Chapter 16: 016: One Corpse Missing

Since Qi Shan had said to fight freely, Shen Tang naturally did not stand on ceremony.

With an imposing aura, she wielded her "Cimom Sword" in a dance so dense it left no openings. The sword light flickered brilliantly; even though the man in black used a long spear, which held the advantage of reach, he was driven into a corner by her suffocatingly rapid offensive, forced to retreat step after step.

*Thud—*

A sword thrust pierced the wall behind the man in black.

Taking advantage of the moment Shen Tang withdrew her blade, the man in black let out a thunderous roar. He abandoned his spear, condensed gray light into his fist, and lunged toward her chest, the gray glow accompanied by a faint sonic boom.

Without a moment's hesitation, Shen Tang raised her hand to intercept.

To her surprise, the target vanished into thin air!

Unable to pull back her strength in time, her punch smashed a large hole into the wall.

Shen Tang: "???"

Wait—

Where did he go?

Qi Shan reminded her with a gentle smile.

"Young Master Shen, do not let your mind wander while facing an enemy."

"Did you move him just now?"

Before Qi Shan could answer, the man in black's expression became so grim it could have dripped water. "A military formation incantation... 'Transferring the Flower to the Tree'?"

To strengthen themselves and avoid being swallowed up, various feudal lords heavily employed scholars and strategists skilled in military formation and tactical incantations. Over the past two hundred years, these black-hearted rulers had played with incantations in myriad ways, making them a mandatory subject for those seeking to climb the political ladder or contribute to it.

However, cultivating a "Literary Heart" was far more difficult than cultivating a "Martial Gall."

First, controlling an incantation was difficult, and even if controlled, the effectiveness of its application remained an unknown variable. Second, every individual's incantation effect varied slightly, and the situation on the battlefield changed in an instant; one had to adjust strategies according to the circumstances, where a single oversight could mean total defeat.

"I did not expect to find someone who recognizes this in such a remote backwater."

Qi Shan tacitly confirmed the man's judgment.

The man let out a low, cold laugh.

"In that case—I can leave none of you alive!"

*Clang!*

Another massive sound erupted!

Qi Shan, whose face was about to be pierced by the long spear, neither dodged nor ducked. With a smile playing on his lips, he watched leisurely as the man in black's forehead veins bulged from the sheer exertion of his strength. The tip of the spear was only two feet away from him; any closer, and it might have taken his life.

Yet, that tiny distance became an unbridgeable chasm.

The spear could not advance a single inch further.

Shen Tang, who had taken the brunt of everything: "..."

Internally, her thoughts were a chaotic mess of profanity, but externally, she gritted her teeth. "Qi Yuanliang, have you had enough? Are you just going to stand there like an idiot without dodging?"

Qi Shan was, of course, unperturbed.

Whether he liked it or not, Young Master Shen was bound to protect him. With this guarantee in place, he could (very) (shamelessly) feel at ease, occasionally helping Shen Tang shoulder some of the pressure.

In short, he was mostly just spectating from the sidelines.

As they clashed again, Shen Tang clearly felt a difference in the man in black. Setting aside his strength and speed, his very aura had dropped significantly. Even she felt her hands go numb from the impact and her chest tighten, as if this man had undergone a complete metamorphosis in a short span of time.

At this moment, Qi Shan thoughtfully provided an "explanation."

"Do not be surprised by his change; this is the most common trump card among martial artists. It forces all the potential of the Dan Mansion's Martial Gall to surface in a short burst, granting the martial artist an extreme temporary boost. A Fourth-Rank Non-Commander can briefly rival a Fifth-Rank Great Physician. Once the time passes, they will become weak and vulnerable, ripe for the taking. Just hold on a little longer."

Shen Tang: "..."

Isn't this literally a suicidal move?

"Why didn't you warn me sooner?"

The man in black was coming at her with ferocious intent and overwhelming killing intent. If she had underestimated him due to lack of information, she could have been slain in a single exchange.

Qi Shan observed Shen Tang with a smile. "I saw that Young Master Shen grows stronger when facing strength and handles things with ease. I feared that speaking up might distract you."

