Chapter 32: Western Regions Part 5

On the barren beach before the Gobi, Xiao Kun and the bare-chested youth moved almost simultaneously. To Xiang Xian’s eyes, he could tell the youth reacted to Xiao Kun’s actions—there was a sequence, though less than a instant apart. The guy’s speed was insane, and he wore leather clogs!

A Huang flew back, puzzled. “What’s this about now?”

Xiang Xian gripped the Wisdom Sword. At this rate, Xiao Kun might not catch him!

Xiao Kun closed in several times, but the assassin dodged perfectly. The man even had spare energy, merely sparring silently. Xiao Kun used the terrain to force him back. The assassin saw Xiang Xian watching but unwilling to join and decided to end it. He flashed to an opening, closed on Xiang Xian, and slashed with the short curved knife.

Xiang Xian threw his head back, sidestepped, and unleashed a spinning kick to the assassin’s chest—which he dodged again.

Xiao Kun arrived next. Now it was two against one. The assassin’s moves were locked down, forcing him to draw his weapon fully. As he shook out the curved knife, the blade grazed Xiang Xian’s cheek, drawing blood.

Xiao Kun flew into a rage. “You dare!”

Qi erupted. Xiang Xian immediately said, “Wait!”

Xiao Kun’s Nether Eyes shot blue light. The instant they locked eyes, the youth looked shocked and retreated. But Xiao Kun’s Tang Dao was already drawn, charging without mercy. The assassin parried with his weapon, but Xiao Kun wielded a divine weapon that cut iron like mud, snapping the short curved knife in two with one strike.

The assassin leaped high and fled up the Gobi. Xiao Kun roared like thunder, hurling the Tang Dao like a meteor wreathed in azure-blue light, pinning him to the cliff face.

“Leave him alive!” Xiang Xian shouted.

Xiao Kun’s rage ebbed. “I didn’t kill him outright. He can still be saved.”

He glanced at the blood trickling down Xiang Xian’s cheek. Xiang Xian touched it and said, “It’s nothing. Chaosheng can heal it when he returns.”

Xiao Kun finally calmed, eyeing the pinned bare-chested assassin.

Chaosheng and Wu Yingzong found one horse and rode back.

Wu Yingzong spotted the head on the ground and vaguely guessed what happened. Chaosheng cried out and dismounted, running to the house.

Chaosheng’s loud sobs echoed from nearby.

Xiao Kun raised his hand, recalled the Tang Dao, flicked off the blood, and sheathed it. The assassin’s body slid down the Gobi cliff with a thud, hitting the ground.

“Can he be saved?” Xiao Kun asked, seeing Chaosheng emerge crying.

Wu Yingzong hurried to comfort him. Chaosheng shook his head, choking back sobs. “She’s already dead.”

The old woman’s neck was nearly severed, and a knife had pierced her heart—she had been gone for some time. The young man’s head was completely severed. Chaosheng could heal the sick and wounded but not raise the dead.

“What about this one?” Xiang Xian said.

The assassin youth lay on the ground, his abdomen pierced by Xiao Kun’s blade, blood pouring from his mouth and nose. Though driven by vengeance for the mother and son, Xiao Kun had controlled himself, striking below the abdomen with the Senluo Blade instead of the heart.

Chaosheng stared at the assassin, silent for a long moment.

Xiao Kun knew he did not want to save a murderer, but the killing was sudden, riddled with questions. Did they have a grudge? Why appear in the Gobi Desert and strike so viciously?

“Did he kill them?” Chaosheng asked.

“Yes,” Xiang Xian said gravely. “But we haven’t questioned him yet.”

Wu Yingzong: “With methods like that, he’s no good person. Did he try to silence you two?”

“No,” Xiao Kun said, recalling how the assassin had left immediately after severing the young man’s head, without killing unrelated people. True villains would have wiped out all witnesses—that was the biggest anomaly.

Xiang Xian glanced at Xiao Kun.

“No use looking at me,” Xiao Kun said. “Ask Chaosheng.”

But Xiao Kun’s tone had softened, implying the man could be saved. Xiang Xian added, “He owes two lives now. Save him, then kill him once more to avenge the mother and son.”

Chaosheng’s eyes reddened. Though he knew life and death were fated, he still grieved for lost souls.

Chaosheng approached the assassin. Xiao Kun signaled to wait and held the blade slantwise against the man’s throat. Any twitch after recovery, and the Tang Dao would pierce his neck.

Xiang Xian knelt and removed the man’s face mask. Everyone froze.

He was a Uyghur, with a high nose bridge and deep-set eyes of deep brown. His skin was milk-white, his eyelashes thick and long, his brows dense. His face was strikingly handsome, features exquisitely refined—a beauty even among Uyghurs.

Chaosheng: “Ah…”

Xiao Kun and Xiang Xian’s hearts sank simultaneously.

“Chaosheng?” Wu Yingzong did not grasp the meaning behind their expressions.

Chaosheng snapped out of it, cast a spell on the abdominal wound, and the Azure Wood Wheel unfurled, forming a magic array that spun around them. It was the first time Xiang Xian, Xiao Kun, and Wu Yingzong had witnessed this divine technique up close! Heavenly Veins briefly manifested, as if the world’s primal forces connected through Chaosheng.

Under Chaosheng’s Immortal Technique, the youth’s assassin breathing steadied, the wound healed—though lost blood could not return, leaving his skin slightly pale.

The assassin met Chaosheng’s eyes.

Chaosheng opened his mouth as if to speak, but the assassin coughed violently. Wu Yingzong pulled Chaosheng back warily, lest he lash out.

“Urgh…” Xiang Xian knew judging by looks was unwise, but everyone did it. Seeing how handsome the assassin was, he found it hard to finish him off.

“Do you speak Han or Liao?” Xiao Kun remained unmoved, left hand behind his back, right hand pressing the blade tip to the assassin’s throat. “What’s your name? Why kill here?”

“I… Hulü Guang.” The assassin lay still, turning his head toward the retreating Chaosheng. “Wait! Wait! Don’t go!”

Chaosheng had relaxed seeing his good looks, but fury over the murders surged—hate mixed with pity, his face saying, You fine beauty, why turn thief? He hid behind Wu Yingzong, looking toward the house, eyes reddening again.