Chapter 389 - 249: You’re Lv Jiunan?
Chapter 389: Chapter 249: You’re Lv Jiunan?
Those with newer clothes were mostly brawny Wandering Martial Artists.
They wore bamboo hats and carried weapons at their waists. Their expressions, as they glanced around, were grim and cruel, completely blank, or fixed in humorless smiles.
The looks varied, but all of them exuded a savage aura.
Yet Liu Lang blended in among them without looking out of place in the slightest.
On the contrary, he seemed to be in his element, squatting on the wall of a dilapidated posthouse with a smile, sizing up the passersby.
Whenever he made eye contact with someone who caught his fancy, he would grin and call out a greeting.
Of course, it wasn’t idle pleasantries like, "Have you eaten?" but rather phrases from the Jianghu’s secret vernacular.
For instance, upon seeing beggars, he would ask, "Struck any gold today?" which meant, "Did you get anything valuable or have a full meal?"
Or when he saw other Wandering Martial Artists, he would ask, "Mountain, deity, or demon?" to determine their allegiance.
Bandits occupied mountains as their strongholds, deities upheld justice, and demons were utterly vicious.
Those who roamed the Jianghu could generally be divided into these three categories.
It was a piece of slang that could be used just about anywhere.
This was all thanks to the Bright Moon Building.
If not for the Bright Moon Building’s years of influence, the various characters of the Jianghu would likely still be using the old ways.
Of course, Liu Lang was only doing this as a smokescreen.
Whether he was walking and talking or looking up at the overcast, rainy sky, his entire focus was on the residence three li away.
After getting the news from Liu Hong last night, he had switched targets and followed Liu Taoyao as she wandered through the city.
The night before, after learning from Chen Yi about his attitude toward Liu Hong, Liu Lang naturally understood that the owner of Hundred Herbs Hall was very concerned with Liu Hong’s movements.
Therefore, this time, without needing to be told, he had followed Liu Taoyao here.
He tailed her until he saw her enter that very residence.
Fortunately, in the meantime, he had stopped by Hundred Herbs Hall to send a message to his boss and learned from Zhang Dabao about the people from Poshisu Country, which was why he hadn’t gone any closer to the residence.
’The Black Magic Masters of Poshisu Country... their Martial Arts Cultivation and Techniques are similar to the Witchcraft and Gu Dao of the Mountain Race.’
’Their elusive Black Magic, in particular, allows a Black Magic Master to investigate their surroundings from a great distance. I must be on guard.’
Liu Lang had roamed the Jianghu for years and met all sorts of Wandering Martial Artists. Naturally, he had also encountered Black Magic Masters from Poshisu Country.
Furthermore, back when he followed his master, Sword Ghost, he had heard many strange tales from Jianghu seniors. He knew far more about the Jianghu People of Poshisu Country than Chen Yi did.
He knew exactly how to handle them.
At this moment, however, Liu Lang didn’t know the level of Lv Jiunan’s Cultivation inside that residence.
To be cautious, he was monitoring from three li away to avoid being detected by the Black Magic Master.
Liu Lang tilted up his bamboo hat slightly, watching the falling rain. ’I wonder if the boss has gotten my message yet.’
’Considering the time, he should have by now.’
Just as Liu Lang was thinking this, the sound of carriage wheels reached his ears.
He followed the sound with his eyes and saw a black carriage speeding over from the distance, heading straight for the residence.
He hesitated for a moment, wondering, ’Who could this be?’ and involuntarily moved a little closer.
But just as he got within about a hundred meters, he froze, his gaze shifting toward a nearby haystack.
There, beneath the rain-soaked haystack, a dilapidated black Wooden Man was staring at him silently.
Its gemstone-inlaid eyes glowed with an eerie red light in the gloomy weather.
Liu Lang cursed under his breath as his hand gripped the hilt of his blade. ’I’ve been discovered!’
He had been so careful, so exceedingly careful.
He never imagined that just by getting a hundred meters closer, he would be detected by the Black Magic set by that Lv Jiunan from Poshisu Country.
Before he could think any further, a sound like a baby’s cry reached his ears.
Then he saw the Wooden Man, only a foot tall, suddenly charge toward him.
Its limbs looked crude, but its speed was anything but slow.
As it charged, it flung several Silver Needles from its hands.
Seeing this, Liu Lang sneered. ’A mere wooden Black Magic puppet thinks it can kill me?’
With this thought, he advanced instead of retreating.
The long blade at his waist flew from its scabbard, slashing straight at the Wooden Man.
SHING—
Where the flash of the blade fell, there was a crisp sound, and the Wooden Man was sliced in two.
