Chapter 137: Carrying a Blade in the Rain Storm

In a rainy night illuminated by lightning and thunder...
The surroundings were utterly desolate...
The two Duan brothers sprinted desperately, the rainwater beneath their feet splashing in all directions...
Just as they were catching their breath, several figures wearing bamboo conical hats and wielding embroidered spring blades suddenly closed in from their sides.
"Careful!"
Accompanied by a soft shout, their blades and swords intersected, creating a ringing sound in the rainy night that felt as though it could pierce the eardrums!
Even the droplets of water on the blades were shattered into mist!
Since one side wanted to escape while the other believed victory was already theirs and were merely waiting for their colleagues, neither side had any intention of lingering. Their weapons met and parted instantly at the touch...
Rainwater soaked Duan Yuanze's face, making his expression unreadable.
The feathered arrow protruding from his shoulder had already been snapped at both ends; to prevent unstoppable bleeding, he had left a section embedded inside to plug the wound...
Yet, after all, it was a piercing injury. With every movement, blood was squeezed out of the wound, mixing with the rainwater and dripping down his wrist.
Duan Yuansi's eyes were bloodshot to the point of glowing crimson. Whether it was rainwater or tears streaming down his cheeks, it illuminated his face with a ferocious look, the violent murderous aura enveloping his entire body seemingly condensing into substance.
He wanted to step forward with his sword to cut down the intercepting men, only to find himself once again reined in by his elder brother.
"Go!"
Duan Yuanze also saw that the intercepting party had no intention of entangling with them, but merely wanted to buy time.
He knew full well that the forces pursuing and blocking them extended far beyond this immediate group; if they got bogged down, they would soon be surrounded by the arriving Embroidered Uniform Guards...
Therefore, he grabbed his younger brother and ran...
The Embroidered Uniform Guards behind them sneered at the sight, making no strenuous attempt to block their path, choosing instead to trail unhurriedly behind them.
When hunting down martial artists—especially desperate outlaws proficient in martial arts—they had their own set of methods.
Kill if they could; if not, they would at least inflict injuries on these desperate men, and then let them catch a glimpse of hope for survival so they wouldn't be driven to cornered beasts' desperation, dragging others down with them to the grave.
After that, they only needed to tail them from behind.
First, to wait for other colleagues to arrive and converge;
Second, because the hunted target was injured and running, they certainly wouldn't be able to treat their wounds in time. It would only take a while before they suffered from excessive blood loss, at which point the outlaws' strength would be reduced by ninety percent, rendering them incapable of even a desperate last stand.
Then, they could be kneaded however the guards pleased, shaped however the guards desired.
Duan Yuanze's face was the color of beaten gold, his lips devoid of all blood. Seeing the flesh around his shoulder wound turned pale and waterlogged by the rain, and feeling his body growing progressively weaker, he was deeply aware of his predicament.
Having lived on the run for years, he naturally discerned the Embroidered Uniform Guards' intentions, and he also knew full well that the perimeter within which he could escape was steadily shrinking, with the enemy closing in from all directions.
Observing all six directions and listening to all eight.
"Someone ahead!"
Just as his words fell, the curtain of rain in the dark night was torn open horizontally like a piece of delicate satin by a suddenly appearing embroidered spring blade...
The cold light flashing along the blade was like a strip of silk!
"Let me!"
Duan Yuansi's gaze turned frosty when he saw the embroidered spring blade flying horizontally toward them. Knowing his elder brother was already wounded, he let out a low shout, twisted his footing, and met the attack with his sword!
The ancestral ancient sword in his hand swept through the rain curtain, its sword Qi blending with the water mist like a dragon emerging from the water!
"Clang~~~"
Accompanied by a crisp metallic crash, Duan Yuansi staggered back several steps with a trace of crimson spilling from the corner of his mouth.
The horizontally flying embroidered spring blade shattered upon impact, but the momentum carried by the blade did not dissipate in the least. Wrapped around the broken blade fragments like flying daggers, they hurled toward him again in a torrential flurry.
"Xiantian realm!"
Duan Yuansi's heart skipped a beat. In his momentary distraction, a flying blade fragment carved a gash across the bridge of his nose.
The pain on his face snapped him back to his senses, and he immediately swung his sword once more, deflecting the numerous oncoming blade shards.
The blood oozing from the cut on his nose did not linger on his face for even half a second before being completely washed away by the cascading rainwater...
At that exact moment...
The roaring thunder rumbled once again, accompanied by a flash of white light that illuminated the numerous hat-wearing figures in the rain curtain and cast a pale pallor over the faces of the two Duan brothers...
"What a fine display of swordsmanship..."
Song Mingde, who had closed in to block their path, unhooked the sabre from his waist, strolled out unhurriedly, and clicked his tongue, saying, "Such a terrible pity."
Duan Yuanze and Duan Yuansi had their backs pressed against each other, guarding against the murderous intent emerging from the rainy night all around them.
For they could both see that the swiftly following Embroidered Uniform Guards had formed a tight circle around their path of retreat, and some were already drawing their bows and nocking arrows, aiming directly at them!
"To be honest, I almost feel reluctant to kill you both."
As if recalling something, Song Mingde sighed and said, "But you are simply too dangerous. Truly too dangerous."
"Old bastard, if you want to kill us, then kill us!"
Duan Yuansi's expression was exceptionally ferocious at this moment, his bloodshot eyes glaring viciously at Song Mingde as he snapped, "Why bother putting on such a sickening facade?"
