Chapter Thirteen: A Terrifying Midnight Double Slaying

“When I put on my armor, I am a glorious Sky Knight, a blade in my lord’s hand, sent to punish all enemies. The code of knighthood is my duty. When I lay my armor aside, I am Viscount Rolls Kyle. As a nobleman, I take pride in my bloodline, and because I am a noble, I make my own choices.”

With that, Kyle gave a gentle smile and turned away, leaving with the polished hypocrisy and haughty grace of a true aristocrat. Though Haiqing did not fully understand his meaning, this was, after all, a cultural gulf spanning who knew how many worlds. Still, that did not prevent her from judging that Kyle might have some connection to those three people, though the relationship was hardly a good one. That was enough. What she needed was Kyle himself.

The somewhat stout steward had tidied away the lunch boxes—truly only lunch boxes, for several layers of food had been cleaned out to the last crumb. Yet he still chuckled amiably, his face warm and benign. Merchants were usually like this: at no time could they easily afford to bare their true faces. Better merchants were even more so. Even if he was now thinking about how to drive those three people away, he still smiled with unruffled good humor. At this point, forcing them out was no longer only about profit; it was also a matter of pride. More often than not, we fall into a stubborn mindset of “it has to be done,” and one can scarcely call that right or wrong.

Wu Yue remained silent and said nothing further, for there was no need, and more would be pointless. Kyle’s code of knighthood, or his noble glory, were none of Wu Yue’s concern. Changing a person was surely one of the hardest things in the world, and Wu Yue would not waste his time on it. Kyle was merely his summoned beast; life and death depended on a single thought from him. Perhaps Kyle’s pursuit of freedom and romance was a kind of courage and persistence, perhaps worthy of admiration—well, perhaps so.

“No wonder human summoned beasts are so unpopular,” he thought. Perhaps, given enough time, he could have subdued this knight, but that would not be Wu Yue’s choice.

“Hey, Wu Yue, are you all right?” Yu Fu somehow conjured up more food, grease still shining at the corners of his mouth. “I don’t like Kyle much either. He just seems awful.”

Wu Yue took a chicken leg that, for some reason, already had a bite missing from it. That was the difference between Kyle and Yu Fu. It was a kind of original sin: Kyle was only a summoned beast, and his life and death were not in his own hands. That was his tragedy, and his lack of choice. Wu Yue tore at the chicken leg in small bites. At the moment, he really had no solution; even if he were to destroy Kyle, the backlash alone would be more than he could bear. Looking up at the sky, he saw scattered points of starlight. His luck really was terrible.

“Little Yu Fu, how did you hide so much food?” Zhao Qingzhi stared in disbelief.

Yu Fu flashed a smug grin, a thoroughly punchable expression. “If I didn’t hide some, you’d have eaten it all. That won’t do.”

Zhao Qingzhi flushed with anger and punched Yu Fu square in the nose. Yu Fu’s first reaction was not anger but to clutch the food tighter; only then did he find time to be furious, shouting indignantly, “Zhao Qingzhi, what are you doing?”

“What am I doing? Can’t you tell?” Zhao Qingzhi gave a cold laugh. “I’m robbing you, of course.”

At that, Yu Fu held the food even tighter.

Zhao Qingzhi suddenly looked alarmed. “How is your hand already better?” He clearly remembered that Yu Fu’s hand had still been badly swollen and red yesterday, yet now it seemed completely normal.

“That’s right. My recovery has always been naturally strong.”

“In that case, that’s wonderful.” The small Zhao Qingzhi suddenly smiled in a strange way. Yu Fu immediately felt a very bad premonition in his heart.

Zhao Qingzhi used fists and kicks, while Wu Yue seized the chance to pull out two pieces of pastry.

“Will you give it back now?”

“Haha, I’ve already spit on it.”

More fists and kicks followed.

Night fell.

In the carriage, Wu Yue and Zhao Qingzhi were already fast asleep. Wu Yue began his seated cultivation. The seventh stream of spiritual energy slowly took shape. He exhaled softly, and the seven threads of energy, each as thick as a finger, gathered together. With each breath, their color deepened from purple to a richer hue. Once it became a dense violet and formed a whirlpool, that would be the second level of the Innate Purple Qi Technique.

