DLERB -Chapter 31 Breaking a Sword with Two Fingers! Uncle, You’re Surrounded!

The sword light had arrived.

That deadly sword tip was now less than three feet away from Ying Ziye’s forehead!

Li Si and the others shut their eyes in terror, not daring to look any further.

At that critical moment—

the shadow standing in front of Ying Ziye moved.

He did not draw his blade.

He merely raised his right hand.

Then extended two fingers—the index and middle finger.

A savage grin appeared on Xiang Zhuang’s face.

Courting death!

This man actually wanted to block his killing sword with bare fingers?

He could already picture it: those two fingers shredded by sword qi, his blade piercing through the man’s body before stabbing straight into that little brat’s forehead!

However—in the next instant—

Clang!

A crisp metallic ring echoed through the night sky.

The smile on Xiang Zhuang’s face froze.

His sword… had stopped.

The sword tip was firmly caught between those seemingly slender fingers.

It could not advance even half an inch!

The blade trembled violently, letting out a strained hum as though unable to bear the pressure, yet it could not break free from the grip of those two fingers.

How was this possible?!

Xiang Zhuang stared at the face hidden in the shadows.

Qinglong!

It’s you!

Xiang Zhuang let out an angry roar and violently twisted his wrist, trying to yank the sword back.

But the weapon seemed welded inside a pair of iron tongs, utterly unmoving.

Up on the city tower—

Ying Ziye scooped another spoonful of lotus seed soup, blew on it gently, and popped it into his mouth.

Then he spoke vaguely while chewing.

“Uncle, why did your sword stop?”

“Do you dislike this young master, or are you just out of strength?”

Xiang Zhuang was so furious he nearly spat blood.

Suddenly, he released the sword hilt. His body twisted in a bizarre motion as his right hand transformed into a claw, aiming straight for Qinglong’s throat!

Abandoning the sword to attack directly!

This was his ultimate life-and-death technique!

Qinglong did not even look at him.

The two fingers holding the sword tip lightly twisted and flicked.

Buzzz—!

The finely forged steel sword let out a mournful cry as an overwhelming force hurled it backward instead!

The hilt slammed heavily into Xiang Zhuang’s own chest.

Pfft!

Xiang Zhuang felt as though he had been struck by a battering ram. His whole body flew backward, staggering seven or eight steps before barely managing to steady himself.

His chest churned violently, and a sweet taste rose in his throat.

He looked at Qinglong with horror filling his eyes.

Three years apart—and Qinglong’s martial arts had advanced to such a terrifying level!

Shing!

Qinglong moved.

With a backhand motion, he drew the embroidered spring saber from his waist.

No unnecessary movement.

Just one slash.

Simple. Direct.

He chopped downward head-on!

The blade split through the night air with an unstoppable and savage momentum.

Xiang Zhuang was horrified.

Ignoring the pain in his chest, he tapped the city bricks with the tip of his foot, drifting sideways like a falling leaf and barely dodging the attack by a hair’s breadth.

Boom!

The saber missed its target, yet it carved a horrifying groove over half a foot deep into the solid stone bricks of the city wall!

Stone fragments flew everywhere.

Broken rocks scattered in all directions.

A shard of stone sliced across Xiang Zhuang’s cheek, leaving behind a bloody cut.

Before he even had time to catch his breath—

Qinglong’s second strike had already swept across horizontally.

Blade light flowed continuously, each slash faster than the last, each strike heavier than the one before.

There was no technique whatsoever.

Only pure speed and overwhelming power.

Xiang Zhuang snatched up his fallen sword from the ground and desperately blocked the attacks.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

The shrill sound of metal colliding rang wildly across the city tower.

Sparks exploded endlessly like festival fireworks.

Xiang Zhuang was forced backward again and again.

The longsword in his hand was agile and unpredictable, its techniques endlessly changing.

But before Qinglong’s utterly unreasonable and tyrannical saber style, every bit of skill seemed pale and powerless.

Every block felt as though he were resisting a rampaging beast.

The flesh between his thumb and forefinger split open instantly, blood pouring out.

