The Nine Cauldrons
chapter-455

Zhao Xi fled, and Xue Xi pursued him. With one ahead of the other, they jumped from the third floor to the street down below.

The street bustled with crowds of people who were coming and going.

“Bang!” Zhao Xi rolled onto the ground. Then he immediately stood up and ran.

“Don’t run!” The inner strength burst forth on the soles of Xue Xin’s feet, and Xue Xin instantly darted toward Zhao Xi.

“Someone is getting killed!”

“Someone is getting killed!”

Some pedestrians on the spacious street screamed. Immediately, many pedestrians ran to the sides of the street, avoiding Zhao Xi and Xue Xi, while the pedestrians faraway moved rapidly toward the sounds. Upon hearing the screams, the customers in the brothels, shops, and restaurants located on both sides of the street also stepped out onto the balconies to look at the noisy street below.

“Look, isn’t that Master Zhao?”

“Someone actually dares to pursue and kill Master Zhao?”

The conversational sounds resonated continuously, but no one tried to save Zhao Xi.

“Who are you? How dare you try to kill me?” Zhao Xi bellowed furiously as he fled in an pitiful manner.

“Hmph.” Xue Xin scoffed coldly and cursed, “You brat! You should have died long ago!” As Xue Xin spoke, he repeatedly used his horse-slaying saber to slash at Zhao Xi… However, Zhao Xi’s dodging ability within a small area was rather impressive, and Xue Xin still couldn’t kill him within a short time even though he had become much stronger.

“Lord!”

Two guards stormed out to save Zhao Xi. However, as they ran, their bodies shuddered, and then they collapsed on the ground. Teng Qingshan smiled, and his eyes cast a glance at the two guards as he weighed the two crushed stones in his hand.

“Those two useless bastards.” From the corners of his eyes, Zhao Xi noticed the two powerful experts he hired had collapsed onto the ground. He couldn’t help but feel anxious as he thought to himself, “The person before my eyes now is not the only one pursuing and trying to kill me. A second person exists. If I want to save myself, I must end this fight as quick as possible.” It was evident that Zhao Xi had the confidence to deal with Xue Xin.

He was just worried about...

The mysterious expert who had secretly killed his two guards.

“Puchi!” Zhao Xi actually gripped the horse-slaying saber with his left hand. The terrifying force of impact exerted by the horse-slaying saber caused Zhao Xi’s body to quiver. Involuntarily, Zhao Xi then moved two steps back.

“Eh? Gloves?” Xue Xin noticed the half-transparent gloves which Zhao Xi was wearing.

Zhao Xi’s gaze quickly turned cold.

His right hand, equipped with a weapon, was slightly raised. Zhao Xi then aimed his sleeves toward Xue Xin.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

For a moment, several dozen tiny poisonous needles flew out from within Zhao Xi’s sleeves. The poisonous needles were like embroidery needles. As the needles were fast and attacking from close range, Xue Xin couldn't dodge the needles.

His eyes widened in fright as he thought, “Nooooooo—” Xue Xin wasn't willing to die! He still had a great vengeance which he had yet to resolve!

“Whoosh!”

Then a blurred figure emerged beside Xue Xin. It was Teng Qingshan! The moment he appeared, he waved his right arm and deflected the several dozen poisonous needles with his sleeves.

“This—” Seeing how Teng Qingshan appeared suddenly and deflected his concealed weapons easily, Zhao Xi felt his heart sink. This time, he was absolutely certain. “It's an Innate Expert! And it should be a True Dan Innate Expert or a Golden Dan Innate Expert! It's the end! I am doomed…”

As Zhao Xi had been able to rise from the status of a servant to his current status, it showed that he had good judgement and high intelligence.

“Am I about to die? No, no…” For a moment, Zhao Xi seemed to have gone crazy. He glared at Teng Qingshan and shrieked pathetically, “No, you two cannot kill me!!!”

Teng Qingshan didn’t even bother to pay any attention to Zhao Xi. He only flicked a glance at his disciple, ‘Xue Xin.’

Cold drops of perspiration covered Xue Xin’s forehead. He had a brush with death earlier. so he was indeed scared.

“Teacher.” Xue Xin felt slightly ashamed.

“It’s okay. Kill him first,” Teng Qingshan commanded.

