High walls, grey tiles, a bluestone alley.

Over a dozen armored guards, holding their knives with grim determination, blocked Chen Ji and the spy, trapping them in the middle of the alley. Chen Ji flexed his wrists and pulled off the strip of cloth covering his mouth.

One of the guards looked down at the uneven flagstones, where the freshly severed hemp rope lay still, its cut end remarkably clean.

The guard’s expression suddenly changed. He slowly leveled his blade in front of him, eyeing Chen Ji with both caution and seriousness.

His previous strike, a blade meant for killing, had inadvertently saved a life.

The blade had been neither a fraction too far nor a fraction too close; it hadn’t harmed Chen Ji in the slightest.

That instant had been incredibly fast. Others might not have seen clearly, but he knew exactly where he had intended to strike. Coincidence?

Impossible.

The blade in front of him slowly shifted towards Chen Ji. He murmured to his comrades, “There’s a master here.” Then he added, “The one who tied him up is probably even more formidable.” The guards slowly closed in.

In the narrow alley, the spy attempted to break through several times but failed. Moreover, he suddenly felt that these Elephant Armored Guards seemed to be specifically targeting him, attacking with full force and exceptional ferocity every time.

The Elephant Armored Guards advanced step by step, like an encroaching mountain, shrinking the spy’s and Chen Ji’s maneuvering space. After only a few probing exchanges, the spy’s left arm and chest had each taken a slash, bleeding profusely. The guards exchanged glances. This person didn’t seem as formidable as they had imagined! Something was off!

The next moment, the guards swung their blades again.

As Chen Ji dodged the incoming blades, he whispered, “Where’s the Secret Service’s bronze whistle? Call your comrades for backup.” Without even a single blade in his hand, Chen Ji felt awkward in the fight. He had been stalling earlier, reluctant to approach Peony Bridge, fearing being caught in the crossfire between the Liu family and the Secret Service. He hadn’t expected the Liu family to be so determined to kill Golden Pig, secretly bringing in so many elites.

If there were over a dozen in just one alley, how many must there be in the entire district?

Now was not the time to think about such things; he had to escape first.

Chen Ji continued, “Hey, your…”

Before he could finish, he suddenly froze.

The spy had grabbed his clothes, using his body as a shield to try and break through.

The guards were about to charge but suddenly stopped.

They saw Chen Ji suddenly grab the back of the spy’s long blade. With a slight shake of his hand, the spy involuntarily released his grip, the strange vibration through the blade feeling like an electric shock. Before the spy could react, the guards watched Chen Ji suddenly turn, his right hand still on the back of the blade, and backhand thrust the tip diagonally into the spy’s lung. The spy stared at Chen Ji in disbelief, only able to produce a gurgling gasp. In the dim alley, Chen Ji used his left hand to push the spy’s chest, slowly withdrawing the blade from his lung. In the silence, he looked at the guards for a moment, then spoke, “Did Lord Liu send you to rescue me? Get me out of here.” The guards saw his calm demeanor and felt he wasn’t faking it.

Just as the other guards were about to sheathe their blades, one Elephant Armored Guard suddenly said, “Lord Liu never gave such instructions. Seize him. Tie him up first.”

Suddenly, a fire erupted in the distance.

Fierce flames lit up the entire district, as if a hand dipped in crimson paint had casually smeared across a black canvas, creating a scene both ruined and magnificent.

Flames leaped over white walls and grey tiles, and the shadows in the alley swayed unceasingly. Everyone felt the heat wave sweeping over them.

A breath.

Chen Ji swung the blade like a reversed galaxy, light flowing across the gleaming metal, as if the blade itself had caught fire, sweeping through the inferno.

The first Elephant Armored Guard raised his blade to block, but Chen Ji’s blade was too fast. Before he could fully raise his hand, the blade had already struck his shoulder.

The sound of rending leather echoed. After cutting through the leather armor, the blade left only a half-inch deep wound on the guard’s shoulder, which was not fatal.

Chen Ji frowned and retreated. He looked at his blade, then at the opponent’s leather armor.

The blade in his hand was far inferior to the one he had just used.

The spy, who had fallen earlier, coughed up bloody foam, watching the scene in despair, his eyes filled with resentment.

He desperately wanted to tell Golden Pig that this person was indeed problematic.

But he had no chance now.

The Elephant Armored Guard tilted his head, glanced at his wound, and said expressionlessly, “To be able to cut through elephant armor means he’s a practitioner, but his cultivation level isn’t too high. Form up, kill him on the spot.”

In the flickering firelight, guards stepped over the fallen spy one after another, their shadows passing across the spy’s face like his last reflections before death.

