A Pawn's Passage

Chapter 85: Revealed Motives (I)

In the Major’s Office, He Nian asked, “Mage Zhang, do you like drinking?”

Zhang Yuelu asked back, “Why? Are you planning to treat me to a drink?”

“Of course. This is a thirty-year-old wine. Mage Zhang, why don’t you taste it first?” He Nian chuckled.

Zhang Yuelu said, “That’s not appropriate. How can I steal the wine that the Lieutenant Colonel asked for?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll just get another jar for the Lieutenant Colonel.” He Nian suddenly threw the wine jar at Zhang Yuelu.

He Nian had already injected his qi into the wine jar, so it exploded in the air before it hit the ground, spraying wine everywhere.

At the same time, Zhang Yuelu turned the Amorphous Paper into a rotating paper umbrella, flinging off the droplets and scattering them in all directions.

Some of the wine drops landed on the railings, eaves, and walls. In an instant, those surfaces corroded with a sizzle.

This was not vintage wine. It was green vitriol oil, the waste liquid from elixir production. He Nian added another type of chemical to the green vitriol oil, making the liquid so potent that only one drop on the body would melt one's flesh to the bone.

However, the Amorphous Paper was a semi-immortal object, which was a grade higher than treasures. Thus, it was not damaged in the slightest.

He Nian stopped talking and whipped out the sword from his waist. He held the hilt with his right hand and lightly touched the blade with his left index and middle fingers.

Suddenly, the blade glowed with a layer of white light, which flowed erratically like ripples on the water's surface. At the same time, there was a faint sound of dragons and tigers roaring.

Zhang Yuelu instantly felt a harsh energy emitting from the sword. She muttered, “Interesting technique.”

He Nian said calmly, “Naturally. I ought to use some special technique to deal with you, Mage Zhang.”

Zhang Yuelu closed the paper umbrella, signaling He Nian to give it his best shot.

He Nian charged forward, slashing horizontally with his sword.

Zhang Yuelu stood still. Just as He Nian’s blade was about to touch her, her cloak fluttered from the field of qi that rippled around her. She lightly tapped the weak point of He Nian’s blade using her paper umbrella.

It was a soft tap, but He Nian almost lost his grip and barely managed to hold onto the hilt of his sword.

Heavy snowfall finally arrived.

He Nian’s expression changed slightly as he raised his sword again, splitting the snowflakes into two.

Zhang Yuelu raised the closed paper umbrella and held it horizontally in front of her, wielding it like a sword.

When He Nian’s sword and the paper umbrella collided, the two of them bounced apart. The sword in He Nian’s hand trembled slightly, and large snowflakes within three centimeters of the blade turned into tiny particles, like powdered sugar.

The powdered snowflakes only danced around Zhang Yuelu’s body, not touching her at all.

He Nian and Zhang Yuelu fought relentlessly.

The paper umbrella and the sword each drew an arc in the air before they collided. The violent energy atomized the snow into a white mist as they fought.

He Nian’s moves were fierce and lethal, only attacking and not defending. He advanced without retreating and fought with all his might.

Zhang Yuelu’s umbrella blended in with the snow and moved with agility. She was so fast and elusive that her body seemed illusory, as if she were a projection in the mist.

He Nian could only wave his sword wildly in hopes of injuring her.

During the fierce battle, Zhang Yuelu still had the energy to speak. “So, you’re the court official standing in front of the six-armed statue. Where are your accomplices?”

He Nian’s expression changed dramatically. “How did you know?”

Zhang Yuelu did not answer and simply leaped forward with her umbrella.

In an instant, all the snowflakes in the courtyard instantly turned into fine powder that shrouded He Nian’s vision.

He Nian fell backward, retreating more than 30 meters. His qi was unsettled, making the snow particles around him waver and form more mist.

After He Nian steadied himself, he circulated his qi and injected it into his sword. He then broke through the blinding white mist. At the same time, he neutralized the energy around him with that strike.

The energy reverberated, scattering the snow and mist all around them.

The sword qi in He Nian’s hand gathered on the blade like the rising tide until a sharp white energy enveloped the sword. Then, it flew toward Zhang Yuelu.

However, Zhang Yuelu also had layers of energy around her that were impenetrable. That was why He Nian felt as if his sword was stuck in quicksand, unable to advance or retreat no matter what.

Without hesitation, He Nian released his sword while stepping back. Then he pointed a finger at the hilt of his sword, reining in the sword qi. The sword thundered, electricity buzzing around it as it broke free from Zhang Yuelu’s qi shield and rushed straight at her face.

He Nian was using the Qi Refiner’s Sword Steering Technique.

