’Isn’t Liu Lang supposed to be watching Liu Hong?’
’Why is he here?’
Before he could dwell on it, Chen Yi pulled a black mask from his robes, tied it securely around the lower half of his face, and turned to look.
"Sword Madman?"
Liu Lang was also dressed in night clothes and wearing a black mask. The Treasure Blade he’d gotten from Chen Yi was slung over his shoulder, and he was looking at him with his head slightly raised.
"That would be me."
"But you, hiding your face like this... that’s not how a Swordman should act."
Seeing that Liu Lang hadn’t recognized him, Chen Yi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Before you say that, you might want to take a look at yourself."
Liu Lang glanced down at himself, paused, then said, "I am different from you."
"Even in these night clothes, I am still open and honorable."
Chen Yi: "..."
’Damn it, how did I never realize he was so glib?’
Liu Lang paid no mind to his thoughts. He pointed his blade behind him and asked, "Did you kill that Evil Demon from the Illusory Sound Sect over there?"
Chen Yi nodded helplessly. "Obviously."
Liu Lang’s eyes lit up at his words. He grinned. "Your Saber Technique is not bad."
"I heard a while back that the Mental Realm of Great Success Saber Dao appeared outside Shu State City. Some people even suspected it was me. Now it seems it must have been your doing."
Chen Yi shook his head without answering, asking instead, "What if it was? And what if it wasn’t?"
"To test our blades."
Liu Lang watched him with great interest. "It’s rare for a Great Success Swordman to appear in Shu State. How could I miss this opportunity?"
Chen Yi couldn’t be bothered to beat around the bush with him any longer. He turned, lifted his bamboo hat with the tip of his blade, and stared straight at him, snapping:
"I told you to keep watch, and you run off here to fight me?"
Liu Lang froze. He looked him up and down, then asked hesitantly, "Boss?"
"It’s you?"
"No, that’s not right! Not right at all!"
It dawned on Liu Lang, and he stared at him in utter shock. "You... how do you know Saber Technique?"
"And... and at the level of Great Success in Saber Dao!?"
It was no wonder Liu Lang hadn’t recognized Chen Yi; it had never even crossed his mind that Chen Yi would use a blade.
After all, for someone who had already achieved Great Success in Spear Dao and Fist Dao, and was a Medical Saint Hand, no matter how supremely talented, it should be impossible to also succeed in the Saber Dao.
Biting off more than you can chew, right?
Chen Yi twirled his blade in a flourish. "Is it that strange?"
Liu Lang’s mouth fell open. "Is... is it not strange?"
Great Success in Spear Dao, Great Success in Fist Dao, and Great Success in Saber Dao too, on top of being a Medical Saint Hand...
A person like that... is not strange?!
Chen Yi chuckled, naturally understanding his shock, but he couldn’t explain. He simply said:
"Some people are just born extraordinary. Like me."
He spouted nonsense with a straight face. "The moment I was born, I had a Martial Arts Saint Body. Not only were All Meridians Connected, but I also possessed a Clear Mind Realm."
"I can learn any Martial Art with a single glance, achieve Mastery after practicing it once, and break into the Dao Realm within a hundred days of training."
"R-Really?"
"Of course it’s fake. A person like that doesn’t even exist in myths and legends."
Seeing Chen Yi’s expression, which seemed to say he was looking at an idiot, Liu Lang said with a face full of grief and indignation:
"Whether you were telling the truth or not, I believed you."
"Damn it all. I’ve lived for over twenty years, and only now do I know the meaning of ’there’s always someone better out there’."
"I used to think General Jinghong reaching Sword Dao Perfection and Great Success Spear Dao at only twenty was the limit. I never thought you’d be even more outrageous."
He paused, leaned in closer, and stared at him for a long while.
"Tell me the truth. Are you some hundred-year-old monster who’s disguised himself just to mess with me?"
"...Your grandpa’s the old monster."
Chen Yi cursed, and just as he was about to ask why Liu Lang was here, he suddenly heard voices in the distance.
"Lord Hundred Households, there’s a body here!"
"Search the surroundings! Don’t miss a single clue!"
’The Imprisonment Department’s Fang Hongxiu?’