L'âme s'en va dans la nuit noire

Chapitre 3

Helian Wu's counterattack came extremely quickly. Tie hope thought this attack would surely leave the boy with a bloody head, but to his surprise, Helian Wu was able to turn in mid-air and launch a counterattack. The three cold stars came too suddenly, and he could not dodge them. He raised his hand to shield his eyes.

With a "whoosh," the three cold stars simultaneously burrowed into Tie hope's arm; they were three small short swords.

These short swords were only as thick as a finger and roughly the same length. Helian Wu was overjoyed to see his counterattack succeed and shouted, "Surrender!" He had spent over ten years honing his skills with these three short swords, knowing that a single blow to the enemy would cripple his arm. His first strike had been successful, and his pride was beyond words.

No sooner had he uttered a cry than Tie hope suddenly raised his head and pulled the three short swords from his arm with his left hand. These three swords were deeply embedded in his flesh, but he pulled them out as if they were three thin thorns, as if nothing had happened. His eyes, however, turned from blue to red, filled with a chilling light. Helian Wu met his gaze and felt a chill run down his spine, thinking, "How can he be alright?"

Tie hope pulled out three short swords, suddenly crouched down, slapped the ground with his right hand, and leaped into the air, reaching a height of over ten feet. The second floor was originally only about ten feet high, but Tie Xi's leap allowed him to jump even higher than Helian Wu, though the distance was still about ten feet. Helian Wu felt relieved, but then Tie Xi suddenly turned in mid-air and charged straight at Helian Wu, who was clinging to the railing, grabbing at his forehead with one hand.

Tie hope's hands were still stained with blood, and his fingernails were extremely long and sharp as knives. He was extending his right arm, the one that had just been stabbed, but there wasn't a single scratch on it.

Helian Wu hadn't expected Tie hope to be able to come across horizontally in mid-air, and he recoiled in fright. Though small in stature and extremely agile, he still couldn't completely dodge Tie Xi's grabbing arm. Tie Xi's fingers grazed his ear, leaving two scratches on his earlobe, from which blood immediately flowed. Although the injury was minor, the pain was like a sharp needle made of lightning, piercing straight to his heart. Helian Wu cried out in pain, already lying flat on the floor. In his heart, he lamented, "An eighty-year-old mother, yet she's dragging her child down! This is terrible!" These were words Helian Chifenruo had told him; in this moment of crisis, he even had time to think of such things.

Tie Xi's body seemed to be suspended in mid-air. His first grab missed Helian Wu, yet he didn't fall. He reached for Helian Wu again in mid-air. Helian Wu lay on the ground, unable to move, only feeling a gust of wind carrying the stench of blood. Tie Xi's fingers were like iron hooks; this grab would surely rip open his abdomen, spilling his intestines. But it was too late; there was no way to save him.

He closed his eyes, but felt a sudden tightening on his shoulders, and his body was abruptly pulled back. He heard someone shout something, and two dark figures rushed out from either side of him. The voice was strange, unlike any Central Plains accent, and the two men were most likely of mixed Chinese descent. Then, a "thud" sounded between his legs, as Tie hope's grabbing struck empty air, his fingers sinking into the floorboards.

Having narrowly escaped death, Helian Wu silently chanted, "Amitabha, Namo Amitabha, I will never dare to be so careless again." He was so frightened that he forgot to open his eyes, only hearing a continuous clanging sound, like metal striking metal. He wondered, "Does that thief still have weapons?"

He opened his eyes, only to be taken aback. Tie Xi was still in mid-air, yet seemed to be firmly planted on the ground, completely still, with two dark figures circling him. Both wielded swords; one's sword was extremely broad, while the other's was as thin as a steel needle. The two continued to circle Tie Xi, their swords constantly striking him, but Tie hope, unarmed, blocked with his bare hands. The clash of swords produced the sound of metal clashing against metal.

Helian Wu was dumbfounded, thinking to himself, "This thief is incredibly skilled! What kind of lightness skill is this? How can he levitate in the air? But if his lightness skill is so high, he also knows the Iron Shirt and Golden Bell Cover techniques!"

Although Helian Wu had never practiced the Iron Shirt or the Thirteen Bodyguards' external martial arts, he knew these were the pinnacle of external martial arts, but they were incompatible with lightness skills; anyone who practiced this style would inevitably have poor lightness skills. However, this thief possessed both, and both were incredibly skillful. He was awestruck and amazed. Most astonishingly, the two men surrounding the thief also possessed such superb lightness skills. He was secretly disappointed, thinking, "The martial arts of the Semu people are actually so strong!"

