âLord Feng, whereâŚwhere are you heading to? The cityâs exit is further down this roadâŚâ It was a meek Sun Jian that cried out for Qin Shoufeng. âDidnât we say before that weâd go drinking after the auction? YouâŚâ
He suddenly paused when Qin Shoufeng turned his head to give him a brief look before turning back.
What kind of look was it?
Sun Jian knew what kind of look it was. He also believed that if he said even just one word more, Qin Shoufeng wouldâve killed him where he stoodâŚÂ
Qin Shoufeng had given him a look filled with complete and utter murderous wrath!!
He looked like a man who had given up on his rational senses in favor for the more primal ones. A man who was completely doped up on his furious irrationality to guide his actions.
âBrotherâŚbrother ZhangâŚI feel like thereâs something wrong with lord FengâŚwhat do you think we should doâŚâ
Next to Zhang Qian was a young and skinny-looking youth who was as nervous as he was intimidated by the sight of Qin Shoufeng.Â
Zhang Qian was the oldest of the entire group and also the most sensible. But even he was looking hesitant. Anyone could see that Qin Shoufeng was acting quite strange.
Qin Shoufeng hadnât said a single word ever since they left the auction house. Everyone thought at first that Qin Shoufeng was only feeling moody after seeing Bai Yunfei and Tang Xinyun there at the auction. It was understandable at least in that regard. They also thought that Qin Shoufeng was heading for that place to go vent his frustrations.
The more they walked the more unsightly Qin Shoufengâs face became. The group had tried to cheer him up with jokes but stopped after seeing how ineffective they were.Â
Then they realized the place Qin Shoufeng was walking for wasnât the drinking place they agreed to go to at all.
There was a point in time where Qin Shoufeng stopped in a small alleyway as if waiting for something. No one understood what he was doing, and no one could even ask him why since he wasnât responding. It was so strange that two of his groupees took the opportunity to go back homeâŚÂ
And that led the group to right now with them ready to leave Swallow City. But that also lead to people finally admitting that whatever Qin Shoufeng was up to, they didnât want to stick with him and get into trouble.
Zhang Qian had furrowed eyebrows at the development of everything so far. He was more attentive than everyone else in the group. He could already tell that Qin Shoufeng was trailing after someone but he himself couldnât sense who it was even after using his soulforce to discreetly look ahead. That was strange in of itself since he and Qin Shoufeng shouldâve had the same level of sensory capabilities. But nonetheless, Zhang Qian had a good guess on just who Qin Shoufeng was tailing. After all that happened as of late, who else could it be?
âHe canât be so lovesick in the head that heâs going to look for that Bai Yunfei, could he? If thatâs the case, thenâŚI canât just let him go to his death!â
He beckoned for the pudgy fellow nearby to listen to what he was going to say. âGo and find lord Hao, Qin Lei. Tell him where lord Feng is! Iâll follow him for now and make sure he doesnât do anything reckless.â
âYes, brother Zhang! Iâll go at once!â
He took off towards the auction at full speed.
Neither Zhang Qian or Qi Lei were being quiet with their conversation so Qin Shoufeng shouldâve heard it, but the person didnât seem to look like he had. He was still walking one step at a time towards the southern gates.
The gnawing feeling in Zhang Qianâs heart intensified. Something about this situation was not sitting well with him at all. âI have to follow him! I canât let lord Feng do anything stupid!â He bit his lips in hesitation.
Qin Shoufengâs footsteps quickened shortly after they stepped out from the southern gates. He was practically running now, and his body was emitting a foreboding auraâŚÂ
His entourage followed for about ten kilometers and passed a hill before they came to a short stop next to a wide open plain.
Qin Shoufengâs aura was a bonfire by this point like a man fully excited to go into battle!
Aghast by his aura, everyone turned to look ahead several meters.
Several meters ahead walked a graceful figure over the official roadsâŚÂ
âThatâsâŚdonât tell me that woman isâŚTang Xinyun?!â
Zhang Qianâs shock saw to him crying out the name in surprise.
âWhat?! Tang Xinyun?!â The group cried out as a collective. âLord Feng was chasing after her?! And if sheâs by herself, whereâsâŚwhereâs Bai Yunfei then?!â Sun Jian cried.
