Zhan Zhao Adventures - Chapter Six (Part VII)

Chapter Six: Crane Rushing to the Sky (Part VII)

The swiftly flowing river water, beneath the sunlight, rolled and overturned with dazzling scale-like gleams of light, reflecting the fluttering painted flags at the location of the ferry port, the thin and scattered ten-odd human silhouettes beside the ferry port, and the flashing knives and spears within the hands of the imperial guards of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion.
 
Beneath the sunlight, at the bank of the ferry port, there were unexpectedly all sorts and varieties of faces.
——The faces of the old and young, men and women.
 
Young and tiny children were crying and making a fuss, cowering within the embraces of their mothers; aged grandmothers and grandfathers either sat or lay; beneath the sunlight, it reflected so that the wrinkles upon their faces were even deeper.
 
The only thing that was identical was precisely that upon these faces, they carried an unspeakable terror, fatigue, and haggardness.
 
Because they had never seen soldiers as fierce-complexioned and evil-looking as this.
 
Because they were all forced to leave their homes. Their homes were precisely inside the small agricultural estate ahead.
 
The soldiers and generals of the Xiangyang Prince, who were flaunting their power and demonstrating their might, had already driven these people—who had resided generation after generation in that small town—to the side of the ferry port outside this town.
 
They could only leave their homes.
 
Beneath the violence, they fundamentally had no strength to resist, and were without any alternative or choice.
 
They were all too kind-hearted, and were also too weak and yielding.
——Could it be that kind-hearted people are always very weak and yielding?
 
Up to now, they still did not know for what purpose exactly these soldiers drove them to this place from within their own homes.
 
The chief of these fierce-complexioned and evil-looking soldiers was unexpectedly a green-clad Taoist.
 
This Taoist appeared as if he was always silent, yet even if he stood beneath that warm sunlight, he still could cause a person to shake with cold without even shivering.
 
The wind blew his long beard, flying and curling beneath the sunlight. His eyes precisely narrowed up like this, staring intently at the end of the main road.
 
Yan Ziqing precisely still hung his hands down, standing by his side.
——They were waiting for a person.
——They would absolutely not wait very long.
 
The people beside the ferry port all guessed that here, there bound to be a startling matter that was about to happen; everyone also knew that this matter was absolutely not an enjoyable matter.
 
Suddenly, among the children's already hoarse crying and fussing sounds, from afar, two ridden horses were just galloping over. Behind the two ridden horses, there were also ten-odd ridden horses following from far away. Upon these ten-odd ridden horses, surprisingly, they were precisely the Iron-Blood Guards of Junshan.
 
Seeing these two horses, upon this Taoist's face, a kind of terrifying killing intent instantly manifested itself. The soldiers around him also became fully concentrated with their entire spirits; the snow-bright knives and swords emitted sounds of clashing against each other, in a flash of a second then suppressing and covering over the people's fine whispers and the infants' crying and fussing.
 
Now, every single person knew that the person whom the soldiers and generals of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion were waiting for had already arrived.
 
As soon as those two horses saw these people who were either sitting or standing, they slowed down. Therefore, the people upon the town could see clearly what kind of people exactly the ones coming were.
——The one slightly walking at the front was a middle-aged person massive, tall, robust, and magnificent in build, awe-inspiring in his majesty. His imposing manner while riding upon the horse was just as if he were a general who charged enemy lines and smashed battle arrays, leading the entire army.
——The other one was a young person wearing black clothing, possessing a pale yet clear and handsome face, possessing an ancient and old sword, and moreover possessing a pair of eyes that were like the stars of a dark night, as if able to look through everything.
 
At this moment, this pair of eyes was precisely staring intently at this green-clad Taoist.
 
The green-clad Taoist finally opened his mouth.
 
"If I were you, I would not take another single step forward."
 
Zhan Zhao's hand holding the sword was already tight. His voice was unexpectedly somewhat parched and muffled: "Unthinkable that you would unexpectedly lay down poison upon their bodies!"
 
Mo Dao leisurely said: "How can the poison of the Shura Cult be wasted upon these ignorant, old, weak, women, and children? Only these people already know that at the location of three zhang before them is precisely the 'Yanmei'er' [Eye-Charmer] that I laid down. If they flee and run forward, once they step onto the 'Yanmei'er,' they will bound to have their entire bodies ulcerate and die. While behind them is precisely this endless river water. Unless it is a person strong in body and robust in strength, once dropping into the water, they will absolutely not emerge from the water surface alive."
 
His eyes stared viciously and fiercely at Zhan Zhao; within his gaze was already a proud and complacent hideous smile.
 
"While you, to cross this ferry port, must pass through this 'Yanmei'er' array. I am afraid that no matter how good your lightness skill is, as long as you once draw near this toxic array of 'Yanmei'er,' the 'Yijianrugu' upon your body will produce a reaction with the poison distributed all around this vicinity. When the time comes, the one who harms these villagers to death will precisely be you!"
 
Among the crowd, there already possessed panicked and terrified sobbing.
 
Zhan Zhao's countenance had already changed.
——But if he did not move forward, what then?
 
