Chapter 5: Escaping Like a Cicada Shedding Its Golden Shell
The Martial Arts Alliance Chief, Shen Linye, possessed divine martial arts skills and was a man of unimpeachable character. The people of the Jianghu all looked to him for leadership. After he appeared in the main hall, the members of the Duanmu family fell silent, waiting for his instructions.
Qi Shaoling cupped his fist towards Shen Linye. “It is an honor.”
“The honor is mine,” Shen Linye returned the gesture before cutting straight to the point. “None of us know the Red Longevity Peach’s true identity. Therefore, aside from the women, everyone in this hall—including myself, Inspector Qi, and the rest—is a suspect. So, before we help Inspector Qi search the guests, we must first be searched ourselves.”
Duanmu Cheng frowned. “Surely we don’t need to be searched? You, I, and Inspector Qi are all victims. General Qi and Master Fu are Inspector Qi’s companions, who he asked to help with the ‘performance’.”
“The principle of ‘a thief crying ‘stop thief!’’ is one you should understand, is it not, Young Master Duanmu?” Shen Linye said.
One doesn’t strike a smiling face. Although Shen Linye’s words were sharp, his expression remained gentle, leaving Duanmu Cheng with no room for rebuttal.
Fu Yunzhi snapped his fan shut. “Alliance Chief Shen’s words are reasonable. Let us begin. We can start with the Duanmu family.”
Qi Xiao was the first to step forward, walking up to Duanmu Cheng. “Then you’ll have to excuse me.”
Duanmu Cheng looked somewhat displeased. He glanced strangely at his younger brother, Duanmu Ling, and absentmindedly allowed Qi Xiao to pull open the front of his robes for inspection.
Shen Linye and Fu Yunzhi also began searching the Duanmu disciples. But a problem arose on Qi Shaoling’s side.
“Don’t touch me!”
Fu Yunzhi followed the sound and saw Duanmu Ling clutching his chest tightly, refusing to let Qi Shaoling check him.
Duanmu Cheng quickly pulled his brother behind him. “My apologies for the scene. My younger brother is thin-skinned. It would be better if I checked him for Inspector Qi.”
Fu Yunzhi smiled. “Young Master Duanmu, if you have nothing to hide, why be so nervous?”
“The Duanmu family lost twenty-seven antiques and suffered great humiliation in the Jianghu. How could my younger brother possibly be the Red Longevity Peach?” Duanmu Cheng said. “I can swear that my brother has absolutely no connection to that thief.”
“Since he has no connection to the Red Longevity Peach, what’s the harm in letting Inspector Qi have a look?” Shen Linye countered.
Seeing Duanmu Cheng unmoved, Qi Shaoling simply shoved him aside with a palm strike, grabbed Duanmu Ling, and forcefully tore open the front of his robes. The motion was so violent, and combined with Duanmu Ling’s struggles, the fabric ripped open in a large gash. Now, not just his chest but almost his entire upper body was exposed to everyone.
A palm-strike injury was visible on Duanmu Ling’s left chest, but such wounds were everywhere. His entire upper body was covered in whip marks, knife wounds, and dark bruises, a truly gruesome sight. Not only that, but there was also a strange orchid tattoo over his heart.
Qi Shaoling stood frozen. Upon seeing the orchid tattoo, Shen Linye’s expression immediately darkened.
“Quick, put it back on!” The smile Duanmu Cheng had been struggling to maintain finally shattered.
Seeing the varied looks from everyone in the hall, tears began to well up in Duanmu Ling’s eyes. He threw himself to his knees before Shen Linye and cried, “I beg Alliance Chief Shen to seek justice for me!”
“Get up and speak. Tell me what this tattoo is,” Shen Linye said, helping him up with an incredibly gentle motion.
Duanmu Ling whispered, “It’s the Helan Divine Art.”
Shen Linye took a deep breath. “I knew it. How did you come to practice this art?”
“Ling’er, don’t speak nonsense!” Duanmu Cheng said urgently.
Seeing the strange reactions from both Duanmu Cheng and Shen Linye, Qi Xiao couldn’t help but ask, “Alliance Chief Shen, is there some story behind this Helan Divine Art?”
“The Helan Divine Art is a wicked technique that harms oneself to benefit others, created by the Helan family,” Shen Linye explained. “In the past, the Helan ancestors would force their family retainers, or capture people with good martial arts foundations and strong bodies, to cultivate this art. They would then exchange palm strikes with them to absorb their internal energy and enhance their own power. However, those who practiced this art were essentially having their life force and lifespan drained away, suffering immense pain. Because of this, the later generations of the Helan family destroyed this inhumane manual. I never expected it to reappear in the Duanmu family…”
“Such a sinister technique exists!” Qi Xiao said angrily. “Young Master Ling, did the Duanmu family force you to practice it?”
