Xu Zishuai took the greatbow, gave the quiver a slight shake, and drew out a jet-black arrow.
Straightening his stance, he kept his eyes locked on the battleground and drew the bow taut.
Down below, the entire Zhao residence had been reduced to ruins, shredded by the colliding currents of the two combatants.
Roaring qi and blood surged and billowed like columns of smoke. Under the moonlight, one could faintly discern the spectral rush of a surging wolf pack, an aura of terrifying intensity.
Even watching from a rooftop a hundred paces away, Liang Qu felt an oppressive tightness in his chest.
This was already the result of the two fighters reigning in their power and directing it toward each other. It was hard to imagine the sheer devastation they would cause if they unleashed it without restraint.
Paving slabs half a chi thick were ground into fine powder beneath their feet. Massive pillars ripped out on a whim snapped clean across the middle, splintering into flying wooden spikes that pierced the earth, leaving behind clusters of dark pits.
One moment the yellow soil was stamped down as firm as hard-fired brick, and the next it was trampled into soft sand.
Billowing dust mingled with shockwaves, turning what was once invisible into something plainly visible to the naked eye—a truly terrifying spectacle.
Huang Zejun found himself fighting with mounting difficulty, a heavy blockage weighing on his chest.
Fighting across realms was never easy. Even bridging a single minor boundary left a considerable disparity.
He was no defective product artificially raised on Fetal Pearl Pills; he was an elite nurtured with genuine resources by the cult. That was precisely where he had drawn the confidence to oversee the blood sacrifice alone, even while knowing Lu Gang remained in the area.
Yet right at the outset, Lu Gang had caught him off guard with a battering ram of a strike. No one could take that lightly, and he suspected he had broken several ribs.
It was as if a breach had opened in his torrential qi and blood; he simply could not gather his full momentum. The longer the battle dragged on, the more his dread grew. All he wanted was to break free at the first opportunity.
Huang Zejun quietly gathered his breath, singled out an opening, and moved to leap away.
Before he could burst forward, the howling whistle of an arrow bore down on him, and he could practically feel the slipstream stirred by the arrowhead.
Huang Zejun snapped his head down. The arrow grazed past his hair, shearing off several strands.
Cold sweat broke out across his back. The shot's precision was beyond reproach, yet its power was lacking, failing to penetrate his protective astral qi.
Just as relief surged through him, however, an iron fist filled his vision.
No, that wasn't right!
The arrow hadn't been meant to kill—it was meant to force his head down!
Lu Gang whipped his arm across, slamming his fist squarely against Huang Zejun's cheek. The force erupted and tore clean through him as Lu Gang's entire waist twisted.
In that single instant, the full force of Lu Gang's qi and blood ignited like a rainbow piercing the sun, crashing directly into Huang Zejun's head and driving it down into the earth.
Huang Zejun felt his entire skull reverberate like a struck bronze bell, blood bursting simultaneously from his nose and mouth.
The strike nearly severed his head from his spine, entirely shattering his balance. He plunged headfirst into the yellow mud like an upended scallion, the tremendous inertia burying him halfway past his shoulders.
Seizing the opening, Xu Zishuai pulled the bow to a full moon, its limbs groaning under the strain.
*Crack!*
A thunderclap seemed to detonate beside Huang Zejun's ears. He had no time to react, yet he told himself that the archer's cultivation was limited. At the strength of that earlier arrow, unless it struck a vital point, it wouldn't be enough to—
Every pore across his body snapped shut. A profound horror welled from the depths of his heart, yet before he could twist his hips or rally his qi and blood, the arrow flashed through the air and pierced straight through him.
A hole the size of a copper coin tore clean from front to back, completely shredding one of his kidneys.
The arrow buried itself into the ground, its fletching buzzing with lingering vibration.
Agony seized his heart. Huang Zejun's mind went blank, every nerve in his body convulsing.
*How could this be?*
Up on the roof, Liang Qu could only marvel at Senior Brother Xu's two arrows.
With the first arrow, Xu Zishuai had mirrored Hu Qi's strength to reinforce Huang Zejun's misconception, simultaneously sealing off his escape route and handing Senior Brother Lu the opening.
With the second arrow, once Senior Brother Lu had landed his blow, Xu Zishuai had unleashed the full might of the Galloping Steed pinnacle, catching the man off guard with a lethal strike!
Both arrows had come from the same bow, but Senior Brother Xu's archery was an intermediate martial art—they were worlds apart.
Had he gone all out from the start, not only would Senior Brother Lu have lacked an opening, but the arrow itself might have been dodged!
The first arrow was merely bait; the fatal second arrow had struck when Huang Zejun let down his guard!
In fact, the first shot had even factored in the arrow Senior Brother Hu had loosed earlier.
Liang Qu suddenly realized how green he still was. There remained so much for him to learn.
"*Hrk... hrk...*"
Agony spread through every limb.