The roaring flames continued to draw closer. In the winter, the fire had formed a sea of flames across Luo City.

Heat waves surged through the alley, and hair began to scorch and curl in the hot air.

Chen Ji advanced instead of retreating. The moment they clashed, the Elephant Armored Guards, relying on the toughness of their leather armor, attacked broadly and without restraint.

But Chen Ji no longer met force with force. Instead, his blade passed through the gaps in their leather armor at an odd angle, like a phantom, leaving no trace.

*Slish*.

The blade tip, streaked with blood, sliced past, and blood splattered on the white wall.

Startled by the strike, the guards retreated.

The wounded man lifted his leather armor to check his injury, only to discover his armpit had been slashed open, blood gushing out.

A major artery had been severed.

At first, it didn’t feel fatal, but three breaths later, the guard felt his strength draining away like a river bursting its banks.

This single strike shattered the confidence the leather armor had given the guards. The elephant armor, their source of bravery, could no longer block the blade.

All of them were seasoned veterans and naturally understood the skill behind that strike.

They quietly observed Chen Ji, realizing that while the practitioner’s cultivation level might not be very high, his mastery of the blade was far more significant than his realm.

One of them snarled, “Kill!”

The guards charged again.

The alley was narrow, allowing a maximum of four Elephant Armored Guards to surround Chen Ji at any time. When one fell, another living guard would fill the gap.

One Elephant Armored Guard after another fell, and one Elephant Armored Guard after another filled the battle formation.

Until at one point, everyone suddenly realized there was no one left to fill the ranks behind them.

Chen Ji moved through the alley like a stone roller, crushing all the guards within it.

He didn’t know how much time had passed. Chen Ji was drenched in blood, and the white walls of the alley were splattered with it, like a landscape painting where all mountains were red.

Only one guard remained in the alley. Chen Ji took a step forward, and the guard recoiled a step.

The guard turned and fled, but after only two steps, Chen Ji hurled the long blade in his hand with all his might. The tip of the blade traveled several meters and pierced straight through the guard’s neck.

In the firelight, Chen Ji leaned against the wall, bent over, and panted heavily.

He pulled his hand away. In this living hell, the blood was scalding, the air was scorching, and even the walls were hot to the touch. Chen Ji stood up, looked vaguely towards both ends of the alley, and dry-heaved a few times for some unknown reason. Then, he forced himself to stand upright. After a moment’s thought, he tossed the bodies into the sea of flames, then turned, donned a leather armor, and fled…

The district and the sea of flames were filled with corpses. Elephant Armored Guards patrolled everywhere, hunting down any remaining spies. Wearing the leather armor, Chen Ji ran desperately towards the Luo River bank, head down. Tonight, he had to personally confirm Golden Pig’s death. As he passed through layers of alleys, the sound of flowing water grew closer.

When he finally emerged from the labyrinthine alleys, the world suddenly opened up, and even the air felt incredibly fresh. Chen Ji leaned against the wooden railing by the riverbank, breathing greedily while turning to look towards Peony Bridge in the distance. The misty dawn light intertwined with the firelight. He just happened to see Golden Pig, fighting in desperation, muster his last bit of strength to grab West Wind and Six Strings by their collars, throw them violently over the crowd, and into the bitterly cold waters of the Luo River.

With two splashes, West Wind struggled in the water for a moment before his head popped out, screaming despairingly, “My Lord!”

Golden Pig roared from the bridge, “Get out of here!”

With that, he ceased struggling and slowly stood still.

Liu Mingxian, draped in a black fox fur cloak, placed his bronze hand warmer on a carriage and applauded softly. “I didn’t expect the utterly ruthless Twelve Zodiac agents of the Secret Service to also sacrifice themselves to save others.”

Golden Pig scoffed, “I sent them to report to the Grand Councilor. Once the Grand Councilor asks His Majesty, the Imperial Army will immediately be deployed to wipe out your entire Liu family!” Liu Mingxian shook his head. “The one at Renshou Palace won’t bother with such convoluted nonsense. He’ll just sit cross-legged on his white crane couch cultivating, waiting for those below to kill each other before stepping in to mediate. Only if you and I fight fiercely can he sit securely. Over the years, my Liu family has been slowly eaten away like this. I understand this better than you.” Golden Pig fell silent.

A moment later, he simply rolled his bulky frame to the ground and sat down. “No point in fighting. The victor is king, the vanquished is naught. Nothing more to say.” Liu Mingxian asked with interest, “Lord Golden Pig, would you be interested in working for my Liu family? You only need to write an accusation denouncing the vicious Prime Minister and the court, and my Liu family can spare your life.”

