Seeking Truth with a Sword-Chapter 570 - 513 Thunder Cloud
He Siping waved his hand, signaling the civilians in the room to flee immediately. He then shattered the roof with his power, hovered in the air, and smiled at Sui Yi, asking, "Why so late?"
"This is already quite fast, alright?"
Sui Yi didn’t turn her head, still using her Yinghuo Sword to block the Chopper in Ghost Shovel’s hand, and shouted, "Fang Shuang!"
SWOOSH—
Several sword balls enveloped in talismans penetrated the rubble heap, circled behind Ghost Shovel, and burrowed beneath the ruins.
All the talismans triggered simultaneously:
The Earth Melt Talisman melted the broken stones.
The Strong Resistance Talisman supported the beams.
The Floating Talisman dragged Li Ang out from the ruins, carrying him to the rear and into He Fanshuang’s arms.
Holding Li Ang’s waist, He Fanshuang reached out to check his carotid artery. She was slightly relieved upon finding a pulse.
Li Ang’s condition... wasn’t too great.
A large piece of flesh had been ripped from his chest, blood was streaming out, and several of his ribs were also broken.
"Hang on."
Knowing Li Ang habitually carried Mind Threads, He Fanshuang reached for the wallet at his waist, ready to use Mind Silk to stitch the wound.
"No need, I can manage."
Li Ang, who had to keep his Mo Si a secret, mustered his strength, pulled out a Mind Thread, stitched up his chest wound, and set his ribs back into place.
The serrated mouth on Ghost Shovel’s hand was definitely problematic; after being bitten, his Qi Sea struggled to channel Spiritual Energy, like a punctured balloon.
Held by He Fanshuang, he quickly retreated, only able to switch to the perspective of his Ink Silk Clone to survey the battlefield.
He Siping and Sui Yi joined forces against Ghost Shovel; Magic and Sword Qi ripped through the steadily intensifying curtain of rain.
"Useless, useless, useless!"
Ghost Shovel shattered an incoming stone spear with a slash of his Chopper, dispersed the Yinghuo Red Flame with a palm strike, and roared, "Is this what you learned in the Academic Palace? Too weak! Show some backbone! Show me your limits!"
Despite being considered a Cannibal by outsiders, Ghost Shovel actually defined himself as a chef.
An excellent chef, to perfect a dish, wouldn’t just choose the finest ingredients but would also use various methods to bring out their most perfect flavor.
Take the Yangcheng Lake crabs, for instance. They must be caught around the Mid-Autumn Festival. After being soaked in lightly salted water for 15 minutes, they are scrubbed clean with a fine brush under running water. Ginger slices are added to remove any gamey taste, and then they are steamed for 15 minutes. Finally, they are eaten with a sauce made of orange pulp and fine salt.
In Ghost Shovel’s eyes, He Siping and Sui Yi were already perfect ingredients, but they still lacked a crucial fire—a fire that could elevate them to top-tier quality.
"Ya Jiu!"
At Ghost Shovel’s roar, Li Ang, whom He Fanshuang had taken to a secluded alley to take cover, shuddered upon hearing this familiar name.
TAP. TAP. TAP.
The sound of numerous footsteps approached from the distance. Through his Ink Silk Clone’s perspective, Li Ang watched in shock as the members of the Turkic Caravan they had met before ran out of the inn and onto the street.
"Where’s Qiu Feng?" Li Ang asked in a hushed voice.
"I had her leave the city first," He Fanshuang replied softly. "She is the second option. As for the others, we can’t take them with us."
The team had infiltrated deep into Turkic territory. Their mission was to treat the Khan—at the very least, to wake him so he could reclaim his authority. This was to prevent the Turkic people from falling under the Prime Minister’s control and completely aligning with Taihao Mountain.
There were two Doctors in the group; if anything unexpected happened to Li Ang, at least Qiu Feng could still carry on the medical mission.
