White-Robed Chief
chapter-80

"Let's go, we should walk around town for a bit," Chu Li said. "It's been a while since we last went there."

"Brother, it has only been a week." Zhao Ying grinned.

Chu Li jumped onto the boat and announced, "Let's go!"

He would not tell anyone about the matters regarding the Startling Cloud Association, because they would be put in grave danger if the secret was spilled.

Zhao Ying understood that it would be futile if she kept asking, so she too jumped onto the boat. "Then let's go to Sky Inn!"

The two of them were soon on the boat. With a thrust from their inner energy, the boat rocked into life, speeding away from the Public House until they arrived at Sky Inn not long after.

They had chosen a right timing to be there because, to their luck, the extremely crowded second floor had a vacant seat for them right beside the window.

Both of them sat down and ordered a few dishes. Zhao Ying then started telling stories about what had happened in the Public House for the past month. She had been influenced by Chu Li, as she too had started to notice these small matters.

While chatting with her casually, Chu Li enjoyed the taste of his fine wine.

By that time, it was only nightfall, and Zhao Ying looked stunning under the gentle illumination of the lights. Her face was as pure as white jade, and her elegant eyebrows looked like they were dancing under the shine of the light.

Chu Li started to get a little tipsy, but he was not drunk.

He raised his wine cup and took a small sip as he watched Zhao Ying' bright eyes intently.

Zhao Ying could feel that his gaze was beginning to burn. She could feel her cheeks blush helplessly, and sweat started to form on her forehead.

"Watch out!" Her bright eyes widened as she looked towards something behind Chu Li. Instinctively, she pulled out her sword.

Chu Li shifted his feet, twisted his body around and moved away. Behind him, a thin, middle-aged man threw his right fist towards him, but he could only hit his shadow.

The man had a tall physique, and he was wearing a pale grey robe. It looked so loose on him that he looked as if a bamboo was wrapped in a long robe.

His cheeks were hollow, and his face a sickening yellow. His eyes looked like he had just woken from sleep. On the contrary, he did not look like he knew martial arts — he looked like a junkie instead.

"Ding..." Zhao Ying' sword struck the man's left palm, and there was a sound of metal clanging against each other.

Chu Li turned his body around and thrust his sword towards the man.

He saw that the tip of Zhao Ying's sword only formed a whitish mark on the man's palm, and it did not even pierce through his skin. It was obvious that their foe had some impressive skills since he seemed unharmed by normal weapons.

"Ding..." Chu Li's sword hit the man's chest, and the metal clang sound broke out again.

Then, Chu Li felt his sword slip as if he was hitting a smooth rock. That was not just any skill, he had the Heart Guard spell!

"Who are you?" Chu Li threw another strike at him, activating his Omniscient Mirror.

The middle-aged man scoffed before he turned around and left.

Chu Li darted towards that direction and as he appeared right behind his back, he jolted his palm on his back forcefully.

"Pom!" As a dull sound rang out, the man was propelled up into the air before he crashed through the window and thrown out of the building.

In a flash, Chu Li appeared in mid-air once again when he threw another palm strike against the center of the man's chest.

Zhao Ying followed suit and jumped out of the window with her sword. Her movements were as agile as a swallow.

Despite that, she began to fall downwards because she could not keep her balance in mid-air. So she hurriedly pointed her long sword upwards and performed her Swallow Reversal technique. At that moment, her fall slowed itself down before she stepped onto the second floor's window frame with her toes, propelling herself upwards.

Chu Li chased after the man while he threw out another three palm strikes. Each strike was precise and loaded with immense inner energy, aimed at his enemy's chest. The force from his strikes was so great that it nullified the protection of the Heart Guard spell.

However, he now knew who this man was — "Three-Eyed Dragon" Ding Weisong!

He had not even started his search on Cheng Wenhui, but he had already found him instead. Everything in this world was truly unpredictable!

"Wow..." Ding Weisong finally succumbed to the blows from Chu Li's palm strikes, as his internal organs had suffered injuries.

He felt like a clumsy bear. his movements too slow, and he became an easy target for his enemy to lash out on. How embarrassing was that!

"Pom!" The moment Ding Weisong landed on the ground with a loud thud, brownish dust swirled around him following the heavy landing.

As Chu Li landed right beside him with ease, he asked, "Who told you to look for me?"

Ding Weisong was laid on his back, facing upwards. There were blood smears at the edge of his mouth, and his eyes were still heavy. Though, he started to laugh weakly. "Tremendous skills, Chu Li. No wonder you're worth twenty thousand taels!"

Chu Li creased his brows and asked, "What technique did you cultivate?"

Suddenly, Ding Weisong found a way to loosen himself from Chu Li's grip. He rolled around and scurried away.

"Ding..." Zhao Ying landed just in time to stop him, and her sword hit his left shoulder.

