Chapter 384: Chapter 308: Facing Off in the Palace
Under the darkened skies, Chen Yi stepped across the Donghua Gate. As he proceeded further, he caught sight of a palace maid approaching from afar, moving slowly.
Chen Yi’s pace hesitated momentarily.
The palace maid approached step by step, the distance between her steps nearly identical. Her figure seemed frail, yet under the biting wind, not a single tremor could be detected.
She stopped three or four zhang away from Chen Yi and spoke clearly:
"Chen Qianhu, I must ask you to turn back. Her Highness will not receive any visitors today, regardless of the circumstance."
Chen Yi appeared not to have heard her. After pausing briefly, he continued walking forward.
He shortened the distance between himself and the palace maid.
The palace maid’s gaze slowly turned fierce, but her expression remained calm as she said:
"There are over ten elite palace defenders stationed outside the palace and two Pavilion Masters from Xique Pavilion guarding the inner court. Not to mention the Xique Pavilion Master himself. If Chen Qianhu were to inadvertently trespass, the consequences will not be favorable."
Her voice had barely finished when Chen Yi’s steps remained undisturbed.
The palace maid’s eyes flickered briefly, and a glint of silver emanated from her sleeve, her aura quietly circling.
"Fight to the death or spare a life?"
A question suddenly reached her ears.
The palace maid instinctively reacted, striking rapidly. Her figure twisted sharply, and her dagger sliced through the air with lethal precision.
The dagger was mere moments away from reaching the wrist of its target.
Her figure abruptly bent, and a shocking fist imprint appeared on her abdomen.
Boom!
A loud sound erupted beneath the palace walls, like muffled thunder rumbling under the dim sky.
Chen Yi had already slowly retracted his fist.
Half-crouched, he slightly dodged the dagger, then delivered a thunderous punch to the palace maid’s abdomen where she could muster no response. All of it happened in an instant.
The palace maid’s body sank partially into the palace wall, blood dripping from the corner of her mouth, while the culprit turned away, leaving behind only a single remark:
"Alright, understood."
The palace maid struggled to turn her head, staring at his receding figure, watching him—solitary and determined—make his way deeper into the royal city, heading toward Jingren Palace.
He walked step by step, neither hurried nor slow, not with the aura of an assassin aiming to kill, but more like a loyal subject intent on gaining an audience, radiating an air of righteousness and courage.
Passing through a stretch of palace walls and rounding a corner, Chen Yi looked up to see two figures standing resolutely in the distance. Both wore long sleeves adorned with cloud patterns, with golden daggers strapped around their waists. These were the elite palace defenders of the imperial court.
Ever since the empress dowager had taken control of governance, countless purges had rocked the palace. The Directorate of Ceremony was dismantled, the Chief of Staff Ministry established, and even elite palace defenders were culled and reorganized.
Many defenders once favored by the late emperor had either perished or been rendered obsolete. Those who remained were merely those deemed irrelevant, and even they had undergone severe downsizing. Their duties shifted from guarding the comforts of the inner court to overseeing the proceedings of the outer court.
Even so, to ordinary Jianghu figures, each elite palace defender still posed a formidable challenge.
Indeed, to ordinary Jianghu figures.
Every elite palace defender, no matter how mediocre, was at least seventh rank, making them troublesome for Jianghu fighters.
But for Chen Yi,
The only difference between battling them and beating up weaklings was that weaklings do not move.
One elite palace defender took the first action, drawing his blade and charging forward heavily, the blade’s arc slicing elaborately through the air.
Chen Yi lifted his left foot to advance, slightly raising his right hand.
These elite palace defenders, though not exceptionally talented in martial arts, were treasures in the broader Jianghu. With their vast combat experience, one saw at a glance that Chen Yi intended to step forward with his left foot, twist his body, and feint with his right hand before striking with his left fist.
Thus, the defender slowed his movements, intentionally allowing his blade strike to miss.
But the trespasser before him seemed to overlook this entirely, as his right hand had already lifted.
The defender followed through with his blade strike, twisting it ninety degrees to slash left to right, aiming to sever Chen Yi’s hand.
Clang!
A sound like the collision of metal and stone rang out.
The defender saw a gleaming piece of blade fly into the air. Glancing down, he noticed his broken blade, as well as the barely noticeable scratch on Chen Yi’s arm.
A moment later, a straight punch smashed into his right chest.
The defender coughed up blood, hurled three zhang away, rolling on the ground as he came to rest.
Chen Yi tugged at his torn sleeve and kept moving forward.
The other defender gripped his blade tightly, trembling with fear.
A few dozen taels of silver a month—was this worth risking one’s life?
He seemed ready to turn and flee.
But looking down at his injured comrade not far away, he realized the latter wasn’t dead despite his condition...
A moment’s thought compelled him to charge forward with his blade.
The blade’s edge rose high overhead, bold and unreserved, exposing an enormous gap in his defense before Chen Yi.
Chen Yi furrowed his brow slightly.
The defender slowed as he charged forward, his blade lifting higher and higher until, just a zhang away from Chen Yi, he came to almost a complete halt.
He winked at Chen Yi.
Chen Yi finally understood and casually pushed out a palm.
The palm struck the defender’s abdomen, and he released all his energy deliberately, sending himself flying backward until he landed four zhang away—one zhang farther than his comrade.
He closed his eyes and feigned unconsciousness.
Having bypassed the two elite defenders, Chen Yi moved through the gate that connected the outer court and inner palace. Jingren Palace’s dark golden silhouette began to emerge behind the cover of the palace walls.
