Mu Xiaoyao possessed a ten-foot-long red silk ribbon, Shang Guohen had a pair of steel claws. One long, one short; one hard, one soft…
Fang Jie wielded a horizontal sword, an ordinary Sui Dynasty-style horizontal sword. Ever since Shen Qingshan completely gave up on teaching him cultivation when he was seven, he knew that ultimately he had to rely on himself. There were countless people in the world, and even ordinary people could only open three to five of the 128 acupoints in their Qi Sea; only those who opened thirty-six could cultivate.
Fang Jie had none open.
This made him deeply realize that Heaven truly wouldn't drop two pies on the same person's head. Being reborn was a pie so sweet that Fang Jie still felt incredibly happy, so naturally he cherished it all the more. If Heaven were to make him a genius among geniuses again, even Fang Jie would say, "Heaven, you are so biased, so biased that I am so happy!"
Unfortunately, this was just Fang Jie's fantasy.
As perhaps the only person in the world completely ignorant, Fang Jie could actually boast a little. The title of "Number One Genius in the World" was so ordinary and uninteresting, while the title of "Number One Useless Person in the World" was so cool… it was truly frustrating. Having fled for reasons unknown, Fang Jie knew he had to cherish this second chance. Since he couldn't cultivate, he needed to develop some self-defense skills.
A person with an blocked Qi Sea, capable of single-handedly defeating at least six or seven elite Sui Dynasty border soldiers at the age of fifteen, would astonish anyone who knew. Normally, someone with an blocked Qi Sea would be a cripple. To say they were too weak to even kill a chicken would be an understatement; they should be unable to even hold their own urine. Even if they weren't bedridden for years, being able to walk was already a blessing from heaven.
This was precisely what puzzled Mu Xiaoyao and Shang Guohen: how could a cripple develop such a strong physique?
Both of them knew why Fang Jie's Qi Sea was blocked; the poisonous Gu had sealed all the acupoints in his Qi Sea, and it would be strange if it were open. However, the poisonous Gu within Fang Jie's body had been shattered for some unknown reason. Although the residual poison still blocked the acupoints in his Qi Sea, who knew if he would achieve great things after the residual poison dissipated?
If a blocked Qi Sea was already like this, who knew what kind of world would unfold if it were open?
Just as Fang Jie rushed towards the city gate, two figures suddenly appeared before him as if tearing through the void. Mu Da, standing half a step ahead, looked at Fang Jie's fierce leap and slash with utter disdain. What seemed like an extremely fast slash to an ordinary person appeared to him as slow as a snail's crawl.
Mu Da raised his left hand, seemingly slowly but precisely, blocking the horizontal sword. With a flick of his finger, a crisp "clang" rang out, and the sword, which Fang Jie had been gripping tightly, flew through the air, spinning six or seven meters away before shattering a hard blue brick with a "thud," leaving a sizable chip embedded in the brick.
Fang Jie's hand was immediately lacerated by the impact, and before blood could even flow, he crashed heavily to the ground.
"An ant,"
Mu Da coldly uttered two words, then took a step forward. What seemed like an ordinary step covered a full three meters; in a flash, he was standing beside Fang Jie.
"Although I don't know why a piece of trash like you has two fifth-rank experts protecting you, it doesn't interest me at all. I have never had any interest in the dead."
Mu Da raised his foot and stepped on Fang Jie's chest.
"Kill, deliver the goods...it's that simple."
Mu Da smiled, but there was no hint of smugness on his face. In his view, killing Fang Jie, someone who couldn't cultivate at all, was nothing to be proud of. It was like a three- or five-year-old child might feel a sense of accomplishment from stepping on an ant, but an adult would feel no pleasure at all.
Just as he was about to exert force with his foot, a red ribbon, like a giant python, swiftly and rapidly pierced his back from the side. The soft red ribbon suddenly became as hard as iron; if Mu Da hadn't dodged, it might have pierced his body like a steel spear.
But he didn't dodge.
He reached back and, still perfectly timed, grasped the red ribbon. With a twist of his wrist, the ribbon immediately straightened into a straight line. Mu Xiaoyao's forehead was covered in sweat, but she still couldn't retract the ribbon. It was as if the red ribbon was wrapped around a mountain, impossible to move.
Mu Er, who had been standing to the side without making a move, suddenly smiled: "Not bad looking, can keep her."
Mu Da nodded and asked, "Should I go first or you?"
Mu Er gestured for him to go first and smiled, "You're the elder brother, so naturally you go first. But don't torture her half to death like you did in Wei County last time before it was my turn. Although I don't mind, you have to consider the third brother's feelings. We've eaten together, drunk together, and slept with the same women since we were little. You were practically dead after you were done, and the third brother has been working with corpses all these years. If it were me, I would have vomited."
"Last time?"
Mu Da frowned, then remembered: "The daughter of that general who was found guilty of embezzlement? She's quite pretty, but..." She was just an ordinary woman, naturally a bit delicate. I only lasted an hour before fainting, and you lasted another hour. What were you doing with the corpse, Third Brother? But if you're going to blame someone, you should blame them more. When I was with a woman, I only ruined her features incidentally, but you had this weird habit of peeling skin while you were doing it. When it was Third Brother's turn… it was truly disgusting."
"This time I won't peel skin, and you don't need to gouge out eyes or cut off noses."
Mu Er said, "Let Third Brother see what a woman with a nose, eyes, and skin looks like."
