Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 701 - 696 Wantonness 2

Chapter 701: Chapter 696 Wantonness 2

Lin Xin had not been too concerned at first, but as his gaze swept over the entourage behind Princess Huai Yang, his heart stirred when it landed on two of the young men and women.

He took a step forward, neatly blocking the path of Princess Huai Yang and her entourage on the street.

"Boundless Heavenly Venerable."

He bowed slightly with a smile on his face.

Hiss!!!

The leading little red horse, being supernatural, suddenly came to a screeching halt with its front hooves raised high, nearly stomping on the spot where Lin Xin stood.

The rest of the entourage came to a stop as well, but the horses were moving so fast that the near-collision sent them into a chaotic and sorry state.

Princess Huai Yang’s face turned pale, and once she had barely managed to stabilize her horse, she shouted angrily.

"You Taoist seeking death! Blocking a horse on the street, do you have a death wish!? Seize him!!"

She was startled by this man, and if not for her exquisite riding skills, she would have been thrown off her horse and seriously injured in the unexpected blockade.

Thinking of this, her anger flared even more.

"Taoist seeking death!"

Guards from both sides, also furious, dismounted quickly and charged at the Taoist.

Lin Xin smiled, his hand moving slightly, and two pebbles shot out with lightning speed.

Only the sound of hissing could be heard.

Ah! Ahhh!!

Several guards who had lunged forward were pierced through their chests and fell back, their blood spraying.

"I am Red Flower of the Taoist way, encountering Her Highness by chance. I feel a connection with two of you and have come to settle our fate."

Seeing the guards that had gone up being felled in an instant, Princess Huai Yang’s party was taken aback and became wary.

"How bold! She is the true sister of His Sacred Majesty, Princess Huai Yang! Taoist, do you seek to obliterate your own family!!"

A patrol of the City Guard Army, led by a junior officer, rushed towards them, swords drawn.

Lin Xin’s expression was unchanged, and with a casual flick of the prepared small grains of sand,

Whirring!

A shadowy flurry, and immediately more than a dozen of the City Guard Army were pierced and fell to the ground, their fate unknown.

This chilled the hearts of all present.

To take down so many people with a simple gesture, this no longer seemed like martial arts but more like sorcery!

"Seize this evil Taoist!!"

From not far away, a crossbowman aimed to shoot.

Whiz!

Once again, the faint sound of something moving through the air could be heard, and all the hidden crossbowmen in the crowd, including the junior officer, fell to the ground, dead.

In a matter of breaths, dozens had fallen.

The faces of the young nobles in Princess Huai Yang’s party turned white with fear.

"It must be the traitors from Fengqing Hall! People, come! Come!!" Princess Huai Yang bellowed, her face filled with terror.

It was then that the passersby and crowd realized this was not a spectacle for their amusement but a genuine assassination and interception.

Looking at the fallen City Guard Army and guards on the ground, their bodies began to bleed profusely.

"Murder!!"

"Run for your life!"

Screams and shouts filled the air, intermingled with the cries of children.

Princess Huai Yang turned her horse, intent on fleeing.

But her vision blurred, and the Taoist appeared before her again.

"Boundless Heavenly Venerable, the princess and I have a connection,

as do two others with me; let’s settle it all today."

He took a great stride forward, pointing gently.

The little red horse cried out in distress, blood streaming from its seven orifices, and collapsed dead on the spot.

Princess Huai Yang let out a scream and fell, caught by Lin Xin who lifted her with one hand.

The group of young nobles dismounted in a panic, having already run some distance away.

Lin Xin laughed heartily as he leaped forward, with the princess in tow.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the side of a white steed and slapped it.

Bang!!

The steed neighed in pain and was sent flying into a roadside porridge shop. Amazingly, no bystanders were hurt, though a pillar was broken.

A young master who had been on the horse was also grabbed by Lin Xin and lifted into the air.

With another swift motion, Lin Xin appeared in front of another black steed.

The horse, terrified, neighed long and loudly, promptly stopping to avoid crashing into Lin Xin.

A girl of only eleven or twelve on horseback paled, panting heavily.

"I’ll get down myself!" she yelled, tumbling and rolling off the horse, only to be caught by Lin Xin and tucked under his arm.

"You three are fated to be with me, let’s go together."

Holding the three, Lin Xin made his way with swift steps, covering more than a dozen meters in just a few strides, his speed comparable to that of a fast horse.

Halfway through, Lin Xin suddenly glanced at the roadside at a silver-armored young officer running out of a tavern, staring dumbfounded with a large saber in hand.

"You too, are fated with me, come along!"

He lunged at the officer, avoiding the hastily swung saber and lightly pressing his neck, hoisting him into the crook of his arm.

"Help...!!!"

The officer yelled desperately, but no one could save him.

With a few arrow strides, Lin Xin quickly left the city gate, with the overly frightened Princess Huai Yang and three others quickly disappearing into the wilderness beside the official road.

He left behind the common citizens inside the Capital City, who were scared into a flurry of activity, as well as the City Guard Army who came rushing to defend and pursue.

