USWHC -Chapter 488 The Imperial Examination (Part 8)

The burly man holding the blade suddenly seemed possessed—twisting and jerking wildly. What was wrong with him? He let out a strange howl, rubbing frantically at his chest and back with both hands, as if those spots were on fire. The pain was so intense he couldn’t stop himself.

“What’s wrong with you all?” a sharp shout rang out—the leader was clearly getting angry.

One of them cried out in a shrill voice, “Boss, this place is haunted!”

“Haunted my ass! You can’t even kill a lousy scholar, and you expect to go to war? Useless, the lot of you!” Another man strode forward as he spoke, raising his hand and slapping the man aside.

The man screamed again. Everyone looked—and froze.

No way… was it really haunted?

On his chest and back were matching patches of blood-red burns, as if scorched by fire, with blood seeping out. One wound would’ve been strange enough—but there were two, perfectly aligned front and back, like he’d been skewered on a stick.

The leader paused, then glanced suspiciously at Ji Yi.
Could this guy know martial arts? Impossible. If he did, would he just lie there and not resist?

“Together!” the leader barked. “I refuse to believe this brat can keep lying there!”

At his command, nearly everyone raised their blades and hacked wildly at Ji Yi from all directions, stabbing wherever they could find an opening.

But almost at the same moment—clang, clang, clang! A series of crisp metallic sounds rang out. Flowing sleeves fluttered as Ji Yi used his inner energy to block their blades.

Then he shouted loudly, “If you don’t come out now, just wait till I tear you both apart!”

Everyone froze.

Who was he talking to?

Uncle Ge and Shopkeeper Liao both stared in shock. Uncle Ge even pointed at his own nose, as if wondering whether he was being called, while Shopkeeper Liao kept shaking his head.

The next moment, Ji Yi snatched a blade and hurled it outward. The kidnappers surrounding him panicked, stumbling back in fear, afraid they’d become the next target.

But unexpectedly, the blade curved in an arc and shot straight upward.

Bad aim?

With a sharp crack, the roof was sliced open. Then—thud, thud—two figures dropped down from above.

Well… “dropped” was the right word.

One of them flipped midair and landed steadily. The other, however, hit the ground with a loud smack, sprawled out flat on his back.

The kidnappers immediately understood—reinforcements had arrived!

But in the next instant, one of the men complained loudly, “Master, can we change the method next time? That nearly sliced my butt off!” Uncle Ge rubbed his backside, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

Before he finished speaking, Shopkeeper Liao, still lying on the ground, looked up with tearful eyes and wailed, “Not ‘nearly’—it did slice it! Master, my butt!”

At that, everyone looked—and burst into laughter.

The back of Shopkeeper Liao’s robe had two large holes torn through it, completely exposing what lay beneath—like two bright peaches on display.

Even Ji Yi couldn’t help laughing as he kicked him lightly. “Get up already!”

Only then did Shopkeeper Liao scramble to his feet, awkwardly clutching the back of his clothes, trying to cover himself. Unfortunately, without eyes in the back of his head, he had no idea that all his efforts were completely futile.

His flustered behavior only made the kidnappers laugh even harder, some nearly doubling over.

Seeing this, Shopkeeper Liao became furious with embarrassment. He pointed at the group and shouted at Uncle Ge, “Beat them!”

But Uncle Ge, still grinning mischievously, stepped respectfully behind Ji Yi and said, “I only serve one master—and that’s him!”

“You bootlicker!” Shopkeeper Liao exploded, forgetting even his embarrassment as he nearly lunged forward to strangle Uncle Ge.

Just then, Ji Yi waved his hand gracefully. “Enough. Help him out.”

Before anyone could react, Ji Yi suddenly shouted: “Attack!”