Roaring Dragon-Chapter 34: Plain and Ordinary?

"Good, good, you little bastard!"

Seeing how arrogant the opponent was, clearly intending to use him as an example to intimidate others, Bao Fei didn’t waste another word. His right hand grabbed the hilt at a nearby attendant’s waist, and with a sudden burst of strength from his legs—

Boom—

Clang—

With a blast, cracks appeared on the gangplank, and even the entire pleasure boat shook as a flash of silver light streaked across the riverbank!

A three-foot silver blade shot out of its sheath like a thunderclap, so fast that onlookers could only catch a blurred afterimage!

From afar, Princess Changning and the others saw Bao Fei's strike and immediately sensed something was wrong.

And sure enough, in the very next instant, the riverbank fell deathly silent.

BOOM—

Standing on the grassy shore, Xie Jinhuan had already disappeared from Lin Wanyi’s side the moment Bao Fei made his move, leaving behind only a circular depression in the ground.

When he reappeared, he was already charging directly into Bao Fei, wielding the Tiangang Mace!

BOOM—

Facing such horrifying explosive force, Bao Fei’s furious expression stiffened visibly. Without the slightest hesitation, he swung his blade downward with all his strength—no holding back.

But even with a slash as fast as a lightning strike, he couldn’t penetrate Xie Jinhuan’s centerline. The blow landed solidly against the horizontally raised iron mace!

CLANG—

As blade met mace, a deafening boom echoed across the lakeside!

There were quite a few skilled fighters around the Peony Pool. Just by watching Xie Jinhuan’s movement, they could tell he was no ordinary man.

But Bao Fei was the Young Master of Jinghua Manor, well-known across Danzhou. His move, Thunderclap Slash, was a signature technique of Jinghua Manor—famous for its fierce, domineering force.

Under normal circumstances, facing such a head-on collision, even if Xie Jinhuan wasn’t blasted away by the Thunderclap Slash, he should have been forced back several zhang, caught in a deadly flurry of strikes!

But instead, when Bao Fei’s full-powered strike slammed onto the Tiangang Mace, Xie Jinhuan stood as steady as a mountain—his feet rooted to the earth without the slightest shift!

Boom—

Bao Fei’s strike, hitting as hard as he could, felt like slamming into an iron statue. The rebound force nearly tore his tiger’s mouth apart, and the sword in his hand was blasted flying, almost striking him in the forehead on its way down!

Xie Jinhuan didn’t waste another moment on this small fry. Using Coiling Dragon Across the Hill to take the hit head-on, the moment Bao Fei’s sword was knocked away, he drove his shoulder in with crushing force!

BANG—

Before Bao Fei could even react, a shoulder hard as iron and stone smashed straight into his chest.

Under the indescribable impact, Bao Fei’s robe exploded at the back, revealing his densely muscled shoulders and spine!

His whole body curled like a shrimp and was sent flying backward, smashing through the deck rail, then punching a hole straight through the boat’s wall.

BOOM—

CRASH—

Splinters of wood flew everywhere. Inside the boat’s banquet hall, the young noblemen only felt a gust of wind sweep past, catching a glimpse of a figure crashing sideways through the wall, slamming into the overhead beam, and shaking loose a shower of dust.

THUMP—

Then the figure fell straight down, landing with a crash on a banquet table piled high with delicacies. Plates and wine jugs shattered instantly. As the figure hit the ground, a mouthful of blood spurted forth:

"Pfft—cough cough..."

"Aaaah—!"

Inside the boat, the songstresses and dancing girls screamed in terror!

Meanwhile, outside on the riverbank, a dead silence reigned.

The fight had been too fast—most people hadn't even reacted.

After sending Bao Fei flying back into his room, Xie Jinhuan casually sheathed his Tiangang Mace and, ignoring the stunned stewards and retainers, strode quickly up the gangplank.

Tap tap tap...

Lin Wanyi hadn’t even had a chance to intervene before Bao Fei had disappeared. Though not entirely surprised, she still gawked in shock and hurried after him:

"You—you—you... you didn’t kill him, right? He’s the Young Master of Jinghua Manor..."

Xie Jinhuan was already boarding the ship, scanning for the ghost master:

"A second-rate sect. Hardly worth fearing. Hurry and find the ghost master."

Lin Wanyi hadn’t thought a simple outing would cause such a mess. Now she just wanted to go home.

But since the fight was already done, she had no choice but to follow behind.

The stewards and guards, who moments ago had been so aggressive, had now turned into wooden statues. As the two brushed past them, not a single one dared move.

As they entered the ship’s main building, the crowds of onlookers along the river finally came to their senses, their faces showing stunned expressions:

"What happened?"

"Where’s Bao Fei?"

"Looks like he got knocked back onto the boat...?"

"Just one move and he’s out?!"

"And it even looked like he held back..."

...

Meanwhile, on the Princess’ rented pleasure boat, the chattering young ladies had come running out of their rooms, peeking curiously out the windows—some even disheveled:

"What’s going on, what’s going on?"

"There’s a handsome young lord fighting on the riverbank—his moves are amazing!"

Liu Qingzhi, standing on the deck, already knew Xie Jinhuan’s strength was formidable—but seeing Bao Fei lose in a single exchange still filled him with awe.

Princess Changning, observing the whole scene through her thousand-mile mirror, showed a look of astonishment:

"Such skill! It’s not exactly Black Sun Overlord Physique, but it’s quite similar. To reach this level at such a young age... no wonder Qingmo keeps clinging to him."

