Chapter 26: Laughing

# The Mortal World

The assassin seemed to have planned this in advance. As he twisted his body to pin the sword, his movements were seamless. His hands stretched out like an ape's, attempting to lock onto Elder Yue's body.

Elder Yue reacted extremely quickly. Realizing the danger, he immediately released the sword hilt and swiftly retreated.

‘Rip!’

The assassin ripped off two pieces of cloth. Failing to secure Elder Yue, he instead clung desperately to his arm.

Just then, the leaves rustled, and three more dark figures leaped down from the trees. Like phantoms, they moved directly towards Princess Dongyang.

Elder Yue's expression changed dramatically. In his urgency, he swung his palm towards the assassin's head. The assassin, intent on dying, did not dodge. His legs wrapped tightly around one of Elder Yue's, and after only a few resisted blows, Elder Yue struck his head with a palm.

Red and white splattered. Although the assassin was dead, his hands and feet remained tightly stuck to Elder Yue's body.

The surroundings were already in chaos.

As soon as Bai Jianglan made a move, he was assaulted by two suicidal assassins. Their fighting style was a desperate exchange of blows, forcing even the strong Bai Jianglan to handle them cautiously.

Of the remaining five guards, two were struck in the chest by crossbow bolts fired from the shadows and fell dead. The other three, being alert, dodged the hidden arrows, then stood back-to-back, barely holding their ground against the assassins' onslaught.

At this moment, Elder Yue, who was closest to the princess, was restrained by an assassin, and Princess Dongyang had only just managed to sit up from the ground.

Elder Yue, dragging the assassin's corpse, moved clumsily. He only had time to lunge towards the nearest assassin, while shouting loudly, "Quick, save the princess!"

Qin Sang was actually the quickest to react, but it was his first time encountering such a perilous chaotic battle. He was also concerned that the Yama's killing method was too strange and might expose his secret in front of everyone, so he hesitated.

He hadn't expected that his brief hesitation would allow the situation to deteriorate to such an extent in an instant.

Qin Sang grabbed his ironwood staff. He vaguely heard a subtle sound behind him, then felt a wicked gust of wind assault his head. He quickly rolled on the ground.

‘Thud!’

A crossbow bolt shot into the ground where Qin Sang had just been.

Then, a dark figure, like a roc spreading its wings, swooped down from the treetops, a chilling flash of sword light cutting through the gloom.

Qin Sang hastily rolled again to dodge the sword. Just as he summoned Yama, he heard Water Monkey shout in his ear, "Brother Qin, hold him back! I'll go save the princess!"

Qin Sang, left with no choice, swung his staff and clashed hard with the assassin. In the midst of the chaos, he glanced back.

Bai Jianglan, exchanging injuries to take down an assassin, was covered in blood and dragging his injured leg. He arrived by the princess's side just in the nick of time, blocking one of the attackers.

Water Monkey arrived in time and also intercepted an attacker.

The situation was barely stable. Once Elder Yue broke free, the battle would be decided, and there would be no need to rush Yama's killing.

Unexpectedly, just as this thought crossed Qin Sang's mind and he prepared to slowly contend with the assassin, he suddenly heard a faint sound. It was so soft as to be almost inaudible, yet it was highly unusual. His acute hearing allowed him to discern it even amidst the chaotic battle.

"This is..."

Qin Sang's heart stirred. He suddenly remembered: it was the sound of a string!

Qin Sang quickly scanned his surroundings and noticed something unusual about the shadows behind Princess Dongyang. Then, he saw a faint, eerie glow shoot out from the shadows.

It wasn't a crossbow bolt, but a concealed weapon as fine as an embroidery needle. The needle gleamed with a faint blue light, clearly poisoned.

"Princess, watch out!"

Qin Sang shouted, but saw that Princess Dongyang remained rooted to the spot, afraid to move. Elder Yue and Bai Jianglan were also too far to turn back in time. Without time to think, Qin Sang put all his strength into swinging his ironwood staff towards it.

