Chapter 501: Chapter 434: Ming Emperor Ye Xiao
Inside the villa, Yang Xiao found Tong Han, who was tied up. She was sitting on a long sofa in the living room on the first floor, with no apparent injuries on her body. Across from her sat a man.
The man appeared only slightly older than Yang Xiao, with sharp eyebrows and a rugged face, short grayish-white hair, dressed in a black uniform from the Patrol Defense Office, which made his exposed skin look even paler. A wooden-handled long spear lay across his lap, wrapped in blue cloth.
This person was sitting with his eyes closed, cultivating his energy with long breaths. In the spacious living room, only he and Tong Han were present, with no other guards around.
Yang Xiao could not be mistaken—this had to be Qu Muzhi, known as the top captain of Rongcheng whom Yang Xiao had long heard of and was finally meeting in person today.
Unfortunately, soon they would have to face each other. Yang Xiao carefully observed as he planned how to rescue the person with the fastest speed. If possible, he did not want to confront Qu Muzhi.
After all, both were captains of the Patrol Defense Office. They had no brotherly love, but they shared a bond of comradeship. Moreover, Yang Xiao was not confident in defeating him without inflicting serious injuries, and once they clashed, casualties would be inevitable.
It was thanks to this guy’s overconfidence, being alone in the room, that with enough speed, Yang Xiao could use the Soul-Capturing Mirror to take Tong Han away before others arrived.
Soon, he confirmed his plan of action—his backpack could not be carried, too conspicuous. He left the backpack in the Mirror World, and he himself could not show his face. Fortunately, he always carried the Character "Li" Mask, which came in handy today.
The Drama Robe and the Ghost Lantern must not be used unless absolutely necessary, as these two items were recorded at the Patrol Defense Office. The Ghost Duster should also be avoided as much as possible, as its use would take lives easily and could be recognized. After going through his options, he was left with only the Human Bone Staff and the Soul-Capturing Mirror, which should be sufficient. He didn’t need to defeat Qu Muzhi; he just needed to hold him off with the Human Bone Staff and then take Tong Han back to the Mirror World—that would be considered success.
He checked the surroundings of the living room; the best teleportation point was a large mirror hanging on the wall. The mirror was nearly 10 meters away from Tong Han and about the same distance from Qu Muzhi.
After confirming his disguise was without any issues, Yang Xiao slowly closed his eyes and mentally rehearsed the next set of actions. The next second, he abruptly opened his eyes, activated the Soul-Capturing Mirror, and appeared directly inside the villa, dashing towards Tong Han while striking out with his staff at Qu Muzhi, who was still cultivating with his eyes closed.
The Human Bone Staff only damaged the brain, not the body, and Yang Xiao had carefully calculated the force of this blow, sufficient to regress a lower-than-Venerable Level individual like Yanhe Tian Wu Peide back to his childhood. But caught unguarded, even a Venerable Level individual like Qu Muzhi would be stunned for a few seconds, which was enough for Yang Xiao, focused on rescuing.
But Qu Muzhi’s response was much quicker than Yang Xiao expected. At the moment Yang Xiao appeared, as if sensing it, Qu Muzhi abruptly opened his eyes, which shockingly revealed a rare pair of silver-colored pupils, indeed emitting a formidable aura.
The next second, he used his knees to lift the long spear and position it in front of him, attempting to block the attack from the Human Bone Staff. This only made Yang Xiao smile internally, thinking Qu Muzhi was overconfident, as the attack from the Human Bone Staff couldn’t be blocked, only dodged.
As Yang Xiao had anticipated, the Human Bone Staff’s attack treated the spear as if it were nothing and naturally penetrated through, striking heavily against Qu Muzhi’s chest.
"Done!"
Yang Xiao almost laughed aloud under his mask, but the next scene completely exceeded his expectations. After being heavily struck, Qu Muzhi’s eyes merely trembled slightly, and in less than half a second, he returned to normal, rushing towards Yang Xiao with his staff, a powerful vertical strike nearly scared the soul out of Yang Xiao; if he hadn’t dodged quickly, his head would have been utterly crushed.
In a clash between experts, one move revealed their level. Yang Xiao kicked over a tea table, hoping to buy some time.
But one strike missed, and the next was immediate. Qu Muzhi switched his spear to a horizontal position and swung it like sweeping through thousands of troops, with a speed so fast only blurs were visible.
There was no escape for Yang Xiao, as both he and Tong Han were in the range, and if he dodged, the stroke would hit Tong Han.
In a critical moment, anticipating the move yet to complete, Yang Xiao proactively swung his Human Bone Staff to meet the blow. The moment the weapons collided, Yang Xiao was sent flying by the enormous force, dragging Tong Han along, nearly losing grip of his staff.
But Yang Xiao had calculated this; using the momentum of being sent flying, he created distance between himself and Qu Muzhi. After landing, he took three steps back to cushion the force of the blow, grabbed Tong Han, and ran towards the mirror. Once inside the Mirror World, even if Qu Muzhi possessed great abilities, he wouldn’t be able to find them.
While running, Yang Xiao also kept an eye on Qu Muzhi’s movements, but unexpectedly, he did not pursue. Instead, he pulled off the cloth wrapped around the spearhead. At that moment, Yang Xiao realized Qu Muzhi’s spear was incomplete—a blunt spear.
