CHAPTER 119: CHAPTER 118: YOU DON’T WANT TO WORK HARD ANYMORE?

"Who is she?"

Qin Leyin stood at the window, gazing into the distance with a conflicted expression.

Among martial artists, only the Flying Flower Martial Artist can lock onto objects hundreds of meters away with the naked eye as tiny dots. The sight of other martial artists improves under bright daylight conditions.

Therefore, Qin Leyin could clearly see that Jing Zhengwei, who should have been swiftly surrounded and killed, was holding on quite well. This was actually normal, as Qin Leyin didn’t think Jing Zhengwei was some weak second generation, mastering combat techniques was to be expected.

However, against the onslaught of dozens, combat techniques alone could not provide him a means to break free. Moreover, gang members were not unfamiliar with combat techniques — they are the mainstay martial training clientele in Xuanzhu County, supporting the businesses of several dojos in the outer city.

When a person is killed, they die, plain and simple.

But the problem lies with the woman who followed Jing Zhengwei into the alley.

Because of her presence, almost half of the gang’s combat strength was held back, and her combat prowess was even stronger than Jing Zhengwei’s — she seemed highly skilled in group combat techniques. Compared to Jing Zhengwei’s trade of injuries, she flawlessly executed evasion and counter-kills, continuously wounding enemies while protecting herself!

"I don’t know." The second leader was also anxious: "Could she be his new bodyguard? He fired the blank just now to alert the bodyguard of someone in the dark alley?"

"No." Qin Leyin slowly shook his head: "She and Jing Zhengwei aren’t on the same side... Initially, Jing Zhengwei fired the blank to avoid her! They’re not only not together, they’re actually adversaries!"

"But your men... seem to treat them as a group. If you ignore the woman and hurry to kill Jing Zhengwei, that woman is very likely not to stop you!"

The second leader’s face was drenched in cold sweat, and he hurriedly explained: "I don’t know why they got it wrong, my orders were to kill the man passing through the dark alley, they insisted on overcomplicating things!"

"You can’t be blamed." Qin Leyin instead consoled him: "This woman’s skills are no less than Jing Zhengwei’s two bodyguards, who could have imagined a young, beautiful woman possessing such martial strength? And this woman appeared with Jing Zhengwei? Then she actually has no relation to him, they’re even adversaries? Finally, your men couldn’t tell, so they surrounded them together?"

"An accident, an accident, an accident, one after another."

Qin Leyin sat back, picked up a teacup, and sighed: "The threads of fate are as a rock... If the unexpected happens in a sure thing, then it means, it’s destiny."

"If Jing Zhengwei can escape, then it suggests he isn’t meant to die here. The principle our Qin Family has adhered to for standing firm till now is to follow destiny and adapt to the trend."

The second leader, hearing this consolation, didn’t feel at ease but instead began to tremble, stuttering, "No, no, they can’t escape, my men will surely keep them in the alley! Yes, as long as those two experts keep them busy, they—"

Suddenly, the second leader fell silent, and Qin Leyin leisurely brewed himself a pot of tea, took a small bottle from his pocket, poured a bit of clotted cream into the tea, stirred, comfortably took a sip, then asked: "What happened?"

"Ah Li, the one who’s adept in the Biting Battle Technique under my command..." The second leader swallowed: "In front of Jing Zhengwei, he couldn’t take a single move, got his throat torn open."

But he soon bucked up: "Rest assured, another subordinate, Big Fly, is an accomplished Lingxu Martial Artist. He possesses a fine Heyang Army short gun, and has slain many enemies for me normally, he’s sure to kill Jing Zhengwei on the spot—"

Suddenly, the second leader fell silent again.

Qin Leyin ate a piece of pastry, licked the crumbs from his fingertips, and said: "Let me guess, Big Fly was killed by that woman, right?"

"Yes, yes..." The second leader sat slumped on the ground in despair, staring at the floor: "Jing Zhengwei dodged Big Fly’s first shot, and when Big Fly was about to shoot continuously to corner him, that woman’s finger emitted a ray of light, piercing through Big Fly’s head from several meters away..."

