CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 38: BEHEAD!

Let time rewind a bit.

After Wu Xiaode transferred the money to a few gangsters, the gangsters left the martial arts gym.

On the main street.

The gangster with a beaten nose whispered, "Little Yi, that fat sheep is rich, why don’t we—"

"Idiot!"

Lu Yi fiercely slapped him, causing his nose to bleed again.

He stood there, his eyes fierce, and scanned his minions, growling, "The guy could push his hand into the wall with one hand, you all saw it, and you still dare to mess with him?"

"Boss, Qian Mingkui and his daughter used his reluctance against him, didn’t he just give in and pay up?" one gangster said, confused.

"Besides, we can call more guys, arm everyone with knives, and hit big," another gangster suggested.

Lu Yi, disappointed as if they were hopeless, said, "The money he has, if we dare to swallow it, we’ll definitely end up in prison, with a heavy sentence, understand?"

He stole a glance and saw that one or two of the underlings still seemed unconvinced.

At this point, Lu Yi had no choice but to spell it out:

"Guys, since he’s so rich, what do you think of the power behind him?"

"To step back, even if he’s all alone, the money he has is enough to hire some truly fierce guys from the streets to kill us for money, get it?"

"Every year, there are fugitives roaming around; give them money, and they’ll kill for you, then disappear."

"If we mess with him and he ignores Qian Mingkui, maybe he’ll flee and later send those people with a pile of money to take our lives. What chance would we stand then?"

"You fools, ignorant, still taking rich people for idiots."

"Do you really think rich people’s money falls from the sky? Their hearts are darker than ours, their methods more ruthless — that’s how they make so much money, understand?"

After Lu Yi finished speaking, he saw the desire in people’s eyes gradually fade and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let’s go, today let’s eat well."

He waved his hand.

One of his men asked in panic, "Boss, why is there no one on the street at all!"

They looked around.

The street was spotlessly clean, not a person in sight.

Dead silence.

Only the rain began to fall, making a "sash" sound.

This was clearly not normal.

The gangsters remembered the various strange phenomena from the TV over the past few days and felt somewhat scared.

Lu Yi also had a quick mind, and whispered, "Don’t make a sound, and don’t wander far. Let’s find a place to hide and see what happens."

He saw the door of the pork shop across the street was open and motioned for his men to run inside.

The shop was empty.

"Shut the door, and make no noise," he ordered.

The door was shut.

Lu Yi crouched by the wall and asked, "Does this shop have any surveillance or something?"

"They have cameras, boss," a gangster reported after inspecting and tinkering with the computer behind the counter.

"I’ve set up live surveillance, and there are several cameras outside the shop too, so we can monitor the surroundings," the gangster explained.

The other gangsters looked at him admiringly.

"You really should have continued your schooling," Lu Yi patted his head.

"...Wait, what’s that kid doing?" one gangster asked curiously.

Their heads huddled together as they looked at the computer screen.

The rain was getting heavier.

Occasionally, lightning flashed.

They saw Wu Xiaode walk to the middle of the street.

A person appeared on the street.

Gunshots.

Conversations, actions.

A whisper from Wu Xiaode drifted up from the street :

"Beneath the spring, mud erodes bone, my presence in the world covered with snow."

The sword was unsheathed and slashed several times towards the sky.

Clang!

The sword returned to its sheath.

Wu Xiaode stood still.

The gangsters could not help but marvel:

"This kid’s saber skill is really fast."

"Did you see how he slashed? Just like that, swish, swish, swish—damn cool!"

"Little Yi was right, with that kind of saber skill, he could cut me down before I even knew it," one said.

But Lu Yi furrowed his brows, puzzled, "What’s he slashing at the sky for?"

The gangsters looked up.

There was nothing in the sky.

"Little Yi, you’re being too meticulous, maybe he was just slashing randomly, showing off to someone," suggested the gangster who had plugged his nostrils with tissue.

"Hmm... I still feel something’s odd," said Lu Yi in a low voice.

No sooner had he spoken.

A thunderous noise like a sky-splitting blast suddenly came from the sky.

The gangsters, startled, cautiously crawled to the window, parted the blinds, and looked out.

"What is that!" one gangster cried out in shock.

Lu Yi slapped him, signaling him to keep quiet quickly.

In the sky.

A massive steel behemoth, at least ten meters high, appeared out of thin air, its body broken apart, emitting uneven bursts of electric and thunderous flashes.

The steel giant burst into fierce flames, billowing thick smoke, like a fireball, like a meteor, crashing toward the mountain opposite.

Boom—

The earth shook, the mountains trembled.

Black smoke and red fire intertwined, slowly rising into the sky.

The intense shockwave turned into a violent wind, blowing in all directions.

Dark clouds filled the sky, the temperature dropped sharply.

Almost in the blink of an eye.

A fierce wind arose, turning the long street into a blurry scene of rain.

The gangsters were at a loss for words.

This was simply—

Simply a power like that of immortals!

"Little Yi!"

The gangster controlling the cameras cried out in a sobbing tone.

Lu Yi jerked, snapped back to reality, and urgently asked, "What’s wrong?"

