Chapter 26: Laughter
The assassin seemed to have anticipated this moment. As he twisted his body to lock the sword in place, his movements didn’t pause for a second. He extended both arms like an ape, attempting to seize Elder Yue.
Elder Yue reacted quickly. Realizing the danger, he immediately released the sword’s hilt and retreated swiftly.
Rip!
The assassin managed to tear off two pieces of cloth but failed to capture Elder Yue. Instead, he clamped down on Elder Yue’s arm with a death grip.
The leaves rustled, and three more dark figures leapt down from the trees, moving like specters, aiming straight for the Dongyang Lady.
Elder Yue’s expression changed drastically. In desperation, he struck the assassin’s head with his palm. The assassin, already resolved to die, did not evade. He wrapped his legs tightly around Elder Yue’s leg, enduring a few blows before Elder Yue’s palm finally struck his head.
Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere. Though the assassin died, his limbs remained locked onto Elder Yue.
The situation around them had already descended into chaos.
Bai Jianglan had barely moved before he was besieged by two assassins who fought with a reckless disregard for their own lives. Despite his formidable skills, Bai Jianglan had to be cautious.
Of the five other guards, two were struck down by crossbow bolts to the chest and died instantly. The remaining three, after narrowly avoiding the hidden arrows, stood back to back, barely managing to hold their ground against the attacking assassins.
At this critical moment, the nearest person to the Dongyang Lady, Elder Yue, was entangled by the dead assassin, while the Dongyang Lady had only just managed to sit up from the ground.
Dragging the assassin's corpse, Elder Yue moved clumsily, only managing to crash into the nearest assassin while shouting, "Save the Lady!"
Qin Sang had actually noticed the danger first, but this was his first time in such a perilous battle. Fearing that revealing King Yan’s deadly techniques would expose his secrets, he hesitated.
In that brief moment of hesitation, the situation deteriorated rapidly.
Grabbing the ironwood staff, Qin Sang vaguely heard a faint sound behind him. Feeling a rush of cold wind over his head, he quickly rolled aside.
Poof!
A crossbow bolt buried itself in the spot where Qin Sang had just been.
A shadow then swooped down from the treetops, a flash of cold sword light slicing through the darkness.
Qin Sang quickly rolled again to dodge the blade. He was just about to summon King Yan when he heard Water Monkey shout, "Brother Qin, hold him off! I’ll save the Lady!"
Left with no choice, Qin Sang engaged the assassin with his staff, all the while glancing around.
Bai Jianglan had just killed one of the assassins, exchanging injuries in the process. Covered in blood, he barely managed to reach Dongyang Lady in time to block another attacker.
Water Monkey arrived promptly as well, intercepting one of the assailants.
The situation was stabilizing. Once Elder Yue freed himself, victory seemed certain, and there was no rush to unleash King Yan’s deadly power.
But just as this thought crossed Qin Sang’s mind, he was preparing to cautiously stall the assassin when he heard a faint sound. The sound was nearly inaudible, but in the chaos of battle, Qin Sang’s sharp ears picked it out.
"This is…"
Qin Sang’s heart skipped a beat as he realized—it was the sound of a bowstring!
Scanning the area, Qin Sang spotted an unusual shadow behind Dongyang Lady. A faint gleam suddenly shot out from the shadow.
It wasn’t a crossbow bolt but a thin, needle-like projectile, shimmering with a dark blue light, clearly coated with deadly poison.
"Lady, watch out!"
Qin Sang shouted, but the Lady stood frozen, too frightened to move. Elder Yue and Bai Jianglan were too far away to help in time. Without thinking, Qin Sang gathered all his strength and hurled the ironwood staff with all his might.
Channeling the precision he had honed from shooting birds, Qin Sang’s staff flew just past the Lady, striking the poisoned needle and knocking it away.
At the same moment, Qin Sang activated the mechanism in his sleeve, launching a hidden arrow into the shadow.
