Chapter 24: Breaking Through the Bloody Path

The scene unfolding inside Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, within Drunken Cloud Hall, left Du Cai-ni and Manager Yuan utterly dumbfounded. Despite Du Long’s modest strength, his fighting prowess was astonishingly fierce!

“Du Long! Don’t just stand there—more people are charging at you!” The voice of the ring spirit beauty echoed in his mind, clearly reminding this somewhat smug fellow.

Startled from his daze, Du Long hurriedly shouted to Du Cai-ni, “Big Sis! The wind’s tight; let’s scram!”

Without waiting for her response, he grabbed Xia Qing-lian’s delicate hand and sprinted toward the staircase. Unfortunately, the stairwell was already crowded with Drunken Fragrance Pavilion’s guards—dozens, all brandishing weapons, surged forward.

Taking advantage of a hidden corner, out of sight, Du Long quickly drew his oddly-shaped Xuan Yang war blade. Brandishing the blade, heavy as a hundred pounds, he plunged toward the group of guards without hesitation.

“Quick! Stop Du Long—just capture Qing-lian, don’t harm anyone!” Manager Yuan, shaking off Du Cai-ni and darting after Du Long, shouted urgently to the guards blocking the path. Clearly, he didn’t wish Du Long to be injured; as the direct grandson of the Du family, any harm would be a responsibility he could never bear.

“Get out of my way!” Du Long roared, charging like a wild tiger down the mountain, his gleaming, peculiar war blade slashing at the crowd blocking the stairs.

“Hold him off together!” someone shouted in the crowd, raising their blade to block Du Long’s formidable strike. The others in the front row quickly followed suit.

“Hmph!”

With a snort, Du Long unleashed the Xuan Yang Double Wave technique without hesitation. His unique blade cut through the air, amplifying force with a second push, successfully executing the move.

Crack, crack...

The gleaming blade flashed, severing four or five weapons in succession. Against the Xuan Yang Double Wave, ordinary arms were like sticks, instantly chopped apart!

He never expected his move to be so powerful; the momentum of his blade didn’t stop, swinging straight at a petrified guard. If it struck, the man would be cleaved in two!

Du Long had no intention of killing anyone today. The moment blood was spilled, his righteousness would be lost. He did his best to alter the blade’s trajectory, turning the strike to a diagonal slash. Even so, the blade carved a palm-sized chunk from the man’s left shoulder.

Had Du Long not controlled his strength, the guard’s entire arm might have been severed!

Blood spurted, and the terrified guard finally snapped out of his stupor, clutching his wound and retreating as if he’d seen a ghost.

Du Long’s ferocity stunned the crowd of guards; they all shrank back, unwilling to face him.

Wielding the strange Xuan Yang blade, Du Long pressed forward step by step toward the stairwell. Not a single enforcer dared to lay a hand on him; all were forced back by his advance.

“Damn it! Hurry up and seize Qing-lian!” Manager Yuan, once again entangled by Du Cai-ni, glanced at Du Long’s display out of the corner of his eye. Shocked, he still shouted angrily at the guards.

Apparently, Manager Yuan’s usual authority held sway; though the guards feared Du Long, they steeled themselves and charged in, aiming to capture Xia Qing-lian, whom he fiercely protected.

Du Long would never let them take her. Since they dared not use lethal force, the pressure wasn’t overwhelming. His Xuan Yang blade continued to sever weapons, and he showed no mercy to those foolish enough to confront him, occasionally slicing them—though never in fatal spots.

Even so, blood splattered onto Du Long and Xia Qing-lian. Seeing Du Long stained and splattered, Xia Qing-lian felt an unfamiliar surge of emotion. She never dreamed that one day a man would risk so much for her.

This fragile woman, fallen from grace and on the brink of despair, who had never known warmth, finally felt that in this world, a man was willing to fight for her. The heart long frozen suddenly cracked, letting a sliver of warmth through.

At that moment, Xia Qing-lian saw only the silhouette of this young man. Her beautiful eyes, unblinking, followed him as he fended off enemy after enemy. When he was accidentally wounded, blood streaming from his arm, her eyes brimmed with hot tears.

Du Long never looked at Xia Qing-lian. He only knew to desperately protect her, forcing their way out, step by step down the stairs, beating back one or two guards with every stride.

Bang!

The strange war blade severed a longsword and struck the stair railing. With the Xuan Yang Double Wave, invisible force exploded, shattering several meters of railing and hurling two or three guards off the edge into the banquet hall below.

The battle upstairs had long drawn the attention of the guests. They all backed away from the stairs, yet couldn’t bring themselves to leave, lingering at the edge of the first-floor hall, watching the fight with curiosity.

“Look! Isn’t that Xia Qing-lian, the Drunken Fragrance Pavilion’s star courtesan?! Who’s that guy? He dares cause trouble here?! Looks like he’s trying to rescue her!”

“You don’t recognize him? That’s Du Long, the notorious wastrel of the Du family—the Poison Dragon Ninth!”

