Aoyama

Chapter 503 See You Later
Si Cao Gui did not pursue Thirteen.

He backed away while touching the wound on his right eye.

Thirteen's crescent blade only left a wound on his eyelid, without harming his eye, but the blood that flowed out turned the world he saw red.

He should have dodged the blow: he knew that the person impersonating Yuan Cheng was lying in ambush in the carriage, and Hu Shisan was only a Xiantian Xingguan, so dodging the blow would not have been difficult, but he still failed to dodge it.

Lu waited patiently in the carriage, and with his first strike, he hit the Corpse Dog Soul, causing him to lose his "surprise" and his vigilance, to the point that he momentarily forgot about "Yuan Cheng" in the carriage.

The outcome of the battle seemed predetermined from the very first strike, and from then on, every step he took was a mistake.

Si Cao Gui looked up at Madam Lu: "No wonder the lord instructed us to be careful in our fight against you, for one wrong step could lead to utter ruin. You and your brother should have joined forces; no one in the world could have been your match. You betrayed your brother and your homeland for a man from Ning Dynasty; that was truly wrong of you."

Lu said calmly, "From the day he plotted to frame Qing Wentao, there has been no possibility of reconciliation between us."

Si Cao Gui stepped back: "The great cause is not yet accomplished, how can you get caught up in personal feelings? The lord is trying to make you change your mind and cut off your emotional entanglements."

Lu Shi approached step by step with a cold smile: "Great cause? When has Lu Jin ever had a great cause in his heart? He only has selfish desires! He came to Ning Dynasty to seek his own future, and returned to Jing Dynasty for wealth and glory. At that time, I did not know that he had framed Qing Wentao behind his back. He pretended to shed tears for Qing Wentao in front of me and lied to me that it was the Chen family's factional attack. I later found out that this was just one of the links in his plan to use us to help him assassinate the Minister of Revenue of Ning Dynasty."

Madam Lu said in a deep voice, "He knew that with his clumsy skills, he had no chance of assassinating Minister Ning, so in order to use me and the Guyuan border army, he actually plotted such a vicious thing!"

Si Cao Gui retreated to the edge of the long street, stopping a step away. Countless hands reached out from the smoke to pull him into it.

Some merchants, in their panic, were dragged inside. All that could be heard was the sound of tearing cloth and flesh being ripped apart. In an instant, a pool of blood flowed out from the smoke.

Si Cao Gui dared not retreat any further. Leaning against the smoke screen, he said in a deep voice, “Sister, Qing Wentao deserves to die. If it weren’t for Qing Wentao, our dynasty would have already marched straight in from Guyuan, taken the Guanzhong Plain, seized the heartland of Taiyuan, and unified the two dynasties. It would only be a matter of time. The lord asked you to get close to him in order to kill him, but you went with him and left. The Ning dynasty has the rich lands of the south, yet the people still suffer from hunger and cold. How can you ruin the great cause of the two dynasties for your own selfish reasons?”

Standing opposite him, Madam Lu said softly, "Agui, let me ask you, there were twenty-seven of you when you came, how many are left now?"

Si Cao Gui was silent for a moment: "Of the three, one died a violent death, and the other was personally dealt with by me."

Madam Lu stared at the familiar stranger before her: "How many people died for Lu Jin's selfish desires, and how many died for the great cause that Lu Jin spoke of?"

Si Cao Gui pursed his lips for a long time before saying, "They all died for the greater cause."

Madam Lu shook her head: "Bai Lu Pavilion was a property of your Military Intelligence Bureau, wasn't it? It was destroyed by the Secret Service last year."

Si Cao Gui's expression shifted.

Looking at the patches on Si Cao Gui's clothes, Madam Lu continued, "Do you know where all the money earned by Bailu Pavilion went?"

Si Cao Gui said in a deep voice, "Naturally, it will be used for the military intelligence department's salary and compensation. Our military intelligence department has been fighting against the eunuch party of Ning Dynasty for twenty years, and countless people have died or been injured. Ninety percent of the money earned by Bailu Pavilion is used here, so that the soldiers can work with peace of mind and have no worries."

Madam Lu sighed, "I really want to tear off Lu Jin's mask and show you how much filth is hidden beneath that face. As far as I know, not only Bailu Pavilion, but also most of the silver you've collected from other places, was transshipped through Dongying Port to Lushun via the Chen family's second branch, and then presented by Lu Jin to the Grand Councilor Yuan Xiang. Otherwise, why do you think he could gain Yuan Xiang's favor? Is it really because he has profound knowledge and talent? Otherwise, how could the Chen family's second branch's business use Lushun as a transit point to reach Japan?"

Si Cao Gui's expression changed: "Don't talk nonsense. Even if these things are true, they will be kept secret. How could you know? Sister, it's been so many years since we last met that you've resorted to psychological tactics."

Madam Lu looked at him with pity: "You know nothing about lamplight... Never mind, there's no point in saying more."

The next moment, Lu lunged forward, intending to press Si Cao Gui into the smoke with a single palm strike, and use the hands of countless wronged souls within the smoke to tear him apart.

But this time, Si Cao Gui actually stepped forward to meet the palm strike. Lu Shi once again used the Bagua Swimming Dragon Step to move around Si Cao Gui, as if Si Cao Gui was the center of Tai Chi Bagua, and Lu Shi's every step was on the Bagua at the edge of Tai Chi.

With each step she takes, the Eight Trigrams in her palm are created and destroyed once, transforming into new trigrams: Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui, alternating in turn. Her footwork, body movements, and palm techniques cycle endlessly.

