Chapter 199: Tricked Again?

"Ranked sixth among the world's top swordsmen. Such arrogance indeed." A guard said softly, pursing his lips as he watched Bai Yixue's departure.

"I wonder how skillful number one has to be." Another person rolled his eyes with contempt.

"Well, this one certainly behaves like he's at the top of the league." Another one was twisting his neck to catch a better look at the man.

"Shush, being ranked sixth is no mean feat. Why aren't we ranked otherwise?"

Another person sighed, "It's a good thing we're on the same side now. It wouldn't kill us to tolerate him for a bit."

"Big brother is right."

...

Were they really on the same side?

Bai Yixue strolled out of the inn and made his way to his destination. His eyes carried frost but the grudge he carried in his heart was far more grave.

"I shall never gamble again in this lifetime. Ever!" Bai Yixue said in his heart.

He had followed Han Sanhe around these past few days and had been seen in public. A large number of people in Tiantang City was aware of Bai Yixue being Han Sanhe's bodyguard. Looking at him walking over, icily clad in his pristine white clothes, everyone had avoided them swiftly as if they had come across an icy storm. Nonetheless, they were also curious where this fellow was heading to.

By the looks of it, he seemed to be walking towards the palace.

However, Bai Yixue was not really going to the palace. He came up to the front of a residence and abruptly stopped.

The residence before Bai Yixue was not a small building; it looked newly built, the cement pasted on the wall had not even entirely dried.

It was Old He, He Hanqing's residence.

It had already been some time since He Hanqing's residence had been burned down by the flame that was Yun Yang. The charred structure had been restored and it had only been three days since Sir He had moved back to his own residence from a temporary shelter.

It was so recent that he had not even sat long enough to warm his seat in this residence.

Bai Yixue stood before the door and did not move, merely looking inside with cold eyes.

The people inside were also peering curiously at this person who had appeared out of nowhere and remained motionless.

What was wrong with him? Was he a crazy man?

Why is he standing outside our residence like a statue... is he envying how great a residence we have here?

Bai Yixue's right hand eventually moved, holding the grip of his sword as he said faintly, "Apologies, I have my orders. I have no choice but to do this!"

Before he completed his words, a bright sword-light flashed like a ray of lightning across the night sky.

Swoosh!

Old He's door that was just completed just days ago crumbled with a soft sigh, dust, and debris flying into the air in a billowing cloud.

With his fluttering white clothes, Bai Yixue entered the residence, sword in hand. "Give way, you insignificant ones! I seek only He Hanqing's life today!"

This was what Yun Yang had sent him to do.

Yun Yang had asked him to follow Han Sanhe for six days and had asked him to assassinate He Hanqing after Han Sanhe had left, but Bai Yixue could not wait any longer.

"I shall end this quickly and leave at once. I shall never come back to Tiantang City ever again," Bai Yixue muttered irritably to himself.

"As for that bastard Young Master Yun, I don't want to see him ever again in my life!"

Bai Yixue had lost all patience and approached the residence in a publicly forthright manner. His actions were under broad daylight, and he had charged into He Hanqing's house with no attempt at stealth whatsoever.

It was wishful thinking to hope that everyone would step aside for him. Almost immediately, a team of guards charged over with war cries filling the air.

Bai Yixue's expression was as cold as ice, the murderous intent glinting through his eyes while the sword-light blinked rapidly, surrounding the courtyard like bolts of lightning. Cries sounded ceaselessly, the guards who scurried out had all succumbed with moans and cries.

Most of them had been decapitated, their heads rolling on the ground like watermelons; there were some survivors but not a single one of them was spared from having one of their limbs severed.

Blood flowed into a small river on the ground.

"He Hanqing!" Bai Yixue's howl was loud and deafening. "Come out quickly and accept your death! Why let so many innocent people lose their lives? I only want to kill you!"

A sonorous voice that was cold and hard spoke faintly, "Han Sanhe sent you?"

Bai Yixue's sword drew circles of bright luminosity in the air, keeping him safe within it. He answered as indifferently as he could, "No! I kill whoever I want to. No man commands my hand!"

The man scoffed coldly. "Bai Yixue, no matter who sent you, you will not leave this place with your life."

Before the words were entirely spoken, a sharp wind tore through the air; the silhouette of a saber appeared in midair, it's glimmering blade seemed to be a hundred feet long, the glowing radiance slashing downwards in a precise line.

"Shameless boasting." A tinge of surprise flashed across Bai Yixue's eyes but the sword in his hands blocked the attack and deflected it easily; with a tilt of his body, he charged forward in a forceful attack, hoping to subdue the enemy before he could flow into his next attack.

Bang - bang - pow - pow...

The sounds of two people engaged in a heated battle rang clear in the air.

Right then, another figure charged into the fray, tailed by an icy glow heading straight for Bai Yixue's back.

The attack came soundlessly like a ghost; it was stealthy enough to avoid detection until death came to claim its victim.

Bai Yixue, however, seemed to have eyes on his back as the enemy's weapon behind him was deflected away by an amazing parry with his sword. The sword-light gleamed once more, enveloping the person who had ambushed him within its radiance.