"Okay!"
Mu Da nodded, looking at Mu Xiaoyao seriously, and said, "You're very lucky."
…
…
After the bugle sounded, the well-trained Sui border troops in the border camp immediately began to assemble. Under the command of the squad leaders, platoon leaders, and captains, everyone quickly assembled. However, when the captains had assembled their ranks, General Li Xiaozong was nowhere to be seen. This was highly unusual. Normally, Li Xiaozong would have been the first to appear at the drill ground.
"What do we do?"
Someone asked.
"Should we wait?"
The person asked also asked.
"Let's not wait."
Qu Feng, the most senior squad leader in the army, thought for a moment and said, "The general might have important business to attend to and can't come immediately. The bugle call is a military order. If there's a real emergency, we might face disaster if we don't get there in time. I think we should leave half the men to wait for the general, and the other half should go to where the bugle call came from."
The others thought it was feasible, so half the men stayed at the drill ground to wait. Qu Feng and several other squad leaders led the remaining soldiers towards the west of the city. Leaving the camp, they ran west along the widest street, directly facing the west gate. At full speed, they could arrive in ten minutes at the latest.
But, just as they reached the halfway point, they were stopped.
The one blocking the street was none other than Li Xiaozong, a border general. "The people from the capital are handling a case; it's none of our border troops' business. Go back to sleep. No one is to come out without my order."
Li Xiaozong waved his hand, his tone somewhat displeased. "Those officials from the Court of Judicial Review who sounded the horn are those ignorant officials. I already went to check; they're arresting people. We don't need to get involved. I've already told them that hearing the horn at the border means the battle has begun. Don't touch our things without permission."
"Arresting people?"
Qu Feng couldn't help but ask, "Arresting whom?"
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask."
Li Xiaozong seemed impatient and turned to walk towards the west gate. Qu Feng and the others exchanged glances, but ultimately turned and walked back out. Even if they didn't understand, they couldn't disobey their general's orders. The several hundred men who had come quickly retreated just as quickly, and soon the street was quiet again. Emperor Li Xiaozong turned around and glanced at the soldiers. Seeing they had all gone back, he smiled helplessly and said, "They've all gone back. Have I been obedient?"
A figure emerged from the shadows of the alley. In the moonlight, her rather plain blue floral cotton-padded jacket was visible. She carried a bundle, from which steam rose, its contents unknown. It's said that women are more beautiful under the moonlight, and this woman, already quite attractive, stood there in the snow and moonlight, her rustic attire making her appear even more charming and graceful.
"Not bad, my beating wasn't for nothing."
The woman smoothed a strand of hair that fell across her forehead and suddenly pointed behind Emperor Li Xiaozong, saying, "I have nothing to trouble you with, but your trouble has arrived."
Emperor Li Xiaozong turned around and saw a dozen figures slowly walking towards him from the end of the street. He frowned slightly, forcing a wry smile. "It is indeed a problem."
"Solve your own problem."
The woman turned to leave. Li Xiaozong rubbed his swollen face and said urgently, "Can't you solve this problem before you go?"
The woman said as she walked away, "Don't play the victim in front of me. I hit you because you were too arrogant. I didn't kill you because my husband told me not to harm anyone before he left. I dare not disobey my husband. A woman has to protect her husband's face, right?"
Li Xiaozong said angrily, "You still say you don't hit someone in the face!"
The woman snorted coldly, "What kind of hitting is it if you don't hit someone in the face?"
...
...
Du Hongxian couldn't move, not even an inch.
Her red silk ribbon was gripped by that sinister-looking man. At first, she could struggle, but later, her body felt as if it were trapped in an invisible cage. She couldn't move her feet an inch, her arm was just raised, and she couldn't muster any strength at all.
"Big Dog!"
She called out, but unable to turn around, she couldn't see where Big Dog was.
"I'm here!"
Big Dog's voice was somewhat disheveled as it answered, and it was very close to her. Mu Xiaoyao could only turn her head slightly with all her might, only to find Big Dog coughing up blood and slowly crawling towards her on the ground. Behind the large dog, another man in official robes followed slowly, staring at its back and whispering, "What a pity, such a stinking man's skin. My brother forbade me to skin that woman today, but my hands are itching terribly. What should I do?"
The large dog, crawling along, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "I've long heard that the Central Plains is a land overrun by demons, and today I know it's true."
"That was said by a bald monk on the Great Snow Mountain; to me, it's less impressive than a fart."
The speaker wasn't Mu Da, nor Mu Er, nor Mu Xiaoyao, but a woman carrying a steaming bundle, wearing a floral blue cotton-padded jacket, gray cotton trousers, and green embroidered cotton shoes. She looked like an old woman going to the market early to sell eggs.
"Boss lady?"
Fang Jie, lying on the ground, suddenly opened his eyes wide, staring incredulously at the familiar figure. "What are you doing here! Get out of here!"
Fang Jie shouted with all his might, but was stomped on by Mu Da and coughed up a mouthful of thick blood.
"My deadbeat husband of mine has gone on a long trip. Taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, I've come to elope with you... Little Fang Jie, what do you say? Didn't you say you wouldn't marry anyone but me? I put in a lot of effort to make up my mind, so you can't go back on your word, or else... I'll castrate you."
The proprietress smiled charmingly, looking especially alluring tonight.
She magically produced a pair of scissors from her bag and even brandished them with great seriousness.