When Lu's palm landed on the Qian trigram, Si Cao Gui, as if he had foreseen it, accurately predicted where Lu would step next and swung his short knife to stab her in advance, forcing Lu to turn around and avoid it.

This was repeated three times, but none of Lu's three palm strikes landed on Si Cao Gui.

The two Dao Seeking Realm Officials dodged and weaved along the edge of the smoke screen, never even touching each other in their movements.

The hands of the wronged spirits in the smoke were chaotic and disordered, as if they might touch them at any moment.

Lu said calmly, "Lu Jin went to great lengths to teach you all how to master the Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon. It's my fault for not avoiding him when I was practicing the Eight Trigrams Swimming Dragon back then." Si Cao Gui remained silent. Just as Lu's palm was fixed on the Li trigram, he suddenly stopped dodging and stopped using his short sword to force Lu back. Instead, he took the blow head-on.

In an instant, with a clang, Lu's palm struck Si Cao Gui's chest, but it resounded like striking a great bell, and a pale, ghostly figure was knocked out of Si Cao Gui's body.

The thief's soul left his body, and all fear vanished.

Si Cao Gui had already lost two of his seven souls, but he paid the price of taking this blow by stabbing his short knife into Lu Shi's ribs. Just as he was about to move the knife, Lu Shi grabbed his wrist and dragged him to take another step.

Lu's palm suddenly shifted one position, settling on the Kun trigram. This palm strike was unavoidable and landed on Si Cao Gui's forehead.

A black phantom of Si Cao Gui flew out from behind his head. One of his three souls, the Earth Soul "You Jing", was forcibly stripped away by this palm strike. Si Cao Gui's expression immediately became dazed, and corpse spots instantly appeared on his face, making him look extremely ferocious.

This was originally an extremely meticulous and calculated battle. Si Cao Gui chose to take the blow head-on when the Li hexagram was in effect. Once he lost his fear, he would only become more and more courageous in the battle, which was an acceptable price to pay.

But Lu Shi also had her own plans. She took the blow head-on and dragged Si Cao Gui into the Kun hexagram, stripping him of his earth soul.

The two separated immediately after their initial contact. Madam Lu, clutching her abdomen, calmly said, "It's not just you who dare to risk your lives. When I was risking my life, you weren't even an officer yet."

Si Cao Gui slumped down under the smoke screen wall, looking utterly dejected. Even when the fingertips in the smoke screen were right in front of him, he didn't seem to notice them. "What a pity," he said. "I diligently practiced the Vajra Protector of Kujue Temple every day to become invulnerable to swords and spears, but it was of no use. I just happened to run into Bagua Youlong."

Standing ten steps away from him, Madam Lu said with pity, "It's a pity that your best years have been wasted because of Lu Jin's lies. Not only you, but also those who crossed the ocean with you with the ambition to make a name for themselves."

Si Cao Gui lowered his head and looked at the ground: "I remember that Lao Wang and I were traveling across the ocean together. We made a fool of ourselves and got on the wrong ship. The smuggling ship went to Japan first before turning back to Dongying Port in Ningchao. So we were embarrassed to say that we didn't travel for seven days, but for thirty-one days. We were seasick and vomited the whole way. The cabin smelled terrible. If it weren't for the great cause, we wouldn't have been able to endure it for so long."

“After arriving in Ningchao, I worked tirelessly day and night, living a frugal life. I dared not slack off or be extravagant, hoping that the money I had collected and saved in Ningchao could be used to do more things.”

Lu casually remarked, "Is this how Lu Jin taught you to stall for time? He's not a good teacher."

Si Cao Gui gave a bitter laugh: "What are you still delaying for?"

At this moment, Thirteen climbed out of the car, already using a torn piece of his clothing to wrap his wound. He tossed a white porcelain bottle into the air, which Lu Shi caught, and poured some white powder into her palm, applying it to the wound.

Si Cao Gui looked up at her: "Sister, I'm about to die. Please tell me the truth: did the money from my Military Intelligence Bureau really get given to Yuan Xiang by the lord?"

Upon hearing this, Thirteen's eyes widened: "This is no secret. The month before last, when Yuanxiang celebrated his 80th birthday, Lu Jin sent gifts that stretched as far as a street. He sent three hundred pearls alone, and it's said that he also sent a pair of red corals that were taller than a person... This news has even spread to Longyou Road and Xijing Road. Didn't you know?"

Si Cao Gui fell silent.

Lu said calmly, "It's too late to know now. Let's send you on your way."

However, Si Cao Gui suddenly said, "It's not too late yet."

Thirteen was startled and instinctively threw the crescent blade from his hand, shooting it towards Si Cao Gui.

But Si Cao Gui flipped himself up and barely avoided the crescent-shaped blade.

With a clang, the crescent blade was embedded in the ground where he had been sitting cross-legged.

Si Cao Gui looked up at Madam Lu, his face no longer showing any signs of dejection. He retreated step by step into the smoke, as countless black arms of wronged souls pulled at his body, neck, and head, tearing at him with all their might.

But the sound of flesh tearing did not come as expected. Si Cao Gui remained calm, letting the smoke tear at his indestructible body. He slowly retreated into the smoke: "Sister, I will never forget your kindness in providing me with a meal back then. Until we meet again."

Thirteen is unbelievable; the indestructible body of Kujue Temple could withstand the smoke without any harm!
He was about to chase after the smoke, but Madam Lu stopped him, saying, "Don't chase after him. He can get through, but we can't."

Thirteen looked at Madam Lu: "Master, didn't you say this person must be killed?"

Looking at the smoke screen that had returned to normal, Madam Lu calmly said, "There's no need to kill him. He's obsessed now and won't die until he figures things out. Let him go."

(End of this chapter)