The duel switched to a three-way fight. Although Bai Yixue was one man against two, he still held the upper hand.

Two scintillating flashes of steel cleaved the air on his left and right, the after-trails of a stealthy attack.

Bai Yixue was once again surprised, but the light from his sword glowed brighter, spilling gouts of light like a gushing waterfall which engulfed both newcomers.

Although Bai Yixue had once again dominated the fight, the surprise he felt was beginning to increase steadily.

In the Empire of Yutang, He Hanqing was only a useless old man. Even if he had his own reputation, what prowess did he possess to have so many pinnacle experts as his guards?

This was decidedly odd.

Have I been tricked by that Young Master Yun again?

Despite Bai Yixue's curiosity, his hands did not slow down the slightest bit; his title as the sixth swordsman of the world was indeed well deserved. The sword left behind a trail of blinking stars, the chilling glow domineering the fight as he completely subdued the four people. Under his sword, the best the quartet could do was to drag the battle out and maintain it so they were not defeated.

Suddenly, the sky went dark, a large veil had been drawn across the sun. A loud and powerful sound of wind breaking came from the heavens.

What now?

Bai Yixue was genuinely astonished. He finally admitted to being utterly confused by the turn of events - it was simply too bizarre. What did that bastard actually send me to do? Did we not agree on just killing an old, useless scholar?

Why does it seem like I have landed myself in a bee's nest?

It certainly seems like this place is detrimental to my longevity.

An old and useless scholar is being guarded by five top-notch experts; such grandeur could only be accorded to a reigning monarch.

No matter how shocked he was though, he had to counter the disaster that was headed straight for him. Bai Yixue's sword-light gleamed brightly, the tip of his sword pointing towards the weapon that was coming for him from above.

Puu!

Flipping back, Bai Yixue cleared a distance of over seventy feet as his face flushed red with excitement.

His opponent's weapon was a huge hammer that looked like it weighed at least seven to eight hundred catties. He would never have expected the falling attack to be a gigantic hammer; the mistake had him caused him to suffer a great loss, the tremor that resulted was so strong that it wounded his internal organs.

The man opposite him fared no better as well. With a grunt, he spat a mouthful of blood; his body flew high from the resulting quake, while his hammer looked worse than ever.

Although the hammer-user had succeeded in his ambush and managed to deal damage to Bai Yixue, the huge difference between their mystical Qi level had resulted in a great deal of damage to him when their weapons met since his cultivation base was much weaker than Bai Yixue; the man's injury was far more serious than what Bai Yixue was experiencing.

The unexpected injury sent Bai Yixue into a defensive position, urgently adjusting his energy to recover himself fully. He was still under heavy attack, he could not afford an injury. Suddenly, the ground quaked as a pair of hands stretched out like two iron pliers and locked onto Bai Yixue's ankles, shaking him brutally.

The five people who were blown away by Bai Yixue's previous attacks then charged over fiercely, running in from five different directions.

Bai Yixue was alarmed. Death was approaching and he had to give it his all; he began to draw on his Qi with a low rumble.

That moment was akin to thousands of icebergs exploding simultaneously as an icy air came overwhelmingly from above. The eruption was the limit of Bai Yixue's lifetime cultivation.

The person underground, whose hands were limiting Bai Yixue's movements, was the first to be affected by the blow, suffering the powerful attack and unable to hold onto his ankles anymore. With a cry, his hands were blown apart gorily while blood spurted like spring water from his wrists.

The five people who were charging over all around him to attack grunted at the same time as well, retreating involuntarily. Each of their faces was pale.

Bai Yixue had been unexpectedly injured, his movements inhibited by the person underground too, but his real ability was much higher than all six men. When he erupted to his maximum potential, it was only expected that the end result would be valiantly impressive!

However, Bai Yixue's current condition was not all that great. His ankles were bruised with pulsing pain that pierced the heart while the outburst earlier had flared up the mystical Qi he had used to suppress his previous injuries as well. To top it off, the powerful blow had deepened his internal injuries.

Bai Yixue, who knew he was severely injured, turned around swiftly with his sword to study his surroundings, obviously intending to leave this eerie place full of hostile attacks.

Who would have guessed that there were two more silhouettes who were running over, bringing cutting wind with them without the fear of death amidst the fluttering debris and dust?

There were two more?

What angered Bai Yixue more was that he had not even seen the old scholar called He Hanqing despite fighting everyone almost to the point of death!

What the f*cking hell!

The ground quaked and rolled like it was about to explode- the person underground had emerged. Bai Yixue was outnumbered, one to eight!

Bai Yixue moved his sword around to defend against the simultaneous attacks with all he could muster, spinning around to deflect the attacks and trying his hardest to avoid any mistakes; however, the two previous wounds added to his pre-existing injury, and gradually left him powerless.

His opponent had eight different weapons - saber, sword, spear, hammer, whip, staff, short sword, and a ribbon!

There were long and short, light and heavy, stiff and soft among all eight different weapons; the combination of them was flawless as they worked with each other tacitly. The longer the contention went on, the more intricate their cooperation.

Bai Yixue was inwardly groaning at his own helplessness. He was certain that he had been tricked again!