Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Li Guanqi took a long look at the woman’s back before leaving the Hundred Treasures Pavilion with Ye Feng.

On the way back, he asked Ye Feng for the jade bottle, uncorked it, and peered inside. Nestled within were three glossy, light-red pills, each about the size of a fingernail. They gave off a potent qi-boosting energy and vigorously fluctuating spirit qi. The label on the bottle read Blood-Boosting Spirit Pills.

In a dark alley not far away, the youth they’d encountered earlier was staggering along, using the wall for support. His nose twitched, then his head jerked up. When he saw the blind youth from before holding the bottle of Blood-Boosting Spirit Pills, he broke into a wild run, stumbling and staggering all the way.

Li Guanqi’s brow furrowed in surprise.

The big-headed youth rushed up and grabbed Li Guanqi’s hand. His yellowed eyes flashed with panic as he cried out, “Don’t eat!”

He sounded young, but his voice was hoarse, like he hadn’t spoken in years. There was a sharp, whining edge to it. Without waiting for a response, he snatched the jade bottle.

Ye Feng frowned, ready to intervene, but Li Guanqi stopped him. He wanted to see what the youth would do.

Boom!

The jade bottle burst apart, scattering the three pills across the ground. The youth glared at the pills murderously, then ground them under his foot, crushing them to dust.

Then, he looked up at the two of them and shouted, “You two… Good people! Don’t eat!”And with that, he turned and darted back into the shadows, never looking back.

Li Guanqi watched him go, deep in thought, then lowered his gaze to the shattered bottle and crushed pills. He gathered the fragments and said, “We’ll talk once we’re back at the inn.”

A puzzled expression crossed Ye Feng’s face, but he followed Li Guanqi back to their inn without question.

The moment they went back to the room, Li Guanqi frowned and transmitted, “Someone entered our room.”

Ye Feng’s expression turned serious. He immediately drew his sword. “Who?”

Li Guanqi looked at the intact sunflower seed shells still in his hand and murmured, “No idea. But someone’s watching us. I bet it has something to do with those two guards at the city gates.”

Ye Feng didn’t understand the connection, but he trusted Li Guanqi enough not to ask. “Should we leave, Boss?”

Li Guanqi glanced at the sky outside and gave a faint smirk. “No need. If they only dared to sneak in, it means they’re wary of us. We’ll play it by ear. As long as they don’t bother us, we might not need to do anything.”

Elsewhere in the southern part of Lingchang City, the young woman who had received Li Guanqi at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion lay exhausted on a bed, her curves accentuated by the candlelight. Beside the bed stood a man putting his clothes back on. His body was thick with muscle and scars, including a long knife scar across his face. Stubble shadowed his jaw, adding to his fierce appearance.

He said in a low voice, “Luan Ying, did those two take the Blood-Boosting Pills?”

The woman wiped sweat from her body and replied weakly, “They did… but some guy with a freakishly big head smashed the bottle.”

She sighed. “Yu Kai, I don’t want to work at the Hundred Treasures Pavilion anymore. I have to smile at every creep who walks in. Also, that lecher who appraises the goods won’t stop ogling me.”

Yu Kai sat down beside her and gently stroked her cheek. He smiled. “Be good for me and stay just a little longer. Thanks to you, the Dark Blood Association’s recruited a lot of new members already.

“Soon, all of Lingchang City will be mine.”

Though she looked reluctant, the woman still nodded. She wrapped her arms around his waist, then recalled something. “What happened to Brother Heng and Wen Mei? They’ve been gone for ages. Why haven’t they sent word?”

Yu Kai chuckled. “You know how my little brother is. With that scam-and-kill business of his, he’s lucky if he meets a rogue cultivator once every ten days. Either he’s having a bout of bad luck, or he’s just slacking.”

He began caressing her again, then asked, “So, what do you think of those two brats? How strong do they seem?”

The woman frowned and blushed. After a moment, she said, “That golden-haired one’s probably just stepped into the Golden Core Realm. He’s trying to suppress his vital force fluctuations, but it’s still quite obvious.”

She paused thoughtfully. “However, I can’t read the one with the strange sword box. When he looked at me with those white eyes of his… I felt like he saw right through me. It’s best not to provoke him.”

Yu Kai frowned and muttered, “Probably some young masters from a big clan out to train. Tsk. Those types are always trouble, either backed by bodyguards or monsters in their own right.”

“As for that big-headed guy,” Yu Kai said, holding up his hands, “was his head about this big?”

The woman nodded. “Yeah. He’s the only one I’ve ever seen with a head that size. It’s a bit scary, even.”

Yu Kai huffed coldly and muttered, “Since my darling says he scares her, then I’ll go kill him. Hmph. He could have been an obedient blood slave, but he just had to cause trouble.”

He pulled out a jade slip and barked into it, “Go find that big-headed blood slave and drain his blood dry!”

That night, Ye Feng had long entered his cultivation state. Li Guanqi, however, couldn’t settle his thoughts. He had the persistent feeling of being watched.

He sent a voice transmission to Ye Feng, who instantly opened his eyes.

Boom!

Their eyes met, and they leaped to their feet.

Boom! Boom!

Two blurry shadows burst through the inn’s walls and shot off toward the southern part of the city in streaks of light.

Li Guanqi moved in a flash, closing the gap to just a few dozen zhang behind the man who’d been watching them.

The man pulled out a pill and swallowed it without hesitation. His speed increased significantly. At the same time, he broke a jade slip in his hand and shouted, “Brother, come now!”

Two streaks of light shot skyward from the southern part of the city.

Li Guanqi’s eyes narrowed. He transmitted, “Follow my lead!”

With his golden hair fluttering behind him, Ye Feng nodded solemnly.

The two streaks of light were heading for them.