But the next second, Qu Muzhi’s spear moved like a dragon, striking three points at Yang Xiao from a distance of nearly ten meters, and the spear was less than three meters long. This act seemed childishly silly, but Yang Xiao’s face turned pale. Just as he was about to pull Tong Han into the mirror, he felt simultaneous heavy strikes on his left shoulder, chest, and knee. He was thrown into the air, hitting the ground hard.
This fall also jolted Yang Xiao fully awake, and he immediately realized that the spear in the youth’s hand was highly unusual. This spear and the Human Bone Staff that he held both possessed the ability to lock onto and attack the enemy from a distance. The difference was that his Human Bone Staff only damaged the brain, whereas the spear only injured the body.
Tong Han’s hands were tied behind his back, and his mouth was sealed with tape, leaving him desperately unable to help.
Meanwhile, Qu Muzhi held his spear horizontally by his side, the spearhead dangling downward while the shaft angled behind his back, walking towards him calmly and unhurriedly, bringing pressure like a mountain:
"You are not bad, stronger than those guys," Qu Muzhi rarely spoke, "What is your name?"
Yang Xiao steadied himself, gripped the Human Bone Staff tightly, and realized that a fierce battle today was inevitable. This guy, daring to claim the title of the best team captain in Rongcheng, truly had some skills.
With the opponent having a long spear, longer meant stronger. To gain the upper hand, he had to close in for a melee fight. His Human Bone Staff was somewhat inferior in long-range attacks, but if he could get close enough to swing it at his adversary’s forehead, even a large elephant would be brought down by Yang Xiao.
However, closing in was easier said than done. Nonetheless, Yang Xiao had a plan. He raised his hands, posing as if he had surrendered and was beaten.
As Qu Muzhi drew closer, suddenly, Yang Xiao saw a hint of mockery in his eyes. This youngster was too cunning; he had long realized that it was a feigned surrender. Yet, he still played along with the act. But Yang Xiao did not loss out, as he had at least bought some time.
Taking advantage of the moment when they were only 3 or 4 meters apart, Yang Xiao fiercely retaliated, striking two blows towards Qu Muzhi from the air, and then lunged forward. Caught off guard, Qu Muzhi and Yang Xiao exchanged two blows — the Human Bone Staff accurately targeted the head, while the long spear struck Yang Xiao’s abdomen. Thankfully, the last strike of the Great Splitting Spear Technique was blocked by Yang Xiao using the Human Bone Staff. Due to the close range, the shaft couldn’t unleash its full force, but even so, it numbed half of Yang Xiao’s body.
And in the next second, something utterly beyond Yang Xiao’s comprehension occurred. The half of the spear that was blocked seemed to come to life, twisting in an inexplicable manner and struck heavily at his left shoulder. The attack was so sudden and unavoidable that Yang Xiao, driven by fury, abandoned his defense and swung the Human Bone Staff at Qu Muzhi’s face.
"Bang!"
"Thud."
Yang Xiao’s left shoulder suffered a heavy blow, a strike that could have crippled his arm. But in the moment of impact, Yang Xiao distinctly felt a force mitigating some of the impact, undoubtedly due to the protection of the Drama Robe. Still, his left shoulder was in severe pain, and he could barely lift his arm. Qu Muzhi, who had been struck by the staff, wasn’t faring any better. Yang Xiao’s blow was precise, striking him directly in the face, causing blood to gush from his nostrils and leaving him dazed, staggering back 5 or 6 steps before steadying himself. His injuries seemed even more severe than Yang Xiao’s.
This was no place to linger. After regaining his senses, Yang Xiao grabbed Tong Han and ran towards the mirror. But he felt a chilling wind behind him, and turning his head, he saw Qu Muzhi’s left hand raised towards him, as if throwing some kind of hidden weapon. Yang Xiao’s left hand shook, producing a sound like metal striking stone.
Something had hit his Soul-Capturing Mirror, but that did not matter much now. The mirror was within arm’s reach; as long as he could cross into the Mirror World, he would have won.
But the very next second, the two of them crashed into the mirror, shattering it but failing to cross through. Simultaneously, Yang Xiao looked at the Soul-Capturing Mirror in horror—he could no longer sense its power; their connection had been severed.
Meanwhile, he saw a turquoise ancient-looking seal slowly appearing on the surface of the Soul-Capturing Mirror, resembling some kind of talisman.
This moment shocked Yang Xiao profoundly. He abruptly looked towards Qu Muzhi, who now held a crimson jade seal. It appeared that the object he had thrown just before was this item, and it... it could actually seal a magic artifact!
Yang Xiao finally understood why this man dared to claim the title of Rongcheng’s number one team captain. Beneath his well-known reputation lay formidable power, not something Venerable Level Heretic Cultivators like Granny Hong could compare with. This guy could easily take on two opponents!
Yang Xiao had originally planned to hold back, but under these circumstances, if he did not exert his full strength, not only would he fail to save anyone, but he might also end up dying here!
The expression under Yang Xiao’s mask turned grim. Today, if he resorted to using the Ghost Duster, it was not about victory or defeat anymore but a matter of life and death.
Yang Xiao had not intended things to come to this point, but he was left with no choice. Today, anyone who saw the Ghost Duster would die!
Seeing Yang Xiao motionless for a long time, Qu Muzhi also seemed to sense something, his expression turning unusually grave. With the spear in hand, his veins on the back of his hand bulged, "I indeed wasn’t wrong about you, you’re more than this. I don’t kill nameless people, announce your name!"
"Yu Yuan Sect, Ming Emperor Ye Xiao," Yang Xiao’s voice was hoarse.