With this move, Qin Sang used his precision aiming skill. The ironwood staff, passing almost grazed Princess Dongyang, struck the poisoned needle just in time, sending it flying.

As he raised his hand, Qin Sang activated the mechanism of his sleeve arrow, aiming at the shadow.

The crossbow bolt shot into the shadow, and a muffled thud was heard from within, followed by silence.

Only then did Princess Dongyang react. She looked up and glanced at Qin Sang, a hint of panic on her face, but she quickly calmed down and then smiled brightly at him.

"Commander Bai, let's finish this quickly!"

Elder Yue broke into a cold sweat from the previous incident. He dared not delay further. At the cost of being stabbed once, he struck the assassin dead with his palm.

Qin Sang's staff had shattered the assassination plot. In an instant, all the assassins became incredibly frenzied.

Qin Sang faced sharp swords with his bare fists, feeling the strain after a few moves. He quickly seized an opportunity, letting Yama kill the assassin. The moment the assassin's body stiffened, his fingers moved like lightning, crushing the assassin's throat to cover it up.

He timed it perfectly, leaving almost no flaw.

This was Qin Sang's first time using the Yama Banner to kill someone in front of others, and just as he had expected, he executed it perfectly.

Just as a faint smile appeared on Qin Sang's face, he suddenly heard several screams. His heart involuntarily tightened—Water Monkey!

‘Swish!’

A severed arm flew into the air. Water Monkey's left arm hung empty, and his face was ashen.

Elder Yue snatched a sword, swung it to cut away the corpse clinging to him. Using the Eight-Step Cicada technique, he darted to Water Monkey's side and killed the assassin with a single sword stroke.

When all the dust settled, only one of the five guards remained alive. Water Monkey had lost an arm. Bai Jianglan rapidly pressed acupoints on Water Monkey's severed arm with his fingers, using vital energy to seal the blood vessels and barely stop the bleeding.

Elder Yue had taken a sword wound to his left shoulder, but had no time to tend to it. He quickly searched the surroundings, then checked if Princess Dongyang was injured.

Princess Dongyang shook her head to indicate she was unharmed. She personally walked over, picked up the ironwood staff, weighed it in her hand, and handed it back to Qin Sang, saying, "Many thanks, Young Master Qin, for striking away that poisoned needle and saving my life."

Qin Sang replied neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Princess, you flatter me. What I did was a mere trifle. This time, it was entirely thanks to Commander Bai, Elder Yue, Zhou Ning, and all the guards who fought desperately to kill the assassins, which gave me the chance to make that throw."

Princess Dongyang nodded, then turned to Elder Yue and said, "Elder Yue, please arrange for the guards' burial after you've tended to your injuries. Since they died for me, we cannot leave their bodies exposed in the wilderness. When we return to Dongyang Commandery, I will have their bodies brought back for a proper burial."

Elder Yue acknowledged the order and left.

Qin Sang crouched beside Zhou Ning, watching Bai Jianglan at work. He wondered if there was any medical art in this world for reattaching severed limbs. Even if reattached, it would likely be difficult to fully recover.

For a martial artist, this was undoubtedly cruel.

Qin Sang looked at Water Monkey's pale face, unsure how to comfort him. He took out the trauma medicine formulated by the old Taoist priest from his robes, and handed it to Bai Jianglan, saying, "Brother Bai, try this. The formula was passed down by a former imperial physician."

Bai Jianglan opened the cap and sniffed it, then took some out and applied it to Water Monkey's severed arm. The incessant bleeding indeed gradually stopped.

Bai Jianglan's eyes lit up. "What effective medicine!"

Water Monkey gritted his teeth and managed to utter a few words, "Thank you, Brother Qin!"

What a tough man!

Qin Sang praised him inwardly. Water Monkey was usually lively and talked incessantly, but he hadn't expected such resilience from him. Despite this severe injury, there was no hint of despair on his face, and he remained silent even as Bai Jianglan treated his wound.

"Brother Zhou, I'm still waiting to eat the Nine-Whisker Fish you're going to catch!"