Roaring Dragon-Chapter 60: Xie Jinhuan, Get Back Here!

Under the silver moon, a painted pleasure boat drifted leisurely along the riverbank.

At the stern stood Jia Zheng, their loyal guard, dutifully pushing the boat forward as he hummed a folk tune along with the distant music.

Lin Zisu had somehow gotten her hands on a pipa and was now hugging it like a pro, strumming away while passionately singing “Dancer’s Tears.” The performance was so heartfelt, even the handmaid Qinwen was stunned into silence.

Lady Lin Wanyi, long accustomed to this little rascal’s antics, reclined sideways against the beauty rail. Her eyes, hidden behind golden-threaded glasses, reflected the cold moonlight over the river, but her thoughts were elsewhere:

I wonder if Xie Jinhuan has finished “entertaining” the princess yet...

All this just to get their hands on some rare martial scripture. Sending a man off to serve some high-ranking noblewoman—why did it reek of "pimping out your husband for power"?

And if he ends up trading his looks for nothing, no scripture, no merit... wouldn't that be the literal definition of losing both wife and soldiers?

Pah! Pah! Pah! What am I thinking?!

While she was lost in these wild thoughts, a distant boom rolled across the bay.

Boom...

The sound was like muffled thunder—too far and half-drowned by the noise of fireworks, so most wouldn’t have noticed.

But Lin Wanyi, floating calmly on the river’s surface, picked up that the sound wasn’t coming from the direction of the Peony Pond—and there were no fireworks flaring in that direction either.

Boom. Boom...

Two more dull blasts followed, quieter but unmistakable.

Huh?

She blinked, puzzled, and slowly got up, making her way to the prow of the boat. There, she sniffed lightly—something faint in the air caught her attention.

As a witch of the Venom Path, Lin Wanyi had a preternatural sensitivity to toxins.

The scent was extremely diluted, barely traceable, but something was off. She turned her palm quietly, conjuring a pale green ghostly flame like the spark of a lighter.

Whoosh—

This was Moonfire, a unique art of Crescent Moon Manor. It flickered in her hand and tilted faintly toward the bay—meaning there was either an unholy presence nearby, or a fellow practitioner from a rival sect playing with dark arts.

Clenching her hand, Lin Wanyi looked toward the Peony Pond. She considered calling Xie Jinhuan over—but the scent was too faint, and without clarity, she couldn’t interrupt the Princess's drinking session.

She made a quick decision.

“Zisu, you guys head back to the Peony Pond. I’m going for a walk.”

“Okay.”

...

With that, Lin Wanyi leapt silently into the river, skipped across the surface like a dragonfly, and took off toward the distant bay.

But before she could go far, she noticed a white streak streaking across the river under the moonlight—like an arrow loosed from a bow—racing toward the Peony Pond.

Rumble rumble...

Startled, Lin Wanyi recognized the crisp, elegant movement at a glance. That dashing form—it could only be him! She waved frantically from the shore.

“Hey—! Xie Jinhuan!”

BOOM—

The streak in the water made a sharp ninety-degree turn and bolted straight toward her.

As he closed in, Lin Wanyi’s eyes lit up with surprise.

“What? Another demon hunt? Over there—wait, hey?!”

Before she could finish her question, he reached her in a blur of motion and swept her off the ground.

Tap tap tap—

She barely had time to react before she found herself cradled mid-air, skimming across the water at terrifying speed. Her arms instinctively wrapped around his shoulders.

“Why are you going so fast?! I can walk just fine—”

Xie Jinhuan held her tightly, not even slightly distracted by her curves.

“There’s a group of demonic bastards on a ship cooking up Blood Fiend Pills. One of them is a third-rank freak from the Witch Sect. I need backup.”

“What?!”

Lin Wanyi’s shock sobered her fast. She forgot all modesty and warned urgently:

“A third-rank sorcerer can kill hundreds easier than killing one. Ordinary constables are useless. All the top cultivators in Danyang are chasing that demon at Zihui Mountain—they won’t be here. You need to get back to the city and find real help!”

Xie Jinhuan made an abrupt turn, sending up a towering wave before charging toward Danyang.

BOOM—

The acceleration slammed Lin Wanyi against his chest, flattening her bosom. Even as she held tight, she suddenly frowned:

“No... something’s off...”

Xie Jinhuan was in crisis mode and snapped, tapping her butt with his sword sheath:

“Five or six hundred people are about to become sacrifices! Spit it all out at once!”

Smack—

The tap made her shiver, but she got straight to the point:

“Refining Blood Fiend Pills releases a faint blood miasma. I can detect it even this far out. We’re over twenty li from the city. There’s no way the Dan Prince’s mansion didn’t notice.

