56 Chao Xiaoshu! Chao Xiaoshu! (1/2)
Chapter 56: Chao Xiaoshu! Chao Xiaoshu!
Translator: TransnEditor: Transn
They had seen their brave subordinates knocked away by the middle-aged man, who, gently waving his sleeves, was coming closer and closer. And despite the romantic night, Lord Meng, Jun Jie, and The Old Cat, who were bosses controlling Southern City and Western City, began to tremble slightly and could not suppress their strong desires to retreat.
However, thinking of the true noble standing behind them and those two aces back in the government, they clenched their teeth, emitting the most severely fierce roar. ”Everyone charge together and surround and kill him! Throw the axes!”
The severe roar resounded throughout the streets and alleys of Spring Breeze Pavilion. Quite strangely, after hearing the words ”surround and kill him”, those in the crowd, who had used their remaining courage to carry knives and roar to charge forward, dispersed from Ning Que and Chao Xiaoshu at their fastest speed. With the crowd in front spreading out, there were two rows of strong men appearing. They had coarse cloth belts tied to their waists and four small axes inside each cloth belt, and carried two small axes in their hands and were ready to throw them!
Because warrior spirit was promoted among the Tang and a brave atmosphere flowed in the courts and rural areas, carrying official swords was not prohibited in the capital, Chang'an. Even for weapons like the podao, long hilt broadswords, the government wouldn't bother one as long as he didn't show them off in the middle of busy areas and streets. However, as for bows and arrows that were kind of long-ranged weapons, its supervision was comparatively stricter. Especially for the enormously powerful crossbow arrow; it was even strictly prohibited among common people. As a result of that situation, dozens of flying axes splitting the air had become the terrifying weapons!
On this slaughter-filled, rainy night, Chao Xiaoshu changed his calm expression for the first time. Seeing two rows of flying axes from a distant wall and showing a fearless expression which lacked even vigilance, he just frowned slightly, seemingly feeling a bit troublesome. He shook his head and said, ”You know what to do.”
These words were natural for Ning Que, but Ning Que… didn't know what to do at that moment. If the enemies' axes came flying out like the rain, he was sure that he himself could flee but he knew that Chao Xiaoshu wouldn't choose to leave before killing or defeating everyone. Just at that instant, seeing Chao Xiaoshu's back, he suddenly thought of the battlefield at Northern Mountain Road and Old Lv Qingchen's words, with a bit of shock flashing in his eyes.
As if hearing the sound of shock in his mind, that lonely cyan-steel sword in Chao Xiaoshu's hand hummed and vibrated at an extremely high speed, making the rainwater and blood on its body change into bits of powder. It then suddenly disappeared into a gray, blurry, flowing shadow rushing into the rain to fly towards those two rows of flying axes!
Though like a gray, blurry and flowing shadow, it was truly a fast and swift sword with a subtle and smart moving orbit. Where there was the sword passing, there were those chaotically scrambling spring dreams like the pierced rain beads suspending in the night sky. It pierced the outermost layer of the rain beads, thoroughly piercing the inner heart, and then pierced out to go through the outmost layer of one's skin and his flesh and bone. Finally, it pierced out with falling fingers, which had firmly held onto the axe handles like lotus roots, one by one, with blood spraying from the severed parts!
In front of the wall and among the alleys, there was only a cracking sound of the straight sword's tip piercing through raindrops and the continuous sound of severing fingers. There were uncountable fingers that had firmly held onto axe handles sprinkling down together with the raindrops. Then the heavy axes followed, falling and smashing onto the ground full of rainwater with a muffled sound, followed by the sound of countless wretched howls!
With the fastest action and reaction, two of them had already thrown the axes from their hands when Spring Breeze Pavilion Old Chao first raised his sword. However, the next moment, that gray, blurry, flowing shadow of the sword had easily swept past their wrists and caused a whirlwind of blood. They unexpectedly threw the axes with their hands at the same time, drawing out a wretched line of blood, and ghastly falling on the nearby floor, which looked exceptionally bloody!
Spring Breeze Pavilion was silent on this rainy night. Standing amidst the rain, Chao Xiaoshu looked around at the hundreds in the Chang'an crowd and heard the miserable howls caused by his own flying sword alternately appearing and disappearing, showing calmness on his face.
With a pale face, Lord Meng of Southern City pointed a trembling finger at Chao Xiaoshu who was standing outside the pavilion and shouted like an insane woman. ”Chao Xiaoshu!... Chao Xiaoshu! How can you, Chao Xiaoshu, be... a cultivator? You... you can not be a Great Sword Master!”
...
...
”What kind of person do you need around you?”
”Be quick, strong, and brave enough to kill people with your eyes open, and you can never let anything fall on me.”
Staring at Chao Xiaoshu's back, Ning Que saw those two slightly trembling hands dangling outside of the indigo robe's sleeves and couldn't help but feel a bit stiff. The fact that the thin sword changed into a soundless and gray shadow finally proved what he had guessed and made him finally understand the dialogue inside the shop from before.
At the battle at Northern Mountain Road, that Great Sword Master, who had been expelled from the Academy, had a martial warrior as an escort-servant close to his side. After Lv Qingchen used a scheme to entice and kill that Great Sword Master, he immediately killed that escort-servant. It was precisely because cultivators like Sword Masters and Psyche Masters most feared being approached by killers in battle, just like Spring Breeze Pavilion Old Chao, who had just finally shown his true strength.
Just then, Chao Xiaoshu's psychic powers and primordial Qi were wholly tied to that blurry, unpredictable flying sword. Though looking powerful, he had already lost all his defensive abilities with no sword in his hand. If someone of the opposing side could break through that flying sword or secretly approached to raid him, he would fall into utmost danger.