Chapter 922: Chapter 115: Caged Bird, Can It Soar? (3800) (2/2)

That Pillar of the State was once a formidable general who roared across the battlefield, achieving great military success and narrowly escaping death countless times. Otherwise, he would not have become this Pillar of the State.

With courage and poise both intrinsic, upon seeing the old man, he felt a slight surprise in his heart, yet his face remained unchanged. He glanced over the latter with his eyes and said:

“I wondered who it was, turns out it’s General Li. I haven’t seen you in over twenty years; your Qi Mechanism has grown thicker, but your Thunder Vigor hasn’t shown much progress.”

Li Qidao took a swig of wine, not mentioning the reason for his stalled Thunder Vigor, and laughed indifferently:

“You still remember me.”

“That’s good, Thunder Vigor is nothing to fuss about. Even without it, I can still show you true colors.”

“So, want to give it a try?!”

With a flash of lightning in his eyes, his Qi Mechanism instantly became serious.

The Pillar of the State’s expression slightly tensed, thinking that the old man was here for Wuxin, yet he had no intention of making a move, withdrew his hands, and said instead:

“I remember you and the Chief Arrestor of the Ministry of Punishment used to be at odds with each other. How is it that you’re now mixed up with someone from the Ministry of Punishment? Has that wolf sought you out over these twenty years?”

The wolf he referred to was the Chief Arrestor of the Great Qin’s Ministry of Punishments, who had long resided in the Ministry in the Heavenly Capital. If it weren’t for encountering some exceptional case, he wouldn’t easily leave the Capital City. He was also known among the Three Provinces and Six Ministries as one of the best, adept at chasing over ten thousand miles.

Calling him a dog was rather disrespectful; when he was young, people would call him a hound. As he grew older, his status continued to rise, and no one dared, nor were they qualified to call him that. Even if they found him displeasing, they would only call him a Lone Wolf with a lowered tail.

Li Qidao spat and sneered:

“That dog?! Hah, if I ever see him, I’d have to fight him right there, break his dog legs, and not come over for the sake of his wolf pups underlings!”

The Pillar of the State’s thick eyebrows furrowed, increasingly bewildered.

The surrounding people from the Ministry of Punishment heard this seemingly unruly old man speak with great disdain for their old superior, yet dared not become angry. No other reason, they simply looked at how the Pillar of the State treated this old man to understand.

This old man was provocative in his words and dismissive in his tone. If someone had a more fiery temper, they would have gone up to fight by now, yet the Pillar of the State, known for his straightforward and fiery temper, hadn’t the slightest intention of acting, having already retracted all of his profound Qi Mechanism.

Though unwilling to fall behind in speech, in attitude, he seemed to place this old man higher than himself, and even this point alone was enough to make them frightened.

Some with keen insight were secretly pondering, among those high-ranking figures in Great Qin, could there be anyone with the last name Li with such skills and status, capable of suppressing an angry Pillar of the State, forcing him to restrain his temper. Yet, they cracked their brains, still unable to figure it out.

Twenty years is a short time, just a blink of an eye in the Jianghu world.

Twenty years is also long enough, long enough to bury once glorious history in dust and forget the heroics of the past, especially when neither those in power nor the defeated want too many people to know about these things.

History rusts far more easily than iron.

With the tension outside slightly eased, Wang Anfeng had already stepped forward, others unable to recognize Li Qidao’s voice, but how could he not? Curious why Uncle Li would come, and then hearing Xue Qinshuang’s voice, he grew even more puzzled.

Wanting to turn around to ask, yet he remembered his original purpose for coming, so he didn’t go back. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity to walk deeper into the street.

A ripple floated in his pair of black pupils, while at the same time, his senses expanded to the maximum extent, any minor disturbances within dozens of meters couldn’t escape him.

After traversing several hundred steps like this, Wang Anfeng’s expression suddenly changed slightly, the hair on his back stood on end, perceiving a faint yet extremely fierce and vigorous intent. His spirit altered, but his movements remained unchanged, as if he hadn’t discovered anything out of the ordinary, merely lowering his head and saying:

“Strange, could it be that Wuxin’s speculation is wrong?”

“If so, it would turn that Pillar of the State into unnecessary enmity, instead…”

As he spoke, he suddenly took two steps backward, rapidly churning inner strength and Qi Mechanism, employing the secretive Qinggong technique of the Divine Thieves Sect, his figure sharply retreating several zhang, erupting with no warning.

At the same time, his right elbow gently knocked back, striking the wall, and directly smashed a passage through it.

Behind the wall were two guards, one wearing a white mask, a long-armed and long-legged man, the other with a menacing black ghost face, a hefty man weighing no less than three to four hundred pounds.

After breaking through the wall, Wang Anfeng stood in front of the man with the faintly smiling white mask. Sensing the Qi Mechanism, he struck suddenly, not using the main guarded entrance, but breaking through the wall directly, catching the two off guard.

In breaking through the wall, his elbow struck the large man’s abdomen, directly blocking his blood and Qi flow.

Immediately, his right hand rotated around the elbow as a pivot, and in a moment of thought, he consecutively hit several major acupoints. Instantly, the large man became stiff, unable to move, as if he had turned into a puppet or stone statue.

Meanwhile, the massive man hadn’t yet fully reacted, all thanks to Wang Anfeng’s striking speed and the fact that the former practiced external martial arts, relying on eating and drinking, layering fatty flesh capable of absorbing brute force, though big and strong, his brain not quick, and his reaction slower.