On the other side of the city tower—

Li Si and the other civil officials were already staring in complete shock, as if turned to stone.

This… was the strength of the Commander of the Jinyiwei?

This… was the confidence that allowed the young master to calmly use himself as bait?

Ying Ziye scooped up another spoonful of lotus seed soup.

Watching Xiang Zhuang struggle desperately in the battlefield below, he shook his head in disappointment.

“Uncle, you’re not very good.”

“Look at you, jumping around like a monkey.”

“It’s not pretty at all.”

Hearing those words, Xiang Zhuang’s already surging blood and qi became even more chaotic.

His breath faltered for an instant, and his movements slowed by half a beat.

Slash!

Qinglong’s blade swept past his ribs.

His robe was torn open with a huge gash, and a deep wound exposing bone appeared at his waist.

Blood instantly soaked his clothes red.

“Oh my! You’re bleeding!”

Ying Ziye clapped his little hands, as if he had just seen something amusing.

“Uncle Qinglong, be gentler.”

“Don’t tear uncle’s clothes apart. It looks ugly.”

Xiang Zhuang’s eyes turned completely bloodshot.

He let out a roar like a wounded beast.

He couldn’t keep fighting!

If this continued, he would definitely die!

This was a trap!

A deadly scheme that used a great scholar as bait and this little monster as the executioner!

Run!

He had to escape!

Xiang Zhuang bit the tip of his tongue fiercely, forcibly suppressing the agonizing pain from his wound.

Instead of retreating, he charged forward.

The longsword in his hand transformed into countless sword shadows, covering all of Qinglong’s vital points in a suicidal attack!

Qinglong frowned slightly and had no choice but to pull back his blade to defend.

Now!

Xiang Zhuang seized that fleeting opening. His figure exploded upward as he turned and leaped straight down from the city wall!

Before the Jinyiwei could completely surround him, he would escape Xianyang!

However—

Just as his body leaped into midair—

Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!

From the shadows of the streets below the city gate—

Hundreds of torches lit up simultaneously!

The firelight illuminated the entire gate district as bright as day.

And it also revealed countless cold faces and rows upon rows of already-loaded heavy crossbows.

The dense mass of bolts looked like a swarm of death itself, all aimed at the figure suspended in midair.

An inescapable net!

Xiang Zhuang’s body froze in the air.

The color drained completely from his face, leaving only ashen despair.

It was over.

Only then did Ying Ziye slowly put down the small white jade bowl in his hand.

He stood up and walked to the edge of the city wall, looking down at the trapped-beast figure below.

In his childish voice, filled with innocent curiosity, he asked:

“Uncle, you still haven’t told me your name.”

Slowly, Xiang Zhuang raised his head.

He looked at the eight-year-old child standing atop the city wall, gazing down at him from above.

Suddenly, he laughed.

A miserable and crazed laugh.

“You want to know?”

“In your next life, ask the King of Hell!”

Before his words even finished—

He suddenly pulled out a black round sphere from his robes and smashed it onto the ground with all his strength!

Boom!

A muffled explosion sounded.

A thick cloud of pungent smoke shot skyward, instantly covering an area dozens of meters wide.

“Not good! It’s a Chu Iron Fire Thunder!”

Qinglong’s expression changed.

Like lightning, he leaped straight from the city wall and rushed into the smoke.

Moments later—

The smoke dispersed.

The city gate was empty.

Only Chunyu Yue remained lying unconscious on the ground.

Qinglong reappeared, dropping to one knee with his head lowered deeply.

“Young Master, this subordinate is incompetent. I let him escape.”

On the city wall, Li Si and the others sighed in frustration, feeling that victory had slipped away at the final moment.

But as Ying Ziye watched the direction Xiang Zhuang had fled, not only was there no anger on his face—

A brighter smile than before appeared instead.

“It’s fine if he escaped.”

“Keeping him alive will be even more useful.”

Qinglong looked up in confusion.

“Young Master, we clearly could have—”

Ying Ziye interrupted him.

On that childish face appeared a depth completely unfitting for his age.

“You think I mobilized such a huge force merely to capture a rat that ran here from Chu?”