The deep crimson walls stretched endlessly, while Chen Yi’s shadow, drawn long against the stone pathways, blurred into the dim skies, remaining indistinct.
After walking a stretch further, Chen Yi paused.
Turning back, he spotted a figure half-hidden in the shadows.
"Technically, I’m not supposed to be here,"
The figure, gold-thread hat on his head, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, stepped forward, his clothing’s embroidered patterns marking him unmistakably as the Head of the Palace Defenders,
"Cao Jiuweng, at your service."
Chen Yi wasted no words, his gaze cold and murderous.
Cao Jiuweng studied Chen Yi’s resolute stride, observing as his pace gradually quickened. His knees bent slightly, building momentum until he shot forward like a hunting falcon, seeming to charge through the oppressive skies.
Accompanying his advance came the flash of his Brocade Spring Blade.
It was a downward vertical slash.
Cao Jiuweng stepped forward, reaching with his left hand while turning his body sideways, narrowly avoiding the vertical slash, then pivoting his right hand upward in a crane-like stance, aiming straight for Chen Yi’s blade-holding wrist.
The blade’s cry split the air sharply.
Yet at the moment Cao Jiuweng’s crane strike landed, Chen Yi lifted his wrist, swiftly pulling back the blade. The maneuver was astonishingly fast, reversing the situation entirely as if Cao Jiuweng’s hand had recklessly collided with the blade edge.
Cao Jiuweng uttered a curious "Eh," immediately changing his force to redirect his hand, narrowly avoiding the edge. In the split second of their exchange, transformations flared unpredictably, tension pervading every flicker, though the conflict concluded uneventfully.
Cao Jiuweng retreated several steps, sighing slightly:
"I’ve been observing your martial arts in secret, predicting the flow of your qi. I was certain this strike would succeed in disarming you. Why could you still adapt in the moment?"
Chen Yi ignored his question, instead asking, "Tiger Crane Double Form Boxing?"
Cao Jiuweng’s expression remained unchanged: "Indeed."
Chen Yi flexed the Brocade Spring Blade in his hand.
Earlier, Cao Jiuweng had deceptively restrained his True Qi, masking his rank. His breathing alternated between long and hurried, while the measured pacing suggested someone practicing rudimentary techniques from a martial hall.
If Chen Yi defeating the palace defenders earlier was akin to dispatching the weak, then Cao Jiuweng, here, was feigning weakness to lure Chen Yi into complacency, seeking the perfect opportunity for a decisive strike.
Cao Jiuweng’s plan was well-conceived. Yet under the blessing of the Shangqing Heart Method, Chen Yi noticed the masterful aura Cao Jiuweng unintentionally revealed upon lifting his hand.
Such an aura resembles killing intent; it is best suppressed, but if it leaks out, it renders deception useless.
Chen Yi lunged forward again, and his blade flashed like a crescent moon, aimed at Cao Jiuweng.
This time, Cao Jiuweng abandoned all concealment, fully unveiling his tiger-like stance. He stooped low, mimicking a predator poised to strike, and charged viciously at Chen Yi as the blade descended.
As the shadow flew closer to him, Chen Yi abruptly released the blade, sending it away, following up with both fists, one aimed high and the other low.
One punch landed squarely on his face, the other striking his abdomen. The terrifying impact of the consecutive blows sent Cao Jiuweng flying backward, his robe rippling violently, as though defeat was inevitable.
Chen Yi advanced to seize the advantage.
However, as Chen Yi approached within two zhang, Cao Jiuweng’s figure suddenly erupted with force, crashing to the ground with a thud, then coiling up, rebounding toward Chen Yi!
It turned out he had deliberately sold a flaw while being thrown earlier.
Cao Jiuweng’s claws curved like eagle talons, aiming to tear Chen Yi apart, the tremendous force whipping through the air.
Chen Yi’s hair fluttered with the wind, his gaze calm as his figure retreated lightly.
At the instant Cao Jiuweng’s claws reached him, his vision suddenly went black.
The Brocade Spring Blade, discarded moments earlier, moved on its own and slammed into his face, drawing blood.
This technique of wielding objects with qi was something Cao Jiuweng hadn’t anticipated.
The strike threw off his balance, forcing him to halt abruptly because Chen Yi had already unsheathed his sword from his back, aiming its edge at Cao Jiuweng’s throat.
"Ugh...ugh...ugh..."
The blade’s tip hovered less than an inch from flesh as Cao Jiuweng gasped heavily, his bloodied face locked on the chilling gleam of the sword. His clawed hands froze mid-air, not daring to move.
Chen Yi stared at Cao Jiuweng silently before delivering a palm strike to his chest.
The sickening crunch of cracking bones echoed as Cao Jiuweng was hurled backward, his feet landing unsteadily before collapsing to the ground.
Though he still had the strength to attempt standing, he stopped where he was, unable to rise.
Chen Yi turned away once again, striding forward with Jingren Palace inching ever closer.
Beyond the long stretches of palace walls, through the final palace gate, a grand square paved with white marble came into view. Raising his head, he saw the palace exhaling wisping white mist.
Someone seemed to be waiting for him inside.
As Chen Yi lifted his foot to take a step,
The shadow of the Nameless Crone suddenly reappeared.
Chen Yi was prepared to halt,
But alongside him, another figure emerged.
The one-armed woman stepped ahead of him, moving under the dim skies straight toward the Nameless Crone.