Chapter 54 - 54: Heaven Equaling Saber
Chapter 54: Heaven Equaling Saber
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
The cold moon hung in the sky like a hook, and there were no lights or fires on the small street by the river.
Ye Jingtang frowned as he looked at the dark alley. He felt that something was spying on him in the dark, but he couldn’t figure out where the feeling came from.
The bird squatting on Dongfang Liren’s shoulder spread its wings and flew into the sky without needing an order. It began to investigate the river bank.
Dongfang Liren walked forward with her hands behind her back. She was still waiting for Ye Jingtang to speak when she noticed something amiss. She looked up at the bird hiding in the sky. “What happened to it?”
Ye Jingtang raised his hand slightly and stood in front of Dongfang Liren. He held the hilt of his saber with his left hand and carefully sensed the wind and grass in the night.
Dongfang Liren had been plotted against many times. Seeing this scene, she knew that something was wrong. She had just competed with Ye Jingtang in lightness skills and suddenly ran out without informing the people in the villa.
If there was a rebel secretly watching her movements, this short period of time was undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
Dongfang Liren didn’t think that a dabbler like Ye Jingtang could protect her. However, she, who had never experienced actual combat, would definitely not be a match for an assassin who dared to assassinate a prince. Her heart sank to rock bottom.
She immediately grabbed the hilt of her saber, wanting to be back-to-back with Ye Jingtang and drag it out until her guards rushed over to help.
But…
Ding-
Under the silver moonlight, a ray of saber light and sparks exploded without any warning!
Dongfang Liren hadn’t even sensed the danger coming before she found that Ye Jingtang had unsheathed his blade with lightning speed and blocked her forehead.
Sparks erupted from the blade as it trembled non-stop. It was obvious that it had been hit by an unknown hidden weapon.
The hidden weapon had been aimed at her glabella, but it was deflected by the blade and shot toward a stone block where horses were tied up. The remaining force still made a crack in the white stone. The impact force was terrifying!
What was even stranger was that from the beginning to the end, Dongfang Liren had not heard the sound of the hidden weapon cutting through the air!
Dongfang Liren’s eyes were astonished. She didn’t understand what kind of hidden weapon was so domineering, nor did she understand how Ye Jingtang, who had mediocre martial arts skills, could block a hidden weapon without hearing any sound.
Although she was surprised, her experience of being ‘protected’ all year round still made her understand the current situation. She gave up on the idea of defending herself against the enemy and took a step forward, hiding behind Ye Jingtang.
Ye Jingtang was well-proportioned and didn’t look strong, but he was actually very tall and could block the Prince of Jing completely.
After the attack, the street fell into dead silence. It was so quiet that it seemed as if it was just an illusion.
Even though the bird circling in the sky had amazing night vision, it still couldn’t find any traces of their enemy.
“Retreat.” Ye Jingtang held his saber in his right hand and didn’t look anywhere. He only sensed the possible surprise attack with the subtle changes in the environment and retreated.
Dongfang Liren’s footsteps maintained the same frequency. Her chest, which was in the way, pressed against Ye Jingtang’s back. After suppressing her emotions slightly, she said in disbelief, “Is this the Heaven Equaling Saber?” Ding!
As soon as she finished speaking, another spark exploded from Ye Jingtang’s blade.
Before Dongfang Liren could even see the movement clearly, she found that Ye Jingtang’s Hornless Dragon Saber was blocking the side of her face.
Buzz! Buzz!
The blade vibrated and buzzed.
Dongfang Liren broke out in a cold sweat and quickly hid herself. She knew that her words had interfered with Ye Jingtang’s concentration, allowing the enemy to seize the opportunity to attack. She hurriedly held her breath and didn’t say a word.
Based on the impact of the hidden weapon, Ye Jingtang turned to face an alley more than 100 feet away and moved his feet sideways to the side of the street.
But since the two of them couldn’t see where the enemy was hiding, they didn’t dare to run around. At most, they could only retreat to the side of the street and block the opponent’s attack angles.
Under Ye Jingtang’s cover, Dongfang Liren went to the bookstore by the street, used a dagger to cut open the copper lock, and retreated inside. “Come in.”
But just as Ye Jingtang was about to enter the bookstore, he sensed something wrong and made another move with his saber.
Swish!
This time, there was the sound of a hidden weapon breaking through the air, and the impact force was clearly stronger.
Ding!
With a flash, the hidden weapon collided with the blade and bounced up. It still pierced through the wooden wall and brushed past Dongfang Liren’s hair crown, directly cracking her jade hairpin.
Whoosh!
Shattered jade flew everywhere.
Dongfang Liren’s long hair immediately fell down. Her eyes were horrified as she quickly flipped forward and rolled behind the counter of the bookstore.
