The Speedrun Begins with Choosing Hunter

Chapter 256: Chapter 256: Retreat

The maidservant’s body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

The Spirit Soup she held fell, shattering into pieces as the emerald-green liquid spilled all over the floor.

"What’s going on?"

Du Qinghui’s voice came from inside the room.

Bai Yuan stepped over the threshold and into the room.

"There’s something wrong with this person."

Du Qinghui’s eyes narrowed. "What is it?"

"She’s wearing a skin mask, and she poisoned the soup."

Du Qinghui didn’t waste time asking how he knew. As Dong Wanjun’s disciple, Bai Yuan was bound to have his methods.

As a Skin Painter, it was child’s play for Bai Yuan to see through others’ disguises.

The maidservant had seemed normal during their last encounter. For her to be wearing a skin mask now meant something was definitely wrong.

As for the poison, Bai Yuan naturally didn’t possess the ability to identify it from a distance.

It would be impossible even if he pushed his Manggu Zhuhe Technique to its limits; no master of poisons, no matter how strong, could do such a thing.

However, Spirit Soup had an overwhelmingly rich spiritual aroma, while the bowl in the maidservant’s hands lacked any spiritual scent whatsoever. That was how he was almost certain it had been poisoned.

Du Qinghui nodded. He didn’t even call anyone to verify it.

He believed in trusting his people.

If he couldn’t even rely on Bai Yuan, then there was no point in staying here.

Bai Yuan’s gaze suddenly grew even colder.

"Lord Du, we need to leave."

...

A light rain began to drizzle over Lingzhou City.

The patter on the eaves was exceptionally pleasant, lulling the soundly asleep into an even deeper slumber.

Just then, a towering, iron-like figure appeared outside the gates of the Du Mansion. He carried no umbrella. As raindrops fell upon his bare arms, his entire presence grew even more menacing.

The two-inch-thick vermilion gate was like paper before him. He used only a single fist.

BOOM!

The gates collapsed, and he strode into the Du Mansion.

Kuaidong scanned the courtyard, his face devoid of expression.

He was here, of course, to kill Du Qinghui.

As for why Dong Wanjun wasn’t here, it was because he was being held up. Kuaidong had to admit, that young man surnamed Dong would indeed cause him some trouble, especially while he had yet to fully recover.

Fortunately, it wouldn’t take long. Killing Du Qinghui would be quick—a single breath was all he needed.

As for that young man skilled with a blade and poison, he too would only require a single punch. It would be as easy as skewering candied haws.

Kuaidong had already learned everything about the situation here from the Soul-Chasing Tower assassins.

He had arrived at the Du Mansion at almost the exact moment Bai Yuan killed the maidservant.

Kuaidong reached Du Qinghui’s room. It was empty, save for the corpse of the maidservant.

"They ran?" he said slowly.

But he wasn’t worried. There was no way Du Qinghui could actually leave the mansion grounds.

The entire estate was already surrounded by the Soul-Chasing Tower.

As long as he killed everyone in the mansion, he would get to Du Qinghui eventually.

At that moment, a patrol of the Lingzhou Army finally arrived.

"Who goes there!"

A hum filled the air as spears were lowered into a defensive stance.

More than a dozen Lingzhou Army soldiers charged at Kuaidong.

Kuaidong snorted. With one large hand, he grabbed the bundle of spears and instantly tore them to shreds.

The terrifying brute force sent the soldiers flying, and they hit the ground, coughing up blood unceasingly.

Kuaidong’s Horizontal Training was simply too terrifying!

The Northern Barbarian Race were naturally hardier than the Profound People. Combined with Horizontal Training, he was practically made of iron.

The slaughter began...

Everywhere Kuaidong went, more bodies were left in his wake.

Within the time it takes an incense stick to burn, there wouldn’t be a single living person left in the entire Du Mansion.

Just as he crushed the head of a Du Mansion servant, a voice called out slowly, "Northern Barbarian, do you truly think Xuan Yang is without protectors?"