Zhang Yuelu had quick reflexes. She grounded her feet and bent her upper body backward at an exaggerated angle, almost parallel to the ground.

After the sword flew past her, she straightened up and saw He Nian steering his sword with his right index and middle fingers. With a pulling motion, He Nian forcibly turned the sword around, aiming it at Zhang Yuelu’s back.

Zhang Yuelu turned around abruptly and opened her paper umbrella to block the sword's attack. Upon impact, the sharp and harsh sound of metal and stone clashing grated their ears.

He Nian made a sword-wielding gesture, turning the sword and making it hover in front of him. He held the sword again and lunged at Zhang Yuelu at the speed of light.

Zhang Yuelu did not dodge his attack. Instead, she turned her paper umbrella into a paper spear.

When the tips of the spear and sword touched, He Nian’s body shuddered, and his face flushed.

Zhang Yuelu floated back. A violent energy exploded under her feet as soon as her feet touched the ground. It spread to the surroundings like a slowly blooming white lotus.

He Nian continued to charge forward when Zhang Yuelu regained her footing. The sword qi surged, lengthening the blade that was originally only one meter long by another fifteen centimeters.

Zhang Yuelu held the paper spear with both hands and slashed He Nian with such force that it made the spear seem bent. However, He Nian blocked the strike with a backhand sword.

A thunderous boom echoed in the air as the two weapons collided. Erratic energy rippled out in all directions.

Zhang Yuelu’s body moved with the spear in her hand in a sweeping and arched formation, drawing circles of varying sizes and different phases of the moon in the air.

This technique came from the governor of the previous Central Qin Dynasty, Qi Ying, who was unparalleled in battle. This man once led an army to fight against the Golden Horde, and that was how he honed his spear technique. He used his spear to sweep, not stab. Once, he even disrupted the flow of a torrential river with 81 consecutive sweeps.

After a while, her body was hidden among the countless moons that she drew. Although the spear was moving extremely fast, there were no whistling sounds, proving that she did not use brute strength. Instead, it was soft and subtle.

At this time, He Nian could not find any gaps in Zhang Yuelu’s moon shields, as they layered on top of each other like a well-organized wave of shields in military formation, capable of defending and attacking. The shields did not move individually but as a collective.

He felt as if a large shield was pressing down on him. If he could not withstand the pressure, he would have to retreat and avoid it. But as soon as he took a step back, Zhang Yuelu pressed forward. He would be defeated if he stayed in this position for too long.

Thus, He Nian did not retreat. He chose to confront Zhang Yuelu head-on.

Since ancient times, longer weapons have always gained the upper hand in battle.

Previously, He Nian had a risky close fight with Zhang Yuelu. If he was not careful, his blood would splatter all over. But at this time, Zhang Yuelu used her spear. With the advantage of her spear's length, she easily suppressed He Nian and gained the upper hand.

Suddenly, Zhang Yuelu’s spear slowed down. She then drew a meter-long arc while approaching He Nian’s face.

He Nian only felt a gust of cold air coming toward his face. He could not avoid it and used his sword to block the qi. However, this sweep was a false move. Suddenly, Zhang Yuelu switched her spear from her left to her right hand and aimed it at He Nian’s neck.

She moved so fast that He Nian had no time to defend himself. He had no choice but to move forward to close the distance between them. Then he pointed his sword at her side, intending to attack her where she was most vulnerable.

Zhang Yuelu had already anticipated this. As the two of them drew close, she held the middle part of her spear and swiped the tail of the spear, knocking He Nian’s sword from his hand. Then she swung her spearhead and struck his neck. He Nian flew sideways from the blow, breaking a pillar in the corridor.

A section of the corridor collapsed, burying He Nian under the rubble.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Stop!"

Zhang Yuelu turned around, only to see a group of Green Phoenix Guards pouring into the place, surrounding her. Then, two men slowly walked toward her.

One of them was Major Luo Xiao, while the other was an unfamiliar face. He was in his forties and had a short beard. Judging from his uniform, Zhang Yuelu guessed that he was the Lieutenant Colonel of the Green Phoenix Guard.

Luo Xiao had a grim face as he demanded. “Mage Zhang, I hope you can give me an explanation for this.”

Zhang Yuelu put away her spear, indicating that she had no hostile intentions. “That man is an Ancient Immortal believer. He attacked me with green vitriol oil first, so I fought him in self-defense. If you two don’t believe me, you can search his body now. He should have a token related to the Ancient Immortals.”

Luo Xiao’s expression changed slightly as he turned to the Lieutenant Colonel next to him.

This Lieutenant Colonel’s expression was gloomy, like the dark sky.