Before Duanmu Ling could answer, Duanmu Cheng, as if driven mad, drew his sword and rushed toward him.
Qi Shaoling, who had been feeling guilty about his earlier rudeness and watching Duanmu Ling for a chance to apologize, reacted with lightning speed. Before the tip of Duanmu Cheng’s sword could even get close, Qi Shaoling kicked him away. Duanmu Cheng crashed into a pearwood chair in the main hall.
After seeing Duanmu Cheng tied up by the Qi manor guards, Shen Linye said, “Young Master Ling, do not be afraid. Explain everything to me in detail, and I will ensure justice is done for you.”
Duanmu Ling clutched at his tattered robes, seemingly trying to figure out how to explain. Seeing his tear-streaked face and the ripped clothes he couldn’t pull closed, Qi Shaoling silently took off his own outer robe and handed it to him.
Duanmu Ling draped the robe over his shoulders and spoke in a trembling voice. “I am the illegitimate son of the Duanmu family master. My mother passed away early, so I was never valued. Only my wet nurse was kind to me… After I turned ten, they used my wet nurse to threaten me, forcing me to practice this divine art. It’s extremely difficult to master. When I couldn’t do it well at first, they would beat me. But later, when I got better at it, they… they still…”
“Duanmu Ling, shut your mouth! Alliance Chief Shen, don’t listen to his lies and slander! The Duanmu family treated him… Mmph!” Before Duanmu Cheng could finish, a guard from the Qi manor stuffed a rag in his mouth.
Duanmu Ling looked at Shen Linye. “I beg Alliance Chief Shen to help me, to have my name removed from the Duanmu family register, and to rescue my wet nurse, please?”
“I will immediately send men in my name to Duanmu Villa to ensure your wet nurse’s safety,” Shen Linye said. “Afterward, I will personally go and have a word with the Duanmu family master.”
Shen Linye’s expression was grave. Centuries ago, the Helan ancestors had lost their conscience because of this divine art, bringing disaster upon the martial world. He was determined to retrieve this harmful martial arts manual.
Duanmu Ling knelt before Shen Linye again. “Thank you, Alliance Chief Shen.”
“Rise quickly, there is no need to thank me,” Shen Linye said. “Ai, you have been wronged. It is fortunate that this incident with the Red Longevity Peach occurred today, otherwise who knows what other outrageous things the Duanmu family would have done. We will temporarily detain Duanmu Cheng. You and the other disciples will follow me for now.”
During this time, Qi Xiao’s troops had been checking the male guests’ chests outside the hall, but they found nothing. Just as the people in the hall, having resolved Duanmu Ling’s matter, were about to resume their search, one of the Qi manor guards suddenly pointed at the sky and shouted, “Red Longevity Peach!”
Everyone followed his gaze and saw a fiery red firework explode in the sky, its shape forming a perfect longevity peach!
“The launch point seems to be near the city gate,” Qi Xiao said. “Could the Red Longevity Peach have escaped?!”
“It’s hard to say,” Fu Yunzhi replied. “It could also be a diversion tactic by one of his accomplices to lure the tiger away from the mountain.”
Qi Shaoling looked at the people in the hall and said to Qi Xiao, “I’ll leave things here to you. I’m taking the guards to pursue him.”
With that, Qi Shaoling and his guards departed in a hurry.
It wasn’t until midnight that Qi Xiao and the others finally finished their search, but they found nothing. After offering their sincere apologies to the guests, everyone dispersed. Shen Linye also left with the Duanmu family members, leaving only Qi Xiao and Fu Yunzhi in the Qi manor.
In the main hall, Fu Yunzhi took a sip of the tea Qi Xiao had poured for him. “I wonder how things are going on Inspector Qi’s end.”
“I’ve already sent a small team out of the city to investigate. We’ll just have to wait,” Qi Xiao replied.
Fu Yunzhi rested his head on his hand, annoyed. He had planned such a grand wedding ceremony, expending so much effort just to lure the king into the jar, only for the Red Longevity Peach to escape like a cicada shedding its golden shell. It seemed they wouldn’t be catching him this time. And with this lesson learned, it would be much harder to trick him again.
Seeing Fu Yunzhi’s crestfallen face, Qi Xiao comforted him. “It’s alright, no need to be disappointed. At least because of this wedding, we managed to help Duanmu Ling escape that hellhole of a family. That counts as doing a good deed.”
“Duanmu Ling is so stunningly beautiful. General Qi must be very happy to have helped him, right?”
Hearing Fu Yunzhi’s sarcastic tone, Qi Xiao knew his old habit was flaring up again. He immediately gave the most textbook-perfect answer. “Duanmu Ling is handsome, but I think Yunzhi is even more handsome.”
“Duanmu Ling clearly looks better in red than I do.”
