“Master?”
Chen Er lowered his voice and probed with a question.
Seeing Jingyuan listening intently for any sounds, wearing a stern expression, everyone in the hall grew tense as well, tightening their grip on the sabres in their hands and warily looking around.
After all, who were they guarding against in their night patrols?
Who else but that infamous fiend who killed without batting an eye, Chai Xian.
When nothing unusual happened, everyone could laugh and joke. But as soon as something felt off, this group of low-ranked patrolmen from the jianghu would instantly lose their composure.
After all, Chai Xian was a top figure in Xiangzhou, at the peak of the fifth rank Transforming Force, and rumour had it he could also command four iron corpses.
“In the river.”
Jingyuan opened his eyes and spoke in a deep voice.
In the river? Chen Er’s heart tightened. The next moment, he heard a splashing sound from outside the tavern, as if something had burst out of the water.
Everyone in the hall heard it too. Over a dozen pairs of eyes turned at once to the tightly closed tavern doors, bracing themselves for confrontation.
The splashing grew louder and more frequent, with more and more things bursting out of the water.
Suddenly, with a tremendous crash, the tavern doors were forcefully smashed open.
A figure rushed into the tavern. Dressed in ragged clothes and reeking of filth, his hair, straw-like and sopping wet from the river, clung to a bloodless face. His eyes were murky and lifeless.
More “companions” followed behind him, all of them staring coldly and impassively at the people inside the tavern.
At first glance, there were at least forty of them.
This grisly and terrifying sight would have frightened any ordinary person or low-ranking jianghu folk from other commanderies into utter panic.
Fortunately, people from Xiangzhou were no strangers to walking corpses. Accustomed to the sight, they did not feel that supernatural terror; to them, walking corpses were no different from packs of wolves in the mountains.
“Brothers, get ready!”
Chen Er shouted, grabbing a large net from the basket by his feet and flinging it at the walking corpses.
Next, he strode forward, brandishing his sabre and slashing hard at the neck of the corpse that had broken down the tavern doors.
Thud!
The sabre stuck in the neck but failed to sever the head.
While walking corpses were not as resilient as iron corpses, they had been formidable jianghu fighters in life. Nurtured with vital blood, their bodies were even stronger than most at the Refining Vitality realm.
The walking corpse opened its foul, reeking mouth, full of yellow teeth, and lunged for Chen Er’s neck.
Its attack was so fast, on par with a master of the Refining Qi realm, that Chen Er could not even dodge. Despair flooded his mind.
Master, save me! Chen Er screamed internally.
Then, in his field of vision, the walking corpse’s head spun away through the air, its body froze, and then collapsed stiffly to the ground.
Jingyuan, holding a monk blade, flicked corpse water from the blade and said calmly,
“Break the windows and run. These walking corpses are beyond your ability to handle.”
With the person behind the scenes’ ability to control corpses, it would be effortless to wipe out such a gang of unranked pawns.
Chen Er breathed a sigh of relief, did not try to be a hero, and urged, “Master, quickly use the prayer beads to alert the others.”
Jingyuan ignored him, braced himself and strode towards the charging walking corpses. With each swing, a head went flying.
Seeing this, Chen Er and the others hesitated no longer, dashing to the hall’s side windows and smashing their way out.
None of the walking corpses gave chase; their target was clearly Jingyuan.
Thud, thud, thud…
One head after another went flying. Against Warrior Monk Jingyuan’s blade, the walking corpses did not last a single round.
But he managed his strength carefully, keeping it to the level of an early fifth rank.
After all, to display the might of a peak fourth rank all at once would only scare the enemy off.
Clang!
He slashed at one corpse’s neck and, for the first time, lost his unstoppable momentum. The corpse’s head did not fly off; glaring sparks flashed at its neck and vanished.
An iron corpse!
This one was an iron corpse.
The iron corpse, unfazed by Jingyuan’s slash, wrapped its arms around him and opened its foul mouth, biting for Jingyuan’s neck.
Crack!
Its yellow teeth snapped and scattered, as if it had sunk them into gold.
Jingyuan’s body gleamed gold, like a golden statue. The moment the iron corpse grabbed him, Jingyuan had activated his Vajra technique.
Before he could break free, three more walking corpses charged up, knocking aside their “companions.” One pinned his neck from behind, another grabbed his legs, and a third twisted his arms.
He was held fast.
The next moment, Jingyuan’s martial instinct sounded a warning: danger.
