Stranger Danger

Chapter 67: Iron Shirt Yan

“Boss, don’t you think sending someone after Ye Qing as per Tang Yi’an’s request is a little risky?”

The speaker was a thin middle-aged man sporting a pair of mustache and a refined appearance. He was currently standing next to a lotus lake in the Iron Gang’s headquarters.

The person he was speaking to was fishing in the lake seemingly without a care for the world. He was none other than the gang boss of the Iron Shirt Gang, Yan Tieyi.

Yan Tieyi’s moniker was Iron Shirt Yan. He had a tall, slender physique and a long, white beard beneath his chin. His face was thin but energetic, and he was wearing a long robe with huge sleeves,a loose belt, and a huge crown [1]. Right now, he gave off the impression of a quaint, unfettered scholar whose focus was completely set on his silver fishing rod and the calm waters in front of him. He did not look like he had heard the middle-aged man’s question at all.

Suddenly, the fishing line swayed a little and caused a tiny ripple. He immediately twisted his wrists and bent the fishing rod so much that it looked like a crescent. The line snapped taut, and a massive fish flew out of the lake water and drew an elegant arc in the air. It landed perfectly in the creel next to him.

It was only then Yan Tieyi asked slowly, “You’re worried that we would anger Yan Yufei, right Yongzhi?”

The full name of the middle-aged man he called Yongzhi was Lu Yongzhi. On the surface, he was a steward responsible for the finance and general affairs of the Iron Shirt Gang. In reality, he was their tactician and Yan Tieyi’s right-hand man. He was known by the moniker, the Humble Scholar.

“I am!” Lu Yongzhi nodded. “Ye Qing himself may be a nobody, but he is a close acquaintance of Yan Yufei. If the magistrate learns about this, he will surely put a lot of pressure on us. Objectively speaking, Tang Yi’an is nothing compared to Yan Yufei, so why are we giving up the forest for the tree?”

Yan Tieyi chuckled and shook his head. “Your words make sense, but you’re not looking at the long-term picture. Yan Yufei is an impressive man, but he is a newcomer with a weak base of power. Not only that, he is too impressive a man to stay in Anyang for long. To befriend him is like trying to scoop the moon’s reflection from a lake; a useful but ultimately meaningless gesture.”

“On the other hand, Tang Yi’an and his uncle, You Da had been entrenched in Anyang for years. Their base of power is strong, and they’re not looking to leave Anyang anytime soon. With that in mind, who do you think will benefit us more; a magistrate who will soon leave for greener pastures, or a vice magistrate who is looking to stay until he dies? To befriend Tang Yi’an is to befriend You Da, and befriending You Da is greatly beneficial to our businesses in Anyang.”

“Finally, how would Yan Yufei know that we are the ones behind Ye Qing’s untimely demise if the job is carried out cleanly?”

“That’s why you sent Tao Xian, Shi Jiang and Jie Chen to kill him! It’s to make sure that the assassination will be carried out without a hitch, and to ensure that no clues will be left behind at the crime scene!” Lu Yong exclaimed in realization. “I stand corrected, boss. Your foresight is most impressive!”

“Oh? When did you learn how to flatter people, Yongzhi? I almost thought you were someone else!” Yan Tieyi let out a fond chuckle. “I just like to prepare for any eventualities, is all. Tang Yi’an claimed that Ye Qing is at most an early-stage Qi Invoker, but you know me; I never liked sending exactly the right quantity and quality of people to do a job. It's an invitation for an unexpected variable to ruin everything, and in our line of work, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.”

“Speaking of which, Tao Xian and the others should be back any moment now.”

As if on cue, a warrior strode over the duo and reported, “Report! Hallmaster Tao, Hallmaster Shi, and Master Jie Chen are requesting to meet you, boss!”

“Perfect timing. Show them in!” Yan Tieyi ordered.

“At once!”

A short while later, Tao Xian, Jie Chen and Shi Jiang entered the backyard. They stopped a short distance away from Yan Tieyi and saluted respectfully, saying, “We’re back, boss.”

“How did it go?” asked Yan Tieyi while throwing his fishing rod back into the lotus lake. He didn’t look at the trio.

