Chapter Twenty-Seven: Upheaval in the Celestial River City

On Tianhe City's main street, many cultivators had just finished drinking and were on their way home, some alone, others in groups, laughing and chatting as they strolled through the night.

“Murder! The Soul-Guard Army has killed someone…”

Suddenly, a hoarse cry shattered the peaceful night, breaking the spell over everything.

The Soul-Guard Army killed someone?

Everyone froze, exchanging bewildered glances, not quite sure what they had just heard.

At that moment, accompanied by ragged, heavy breathing, a figure appeared from the corner, dragging three people behind him.

He seemed utterly spent and, with a crash, collapsed before the gathering crowd, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

“It’s Brother Zhang!” someone exclaimed, recognizing Zhang Jiufeng, and rushed forward.

“Brother Zhang, who hurt you?”

“Why are you carrying these mortals?”

The others snapped out of their daze and hurried to his side.

“Hurry, tell everyone—the… the Crow Army… they’re monsters… They took advantage of us celebrating Peaceful Night to abduct townsfolk and… and silence them…” Zhang Jiufeng panted, blood still trickling from his lips, but he struggled to get the words out.

The listeners felt their skin crawl, their faces growing pale with horror.

“The Crow Army is abducting citizens?”

Someone glanced at the two children and their mother whom Zhang Jiufeng had rescued and immediately frowned.

“Aren’t they supposed to be guarding Tianhe City? Why would they abduct civilians?”

“I… I suspect other fellow cultivators have been taken as well. They brought a trapping and killing formation—it’s clear… clear they’re targeting us,” Zhang Jiufeng added, his thoughts racing.

“This…” At those words, one man’s face drained of color, and he shouted, “I was wondering where my brother went! He left halfway through our drinking, saying he was going to Spring Hundred Lane to buy stronger wine. But now the gathering is over, and he hasn’t returned. Could it be he was taken by the Crow Army?”

“Wait, Brother Zhang, how can you be certain it was the Crow Army?”

“They covered their faces but didn’t change their boots—they were wearing Crow Army boots.”

“Outrageous! Is this how the Crow Army intends to guard Tianhe City?”

“They’re taking citizens, not even sparing cultivators—what are they trying to do?”

“Let’s go, quickly—don’t split up. Let’s gather everyone.”

“Bring everyone, confront the prodigies, and if they don’t give us an explanation, this won’t end here.”

With that, they lifted Zhang Jiufeng and hurried away.

…

Not far off, several shadowy figures emerged from the darkness.

At their head was Qi Ming.

His face was clouded, his eyes a storm barely contained, ready to erupt at any moment.

“Which idiot is responsible for this mess?” He turned, glaring at several Crow Army soldiers, voice low and trembling with rage, as if he would grind his teeth to powder.

“How many times have I said it? Don’t make a scene. Don’t get caught. Work in threes, pick off the stragglers, and if you have to kill, so be it.”

“But look at this! Now every cultivator in the city will soon know we’re secretly grabbing people.”

“Useless, the lot of you! You couldn’t even capture one measly mid-stage Foundation Establishment trash.”

“Find out—thoroughly! I want to know exactly which three idiots let that cultivator escape.”

Qi Ming raged, almost deranged, his voice a suppressed snarl.

The Crow Army soldiers kept their heads bowed, not daring to meet his gaze. Their faces were growing pale.

The general’s fearsome reputation was well known on the battlefield. Outwardly, he seemed gentle and friendly, always smiling, but on the field of war, this was the man who once ripped the skull from a beast and crunched it between his teeth without a second thought.

Soon, Qi Ming managed to rein in his fury, regaining a calm as if nothing had happened.

“Pass the order—send several squads to blockade the city gates. Guard them heavily—don’t let so much as a fly escape.”

“And have only a few remain to watch the ship. The rest, all into the city.”

…

Soon, the orders were given.

All three thousand Crow Army soldiers were mobilized.

From the massive black-sailed warship outside the city, nearly three thousand Crow Army soldiers poured out, splitting into over a hundred squads and surging through the city gates.

Five hundred formed a phalanx, sealing the gates so tightly not even air could slip through.

The remaining two thousand marched in formation, swiftly ascending the city walls.

Qi Ming was already there, hands clasped behind his back, eyes icy as he surveyed all of Tianhe City.