Kuaidong turned his head to look.

A hundred meters away, a middle-aged man in a Black Gold Python Robe stood in a standoff against him.

"Li Kangyan."

That was the name of the King of Qingzhou.

Five claws for a dragon, four for a python. Few in Xuan Yang were qualified to wear a python robe, and as it happened, Li Kangyan was one of them.

Li Kangyan crossed the hundred-meter distance in a mere three breaths. He vaulted over the flowerbeds of the Du Mansion like a swallow in flight, landing directly in front of Kuaidong.

Qingzhou did not share a border with the Northern Plains, and the King of Qingzhou had never participated in the wars between Xuan Yang and the Demon Sect. This was the first time he and Kuaidong had met.

Kuaidong’s ferocious aura made him wary.

The next instant!

With a sudden, explosive roar, Kuaidong threw a punch straight at Li Kangyan’s face.

Li Kangyan snorted coldly. The Soft Sword at his waist shot from its sheath, coiling around Kuaidong’s fist like a silver snake flicking its tongue. The terrifying force of Kuaidong’s attack was neutralized, rendered intangible by the flexible blade.

His strike thwarted, Kuaidong pulled back in a swift retreat.

Without even attempting another attack, his massive body charged toward a nearby courtyard wall.

With a tremendous CRASH, Kuaidong smashed clean through the wall, his figure vanishing in an instant.

Li Kangyan had no intention of giving chase.

Although Kuaidong was heavily injured, the foundation of his Horizontal Training was still intact. Li Kangyan knew he couldn’t finish him off.

Besides, his purpose in coming here was not to kill Kuaidong.

Just as he was preparing to head deeper into the Du Mansion, a young man supporting an old man emerged from the darkness nearby.

"Thank you for your intervention, Your Highness."

Du Qinghui said, cupping his fists toward Li Kangyan.

If Li Kangyan had not arrived when he did, there would likely be no one left alive in the Du Mansion.

Even though Bai Yuan had used his disguise techniques to blend them in with the servants, they would have inevitably met their deaths in the end.

Of course, it was precisely those disguise techniques that had bought them the precious time needed for Li Kangyan to arrive.

Li Kangyan cupped his fists in return to Du Qinghui, acknowledging him as "Lord Du," then turned his gaze to Bai Yuan with great interest.

"So you’re Bai Yuan?"

Bai Yuan cupped his fists. "I am."

"Li Huan has mentioned you to me. Seeing you today, you are indeed a young talent."

"Your Highness is too kind."

Li Kangyan’s eyes were sharp. He had witnessed the moment Bai Yuan tore the disguise from Du Qinghui’s face. He had never seen such an exquisite and flawless disguise technique before.

No wonder his ninth son had sung Bai Yuan’s praises.

Bai Yuan looked at Li Kangyan and breathed a long sigh of relief internally.

Now that Li Kangyan had appeared, the crisis in Ling Province was as good as resolved.

As the sky began to lighten, Old Dong arrived at the Du Mansion with the Lingzhou Army in tow.

"Greetings, Your Highness, Lord Du."

Du Qinghui waved his hand dismissively.

He didn’t blame Dong Wanjun for arriving late. The fighting at the Prefecture Magistrate’s Office last night must have been just as fierce, if not more so. The bloodstains covering Dong Wanjun’s body told the whole story.

"Master, Kuaidong was here last night. Fortunately, the Prince forced him to retreat."

Bai Yuan briefly recounted the night’s events to Dong Wanjun.

Dong Wanjun nodded. He hadn’t expected Kuaidong to make a move personally, especially while injured.

After all, while Du Qinghui’s situation was dire, Kuaidong’s own injuries were by no means light. It was a testament to a Horizontal Training Grandmaster’s terrifying regenerative abilities.

Li Kangyan sized up Dong Wanjun.

"Your reputation is truly well-deserved, Lord Dong. Minister Xu held you in high regard, and he was clearly not mistaken."

Dong Wanjun cupped his fists. "Your Highness is too kind."