Clatter!
The sound of a bead rolling on the floor rang out.
Dongfang Liren looked out of the corner of her eye and saw a red bead rolling on the floor tiles of the bookstore. It was shaped like a water droplet and made of an unknown material. It was clearly the hidden weapon that had just flown in.
Dongfang Liren’s heart sank as she quickly reminded, “It’s the Blood Bodhi, an unstoppable assassin active in the Heavenly South more than ten years ago who assassinated a Grandmaster of the Seven Mysteries Sect…”
“Shh!” Ye Jingtang held the saber in one hand and raised his left hand, signaling Dongfang Liren not to speak.
The street fell dead silent again. It was impossible to figure out where the enemy was.
After they entered the bookstore, it was inconvenient for them to move around, but the enemy could penetrate the wall. The possibility of rescue being late was very real.
Behind the bookstore was a limestone river dike. It was impossible to pierce through it. There were houses on both sides. The only places to attack from were the front and the air.
Ye Jingtang didn’t think that the enemy could snipe him from a high altitude. As long as he defended the front, he would be able to protect the Prince of Jing without any problems. He immediately held his saber and guarded the door. Ding! Ding!
But a moment later, two more sparks exploded on the street.
Ye Jingtang slashed twice consecutively and accurately blocked the flying hidden weapons. Then he stood in front of Dongfeng Liren with his saber in both hands and mocked at the night. “Is that all you’ve got? The Six Fiends will be here soon. If you still want to do useless things, I can fight with you for a day.”
This was to force the assassin to retreat.
Since it was an assassination attempt, if he missed, he should escape immediately.
But the security around Dongfang Liren was usually too tight. There was no possibility of a direct assassination. Tonight was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
As soon as Ye Jingtang finished speaking, a sound came from the sky. “Chirp chirp chirp-”
A figure gradually appeared in an alley in front of the bookstore.
The figure was wearing a gray robe and had a hunched back. His bamboo hat was lowered so that his face couldn’t be seen. He had a black iron cane in his hand and one hand behind his back as he walked unhurriedly.
Thump, thump…
The slight sound coming from the iron cane hitting the ground seemed to be knocking on people’s hearts, making them feel stuffy.
A hoarse voice sounded. “What a good Heaven Equaling Saber. Qiu Tianhe is considered a hero of Jianghu. As his successor, why are you a lackey of the Imperial Court?”
After hearing the confirmation that Ye Jingtang had used the Heaven Equaling Saber, Dongfang Liren was even more surprised. But she didn’t have the time to ask. She was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to deal with the enemy, so she quickly repeated the information gathered by the government.
“The Blood Bodhi is good at long-range attacks with hidden weapons. In close combat, he uses the Dragon Subduing Cane. He mainly attacks the upper body. Protect the midline and attack the lower body…”
Bam!
Before she could finish speaking, an explosion sounded on the street.
The old man wasn’t stupid. How could he let Dongfang Liren explain the gate of life and death clearly before taking action?
When there was still a distance of 50 to 60 feet between them, the old man suddenly sped up. He hit the bluestone with his iron cane and directly shattered the blue bricks on the ground.
Ye Jingtang felt the soles of his feet tremble. It was as if a three-legged gigantic beast was charging at him with the pressure of a mountain.
He held his saber in front of him with both hands to guard his midline and locked onto the old man tightly. He wanted to judge the other party’s movements and counterattack with the Heaven Equaling Saber.
But when the old man strode closer, his feet, shoulders, and iron cane were all moving. It felt as if there were weapons all over the enemy’s body, and every part of him seemed to be about to explode violently. With Ye Jingtang’s proficiency in the Heaven Equaling Saber, he couldn’t capture his opponent’s exact intentions at all.
Thump, thump!
In the blink of an eye, the old man had already crossed the seven-step limit. His body suddenly leaned forward, and the iron cane in his hand stabbed out like a venomous snake.
The old man had seen through the depths of Ye Jingtang’s Heaven Equaling Saber, which was why he had appeared to fight.
With Ye Jingtang’s attainments in the Heaven Equaling Saber, it was absolutely impossible for him to counterattack with a distance of seven steps. However, the old man was 100% confident that he could kill him in one strike.
When the old man saw Ye Jingtang’s ‘terrified’ expression and that he was still hastily judging the truth of his move, a cold smile flashed across his eyes. He was already preparing what to do after piercing Ye Jingtang’s chest when the Prince of Jing suddenly broke through the window and fled.
The result was a split second of distraction.
Swoosh!
Under the silver moon, a saber wind suddenly rose like an azure dragon entering the world and an evil flood dragon raising its head!