He had practiced martial arts diligently since childhood and had great confidence in the Helian Divine Sword of Ailao Mountain, believing that among all the martial arts schools in the world, the Helian Divine Sword was the best. But seeing the martial arts of these three people, not to mention anything else, just their lightness skill alone was something he could never achieve in eight lifetimes, and his pride vanished instantly.

At that moment, the dark figure wielding the heavy sword suddenly let out a scream and fell straight to the ground with a "thud." He felt a chill run down his spine, knowing that even with the strength of the two men, they were no match for the thief. Just as he was panicking, someone behind him suddenly shouted, and a beam of white light shot out.

This person was none other than the one who had just saved his life. But what surprised Helian Wu even more was that this person was actually a young girl! He turned his head and saw that behind him was indeed a blonde, blue-eyed young woman. She was wearing a black cloak with a hood pulled down to her eyebrows, but a strand of blonde hair peeked out from behind her ear. The girl had a solemn expression, and she waved one hand forward, the other hand, hidden under the black cloak, was as white as jade.

Back in the Ailao Mountains, his master often told Helian Wu that a swordsman must not let his mind wander; only then could he achieve mastery of swordsmanship. Helian Wu knew this was a profound truth, but as he grew older, his heart began to stir with romantic feelings. Sometimes, when he accompanied his master to the small town at the foot of the mountain to buy things, he found the young girls there inexplicably charming and captivating. Sometimes he thought that if he could spend his life with a beloved woman, even if he didn't achieve mastery of swordsmanship, it wouldn't matter. But he also knew that if his master knew these thoughts, he would be severely reprimanded, so he suppressed them for his own sake. Now, seeing this girl, although her appearance was vastly different from any other girl he had ever seen, she was equally indescribably beautiful and captivating, and he was momentarily mesmerized.

Tie hope snapped the thin rope binding the man wielding the heavy sword, knowing that only one remained and he would be easier to deal with. Just as he was about to deliver the fatal blow, a white light suddenly shot towards him. His body was as hard as iron, completely impervious to ordinary weapons, and he reached out and grabbed it. But the moment the white light touched his hand, he felt as if a sharp needle had pierced his palm, causing excruciating pain.

It's holy water!

The thought sent a sudden, sharp pain through his abdomen, realizing he had been exposed to the holy water. He could no longer remain suspended in the air; his body sank, and he plummeted to the ground. The moment he landed, another sharp pain shot through his abdomen. Looking down, he saw the swordsman wielding the heavy sword had plunged it into his lower abdomen. His body was as hard as iron, impervious to blades and spears, but after being exposed to the holy water, he was defenseless. The heavy sword pierced his abdomen, the tip protruding from his back. This long-forgotten pain almost made him scream.

Tie hope knew he had fallen into his opponent's trap; the swordsman had deliberately made him cut the thin rope binding him and fall. Fortunately, the sword hadn't pierced his heart, or he would have been finished. He grunted, bent his left leg, and pressed it down on the swordsman's chest. With a "crack," the man's chest caved in, his ribs shattered, and he was already dead.

Just as he killed the man, the swordsman wielding the rapier in the air raised his hand, and a bottle of holy water poured down on him. The two worked together flawlessly; this time, Texi had no chance of escape. The swordsman was overjoyed, but then he saw the holy water fall, and Texi seemed to melt away, leaving only his clothes sprawled on the ground. Just as he was wondering what was happening, he heard the young lady cry out, "Soldino, watch out!" Before he could understand what he was supposed to be careful of, he felt a sharp pain in his neck; someone had bitten him.

In the nick of time, Tie hope suddenly shrank his body and burrowed into the body of the heavy swordsman, spilling holy water onto his clothes. Although a few drops stained his back, it was harmless. He dodged the spilled holy water and swiftly emerged from the corpse, following the shadows of the wall to the roof. The swordsman, looking down, was completely unprepared and was struck down. Now, lying on the swordsman's corpse, having absorbed his blood, he felt his strength returning somewhat, a smile appearing on his lips as he looked at the girl.

Serena de' Medici, you have failed!

He opened his mouth, a smile already playing on his lips, but as he was about to speak, three cold stars suddenly shot before his eyes, and he heard the young man shout, "Chih!"

Three short swords pierced his mouth with lightning speed.