From the beam above, a figure in black, hooded, dropped down, clutching a steel awl wrapped with a powerful aura, and thrust it at Jingyuan’s crown.
The person behind the scenes had appeared.
Jingyuan’s expression did not waver. His kasaya swelled as he channelled his power, no longer hiding his strength. Ferocious force exploded from within him like gunpowder.
Boom!
The four iron corpses shattered into pieces.
Jingyuan reached up, grabbing the black-clad man’s wrist, and with a fierce over-the-shoulder throw, slammed him to the ground.
With a crash, the solid floor cracked.
Jingyuan then drove a heavy fist into the man’s abdomen, smashing through his Bronze Skin and Iron Bones.
At this moment, Jingyuan frowned, his expression stiffening. The wrist he grabbed had no pulse.
He yanked off the man’s hood. Beneath it there was still a veil, but there was no need to remove it: Jingyuan saw his eyes, murky, empty, lifeless.
There’s an aura, but no pulse or heartbeat… This is a puppet even stronger than an iron corpse… I’ve walked into a trap!
Jingyuan immediately realised.
The person behind the scenes had not shown himself. He had used this corpse king to disguise himself as the “living,” attempting a sneak attack. If Jingyuan had been injured just now, it would mean he was indeed only at the fifth rank, and the enemy would immediately appear to coordinate the walking corpses in besieging him.
Otherwise, it meant he was hiding his strength.
Unexpectedly cautious…
Jingyuan walked out of the tavern and looked into the vast night.
He was utterly calm, as if he had everything under control.
…
The candlelight burned quietly. In the warm bedroom, Li Lingsu, wrapped in a robe, sat at the table enjoying a post-exercise meal.
He had just satisfied the beautiful married woman, and while Chai Xing’er was still lost in afterglow, Li Lingsu used hunger as an excuse to leave, then called a maid to help warm the wine and reheat the dishes.
As everyone knew, one would be ravenous after strenuous exercise, so Chai Xing’er had no doubts.
She curled up lazily under the quilt and soon fell into a deep sleep.
Li Lingsu took a few sips of wine and ate a few bites, pretending to be tipsy. He rested his chin in his hand and feigned a nap.
A yin spirit quietly slipped away, passing through the beams, drifting gracefully to a certain courtyard.
This was the courtyard of Chai Jianyuan’s second son. Chai Jianyuan had three sons in total: his eldest died young of illness, and the second son, lacking the talent for cultivation, helped the family manage their businesses.
In a daze, Chai Zhong heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes to see a dark figure sitting at the table with its back to him.
“Who’s there?”
Chai Zhong demanded.
“Zhong’er, it’s your dad!”
The figure turned, revealing the face of Chai Jianyuan.
“Father?!”
Chai Zhong exclaimed, seemingly frightened.
He tried to rouse the woman lying next to him and called out loudly for the guards, but there was no response.
“This is your dream,” Chai Jianyuan explained.
“A dream?”
Chai Zhong asked in disbelief. He slapped himself but felt no pain, so he accepted that it was indeed a dream.
He felt a bit more at ease, muttering inwardly: Why do I need you to tell me I’m in my own dream…
“Zhong’er, you’ve treated Chai Xian very well over the years. Do you blame dad for being biased?” “Chai Jianyuan” asked.
Chai Zhong gave a wry smile. “The Chai family relies on martial skill. I have no talent for cultivation, so I can only help manage the shops and do business. It’s natural you don’t value me.”
“Chai Jianyuan” nodded. “Then do you know why dad values Chai Xian so much?”
Chai Zhong replied as a matter of course, “Of course, because Chai Xian is gifted and has great talent. In the past, everyone in the family said you had a discerning eye for finding a genius.”
Then, his face turned resentful: “Who would have thought it was inviting a wolf into the house, bringing back such a calamity.”
It seemed he truly did not know Chai Xian was Chai Jianyuan’s illegitimate child… “Chai Jianyuan” followed up with a sigh:
“I never thought things would turn out this way. Had I known, I shouldn’t have brought him back all those years ago. But in all these years, has no one seen through that he’s cold-hearted and ungrateful?”
Chai Zhong grunted, “Chai Xian is extreme by nature. He fancied Xiao Lan, yet you didn’t approve their marriage.”
After a few more questions, Li Lingsu left Chai Zhong’s dream and drifted away to the courtyard of the third Chai brother, Chai Kai.