Xue Xin turned and stared at Zhao Xi. Zhao Xi’s face was pale white. He seemed to have lost his mind. At this moment, Zhao Xi was fully aware that with the presence of the mysterious expert, ‘Teng Qingshan,’ he would never have any chance of escaping.

“You guys cannot kill me.” Zhao Xi took out a dark green token from his bosom and said desperately, “I am the Representative of External Affairs in Wuan County, appointed by Qing Hu Island. We are in public. If you guys kill me…” Zhao Xi stopped talking. He believed that the two power experts before his eyes knew what he was about to say.

“Representative?” Teng Qingshan laughed and exclaimed, “That’s even better!”

“Even better?” Zhao Xi froze.

“Puchi!” The saber flashed.

“No—”

Zhao Xi emitted a mournful scream which resonated within the heavens and the earth, then a head flew into the air. Zhao Xi’s scream could still be heard as his head was thrown. A gush of bright water-like blood spurted out pathetically from his broken neck. Immediately, many ladies who were watching the scene screamed.

“I finally killed one.” Xue Xin glared at the head which fell onto the ground. He could feel his heart pounding wildly.

“Let’s go,” Teng Qingshan ordered.

Upon hearing Teng Qingshan, Xue Xin regained his composure and answered, “Yes, Teacher.”

At once, Teng Qingshan and Xue Xin quickly joined the crowd and disappeared. There were still a great number of people all around the street. All of them discussed fervently as they stared at the dead body of one of Wuan County’s influential figures. Zhao Xi, who possessed supremacy in Wuan County,had been killed on the street.

Then moments later...

A group of several hundred people rushed over crazily. The frontmost person was a beautiful married woman. The woman’s face looked pale and her hair was very messy.

“Out of the way!” “Out of the way!” ...

A great deal of shouting rang out.

Many spectating pedestrians near the street had moved out of the way hastily. The several hundred people rapidly surrounded the area in which the pursue and murder had occurred.

The married woman stared at the corpse. Her face immediately turned deathly white as he mourned loudly, “Ah Xi!!!” She knelt down, and with trembling hands, she held the head in her arms.

“Who! Who killed Ah Xi?! Who???!!!”

The beautiful lady lifted her head as she screamed. It was as though she had gone crazy.

“Madame! Madame!” Seeing that their madame had gone insane, the two maids were slightly afraid.

“Investigate! Investigate quickly! Find out who killed Ah Xi!” The woman glared furiously at the surrounding and shouted, “I will slice the murderer into pieces! Whoever he is!!!” The several hundred people around her didn’t even dare to speak a word. They immediately stormed into the crowd, grabbed the pedestrians, and began interrogating.

……

In the House of General in Wuan County-City:

A big bearded man, dressed in a fur coat, was lying leisurely on a chair and fiddling with the iron balls in his hands. He narrowed his eyes and hummed, occasionally fondling the maid by his side.

“General! General!” An urgent voice called from the outside.

“What’s with all the noise?” The General opened his eyes with displeasure.

A middle-aged officer rushed inside and said nervously, “General, something major has happened! Zhao Xi was killed in the street below the Warm Breeze Brothel.”

“What?!” The General rolled and stood up.

“Brother Zhao is dead?” The general couldn’t believe it. “How is this possible? Brother Zhao is strong. He is a First-Rated Warrior. He also has bodyguards. Moreover, Brother Zhao is a cautious person. How did he get killed in the street? If he was poisoned, then that would make sense. But he was killed in the street?”

This was too strange.

“If he’s dead, then the business…” The general frowned. He owned a share in the business which Zhao Xi was in charge of. Now that Zhao Xi was dead, things would become troublesome.

“General, Zhao Xi’s wife is crying in the street below the Warm Breeze Brothel,” the middle-aged officer said hurriedly.

“Zhao Xi’s wife? That young lady of Qing Hu Island?” The general was startled and shouted hastily, “Let’s go! We must get there as quickly as possible…”

“Fourth!” The general thundered.

“General,” the reply sounded from afar.

“Assemble the brothers from the First Barrack and the Second Barrack, and depart!” The general shouted. The number of city guards in one barrack was much greater than the number of Black Armored Soldiers of the Gui Yuan Sect had in one barrack. The number of city guards in two barracks would be four thousand.

