Kang Qiandeng turned back in astonishment, watching Qian Chen press forward without the slightest hesitation, and thought, filled with regret: "How could I ever have doubted such a righteous man?"
The Soul-Claiming Copper Hammer flew at Qian Chen's chest, and Qian Chen had only just swung the Heavenly Net Umbrella behind him, sending Kang Qiandeng clear, when a bloodthirsty grin spread across Suo Sanguan's face. The more tragic and heroic the scene, the more it thrilled him — he had long since worked out how to turn this very thing to account and torment Kang Qiandeng. For instance... using the corpse of this young man who had saved his life as a weapon?
Forcing him to hack apart the body of his own savior with his own hands?
By then the jade ring in Qian Chen's hand had already flown off his wrist, only a hair faster than the copper hammer, and shot to the crown of Suo Sanguan's head. In an instant it looped down and cinched around that thick neck of his — and that single cinch abruptly choked off Suo Sanguan's breath.
With his breath thrown into disarray, the technique driving the copper hammer fell into disarray with it.
Qian Chen's figure flickered; stepping on the copper hammer, he flipped clean over Suo Sanguan's head.
Suo Sanguan, both hands locked on the jade ring strangling his neck, blood surging into his skull, his lumpy face already flushed crimson from the strain. Qian Chen said in disappointment, "Just as I thought — you still can't wring the head off a hard-tempered martial artist protected by gang qi!"
"Blood Dripper! What use are you!"
Face full of disdain, Qian Chen addressed the Dragon Sparrow Ring: "All you're good for is letting out the Five Poisons... poisoning one brainless brute to death!"
By the time he finished speaking, Suo Sanguan had stopped struggling, and his mighty body dropped heavily to its knees.
The neck the Dragon Sparrow Ring had cinched had swollen to the thickness of an adult's thigh, crawling over with a dense web of black lines that had even climbed up onto Suo Sanguan's face. By the time the black lines filled his very eyeballs, the savage bull of the Twelve Yuan Chen — the Gladiatorial God-Lord — had ceased to breathe.
The Azure Phosphor Gold Scorpion had merely jabbed outward once from within the Dragon Sparrow Ring's restriction space.
"For slaying the Twelve Yuan Chen: five hundred Merit for each one slain, two hundred Merit for an assist."
"Completed: Mist-Riding Lord (slain), Gladiatorial God-Lord (slain)."
Kang Qiandeng and the whole party stood dumbstruck. Everything had happened far too fast for anyone to react. Someone murmured as if talking in his sleep, "Isn't he the disciple of the Medicine King, the Dust-Forsaking Hermit? I've seen him blush all the time..."
At those words Qian Chen blushed so hard that even his ears turned red.
He coughed twice and explained, "I am the Medicine King's disciple, so it's only natural that I know how to poison, isn't it?"
"Besides, I really am only newly come out into the jianghu and know nothing of anything. I merely took advantage of the villain's attention being fixed on Hero Kang to slip in poison and strike from the shadows — that's the only reason I succeeded. My real skill is nothing to speak of!"
Everyone hurriedly turned their eyes to Kang Qiandeng, as if asking, "Is that so?"
Kang Qiandeng hastily waved his hands. "Brother Qian jests." He smiled bitterly. "I lack experience; the moment we crossed hands, Suo Sanguan drove me into a dead end... As for Brother Qian's poison..." He seemed at a loss how to pass judgment on so sinister a sneak attack, and could only force an awkward turn: "Brother Qian saved my life even as I was being beaten back — his skill must be extraordinarily high..."
Qian Chen smiled faintly. It had never once occurred to this Three-Absolutes Swordsman that Qian Chen had not struck first out of fear, nor that Qian Chen had held back until the end precisely to use him as bait and draw the enemy's opening. Or rather, even if such a thought had crossed his mind, there was nothing dark in it.
Such an upright man was, in his way, rather endearing.
Some people, even after you save their life, will first wonder whether you have eaten an extra mouthful of their rice... Those are not endearing people — and there are, unfortunately, quite a lot of them.
So he said with a smile, "The Gladiatorial God-Lord is slain here. Let's hurry and reinforce the others!"