The camp also gradually settled into quiet. Only a few patrol footsteps and the murmured talk of the night watch remained.

In the deep of night, when sleep was at its heaviest, two burly men leaned against the back of the carriage.

“This night watch job is really for dogs. So damn sleepy. That guy Wuliang really isn’t human. Damn it, just because he’s got a little connection with the steward.”

“I really want to get some proper sleep. I miss Xiaocui’s bed. What a pleasure.”

“Old Fang, I think you’re thinking about Xiaocui, aren’t you? Ha ha ha.”

“You’re not? Damn it, just thinking about it makes me feel like I can’t stand it.”

“Then do it yourself.”

“No need for that. I’ve got a way.”

“What way? There aren’t any women in our caravan except the second young lady.”

“There may be no women, but there is a girl.” Old Fang gave a lewd smile and glanced toward the carriage behind him.

“What?! What do you want to do? She’s just a little kid.”

“What are you shouting for? Did I say I was going to do anything to her? I’m just asking her to help out a bit.” Old Fang’s face was full of impatience.

“You really are a beast.”

The other man turned to leave at once.

“So I’m the good one, am I? No, the more I think about it, the less I can stand it.”

“Damn it, now that you say it like that, I can’t stand it either...”

“Relax. There’s only one sickly man and two little brats inside. Didn’t you see what the fat steward meant tonight? If that person knows what’s good for him, fine. If he doesn’t...” Old Fang bared his teeth and said viciously, “our brothers aren’t without blood on their hands.”

Wu Yue slowly opened his eyes, and a cold light flashed in them. He raised a hand toward Zhao Qingzhi’s waist. Zhao Qingzhi woke with a start and was about to cry out when Wu Yue covered his mouth. Zhao Qingzhi’s eyes widened, and he was just about to struggle.

“Don’t make a sound. Two men are about to come in. Give me the dagger. If you don’t believe me, keep the dagger yourself, pretend to be asleep, and don’t hesitate when you strike.”

Wu Yue finished the words in a rush.

Zhao Qingzhi blinked to show he understood. Wu Yue then let go, turned his head away, and slumped half against the carriage, breathing like one deep in sleep.

“Forget those two. Just carry the girl out.”

The curtain swayed. A burly man peeked in, and seeing that all three were asleep, he let out a quiet breath. Guilty deeds always feared the light of human eyes. Then he crept inside. The already cramped carriage seemed even more crowded.

“Not bad for her age. She’s developed pretty well.”

Zhao Qingzhi only felt a wave of foul breath wash over his face. Remembering Wu Yue’s words, he gritted his teeth and drove the dagger upward. Though he struck suddenly, his force was lacking, and the burly man, seasoned by travel and combat, managed to twist aside and avoid the blow to the heart. Only because of the cramped space did the blade finally catch his arm.

A fierce glint flashed in the man’s eyes. He showed no restraint at all and swung a hand toward Zhao Qingzhi.

Wu Yue struck at once, looping an arm around the man’s throat. “Kill him!” he growled under his breath.

He could feel the man’s struggling growing stronger by the second.

“I...” Zhao Qingzhi was nearly in tears, clutching the dagger and trembling, unable to bring himself to stab again. “Maybe you should do it. I can’t...”

Wu Yue grew furious. How many hands did he have? But the man was also beginning to panic and never once dared cry out loudly. In the struggle, however, he bumped into Yu Fu several times, and only then did the boy drowsily wake.

At that moment, the burly man slapped the dagger from Zhao Qingzhi’s hand and drove his elbow backward into Wu Yue’s head. Wu Yue only felt a wave of dizziness, and his arms involuntarily loosened. Forcing down the vertigo, he was just about to unleash his only strike, the one reserved for the second man.

Yu Fu picked up the dagger with one hand, braced himself on the floor with the other, and neatly thrust it into the burly man’s throat. Then he drew it out and stabbed again at the man’s windpipe, his face still half-fogged with sleep, yet his hand was astonishingly decisive, calm as drifting cloud and flowing water.

The burly man collapsed lifelessly.

“What’s going on? You still can’t handle this? Fine, then kill the other two first.”

The other man lifted the curtain, intending to see what had happened.

A surge of violet energy struck him full in the face, like ten thousand needles.

An opening strike of the Innate Purple Qi Technique.