Spirit Ruin, Sword Coffin, Blind Swordsman

Soon, Zheng Shaohua changed his approach and turned his sights on the brothels. Before long, he found a suspicious character—Li Daniu. The man had entered the city earlier that day and checked into Fragrance Hotel, one of the Zheng family’s properties.

Twirling a jade slip between his fingers, Zheng Shaohua muttered, “Li Daniu… hehe.”

He glanced at the people behind him. “Get ready! We’re heading to Fragrance Hotel!”

Several voices answered from behind him. They belonged to three late Golden Core Realm cultivators, each wearing the Zheng family uniform. The character “供” embroidered on their chests indicated they were ceremonial elders.

Meanwhile, Li Guanqi lounged by the inner balcony, crossing one leg as he sipped wine. He closed his eyes, letting himself drift in the melodious singing from below.

He tossed two grapes into his mouth. But then, the surrounding noise faded. His hand slowed as he reached for another grape, and he slowly opened his eyes. He had sensed hostile auras.

The hostility wasn’t aimed at him. Those Golden Core Realm cultivators were simply letting their presence spill out, making themselves stand out.

They immediately sat down on the first floor.

Li Guanqi barely spared them a thought. Instead, his gaze fell on a youth in green robes seated several zhang away. He was handsome, with flowing hair and prominent features. What really caught Li Guanqi’s attention, however, were his hands. He had six fingers on his right hand.

Next to his thumb was another thumb-like finger, moving with surprising dexterity. This was his first time seeing someone whose sixth finger had not been chopped off by their parents in childhood.The young man seemed introverted, maybe lacking in self-esteem. He kept trying to cover his right hand with his sleeve. Despite this, he possessed a powerful aura. He was in the late Golden Core Realm.

He looked no older than eighteen, yet he had already achieved such remarkable cultivation. The refined way he sipped his tea suggested a noble background and excellent upbringing within a prominent clan.

Onstage, the woman who had been singing slowly stepped down, and another girl was carried up the stage to take her place.

A five-string guqin was set before her. Though a white veil covered her face, her beauty was unmistakable.

However, she didn’t share the crowd’s excitement. Her eyes held sorrow, and when she caught the lecherous stares of the young man seated in front of the stage, hatred flickered through her gaze.

But the youth sitting in front of the stage seemed to revel in her hatred, his lips curved upward in a teasing smirk. He was Zheng Shaohua.

Zheng Shaohua looked up at the girl onstage, very pleased with what he had done. With his lips barely moving, he said softly, “Play.”

The girl sat there stubbornly, refusing to move. She merely glared at him, as if protesting.

Zheng Shaohua chuckled, then curled his finger in a come-hither motion.

A moment later, a man was pushed out of a room on the fourth floor. He looked like he had just recovered from a serious illness.

The girl’s head snapped up. Tears welled in her eyes as she bit her lip.

Two burly men looped a rope around the man’s neck and hurled him over the balcony.

“Mmmph! Mmph!”

He clawed desperately at the noose, gasping for air.

Below, Zheng Shaohua leaned back in his chair, laughing and clapping as if it were a performance staged for his amusement. His raucous laughter drew attention, and some people wanted to stop him, but when they saw his face and luxurious robes, they swallowed their protests.

They could not afford to cross the Zheng family.

From the balcony, Li Guanqi watched quietly, his divine consciousness spreading across the building. A brief probe revealed that the girl was likely poisoned and paralyzed from the waist down.

She seemed familiar. He focused his consciousness more sharply, then suddenly lurched to his feet in shock. Song Zhi’ang! Why is she here? What happened?

She was the brothel girl who had found Yu Sui’an in a garbage heap during the Tournament of a Hundred Sects.

And that arrogant youth must be Young Master Zheng, the one who stirred trouble at the Treasure Pavilion.

Song Zhi’ang, gentle by nature, now fought to hold back tears as she placed her fingers on the strings and began to play.

The guqin’s mournful notes filled the hall. Zheng Shaohua walked up to the railing and closed his eyes, immersed in the music. His lips curved in satisfaction, and his fingers began tapping the table in rhythm, as if playing alongside her.

Suddenly, he raised his hand. All the doors of Fragrance Hotel slammed shut.

“I heard a certain guest visited the Treasure Pavilion today. Who was it? Step forward. I want to see which celebrity was important enough for the manager to keep me waiting.”

To the six-fingered youth’s surprise, Li Guanqi rose slowly to his feet. He glanced at the middle-aged man[1] dangling from the rope, then stepped forward.

He lifted the man gently, looked down at Zheng Shaohua, and said in a calm voice, “It was me. What are you going to do about it?”

Zheng Shaohua looked up slowly and narrowed his eyes. He burst into laughter. “What am I going to do? Hahaha! Get the fuck down here! No one in Nanze dares look down on me!”

Boom!

Three Golden Core Realm cultivators flew up.

Li Guanqi frowned. This guy has a screw loose.

He looked toward the weeping Song Zhi’ang. Light flashed beneath his feet, then a single blinding light tore through the building.

Boom!

The entire Fragrance Hotel split in half.

Shocked gasps echoed. The two muscular men had been decapitated.

The middle-aged man felt a gentle force lift him.

Song Zhi’ang’s veil had slipped down without her noticing. She could only stare at the handsome youth and the iconic sword box on his back.

“It’s him…!”

But not everyone was as stunned as she was. Three late Golden Core Realm cultivators shot at Li Guanqi.

Clang!

Li Guanqi released several rays of sword light. Lightning crackled violently in the air, as if his sword aura had become a sea of thunder. In the next breath, three headless bodies hit the floor.

Li Guanqi looked down at Zheng Shaohua’s pale face and let out a low chuckle. “I’m looking down at you right now. What are you going to do about it? Hmm?”

1. It’s implied that this man is Song Zhi’ang’s father. In chapter 150, Song Zhi’ang was handsomely rewarded by the Daxia Sword Sect for finding and rescuing Yu Sui’an. Song Zhi’ang also revealed that her father was gravely ill. She probably used the reward to help her father, hence the description earlier in this chapter noting that he “looked like he had just recovered from a serious illness.” ☜