Chapter 286 – Hostile Arrivals

Crack!

Fang Dingwu hurled his wine cup to the ground and immediately drew his twin blades from his waist. He shouted into the darkness, "Who goes there?!"

A figure slowly emerged from the shadows. A short, wiry man with narrow, piercing eyes that occasionally flashed with a sharp glint. In response to Fang Dingwu's sharp question, the man sneered coldly a few times and replied, "The Ghostbane Association has business here. Move aside if you want to live."

The Ghostbane Association?

Hearing those three words, Fang Dingwu couldn't help but glance at Ye Beizhi. Noticing Ye Beizhi showed little surprise, Fang Dingwu felt more at ease.

"Which bastard couldn't keep their pants on and let you slip out?" Fang Dingwu sneered, his lips curling. "To talk like this... are you an Earth-ranker or a Heaven-ranker?"

The narrow-eyed man gave Fang Dingwu a long look before shifting his gaze to Ye Beizhi. The battle-scarred young man unsettled him. After a brief silence, the narrow-eyed man introduced himself in a low voice, "Heaven-ranker, Golden Stinger."

This assassin from the Ghostbane Association, who called himself Golden Stinger, was clad in tight black attire and wrapped his hair in a black scarf. He was clearly prepared to kill, he had seized an opportunity to strike ruthlessly, but the alertness of his victim led to the current standoff.

Though Fang Dingwu seemed rough, he was observant. From the start, he had been studying Golden Stinger. The man carried no weapons on his waist, which initially made Fang Dingwu suspect he practiced external martial arts. However, his short and wiry build was far from what one would expect of someone trained in Iron Shirt or Golden Bell techniques. The most striking detail was his exceptionally steady footing as he walked and stood, leading Fang Dingwu to conclude that this man must have trained his lower body to an exceptional level.

Ye Beizhi had remained silent from the beginning, not even saying anything as he sensed Golden Stinger examining him. He glanced at the man lying at his feet, then briefly let his gaze sweep over Golden Stinger's shoes.

Golden Stinger had been closely watching Ye Beizhi's expression. When Ye Beizhi's gaze fell on his shoe soles, his heart tightened. Yet in the next moment, Ye Beizhi casually stepped back, adopting an air of indifference as if he had no intention of meddling further.

The wiry man from next door never let go of his long spear, not even when he was on the ground. After briefly recovering, he propped himself up with the spear and stood. Taking a few breaths, he spoke softly to Ye Beizhi, "Apologies for the disturbance."

Ye Beizhi shook his head but didn’t respond. Instead, he turned to glance toward the house. The candles inside had briefly flickered but were quickly extinguished. Through the window, silhouettes shuffling about could be seen. The elderly couple, startled by the commotion, had likely lit the lamp but immediately snuffed it out upon realizing a fight was happening in their courtyard.

He then looked toward Chi Nanwei’s room, which remained completely dark. This reassured Ye Beizhi. Chi Nanwei was sensible enough to know that stepping out in such a situation would only invite trouble, so she wisely stayed put.

As he pondered, the spear-wielding man beside him said, "If you have a grudge, take it out on me alone. Don’t drag others into this."

Golden Stinger, saw Ye Beizhi’s stance and realized the two wouldn’t intervene, so he laughed mirthlessly. "

Haha

! Dan Qinghe, you’re quite the character. I’ve only been paid to kill you. Why would I kill anyone else? I don’t get extra silver for that."

Fang Dingwu stepped over to Ye Beizhi’s side, muttering quietly, "He's a real man, stepping up by himself." In a hushed tone, he asked Ye Beizhi, "Brother, are we really not stepping in?"

Ye Beizhi said nothing and simply shook his head, glancing briefly at the pitch-black rooftop.

Fang Dingwu admired Dan Qinghe's actions, so he grew somewhat agitated at Ye Beizhi’s refusal to get involved. In the end, he understood the reluctance. Such incidents were commonplace in the jianghu, and they’d merely stumbled upon one by chance. They couldn’t draw their weapons to help everyone who got into a fight, could they?