It was deep into the night, yet Chai Kai’s courtyard was still brightly lit. He was playing drinking games with his concubines. These concubines were seductive and beautiful, wearing thin gauze indoors, their charms faintly visible.
Chai Kai was a rather good-looking young master, at Refining Qi, thanks to his father’s strict discipline during his youth, he had survived the hardest days of a martial artist.
He had successfully refined his vitality.
But after that, he had fallen into decadence, becoming addicted to pleasure and women.
Still not sleeping in the middle of the night…
Li Lingsu cursed quietly and waited patiently outside.
Finally, he saw Chai Kai, wrapped in the arms of two beautiful concubines, with two more trailing behind. Five in total, they lifted the bed curtains and entered the large bed.
Soon, the sound of women’s delightful moans drifted from behind the heavy drapes.
This escapade lasted a good hour before it finally ended, leaving Li Lingsu green with envy.
To think a mere Refining Qi, someone so obsessed with pleasure and women, could handle so many at once… Sometimes, the martial artist’s physique is truly enviable…
After waiting a bit longer and confirming that Chai Kai had fallen asleep, he wasted no further time and quickly entered his dream.
…
Drowsy, Chai Kai heard someone calling him. He opened his eyes and saw his deceased father, Chai Jianyuan.
“Father, aren’t you dead?”
Chai Kai slapped himself, found it didn’t hurt, and came to the realisation he was dreaming.
“You little bastard!”
Chai Jianyuan cursed, “All you do is indulge in debauchery. If you had half of Chai Xian’s potential, I’d rest easy in my grave.”
At first, being able to dream of his father, Chai Kai was happy, but his face suddenly fell and he sneered,
“End up like him, and then kill you as well?”
“Chai Jianyuan” was stunned, but then his expression softened. In a low voice, he said,
“Dad also regrets bringing Chai Xian back, but do you know why I did?”
Chai Kai looked confused at these words.
“Chai Jianyuan” pressed on, “Do you know if Chai Xian has any unusual traits, like six toes?”
Chai Kai paused, shook his head, “He has six toes?”
Chai Xian must have been self-conscious about his deformity if even the childhood ‘companions’ didn’t know. Hm, there’s a reason these two didn’t get along… Li Lingsu then asked if Chai Kai knew that ‘dad’ had six toes.
He was once again told no.
However, Chai Kai was full of resentment toward Chai Xian, complaining that Chai Xian, a bastard outsider, had stolen Chai Jianyuan’s favour, taken the spotlight from him and his second brother, and even tried to strangle him in a childhood fight.
“I only insulted his mother, saying she was a woman from the brothels, and that he was a bastard. He nearly strangled me to death,” was how Chai Kai put it.
Just as Xu Qian had said, Chai Xian’s temperament was indeed a bit extreme… Li Lingsu found no crucial leads and wrapped up this night’s operation.
…
In the mountains behind Sanshui Town, a figure sped through the darkness, sometimes leaping, sometimes sprinting madly.
Wearing black clothes and a cloak, he paused when he leapt over a mountain stream.
In the faint, cold moonlight, upon a large rock by the stream stood a young monk in an azure robe with a cloth bag at his waist.
He pressed his palms together, gaze calm as he looked at the dark-clad man, and said gently, “Amitabha, the sea of suffering is boundless, turn back and see the shore.”
“A monk from the Western Regions?”
The man in the cloak lowered his hood, revealing a handsome, restrained face with troubled brows.
As he revealed his face, faint Buddhist light began to seep from Jinxin’s cloth bag.
Jinxin opened the bag and took out a golden alms bowl. The bowl emitted a searing, pure light.
He aimed the bowl at the black-clad man, sending forth a beam of pure but gentle golden light that shone upon Chai Xian.
Within the golden light, Jinxin vaguely saw a thick dragon shadow entwined inside Chai Xian’s body.
A Dragon Qi host… Putting away the golden bowl, Jinxin gave the black-clad man a deep look and said,
“May I know this benefactor’s esteemed name?”
The black-robed man frowned slightly, answering calmly, “Chai Xian.”
Comments for this chapter. You will need a GitHub account. Please follow all terms and conditions of GitHub issues and maintain etiquette in the comments. Cookies are required for this functionality.
If you want to talk with other readers about Nightwatchers (or other cultivation type books) you can join our cultivation groupreading discord server!
I also have a Kofi, which for legal reasons is definitely for supporting my digital art only (promise!): ko-fi.com/yanxin ... plus I guess server space isn't free, and I don't want to put ads/trackers... ever, so thank you if you do!