Golden Pig cursed vehemently, “Bullshit! You want me to curse the Grand Councilor? What kind of trash are you? Does the Liu family have no one left, that they let an uneducated fop like you run the household? Where’s your old man? Get him over here to rub my legs!”

Liu Mingxian sneered, “Eunuch’s lackey. Kill him.”

Beside him, Manager Yuan calmly said, “Preserve him with lime. I want to send him back to the Jing Dynasty. Golden Pig has killed many people from our Jing Dynasty over the years. I’m sure the Military Strategist would be very fond of his head.”

On the riverbank, Chen Ji was too far away to see clearly or hear what Golden Pig and Liu Mingxian were discussing.

He only saw from a distance that when Zhang Guo’er walked over to kill Golden Pig, Golden Pig, despite his severe injuries, suddenly launched a surprise attack. After breaking one of Zhang Guo’er’s legs, he collapsed back to the ground.

When another tattooed man approached Golden Pig, Golden Pig again launched a sneak attack, making the man spit out a mouthful of blood before he himself slumped back onto the bridge.

It wasn’t until the third time, when Golden Pig tried the same trick again, that he was a beat too slow and finally kicked to the ground.

This time, he was truly at the end of his rope.

Liu Mingxian laughed in exasperation. “I’ve long heard that Golden Pig of the Twelve Zodiac never speaks a word of truth. Today, I’ve seen it for myself.” Golden Pig no longer paid him any attention. He simply closed his eyes, lay back on the bridge, and remained silent. His fingers trembled slightly; even the most arrogant person could not truly remain unflustered in the face of death. However, at that moment, Chen Ji suddenly looked through the bridge arch and saw a black boat slowly approaching on the other side of the bridge. At its bow stood a young man in white, his hands empty, yet he suddenly assumed the stance of drawing a bow to its fullest. In an instant, a white bow appeared in the air, shimmering with brilliant starlight.

With a *thump*, the bowstring vibrated.

A meteor shot forth, trailing a long comet-like tail, heading straight for Zhang Guo’er, who had just stood up on the bridge. In the dawn light and fireglow, the meteor drew a faint parabolic arc in the distance. In the flick of a finger, a breath, a blink of an eye, the meteor, as if it had eyes, passed directly through Zhang Guo’er’s chest.

Zhang Guo’er abruptly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He looked down at the hole in his chest and mumbled, “Your mother, Pegasus…” As his voice trailed off, Pegasus, standing at the bow of the boat, drew his bow to its fullest again, and meteors, trailing comet tails, surged forth one after another.

Billions of Pegasi flew. Before the person even arrived, the arrows had already pierced through one Elephant Armored Guard after another on the bridge. One arrow, after piercing four people, still retained its momentum.

Upon hearing the name “Pegasus,” Golden Pig’s eyes flew open in excitement.

He suddenly sat up, his gaze sweeping over the railing to the distant river. He burst into wild laughter. “Pegasus is here! Pegasus is here! You motherfu— you’re all dead!”

As he spoke, a meteor shot over Golden Pig’s head. This arrow wasn’t aimed at anyone; it was merely a special way to greet Golden Pig.

The next meteor fiercely pierced Manager Yuan’s thigh.

If Manager Yuan hadn’t dodged in time, that arrow might have pierced his heart.

But Pegasus didn’t give up and drew his bow to its fullest again.

With a *bang*, a meteor shot towards Manager Yuan’s chest at incredible speed.

Golden Pig suddenly yelled, “Wait! Don’t kill him! I want Dream Chicken to interrogate him!”

In an instant, the launched meteor slightly altered its trajectory in mid-air, flying past Manager Yuan’s cheek, making his hair violently tremble as if a Pegasus had whistled past his face.

Manager Yuan gave Liu Mingxian a grim look, then turned and limped into the Luo River, swimming in the opposite direction from Pegasus.

Golden Pig urgently called out, “West Wind, Six Strings, follow him!”

But no sooner had he spoken than the screams of West Wind and Six Strings echoed from beneath the bridge.

Golden Pig grumbled as he stood up, then rushed to the stone railing and leaned over to look down. “You two good-for-nothings who only mess things up, are you dead or not? If not, make a sound!”

“Not dead!”

Golden Pig squinted, glaring as Manager Yuan swam further and further upstream. But then, he suddenly let out a soft exclamation. “Wait, who’s that?”

Where his gaze landed, on the bank of the Luo River, a young man was shedding his leather armor and diving into the water, disappearing from sight.

Golden Pig’s eyes widened. “Judging by the figure, why does he look a bit like Chen Ji?”

End of Chapter.

PS: Pegasus’s entrance was truly cool.

Novel-related:
*Talking Elbows* is a captivating and thrilling masterpiece by the author Talking Elbows.