“If they still haven’t sent anyone, something’s gone wrong in the city. Even if you run back, you might not find help—and we don’t have time.”

Splash—

Xie Jinhuan skidded to a stop and landed on the riverbank.

“How long does it take to refine a Blood Fiend Pill?”

Lin Wanyi wasn’t an expert in demonic arts, but she knew plenty about poison alchemy.

“Corpse Flower venom acts fast. Even with blood condensation, they won’t need more than two kè (half an hour). The miasma already leaking out means they’re in the final stage...”

“I broke their illusion mid-process. The people on board woke up. If they resume, how much time do we have?”

She thought carefully.

“If the trance was completely broken, it’ll take about fifteen minutes to lull them back in. If the people just briefly snapped out of it... they’re probably all dead already.”

“So we might have half a kè. Maybe a bit more.”

Xie Jinhuan was still half-crippled from Steward Hou’s “Mwah mwah mwah~.” That kiss curse left him traumatized.

There’s no way those lecherous degenerates on the boat would fall back into that illusion so quickly.

But seven or eight minutes still wasn’t enough.

The Peony Pond was full of ordinary civilians. Not many fighters. If he ran off to fetch Linghu Qingmo, Liu Qingzhi, and the rest, then turned back to fight the demon-boat crew head-on—there’d be blood everywhere, and even then they might be too late.

If the Dan Prince’s palace hadn’t picked up on this anomaly, running all the way back to mobilize help would be completely pointless.

Xie Jinhuan’s mind raced. Suddenly, he turned to her:

“That ‘Power-Surge Pill’—are you sure it doubles your strength? How fast does it kick in?”

“Huh?”

Lin Wanyi shook her head immediately. “That crap pill does double your strength, yes, but you lose all reason. Friend or foe, you’ll kill everything in sight. If you take it, you’ll have to wipe out the whole ship before the demon crew stops you—they might have to restrain you.”

“That’s all I need!”

Xie Jinhuan’s voice sharpened with clarity:

“They want these people fully immersed in desire # Nоvеlight # to drain their life force. If I barge in swinging, they have to come out and deal with me. That buys time. As long as the experts in town catch wind of it, someone will show up and knock me out.”

“But—what if no one comes?” Lin Wanyi’s voice was tight with fear. “If you lose control and start killing, no one will dare approach. You’ll be alone. If you can’t hold on...”

Xie Jinhuan raised a hand to cut her off.

“I’ve already fought those bastards. Our strength isn’t too far apart. If this pill lets me push just one level further—I can win.

“And if I kill everyone and no one comes to stop me, then that’s the court’s failure. I did my best. If I don’t go, they die now.”

Lin Wanyi was furious. “What if you lose? You’re not even on the court’s payroll! Why are you risking your life like this?!”

Xie Jinhuan wasn’t acting on hot-blooded impulse. He had a purpose.

They already knew someone in the Underworld Sect was trying to use these Blood Fiend Pills to reach a transcendental realm.

There was no way the imperial court would believe two top-tier demonic cultivators were operating in Danyang simultaneously. The blame for Zihui Mountain’s incident would fall squarely on the Underworld Sect.

And if he—a lone warrior—risked everything to fight the demonic scheme and won, he’d be seen as a savior, not a suspect.

But he didn’t explain all that. He just said:

“When you walk this road, you have to keep your word. I said I’d wipe out the whole damn lot—today I will. If they get away, then I trained all these years for nothing. Time’s short. Go get help.”

He turned toward the river.

Panicking, Lin Wanyi stepped in front of him, arms outstretched:

“You’re not going! You—mmph?!”

Before she could finish, Xie Jinhuan pulled her close and kissed her!

Smooch smooch—

!?

Their lips met. Lin Wanyi stiffened like lightning had struck her. Eyes wide, frozen in place.

No time to linger—Xie Jinhuan took a quick peck and bolted into the river.

“Go get help! If I don’t make it, tell my dad I didn’t disgrace the family!”

Tap tap tap—

With that, his white-clad figure danced across the waves, fading into the night.

Lin Wanyi stood stunned, her mind blank. Even shame and anger were delayed by sheer shock. When she snapped out of it, she shouted:

“Xie Jinhuan, get back here! You idiot—where did you even get that pill?!”

“Go!!”

“You...!!”

She tried to give chase, but Xie Jinhuan’s speed was too ridiculous. Watching his figure disappear into the night, she could only stomp her foot and yell:

“That damn Zisu... absolutely lawless!”

Then she took off, flying toward the Peony Pond—

Peony Pond.