The bolt struck with a dull thud, followed by silence.
The Lady finally recovered, lifting her head to look at Qin Sang. Her face showed a trace of fear, but she quickly regained her composure and then gave Qin Sang a smile.
"Commander Bai, finish this quickly!"
Elder Yue, still shaken by the recent events, broke into a cold sweat and dared not delay any longer. He risked being struck by a sword, but managed to kill his opponent with a single palm strike.
The assassination plot was shattered by Qin Sang’s swift action with the ironwood staff. In an instant, all the remaining assassins became insanely desperate.
Qin Sang, facing the sharp swords with just his bare fists, began to struggle after a few exchanges. Seizing an opportune moment, he let King Yan finish off the assassin. As the assassin’s body stiffened, Qin Sang swiftly crushed his throat with a lightning-fast grip, using this move as a cover.
He timed it perfectly, leaving no room for error.
This was the first time Qin Sang had used the Yan Luo Banner to kill in front of others, and just as he had anticipated, it was flawlessly executed.
As a slight smile appeared on Qin Sang’s face, he suddenly heard several pained cries. His heart sank—Water Monkey!
Whoosh!
An arm flew through the air. Water Monkey’s left arm was severed, leaving a vacant space where it once was, his face deathly pale.
Elder Yue snatched a sword, swiftly cutting away the hindrances on his body. With eight rapid steps, he dashed to Water Monkey’s side, ending the assassin’s life with a single strike.
…
When the dust finally settled, only one of the five guards remained alive. Water Monkey had lost an arm. Bai Jianglan pressed his fingers on the acupoints around Water Monkey’s severed limb, using true qi to seal his blood vessels, barely managing to stop the bleeding.
Elder Yue, who had taken a sword wound to his left shoulder, had no time to tend to it. He quickly searched the surrounding area and then checked on Dongyang Lady to see if she was injured.
The Lady shook her head, indicating that she was unharmed. She personally walked over to pick up the ironwood staff, weighing it in her hand before handing it back to Qin Sang. "Thank you, Mr. Qin, for striking down that poisoned needle and saving my life."
Qin Sang responded humbly, "The Lady overpraised me. What I did was just a small thing. The credit belongs to Commander Bai, Elder Yue, Zhou Ning, and the guards who fought desperately and killed the assassins, giving me the chance to throw that staff."
The Lady nodded, then turned to Elder Yue and said, "Elder Yue, after tending to your wound, please see to the burial of the guards. Since they died for me, they cannot be left to rot in the wilderness. When we return to Dongyang Commandery, we will have their bodies brought back for a proper burial."
Elder Yue acknowledged the order and left to carry it out.
Qin Sang squatted down beside Zhou Ning, watching as Bai Jianglan busied himself with tending to Water Monkey’s injuries. He wasn’t sure if the medical techniques of this world could reattach a severed limb, but even if they could, the arm might never fully recover.
For a martial artist, this was undoubtedly cruel.
Qin Sang looked at Water Monkey’s pale face, unsure how to comfort him. He took out a bottle of Golden Wound Medicine, given to him by the old Daoist, and handed it to Bai Jianglan. "Brother Bai, try this. The recipe was passed down by a former imperial physician."
Bai Jianglan uncorked the bottle, took a sniff, and applied some of the medicine to Water Monkey’s severed limb. The relentless bleeding began to slow and eventually stopped.
Bai Jianglan’s eyes lit up. "This is excellent medicine!"
Water Monkey gritted his teeth and managed to utter a few words, "Thank you, Brother Qin!"
What a tough man!
Qin Sang silently praised him. Water Monkey was usually lively and talkative, but despite suffering such a grievous injury, he showed no signs of despair. Even as Bai Jianglan treated his wound, he didn’t utter a single word of complaint.
"Brother Zhou, I’m still waiting to taste the Nine-Whiskered Fish you’ll catch!"
Water Monkey burst into hearty laughter.
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