Tao Xian shook his head. “We managed to kill Ye Qing, but we were all injured in the process.”

“Is that so? That would explain why your presence felt unstable.”

Curious, Yan Tieyi beckoned them closer and asked, “Tell me exactly what happened.”

Jie Chen replied in a disgruntled tone, “What else? We thought the lad was an early-stage Qi Invoker, but no, he was a late-stage Qi Invoker. Not only that, his skills were even more incredible than we thought. As a result, he managed to drag out the fight far longer than expected and even hurt us in the process.”

“I see! Still, you managed to kill him in the end, so all is well!” Yan Tieyi nodded and asked another question, “Speaking of which, did you run into anyone along the way? And did you clean up the scene properly?”

“Cough cough! Don’t worry, boss. No one saw us, and we tossed Ye Qing’s body into the Soundless Gorge. We didn’t leave until the Soundless Bugs had completely consumed his body!” Tao Xian replied.

“Good job! You’ve all done well!” Yan Tieyi praised them before looking at Shi Jiang suddenly. “Say, why are you so quiet today, Hallmaster Shi? You’re usually the chattiest of us all.”

“No, I…” Shi Jiang finally broke his silence. “Can I ask you something, boss?”

“Sure! What is it?” Yan Tieyi asked.

Shi Jiang looked unusually hesitant as shot his companions a glance. Then, he slowly walked toward Yan Tieyi.

The gang boss thought that Shi Jiang wanted to make a private, possibly embarrassing request—one that he didn’t want his fellow colleagues to hear—so he joked, “You can be frank with me, Hallmaster Shi. This awkwardness doesn’t suit you at all. Did a girl catch your fancy again? Is it a married woman? Do you need me to act as your go-between?”

“No, no, it’s not that!” Shi Jiang replied.

“Then what is it?” Yan Tieyi asked curiously.

Instead of answering, Shi Jiang continued to approach Yan Tieyi. He was two steps away when Yan Tieyi finally felt a tinge of inexplicable unease.

It was at this moment a cold, white light blinded Yan Tieyi. The next thing he knew, blood was flying everywhere.

Boom!

A terrific energy exploded out of the gang boss. Everything around him—the stone table, the grass, the flowers, and even the trees—turned into dust, and the ground looked like a giant monster had dug it with its claws.

Tao Xian and Jie Chen did not take any damage from the shockwave because they had jumped away as soon as it was discharged. It was almost as if they knew it was coming. Even so, the powerful gale blowing past their cheeks was enough to cause every hair on their body to stand on end.

Lu Yongzhi wasn’t as lucky. Having received no warning whatsoever, the shockwave had sent him flying through the air like a rag doll. He looked greatly weakened as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

The greatest surprise came in the form of Shi Jiang. He was standing right in front of Yan Tieyi and the gang boss’ main target, so the shockwave should’ve annihilated him into smithereens. However, he remained rooted to the ground as if the shockwave was nothing more but a gentle breeze.

“You’re not Shi Jiang. Who are you?” Yan Tieyi asked in a harsh voice. Right now, his aura was circulating rapidly and unpredictably around his body, and his clothes were billowing out around him like a banner swaying wildly to the wind. He looked incredibly intimidating, or he would have if not for the fact that a trickle of blood was seeping out from between his sleeves and dying his white robe red in just the blink of an eye.

Yan Tieyi was both shocked and furious as he perceived his injury. If his instinct hadn’t warned him in time, the surprise attack would’ve cut right through his throat like a hot knife through butter. Despite this, he wasn’t able to dodge the attack completely. There was a horizontal line stretching from his left breast to the right.

“Answer me! Who the hell are you?”

“My name is Ye Qing. Ye for leaf, and Qing for cyan!” Shi Jiang, or rather, Ye Qing declared loudly. His bones cracked ominously under his skin until he returned to his normal size, and he removed his mask to reveal a handsome grin.

When a warrior had entered the Body Tempering stage, they could easily move their bones and muscles around and alter their physique. Theoretically, there was no physique he could not imitate unless the person was overwhelmingly bigger or smaller than him. As for his face, it so happened Tao Xian was a master of disguise and owned a useful item that allowed him to change his face as he pleased, so he happily confiscated it for his own use.