âLord Feng!! Stop! What are you doing?!â
Panic flooded Zhang Qianâs heart when he glanced over to Qin Shoufeng. Like an arrow, he darted out to block Qin Shoufeng from moving ahead.
âScram!!â
But he hadnât even bypassed Qin Shoufeng when the man suddenly whirled around to glare at him with bloodshot eyes. There was a brilliant flash of red light as his arm came up before a sword appeared to cut down Zhang Qian!
No one in his group expected Qin Shoufeng to react so suddenly and so violently towards Zhang Qian like that. But Zhang Qian wasnât too shocked to get out of the way. His body flashed with green as he shifted his weight to slink off towards the right side.
âSwish!!â
He hadnât been fast enough to avoid injury. The sword left a gash onto Zhang Qianâs left arm deep enough to see his bones. His arm wouldâve been severed had he been even a beat slower.
âQin Shoufeng!! Have you gone crazy?!â
Zhang Qianâs face was flushed with angered disbelief. The fact that he was crying Qin Shoufengâs name rather than âlord Fengâ was proof of that anger.
Everyone else could only watch in stunned disbelief from where they were.
But Qin Shoufeng said nothing. He didnât even spare them a look to turn and make a mad dash for Tang Xinyun.
âHeâsâŚheâs gone crazy!! Is lord Feng really that lovesick?! He doesnât even look like heâs all there in the head anymore!!â
Someone in the group cried out as soon as they realized Qin Shoufeng had run off.
âBrother Zhang, are you alright? WhatâŚwhat should we do?â
Frightened so badly that his body was shaking, Sun Jian held onto Zhang Qianâs arm to heal the wound on it.
Resentment flitted across Zhang Qianâs eyes. He glared at the retreating back of Qin Shoufeng. âHis swordâŚcut not just my arm, but any ties the two of us had! Whatever he does, I wonât be a part of it!â
And with that, he turned around to fly back to Swallow City!
Zhang Qian was truly angered at the fact that Qin Shoufeng had injured him so grievously without due reason, but he also wasnât stupid. With how things were unfoldingâŚthere was no good end for him if he stayed here!
It didnât matter if Qin Shoufeng had gone crazy or not. But to walk the same path as he was to walk the path to a dead end! Zhang Qian didnât know why it seemed like Tang Xinyun was by herself, but Zhang Qian was still sure a terrible death would follow if Qin Shoufeng took action!Â
Should he stay here, Zhang Qian would be considered âguilty by associationâ and hunted down! Renouncing Qin Shoufengâs actions was the most rational thing to do, and his arm being sliced was a very convenient excuse for him to do so.
âBrother ZhangâŚ! Brother Zhang!!â
With Zhang Qianâs departure, Sun Jian and the others stood there and stared nervously at one another. No one knew what to do.
âWhatâŚwhat should we do?â Someone cried out nervously.
âIâŚI just remembered I have some family matters to take care, Iâll be going first!â
Someone turned tail to flee back to the city.
âSame here!â
A second followed suit.
âWait for me!â
The third and fourth followed afterwardâŚÂ
Only Sun Jian was left standing there by himself by the end of things. He blinked as he watched his group flee towards the city before looking back to Qin Shoufeng. Fearful, he muttered, âItâs too dangerous here, IâŚshould go back to Xi cityâŚâ
He took off onto a path that divulged towards the leftâthis wasnât Swallow City he was running for, but back to his own city.
  âŚâŚ
A little before that commotion was taking place, Tang Xinyun was humming happily to herself as she walked. She seemed quite content about something.
But then she felt a disturbance in the air and turned around to look.
What she saw surprised her.
âQin Shoufeng?! Whatâs he doing here?â
She came to a sudden stop to watch as Qin Shoufeng approached. Her eyes narrowed when he got closerâthat was some murderous aura Qin Shoufeng was having, andâŚthat was a sword in his hand!
She became vigilant at once. Her soulforce swirled around his person as she prepared for battle, but she still had a diplomatic look on her face to speak, âLord QinâŚwhat do you mean by thiââ
âYouâŚslut! Go die!!â
But Qin Shoufeng interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
Without a pause in stride, Qin Shoufeng leaped quickly through the air to bring the shining-red sword in his hand down onto Tang Xinyun!