The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 49: Aftermath Stirs Up Sediments

Chapter 49: Chapter 49: Aftermath Stirs Up Sediments

Back at Wendao Temple, Li Yan immediately opened his eyes and got up.

"Are you... okay?"

Sha Lifei knew well that Li Yan was feigning unconsciousness, but he still felt worried.

No other reason than Li Yan’s blood-covered appearance being truly unsettling.

"I’m fine, just some flesh wounds."

Li Yan casually replied, tearing apart his clothing with a few ripping sounds. The wounds were no longer bleeding and didn’t look serious.

Of course, this was the result after the swap injury.

The few hits he had taken, Zhou Bai used Hidden Energy, causing his muscles and fascia to twist and break, even damaging his internal organs. Without the Daluo Dharma Body, he might have been bedridden for months.

The internal injuries were eliminated, leaving only some flesh wounds to keep a secret and avoid arousing suspicions.

Wang Daoxuan sighed in relief and hurriedly took out herbal medicine to dress his wounds.

Li Yan let him proceed, speaking to Sha Lifei in a deep voice, "Uncle Sha, go out now, first fetch the silver from the Gambling House, then spread the news of my severe injury, and buy some herbs at random."

"Remember, put on a worried appearance."

Sha Lifei curiously asked, "Why?"

Winning with ease in a contest and fighting until mutual destruction resulted in completely different reputations.

"It’s quite simple..."

Recalling the scene after the contest, where Zhang Yuanshang and the others appeared and confronted the Eight Vajras, Li Yan shook his head and said, "I only wanted to light a fire, but they want to use me as a pawn. I estimate both sides are ready to turn against each other, I just happened to stumble into it."

"The Zhou Family does not play fair, they will surely seek revenge afterward. Unless I’m mistaken, the other side is waiting for them to make a move, ready to seize an opportunity."

"But if the news of my severe injury spreads, the Zhou Family will not be so impatient. They will only send people to monitor us, to prevent us from leaving the city."

"Zhang Yuanshang and others wouldn’t wait too long either, they will look for another opportunity, and when the waters are muddied, we’ll be safe."

"Oh, I get it!"

With that explanation, Sha Lifei suddenly understood, and he quickly stepped out, putting on a worried face, heading to the Golden Treasure Gambling House...

...

"Daoist, Zhou Bai has done something..."

As soon as Sha Lifei left, Li Yan shared his suspicion with Wang Daoxuan.

"The aura of a monkey?"

Wang Daoxuan, after hearing it, stroked his beard and pondered, "From what you say, it sounds like a Puppet Technique."

"In Ancient Times, witchcraft believed everything had a spirit, worshiped Ghost Gods, often summoning the gods to inhabit their bodies, called ’descending gods.’ Later it was passed down to Fang Xian Dao, and alongside the Immortality Forbidden Skill, became part of the two techniques of Fang Xian Dao."

"With the rise of Mystical Sect orthodoxies, sealing True Gods, destroying indecent sacrifices, and the courts exterminating Fang Xian Dao, some secret techniques spread among the people, each with its derivations. For example, the Yuan Guang and Divination Masters of the Gold Sect, are evolutions of the descent of gods."

"Puppet Technique is similar, using living people’s breath combined with Yin Evil Qi to perform, with many varieties like grassman straw spirits, paper-man spelunkers, wooden puppet dolls, and many Magic Vein experts are skilled in this technique."

"The Zhou Family, they likely invited a Magic Vein Mage!"

Li Yan frowned slightly, "Not a folk witch?"

Wang Daoxuan shook his head slightly, "These spells, all are secret traditions of various families, folk witches often use Ghost God powers, but they are not skilled in this path."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan squinted his eyes slightly, "It seems it was a miscalculation. If news of my severe injury spreads, the Zhou Family, because of Zhang Yuanshang and others, would not act overtly. But it’s likely they will hire a magician to do it secretly."

"There’s no need to worry about that."

Wang Daoxuan stroked his beard and sighed, "You are underestimating the Mystical Sect in Guanzhong."

"In Guanzhong land, since the Qin Han, the Mystical Sect has been extremely prosperous, in every era and region where Fengshui Dragon Veins converge, there are emperor generals buried, temples and Taoist temples innumerable."

"With large and small trends nested, the vigor of Divine Astral is so strong that ordinary evil spirits dare not approach, common people may never see ghosts and evil spirits in their lifetime."

"The biggest danger in Guanzhong is the ancient Qin Han tombs. At that time, Fang Xian Dao was prevalent, and some people would set traps in their graves seeking longevity, employing Evil Techniques."

"In times of chaos, apart from grave robbers, there were also military expeditions to ancient tombs, with accidents causing zombie infestations and ghost soldiers roaming. So the Mystical Sect orthodoxies have established magic platforms with massive troops in Chang’an, Zhongnan Mountain, Hua Mountain."

"Annually during Divine Festival times, they would either perform rituals to appease and soothe the wandering spirits or have troops patrolling to destroy evil temples and capture evil spirits."

"Xianyang is no different, within the City God Temple is enshrined Meng Chong, a great Qin general in life and a great hero among ghosts after death, ordained as City God for long, with immeasurable divine might, and numerous troops."

