Chapter 17: Peace in Pieces

When Ding Suian instructed Gongye Ni to hide in the woods outside the courtyard as a scout, he had said: If attacked by bandits, choose the most dangerous target and shoot to kill.

Gongye Ni did not choose the powerful-looking Chenggang Realm Orange-Peeled Face; instead, he selected the Scholar in Long Robes, who had been standing aside since entering the backyard and had never made a move, as his primary target.

‘Whoosh~’

The arrow was over ten feet from the back of his head, causing the hairs on the back of the Scholar in Long Robes’ neck to stand up. Instinctively, he jerked his head a few inches to the side, and the black arrow grazed his earlobe, drawing a line of blood.

It was an extremely close call.

The Scholar in Long Robes reacted unusually quickly, leaping backward into the shadow beneath the wall.

Being targeted deliberately, yet managing to dodge the arrow, it seemed Gongye Ni had not chosen wrongly.

In the field, this Scholar, whose depth was unknown, was the most dangerous.

In the treetops outside the courtyard, Gongye Ni saw that his strike had failed, but he did not hesitate. He decisively switched targets and aimed at the many Lackeys.

The bandits entangled with Wang Xigui and the others screamed consecutively, and in a flash, two more were struck by arrows and died.

This time, the Scholar in Long Robes was prepared and clearly saw the direction from which the arrow had been shot.

An archer was ambushed in the treetops fifty or sixty paces to the east outside the courtyard.

These insidious Soldiers had actually dyed the arrowheads, shafts, and fletchings black in advance.

In the dead of night, the arrows blended perfectly with the darkness. If the Scholar in Long Robes’ six senses hadn’t been far sharper than an ordinary person’s, he would have likely fallen victim to their Dao with the very first arrow.

“Big Teeth, take two men into the woods and kill that sneak attacker for me!”

The Scholar in Long Robes said exasperatedly, “What kind of hero or brave man ambushes someone from the shadows!”

You’re actually quite adorable.

You’re allowed to sneak attack, but they aren’t allowed to set up an ambush beforehand, is that it?

Three bandits quickly ran toward the woods outside the courtyard to search for Gongye Ni, immediately easing the pressure on Wang Xigui and the others facing them.

Over there, Ding Suian, relying on the advantage of his weapon, gradually suppressed the Orange-Peeled Face.

The Scholar in Long Robes, hiding in the shadow behind the wall, saw the battle gradually turning unfavorable for his side, yet he still refrained from making a move.

What made him wary was not just the hidden arrow in the woods.

It was also the three unfamiliar men standing outside the room door.

At this moment, Jintai Temple’s backyard was extremely lively. The accumulated snow, drenched by hot blood and trampled by everyone, had turned into a patch of crimson mud, along with a pair of legs still standing, a hand gripping a knife lying on the ground, an open-eyed head, and headless corpses.

If they were ordinary people, they would have either peed their pants or run away long ago.

But these three were calm and composed, watching the show with their hands behind their backs. The man in the middle, Garlic Nose, even occasionally pointed and commented critically.

How could these be ordinary people?

The intelligence was wrong!

Didn’t they say there were only five guards?

“Chief Officer, shouldn’t we go up and help?”

A middle-aged man with a Goatee, who looked exactly like an accountant, twisted his waist and neck as if warming up.

Garlic Nose calmly replied, “What’s the rush? Yuanxi might have some talent, but he has never experienced a fierce battle. The path of the Martial Artist emphasizes meeting one’s match in a narrow path; without tempering, how can one succeed!”

The other person beside him also praised, “It is truly surprising that Squad Leader Ding, with only four men, can fight twenty bandits without falling into a disadvantage. If it weren’t for that Scholar supporting the bandits’ formation, Squad Leader Ding might actually be able to handle them.”

“Hmm, although his subordinates’ Martial Skills aren’t strong, they advance and retreat with discipline and fight fearlessly. He must have trained them a lot,” Garlic Nose said with a hint of pride. “This kid even thought to ambush archers outside the courtyard as scouts beforehand, which is why the bandits are restrained and cannot use their full strength, leading to the current situation. Not bad, very good.”

While it takes long to describe, only a few dozen breaths have passed since the bandits rushed into the backyard.

This commotion finally alerted the neighboring courtyard.

Jintai Temple’s backyard was described as two courtyards, but they were actually just two rooms separated by a low dirt wall.

On Lin Hansu’s side, candlelight lit up.

Old Woman Li, who was beside Madam Wu, walked out of the room holding a Horn Lantern, looking sleepy.

