Chapter 58: The More You Think, The More Possible It Seems

Even heavily wounded, barely able to stand, and knowing his end was near, the assassin who had repelled the aerial attack still clung to a strong will to survive. He still desperately wanted to scramble away and escape, hoping his accomplice would intervene to save him.

However, the two he had tried to assassinate gave him no chance to escape, determined to finish him while he was vulnerable. As one attacker was repelled in the air, the other quickly closed in on the ground for the kill.

Swaying unsteadily, he tried to muster his last strength to fight back, but then noticed something unusual about his opponent's attack.

Shi Chun, charging forward, suddenly puffed out his cheeks and spewed forth a mixture of unswallowed debris and wine, spraying it directly at the assassin's face.

The assassin, already mentally and physically exhausted, was unable to think clearly. Unsure what kind of deadly move it was, he met it with a full-force palm strike.

Shi Chun, having sprayed the debris, rolled on the ground and then quickly stood up, dodging the overhead attack. As he rose, a cascade of saber light erupted, slashing diagonally from bottom to top. Instantly, blood spurted out along the path of the blade.

The swaying figure was diagonally split in two. With an expression of disbelief, he looked down, feeling intense pain and seeing his ruptured abdomen with intestines spilling out.

Wu Jinliang, who had been sent flying by the impact, landed on the first-floor eaves. Broken tiles clattered to the ground beneath his feet as he gripped a window with one hand. He looked back just in time to see Shi Chun impale the assassin with his saber.

The entire process was incredibly swift, but the successive commotions still alerted many people.

At the entrances of various shops, figures who had been huddled away from the rain quickly emerged upon hearing the noise. Some of the faster ones even witnessed the final street execution.

One of the innkeepers from Anle Inn was among them. As soon as the commotion erupted, he immediately darted out from behind the counter, witnessing it firsthand.

The carriage that had passed earlier hadn't gone far. The person inside, who preferred not to be seen, still pulled back the curtain due to the commotion behind, peering out. He witnessed his accomplice being killed instantly by a single saber strike, his face instantly contorted with disbelief.

He exclaimed in his mind, "How is this possible? Those were two third-grade immobilizing talismans!"

What do third-grade immobilizing talismans signify?

First-grade talismans are sufficient to immobilize ordinary people, unless they encounter someone with innate brute strength, in which case the talisman might be broken.

Second-grade talismans can immobilize initial-level martial practitioners. However, if an initial-level martial practitioner has achieved great mastery and their strength is excessively powerful, surpassing normal individuals, they might also be able to break the confinement.

Third-grade talismans immobilize advanced-level martial practitioners, with similar possibilities of breaking free under extreme power.

He had personally seen two third-grade immobilizing talismans strike the two individuals. Judging by their apparent age, they shouldn't be over thirty, right? Could they have already reached the realm of Immortals Among Men?

He thought the possibility was extremely low. Such cultivation talent would be rare even in the entire cultivation world, and they had just emerged from a place of exile – that's absurd, isn't it?

It's true that talismans can sometimes be of poor quality, but surely not two of them at once?

If one was faulty, did the restrained person manage to timely remove the restriction on their accomplice?

In that instant, he was full of questions and quite dumbfounded. The city had its own rules; with such a huge commotion, should they continue?

Regardless of what he thought, Shi Chun knew the immense threat posed by that carriage. He dared not linger for even a moment. After skewering the assassin with his saber, he immediately turned and, without looking back, leapt straight into the inn's main entrance.

As he lunged, he uttered a hushed password: "Flash!"

Wu Jinliang, who was on the first-floor eaves, immediately crashed through the nearest window headfirst and quickly, saber in hand, climbed into a nearby second-floor room.

The innkeeper at the main entrance shifted sideways, watching Shi Chun dive into the lobby and scramble back to his feet.

He was about to ask what was happening when Shi Chun, now standing, quickly gave an explanation: "Assassins! There's an accomplice in that carriage that just passed!"

