What entered Zhu Weiwu's vision was the fifth form of the Purple Qi from the East Sword Decisive Killing Technique: Purple Qi from the East!
The purple qi surged, the sword thrusting like a long rainbow.
With both man and sword, Jiang Wang lunged from east to west in the most decisive manner, crashing into Xiong Wen's chest from behind.
He then discarded his sword and flipped away to avoid any potential deathbed counterattack from Xiong Wen.
But Xiong Wen's exhausted, spent body had no strength left.
His terrifying, hideous body fell helplessly and decisively.
It crashed to the ground and then dissolved into the shadows.
Only his wide-open eyes remained, interpreting his disbelief.
He could not believe he was dying just like this!
He could not understand at all how that despicable, weak little thief had not taken the opportunity to flee far away.
Instead, he had been hiding here all along—so silent, so patient, so noiseless.
And at this very moment, he had thrust this killing blow.
It was such a sudden, such an unexpected, yet such a stunning and perfectly timed strike!
Amidst the stunned silence of everyone present, Jiang Wang slowly stood up.
Jiang Wang had been gambling all night. He gambled that since Zhu Weiwu could chase Xiong Wen from place to place, he must have a way to catch up to them; no matter how they concealed their tracks, it was only a matter of time.
He was also gambling that since he hadn't returned in time, Ling He and Zhao Rucheng would surely find a way to look for him. As the top student of the first year of the Three Cities Discourse, the Dao Academy would never ignore his disappearance. This would provide Zhu Weiwu with an excellent clue without Jiang Wang having to do anything at all.
Therefore, he had instead taken the initiative to help Xiong Wen conceal his tracks to win a brief moment of trust.
In reality, all he needed to do was stall Xiong Wen.
That was why he deliberately led Xiong Wen in a great loop, why he sneakily hid in the Fang family estate, and why he climbed into the Fang family ancestral hall to trigger the hall's guardians.
But he couldn't stop there.
This Xiong Wen was violent, powerful, and audacious. He was not the type of person who wouldn't attempt a sudden turnaround to kill his pursuer.
Zhu Weiwu could withstand it, but Jiang Wang could not.
He himself might be able to hide far away, perhaps even never appearing in public again until Xiong Wen died. But how could Jiang An'an hide?
Therefore, Xiong Wen had to die tonight.
He absolutely could not let Xiong Wen escape.
All day today, his life had been in another's hands; now, he was personally settling the debt with the man who held his life.
This extreme, intense psychological sensation caused the Dao Yuan within his Heavenly Palace to surge incessantly.
The tiny, earthworm-like Dao Vein True Spirit scurried and pulsed without end.
But Jiang Wang merely turned and walked outside.
"Wait." It was Zhu Weiwu's voice.
Jiang Wang looked back to see Zhu Weiwu gesturing with his chin toward Xiong Wen's corpse: "Your spoils."
A powerhouse of Xiong Wen's level would certainly possess many fine items. Zhu Weiwu meant for him to take what he wanted.
But Jiang Wang did not dare to be greedy; having preserved his life was already a stroke of luck. He knew very well who the protagonist of this night was. It could be said that without Zhu Weiwu, Xiong Wen could have easily killed him before retreating.
And even if he hadn't delivered that sword strike, Xiong Wen might not have been able to escape again.
He had merely severed that tiny possibility; he did not truly believe that killing Xiong Wen was his own achievement.
So he only gave a weary smile: "It is all Senior Brother's credit; Junior Brother does not dare claim it as his own."
With that, he did not look back again and walked into the night.
Zhu Weiwu smiled and said only to the silent, watching members of the Fang family: "Deliver the corpse intact to the Dao Academy. I'll trouble you all with this."
Having said that, he inverted his long spear, rested it on his shoulder, and simply walked away.
He was not at all worried that the Fang family would embezzle the items on Xiong Wen's person.
He saw it clearly: if the Fang family had the courage, only one elderly hall guardian would have died just now.
...
It wasn't until he had walked a great distance that Jiang Wang heard the sudden wailing coming from the Fang family lands behind him.
The elderly hall guardian was the Fang family's only Eighth-Rank Heavenly Cycle Realm cultivator; he was both one of the few remaining elders of the previous generation and a pillar of the Fang family.
Despite the long-standing grievances between him and the Fang family, to be honest, Jiang Wang felt a sense of guilt toward the old man.
But he had no choice. The world was this cruel, and he was merely struggling to survive.
There was one more thing he had not revealed just now.
At the moment he killed Xiong Wen from behind, something had flown out from Xiong Wen's body and struck him.
At first, he thought it was a deathbed counterattack, but he later realized it was not.
Because instead, he felt a sense of transparent comfort; a white phantom flashed before his eyes, as if some kind of restraint had been undone.
Now, that object appeared within the Heavenly Palace.
It was a short, black candle. Unlit.
The earthworm True Spirit was circling around it.
Jiang Wang had no time to contemplate it further, for he saw Zhao Rucheng holding a lantern, guarding the intersection ahead, waiting for him.
Zhao Rucheng did not ask what had happened to Jiang Wang tonight, and Jiang Wang did not ask what efforts Zhao Rucheng had made tonight.
What they discussed was something more important.
"Where is An'an?"
"The Boss is looking after her! Kids are easy to coax; I told her you went to Fengxi Town to buy her sugar figurines, and she believed it."
Jiang Wang's expression turned bitter: "Where am I supposed to go right now to conjure up a sugar figurine?"
"Hahaha!" Zhao Rucheng laughed triumphantly, pulling out five lifelike sugar figurines and waving them in front of Jiang Wang. "I actually sent someone to Fengxi Town to buy them!"
...
Inside the Three Fragrances Pavilion.
Miaoyu was saying something to a person wearing a bone mask when her expression suddenly changed.
"What is it?"
Miaoyu murmured, "The Bone Seed I planted... has vanished."
The bone-masked man placed his hands behind his back: "The Bone Seed you planted? When? Whom did you plant it in?"
Miaoyu regained her composure and glanced at him with a half-smile: "Mind your own business; stay out of mine."
The bone-masked man did not argue and instead merged into the ground.
Only after he had left did Miaoyu return to a contemplative state: "Could it be..."
She stood up abruptly, then sat back down.
"No, it's not certain yet. I must be careful, extremely careful..."
...
The Jiang family residence in Flying Horse Alley.
From the bright morning light to the setting sun, and then to the night as cold as water.
Jiang An'an's expression grew increasingly listless.
Ling He stayed by her side, doing his best to coax her, but he lacked the talent for it and was distracted, so the effect was nonexistent.
It wasn't that Jiang An'an disliked her big brother Ling He, but to be honest, Brother Ling was not as interesting as Brother Rucheng.
As for Brother Du Yehu... he looked too fierce!
Of course, all these brothers were very good, but even all of them combined could not compare to her own biological brother.
She was not very happy.
To use her teacher's words, it was perhaps a case of "sorrow arising from within, unceasing and unrelenting."
Sigh.
Jiang An'an hung her head in dejection.
"The only way to dispel sorrow is with sugar."
A lifelike sugar figurine appeared before her eyes, then a second, a third, a fourth, and a fifth.
Five sugar figurines were lined up in a row.
Behind the sugar figurines was Jiang Wang's face, brimming with smiles.
"Jiang An'an! Happy Birthday! From today on, you are five years old!"