Steward Hou finally snapped out of his daze and, rare for him, let out a soft sigh of admiration:

"This kid looks plain and ordinary, but his martial prowess... shows a bit of the elegance I had in my youth. I must have misjudged him the other day."

The maid Duo Duo, stars practically bursting from her eyes, exclaimed in disbelief:

"This is 'plain and ordinary'?!"

"A bit dashing, maybe."

"?"

...

Princess Changning was used to her steward’s ridiculous evaluations. After waiting a moment without seeing Xie Jinhuan reemerge, she instructed:

"Liu Qingzhi, take some men and go check. Bao Fei can take a beating, but don’t let the young nobles get hurt. If something happens, Qingmo will surely come to me for help."

Liu Qingzhi, fearing Xie Jinhuan’s hot temper might cause another bloodbath, hurriedly bowed and led two guards toward the riverbank...

—— Thud, thud, thud...

Unhurried footsteps echoed from the corridor, drawing nearer.

The once lively banquet hall was now deathly silent, broken only by Bao Fei’s muffled coughing as he struggled to crawl up from the long table:

"Cough cough..."

Over a dozen young lords still sat at their tables, barely maintaining their posture—but all noticeably pale. If not for the guards standing stiffly behind them, they might’ve already dove under the tables in panic.

The singers and musicians had all hidden behind the beaded curtains, not daring to make a sound.

Thud, thud...

Soon, the footsteps reached the hall’s entrance.

Xie Jinhuan paused at the doorway, sweeping his gaze across the wealthy young nobles, searching for any sign resembling the ghost master.

Lin Wanyi, following behind him, didn’t dare show herself, quietly focusing on detecting traces of residual poison.

Bao Fei, having finally caught his breath, lifted his head—only to see the white-robed killing star standing at the door. Frightened, he instinctively scooted back.

Rustle...

After confirming that the banquet hall held no familiar figures, Xie Jinhuan ignored Bao Fei and continued searching the nearby rooms.

Lin Wanyi carefully traced the lingering poison, eventually stopping outside a riverside guestroom.

Xie Jinhuan, raising his guard, drew the Zhenglun Sword and entered.

Inside, he found a man and a woman lying unconscious on the bed, completely naked except for a thin autumn quilt draped over their waists. Their faces were flushed with drunkenness.

The clothing that had once hung neatly on the rack was gone, and a dusty robe lay crumpled on the floor.

Lin Wanyi frowned and avoided looking at the disturbing sight, moving to inspect the bathtub behind the screen:

"That ghost master used a potion to wash off the poison traces. We won’t be able to track him anymore."

Xie Jinhuan approached the bed to check the couple’s pulses—just unconscious, not dead—then used his Tiangang Mace to lift the robe for inspection.

Unfortunately, the ghost master had been extremely cautious, leaving no items that could reveal his identity—not even valuables or jewelry...

Realizing the trail was completely lost, Xie Jinhuan couldn’t help but frown deeply.

He didn’t know where his father had gone—but he remembered ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ encountering that strange creature back then.

Today’s ghost master wasn’t the same as the creature he met, but the way he moved through the wilderness... was strangely similar. There might be some connection...

Thud, thud, thud...

Just as he was deep in thought, footsteps echoed again through the silent ship—followed by a voice from outside:

"Sir! Just now there was a brash madman—eh? Sir?"

The footsteps didn’t stop, quickly reaching the room’s door.

Liu Qingzhi was about to question what Xie Jinhuan was up to—only to glance inside and see discarded clothing, unconscious bodies, and chaos. He instinctively drew half his sword:

"What’s going on?!"

Lin Wanyi, recognizing the Princess’ guards, quickly resumed her gentle and harmless demeanor:

"Sir Liu, you’ve come at last. Just now Xie Jinhuan encountered demon bandits at Rooster’s Comb Ridge..."

"Ah?"

Liu Qingzhi blinked, asking reflexively:

"Young Master Xie, why do you keep running into demon bandits?"

Xie Jinhuan straightened and explained:

"It’s the same group. Earlier today at the magistrate’s office, we found traces of gu flowers. I followed the lead, found their hideout outside the city—it was filled with corpses. Then we ran into two witch sect monsters trying to destroy the evidence, with two puppets..."

In the Witch Sect, the Gu Poison and Blessing branches could still be considered half-legitimate, but the Corpse Witches and Ghost Witches were pure evil. Their appearance meant a major case.

Liu Qingzhi had thought Xie Jinhuan was merely causing trouble—he didn’t expect such a huge matter. He hurriedly asked:

"Are you injured?"

"Just fell down once. Doctor Lin already checked it over."

Xie Jinhuan casually explained Lin Wanyi’s presence to avoid exposing her Witch Sect ties, then continued:

"I killed three on the spot. Only one ghost master escaped here—but I lost his trail."

Killed three...

Liu Qingzhi had been considering sending a flare to summon reinforcements—only to realize Xie Jinhuan had nearly wiped them out already. His expression turned blank.

Still, recalling what happened the other day, he wasn’t too surprised. He immediately turned and ordered:

"Anyone able to control puppets isn’t an ordinary bandit. This might be connected to the ‘Zihui Mountain demonic aura’ incident. Go gather men and thoroughly search the nearby boats."

"Yes, sir!"

The two guards rushed off.

Xie Jinhuan, anxious to lead them to his forged evidence, interjected:

"The corpse pit is at Rooster’s Comb Ridge. I’ll take Sir Liu there personally—before those demon scum double back and erase the traces."

"Good!"

Knowing how serious this was, Liu Qingzhi didn’t dare delay and quickly mobilized his men...