Ch91 - Assistance

The palm strike hit the old man’s shoulder and left it drenched in blood. The bridge planks beneath his feet were also broken into pieces, forcing him to land on the railings. Still, he stood on them very stably. He was still a wrinkled old man with pale white hair, but those eyes had turned hale and hearty.

“No wonder you could take both of them from the king’s manor. Your Excellency’s skills and eyesight are both superb.”

“That’s over praising,” Xie Zhiwei replied. I can’t help it, this bro’s read the novel.

The King of Nine Provinces had hidden dragons and crouching tigers by his side, including a face-changing expert named Faceless. Supposedly no one but the King of Nine Provinces had ever seen his true face. If he wanted to, he could show people a thousand different appearances. He wasn’t mentioned much in the original novel beyond being loyal to the king. Since he was used so rarely, he barely showed up in the main plot. The only place he couldn’t conceal was a mole on the back of his hand—a secret only the King of Nine Provinces knew. Xie Zhiwei never expected such a fine detail would help them out now.

Faint ripples began appearing on the river’s surface, spreading out as multiple circles.

“Careful,” Xie Zhiwei exclaimed.

The next second, a few dozen figures sprang up from the water, all of them dressed in black and wearing masks. Each wielded a weapon infused with spiritual energy, being much higher-level than their previous opponents. Xie Zhiwei’s trio was instantly surrounded as the bridge fell into their control.

Chu Zhishi massaged his temples. “The second batch came so quickly. That king of yours is really annoying.”

Faceless covered his bloodstained shoulder. “Then accept your death. All of you, take them down!”

The masked men moved at the command as spiritual energy flooded the air, covering the entire bridge in an airtight net. These were the top experts of the king’s manor who had unleashed their killing moves. It seemed that the first failure had infuriated the king. Under these circumstances, Chu Zhishi and Tantai Meng were completely defenseless, so Xie Zhiwei pulled them behind him and said in a heavy tone, “Flee if you can, leave them to me.”

Chu Zhishi wanted to protest, but Tantai Meng tugged at his sleeve. “Senior Chu, those people aren’t Benefactor’s match. If we stay here, we’d only distract him.”

The two ran as she spoke while spiritual energy smashed down above their heads. In an instant, the bamboo-paved bridge was broken beyond recognition, with fragments of wood and water splashes bursting into the sky. A few stray pieces even shot straight towards them.

Xie Zhiwei turned and waved his sleeves.

BOOM!

A wave of qi was scattered apart before coming together to explode elsewhere. Faceless stood at the edge of the bridge and felt a tremor beneath his feet before the railings snapped. The rest of the bridge soon followed, forcing him to land on a piece of wood floating on the water. He sensed a flash of light and turned in shock to meet Xie Zhiwei face-to-face.

Xie Zhiwei had gotten his hands on a sword and was pressing it against his neck—it was none other than Faceless’s own weapon. Faceless’s mind blanked, not from fear, but from sheer surprise at the other’s unexpected strength. He heard Xie Zhiwei say to him, “Your Excellency should return. Don’t give up your lives in vain.”

The voice was calm and unruffled and even carried a tone of coaxing. If the speaker wasn’t qualified and experienced, how could he have such demeanor?

He must be someone with considerable origins!  Faceless’s expression didn’t change. “Your words are very reasonable, but the king’s orders…” He looked up at Xie Zhiwei with a difficult expression.

Indeed, as an expert among experts sent to capture the fugitives, he would be heavily punished by the king if he returned empty-handed.

Xie Zhiwei’s heart softened as he asked, “What?”

Faceless’s expression shifted as determination appeared on his wrinkled face. “Duty above all else!”

He charged forward as he spoke! Xie Zhiwei instinctively retracted his hand, but Faceless still managed to brush his neck against the blade, leaving a long streak of blood behind. Moreover, he went past Xie Zhiwei to head straight for the riverbank. Meanwhile Chu Zhishi and Tantai Meng had just jumped off the rickety bridge.

Xie Zhiwei was stunned. “You…”

Crap, that’s too death-defying! Youngster, you don’t even have a System. Why are you fooling around?! He quickly gave chase, but the crowd of masked men had already reacted to throw a spiritually-infused net at him again. Xie Zhiwei’s footsteps paused as he raised a hand to block them, and the net was instantly knocked into the water. It landed with a splash at the feet of the guards, soaking them in waves. They were all well-trained fighters, so being shocked by Xie Zhiwei once was already unprecedented. Just then, they had made their move for the sole purpose of delaying Xie Zhiwei, even if it was only one step. This bought Faceless enough time to rush past, unsheathe a sword from a guard he passed, and throw it towards the riverbank.

Currently, Chu Zhisi and Tantai Meng had already left the bridge and were gasping for breath as they looked back at the water, completely defenseless. Xie Zhiwei’s pupils shrank as he shouted, “Stop it—!”

The two of them heard and reacted, but by then the flying sword was only three chi away.

Tantai Meng didn’t even have time to deflect it with her own blade.