Huang Zejun's nasal bridge was thoroughly shattered, rendering it useless for breathing. He could only suck in air through his throat with rattling gasps.
Pressing his advantage, Lu Gang brought his foot down heavily upon Huang Zejun's neck. Huang Zejun could almost hear the cartilage in his throat cry out as only his cervical spine held firm. The sweet, metallic stench of blood flooded his senses. He opened his mouth woodenly, only to swallow mouthfuls of yellow earth.
A shattered sternum, ruptured internal organs, a nearly broken neck.
The battle was decided.
Lu Gang yanked Huang Zejun out of the ground, stamped down to snap his shins, and fractured the bones in his arms.
Once he was certain the man's four limbs were ruined and all ability to resist was gone, Hu Qi leaped down from the roof and handed over a set of iron chains glinting with a faint cyan sheen.
An azure steel chain, forged specifically to bind Wolf Smoke martial masters.
Grabbing Huang Zejun by the thigh, Lu Gang slammed him to the ground and bound his broken hands and feet with the links.
Liang Qu moved closer and saw that Huang Zejun's nose was completely crushed, swollen and bleeding profusely, while blood welled steadily from the small hole in his abdomen. Yet his chest still rose and fell with steady breaths.
Despite suffering such catastrophic injuries, he showed no signs of dying.
Wounds like these would have killed any ordinary man on the spot.
Yet how formidable was the vitality of a Wolf Smoke martial master? Their qi and blood billowed a zhang high, their sheer presence enough to make one's hair stand on end—they were truly as resilient as cockroaches.
All it would take was a common physician to set his bones, and within a month he would be back on his feet, hale and hearty.
*No, a Wolf Smoke martial master cannot regrow severed limbs,* Liang Qu thought. *One of his kidneys is likely gone for good. But humans have two anyway, so he'll certainly live.*
"What do we do next?" Xu Zishuai asked.
Lu Gang considered for a moment. "First, head back to the martial hall to fetch Junior Brother Xiang. Then we'll go together to see Madam Xu. Both of them must be worried sick. Once we let them know everyone is safe, we can rest for the night, and tomorrow we'll deal with the buried mountain ghosts.
"By the time that's all sorted out, Master and the others should be on their way back. We'll see then whether the county magistrate is implicated. If he is, we take the matter to the prefectural government; if not, we can just hand everything over to him."
Fearing that Zhao Hongyuan might have tried to deceive them, they had split their forces into three groups when making the plan.
Lu Gang and Hu Qi had gone after Huang Zejun, one leading the assault while the other provided harassment.
Xu Zishuai and Liang Qu had gone to intercept the boatman.
Given the boatman's strength, Liang Qu would have been enough on his own, but everyone had worried about hidden contingency plans or secrets unknown even to Zhao Hongyuan, which was why Xu Zishuai had accompanied him.
If the boatman proved formidable, having two of them ensured nothing would go wrong; if he was weak, they could capture him swiftly and return to reinforce Lu Gang.
Xiang Changsong had stayed behind at the martial hall to provide support and guard against contingencies.
Liang Qu couldn't help recalling the days when he used to team up to game with his classmates in his past life. It had been just like this: four high-tier gods carrying one deadweight noob, sweeping every match and cracking open loot chests every time.
It was truly wonderful to have powerful figures to lean on.
None of the danger, all of the benefits.
Following behind his senior brothers, Liang Qu shouldered his spear and hauled the dwarf along as they headed toward the martial hall.
The streets were completely deserted. Fallen leaves swirled from side to side in the wind, scraping against the stone flags with soft, rustling whispers.
Liang Qu felt rather hungry, but not a single night-market stall was open. Every household had barred its doors and shuttered its windows, terrified by the battle that had unfolded in the Zhao residence.
And rightly so. Anyone who watched a three-courtyard estate crumble to rubble in the blink of an eye would be frightened out of their wits.
After retrieving Xiang Changsong from the martial hall, the group made their way to Yang Manor. Passing through three courtyards, they waited in the reception hall for Madam Xu.
The maidservants on night duty poured tea in turn and brought out platters of pastries.
Hungry as he was, Liang Qu quietly devoured more than half the spread before Madam Xu emerged from the corridor, yawning, with the familiar face of Nandi by her side.
He took a sip of tea to rinse his mouth and was just about to rise and offer his greetings when he looked up, only to see Madam Xu turn on her heel and head right back inside.
She went back...
*What's that supposed to mean?*
Liang Qu scratched the back of his head, noticing that his senior brothers looked equally bewildered.
A moment later, Nandi reappeared and curtsied. "The Madam says that with the young masters reeking so strongly of blood, she has no wish to see you. If there is nothing urgent, please go bathe first."
Pausing, Nandi added, "I have already instructed the servants to heat the water. The young masters need only wait a short while."
Chapter 87