Within Zhong Xiong's eyes, it was as if a smear of sadness and pity also revealed itself, yet it immediately turned toward the far distance.
 
Zhan Zhao's eyes had already become sharp as the edge of a knife. He said slowly: "What exactly do you want?"
 
Mo Dao already no longer answered his words.
 
The one who answered his words was Yan Ziqing: "For Guard Zhan to speak this word is inevitably asking while clearly knowing. Guard Zhan went up the Chongxiao Tower by night and carried away the Prince's alliance roster, and right now is moreover coercing Chief Zhong of Junshan; could it be that you still want to extricate yourself and depart just like this?"
 
He looked into Zhan Zhao's eyes, yet only felt disappointment. Inside Zhan Zhao's eyes, it was just as if there was not any change whatsoever.
——Was this because every single word of Yan Ziqing's was already within his expectations?
 
Yan Ziqing said again: "Daoist Mo precisely calculated and decided that Guard Zhan would bound to walk by the Xiqiao Ferry, therefore leading the imperial guards of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion to guard right here early in the morning. Guard Zhan is styled the Southern Hero, so naturally you cannot bear to look at these innocent old and young being involved and implicated in, not to speak of letting these old and young lose their lives here because of your own extrication."
 
Upon Mo Dao's face, a trace of a hideous smile had already floated up. Within Zhong Xiong's eyes, there was however an extra layer of deep thought.
 
Yan Ziqing still wanted to have his saliva-specks fly about wildly to speak onward, yet a trace of a smile had already floated onto the corner of Zhan Zhao's mouth.
——His enemies had already grasped his fatal weak point; how could he still laugh out?
 
Yan Ziqing already could not speak words out.
 
Zhan Zhao, however, had already followed up his words, lightly saying a sentence: "To lose life, I am afraid, is not very easy."
 
He suddenly turned his body like electricity; at the location where he extended a hand, a painted flag inserted beside the ferry port had already risen up from the ground, leaping into his left hand! The long painted flag flew and flaunted, unfurling and exhibiting; with a sudden roll, it had already crossed through the 'Yanmei'er' array, poked into the circle, and like wind-riding speed and lightning-tearing flash, rolled a young child up, directly flipping him out of the circle! That young child was shocked to the point of blankness; only until dropping onto the ground, safe and sound without mishap, did he with a "wah" sound cry out loudly.
 
Mo Dao's hideous smile suddenly congealed upon his face.
——He was still too confident.
 
Zhan Zhao was unexpectedly using this kind of method born of fantastic imagery to rescue the people who were trapped inside the 'Yanmei'er' array out!
 
One only heard this black-clad opponent letting out a long laugh, saying: "Many thanks to you for telling me that the poison of that Shura Cult was not applied onto their own bodies! As long as I do not draw near the circle, I have no way to activate this 'Yanmei'er,' correct? But after all there are very many methods that can, without entering this toxic array of 'Yanmei'er,' rescue the people trapped inside the array out!"
 
Mo Dao's body had already rushed up; with his person in the air, he had already viciously and fiercely dropped down a sentence.
——"I on the contrary want to look at how many you can unexpectedly rescue out!"
 
A strand of faint light smoke had already shot toward the people inside the circle.
——Only how could Zhan Zhao allow him to execute the first move again?
 
His person was still in the air, yet inside his ear, a peaceful yet directly piercing through to the bottom of his heart voice rang out.
——"For you to regret right now, is it not already too late?"
 
Amidst the voice, Zhan Zhao's body was just like a ghost or a spirit, appearing as if moving a tiny bit; in the blink of an eye, another painted flag was already in his right hand!
 
This strand of light smoke of the Shura Cult had not yet emitted and dispersed out; the wind was ripping and tearing, the flag was fluttering and floating; the flag, mixed with a strand of powerful wind, had already arrived before Mo Dao's face! Under the driving and execution of Zhan Zhao's internal power, this strand of light smoke unexpectedly rolled backward toward Mo Dao's face!
 
Mo Dao never expected that his internal power was robust and strong to such a degree; amidst his hundreds of businesses, he leaped backward through the air. One only heard a "chi-chi" burst of fine sounds; the flag had already been burned by the toxic smoke.
 
At the split second of flint-sparks-and-lightning, Zhan Zhao flew and flaunted his right hand; the flag swiftly rolled tight like a cudgel, and before the toxic smoke could even have time to rise up, it was in the turn of an eye wrapped inside the flag and disappeared from sight.
 
Simultaneously, at the location where his left hand moved, another young married woman, borrowing a roll of power from his left-hand flag, had already flown through the air out to the outside of the circle of 'Yanmei'er.'
 
Mo Dao's face was already like dead ashes. He gritted his teeth, to the point that even his teeth bit with a "ge-zhi" grinding sound.
——"You unexpectedly can unexpectedly operate and revolve the 'Crane Rushing to the Sky'! I truly underestimated you!"
 
He spoke very slowly, but used very much force. Only because right now all the difficult problems had all become very clear.
 