Kang Qiandeng and the others' faces turned solemn at once. "Quite right. The Twelve Yuan Chen are not to be underestimated. The other heroes must be locked in bitter struggle too. With a fresh force like us, we truly must make haste!"
Qian Chen headed back to the main hall together with Kang Qiandeng and the others — only from there could they conveniently reinforce all four directions. But the moment they reached the entrance of Five Lakes Hall, they felt that the atmosphere had turned grave and solemn. Kongming stood at the door gripping his monk's staff, and every hero wore grief and indignation on his face. Kang Qiandeng could not help but be astonished.
Even if they had suffered a setback against the Twelve Yuan Chen, even grievous casualties, it should never have left them this dispirited.
Kang Qiandeng stepped forward, and before he could even deliver the good news that the Gladiatorial God-Lord had been slain, he heard Kongming say, "Young hero Kang, you have returned too! Quick, go inside and look! Ah..."
Qian Chen and Kang Qiandeng walked into the main hall and saw Hong Sihai standing silent at the head of the great hall, his left hand resting on a low couch. On the couch lay a person, utterly motionless. Only one thought flashed through Kang Qiandeng's mind — who had been murdered now?
On the couch lay none other than Grandmaster Liang Dou, famed as "Qi Surging the Crimson Clouds." His eyes were open, his face drained of every trace of color, and there even lingered on it a look of shock.
Kang Qiandeng would far rather his eyes had been closed — then he would not have to see that disbelieving look in Liang Dou's eyes.
And would not have to understand one fact...
"Hero Liang was struck down from behind — ambushed and murdered by someone he trusted absolutely!" Xu Xiaoyang of Righteous Qi Manor spoke up. "There must be one of the Twelve Yuan Chen among us!"
Kongming walked slowly in from outside the hall. "At this point, this old monk has nothing more to hide from you all. According to reliable intelligence that has reached me, someone among the Twelve Yuan Chen does indeed have an identity that stands up to scrutiny and has slipped in among us — and there may be more than one."
"Shaolin has investigated in secret for ten years, yet what we know of the Twelve Yuan Chen is still the barest intelligence."
"What can be confirmed at present: the Gladiatorial God-Lord is the most vicious great outlaw on the jianghu — a hammer user with a body of hard-tempered sinew and bone, suspected to be the bandit Suo Sanguan, who vanished fifteen years ago. The Mist-Riding Lord is a disciple of the Azure Phosphor Five Poisons Cult. The Flying Yellow Lord is a grand figure of the martial world who holds considerable prestige on the righteous path. The Ghost-Devouring Lord is not one person, but a whole group. The Sun-Chasing Lord's art of recognizing people and finding things is unmatched under heaven. The Medicine-Pounding Lord is a woman..."
Qian Chen came before Liang Dou's remains and saw that the front of his body bore not a single wound; he lay as peaceful as a man asleep.
Only when he turned the body over did he see the blood staining the blue robe — he had apparently been run through from below the ribs into the heart by an extremely sharp weapon, and yet with just enough precision not to pierce out through the chest!
To break through a Grandmaster's protective gang qi so easily, the weapon used must have been a divine weapon.
Judging by the killer's line of force — from below to above, from the spot beneath the ribs commonly called the soft ribs, thrusting straight up into the heart — the weapon must have been of the dagger kind. Yet from the wound itself Qian Chen detected a subtle incongruity, and his spiritual sense also took note: when the Old Man of Generals and Ministers, Li Qianqiu, had seen him turning over Liang Dou's corpse, a trace of something unnatural had flickered across his face.
"He certainly knows something!"
Qian Chen silently noted it down. Just then, someone took offense at his manhandling of Liang Dou's remains. Xu Xiaoyang of Righteous Qi Manor said angrily, "Hero Liang's bones are not yet cold, and his body carries clues concerning his killer — is it yours to move about as you please?"
Qian Chen laid Liang Dou's body back down and asked softly, "Is there any other physician present?"
Xu Xiaoyang stared at Qian Chen. "The Divine Physician Qi Qiuzi has not arrived — perhaps he was murdered by the Twelve Yuan Chen on the road. They scheme to assault Four Seas Hall; naturally they would guard against a Divine Physician coming to save the dying and heal the wounded!"
"Then I'm the only physician here!" Qian Chen spread his hands. "So if I don't examine the body, who will?"
Chapter 21