’As far as I know, the King of Qingzhou is quite arrogant,’ Dong Wanjun thought. ’Back when Xu Dingchun was the Grand General of the North, the two of them didn’t get along well.’

Li Kangyan roared with laughter. "Old Du! You and I haven’t seen each other in eighty years! Can those old bones of yours still handle a drink?"

Du Qinghui snorted. "In the imperial examinations that year, I was the Second Scholar and you were merely the Third. You couldn’t beat me then, and you can’t beat me now."

"Old Du, stop spouting nonsense! If I hadn’t gone easy on you, do you really think you could have placed above me?"

...

Listening to the two old men—both over a hundred years old—bicker like children, Bai Yuan felt a headache coming on.

He also never would have guessed that Li Kangyan had participated in the Court’s imperial examinations.

In Xuan Yang, for a person of common birth who wished to become an official, there were only two paths: the civil and military examinations.

Du Qinghui had come from a poor family of scholars. It was his rank as Second Scholar in the civil examination that had earned him entry into the Hanlin Academy, allowing him to remain in the Capital City as an official, where he eventually rose to become a Second-Grade Official.

What was truly unexpected was that Li Kangyan, a member of the Royal Race, had also participated.

While Xuan Yang didn’t forbid the Royal Race from taking the examinations, there was simply no need for them to go through such a rigorous selection process.

After all, the Li Family was eager for their own kin to succeed and naturally had many faster shortcuts at their disposal.

The two old men continued to bicker, ending only when Du Qinghui grew too tired to continue.

Li Kangyan stood as straight as a victorious general returning from battle, as if a frustration he’d been holding in for decades had finally been released.

Back then, he had merely been the unfavored eleventh son, with even less standing than the current Li Huan.

In order to make a name for himself, he had hidden his identity and participated in that year’s imperial examinations, ultimately becoming the Third Scholar.

After his success in the examination, his identity could no longer be kept secret. Not only did the old King of Qingzhou find out, but even the late emperor himself heard of his name.

By order of the late emperor, his title of Third Scholar was revoked, but his status within the Qingzhou Royal Mansion rose dramatically. In the end, he stood out from among his many brothers and inherited the title of King.

In the official circles of Xuan Yang, there was a special kind of bond: that between examination graduates of the same year.

He and Du Qinghui had both passed the highest imperial examination and had drunk together once on the night they received their rankings.

At the time, he had thought Du Qinghui too rigid and old-fashioned to get far in the world of politics. He never expected that Du Qinghui would end up becoming Xuan Yang’s most famously incorruptible "lone minister."

As the King of Qingzhou, Li Kangyan was bound by many restrictions and normally could not leave Qingzhou.

Du Qinghui, for his part, had remained in the Imperial Inspection Office in the Capital City for eighty years straight.

Thus, this was only the second time the two had ever met.

"Ahem..."

Du Qinghui finally caught his breath.

He looked at Li Kangyan’s smug face and seemed to see two young lads reciting poetry together, scorning the titles and riches of the world.

In truth, there had been another young man with them back then.

The young First Scholar had been highly regarded by the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and had great hopes placed upon him. Of the three of them, he had been the most successful and proud.

No one expected that he would later flee to the Northern Plains, never to be heard from again.

As for the reasons why, no one could say for certain anymore.

Such was the world of politics. A swift rise was not always a good thing; a steady pace was what mattered most.

That was why, even though Du Qinghui greatly admired Bai Yuan, he would not do anything to rush his growth and risk ruining his potential.

"Let’s go. I could best you back then, and I can best you now."

Du Qinghui glared at Li Kangyan, his whiskers bristling with indignation.

The two of them jostled each other as they walked out of the Du Mansion.

Bai Yuan wore a strange expression.

He never thought these two great figures of Xuan Yang would have such childish temperaments.

He couldn’t help but glance over at Old Dong.

’As expected of my master,’ he thought. ’His expression hasn’t changed in the slightest. You can tell he’s a man who has seen it all!’