Volume Three: Rising to Fame Chapter Twenty-Two: There Is an Assassin

The closer one drew, the more clearly one could appreciate the sheer grandeur of this place.

From afar, the chasm looked no thicker than a strand of hair. Yet once one approached, the entrance was wide enough for four or five carriages to pass abreast. Looking upward, clouds and mist coiled all around, concealing the summit from sight; looking inward, the road twisted and turned, with stone walls blocking the view after only a short distance.

“Be careful later,” Qinyang De said gravely to Li Yu. “If anything seems wrong, move closer to the crowd.”

“Is there a problem?” Li Yu asked, leaning out from the carriage.

Qinyang De nodded. “It should be fine, but this is the best place to make a move. If anyone truly means to strike, the chances here are highest.”

He did not linger long.

Instead, he quickly rode away on his exotic beast.

Li Yu fell into thought.

Only after reaching the assembly ground and ensuring that all participants remained intact would one qualify to partake in the feast of benefits that came afterward.

As for whether it was unfair to fix the venue in a place that might be near or far from different clans—was that not obviously unfair?

Of course it was.

The venue was chosen by the imperial house of Great Ming, and was generally set within the direct domain of the imperial line. Thus the clans nearer the imperial capital had less distance to travel and were naturally much safer.

The unlucky ones might even have to cross half of Great Ming’s territory. Long distances meant a greater chance of assassination, even repeated attempts. There would certainly be many clans willing to quietly stab a knife into their rivals once they were on their own turf.

That too was a kind of “hospitality” from the host.

“Come up,” Li Yu beckoned.

Xiaocui looked down in surprise. For the past few days, Li Yu had tacitly allowed her to follow her own wishes and walk below on foot. Why was he suddenly telling her to get into the carriage?

“No need,” Xiaocui refused instinctively.

These few days of walking below had actually made it less likely for her to be secretly reprimanded.

Li Yu’s brow tightened. “I said, come up!”

If danger truly came later, he would surely be one of the main targets. Leaving Xiaocui below, if she were swept up in it, he feared he would not be able to reach her in time.

As for the two newcomers beside them, Li Yu did not dare to be careless just because they only appeared to possess sixth-grade cultivation.

Xiaocui turned to look at Qing Miaoyan. The latter gave a slight nod, and only then did she agree. “All right.”

Was he worried there might be danger later?

From what she could see, Li Yu truly was a person of feeling and loyalty, someone who would defend his own and protect those he cared for.

Besides, the carriage was spacious enough to hold even four people. Yet he had no intention of asking her and the old woman Qing Yingyao to ride up together. From that alone, one could clearly see how he distinguished closeness from distance in his treatment of others.

And moreover, he probably intended for us to stand outside and take the blades for him.

Qing Miaoyan’s lips curved faintly. She said nothing, merely riding a blue ox beast and swaying along at the side.

The farther inward they went, the less spacious some stretches became. At times the carriage could only scrape past the edges, and the road wound and doubled back so much that sometimes one could only see a dozen or so people ahead and behind.

“Do you know this place?” Li Yu had no mind to cultivate; he feared being too slow to react later. Resting his hand, he asked, “Why not widen the road here?”

So he was curious about this place.

Xiaocui now understood why Li Yu had called her up. After a moment of recollection, she said, “There were plans to do so before. After all, this barrier between here and Tebo City greatly affected trade and communication.”

“Later, many laborers were sent here, but progress was slow. Only after specialists came to survey it did they discover that the stone on both sides was an extremely hard red rock. Cultivators below seventh grade could hardly damage it. Every day, many tools were broken, and the red rock itself had no real value, so the idea was eventually abandoned.”

Below seventh grade could hardly damage it?

Li Yu’s interest was piqued at once. He extended a finger and, with a flash of speed, stabbed it in. The entire finger sank into the stone as though it were tofu.

“Your body is astonishingly powerful, young master!” Xiaocui exclaimed, her pink little mouth agape. That strike had contained not a trace of spiritual power; it had been driven entirely by force.

“So this is why it’s called red rock?” Li Yu withdrew his finger, astonished.

On the fingertip that had pierced the stone wall, there was clearly a bright red liquid, like blood. He rubbed it between his fingers and said in surprise, “It even feels a little warm. How strange.”

“Red also means scorching,” he said. “It really is worth coming out to see the world. There are so many memorable things.”

“Young master, what did you say?” Xiaocui came back to herself and immediately noticed the blood-red color on Li Yu’s hand. Her expression turned sharp. “On alert!”

As she spoke, she seized Li Yu’s arm and leaped out of the carriage.

The Qingyang troops in front and behind heard her cry and drew their blades in unison. Because the road was too narrow and ill-suited to riding the blue ox beasts, more than twenty of the nearest soldiers simply dismounted and ran toward Li Yu on foot.

“Where did the assassin come from?” Li Yu was a little baffled.

“Young master, there is nothing strange about the name red rock. It is only because this stone turns red when heated that it was given that name. There should not be any liquid in it, much less one that is warm!”

Xiaocui wore a stern expression. Seeing the soldiers form a human wall around them, she quickly explained, then pointed at one soldier. “You, go over there and widen that hole.”

The soldier she pointed at said nothing. He strode straight toward the finger hole.

“Could it really be such a coincidence? I tried its hardness and happened to strike the hidden death warrior inside?” Li Yu was speechless. He fixed his gaze on the soldier walking over.

The soldier reached the spot safely and, with the weapon in his hand, spent tremendous effort before barely widening it a little.

“It’s a worm!” the soldier cried, reaching in to pull out the already dead insect.

Seeing that it was indeed a dead worm, everyone let out a breath of relief.

“All right, return to your positions,” Li Yu said, his mouth twitching when he saw the insect.

The crowd answered and was about to disperse.

Only after seeing that it was merely a fat worm did Xiaocui relax. There really were strange insects living within the red rock. But the next moment, something occurred to her, and she hurriedly shouted, “No, that worm is fake. The real one is—”

Before she could finish, the soldier standing with his back to the stone wall, holding up the fat worm, suddenly had a long blade thrust through his chest. At the same instant, tremendous explosions erupted both ahead and behind this stretch of road, and dust and smoke instantly filled the air.

“Assassins...”

Only then did Xiaocui finish her words.

From within the stone walls on both sides, people continued to burst out. They were all black-clad men with long sabers on their backs, most of them with seventh- or eighth-grade cultivation. Cold and merciless, they began harvesting the lives of the surrounding soldiers.

“Young master—” Xiaocui turned her head and saw that Li Yu’s expression had grown cold and stern.

Her gaze lowered, and she saw that Li Yu’s upper garment was already soaked in scarlet.