“The Old Ancestor is resting, you bunch of ruffians—”

Old Woman Li’s scolding stopped halfway as the Carnage Scene on the other side of the low wall crashed into her view.

“Ah~”

The sharp scream momentarily overwhelmed the clang of clashing metal weapons, and Old Woman Li scrambled back into the room.

Her action, however, reminded the Scholar in Long Robes, “Third Hu, kill the women first!”

The bandit named Third Hu withdrew from the fight, jumped over the low wall, and strode over.

Even at this point, the Scholar in Long Robes still showed no intention of making a move.

Ding Suian saw the situation turning bad. With a thought, Protective Aura surged violently into the name of the saber through his Zhongji Acupoint, and the blade shone brightly with white light.

The single saber lunged forward, his body following the blade’s movement.

The Orange-Peeled Face dared not take the blow head-on and was forced to retreat several steps.

Ding Suian’s forward thrust was a feint; turning back to save the others was his true intention.

Taking advantage of the distance created between the two, he turned and chased toward the neighboring small courtyard.

He put one hand on the wall and leaped over with the dashing elegance of Dongguan Zai.

‘Swoosh~’

The Orange-Peeled Face leaped forward, chasing and cleaving down with his saber. Although it didn’t hit a vital spot, the Protective Aura on the edge of the Nine-Ringed Saber barely grazed Ding Suian’s shoulder.

His military jacket split open like tattered silk, and the cotton wadding inside fluttered out, mixing with the falling snow.

Goatee saw this dangerous moment, shifted his feet, and was already starting to move, but Garlic Nose grabbed his arm again.

“Chief Officer?”

“Wait a little longer~”

Garlic Nose’s gaze was like lightning, firmly locking onto the Scholar in Long Robes behind the wall, his expression playful.

Over there, by the time Ding Suian reached the neighboring courtyard, Third Hu had already rushed into the room, and without a word, he brought his saber down on the head of the person inside.

Old Woman Li, standing inside the door, was already terrified into idiocy, standing frozen in place, only capable of shouting foolishly at the top of her lungs.

The saber passed, and the noisy screaming abruptly stopped.

‘Hiss~’

Old Woman Li’s head flipped backward at an unbelievable angle, slowly passing over her shoulder, continuing to droop, finally hanging limply on her back, connected only by a layer of skin and flesh.

A rush of steaming hot blood poured down, drenching Lin Hansu completely.

Madam Wu sat cross-legged on the Heated Brick Bed, also splattered with blood, but the prayer beads in her hand only paused slightly before she resumed turning them.

She was so calm, as if she had known the outcome long ago.

Third Hu, excited by the killing, didn’t stop, raising his saber again to hack at Lin Hansu.

“Niangniang!”

Granny Xu rushed toward Lin Hansu recklessly, but it was visible that Third Hu’s saber swing toward Lin Hansu would be faster.

In desperation, Ding Suian, still seven or eight steps away, raised his hand and threw the name of the saber.

‘Puff~’

This time, the thrown saber was surprisingly accurate, plunging straight into Third Hu’s back.

The Orange-Peeled Face, like a maggot attached to bone, also carried his Nine-Ringed Saber and jumped over the low wall.

The Scholar in Long Robes, standing farther away, saw through the wall that Ding Suian was weaponless. Finally, his chance had come. He flipped his left hand, and a pitch-black, walnut-sized iron pellet appeared in his palm.

He immediately smashed it violently onto the ground.

‘Boom~’

A flash of fire erupted, and yellow smoke rose from the ground.

“A gentleman is dignified but does not contend!”

The Scholar in Long Robes chanted clearly.

Like the Jade Sound of the Nine Heavens, ethereal and distant.

And like a Saint’s whisper, solemn and majestic.

The lingering echo reverberated through the desolate corridors and walls of the Ancient Temple, shaking off years of accumulated dust.

An invisible pressure descended from the sky. The Dragon Guard Army Soldiers and the bandit Lackeys, who were fiercely engaged in battle, seemed to simultaneously suffer a heavy blow.

‘Clang~ Clatter~’

The sound of weapons slipping from hands and falling to the ground was endless.

Both sides stood frozen in place, their expressions blank and dazed.

Even the Orange-Peeled Face, who had chased close by, was affected. Although he could still make hacking motions, they were sluggish and slow.

The Scholar in Long Robes shook his sleeve, and his figure shot forward like an arrow released from a bow!

Ding Suian felt a sharp pain in his Shenting Acupoint, as if it were about to split open, and he immediately shouted, “Old Uncle! Did you come here just to collect my corpse!”

Ruan Guofan finally moved.