There was no denying that acts of chivalry, while admirable and good for one’s reputation, were rare. The jianghu was more commonly governed by the principle: "Mind your own business," which was only balanced by the grim mantra: "Better you than me."

The jianghu had its romantic allure, but many people could not see past its façade of cruelty.

Golden Stinger flexed his leg muscles and winked at Dan Qinghe, resembling a fox eyeing its prey.

Dan Qinghe held his breath, discreetly wiping the sweat from his palms before tightening his grip on the spear.

Sensing the imminent fight, Fang Dingwu’s eyes glinted cunningly. He suddenly turned to Ye Beizhi and asked, "Brother, what kind of martial arts do you think this guy practices? He has no weapon on him. It's odd that his knuckles aren’t calloused, and there are no hard spots on his palms, so he doesn't use fist or palm techniques. His footing is stable, but his calves are thin and soft, so it can’t be kicking techniques either. Any ideas?"

Fang Dingwu made no effort to lower his voice. Everyone in the courtyard heard him loud and clear.

Golden Stinger shot Fang Dingwu with a venomous glare. He was well aware that Fang Dingwu was subtly feeding information to Dan Qinghe.

Ye Beizhi, however, seemed unbothered. He glanced casually at Golden Stinger’s thick-soled shoes and flatly identified them. "Scorpion Tail Sword."

Fang Dingwu suddenly understood. He took another look at Golden Stinger’s soles and immediately caught on.

"Meddling fool!" Golden Stinger knew he couldn’t afford to delay now that his secret was exposed. He lunged at Dan Qinghe.

Dan Qinghe had been on guard. He swiped his spear and thrust it forward. Golden Stinger twisted mid-air to dodge but didn’t slow down, sliding straight into Dan Qinghe’s range.

Spears were weapons of wide, sweeping strikes, but became unwieldy once the enemy got close. In their first exchange, Dan Qinghe had already lost the upper hand. Just as he shouted and tried to push Golden Stinger away, the latter hooked onto the spear for leverage and drove his elbow into Dan Qinghe’s jaw, forcing Dan Qinghe to bite his own tongue. Dan Qinghe's shout halted halfway as his mouth filled with blood.

The pain, sharp and searing, seemed to pierce straight into Dan Qinghe’s soul. His mind blanked momentarily. Golden Stinger pressed the advantage, delivering a flurry of punches to Dan Qinghe’s abdomen. Dan staggered back repeatedly until he could no longer hold back and spat a mouthful of blood.

Golden Stinger grew even more determined when he noticed Dan Qinghe showing signs of defeat. With a sharp gleam in his eye, Golden Stinger raised his right leg sharply, revealing a sudden glint of cold steel. A short, concealed blade extending from the tip of his shoe.

Just as Golden Stinger prepared to deliver a lethal throat slash to Dan Qinghe, Ye Beizhi, who had remained motionless all this time, suddenly sprang into action. When he moved, it was like a bolt of lightning. With his hand on his blade, Ye Beizhi took a single step forward and appeared in front of Golden Stinger in an instant!

Although the two had initially stated they wouldn’t intervene, Golden Stinger knew the dangers of the jianghu and never let down his guard. Ye Beizhi’s sudden action didn’t overly surprise him. It was the speed that far exceeded his expectations.

Ye Beizhi was upon him in a blink of an eye.

Startled but no less resolute, Golden Stinger gritted his teeth and launched his right leg, the poisoned blade at the tip slashing through the air, leaving a chilling glow in its wake!

"Scram." A casual voice sounded near his ear. Immediately after, Golden Stinger felt the hilt of a blade slam into his right rib, sending his entire body hurtling sideways from the sheer force.

The pain hadn’t even had time to register when Golden Stinger turned his head, disbelief written all over his face. In the dim light, he vaguely saw two silhouettes descending from the dark rooftop.

𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Moments later, he thought he saw a sliver of the moon descend into the shadowy courtyard.

It was the glint of a blade.