Qi Xiao shook his head like a rattle-drum. “Duanmu Ling looks brilliant and captivating in red. Yunzhi in red looks otherworldly and beautiful, like a celestial being.”
This was Qi Xiao’s honest opinion. He truly believed that Fu Yunzhi wore the vibrant color with an ethereal air, as if he didn’t belong to the mortal world. Perhaps it was his temperament, or perhaps it was just beauty in the eye of the beholder.
Fu Yunzhi was clearly pleased by Qi Xiao’s answer. He narrowed his eyes in satisfaction. “Then let’s chat here and wait for Inspector Qi to return.”
“Oh, right.” As if suddenly remembering something, Fu Yunzhi took the dart he had pulled from the wall out of his robes and handed it to Qi Xiao. “This is the dart the Red Longevity Peach left in the room.”
To his surprise, upon seeing the dart, Qi Xiao exclaimed, “You’re injured?!”
“No,” Fu Yunzhi said, puzzled. You were holding me so tightly, like a mother protecting her cub. How could I have been injured?
Qi Xiao pointed at the handkerchief wrapped around the dart. “Then what’s with all this blood?”
Fu Yunzhi frowned. The blood on the handkerchief came from the dart. Why would this three-edged dart be stained with blood? The Red Longevity Peach had pulled it from his robes. Since it hadn’t hit anyone, there were only two possibilities.
“Either the Red Longevity Peach reuses his hidden weapons, pulling them from previous victims to use again, or he was injured himself, and his blood got on the weapon.”
“This type of hidden weapon isn’t of the highest quality. Reusing it would dull its sharpness,” Qi Xiao reminded him. “The Red Longevity Peach isn’t short on money, so he probably wouldn’t do that. But as for the latter, the only person who was seriously injured before fighting me was…”
A name surfaced in Fu Yunzhi’s mind, but neither of them said it out loud.
“Let’s not jump to conclusions just yet,” Qi Xiao said. “We’ll talk about it when Shaoling gets back. I’ve sent someone to my manor to fetch some Lan Niangzi wine. Let’s have a drink while we wait!”
Fu Yunzhi: “…”
“What’s wrong?” Qi Xiao asked, surprised. “You don’t want to drink?”
Fu Yunzhi: “…I do.”
At midnight, a bright moon hung high in the sky. Even without lanterns, the full moon’s light was enough to see clearly. In the forest just outside the city, Qi Shaoling stood with his sword drawn, warily observing his surroundings, his guards doing the same.
A burly man with a thick beard, wielding a large saber, led a group of men who had surrounded Qi Shaoling and his guards.
The man, or rather, the leader of the One-Eyed Dragon Gang, Huang Zhengdong, roared, “Qi Shaoling, a blood debt must be paid in blood! You killed my son, and today you will pay with your life!”
“Kill Qi Shaoling! Avenge the Young Master!” Before Huang Zhengdong’s voice had even faded, the gang members behind him echoed the cry.
One of the guards glanced at the arrogant gang members and asked Qi Shaoling, “Inspector, that firework was set off by the One-Eyed Dragon Gang, wasn’t it?”
Qi Shaoling glanced at the firework tube in one of the gang member’s hands and didn’t answer.
It seems I was too eager for a quick success.
“The One-Eyed Dragon Gang outnumbers us. We can’t beat them…”
“Look for a chance to retreat,” Qi Shaoling ordered.
“Kill Qi Shaoling! Avenge the Young Master!”
As the gang members charged with their sabers raised, Qi Shaoling and his elite guards met them with their swords.
With a flick of his wrist, Qi Shaoling stabbed a gang member in the chest and shouted, “Don’t get bogged down in fighting! Retreat!”
The twenty guards Qi Shaoling had brought with him retreated continuously, but they couldn’t shake the relentless pursuit of the hundred-plus gang members. Qi Shaoling himself took a slash to the chest from Huang Zhengdong, and blood flowed freely. Huang Zhengdong wasn’t much better off; his left leg had been cut by Qi Shaoling, making it difficult for him to move. But he had numbers on his side. With each man landing a blow, Qi Shaoling gradually began to tire and lose his advantage.
BOOM—
Some of the gang members were suddenly struck by a flash of fire, and many of them fell in an instant.
“What’s going on?!”
“Cannonballs! It’s cannonballs!”
A rain of what seemed like cannonballs descended upon the gang members. Their actual power wasn’t strong, but the flash and sound of the explosions were immense, confusing their minds and obstructing their vision. At the same time, poisoned needles and powders rained down, attacking the immobilized men.
When the explosions and poisoned weapons finally ceased, the remaining gang members looked at each other in confusion, but Qi Shaoling was nowhere to be seen.
Huang Zhengdong, covered in wounds from the hidden weapons and Qi Shaoling’s sword, looked at his men—dead or injured—and spat in fury. “Qi Shaoling, you just wait! I will never let you go!”