The street vendor selling small trinkets had witnessed the entire process.

"Goodness... Not only was Princess Huai Yang abducted, even the eldest son of Marquis, was taken away!"

The vendor swallowed hard, emerging from behind his little pushcart, looked around, and quickly started to pack up his things, ready to flee.

Those who were even more quick-witted didn’t even stop to watch the excitement, having packed up and escaped even earlier.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!

The alarm bell rang.

It was the signal for the City Guard Army to gather in large numbers. Though Princess Huai Yang was not a favored royal, she was, after all, the fourth-ranked royal relative, and yet she had been abducted on the streets, along with the eldest son of the Marquis and two children from the Minister of Personnel’s family.

If this were to spread, it would quickly become the talk of the town, the subject of ridicule over tea or rice.

For a time, the emperor was furious, ordering a lockdown of the entire city. The army was mobilized, searching all the surrounding forests, determined to capture the demonic culprit.

However, on the third day at dawn after the abduction,

A notice was posted on the grand doors of the Imperial Palace.

It was written clearly that five days later, outside the Capital City on Fengyi Mountain, one could find the people they were looking for. However, it required the emperor’s personal presence.

The notice was instantly torn down by a sharp-eyed guard and taken into the palace.

****************

"Let me go!!"

Princess Huai Yang struggled fiercely, rolling around on the ground.

The young guard in Silver Armor and two children of the Minister of Personnel were rather docile, their hands tied and sitting against the cave wall.

Lin Xin was sitting cross-legged at the entrance of the cave, his face calm, eyes barely open, seemingly not hearing the princess’s loud, twisting cries.

"Let me go! Do you hear me! You demon! Rebel! If my imperial brother catches you, he will execute your whole family!!"

Smack!

A stone hit Princess Huai Yang in the chest, leaving her breathless and unable to say a word, only able to groan.

"Considering the fate that ties you to this Taoist, this time I will spare you," Lin Xin said indifferently.

"Esteemed Taoist Priest..."

The young guard in Silver Armor wanted to step forward to help the princess but hesitated, unsure of what to do.

"What is it?"

Lin Xin turned to look at him.

"May I inquire why you have brought the four of us here? What are your intentions?" The young guard, having been on the battlefield, was braver and more calm than the others, and upon speaking, he hit the nail on the head.

The other two children could barely articulate their words, let alone think clearly.

Lin Xin glanced at Princess Huai Yang rolling on the ground again.

It seemed that only the young guard before him was capable of communication.

"I wish to establish a sect here on this mountain. I saw that the four of you have decent potential on the way, so I brought you back with me." Lin Xin spoke with an air of doing as he pleased; he wanted to recruit all the talents, be they from the Righteous Path, Demon Path, or Evil Path. He wanted them all to know his name, to understand his power.

This was his stated purpose.

So the pure methods of the Righteous Path weren’t quite suitable for him, and neither were those of the pure Demon Path or Evil Path.

He simply acted on a whim.

The talents of these four were indeed exceptional, and their Spirit Vein levels were at the Third Level, which was exceedingly rare in such a world.

Seeing their potential, he simply grabbed them.

"So, you want us to take you as our master?"

Princess Huai Yang suddenly stopped rolling on the ground, somewhat dazed.

"That’s correct," Lin Xin replied, nodding dispassionately.

Take as master?

A thought struck them all.

This Taoist was eccentric, but he had abducted someone from the Capital City and escaped unharmed, a level of strength unmatched by anyone. At the very least, he had to be a First Grade master.

The others were not fully aware of such a level, but the young guard in Silver Armor was very clear about it. Not only had his anger at being abducted subsided, but he also felt that this might be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

A First Grade master...

If he truly was of the level of a Grandmaster, like such that there were hardly a few in the entire Capital City, countless people would go to great lengths to be accepted as a disciple.

If the other party truly was a Grandmaster-level expert, then becoming his disciple would actually be to their benefit.

In all the land, how many First Grade masters were there? Certainly no more than a handful!

"Can we choose not to bow to you?" the young daughter of the Minister of Personnel asked timidly.

"Fate has decreed it so, if you do not bow, it would be defying the heavens. It is difficult to contravene the will of the heavens. As a Taoist, to comply with the divine will, I would have no choice but to kill you all," Lin Xin stated solemnly as he bowed, but the words he uttered sent a chill through the four of them.

With those words, it was clear to the four of them that they had no choice in the matter of bowing to him.

Before they could come to their senses, they saw Lin Xin suddenly stand up, listening outside.

"There are people coming, with soldiers gathering."

Having said that, Lin Xin took out four pieces of parchment-like items from his sleeve, covered with dense symbols and text. However, they couldn’t understand any of it.

"Come, come, come, press your blood handprints here, and you will be considered part of the Lakeside Mountain Sect," he said, placing one in front of each person.

Under Lin Xin’s oppression, the four of them had no choice but to bite their fingers and press their handprints in blood.

What they didn’t know was that these parchments were not actually records of admission.

They were, in fact, contracts of servitude, linking them as slaves.