34: The assassination and the honest monk

September 13th, afternoon, three miles outside the eastern suburbs of the capital.

The weather seemed even hotter, cicadas chirped in succession, disturbing people's peace of mind.

Lu Jiuyuan pulled his cloak tighter around him, his face still devoid of color under the autumn sun, every step he took was slow, his footing unsteady.

Shangguan Xueer supported one of his arms, while her other hand carried a small bundle.

Lu Xiaofeng walked beside them, seemingly at ease, but in reality, all his senses were heightened to the extreme.

An invisible pressure permeated the air, a murderous chill before a coming storm.

“The atmosphere is very wrong, be careful! There are people above and below, some people can't tolerate us anymore!”

Lu Xiaofeng's voice dropped even lower, and his steps slowed.

“Later, protect Xue'er, don't worry about me!” Lu Jiuyuan said softly.

“Can you do it?”

“When I'm killing, who dares say I can't?”

The three continued to walk forward as if oblivious, covering another thirty zhang.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!”

Sharp, piercing sounds suddenly tore through the silence of the official road!

It came from the large trees on both sides! And from the ground on both sides, crossbowmen emerged with their weapons.

An arrow rain!

A true arrow rain!

It wasn't a tentative volley, but a full-force, saturated attack from dozens of archers and crossbowmen who emerged from the large trees on both sides and from the ground ahead!

The dense, dark arrows, carrying a chilling glint, wove into an impenetrable net of death, completely engulfing Lu Jiuyuan, Lu Xiaofeng, and Shangguan Xueer!

The primary target was the figure wrapped in a cloak with unsteady steps—Lu Jiuyuan!

“Be careful!”

Lu Xiaofeng's reaction was instantaneous!

The moment the first whoosh sounded, his Qi surged around him, like an exploding whirlwind!

His wide red cloak, infused with his Internal Energy, instantly billowed like a wall, and with a fierce sweep, he completely wrapped Shangguan Xueer inside, protecting her behind his broad back!

At the same time, his two famous fingers had transformed into two afterimages, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye!

“Clang, clang, clang, clang—!”

A crisp sound, as dense as rain on a banana leaf, instantly erupted!

Lu Xiaofeng's figure turned into a blurry red phantom on the spot, his ten fingers nimbly darting, precisely flicking, plucking, clamping, and tapping!

The powerful arrows aimed at him and Shangguan Xueer, whether long arrows shot from strong bows or short bolts fired from crossbows, were all forcefully intercepted, deflected, or even snapped by his miraculously skilled fingers!

Arrows fell around him within a foot, as if hitting an invisible Qi wall!

“Xiao Jian!”

Shangguan Xueer, wrapped in the cloak, felt the world spin, her ears filled with piercing whistles and the explosive impact of arrows, and she cried out in alarm.

However, Lu Xiaofeng only protected himself and Xue'er, and did not account for Lu Jiuyuan, who was two steps away!

At least half of the arrows, with sharp whistles, like bloodthirsty poisonous bees, flew directly towards that seemingly tottering figure!

Just in this flash of lightning!

The figure wrapped in a cloak, with a pale face, suddenly vanished!

No, not vanished! He moved!

Fast! Faster than the limits of a heavily injured body! Faster than visual perception could capture!

The moment before the arrow net reached him, Lu Jiuyuan seemed to have transformed into a wisp of light smoke torn by a gale, or a streak of green lightning moving along the ground!

He did not retreat, but instead advanced towards the densest storm of arrows, moving forward instead of backward!

His body twisted, folded, slid, and shifted at unbelievable angles!

Every movement was executed with utmost precision, narrowly and miraculously avoiding dozens of deadly arrows.

“What?!”

In the treetops, behind the mounds of earth, the black-clad archers who had fired the arrows suddenly constricted their pupils, in disbelief!

Is this seriously a heavily injured, dying man? This is clearly a ghost!

Just as they were horrified and their minds lost focus—

“Clang—!”