And then everything changed.

Another barrier of light emerged from beneath the water to block the space in front of Chu Zhishi and Tantai Meng. The sword seemed to strike solid wall as it clanged against its surface and bounced into the river.

Staring at the white light, Tantai Meng felt stunned. “This…why this again…”

Chu Zhishi was gloomy and enraged. “The same white light as before? That bastard Mu He’s haunting us like a ghost!”

Tantai Meng thought it over and observed, “Senior, don’t you think that white light saved our lives just then?”

Xie Zhiwei floated down by their side with his eyebrows creased. Faceless also arrived on the scene, surprised by the presence of the white light. He looked cautiously at Xie Zhiwei’s group before withdrawing back over the water. The guards stood behind him and stopped advancing upon seeing the situation.

“What are you dawdling for? Continue,” Faceless said.

But he’d hardly spoken when the white light intensified and curved backwards into an arc before closing down on Faceless and his guards like a giant cage. Xie Zhiwei only observed the scene with a complicated expression.

Chu Zhishi was incredulous. “Second senior brother, did that renegade disciple finally find his conscience?”

Xie Zhiwei looked at him and opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Tantai Meng said, “Benefactor, senior, no matter the Shizi’s intentions, we should take this chance to escape quickly.”

Xie Zhiwei finally nodded. “You’re right.”

And thus, Faceless and the rest could only watch helplessly as Xie Zhiwei’s trio turned their backs on them to leave. No matter how they chopped and slashed at the wall, the white light remained indestructible. Eventually, the light formed into a lotus-shaped pattern with veins interlaced in the petals to spell out one word: CEASE.

“Shizi…” Faceless was in disbelief.

The guards were even more clueless. “Why did Shizi stop us? Is he defying the king’s orders to release Chu Zhishi?”

Faceless restrained his expression and rebuked, “Don’t say such presumptuous things about your master.”

The riverbank was empty by now, but Faceless was still staring at the spot where Xie Zhiwei had been standing. Just then, he seemed to have heard Chu Zhishi call him a certain title…

—

“The King of Nine Provinces went too far. When I return to the daoist sect, I’ll tell sect leader senior brother and give a petition to His Imperial Majesty…girl, give me another one.”

The carriage wheels trundled along as Chu Zhishi leaned against a corner, his body jittering with the coach. At his feet were the crumbs of countless fried flaky pastries. He took another from Tantai Meng’s proffered hands and munched on it with relish as he sighed. “If they hadn’t chased and beat us, we could have these pastries with lean pork porridge in the inn instead.”

“Porridge with pastries is a nourishing way to eat,” Tantai Meng said as she fixed his arm with two bamboo poles, her voice patient and harmonious. But her eyes couldn’t help revealing worry when they glanced towards Xie Zhiwei.

Their carriage had traveled for an entire day already, but the journey was surprisingly smooth. No other pursuers appeared. Yet Xie Zhiwei’s brows had been creased the entire time. It was almost evening and they couldn’t very well ride day and night without rest. Even if they could bear it, their carriage driver needed a break; moreover, Chu Zhishi was still injured. Tantai Meng discussed things with him and decided to settle down at a roadside inn before stopping the carriage.

Xie Zhiwei leaned by the carriage doors, staring blankly at the hanging door curtains. Tantai Meng called him a couple times before he finally responded and helped her with Chu Zhishi to dismount.

This inn was run by a married couple from a nearby township. It wasn’t very big and only had four to five rooms. The building itself sported a thatched roof and the establishment rarely had any customers because the road was too remote. After calling for a meal, the couple panicked and ran to light the fires. The driver was too shy to sit at the same table as them and scurried off to help. Chu Zhishi observed their surroundings before finally gazing in the direction of the smoking kitchen. “We’re in the middle of nowhere. If the tea and food aren’t…oh right, I left those fried flaky pastries in the carriage.”

He was about to get up when Tantai Meng did too. “I’ll fetch them.”

Xie Zhiwei stopped them both. “You two still need to recover your spiritual powers urgently. Stay here and rest, I’ll go.” He was already walking as he spoke but staggered at the door—it seemed he’d tripped over the threshold.

Chu Zhishi watched until he disappeared from sight before finally sensing something amiss. “Why does second senior brother look so distracted? Is there something on his mind?”

Tantai Meng nodded with her hand on her cheek.

Chu Zhishi was mystified. “He’s a full-grown man, what could be ailing his heart?”

Tantai Meng glanced at him before shaking her head.

—

It was just approaching twilight outside and an autumn breeze was stirring the leaves. They fell from the branches, leaving them looking bare and depressed. Xie Zhiwei lifted the carriage curtains and prepared to get on when a white light illuminated the depths of the forest out of the corner of his eye.

With a start, he turned to look back.

Beneath a maple tree of green and red leaves stood a figure dressed in white.

—

Translator’s Note: Don’t question it Teacher Xie it was him then and it’s probably him now and, and…ahhhh go give him a hug or something ahhh