The party was still in full swing. Princess Changning, now a few drinks too deep thanks to Wang He, lay half-sprawled on her couch and grumbled:

“Did Xie Jinhuan fall in the latrine or something? Where is he?”

Linghu Qingmo had searched the boat earlier with no results. She idly rubbed Meiqiu, who was squatting like a mascot on the table.

“Where’d Xie Jinhuan go?”

“Gugii~”

Meiqiu lifted a wing and patted her neck—likely meaning: the usual—off killing someone and covering it up.

Linghu didn’t get it, still pondering, when Duoduo suddenly rushed to the window.

“Your Highness! Something strange’s happening outside!”

“Hm?”

Princess Changning sobered up just enough to look outside—and then—

BOOM—

A distant explosion cracked through the air, as if the river itself had been split open.

Her expression darkened.

“That pressure... someone’s fighting over there?”

Linghu Qingmo sharpened her senses. Her gaze sank.

“There’s demonic energy over there.”

“Gugii?” Meiqiu also looked toward the shore.

Whoosh—

A figure in a green robe sped toward them at full speed, yelling before she even arrived:

“Quick! Notify the palace! There are demonic cultists upstream—Xie Jinhuan went in alone!”

“What?!”

Linghu Qingmo’s face turned pale. The man had gone to take a piss and ended up charging into a nest of demons?! She leapt from the window, sword in hand:

“Where are the experts? No backup at all?!”

“None! Something’s gone wrong in the city! Gather everyone!”

...

Princess Changning’s face hardened. She ordered Duoduo to fetch her twin sabers, then stormed off the boat with a dozen elite Mòlin guards.

“The city’s compromised. Do whatever it takes to alert the senior cultivators inside!”

“Yes, Your Highness!”

Dan Prince’s Mansion.

Almost all Danyang’s top cultivators had gone downstream to hunt the great demon, but for security, the palace still kept men on standby.

As night deepened, a hundred guards outside the mansion stood ready, weapons drawn.

On the rooftop, the Dan Prince paced beside a giant divination altar. Steward Zhu Wenyuan guarded nearby, sword in hand, awaiting news.

The eight-foot-wide altar glowed with faint golden script. A red dot flickered in the east, signaling the rise of demonic energy.

Yet, nothing major had happened so far.

Zhu Wenyuan frowned.

“It’s been almost half an hour. At Lord Mu’s speed, he should be at Snow Eagle Ridge by now. Don’t tell me Wei Wuyi’s defected to the demon path?”

The Dan Prince shook his head grimly. “Wei Wuyi’s martial prowess is unmatched in all of Daqian. I doubt he’d fall. But if blood miasma is rising east of Daizhou, and the Dan Prince’s Mansion hasn’t sensed anything yet... how powerful must that demon be?”

“Probably at Corpse Ancestor level. Ghost cultivators are rare. When one emerges, ten thousand li of the southern lands feel it...”

The Dan Prince shuddered. His hands clenched behind his back.

They waited... but no experts returned. Instead, Zhu Wenyuan’s expression suddenly changed—he looked northwest.

“There’s blood miasma upstream too.”

“Hm?”

The Dan Prince’s eyes twitched. He rushed to the altar.

“But it’s not showing up?”

Zhu examined it closely—only the eastern red dot blinked. Everything else looked normal.

If the miasma could be felt physically here at the palace, then something devastating was happening upriver. The altar’s tracking array shouldn’t miss that.

Trusting the altar too much, Zhu initially thought he was mistaken.

But when he pulled out a smaller Monster-Seeker Compass, the needle trembled—pointing upstream. It matched his instincts.

“This is bad. The array’s been tampered with.”

The Dan Prince cursed and slammed the altar.

“Classic misdirection! The demons struck upstream while drawing us east! Send word immediately—recall the experts and dispatch all guards upstream!”

Zhu couldn’t leave his post, but he knew the odds. If the miasma was that strong, the slaughter had already begun.

Still, he ordered all remaining troops to head upriver and recalled their best men.

The Dan Prince paced anxiously. The altar’s failure meant they had a mole. And before any experts returned—

“Urgent report!”

“Huai River Bay is under attack! Civilians being massacred! Xie Jinhuan is holding the line alone! The Princess requests aid!”

The Dan Prince’s eyes went wide.

“I’ve fed and paid thousands, and yet one commoner is standing alone? Where the hell is everyone else?!”

“Your Grace, please calm down!”

Zhu Wenyuan said quickly, “The guards have already set out. Even if they can’t win, they’ll delay. Li Jing is at Danyun Gate—he’ll spot the anomaly and return full speed—”

Only then did the Dan Prince’s tension ease slightly...