"To harm someone with spells in Xianyang City would be no different than trying to manipulate troops and slit throats."

"Like the Zhou Family, they dared only minor tricks, which were easily broken by your Hidden Energy True Word."

"When you sleep, hang the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin at the end of the bed. Ordinary puppet techniques for harm won’t even get close."

"That’s good."

Li Yan nodded slightly, "During this time, let’s stay at home and watch how the situation unfolds."

Wang Daoxuan naturally knew what he wanted to do and said with some concern, "In Xianyang, with the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin for protection, there’s no worry about Mystical Sect methods but that Zhou Pan has reached Force Transformation, he’s not someone you can handle."

Li Yan looked out the window, his expression calm,

"I’m not foolish; I won’t fight him head-on. I’m just waiting for an opportunity to force him to reveal the truth from back then..."

...

On the other end, Sha Lifei noticed something was off as soon as he stepped out.

It was close to dusk, and every household in the old alley had smoke rising, but the house opposite Wendao Temple remained tightly shut.

Above it peeked half a head, which quickly ducked back upon seeing him.

"Cowardly thief!"

Sha Lifei cursed under his breath and quickened his pace.

He was an old hand in the pugilistic world, his tongue sharp, clever at thinking on his feet, and after hearing Li Yan out, he understood their current situation.

It was nothing more than feigning illness and putting on a show.

To hide one’s strengths and watch the fires burning across the river, to not get ignited like a firecracker by others.

Knowing this, he paid no mind to those tailing him along the way, even acting flustered, deliberately choosing the busy streets.

Not long after, he arrived at the Golden Treasure Gambling House.

"Yo, isn’t this Hero Sha?"

"You made a big scene today!"

"If I had known, I’d have bet on you..."

Upon entering the casino, a crowd gathered around him.

They weren’t truly warm, most not even knowing Sha Lifei. They were merely joining in the fun, striking up a conversation to become familiar.

In future talks, they could mention Sha Lifei as an old acquaintance. The contest-winning Li Yan would have to call them ’uncle’ upon meeting.

Just like some people Li Yan knew in his previous life, trying to get close to rich people at events, taking photos, saying a few words, and claiming to be sworn brothers, using it to scam money.

Sha Lifei naturally understood the game, wearing a worried look, he cupped his hands, "Everyone, I have urgent matters today. Let’s chat another day, please forgive me."

"Sure, sure, Hero Sha, take care of your business first."

Seeing his demeanor, the crowd already began speculating.

Though not said to his face, they would surely talk behind his back. The news of Li Yan’s severe injury would likely spread throughout Xianyang City by tonight.

Sha Lifei no longer paid attention to these people, holding the gambling slip he went to the wooden counter to exchange it, only for a casino servant to respectfully say, "Hero Sha, please step aside, our manager wishes to meet you."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Sha Lifei felt his heart skip a beat.

He expected trouble on the way from the Iron Blade and White Ape people but did not expect this Wu Manager of the Golden Treasure Gambling House to seek him out first.

The Golden Treasure Gambling House had significant backing.

But they had no dealings with them, why seek him?

Feeling apprehensive, Sha Lifei followed the servant to a private room on the second floor.

Inside was Manager Wu with a kind expression, a large round table set with a bounty of food, chicken, duck, and fish, all richly prepared.

"Hahaha..."

Seeing Sha Lifei enter, Manager Wu immediately stood up, laughing, "I guessed that Hero Sha would come, so I specially prepared some food and wine for you."

Sha Lifei was puzzled, "Manager Wu, what is this..."

"Hero Sha, no need to worry."

Manager Wu shook his head, "You saw it that day, I had some grudges with that Yuan Qu, but due to circumstances, couldn’t openly turn against him."

"Today, you and your fellows showcased on stage, seeing Yuan’s face, I felt a tremendous relief, and specially invited Hero Sha for a drink..."

Sha Lifei wouldn’t believe such nonsense.

Those who run gambling venues are all shrewd; unprovoked kindness always harbors ulterior motives.

Though unclear about the reason, Sha Lifei shook his head, "This... I appreciate Manager Wu’s gesture, but I have other urgent matters, need to collect the money and head to the pharmacy."

"Oh?"

Manager Wu frowned slightly, "Is Young Master Li seriously injured?"

Sha Lifei wore a bitter expression, "Afraid it’ll take months to recover."

Manager Wu nodded slightly, sighing, "In that case, I won’t insist. Wangcheng, give him an additional one hundred taels of silver as a small token of my regard."

"This... how could I accept it?"

Sha Lifei appeared genuinely embarrassed but didn’t hesitate while pocketing the money.

As he was about to bid farewell, he turned to look at the food and scratched his head, "Well, I still have to order food for them. Since Manager Wu has invited, may I pack some to go, so as not to waste time on the road?"

Manager Wu: "..."

...

Shortly after, Sha Lifei came out of the casino with bags in hand.

As he left, Manager Wu quickly closed the room door.

Clatter...

With the sound of mechanisms, the bookshelf inside the room slowly moved aside.

Revealing a hidden layer and passage inside the casino’s room.

A woman in white slowly stepped out, her appearance graceful and serene.

If Sha Lifei saw her, he’d recognize this woman as the white-clad concubine beside Landlord Lu!