……

Currently, General Li had led a group of guards to Zhao Xi’s mansion.

The entire mansion was covered with white silk, and mournful cries could be heard from afar.

“General Li.” The young married woman, dressed in a white mourning garment, walked out of the great hall.

“Sister, what… what happened?” General Li asked hastily.

“What happened?” The young married woman’s eyes reddened. She gritted her teeth and glared at General Li as she chided, “How should I know what happened? My husband, Ah Xi, was working with you guys. Now, Ah Xi is dead… and you don’t even know who did it? I don’t care about other things. You just have to catch that murderer! And slice him into a thousand pieces!!!”

General Li’s face darkened. However, when he thought about the married woman’s identity, he restrained himself.

“Don’t be sad, Sister,” General Li comforted. “Don’t worry. There is nobody I cannot find in Wuan County! He actually has the audacity to kill my brother… I will ensure that they regret coming into this world!”

General Li was filled with bitterness!

However, it was not just to avenge Zhao Xi. The most important part was that General Li suffered a great loss because of Zhao Xi’s death!

“Yes! Make them regret coming into this world!” The married woman hissed angrily.

One had to admit that General Li’s and Zhao Xi’s people were well-informed in Wuan County. After one hour, they received news that the two murderers had entered a mansion—the Jing Residence!

“Quickly!” “Quickly!”

Like a dark flood, the armored soldiers inundated the streets toward Residence Jing.

“Surround this Jing Residence! Surround the Jing Residence!” General Li roared furiously.

“Yes, General.”

The sound of clashing metals rang out repeatedly. Two thousand soldiers had surrounded the entire Jing Residence, ensuring that nothing could enter or exit. There were another two thousand soldiers and the Zhao Clan’s several hundred men blocking the doors of Jing Residence from the outside. General Li and Zhao Xi’s wife stood amidst the crowd, glaring angrily at the main gate of the Jing Residence.

“The door is closed?” Madame Zhao sneered coldly and commanded loudly, “Knock down the door!”

At this moment—

“Creak!” The sound of the wood rod being removed from the door rang out.

“Clang, clang, clang~~” The metal doors slowly opened, revealing that the guards of the Jing Residence had already retreated far away.

A seemingly carefree, white-cloaked young man and another young man with a horrifying saber scar on his face walked out of the huge door, one after the other. Both of them then stood before the door.

It was a complete silence.

Xue Xin stared at the numerous soldiers dressed in black armor. Even though his teacher was beside him, he still felt nervous.

“It’s him! He’s the one that killed Master Zhao Xi.” Standing beside Madame Zhao, a man with triangle-shaped eyes pointed at Xue Xin angrily.

“It’s you!”

Madame Zhao glared furiously at Xue Xin as she roared, “How dare you kill my husband?! I will kill your entire family!!!”

General Li, who was at the side, scowled at Xue Xin and shouted, “This person actually dared to kill the Representative of External Affairs of Qing Hu Island in the street. This is an offense that will result in the extermination of your entire family. Soldiers... detain everyone in this Jing Residence!”

The order was given!

Immediately, the soldiers, who filled the entire street behind General Li, stormed toward the Jing Residence like waves of surging seawater.

The guards and maids of the Jing Residence were so afraid that they began crying. Many people were shouting, “Lord, this has nothing to do with us! Lord, please spare our lives.”

It was a complete mess.

Teng Qingshan peered at the soldiers who were rushing toward the doors of the Jing Residence. His expression darkened, and he roared indignantly, “Get lost!”

“Get lost!” “Get lost!” “Get lost!” ...

At once, the soldiers, who were charging at the frontmost, fell to the ground while covering their ears in pain. It was as though they had been hit by an invisible shockwave. Over a hundred people collapsed onto the ground like that. Although over a thousand soldiers remained standing, all of them appeared pale. Madame Zhao’s face also turned pale white. General Li was the only who appeared very calm.

“Who are you?” General Li’s face darkened as he shouted madly, “Do you have the audacity to become the enemy of Qing Hu Island? Give us the culprit, and I will forgive you. If you resist, then you will become the accomplice! You will be executed as well!”

Even Innate Experts would have to yield when in face of a County General, one who commanded an army of one hundred thousand soldiers.