"No wonder that beneath heavy injuries, you still could receive that 'Thousand-Jun Dragon-Slaying Wring,' the number one masculine rigidity of the Hanshui Palace!"
 
Zhong Xiong, who stood on one side, said coldly: "The peerless martial arts of the Ding family of Songjiang Prefecture naturally must be transmitted to the Ding family's future son-in-law. I merely did not expect that his 'Blood Flying Pair by Pair, Crane Rushing to the Sky' already possesses such功力 [gongli / martial skill]!"
 
Mo Dao let out a cold snort, and spoke a strange sentence. This sentence was unexpectedly exactly identical to Zhong Xiong's words inside the barn.
——"I on the contrary want to look at your 'Crane Rushing to the Sky,' for how long it can support!"
 
Before the sound of the words fell, ten-odd dark shadows instantly pounced fiercely up toward Zhan Zhao.
 
The ten-odd human silhouettes were actually three forces of men and horses.
 
Three forces of men and horses, three directions.
 
The ten-odd imperial guards of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion had already divided into two routes; one route pounced directly toward that young child and young married woman who had already fled out of the 'Yanmei'er' array, while the other route pounced directly toward Zhan Zhao.
 
The third route was however Yan Ziqing.
 
This assassin whose lightness skill was outstanding was however straightly pouncing toward the painted flags inserted beside the river. Flying his hand and casting them out, several tens of flying knives had already shot electronically toward the flagpoles.
 
The meticulousness of his mind truly was not in vain to be able to name his list among the masters of the Jinshi Hall of the Xiangyang Prince's Mansion, to unexpectedly be able within this single moment to immediately judge and decide that the method to obstruct Zhan Zhao from breaking the 'Yanmei'er' was precisely to get rid of these painted flags that allowed him to be as if adding wings to a tiger!
 
This precisely was the true purpose of the three forces of men and horses!
 
The imperial guards of the Xiangyang Prefecture, how could they obstruct and stop Zhan Zhao. What they wanted was precisely this single instant that caused him to slow down a tiny bit!
 
Only if Zhan Zhao slowed down by this single slowing down, all the painted flags would then forever no longer become his weapons!
 
Within Mo Dao's eyes, a satisfied look had already been revealed.
——By the time Zhan Zhao discovered their purpose, everything would already be late.
 
Only this proud and complacent look suddenly congealed and hardened yet again.
——The seven or eight imperial guards who rushed to Zhan Zhao's close presence suddenly discovered that inside the dark-as-night-stars eyes of this black-clad youth opposite them, there unexpectedly seemed to be a flash of refined light! Then they heard a "ga-cha" sound of shattering and cracking.
——No, it was not a single sound, but rather several tens of sounds emitting simultaneously, only that when listened to, it however appeared as if there was only a single strand of sound identical.
 
What kind of object exactly could emit such a strange sound?
 
Zhan Zhao's right hand appeared as if making a beckoning motion.
 
That flagpole inside his right hand was already gone!
 
The flying knives of Yan Ziqing had just left his hand when he saw an inconceivable matter.
 
Beneath the light brightness of the water waves reflected by the river water, before the painted flags beside the river, there suddenly appeared several tens of wooden poles of non-uniform lengths; launching later yet arriving first, just as if they were lovers whose love was carved into their bones and inscribed into their hearts, quietly without a sound they then entangled onto his flying knives that were fast as a flash of lightning.
 
With a light "thud" sound, several tens of flying knives pierced onto these wooden poles that flew from who knows where; it was just as if they were suddenly subjected to a demon spell that dissolves karmic obstacles, and the force upon the knives instantly vanished without a single trace. The flying knives connected with the wooden poles, and had already simultaneously dropped onto the ground, so that even those practiced beforehand did not have it this relaxed and neat.
 
At the same time, Yan Ziqing's chest suddenly felt stifled.
 
He lowered his head, only to discover a section of a wooden pole had revealed and poked out from his chest; this pain unexpectedly came even faster than death.
 
Yan Ziqing's eyes had already protruded out.
 
Only until this time did he hear the wind sound brought by the wooden pole.
——Zhan Zhao's striking out, at this time, was unexpectedly faster than the sound of the wind!
 
Then he fell down.
 
Until he died, he did not see what exactly killed him; until he died, he did not think and understand clearly how that Zhan Zhao who was far away at several zhang outside could from behind his body emit these several tens of pieces of wooden poles to his front presence, breaking his flying knives that had never missed.
 
The only thing he did not see was, however, that before the sound of the wind, behind his back, there unexpectedly still seemed to be a strand of sword light flying up.
 
That sword light was unexpectedly ice-colored.
 
The calm and collected voice of Zhan Zhao only then transmitted over.
 
"The 'Crane Rushing to the Sky' of this person will not cause the Daoist Master to be disappointed."
 
His left-hand flag had already been executed as fiercely and swiftly as a long spear, in a flash of a second intercepting the imperial guards who assaulted that young child and young married woman who had just detached from the 'Yanmei'er'; inside his right hand, it was already no longer that flagpole, but rather a long sword cold as autumn water.
——The "Zhanlu" upon his back was already in hand!