“Him?! Wasn’t he supposed to be a useless cultivator, unable to train? How can he be holding off dozens of guards—how could he be a waste?”

“You don’t know? Word is, his inability to cultivate was cured. He’s certainly no longer a useless cultivator!”

“So the rumor about Poison Dragon Ninth divorcing his wife wasn’t false? Look at his imposing demeanor now—he clearly doesn’t care about that shameless Zhao heiress!”

“……”

The banquet hall buzzed with excited speculation. Everyone watched the massacre unfolding on the staircase, curious and thrilled. In the capital, no one dared indiscriminately kill, so they could enjoy the spectacle from afar.

Seeing Du Long wounded, the little golden serpent grew restless. A flash of gold shot out from Du Long, knocking out those who attacked from the shadows, lightening Du Long’s burden and speeding his progress.

As Du Long approached the exit of Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, squads of city guards in shining silver armor marched in formation toward the building. Leading them was a middle-aged man in regulation military dress, atop a war horse—Deputy Commander Zhou Xu, a sixth-rank captain of the city defense.

With the city guards arriving, the pavilion’s enforcers ceased their resistance, quickly clearing a path. Captain Zhou Xu dismounted and strode through the front entrance.

“What’s going on here? Why are you brawling, even using weapons?!” Zhou Xu’s expression was stern as he surveyed the scene: a trail of blood from the entrance to the stairs, tables and chairs in disarray.

“Reporting, sir! Du Long tried to abduct our star courtesan Xia Qing-lian. We risked our lives to stop him, but he attacked us!” a guard hurriedly reported.

“Du Long? Abducting Xia Qing-lian?!” Zhou Xu was stunned, raising his eyes in shock to the blood-soaked man surrounded by guards—indeed, it was Du Long of the Du family.

“Sir! Don’t listen to their nonsense! I am here by imperial decree to pardon Xia Qing-lian, and Princess Phoenix entrusted me with her redemption. Manager Yuan refused to release her, despite her restored status as a free woman, and tried to auction her off. By order of Princess Phoenix, I must take her out tonight, or I won’t be able to answer to her tomorrow. That’s why this happened!” Du Long, his face bloody, winked at Zhou Xu and briefly explained the situation.

“Sir, look! This is the imperial pardon, and here is Princess Phoenix’s token!”

Zhou Xu stepped forward, approaching Du Long. Instead of immediately accepting the documents, he sized up the blood-soaked youth, quietly raising his thumb in admiration. “Kid, your uncle is impressed! For the sake of a beauty, you carved a bloody path with your blade!”

Hearing Zhou Xu’s half-mocking words, Xia Qing-lian finally relaxed, her fair face flushing crimson. Though her face was covered with a white silk scarf, her delicate neck betrayed her blush.

“Heh, uncle, you arrived just in time! If another captain had come, I’d be in real trouble!” Du Long grinned, speaking quietly to his uncle—Zhou Xu, younger brother to Du Long’s mother, Zhou Ruoxue. The Zhou family’s influence in the capital rivaled the Du family’s.

Zhou Xu leisurely took the pardon and the princess’s token, pretending to examine them seriously while whispering, “Kid, is this for real? Since when are you so close to Princess Phoenix? Your uncle never heard about this!”

“I only met Princess Phoenix recently, uncle. I wouldn’t dare deceive you. The money to redeem Qing-lian came from my mother—your second sister! If you doubt me, ask her yourself!” Du Long winked as he explained.

After confirming the authenticity of the pardon and the princess’s token, Zhou Xu believed Du Long’s story almost entirely. He then assumed a stern expression and declared, “Men! Take these two and the woman with them!”

Zhou Xu pointed at Du Long and Xia Qing-lian, and also Du Cai-ni, who had just come down from the second floor. Two squads of city guards moved forward to apprehend them. The once ferocious Du Long now behaved surprisingly docile, surrendering without a word and allowing his blade to be confiscated without protest.

“May I ask your name, captain? I’m quite familiar with Deputy Liu of the city guard!” Manager Yuan, who had followed Du Cai-ni down, hurried forward to greet Zhou Xu.

‘Deputy Liu is nothing!’ Zhou Xu scoffed inwardly. His third uncle was a third-rank General of the city guard; Deputy Liu was beneath his notice. Still, Zhou Xu rarely visited Drunken Fragrance Pavilion, so Manager Yuan’s ignorance was understandable.

“You must be the manager here? Du Long holds an imperial pardon and Princess Phoenix’s token. You’re simply unlucky today. I’m taking them away. If you have any complaints, submit them to the city guard. Farewell!” Zhou Xu didn’t bother wasting words with him. He knew the pavilion’s background; if other forces got involved, leaving would become complicated.

Manager Yuan could only watch helplessly as the city guards escorted Du Long and Xia Qing-lian away. From Zhou Xu’s tone, it was clear he didn’t consider Manager Yuan worthy of attention. This matter would need to be reported to the owner, who would have to handle it personally.