Chapter 193 – War Breaks Out! The Gourd Spirit Weapon and the Crushing Might of a Fifth Rank Martial Artist - Part 1

Meadowview County, Northriver Prefecture.

This place sat behind Eastspring County. And as of late, Eastspring County had become the

front lines

.

The battles between the undying husks and martial artists raged in Eastspring and what was once Westplain County. Naturally, wounded martial artists weren’t suited to remain on the front lines, so Meadowview became the perfect place to house and treat them.

The two envoys, Mu Hua of the Holy Tree Temple and Shan Baishou of MountainHall, were both recuperating in Meadowview on account of their injuries.

Once a martial artist reached sixth rank, their recovery speed was nothing short of astonishing. As long as they weren’t killed outright, they could employ their ancestral seal shadow blood to mend their wounds. Even if a hand or foot were severed, or if their body was split in half, they could still regenerate.

But that only applied to normal wounds. The methods of the undying husk seemed inherently hostile to martial artists. Wherever their attacks struck, they tainted the flesh with an eerie Yin energy. To heal, martial artists had to bombard the injury with shadow blood, repeatedly purging it of that noxious Yin. Until the Yin energy was gone, the wound wouldn’t truly heal.

Mu Hua had almost been turned completely into

sugar

by an undying husk’s attack. Thankfully, he was quick to react, slamming shadow blood into the affected parts of his body during the transformation, preserving a sliver of life. Once he stabilized, his subordinates shielded him from further danger, and the undying husk made no attempt at a prolonged assault.

After all, undying husks were notoriously scarce in numbers and fought like assassins, striking once before vanishing without a trace. So, people in the martial world had begun calling them ghost assassins, distinguishing them from human killers who relied on poison, hidden weapons, or disguises. The bizarre capabilities of undying husks opened entirely new avenues for assassination.

While Mu Hua recuperated, he used shadow blood to gradually push the lingering Yin energy into his left arm, which had turned to sugar. A careless bump or crack would have cost him the arm altogether. Over time, that

sugar arm

was purged of Yin energy and restored to flesh and blood, once again circulating with shadow blood.

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

By now, Mu Hua was fully recovered. But instead of hurrying back to the front lines, he took to wandering about the county...partly to reacquaint himself with his renewed body, and partly to mull over strategies for dealing with the undying husk.

He was lost in thought one day when cursing and shouting echoed from a nearby tavern.

“What did you say? Your tavern doesn’t even have Springdream Brew?”

“Springdream Brew? Hah! You really think that compares to our Horsehead Wine? If you don’t like it, get lost. Don’t go throwing your weight around in this place. I’m sick of you arrogant outsiders who think you’re untouchable.”

Another round of commotion followed. Moments later, several large men were thrown out of the tavern, landing hard on the street with a chorus of pained groans.

Intrigued, Mu Hua looked up at the second floor and glimpsed a hulking, broad-shouldered man with a cropped haircut, his knuckles popping ominously.

Normally, Mu Hua would have ignored a rowdy tavern brawl, but something about that man gave him pause, the tremendous surge of shadow blood swirling inside him. The sound of it seemed to pound like molten iron against his flesh and organs, radiating a suffocating aura.

Mu Hua’s pupils contracted. Such power couldn’t belong to anyone below sixth rank. Seventh rank martial artists simply didn’t command that kind of potency.

Down below, the men who’d been hurled outside realized they’d provoked the wrong person. Their bravado evaporated; they offered no threats and made no mention of any influential relatives. They simply picked themselves up and slunk off in all directions.

Meanwhile, the tavern’s waiter, who had been so bold just a moment before, was now trembling on his knees, forehead thumping against the wooden floor.

The uproar quickly drew out the tavern’s owner, a man who clearly knew how to read a situation. He fired the frightened waiter on the spot, then humbly offered the man on the second floor the right to deal with that waiter however he pleased, whether by killing or maiming.

Mu Hua watched it all in silence.