With Internal Energy infused, a sword cry, filled with boundless killing intent, suddenly exploded!

Silver light!

A silver sword gleam, condensed to the extreme and fiercely murderous, burst forth from Lu Jiuyuan's hand!

The sword light was like a Dragon, soaring and twisting into the sky!

“Puff, puff, puff, puff—!”

Wherever the sword light passed, blood bloomed, like eerie flowers blossoming under the autumn sun!

On the left side of the tree canopy, three archers didn't even have time to scream before three-foot-high geysers of blood spurted from their necks simultaneously, their heads tilted, and their bodies fell like heavy sacks, hitting the ground with a dull thud!

The sword light continued without pause, like a living silver serpent dancing in the mountains, it inexplicably bent in mid-air, striking directly at the crossbowmen who had just emerged from the mud ahead and hadn't had time to re-string their crossbows!

“Ugh ah—!”

Two figures clutched their throats, blood gushing between their fingers, their eyes filled with extreme fear and bewilderment, and they softly collapsed.

The silver light flashed again!

Lu Jiuyuan's figure appeared like a ghost beneath the large tree on the right.

The two archers hiding behind the tree had just raised their bows when they saw a flash of green light before their eyes, felt a chill at their throats, and then endless darkness swallowed their consciousness.

“Kill him! Quick, shoot!” A leader-like figure shrieked, his voice broken with fear.

Too late!

Lu Jiuyuan's figure had completely merged into the slaughter. This was not a heavily injured patient at all, but clearly a grim reaper!

The Guhong Sword in his hand was no longer cold metal, but an extension of his arm, a manifestation of his killing intent!

Sword light crisscrossed!

Every flash brought a spray of hot blood!

Every soft hum reaped a soul!

His sword technique was still just a single thrust, but it was fast! Accurate! Ruthless! The thrust was tricky! The thrust was deadly!

One thrust pierced the throat of the crossbowman in front, a flick of his wrist, and the sword tip extended, piercing the eye of the person next to him.

Spin! Sweep back!

His movement technique was like a ghost, his sword light like lightning!

Fast! Too fast!

From the fall of the arrow rain until now, only three or four breaths had passed!

On the official road, in the mud, under the treetops, twenty-seven or twenty-eight bodies already lay!

Blood stained the dry earth, and the air was filled with a thick, undiluted smell of blood!

The autumn wind swept through, carrying the heavy scent of blood, rustling the blood-stained hem of Lu Jiuyuan's green robe.

A continuous, faint stream of energy flowed from the sword hilt into his body, almost rapidly healing his already not severe injuries.

He slowly turned around, the cold smile already gone, only his rosy complexion seemed a bit out of place.

“You bastard, Old Nine…” Lu Xiaofeng gritted his teeth, “Your injury… You are a big bastard!”

“Injury? Cough…” His face turned pale, he frowned, raised a hand to cover his mouth, and began to cough violently.

“Cough, cough, cough… cough, cough…”

This coughing fit was unusually violent, as if he was going to cough out his internal organs.

His tall figure hunched slightly, his shoulders trembling violently.

Between his fingers, striking crimson quickly seeped out and dripped, staining a small patch of dark red at his feet.

“Xiao Jian!” Shangguan Xueer exclaimed, wanting to step forward.

Lu Jiuyuan suddenly raised his other hand to stop her.

He coughed for a long while before slowly straightening up, his palm, surprisingly, held a small pool of viscous, dark red blood!

“The injury is real, and very serious. How could Ye Gucheng's Celestial Flight be so easy to take? Cough, cough…”

He coughed twice more, then gasped and continued:

“It's just… killing these insignificant opponents! I am only heavily injured, but not dead!”

The last sentence seemed to have an underlying meaning, and Lu Xiaofeng's pupils slightly constricted.

Just as he was about to say something, his gaze was drawn to an extremely strange figure on the official road ahead.

It was a Monk.

A Monk who was crawling.