"It doesn't necessarily have to end in death."
Song Mingde glanced at him and said, "If the two of you sever your own heel tendons and surrender without a fight, I can guarantee I won't kill you. Afterward, I might even find someone to help reattach them."
"Heh... Sever our heel tendons and surrender without a fight?"
Duan Yuansi sneered, a murderous aura surging over his body as he cursed, "With the insatiably greedy faces of you corrupt officials, once the heel tendons are severed, would you demand the wrist tendons next? Huh?"
With that, he twisted his footing and lunged forward with his sword!
"Audacious scoundrel!"
Song Mingde's eyebrows twitched at the sight. Seeing the youth charge directly at him with such ferocious momentum, he too let out a cold snort, drew his sabre, and met the charge!
Blade and sword intersected once more!
Time seemed to freeze for a fraction of a second. The dispersing momentum blew away the rainwater on the ground, and the falling raindrops surged backward, as if creating a vacuum zone!
Although a trace of crimson spilled from the corner of Duan Yuansi's mouth, his imposing aura continued to climb, and without retreating a single step, he locked eyes with his opponent.
"Corrupt official! Come then!"
Song Mingde's expression shifted in shock. He had considered himself never to have underestimated these two young men, yet after exchanging blows, he realized he had still underestimated them!
Thinking of how this scoundrel had provoked him repeatedly by calling him a corrupt official, a surge of irritation rose in his heart.
With a cold snort, he flicked his wrist and jarred the youth back. Seeing that the scoundrel not only refused to retreat but instead launched a proactive counter-attack, Song Mingde slashed forward with his embroidered spring blade, accompanied by a piercing whistle that tore through the air!
In an instant, flashes of steel and dancing sword lights filled the rain curtain!
The crisp sounds of metallic clashes rang out incessantly.
The longer they fought, the more frantic Duan Yuansi became. He remained completely oblivious to the several gasps carved into his flesh by the blade Qi, his murderous intent instead surging ever higher as he roared as if he were about to lose his sanity the next moment.
Meanwhile, the longer Song Mingde fought, the more alarmed he grew. Having immersed himself in the Xiantian martial realm for over a decade, he had never encountered anyone who grew fiercer the longer they fought, nor anyone who became more savage the more injuries they sustained...
No expression could be discerned on Duan Yuanze's face, or perhaps he had already foreseen the final destiny awaiting him and his brother.
He quietly raised his head to look at the rainy night sky, letting the rainwater drip onto his cheeks. It was impossible to tell whether the moisture sliding down his face was rainwater or tears...
'Father, this son is unfilial and failed to take care of Yuansi.'
As if he had resolved something within his heart, he slowly lowered his head...
At this very moment.
He seemed to cast off all the burdens weighing upon his mind. He was no longer the successor of his family, no longer anyone's son, no longer anyone's elder brother, and he no longer even needed to concern himself with life or death!
There was only himself and the Jinghong Sword in his hand!
He stood within the rain curtain, gripping his sword, yet the impression he emitted was that of a sharp blade from which all rust had been thoroughly polished away, his eyes filled entirely with edge and brilliance!
Watching the battlefield of clashing steel, he twisted his footing and leaped forward, the longsword in his hand resembling a flash of startled light slicing through the rainy night!
Meanwhile, Song Mingde felt a flicker of annoyance in his heart.
Considering he had immersed himself in the Xiantian realm for over a decade, even though he hadn't used his full strength, failing to subdue a pair of juniors in the Houtian realm after dozens of moves caused him to lose face to some extent.
As he deflected the incoming longsword with his embroidered spring blade and prepared to unleash his full strength to capture the scoundrels, he caught sight of a flash of startled brilliance hurtling toward him through the rain!
Startled, and realizing that both brothers were now throwing themselves into the fray, he no longer held anything back, shifted his stance, and met the attack horizontally with his blade!
Seeing his move blocked, Duan Yuanze's face turned pale, and a trace of crimson welled up once again from the wound on his shoulder. Yet, without retreating in the slightest, he pressed forward with his sword once more!
Duan Yuansi, who had been jarred back, was now in tattered robes with blood still oozing from his wounds. Seeing his elder brother join the fight, he forcefully suppressed the taste of blood rising to his throat, his imposing aura surging by another three parts!
Then, with a grinning smile, he charged back into the fray!
The two brothers joined forces: one wielded a sword like a roaming dragon, the other like a startled swan; one had bloodshot eyes and a murderous aura akin to a demon possessed, while the other bared his complete edge like a sword cleaving the rain curtain.
Song Mingde no longer dared to hold back either. Seeing the brothers' wills harmonize as they grew stronger with every exchange, and seeing their combined swords unleash a surge of energy heading straight for him, even his cultivation left his face turning pale after he blocked their joint assault. With a sweep of his blade across the rain curtain, he forced the two back!
Having driven them back, he wore a grim expression as he vaulted more than a dozen feet backward, then shouted toward the Embroidered Uniform Guards in the rain: "Release the arrows!"
Instantly, the bowstrings hummed and vibrated through the rain curtain, and dozens of feathered arrows streaked forward with sharp, piercing screeches through the air.
Knowing that the two brothers had already matured into formidable threats, Song Mingde's intent to kill surged to its peak!
He swung his embroidered spring blade, the turbulent blade Qi causing the rain curtain in the dark night to roll backward by three parts. Twisting his wrist, he brought down a dozen-foot-long arc of blade Qi through the air toward the Duan brothers!
"Die, little scoundrels!"