"Look!"

The gangster pointed at the computer screen.

Lu Yi looked down and saw rows after rows of dense characters displayed on the computer.

"What’s going on here!" he exclaimed.

"It’s so sinister. Someone knows I opened the video, and now they’re copying it! The firewall is useless. I don’t even know who’s doing this—I don’t know who’s doing this!"

The street thug shouted in a panic.

Lu Yi was stunned.

By now, the video on the computer had already been copied.

A line of text appeared on the screen:

"Video deleted. Don’t talk nonsense. Your lives matter too."

The computer shut down automatically.

Lu Yi looked toward his brothers, only to see everyone’s face blank.

—Who would know that a computer was turned on here?

This was merely a pork shop’s surveillance... which just happened to have recorded the recent battle.

Who could have done this?

A deep fear welled up within Lu Yi.

Elsewhere.

On the streets.

The middle-aged man stood in the pouring rain, completely soaked yet motionless, not even noticing his cigarette had gone out.

The slash that kid made just now—

Could it be—

Did it strike that steel monster?

...That’s the only explanation.

But could a human accomplish such a feat?

No.

How could a human do such a thing.

Boom!

Thunder boomed in the sky again.

The rain grew heavier.

Wu Xiaode sheathed his saber, grinning at the hologram of the old man.

"Imperial Military Machine Department, Commander, Ge Lengshan?"

The old man was startled, his facial muscles tensed, and he blurted out a question: "You were supposed to be dead long ago. Who taught you this saber skill? Who trained you?"

"I was supposed to be dead?"

Wu Xiaode wiped the rain off his face and said seriously, "That’s right, you almost succeeded. But on my way to Hell, I took a detour—"

"Yes, I’m someone who came back from Hell."

"I was resurrected."

The video suddenly turned off.

Wu Xiaode slowly turned to look at the middle-aged man.

"Has your master run away?" he asked.

The middle-aged man didn’t respond.

Wu Xiaode shook his head, turned around, and walked toward the other end of the long street.

The middle-aged man holding the phone gritted his teeth and quietly reached into his jacket, pulling out a handgun—

Swish!

Wu Xiaode swung his saber without looking back.

The middle-aged man froze in place.

A line of blood appeared on his body and began to widen.

The body split in two and fell into the muddy rainwater.

"Self-defense, no criminal charges," Wu Xiaode said without looking back, continuing on with his saber.

He reached out with his other hand and summoned the Book of the Dead, which flew to him and opened in front of him.

"...Actually, I just didn’t want you to see me turn into a bird. You insisted on seeking death."

He gently pressed on the Book of the Dead.

In the heavy leaden clouds, a dark shadow fell from the sky.

Ya landed on Wu Xiaode’s shoulder, shook the rain off his feathers, and yawned:

"Are we doing serious business? Or just having fun?"

"Let’s go up to the sky and see."

"No need, I didn’t see anything when I came from above," Ya said.

"Nothing?" Wu Xiaode said in surprise.

"Indeed, nothing," Ya replied.

"These big shots... they wear a facade of grandeur, but they’re not in the clouds. They’re hiding in the gutters," Wu Xiaode sighed.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment, took out his phone, and dialed Zhao Junyu’s number.

"Dial tone—dial tone—"

"Hello, Little Wu," Zhao Junyu answered the phone.

"Does the Imperial Military Machine Department have a commander named Ge Lengshan, bald, hook-nosed, with maids feeding him grapes?" Wu Xiaode asked.

"Yes, but he’s part of a secret branch. I also don’t know where he is," Zhao Junyu replied.

"He’s a commander of the empire, yet you don’t know?"

"Nonsense, I’m just a prince, not a human search engine. Here’s what—I’ll help you look into it later."

"... thought I had caught one," Wu Xiaode said unwillingly.

"What happened?" Zhao Junyu asked anxiously.

"I guess nothing will happen for now," Wu Xiaode replied.

"Alright, I’ll hang up now. Contact you later."

"Okay."

The call ended.

Wu Xiaode thought for a moment, then turned and started walking toward the martial arts gym.

He had barely taken a few steps when he suddenly heard a slight sound from his long saber.

Looking at the blade, he saw fine cracks appearing on the edge.

"Looks like I need a better saber..." Wu Xiaode thought to himself.

Elsewhere.

The palace.

Zhao Junyu looked anxiously at the man opposite him.

"Is the call over?"

"Yes."

"Looking back, I still admire our ancestors’ strategy to hide the Guardian among the common people. This way, not only do we not know, but our enemies also don’t know," the man reflected.

Zhao Junyu sighed and with a fearful bow, said, "Your Majesty, you can no longer connect to the central intelligence. If—"

"Don’t worry, I won’t die. I’m just taking this opportunity to investigate those rebels,"

the man said before settling back on his throne.

The helmet he was wearing slowly lit up with unceasing flashes.

Countless cables densely packed, one end plunging into the helmet and the other neatly extending behind the throne, filled the entire palace.

(Thanks to the Alliance Hierarch who can talk, elbow, for the reward. Thank you, boss, very generous!)