Just as the Scholar in Long Robes’ toes touched the top of the wall, he suddenly felt his ankle tighten, and an irresistible immense force yanked him straight down.

Horrified, he looked back. The traveling merchant with the Garlic Nose had appeared behind him like a ghost. He had clearly dedicated some effort to observing the three people at the door, yet he hadn’t noticed Garlic Nose approaching at all.

“Which hero are you?”

Fear gripped the Scholar in Long Robes’ heart, but as he spoke, his right hand pulled out a Short Dagger and quietly stabbed toward Ruan Guofan’s abdomen. The latter’s left hand, hanging by his side, lifted slightly and casually grasped the stabbing Short Dagger.

He slightly closed his five fingers; no force seemed to be exerted, yet the Short Dagger snapped into two pieces in his hand with a ‘crack’.

Hua Gang Realm!

A Chenggang Realm Martial Artist must rely on weapons to utilize the effects of Protective Aura, but a Hua Gang Realm expert can achieve Astral Integration, melding Protective Aura into their entire body. Not only are their muscles, bones, and skin incredibly tough and hard to destroy, but their limbs, hands, feet, elbows, knees, and *that* part can all be used as weapons, making splitting stone and tearing metal bare-handed effortless.

“Retreat!”

Seeing the situation was bad, the Scholar in Long Robes twisted his body and fled.

But just as he took one step, his body froze, feeling a tingling numbness and sharp pain in his chest.

Instinctively, he lowered his head to look at his chest, only to see a blood-soaked hand protruding from his left breast.

Clinging to the joined fingertips was half a pink, fresh Lung Lobe, still steaming.

Didn’t they say… the opponent was just a kid who had just entered the Chenggang Realm?

Where did this Hua Gang Realm Diao Mao come from?

He would not be waiting for the answer to that question.

After two or three breaths of sluggishness and confusion, the Lackeys and the Dragon Guard Army Soldiers successively recovered.

They happened to witness the terrifying sight of Ruan Guofan’s bare hand piercing through the chest.

Why the hell should we still fight!

The Orange-Peeled Face, who was charging at Ding Suian, made a smooth 180-degree turn on the spot and ran back.

Ruan Guofan pulled his hand out of the Scholar in Long Robes’ chest. He was in no hurry to chase, instead squatting down to scoop up a handful of snow and carefully wipe his palm clean.

This time, Goatee, who had been standing by the door doing warm-up exercises for ages, finally moved.

Although there was clearly a distance of fifty or sixty feet between him and the Orange-Peeled Face, Ding Suian only saw Goatee take three steps. His strides didn’t look large, yet the distance between the two instantly closed to the point where they could kiss.

The Orange-Peeled Face noticed someone chasing him from behind and swung his saber with a twist of his waist. Goatee, like a noodle, twisted coquettishly and easily dodged the opponent’s full-force strike.

He raised his left hand, his thumb pressing the Kan Palace point, three fingers curled, leaving only the middle finger sticking out like a peak.

Fighting is fighting, but giving someone the middle finger is just rude!

While Ding Suian was stunned, a ball of blue-purple Faint Light quickly gathered in the center of Goatee’s right palm.

‘Crackling~’

The next moment, the Faint Light left his palm and shot straight toward the Orange-Peeled Face’s face. The latter tilted his head to dodge, but the Faint Light acted like a living thing, adjusting its trajectory in mid-air to follow the Orange-Peeled Face’s evasive movement.

A distance of two feet was crossed in an instant.

‘Bang~’

The Faint Light slammed directly into the Orange-Peeled Face’s face with a slight popping sound, like a Bladder being stepped on and burst.

Black, red, and white splattered everywhere. The Orange-Peeled Face’s head was gone, or rather, it was everywhere.

“Leave someone alive!”

When Ding Suian jumped over the wall and ran closer, the headless Orange-Peeled Face happened to crash straight down onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of snow dust.

“Tsk, you didn’t say that earlier.” Goatee plucked a piece of red and white rotten flesh from his forehead and flicked it away.

The small courtyard could no longer be described as tragic; it was a slaughterhouse.

Broken limbs, rotten flesh, brains, intestines, white, red, green, and yellow, scattered everywhere.

The Lackeys were utterly terrified and swarmed toward the front courtyard to flee for their lives.

Ding Suian looked around. “Old Uncle, if you must kill, why go to the trouble of shattering them like this?”

Ruan Guofan squatted on the ground like an old farmer, carefully picking out meat fibers from under his fingernails with a blade of grass. Hearing the question, he glanced at the fragments covering the ground and smiled gently, “The New Year is approaching. Peace in pieces.”