Although there were some things he didn't ask, he could tell that this inn was definitely connected to the Demonic Sect. Firstly, Xiang Lan'er had deliberately chosen to stay here. Secondly, he and Wu Jinliang had sat by the entrance for a long time earlier and personally witnessed several guests being turned away, with the reason given being "fully booked."

"Fully booked, my foot!" They, staying there, knew perfectly well that although they didn't know if all other rooms were empty, they were certain many rooms were unoccupied.

Without another word, he trusted the innkeeper would handle it himself. He then darted straight towards Xiang Lan'er's room, knowing that Feng Chi was inside and was an expert, hoping to seek her protection.

On the way, he ran into Wu Jinliang, who was jumping down the stairs. Without needing a word from Shi Chun, Wu Jinliang immediately ran along, dragging his saber, occasionally looking back, his large saber ready at any moment to guard their rear.

"Are you alright?" Shi Chun asked with concern, referring to Wu Jinliang being sent flying by the assassin's dagger earlier.

"I'm fine. It just stunned me, but I've recovered," Wu Jinliang said cheerfully. "Hehe, looks like we took down an expert!"

Shi Chun understood what he meant. From the moment they clashed, it was clear the opponent was definitely not an initial-level martial practitioner; he was certainly an advanced-level one.

It was the first time in their lives they had killed an advanced-level cultivator, which should have been a cause for joy. But Shi Chun couldn't feel happy, knowing that they had simply exploited a loophole and caught the opponent off guard.

The two rushed to Xiang Lan'er's room door. Seeing the door still tightly shut, they sensed something was wrong; the commotion outside could not possibly have gone unheard here.

Bang! Shi Chun kicked the door open directly. At the same time, two fingers he had slipped into his waist pouch pulled out a sandalwood-gold illuminator. There was no one inside, not even a shadow. While they had been sitting at the entrance, they hadn't seen Feng Chi leave.

Wu Jinliang immediately asked, "Can you see with your eye?"

He thought Shi Chun must have been tense just now and wanted his right eye to scan the area.

Shi Chun shook his head. After being immobilized just now, his first reaction was to focus on casting spells to remove the restriction; he had actually forgotten to be nervous.

Now was not the time to dwell on that. He whispered, "Let's go, find somewhere to hide first. The madam will surely have a response."

After all, the assassins had accomplices, and he worried about further assassination attempts. Their cultivation levels were too low; if the attackers just threw immobilizing talismans right from the start, who could withstand that? They needed to hide somewhere the killers couldn't easily find them.

"Upstairs," Wu Jinliang, who had just come down from upstairs, immediately offered to lead the way.

They dared not go outside, fearing someone might be waiting. The two hurriedly ran back upstairs barefoot; they hadn't even bothered to put on their shoes, which were still lying outside the entrance, along with Shi Chun's saber sheath.

Once upstairs, they climbed directly into the attic space of the roof, sitting on the beams and crouching low beneath the roof tiles. From time to time, they could even peek through the gaps in the eaves to check the street below.

After they had settled down temporarily, Wu Jinliang whispered, "Could those two women from the Demonic Sect be behind this?"

"Nonsense!" Shi Chun scoffed, knowing full well that Feng Chi and her companion couldn't have done this. If Feng Chi wanted to kill them, she wouldn't need to resort to such indirect methods.

Wu Jinliang: "Cen Futong's uncle?"

Shi Chun: "Even less likely. We're not the murderers. If his uncle truly wanted revenge, he would at least ask us who the real killer was. Just killing someone randomly counts as revenge? That's absurd."

Wu Jinliang thought about it and agreed. "Then it's strange. We just got out of prison; we haven't had time to make enemies outside, have we? We don't really have enemies out here. Even if we did, those we offended would have long since disappeared after getting out, busy just trying to survive. Who would eagerly wait around to get revenge on us? And it's even less likely they'd use immobilizing talismans – how expensive are those!"