Ding Weisong was halted in his steps. In the blink of an eye, Chu Li had caught up behind him as well, landing another palm strike onto his back.

"Pom!" Ding Weisong was once again thrown off ground.

He spurted a jet of blood in mid-air. Strangely, his trajectory accelerated and he vanished into a puff of smoke in a split second, disappearing from the street. The crowd who were watching around them did not even have the time to react, as they had lost Ding Weisong from their views.

Chu Li creased his brows and watched the direction in which Ding Weisong had escaped to. He had disappeared in such a phenomenal speed that he must have used a kind of secret technique.

However, Chu Li held back from using his Imminent Skyline technique because he knew that the Tempest Temple had their eyes on him everywhere. He could not risk lowering his guard and drawing unnecessary attention.

"Brother..." Zhao Ying looked dissatisfied as she wielded her long sword.

Chu Li waved her off. "It's alright, just forget about him."

"He'll be back, right?"

Chu Li shook his head.

"Who is he?" Zhao Ying asked.

Chu Li returned his gaze and said, "An assassin. The failed attempt just now would keep him away for a while, so he won't return so soon. But let's go back, we haven't finished our meals!"

"Brother, after all that, you still have the appetite?" Zhao Ying threw a glance at him.

This fella is full of tricks, and he would be very difficult to defend against. Being under the radar of such a skilled assassin, Chu Li could not put his mind to peace. If he could not find out the client who gave him the kill order, there would certainly be another attempt at his life.

Chu Li smiled. "An encounter like this would be common in days to come, don't worry about it!"

"He was this close to killing you!" Zhao Ying replied worriedly. "How will you protect yourself?"

Chu Li replied, "I survived, all thanks to you, Junior Sister."

"Don't say that!" Zhao Ying stared fiercely at him. She was already furious at Chu Li's casual attitude towards what had just happened. He seemed like he did not care about his own life at all!

Despite all that, Chu Li's mood was unusually good. He smiled as he tucked on Zhao Ying's sleeve, prompting her to return to Sky Inn with him. He told the cashier, "Apologies for the incident just now. I'll fully compensate for your losses. Just include it in our bill when we're done with our meals."

The cashier seemed delighted. He nodded and then hurriedly invited them upstairs.

Zhao Ying sat down opposite Chu Li. She could see how happy Chu Li was as he was drinking cup after cups of wine. Very quickly, he had finished a whole jar of it. She unknowingly asked, "Brother, after such a life-threatening encounter, how can you be so happy?"

She felt that Chu Li's thinking was a little too weird. He should be thinking about solutions to his problem right now instead of happily celebrating like he had just found a pot of gold.

Chu Li laughed. "I've cheated death, how can I not be happy?"

Chu Li had stolen a glimpse of Ding Weisong's mind. He knew exactly where his enemy was escaping to, and most importantly, he had finally found the answer to his burning question. Ding Weisong was, in fact, cultivating the Sun Cultivating White Tiger Portrait!

"Aren't you worried about what's about to come?" Zhao Ying picked up the wine jar and refilled his cup.

Chu Li raised his cup and gleefully chugged down the wine. "I'm not a Protector, so I spend most of my time inside the Public House. However strong my enemy may be, he won't be able to breach our security and find me. Moreover, if Ding Weisong dares to cause trouble in town, he won't go far before he gets captured!"

"You're right, the Public House will surely dispatch several Protectors to kill him!" Zhao Ying nodded lightly.

If anyone were to wreak havoc in town, they had to prepare to get punished by the federal government, because the Yi Public House forbade anyone from the martial arts world to disrupt the peace in town. For those who had broken the law, they would be brought to justice; for those who dared to kill, the Public House would not let them off lightly.

The moon was hanging high up in the sky, gently rotating like a lunar ice wheel.

Chu Li shuttled through the streets of Chong Ming Town. He moved around with stealth, and finally arrived at the front of a serene mansion.

The Old Schott Road mainly housed residences of high ranking government officials. Each mansion had stone lions guarding the gates, and you could see Protectors on duty outside for some of them. Numerous lanterns gave the street a bright white illumination, and the quartz road beneath shimmered in their light.

Chu Li made his way into one of the magnificently furbished mansion before he activated his Omniscient Mirror.

The whole layout of the mansion appeared before his very eyes. He could see everything — how many Protectors there were, how many males or females inside, and what they were doing.

It did not take long for him to locate Ding Weisong.

Ding Weisong was sitting cross-legged on a couch with his eyes were closed — he was cultivating.

The place he was in looked like a boiler room as there was firewood scattered all over. There was only a small shabby couch in the room, which only had enough space to accommodate one person. It was surrounded by firewood.

Ding Weisong's face looked yellowish as he sat there unmoving, and his breath was shallow.