Qin Leyin commented: "Relying solely on light burst, piercing a head from such a distance... To have such power and range, it must be the Sword Martial Technique or the Formless Battle Technique."

"However, for Sword Martial Artists to reach this ’Man and Sword as One’ state, they’re basically swordsmen who never part with their swords, that woman wasn’t even carrying a sword, doesn’t seem like it."

"Could she be a Formless Martial Artist...?" Qin Leyin couldn’t help but stand up, gazing into the distance at the battling couple: "There doesn’t seem to be any Formless Martial Artists in Xuanzhu County, right? Without being brought in, how could she practice it? That is the most difficult and complex of the eighteen combat techniques... Now dealing with a major of the Jing Family, to actually provoke a genius?"

Formless Battle Technique, it is acknowledged as the combat technique with the highest learning threshold and fewest learners among the eighteen official techniques. It is solely for geniuses.

Formless Battle Technique can be summarized in one sentence: a comprehensive approach, proficient in all. And its initiation requires entry into the other seventeen techniques and mastery of eight standard weapons!

What does formless mean? It is about having no distinct form, leaving no trace; the twenty-five forms of formless can respond to virtually any combat scenario, perfectly countering any offensive without weaknesses or flaws, always the strongest!

Essentially, the Formless Battle Technique is a barrel strategy, flawless with no shortcomings. However, clearly, if not learned well, it becomes a skillset with no strengths.

In addition, the current trend among Listaout martial artists is ’excelling in a particular move, conquering all’. No matter the myriad changes, they break it with one sword, so few people practice the Formless Battle Technique.

Yet, its concept is very high, considered the ultimate goal for all martial artists, and the creation of the Formless Battle Technique, hailed as unparalleled by the Grand Ancestor of Listaout, supplemented by many grandmaster martial artists throughout history, has been perfectly preserved to the present day despite the fewness of learners.

Qin Leyin hadn’t met a Formless Martial Artist before, but after watching for a while, he could confirm the woman was indeed a Formless Martial Artist!

Long-distance light burst focus stabbing a target is the ’Spirit Gun’, derived from the ’Liaoyuan Battle Technique’;

Conjuring claw marks of light bursts by swinging is the ’Demon Hand’, derived from the ’Badao Stream Assassination Technique’;

A punch breaking someone into pieces without charging is the ’Instant Cannon’, derived from artillery.

Even if this woman isn’t fully a Formless Martial Artist, her ability to use these three moves shows her significant proficiency in Liaoyuan Battle Technique and Assassination Technique!

"They’ve broken out."

Watching Jing Zhengwei and that woman effortlessly evade sparse bullets from behind using Illusionary Cloak and slip into another alley leading to the main street, Qin Leyin sighed: "Such is destiny, Jing Zhengwei’s life isn’t meant to end."

"Young Master, just give me another chance!" The second leader knelt, forehead touching the ground: "I promise to bring you Jing Zhengwei’s head!"

"What use is his head to me? I just want him dead."

Qin Leyin laughed out loud and shook his head: "Ah, my sister rarely asks for help from her big brother, yet I couldn’t even manage such a thing... I’ll surely be ridiculed by Yueyang when I return."

"Just, just give me another chance..."

"I like talking to smart people." Qin Le Yin brushed his bangs and said, "You know, my premise for helping you leave is that Jing Zhengwei is dead—the dead eldest son of the Jing Family. No one will care if you leave."

"But he’s not dead, so he’s a Silver Blood noble of Xuanzhu County. The Silver Blood Association has to give an explanation to the Jing Family, and then the Yitian Gang has to give an explanation to the Silver Blood Association. If you leave, the Silver Blood Association can say to the Jing Family, ’I’m sorry, I couldn’t find out who tried to kill your eldest son’—the Silver Blood Association can’t say that, because it would give the Jing Family a chance to take an inch and demand a mile."

"So the Silver Blood Association will randomly select a lucky chamber of commerce from the Yitian Gang’s books that is connected to the Jing Family to deflect the Jing Family’s anger... And the Qin Family does have some dealings with the Yitian Gang."

Qin Le Yin patted the second leader’s shoulder: "Go back and write a will, take all the blame, and I promise your family will be fine."