What are immobilizing talismans? For cultivators, they can be considered a powerful weapon, a tool that can virtually decide life or death in an instant during a confrontation. How could they be cheap?

The cheapest immobilizing talisman costs tens of thousands of gold, it seems. Otherwise, why would Shi Chun have gone to such lengths to infiltrate Wukang Mountain? He simply wanted to secretly learn skills to get rich and also gain a means of self-preservation.

"Not to mention immobilizing talismans are too expensive, and they can even command advanced-level martial practitioners..." As Wu Jinliang said this, he suddenly froze. Almost simultaneously, he and Shi Chun turned to look at each other, evidently having thought of the same potential enemy.

Shi Chun also suspected this, but still frowned. "Given your mother's insight, she said the matter was over, and that the Qi family wouldn't bother us anymore. That should be about right, shouldn't it? Besides, we're already out here. If the Qi family wanted to act against us, they wouldn't need to bother with immobilizing talismans; they could just send any expert to handle it."

Wu Jinliang disagreed, however. "Then tell me, counting everyone we know, besides the Qi family behind Shen Youkun, who else has the capability and energy to deal with us? After all, this is Linkang City, controlled by Wukang Mountain. No matter how arrogant the Qi family is, it wouldn't be appropriate for them to openly kill people here, would it? Didn't you see they were trying to silently assassinate us? They don't know when we'll leave here."

After hearing him, Shi Chun thought it over and over. Indeed, he truly couldn't think of anyone else. Only the Qi family would act this way, and they possessed the corresponding capability. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. He couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, is this never-ending?"

Wu Jinliang spat, "What's there to be afraid of? What are we now? We're members of the Demonic Sect now! We even dared to rebel against the Heavenly Court. Will we be afraid of his Qi family?"

Shi Chun nodded slightly. "Since they insist on a life-or-death confrontation, there's no need to be polite. When we see Feng Chi and the others later, we'll badmouth the Qi family to them. We'll say the Qi family is trying to mess with our plans and let the Demonic Sect deal with them!"

Wu Jinliang nodded in profound agreement. "That's exactly how it should be done! They won't get away with this! Let's think carefully about what to say, and find a way to make the Demonic Sect absolutely crush them!"

Outside the inn, behind the roof ridge of a house diagonally opposite, a gaunt man in green robes stood on the tiles, his profound gaze fixed on Anle Inn.

Outside the inn, a crowd had already gathered from a distance to watch the spectacle. The disheveled old man had arrived at some point, blending in with the crowd. While listening to the eyewitnesses' discussions, he was also examining the corpse on the ground.

The carriage that had brought the killer eventually left the scene. The commotion had become too big, and without explicit permission, the person in the carriage dared not continue to act recklessly.

The carriage headed directly towards a section of the city wall. After disembarking, the man inside swiftly ascended to a pavilion at a corner of the city wall.

Bian Weiying was still there. The wine and dishes had been cleared away. At the railing, her long hair was loose, flowing freely in the wind as she gazed towards Wukang Mountain's gate for a long time. It was unclear if she was waiting for news or concerned about her brother's situation.

The man who entered the pavilion was clearly somewhat nervous, but he still recounted the details of the failed attempt.

Bian Weiying turned abruptly, her wind-blown hair obscuring her face. She asked incredulously, "Two third-grade talismans couldn't immobilize them?"

The man replied, "I suspect there was an expert secretly assisting them, who broke the talismans on their bodies and severely wounded Old Liu, which is why Old Liu ended up dying by their hands."

"An expert? An expert who can break third-grade immobilizing talismans? Excellent, things are getting more interesting!" Bian Weiying smiled, shaking her long hair back from her face, revealing a refreshed expression. "This is my territory. Since assassination failed, let's do it openly. Gather our forces and go directly to apprehend them. Once they are controlled, no need for further words; execute them immediately to prevent intervention from the mountain. Let's go. I want to personally see what kind of expert will emerge!"