Meanwhile, at the corner of the city wall to the left of the gate, where the black-sailed warship was docked, a small patch of air began to twist and ripple, and suddenly a large opening appeared, releasing gusts of chilling wind.

A figure peered out, then darted swiftly from the opening.

It was Xu Zhe.

“That was almost too easy. But why has the entire Crow Army… moved into the city?”

Upon landing, Xu Zhe kept his spiritual sense wide open, probing everywhere.

He found almost no trace of the Crow Army outside the city—only two guards remained at the warship’s gangway. The rest were all on the city walls.

“What’s this heavy scent of blood?” Xu Zhe’s brow furrowed, his gaze locking onto the massive black-sailed warship before him.

A pungent, metallic stench wafted on the night breeze.

“So they were abducting townsfolk earlier—what are they up to in secret?”

Xu Zhe’s expression darkened as he pressed himself to the wall, craning his neck to look toward the distant city wall, where he could just make out a throng of Crow Army soldiers assembling.

But it was at least three or four hundred meters away.

“Almost forgot—their cultivation is only at Foundation Establishment, so they can’t extend their senses outward. Perhaps I’m being overly cautious. No—Qi Ming is said to be at the Golden Core stage, currently suppressing himself to Foundation Establishment to enter the city. Could he still have his spiritual sense extended?”

Xu Zhe considered for a moment, his expression solemn. “No matter, better to be cautious.”

Swish!

In the next instant, his figure blurred. Using the Yu Step, he moved as swiftly and silently as a wraith toward the warship’s gangway.

The two Crow Army guards, both at mid-stage Foundation Establishment, were alert, scanning their surroundings.

A faint sound of wind.

The subtlest of disturbances.

Their gazes snapped instantly in its direction.

Their faces changed, pupils constricting as a black shadow ballooned in their vision—suddenly nearly upon them.

“There’s—”

Both guards opened their mouths to shout, but Xu Zhe pounced like a tiger, his hands clamping down hard over their jaws.

Bang!

Xu Zhe’s knee drove up like a piledriver into one guard’s chest.

The man grunted in pain, his body curling involuntarily, his head bowing.

In the next instant, Xu Zhe released him, a surge of righteous energy gathering in his palm, which turned into a knife-hand that struck the back of the man’s head.

With a dull thud, the guard collapsed, unconscious.

The entire exchange took less than a breath—so fast it left no room for response.

The other guard was still trapped, his tongue caught between cheek and teeth, unable to utter more than a muffled sound. His eyes bulged, staring unblinking at Xu Zhe.

What a handsome man… No, wait—this is Xu the Prodigy? Mortal bloodline?

“You seem to know me. It doesn’t matter. I just enjoy exploring and thought I’d have a look around your warship—no ill intentions,” Xu Zhe said with a grin.

A moment later, his knife-hand struck the man’s forehead, and this second mid-stage Foundation Establishment guard also collapsed on the spot.

Xu Zhe again extended his senses to confirm all was quiet, then slipped aboard the warship.

As soon as he entered the cabin, a wave of blood stench assaulted him.

“What have they done…”

Xu Zhe was shaken.

He’d thought perhaps the smell wasn’t significant, but inside, he realized the blood was fresh—so recent it hadn’t begun to rot. Only thousands of deaths could produce such a powerful, acrid miasma.

Without hesitation, Xu Zhe followed the stench deeper into the ship.

Moments later, he came to an abrupt halt, staring down at a wash of red light.

A vast blood pool array churned below, blood bubbling and steaming, vapor rising into pipes that carried it away to unknown destinations.

All around the edge of the pool were heaped thousands of corpses, ravaged and broken.

There were mortals and cultivators, the old and the young, even children…

Xu Zhe frowned faintly but remained outwardly calm.

“The Crow Army’s actions are evil and depraved.”

He sighed softly, gazing upon the lifeless bodies, and said quietly, “Such wickedness deserves only death.”

…

…

[What a coincidence—today happens to be my lunar birthday, and it’s the first time I’ve celebrated a birthday at the turn of the year. It’s quite the novelty, so I’ll shamelessly ask for monthly votes and recommendations. Lastly, Happy New Year 2021 to you all! May you succeed in your studies, rise high in your careers, and enjoy good health. I wish myself the same—though I will, of course, only become more and more handsome.]