Chapter 566: Curfew |
The skies over Shangjing darkened slowly amidst the ongoing curfew. Gao Zhijian didn't see anyone else outside except for soldiers enforcing the curfew.
“Everyone!” someone shouted.
Gao Zhijian turned around in confusion and saw the innkeeper standing on the table. The innkeeper got everyone's attention by smacking the bottom of a bowl using a pair of chopsticks. The innkeeper grinned as he swept his gaze across everyone before saying, “Everyone, it seems that no one can go back today and have no choice but to stay here tonight. We have three rooms of the highest quality and six regular rooms available. I'd love to give it to you for free, but I’m certain that many of you will find it unfair if were to give it to everyone via lottery.
"So I've decided to give the rooms to the highest bidder! However, I’m not trying to take advantage of you here! Those without a room can just sleep here in the hall. We're a well-respected establishment with competitive rates, so sleeping on the floor in this hall will only cost you a hundred!"
The crowd was in an uproar at the innkeeper's announcement.
Seeing that it wasn't important, Gao Zhijian turned around and stared at the streets.
This time, he saw something unexpected—there was an extremely pretty lady walking on the streets!
Gao Zhijian had seen a lot of the world after traveling with Senior Li for so long, but he had never seen such a pretty young lady before.
Why is she outside? The curfew's still ongoing. Is she not afraid of encountering the soldiers?
“Dad! Dad, where are you?! Don’t leave me alone!” the young lady exclaimed.
Wait, why is her voice so familiar?
The young lady's beauty had astonished him, which made sense, but how come even her voice had astonished him as well? She sounded so familiar that Gao Zhijian felt disturbed.
The young lady's voice grew softer and softer as she walked away.
"Ah!" Gao Zhijian abruptly exclaimed. He had finally recalled the reason the young lady's voice sounded familiar. She had the same voice as that evil entity that Li Huowang had been rearing—the evil entity that always wore a veil and a straw robe. She's looking for her father? Her father must be Senior Li!
Gao Zhijian pushed away the tables that were blocking the entrance and twisted the doorknob with enough strength to destroy it.
Before the people inside the inn could react, Gao Zhijian ran out and chased after Li Sui.
The streets were empty, so he found her in no time.
“Ah! It’s you! Have you seen my dad? He was following someone with a white beard who was calling himself the Imperial Preceptor. They rode a sword and flew away, leaving me behind,” Li Sui said. This was her first time talking to Gao Zhijian, but this wasn't her first time seeing Gao Zhijian, as she recognized him as someone from Cowheart Village.
“Your... your dad.... your dad is...” Gao Zhijian stammered.
Before he could finish his sentence, however, several horses appeared at the end of the street.
The soldiers lightly kicked the bellies of their horses, urging them to charge at Gao Zhijian and Li Sui standing on the street.
Gao Zhijian tensed up when he saw the soldiers raising their weapons. Then, he grabbed Li Sui and ran away.
Gao Zhijian had a towering statue that allowed him to cover a ton of ground with his strides, but he was not as fast as a horse.
The gap between them and the soldiers narrowed swiftly. Soon, the hoofbeats were just behind them. Hearing that, Gao Zhijian knew that he could not run anymore.
Gao Zhijian made a split-second decision, throwing Li Sui into an alleyway before turning around and standing his ground.
The soldiers never thought that Gao Zhijian would stand his ground. One of them couldn't swing their weapon, but their horse crashed against the sturdy-looking Gao Zhijian.
Veins bulged all over Gao Zhijian as he howled and lifted the horse before throwing it and its rider onto a nearby roof.
The other soldiers were shocked by Gao Zhijian’s strength, and they dared not get too close to him.
One of them took out a long tube from under his armor and pulled on the string at the bottom.
Swoosh!
Boom!
A red firework painted the skies.
Gao Zhijian unleashed his killing intent upon seeing the red firework before turning around and running into an alleyway. He grabbed Li Sui, who was hiding in the alleyway, before running toward another street.
Gao Zhijian had barely taken two steps when a large-framed man holding two maces appeared before him.
The man wore heavy armor, and he blocked Gao Zhijian the moment he noticed the latter's killing intent.
“How dare you train in the techniques of the army?! Who do you think you are? Die!” the large-framed man roared, raising his maces and charging at Gao Zhijian.
Gao Zhijian wanted to retreat, but there was nowhere else to go. He had no choice but to fight head-on.
Gao Zhijian caught one of the maces with his bare arms. However, the large-framed man took to the sky up and smashed the ground in front of Gao Zhijian. “Moon-Pursuing Meteor!”
Gao Zhijian staggered backward; he managed to stabilize himself in the blink of an eye, but he didn't manage to escape unscathed; his hands were bleeding.
“Where’s your weapon?” the large-framed man asked, staring arrogantly at Gao Zhijian.
Gao Zhijian used his pants to wipe away the blood on his bloody hand. “In... in the inn!”
Boom!
The ground cracked as the large-framed man threw one of the heavy maces in front of Gao Zhijian.
“Come! I don't want you to say that I, Ma Wu, had bullied you by fighting you with my weapons when you're unarmed!” Ma Wu let go of his remaining mace and charged at Gao Zhijian with his bare fist.
Li Sui stood between the two, but Gao Zhijian pushed her away.
Ma Wu and Gao Zhijian then crashed into each other; their fists buried into each other’s figures.
Ma Wu was clearly trained on how to fight with his bare fist, but Gao Zhijian obviously didn't have any proper training.
Soon, Gao Zhijian’s face was full of bruises.
Despite his injuries, he remained powerful and domineering. When Gao Zhijian thought he was going to lose, his body moved on itself, hooking Ma Wu's leg with his right leg, causing the latter to stumble.
Taking advantage of that opportunity, Gao Zhijian swung his elbow toward Ma Wu’s throat, but his elbow came to an abrupt halt just a few inches away from Ma Wu's throat.
The two stopped and retreated.
Gao Zhijian was injured, while Ma Wu was virtually unscathed, but the two of them knew that Gao Zhijian was the winner.
“Good! You are a true man! You have the qualifications to learn the army's techniques!” Ma Wu nodded and retrieved his weapons. "There is an ongoing curfew, so stay indoors. We have no idea what our superior is thinking, so you're lucky that you've encountered me. Otherwise, you would have died today."
Gao Zhijian stood in front of Li Sui behind him and nodded. “Thanks.”
“But your technique isn't as good as the Ma family's technique! If you want to join the army next time, come and find me. I will make sure that you'll get a good position beneath me!” Ma Wu said. Then, he left with his maces.
The other soldiers left after Ma Wu, and the streets were empty once again.
Gao Zhijian looked around and sighed in relief before pulling Li Sui toward the inn.
