The leader stuffed the scroll back into his robes, waved his hand, and shouted an order. The dozen men spurred their horses forward, encircling Huo Xiao Di and Zhan Ri Fei in an instant.
Trouble had indeed arrived. Huo Xiao Di sighed inwardly. Ever since leaving the Xiang Yang Prince’s manor, his troubles had been unending.
With a sharp squeeze of his knees, he urged his black steed forward. The horse let out a long neigh and surged ahead, its hooves pounding the ground like thunder. In his hand, a black blade gleamed ominously, casting a shadow that seemed to darken the very skies—Huo Xiao Di’s “Yin Yang An” was drawn!
This legendary weapon of Ling Long Manor, awakened by the blood it had consumed over recent days, seemed almost alive. A faint, chilling laughter emanated from the black blade as if the demon bound to it had been stirred.
Zhan Ri Fei, readying to draw his own sword, suddenly faltered. Pain erupted in his chest, the turbulence of his inner energy agitating the injury under his left rib. A searing bolt of agony shot through him, and his ears rang with a deafening roar. The world went black, and he tumbled from his horse. Blood gushed from the wound on his back, splattering the ground.
The soldiers attacking Huo Xiao Di were well-trained elite cavalry. The moment Zhan Ri Fei fell, several riders broke away from Huo Xiao Di and charged toward him. Their long spears and blades wove a deadly web of flashing steel, descending on him like a storm.
Huo Xiao Di glanced back and let out an involuntary cry of alarm!
In his panic, his grip trembled, and the “Yin Yang An” emitted a sharp, piercing whistle that sliced through the morning wind.
Leading the charge was the fiercest and most brutal of the soldiers. His broadsword gleamed coldly under the sunlight as he leapt from his horse, using its momentum to launch a powerful strike from above.
But before he could complete his attack, a sharp pain pierced his chest—as if something had bitten him. Looking down, he saw the tip of a black blade flashing through his heart.
In that moment, he noticed something strange: on the shadow his body cast upon the ground, near his chest, a sliver of sunlight pierced through.
—How could sunlight pass through his broad shadow?
Then, all his strength left him abruptly, and he collapsed like an emptied sack.
Even as he fell, he couldn’t comprehend how he had died. There was no blood, no gore. The sword that had pierced through his back and out his chest had left no stain behind.
He didn’t have time to see how the man behind him collapsed and surrendered under the sinister black gleam of the blade.
In a flash, Huo Xiao Di was back in the saddle, as though he hadn’t been the one to pierce the soldier with a single strike moments ago. Those surrounding him stood frozen in shock, their faces betraying utter disbelief. Likely, they had never witnessed such a ghostly, unpredictable technique in their entire lives.
—Huo Xiao Di enjoyed seeing expressions like that.
However, these riders were clearly well-trained. The moment they realized their opponent’s martial prowess exceeded their expectations, a sharp whistle signaled their orderly retreat.
The man who appeared to be their leader, his facial muscles twisted in a grimace, stammered, “You—you are—”
Huo Xiao Di had no intention of letting them escape unscathed. With a slight curl of his lips, he leapt from his horse, aiming directly for the leader who still held the scroll.
Just then, Zhan Ri Fei’s anxious voice rang out, weak from his injuries: “Don’t let them release the signal arrows!”
But his voice was so faint that it barely reached Huo Xiao Di, and by the time he hesitated, it was already too late.
Two signal arrows shot into the sky, their shrill whistles slicing through the air.
Huo Xiao Di’s face darkened. These were unmistakably signaling arrows meant for communication and reinforcement. Once launched, pursuers would soon be on their trail.
Looking back, he saw the leader’s face twisted into a cruel grin as he spoke, enunciating each word: “Even if you kill us, you—won’t—get—away!”
A chill ran through Huo Xiao Di. He had been overly confident in his Ling Long Manor martial arts.
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