Chapter 199: Pillar of Heaven, Bridge of the Sea

“Your speed is too slow.”

“Your intentions are too obvious.”

“Your force is scattered, not focused.”

Inside the courtyard, Ding Suian moved like a swimming dragon. Wherever Kunwu passed, whether it was a weapon or a body, it was severed upon contact.

The thieves who came tonight, apart from that leader who likely had the strength of the peak of the Manifesting Elemental State, were mostly greenhorns who had just entered the Manifesting Elemental State.

Facing Ding Suian, who was at the peak of the Astral Realm, they had no power to fight back.

In front of the door, Lin Fuyao’s face was deathly pale.

Before her eyes, blood splashed, and severed limbs and broken blades flew through the air. Although her stomach churned, this thick scent of blood caused her fearful, panicked heart to gradually calm down.

A battlefield, or rather, a slaughter, is the best stage to display power.

It was also the first time Lin Fuyao clearly and intuitively felt the immense impact of the protection provided by a powerful male.

Unconsciously, she quietly turned her head to glance at her daughter.

Perhaps because of the tension, Jiang Yuan held her chest with both hands, her face flushed red, and her almond-shaped eyes followed that ghostly figure weaving through the thieves. Her slender body trembled with excitement.

Not far away.

Gongye Ni and over twenty soldiers from the Patrol Inspection Office stood in a line along the wall.

“Dutou Gongye, aren’t we going up to help?”

Although it looked like those dozen or so thieves weren’t even enough for Ding Suian to handle alone, as subordinates, watching their boss fight while they stood on the sidelines felt a bit awkward.

Gongye Ni, who had been keeping an eye on the battlefield, glanced at Lin Fuyao’s Family of three and said, “Why are you trying to steal the spotlight from the Lord?”

“Oh~”

This enthusiastic subordinate immediately understood.

Exactly. We fight to do the hard and tiring work; that’s called being proactive and ambitious.

But when it’s a rare chance to show off, trying to steal the scene from the boss is just being blind to the situation!

He couldn’t help but feel admiration for Dutou Gongye. No wonder Dutou Gongye, who was upright and not good with words, was the Lord’s confidant!

Look at this level of awareness!

In just a few dozen breaths, only three or four people remained standing in the courtyard.

Seeing this, the thief leader took advantage of the moment Ding Suian killed someone, suddenly side-stepped behind him, and slashed with his sword.

Ding Suian did not dodge or avoid it. The moment the blade touched his back, a purple light flowed out from under his skin like ripples in water.

‘Clang~’

‘Crack~’

The sharp blade struck him, emitting a sound of clashing metal. The steel sword, which had been swung with full force, was actually snapped into several pieces.

Although the clothes on Ding Suian’s back were cut, his skin underneath was unharmed, with only a faint purple Qi lingering.

“Ah!”

Jiang Yuan, who was three zhang away, gasped in shock, covering her mouth tightly with both hands, her heart almost stopping.

“The Astral Realm!”

Ding Suian had been toying with them earlier and had not revealed his true strength. Only now did the thief leader realize that the two of them were not on the same level.

He couldn’t win, and he couldn’t run.

With a shift in thought, he suddenly turned and lunged toward the three members of the Jiang Family. At this moment, he no longer cared about the success or failure of the mission; taking one of them hostage to save his life was his only chance.

But just as he took a step, Ding Suian, who was behind him, tapped his toes and followed like a shadow, throwing a punch that struck the thief leader squarely in the back of his heart.

His controlled forward leap was interrupted by the heavy blow in mid-air, and he instantly flew off like a kite with a broken string, crashing down in front of the three members of the Jiang Family.

Lin Fuyao cried out and instinctively pulled her children back.

However, Jiang Yuan suddenly broke free from her mother’s hand, pulled a yellow Talismanic Incantation written in cinnabar from her waist, and extremely quickly slapped it onto the back of the fallen thief.

She immediately raised her left hand, curled her thumb into the Kan position, curled her three fingers, and extended her middle finger like a peak, “Command!”

Such a clean and fresh young beauty, who did she learn to flip the middle finger from?

Just as Jiang Yuan finished speaking, the thief leader, who was clearly severely injured, scrambled up from the ground.

The large movements of his body clearly worsened his injuries. The thief leader’s face was twisted in pain, but his throat erupted in bursts of uncontrollable laughter, “Hahaha, cough, cough!”

Mouthfuls of blood gushed out, staining his chest.

“Haha, cough, cough, hahaha.”

Laughing while coughing up blood, and even more bizarrely, his limbs began to dance uncontrollably, his movements stiff and exaggerated.

Being forced to move while severely injured caused his joints to make teeth-aching ‘crack’ sounds, yet the painful smile on his face became increasingly manic.

Lin Fuyao and Jiang Xuan were startled and looked at Jiang Yuan in unison.

“Big Sister, what kind of dark magic are you practicing!”

“No, it’s not dark magic. It’s a Law Talisman.”

One zhang away, Ding Suian was also surprised.

It seems this Law Talisman is actually useful!

Unexpectedly, they really did conjure up something new.

Midnight.

The warm summer breeze could not disperse the thick scent of blood in the courtyard. Ding Suian sat by the flower bed, and Gongye Ni stood bowed before him, reporting: “Lord, he couldn’t be saved.”

“Hmm, if he can’t be saved, then so be it.”

He was referring to the thief leader. Ding Suian’s punch had basically ended his life, but in the end, he had danced himself to death.

