immediately, Ye Fusheng smiled. “Has the Young Palace Master ever seen dogs fight on the mountain?”

Xuan Su, who had always been completely ignored by dogs since childhood: “…”

Although the Taishang Palace didn’t keep guard dogs, some soft-hearted female disciples kept small pets. But for some unknown reason, whenever those docile little creatures saw Xuan Su, they would either turn and run away or simply raise their claws to scratch him. Let alone seeing dogs fight, it was far more common for them to team up and bare their fangs and claws at him.

He coughed lightly to hide his embarrassment. “Never.”

“Whether dogs or people, at the end of the day, striving to win and emerge on top always boils down to one word: profit.” Ye Fusheng glanced at the crowd below, narrowing his eyes. “Since we can’t give them a shared profit right now, let’s give them a shared enemy.”

Both Xuan Su and Xie Li followed his gaze. It landed on a completely unremarkable man dressed in the attire of the Four Seas Gang.

“Did you notice anything?”

Although Xie Li was small, his observation was meticulous: “Even though it’s a chaotic melee, he’s being protected by several of his fellow gang members. There’s also blood on his front collar. He might have already been injured before the fight even started.”

He was still too young to see the deeper layers, after all. Ye Fusheng patted Xie Li’s head and looked at Xuan Su.

The Young Palace Master hadn’t seen much of the world, but his eyes were indeed sharp.

“It looks like he vomited blood from an internal injury, and his face is pale. But his footing is steady. When dodging attacks, he appears to rely on the protection of those around him, but he is actually borrowing their strength to deflect strikes and redirecting the danger toward them.” Xuan Su’s gaze swept over the scene again. “There are also oddities among the surrounding onlookers. Ordinary commoners would choose to protect themselves and stay away when they see martial artists fighting. Yet, there are two people in there who act terrified, but are using the chaos to move closer to the battle circle.”

“What are they trying to do?” Xie Li asked in shock.

“Fishing in troubled waters, of course. Taking the opportunity to blow things up even further.” Ye Fusheng sneered. Turning to Xie Li, he asked, “Have you ever seen face-changing?”

Xie Li froze for a moment. “No…”

“Then I’ll let you see it today.” Before his voice even faded, Ye Fusheng vaulted over the windowsill and leaped out.

Dressed in green, his qinggong was like a startled swan skimming the water. In that instant, he seemed to ride the wind down, plunging into the battle in the blink of an eye, as elusive as a suddenly falling leaf.

The “injured” Four Seas Gang disciple only saw a blur before a tearing pain ripped across his face, accompanied by a soft ripping sound.

The sudden intrusion of an outsider startled both sides. The expressions of the Four Seas Gang disciples drastically changed: “Who goes there?!”

The few gang members protecting the man were simultaneously shocked and enraged: “Who dares touch a disciple of the Four Seas Gang?”

Like a drifting willow catkin, Ye Fusheng evaded the blades thrust at him. He flipped and landed on an overturned table by the roadside. The item he had just ripped off spun around his fingertips like a handkerchief. He laughed, “I’ve always heard the good men of the Four Seas Gang were tough guys who drift on water, but I didn’t expect you had such a pale-faced, delicate beauty among you!”

What he was twirling in his hand was undeniably an exquisitely crafted human-skin mask.

Hearing his words, the Four Seas Gang members froze. Turning to look at their “severely injured fellow disciple,” they saw that his bronze face had turned completely pale, and his facial features were entirely different.

Because this happened so suddenly, the people of the Heavenly Sword Sect also stopped fighting, looking over in astonishment. The leading man of the Four Seas Gang brandished his saber and shouted, “Who are you? Where is Chen Shidi?”

The imposter glared at Ye Fusheng with sinister eyes. Knowing full well when to cut his losses and run, he didn’t utter a single word. Two daggers slid from his sleeves into his hands, slashing at the two people beside him. The man on the left was caught completely off guard and had his throat slit, while the slightly shorter woman on the right barely avoided having a knife plunged into her eye socket, saved only because a fellow disciple yanked her back.

Seizing this momentary opening, the imposter turned and fled. The Four Seas Gang disciples immediately gave chase.

Ye Fusheng, however, did not pursue. He glanced at the two individuals Xuan Su had pointed out earlier. One of them had already mingled into the crowd to seize the chance to run, while the other pretended to be shoved to the ground, falling at the feet of a Heavenly Sword Sect disciple.

The disciple looked young and didn’t think much of it. He bent down to help the seemingly white-haired “old man.” In that exact second, he suddenly felt a tight grip on his back collar. He was violently yanked a step backward, narrowly avoiding a short knife thrust straight at his abdomen!

Ye Fusheng tossed the disciple backward with one hand and delivered a brutal kick to the attacker’s wrist. The strike carried immense force, and a crisp crack of breaking bone echoed instantly.

Realizing someone had ruined the plan and seeing the Heavenly Sword Sect disciples recovering and giving chase, the other fleeing attacker spotted a woman frantically backing away while clutching a crying little girl. He actually struck the woman in the back, snatched the child, and kicked the injured mother backward.

The woman was already physically weak, and this strike inflicted internal injuries. The Heavenly Sword Sect disciples were forced to stop and catch her to disperse the impact, while the primary culprit was just about to vanish around the corner.

Ye Fusheng’s silhouette flickered. With a few quick leaps, he was about to land right behind the man. However, something else was even faster.

It was a piece of broken porcelain. Skimming past Ye Fusheng at an incredibly tricky angle, it silently embedded itself into the back of the man’s head.

The human skull is incredibly tough, yet this piece of porcelain, no larger than a fingernail, drove into it as easily as sinking into tofu. The skin didn’t even have time to curl back; only a few drops of blood splattered in that instant.

The man didn’t even realize what happened. He ran a few more steps forward before collapsing limply to the ground.

Caught off guard, the little girl was thrown forward, landing flat on the ground and bursting into loud wails.

Ye Fusheng looked back. At the second-floor window of the teahouse, Xuan Su still stood exactly where he had been, only the teacup he had been holding was completely shattered.

Being far away and partially obscured by the window shutters, Ye Fusheng naturally couldn’t see clearly. However, inside the room, Xie Li felt a bone-chilling terror creep over him.

Xie Li had seen it perfectly clearly. Just a moment ago, Xuan Su had crushed the teacup in his hand. With a delicate flick of his fingers, he infused internal energy into the porcelain shard and shot it out. Traveling over a hundred and thirty feet, piercing bone and entering flesh—all within the mere flick of a finger.

The smile on Xuan Su’s face was gone. Looking at the severely injured woman and the crying little girl, his expression turned freezing cold. The man who had been as gentle as a spring breeze was inexplicably dyed with the bleak, murderous aura of a harsh winter in this moment.

He lowered his eyelids, and Xie Li only heard a soft, murmured whisper: “Do not move against non-martial artists. Do not kill those without sin… Shifu, your disciple made no mistake this time, right?”