"Young Master... I don’t want to..." The second leader gritted his teeth and said, "I don’t want to die! Is there really no other way..."

"Hey, you’re not young anymore. Why are you still so childish?" Qin Le Yin chuckled, "If you don’t die, it will be our interests that get hurt. You’re not from the Qin Family, and Silver Blood doesn’t run in your veins, so why are you still fantasizing about having a good ending?"

After speaking, Qin Le Yin turned to leave, but then looked back and said, "Although I doubt it will happen... I’ll send people to ’protect’ your family, hoping you can complete your final task and not do something that ’pleases the enemy and pains your loved ones.’"

The second leader hung his head, using the corner of his eye to glance at Qin Le Yin’s departing figure, his eyes flashing with ferocity.

Kill Qin Le Yin!

Hide the family!

The outer city is so vast, how could the Silver Blood Association possibly find me!?

After all, I’ve mastered the Wolf Eagle Fist, how can I let the Qin Family use me as their dog until death!?

Bam!

With a loud explosion, the second leader charged at Qin Le Yin!

"Oh." Qin Le Yin didn’t turn back, leisurely saying, "Heaven’s will is hard to defy, business is hard to do."

A few minutes later, Qin Le Yin emerged from the private room. He brushed his bangs, handed a gold coin to a passing attendant: "The upstairs room got dirty, go clean it up, and seal the room, the Silver Blood Association needs it."

"Oh oh oh! Don’t worry, I’ll make sure the room is spotless!" The attendant quickly pocketed the gold coin, watching the wealthy red-haired young master leave, thinking how lucky he was to earn a gold coin just for cleaning a room.

But when the attendant opened the door of the private room, he was scared pale by the scene before him, and instinctively sat on the floor.

Blood!

Red!

An already disfigured head was placed neatly at the center of the dining table. Upon seeing this, the attendant couldn’t hold back anymore and vomited uncontrollably.

For some reason, the attendant suddenly recalled the streak of red he had just seen.

That ostentatious young man had long hair that was even redder than blood.

...

...

"Finally got out."

Two young men and women, blood-stained and battered, suddenly emerged on the busy street. Passersby glanced at them but showed little interest, automatically avoiding them.

The outer city had many gangs, and chopping people in broad daylight was common; people were long used to it.

Le Yu glanced at the shadowy alley behind, ensuring the thugs weren’t vicious enough to chase them onto the main street: "Are you hurt?"

"Just minor injuries." Mu Qingmei also took a deep breath, leaning against a wall for air. She eyed Le Yu: "You’re quite hurt, your butt is still bleeding."

"I’ll see a Medical Officer for treatment later." Le Yu was indifferent; he had survived, meaning his capitalistic life wasn’t over yet: "By the way, why were you following me?"

Mu Qingmei was about to ask who those people were, but now she was caught off guard by Le Yu’s question. She stammered and retorted: "Why did you shoot me with a gun earlier?!"

"Seeing someone following me, isn’t it normal to use a gun for self-defense? And the first shot was a blank, meant to scare off thieves. You know, I’m a wealthy second-generation, and stepping outside might get me kidnapped or murdered, being cautious is normal."

Le Yu spoke leisurely: "But you, I remember you’re a small editor at our newspaper, right? Why were you tailing me?"

"Moreover, you clearly have such strong martial skills; why work as a small editor at a newspaper?"

"Even not content with being an editor, you actually followed the eldest son of the Jing Family..."

Le Yu squinted his eyes: "Could it be you..."

He guessed it!

Mu Qingmei stepped back, quickly scanning nearby roads, preparing to flee at any moment. If they were in a deserted area, Mu Qingmei could kill Jing Zhengwei and destroy the evidence, but on the bustling street, she couldn’t make a move, nor was Jing Zhengwei someone she could defeat easily.

Plus, they had just fought their way out together. If Mu Qingmei turned around and killed her ally, she had a moral barrier she couldn’t cross.

Though he saw her face, though he guessed her identity... the future can be dealt with later, she had to flee for now!

"You..." Le Yu stroked his chin, suddenly using an oddly subtle and annoying gaze to scan Mu Qingmei’s figure:

"Do you not want to work hard anymore?"