Volume 1, Chapter 188 – Identity

Seeing his companion collapse and hearing Shi Lan’s frightening words, the burly man was shocked, but he did not panic.

“So the lady was hiding her strength. It seems we misjudged you. Might I ask where you’re from? Red Dress Workshop? Or Fragrant Society? Did you deliberately lure the two of us here?”

Speaking in a bland tone, the man’s gaze gradually turned cold. He stepped back, turning his body sideways, his hand sliding down to grip the hilt of the long blade at his waist, hidden from Shi Lan’s view.

The reason Shi Lan hadn’t struck from behind just now and had instead chosen to ask questions was because she wanted to get a sense of the overall level of martial artists on this continent, and exactly what tier the two in front of her belonged to.

This was especially important for the plans she would make in the future.

With a sharp ring of metal, in the blink of an eye, the man’s long blade flashed out of its sheath, scraping up a spray of sparks as it traced out an arc. There was no hint of mercy in the strike, his eyes icy with killing intent as the blade drove straight for Shi Lan’s throat.

Strike first to gain the upper hand. It was a truth every person of the martial world knew.

The long blade came down on the slant, wrapped in a strange kind of energy, carrying a shrill whistle with it. In an instant it was already at Shi Lan’s neck.

Shi Lan’s gaze was as calm as a still well. She bent at the waist to evade the chilling slash, eyes never shifting. Her whole frame stretched, muscles and bones pulled taut, merging all the strength in her body into one, and she pointed two fingers like a sword at the Eagle Window acupoint beneath the man’s left ribs.

After those few hours of cultivation, Shi Lan’s physical strength now barely matched that of an ordinary man. Purely in terms of raw force, she was far inferior to the man before her.

On top of that, his body held a kind of energy very similar to Innate true qi. Its quality was far below it, but the power it could unleash still far surpassed that of a common mortal.

If they clashed head-on, Shi Lan was not his match. However, as an Earth Fiend Realm martial artist, her understanding of the body’s acupoints was like reading the lines on her own palm, crystal clear.

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Martial artists at the Body Tempering Realm in the Lingyang Realm had no energy like true qi, but they were able to condense all the force of their bodies into a single point.

The Eagle Window acupoint was a fatal point on the human body. If struck heavily, at best the heart meridians would be shaken and the blood and qi would stagnate; at worst, it meant instant death.

There was a crisp crack. The ribs were already an especially fragile spot. Shi Lan had held back somewhat with that strike, but she still put several dozen jin of force into it, all condensed on a single point. In an instant, she snapped the man’s rib and drove the remaining force straight into the Eagle Window acupoint.

A wave of agony tore through his side, his heart meridians jolted. The man’s vision went black for a moment as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. His blade cut through empty air, and the residual force sent him stumbling.

The two passed each other and swapped positions, backs facing one another.

Shi Lan straightened up. Before her feet had fully steadied, another sharp whistle sounded from behind, accompanied by a furious shout, crashing toward her.

“Die!”

The man’s eyes were shot with blood, his nose and mouth stained red. His breathing rasped like a broken bellows, heavy and harsh, yet the long blade in his hand didn’t tremble in the slightest, as steady as bedrock. It flashed like a streak of silver, cleaving straight toward Shi Lan’s back.

He had lived on the edge of death in the martial world for many years and knew life and death were often decided in a single instant. Ignoring the throbbing pain in his heart meridians, he forcibly drove his inner qi, turning his head for another killing strike.

As he unleashed the move, another mouthful of blood surged up. He forced it down. If that blood left his body, his inner qi would scatter, and he would lose his last chance at victory.

Shi Lan was slightly surprised. Without looking back, she kept her stretched frame from drawing in, pushed off with her legs like a lithe leopard, and sprang into the air, flipping to evade the fatal slash.

Her body rotated in midair until her head pointed down. As her body crossed paths with his, she reached out and pressed a hand to the man’s back, sliding it downward.

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Feeling the soft touch of a hand on his back, the man felt no trace of any indecent thought. Every hair on his body stood on end.

He held his breath and clamped his mouth shut, locking down his inner qi. With a muffled grunt, without even looking, he raised his hand and forced out every last shred of inner qi. Guiding it into his blade, he swung the weapon up and back in a diagonal slash.

There was a dull crack. As her hand passed over his back, the sound of bones being forced out of place rang out. The ninth vertebra in his spine suddenly caved inward.

A spray of blood burst from his mouth, the blood he had been holding down at his throat. From the waist down his body went rigid in an instant, and his inner qi scattered.

Even so, the long blade in his hand did not pause in the slightest. It still cleaved toward Shi Lan.

The man’s tenacity far exceeded Shi Lan’s expectations. She planted one foot against his back and pushed off, retreating even as she twisted her body to dodge, but she was still a step too slow.

With a ripping sound, the long blade tore through her skirt, carving a bloody gash on her right calf, half a finger deep and almost a palm in length.

With that one slash, the man’s strength was spent. His spine dislocated, he finally crashed forward to the ground, completely losing the ability to fight.

Shi Lan landed, staggered, and forced herself to stand firm. She tore off the ripped section of her skirt and quickly wrapped the wound a few times.

“Huff… huff…”

Looking at the burly man lying on the ground, his breathing growing heavier and heavier, she felt a bit more solemn inside.

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She had only been in this world for a single day, and the people she’d run into were already this difficult to deal with. She still had no idea what tier these two occupied within the local martial world.

If they were at the very bottom, then the martial artists of this world were not to be underestimated by someone in her current state.

“You can… take my brother’s head and mine… and trade them for reward silver. Just who… are you… At least let me know… whose hands I’m dying by…”

Faced with the man’s question, Shi Lan did not answer. Limping slightly, she walked over to him, kicked away the long blade in his hand, then used her toe to flick up and pull away the black cloth covering his face.

It was a man in his early thirties, with upturned outer corners to his eyes and a short bristling beard. There was a bandit’s fierceness written across his face.

“Answer my earlier question. Where are you from? Do you have anyone else behind you?” Shi Lan looked down at him and asked.

“You don’t… know who I am?” The man sounded a little surprised.

“Answer my question.”

Sensing that he might have a chance to live, the man’s mind started to work. Before he could decide what to say, a long blade dropped from above, piercing his palm and nailing his hand to the ground.

The man let out a muffled groan. His fingers curled and twitched a few times before slowly relaxing.

“My patience is limited…” Shi Lan said with a hint of impatience. She still needed time to tend to her wound and had no interest in wasting it on this man. She could always gather information later.

“I… think I’ve seen him before…” a hesitant voice sounded from the side.

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Shi Lan turned and looked at the boy not far away, then beckoned him over.

Once the boy reached her side, Shi Lan softened her tone and asked:

“Take a good look. Have you seen him or not?”

“I’ve seen him. On the notice wall on Qingzhou City’s wall. His wanted poster is pasted there!”

The boy looked the man on the ground over twice, then spoke with certainty.

“What did the wanted poster say he was?” Shi Lan raised an eyebrow, the pieces falling into place. No wonder the man had mentioned reward silver.

The boy’s face reddened slightly. After a moment of silence, he said, “I… can’t read…”

Shi Lan wasn’t particularly disappointed. Since the wanted poster was in Qingzhou City, she could just go and look at it tomorrow.

When she didn’t respond, the boy seemed to grow anxious and quickly added:

“I heard people say the reward on his head is three hundred taels of silver!”