Ye Qing’s plan was very simple. First, he altered his physique and wore the mask to pretend to be Shi Jiang. Then, he slipped into the Iron Shirt Gang’s headquarters together with Tao Xian and Jie Chen. Ye Qing learned from Tao Xian that Yan Tieyi was a middle-stage Vessel Augmentor with incredible skill and even greater alertness. In fact, he was so cautious that he normally did not allow anyone to get within three meters of him. Therefore, the only way to assassinate him within his own headquarters and without alerting the other gang members was to kill him in one strike.

Ye Qing had planned to improvise on the fly and approach Yan Tieyi somehow while they were giving their reports. When he was close enough, he would unleash his fastest attack and kill the gang boss.

Unfortunately, Yan Tieyi proved to be more formidable than expected. His plan had gone perfectly, but the gang boss still managed to dodge the fatal blow at the last moment.

“Ye Qing? You’re still alive?” Yan Tieyi exclaimed in realization and disbelief.

“Of course I’m alive. How am I supposed to kill you if I’m dead?” Ye Qing chuckled before looking at Tao Xian and Jie Chen. “Hold back the others while I send your former boss to the afterlife.”

Tao Xian and Jie Chen nodded and suppressed the grievously injured Lu Yongzhi in just a short time. Then, they left to keep the others from approaching this area.

“You think you can kill me all by yourself?” Yan Tieyi scoffed. Ye Qing was just a Qi Invoker. He could never have injured him if he hadn’t caught him by surprise!

“That’s right!” Ye Qing answered while charging toward Yan Tieyi, his curved saber drawing a fine arc across the air. A moon suddenly appeared above their heads, and bleak moonlight shone down from the sky. It looked gorgeous, but it was the kind of beauty that could end one’s life in an instant. Each and every ray of “moonlight” in the sky was a curved saber flying straight toward Yan Tieyi!

Yan Tieyi felt chilled to the bone as he stared at the grand illusion above his head. Not daring to treat the technique lightly, he immediately waved his sleeves and froze the air in front of him until it resembled cold iron. Then, he struck the frozen space and launched the frozen air into the sky like he was firing an air cannon. The earth shook, and the air trembled as the terrific force washed over the storm of sabers like a tidal wave. When all was said and done, nothing was left in the sky.

The martial art Yan Tieyi just used was, of course, the Iron Sleeve Art!

“The Iron Sleeve Art, huh? It deserves its reputation!”

Ye Qing’s chuckle came from the sky, but the young man himself was nowhere to be seen. Or rather, Ye Qing had suddenly split into innumerable copies of himself and his saber had covered the sky once more!

“A shadow without a shadow, a saber without a saber” was a quote from “Soulchasing Saber”. It perfectly described what Yan Tieyi was facing right now. The gang boss knew that there was no way the Ye Qings in the sky were real—this fight would be over already if that was true—but the hail of killing intent battering his skin felt was all too real.

Yan Tieyi was a nobody who clawed tooth and nail to get to where he was now. He had fought countless people in his life, and many of them were a lot stronger, trickier, and more resilient than he was. However, his experience and knowledge were completely useless because Ye Qing was like no one he had ever fought. His eyes couldn’t differentiate the real from the fake, his senses could not lock onto a specific aura, and it was downright impossible to guess where the saber—the one that would take his life—would come from. It was beyond frustrating because he could not go on the offensive without knowing where his enemy was.

Suddenly, Yan Tieyi waved his sleeves around like he was dancing. Paradoxically, the dancing sleeves looked tough as steel, soft as fabric, straight as an arrow and winding like a river all at the same time. It was a perfect harmony of soft and hard power, activity and inactivity, the real and the unreal that protected the gang boss from all sides like a perfect, impenetrable globe.

It was a titanic clash between the unbreakable iron sleeves that had locked down space itself, and the omnipresent sabers that sought to squeeze through the tiniest of gaps and steal their target’s soul. Who would come out on top?

1. a type of hat, not an emperor’s crown 👈

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