I’ve seen plenty of dancing—the charm of Zhangtai Willow, the passion of Zhao Yan, the elegance of the Southern Zhao court. But dancing while spitting blood and literally dancing oneself to death is a first.

Tonight’s events, this was not the main battlefield, and there was no need for a small thief to act as a state witness to identify Chen Duan’s treason. If he’s dead, he’s dead.

Inside the room.

Lin Fuyao, whose shock had just settled, lay behind the window. After peering outside through a crack in the window for a while, she suddenly turned back, rummaged through her treasure box for a needle and thread, stuffed them into Jiang Yuan’s hand, and whispered: “The Lord’s clothes were torn while saving you. Go and mend them for him.”

“…”

She understood her mother’s intention perfectly, but this time, Jiang Yuan only paused for a moment before nodding and saying ‘Mm.’

She turned and walked out.

In the courtyard, Ding Suian, who was sitting by the flower bed instructing his subordinates to go out and gather information, saw Jiang Yuan walking gracefully toward him and couldn’t help but ask: “Waner, what’s the matter?”

Jiang Yuan lowered her head slightly, her earlobes still flushed from the intense emotional fluctuations earlier.

“Brother, your clothes are torn. Let me mend them for you.”

“It’s nothing, no need to trouble yourself.”

Ding Suian looked back.

But Jiang Yuan, hearing his polite refusal, acted as if she hadn’t heard him. She had already slowly sat down beside him and said softly: “Brother, turn around.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

Seeing her persistence, Ding Suian turned his back to Jiang Yuan.

Jiang Yuan picked up the silver needle and, by the warm light of the lantern under the eaves, carefully threaded the silk.

She leaned forward slightly, her arm extended, and the tip of the needle nimbly probed into the tear.

Every time she stitched, her fingertips were curled, using only the pads of her fingers to gently press the end of the needle, letting the needle and thread swim through the fabric like a fish.

Her movements were skillful, yet she always carefully avoided letting her fingertips touch Ding Suian’s skin, maintaining the last shred of reserved restraint between men and women.

“I didn’t expect Waner, a young lady of a noble Family, to be so skilled at needlework.”

“What kind of noble young lady am I? Perhaps only you, Brother, consider me one.”

Jiang Yuan’s tone was clearly much lighter, but her words touched on Family background, so Ding Suian didn’t know how to respond and just chuckled.

Their shadows were elongated by the lantern, overlapping.

After a brief silence, Jiang Yuan suddenly whispered: “Besides my lessons at the Law Academy, I have nothing else to do. If you don’t mind, Brother, I could make you some summer clothes?”

Before Ding Suian could answer, he saw Chest Hair leading dozens of soldiers from the Patrol Inspection Office, escorting Gao Gan, the concubine of Prince Huanyang, Lady Xu—who was Gao Gan’s mother—and a large group of panicked female Family members as they walked in.

“Boss, mission accomplished! Not a single member of Prince Huanyang’s Family was harmed~”

Chest Hair was covered in blood, bowing and cupping his hands.

Lady Xu, who was originally at the back, looked closely, hurried forward two steps, and performed a solemn bow, “Thanks to the Lord for arranging the soldiers to guard our mansion. Otherwise, my entire household would likely have…”

Lady Xu choked up.

Ding Suian hurriedly stood up, “Your Ladyship, you are too kind. This matter was all arranged by Princess Xingguo; I merely fulfilled my duty.”

Because he stood up, Jiang Yuan, who hadn’t finished her needlework, had to stand up with him, still holding the silver needle.

Lady Xu bowed in the direction of Ziwei Ward again, but with red eyes, she continued, “I will remember the Princess’s great kindness in my heart. But the Lord’s help cannot be forgotten either. Gan’er, kowtow and thank the Lord on behalf of your mother.”

“Haha, Old Six”

Seeing his mother’s serious expression, that guy Gao Gan actually made a move to kneel.

Ding Suian hurriedly stepped forward to support Gao Gan’s arms, “Fourth Brother, don’t mess around!”

His large step caused Jiang Yuan to hurriedly follow.

While they were talking, wave after wave of soldiers from the Patrol Inspection Office arrived, escorting high-ranking officials and nobles who had come to huddle together for self-preservation.

“Father, this is the Duke of Chu County I mentioned to you.”

The heir, Han Jingru, introduced him to Prince Leyang, Han Shuo.

Han Shuo’s gaze was like a torch. He looked him over for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, “The Duke of Chu County sent troops to guard my mansion. A few words are hard to express my gratitude. Another day, I will certainly visit to repay you generously.”

On this side, before he had finished dealing with Prince Leyang’s Family, the Yu Clan—a noble Family of Central Heaven and in-laws to Prince Yinyang—were also sent over by the soldiers.

As the only person in the entire Family who could establish a connection with Ding Suian, Yu Bowen took on the task of introducing his elders without hesitation.

As for how he established the connection? This Young Master is someone who has been beaten by the Lord!

“Brother Ding, Brother Ding!”

Yu Bowen squeezed to the side of Ding Suian in the middle of the crowd and first said, “Tonight, Brother Ding is the stabilizing pillar of our Great Wu, the Pillar of Heaven, and the Bridge of the Sea. If it weren’t for Brother Ding’s strategic planning, who knows how much slaughter the rebels would have caused in Central Heaven! Yan’er, the Lord you often talk about at home is right in front of you. Why don’t you come and pay your respects?”