Great Li Martial God

Hearing Li Musheng’s question, Hu Rui’an put away the map, and a deeply complicated expression crossed his face as he shook his head, saying, ”I will not hide it from Your Highness. I have some old grudges and entanglements with the master of Zhanliu Manor, Shen Liancheng, and so I have some concerns about the part of the journey that will take us through the manor’s territory.”

Having said this, Hu Rui’an fell silent and showed no intention of going into further detail.

Li Musheng raised an eyebrow slightly. Judging from the man’s expression, the so-called entanglements were probably not simple, and very likely concealed some story not known to others.

Even so, he had no particular interest in prying into it, and could not be bothered to ask further.

Before long, Wu Shang went and came back, his expression somewhat unpleasant as he reported, ”The bridge crossing the Julu River up ahead has somehow been destroyed. Everyone on the bank has been stopped, and all the carriages, horses, and people on the road are unable to get through.”

Hearing this, Hu Rui’an furrowed his brow, raised his head to look ahead, and said slowly, ”This is the only road to Sheng Province in this area. If we take a detour, it will add at least one to two days to the journey.”

As he spoke, he looked toward Wu Shang and asked, ”Are you certain the bridge is completely gone? There is no way at all for the carriage to get through?”

Wu Shang gave a light nod, saying, ”I saw it with my own eyes. The stone and timber bridge built across the river has been completely swept apart. The river is around a hundred zhang wide, and the water is deep and fast. It seems fording it with horses and a carriage would also be out of the question.”

Hu Rui’an thought briefly, then turned to look at Li Musheng, clearly intending to consult his opinion.

But just at that moment, a startled cry suddenly erupted from ahead, and a voice rang out loudly, saying, ”What remarkable lightness technique! That person has crossed the river alone!”The moment those words carried over, the expressions of Hu Rui’an, Cao Gaoshan, and the others all shifted at once.

”I almost forgot. We have more pressing business on this trip. The carriage is not anything of great importance. There is no harm in leaving it behind.”

Hu Rui’an stroked his beard and spoke slowly, and Captain Wu Shang, Cheng Zhong, and the others all nodded, their expressions eager, saying, ”Our lightness techniques may not be exceptional, but crossing a hundred zhang of river should not pose any problem.”

As they spoke, the group exchanged glances, then all turned their heads at once to look toward Li Musheng.

Hu Rui’an was just about to speak when Li Musheng waved a hand and said, ”What is there to make such a fuss over. Then let’s keep moving forward.”

Hearing this, Hu Rui’an gave a light nod and said to Wu Shang, ”Go ahead and clear the path. Let’s get to the riverbank first.”

Wu Shang agreed at once, and as he spurred his horse forward, he channeled True Qi into his voice and called out in a resonant shout, ”Everyone, please make way!”

His voice rang out like a thunderclap, leaving the ears of everyone around him ringing.

In an instant, whether ordinary traveling merchants or martial world practitioners with some ability, every one of them recognized that Wu Shang was a formidable figure not to be trifled with, and moved aside one after another, quickly pressing apart a narrow passage through the crowd of people, horses, and mules wide enough for the carriage to pass.

Cao Gaoshan, seeing this, drove the carriage forward and followed behind Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong, as the surrounding crowd murmured in timid whispers.

Some speculated about who this group was and what their background might be, while others felt that with the road ahead completely broken, pressing forward was pointless, and that these people would undoubtedly turn around and come trudging back the way they came before long.

At the same time, inside the carriage, Hu Rui’an had taken out a human skin mask and was pressing it carefully onto his face, making use of whatever time was available to change his appearance.

Catching Li Musheng giving him a sideways look, Hu Rui’an explained with an unruffled expression, saying, ”Wu Shang stirred up quite a commotion. To avoid drawing the attention of Zhanliu Manor and causing unnecessary trouble, I feel it is better to be cautious.”

Hearing this, Murong Xiaoya gave him a suspicious glance with a slight furrow of her brows, while Li Musheng narrowed his eyes with a slight smile, saying, ”Whatever pleases the Commissioner.”

At this point, with Wu Shang leading the way, the carriage came to a stop at a clear space on the riverbank.

Along the bank, a considerable number of sword and blade-carrying martial world practitioners had gathered, while the ordinary traveling merchants and common wayfarers had all been pushed back further behind.

Even so, the gazes of these martial world practitioners were almost entirely fixed on a stone pillar a short distance ahead.

The pillar was what remained of the bridge’s foundation after the crossing had been destroyed, and standing atop it was a sword-bearing man of around thirty in a blue robe and a wide-brimmed bamboo hat.

The man looked out at the churning, rushing torrent of river water before him, drew a long, deep breath, then lowered his body slightly into a coiled stance ready to leap.

Around him, the martial world practitioners were pointing and talking in lively discussion.

”Another one trying to cross the river. Apart from that elder from the Zhu family in Chong Province who managed it earlier, the other two that tried after him were swept away by the current and haven’t been seen since.”

”This one’s different. He seems to be from the ’Golden Eagle Manor.’ Their style of lightness technique and swordplay is famously formidable throughout the martial world. I’d say crossing this river should be no problem for him.”

While people were still speaking, the man in blue had already leaped into the air.

After covering several zhang in flight, he generated True Qi beneath his feet and landed atop the surging surface of the water. From there, like a dragonfly skimming a pond, he launched himself into the air again for several more zhang, repeating this pattern in quick succession as he pressed steadily toward the opposite bank.

”The Golden Eagle technique is genuinely impressive. The current in this stretch of river is extremely fast, yet this man is still able to stabilize himself and advance with the support of his martial True Qi. It shows he has mastered this movement technique to a very practiced level.”

Hu Rui’an, now wearing a different face, looked out through the lifted carriage curtain at the figure on the river surface and offered his assessment.

But just at that moment, something changed without warning.

Just as the watching crowd thought the man was about to reach the opposite bank, a black whip seemed to emerge from nowhere on the far shore, lashing out through the air toward the man in blue.

Fortunately, the man in blue reacted quickly and his movement technique was excellent. He wrenched his body around using the force of the rushing water beneath him, narrowly dodging the strike by the narrowest of margins.

At the same time, a cold laugh rang out, and a man in black appeared on the far bank at some unknown moment, saying in a low, stern voice, ”Any man under thirty years of age, or any man not yet married, is forbidden from crossing this river. Any who defy this will meet the same fate as him.”

His voice was carried by True Qi and reached every pair of ears in the crowd with perfect clarity.

And the moment he finished speaking, a row of armored soldiers bearing iron bows and loaded crossbows stepped out from behind him on the far bank, each one drawing and nocking their arrows in quick succession.

The next moment, with the sharp sound of bolts splitting the air, a volley of arrows came raining down toward the man in blue.

Seeing this, the man in blue’s expression changed drastically.

Executing a lightness technique atop a raging torrent was difficult enough on its own. Now under attack as well, he could not cope at all, and had no choice but to twist and dodge with everything he had while immediately spinning around and skimming back the way he had come across the water.

By the time he barely made it back to the bank through sheer desperate effort, his entire body collapsed to the ground.

Two arrows had buried themselves deep into his back, and his body was soaked through with blood.