He didn't care about a mere Fourth-Rank Non-Commander; it wasn't worth his attention. He was far more curious about this mysterious Young Master Shen.

This person was too interesting!

Despite possessing a Literary Heart, she rolled up her sleeves and fought a brute without falling behind. She could fight a Fourth-Rank Non-Commander, and she could even withstand someone who had used a secret technique to temporarily boost their Martial Gall to a Fifth-Rank Great Physician.

This truly defied common logic.

If she went any higher, would she also have the strength to fight?

A young man who possessed the Imperial Seal, a special Literary Heart, and whose direct combat strength was no less than any Fifth-Rank Great Physician—and who was closely related to the exterminated Gong clan. All these factors gave him an uncontrollable urge to investigate and uncover the truth.

After a hundred moves, the man in black's momentum plummeted. Shen Tang decisively impaled him on the wall with a single sword strike, leaving him unable to move.

"We caught a live one."

Qi Shan said, "No, the man is already dead."

Shen Tang's movement in sheathing her sword paused.

"Dead? How could he be dead..."

She shifted her gaze to the man in black. His head hung low, and dark, foul-smelling blood overflowed from his mouth.

He truly had no breath left!

Qi Shan said, "This person is not a bandit, but a death soldier. When a mission fails, death is the only option! Committing suicide allows for a quick end, but living... is not guaranteed."

Looking at the situation, his previous judgment had been wrong.

The man in black was not part of the same group as the previous Second-Rank Superior Artisan.

Most likely, the latter was the real bandit, intending to kill and rob, only to be beaten to the punch by the man in black, who then had the misfortune of running into the two of them.

"A death soldier? To assassinate whom? Could it be A-Yan?"

Qi Shan showed little interest. "Perhaps."

"What is the point of killing a foolish child who is naturally mentally impaired?"

"Young Master Shen lacks experience and naturally does not know the cruelty of the world. How can you guarantee that his mental impairment is real? Perhaps the child is calculating, knowing how to hide his talents at a young age to protect himself from harm... there are many examples of people biding their time."

"This..."

Qi Shan continued, "Earlier, when you gave him three pieces of candy, he refused to eat them and insisted you eat one first. How can you be sure that wasn't a test to see if you would be poisoned on his behalf?"

Shen Tang: "..."

She felt uncertain. "But he is at most six years old..."

Qi Shan said, "If driven by circumstances, let alone six, even a two-year-old or a one-year-old would use cunning to protect themselves."

Shen Tang: "..."

If a six-year-old could be this calculating, how was she, a shut-in with mild social anxiety, supposed to survive?

She said, "If that is truly the case, A-Yan's background is not simple."

To kill a child, they had to dispatch a Fourth-Rank Non-Commander death soldier.

That was quite a statement!

Reason told Qi Shan that things had gone far enough. Regardless of whether A-Yan lived or died, it had nothing to do with him; it was best to leave early to avoid getting stained by the mess. Unfortunately, Young Master Shen lacked coordination with him and still wanted to collect the bodies of the souls in this manor.

One by one, the bodies were found and dragged to the main hall.

By feeling the temperature of the corpses, Shen Tang judged that these people must have died shortly after A-Yan went missing, around the time the Village Chief of Qianjia Village called for help.

"Sigh, eleven lives lost..."

Qi Shan said expressionlessly, "Human life is the cheapest thing in this world. It is so now, and it will be so in the future."

Shen Tang shook her head. "That is not true. If the situation were stable and the laws were in order, those who kill without cause would surely pay with their lives."

Qi Shan was amused by her words.

"In these lands, there has never been a time of 'stability'."

*There won't be now, and there won't be in the future.*

Shen Tang was choked by his words and couldn't help but retort.

"Mr. Qi, you have all these skills but never think of assisting anyone to pacify the chaotic world? You only know how to say such cynical things..."

Qi Shan smiled but said nothing.

Shen Tang was about to gather firewood to clean up the bodies when she suddenly paused, her gaze shifting to the hands of the corpses.

She looked around.

"Something is wrong."

Qi Shan asked, "What is wrong?"

"One corpse is missing."

"You mean A-Yan? He might still be alive..."

Shen Tang said, "Not A-Yan, someone else."

One person was missing!