But before he could dodge away, the two halves of the Wooden Man exploded in a cloud of black mist.
He didn’t know what the mist was, but as soon as it spread, it began to corrode everything around it.
Amidst wisps of acrid green smoke, the crumbling walls, the haystack, and everything else were corroded into nothing.
Liu Lang cursed under his breath again, frowning as he retreated several zhang to avoid touching the mist.
’Master was right,’ he thought. ’This Black Magic has a strange name, but at its core, it’s just the Cultivation Technique and methods of the Evil Demonic Dao.’
’You can just think of them as a lesser form of Witchcraft practitioners or Poison Masters.’
Liu Lang looked toward the residence three li away. Seeing that the carriage had already driven inside, he thought for a moment and then moved closer.
Since he’d already been discovered by the people there, not going to say hello was against his nature.
He had only closed the distance by half a li when a furious roar echoed in his ears.
It was accompanied by a fierce gale that shot toward him from behind and to the side.
"Die!"
Hearing this word, Liu Lang scoffed as his Great Success Sword Intent erupted from his body.
The Heaven and Earth’s Spiritual Mechanism surged toward him like a tide, instantly suppressing his opponent’s ferocious Fist Intent.
Only then did he slash his blade backward.
A dazzling light cut through the gloom.
CLANG!
This time, however, it wasn’t as smooth as before. His blade was blocked by immense force.
Liu Lang planted his feet and turned his head to look.
He saw a tall figure in a black robe, holding a short axe in each hand, crossed to block his blade.
The man wore no bamboo hat. He had short, slightly curly brown hair, red eyes, and a scar on the tip of his nose.
Combined with his vicious expression, his whole face looked even more ferocious.
It was none other than Ge Muxiao, from Poshisu Country, Under the Peacock Banner.
Liu Lang, of course, didn’t recognize him. "Someone from Poshisu Country?" he asked.
"Just a Boxer, and your Fist Intent has only reached Minor Success. You dare to block my path?"
Ge Muxiao glared at him and growled in a stiff tone, "And who are you? How dare you spy on us?!"
Liu Lang gave him a half-smile. "This is Shu State of Great Wei, not your Poshisu Country. What’s wrong with me being here?"
With a slight exertion of force, he used his long blade to push Ge Muxiao back completely.
Then, without hesitation, he lunged forward. "You, on the other hand... who gave you the guts to ambush me?"
As he spoke, Liu Lang had already unleashed two slashes.
One a downward chop, the other a horizontal sweep.
There was nothing fancy about them—it was pure overwhelming force.
But in Ge Muxiao’s eyes, it was an onslaught of blinding light from the blade.
Even though he defended with all his might, spinning his two short axes so fast that not even a drop of water could get through, he still couldn’t block it.
When he parried the first slash, one of his short axes was sent flying, embedding itself in a nearby courtyard wall with a THWACK.
After the second slash, a wound so deep the bone was visible appeared on his waist.
But as searing pain shot through him, Ge Muxiao only became more ferocious.
He recklessly lunged at Liu Lang, gripping his remaining short axe with both hands and swinging it wildly.
At the same time, he didn’t forget to roar to someone in the distance in the Poshisu language, "Big Brother, be careful! This person is strong!"
While dodging his attacks, Liu Lang kept an eye on the activity at the residence.
When he saw the carriage that had entered earlier quickly driving out, he lost the desire to play around.
He poured True Essence into his hands and, empowered by his tyrannical Sword Intent, executed an upward diagonal slash that shone like a bolt of silk.
It gave Ge Muxiao no chance to react, splitting the short axe in two.
The blade’s light continued unimpeded, carving another gash in his body.
Blood sprayed out, dyeing half of Ge Muxiao’s body red.
Just as Liu Lang was about to speak, he detected a piercing sonic boom coming from the distance.
He frowned slightly and instinctively leaped sideways.
THUNK!
After the sharp sound, a foot-long dagger was seen embedded in the wall behind him.
"You’re courting death!" a sinister voice followed.
Liu Lang turned his head and saw another person from Poshisu Country standing on the roof of the distant residence, watching him from afar.
’He’s not weak at all.’
’To have this much power from two li away... his Cultivation must be a bit higher than mine.’
Thinking this, Liu Lang shouldered his long blade and asked with a smile, "You must be Lv Jiunan? The Black Magic Master from Poshisu Country?"
"That Wooden Man that ambushed me earlier was yours, right?"
Lv Jiunan snorted coldly. "Who are you?"
"Since you know my name, you should know the consequences of provoking me!"
"Oh? Do tell. What consequences will I face?"