To be honest, Mu Hua felt that any waiter bold enough to offend a sixth rank martial artist was courting death, even if he did it unwittingly. Most likely, this tavern had some gang backing; the waiter was used to throwing his weight around with outsiders. He just hadn’t expected to kick an iron wall this time.

If the hulking man had killed the waiter on the spot, Mu Hua wouldn’t have interfered. But to his surprise, the man didn’t kill anyone.

“What rotten luck. Came for a drink, ended up in this mess,” he simply muttered, then left.

The tavern owner scrambled to apologize, hastily sending someone next door to buy the Springdream Brew that the man wanted. Yet the big fellow only asked which shop carried it, got his answer, and walked off, leaving the tavern owner at a loss.

After a moment, the owner finally muttered, “Next time the Purejade Merchant Association comes through, let’s buy some Springdream Brew and stock up.”

Standing nearby, the manager beside him almost objected that they were a

proper establishment

and shouldn’t sell liquor from a rival producer. However, given the circumstances, he simply nodded, “Yes, sir.”

That burly man was none other than Li Yuan, who had come on an arrangement with Yan Mu. Knowing Mu Hua personally and well aware of his progress in healing, Yan Mu passed along the information to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan, in turn, lingered in Meadowview County, waiting to catch Mu Hua’s attention, and incidentally drumming up some interest in his own liquor along the way.

After exiting the tavern, Li Yuan acted as if he didn’t know Mu Hua, casting him only a quick, cautious glance before swaggering off toward another establishment. Mu Hua watched him go, then directed two of his disciples to do some digging. Word was that Li Yuan had traveled from the southwest, which clearly wasn’t undying husk territory.

But Mu Hua was careful and waited a while longer, quietly deploying local informants to keep track of him. Over the next two days, Li Yuan’s movements around Meadowview County were perfectly ordinary. He never vanished abruptly; in fact, at night he didn’t even return to his private quarters. Instead, he visited a local brothel to spend his evenings with a courtesan. By chance, she was affiliated with a local sect, so they recorded his every move and reported it all.

That pretty much ruled out the possibility that Li Yuan was one of the undying husks. Most undying husks suffered a glaring weakness that prevented them from lingering in the outside world for long. They hid in the ancient street and rarely showed themselves. But Li Yuan had been roaming about in plain sight for two days straight.

With his doubts eased, Mu Hua wasted no more time. He needed strong fighters, and running into a sixth rank expert out of the blue was too good an opportunity to pass up. Learning where Li Yuan was staying, he went there under cover of night.

When Mu Hua arrived, Li Yuan was still carousing with the courtesan. Built like a massive bear, he had the petite flower girl perched on his thigh. She held up a wine pot, speaking to him in a teasing, sing-song voice, “Come on, my lord, have a drink. One sip for you, one for me... Springdream Brew for a lovely spring night. Hehehe...”

She was in the middle of her playful routine when the door swung open. She went quiet, turning her head slightly to see a man in an azure robe enter the room. Recognizing him instantly, she stiffened with alarm. Being in the local sect, she knew exactly who he was. Too frightened to stand, she stayed on Li Yuan’s lap like a cat caught between two tigers, figuring that not moving was her safest option.

Li Yuan merely snorted at the arrival, well aware his

fish

had taken the bait. If he wanted to become an enforcer, he couldn’t just demonstrate his strength out of the blue; he needed someone reputable to bring him in, or else the trust issues would prove endless.

Mu Hua didn’t bother hiding his powerful life force and made it plain he was also a sixth rank martial artist with no hostile intent.

Li Yuan eyed him calmly, immediately taking the initiative with a cool question, “You’ve had your eyes on me for a few days, haven’t you?”

Mu Hua bowed slightly. “I’m Mu Hua of the Holy Tree Temple.”

Li Yuan narrowed his gaze, then returned the courtesy. “Gloryroad, Gold Gloryroad. A wanderer.”