Only a few minutes passed from the start of the battle to Qiu Feng’s withdrawal. In that short time, all the ordinary members of the caravan had, astoundingly, fallen under the control of Ya Jiu’s Puppetry Technique. (It was also possible they had been targeted by Ya Jiu back in Chang’an or the Anbei Protectorate.) They now stood in a line on the street.
Ya Jiu did not appear, nor did he need to.
All the members of the caravan controlled by the Puppetry Technique immediately drew their weapons and began slaughtering each other.
Sui Yi’s hand tightened around the hilt of her sword. Although she had only been with them for four days, she had already gotten to know many people in the caravan.
The caravan leader, who often furrowed his brows and always wore a deeply troubled expression, reticent and rarely smiling—was now slowly slicing open his own son’s neck with a scimitar.
The caravan’s guide was a young man from the Western Regions Hu Country. He often sat by the campfire telling ghost stories his grandmother and mother had told him, laughing as he told everyone that once he had saved enough money, he would return to his homeland to marry the noble girl he had dreamed of since childhood. Of course, everyone knew that the person he truly liked was the female cook in the caravan.
At this moment, under the control of the Puppetry Technique, the two of them, holding small knives, were slicing at each other’s faces and gouging out each other’s eyes.
Unlike caravans from Yu Country, whose members were often from the same hometown, this caravan was comprised of people from all walks of life; many were exiles from small nations in the Western Regions.
They had lived and eaten together like a warm, loving family, seeking a future and hope in Yu Country, a foreign land to them.
Until now.
The members of the caravan slaughtered each other. What was more terrifying was that Ya Jiu only controlled their bodies, not their minds. They watched helplessly as they killed the companions they had spent days and nights with, their mouths constantly wailing and begging for mercy.
"Stop!" Sui Yi bellowed, and her Yinghuo Sword Energy swept out in all directions, knocking the weapons from the caravan members’ hands.
However, even without weapons, the caravan members still fought with their fists, bit with their teeth, and hurt each other in every possible way.
"The lives of these people are on your heads," Ghost Shovel sneered. "If you hadn’t come to the Turkic lands on a mission and infiltrated this caravan, they wouldn’t have suffered this misfortune."
He Siping clenched his teeth and tightened his fists, unleashing his magic.
Cloud Patrol Realm, Mud Swamp Technique.
The ground collapsed and sank, turning into a muddy swamp that trapped the caravan members, separating them from each other.
Cloud Patrol Realm, Earth Rope Skill.
Hundreds of earthen ropes rose from the muddy swamp, firmly binding everyone’s wrists and mouths, preventing them from harming themselves further.
But the injuries already inflicted could not be reversed.
"..."
He Siping glanced at the wounds on those people out of the corner of his eye, his facial muscles tense.
This Crown Prince’s Assistant knew Ghost Shovel was trying to provoke him. And he had succeeded.
He Siping abandoned his Longsword and rapidly formed hand seals.
Sui Yi instantly understood that she needed to buy time for He Siping. She immediately disregarded the blood welling from the torn flesh between her thumb and forefinger, wielding her sword to withstand the slashes from Ghost Shovel’s Chopper.
"Hahahaha, that’s right! Just like that!" Ghost Shovel laughed loudly, hacking at the Yinghuo Sword with his Chopper repeatedly.
Ten seconds.
The serrated mouth in his palm eagerly opened, siphoning the red flames emanating from the Yinghuo Sword from across the distance.
Seven seconds.
Sui Yi’s Sword Qi grew increasingly faint, while on the surface of Ghost Shovel’s rust-stained Chopper, the glow of Yinghuo fire unexpectedly appeared.
Four seconds.
Sui Yi’s Yinghuo Sword was sent flying by a slash from the Chopper. Fortunately, He Fanshuang threw her Flying Sword, allowing Sui Yi to catch it and barely parry the next blow.
One second.
He Siping finally finished reciting his Magic Formula and snapped his eyes open.
Lightning struck from the sky.
