A Pawn's Passage

The real world was not child’s play. Those who could travel alone were not ordinary people either.

Qi Xuansu was not a kind person. He had always adhered to a simple concept—kill rather than be killed. It was only reasonable that he retaliated against someone who wanted to kill him.

Therefore, he would never sit back and wait for death.

When the cavalry was approaching, Qi Xuansu spread his arms out to the sides. “Go ahead and search my body.”

Seeing Qi Xuansu’s attitude, the Black Robes let down their guard. In their impression, most of the secret society members were desperadoes who would go all out and would not surrender. Coupled with the approaching cavalry, these Black Robes felt that they had the upper hand in the situation. So what if Qi Xuansu had a higher cultivation level than them?

Qi Xuansu could kill them all, but he would have to go into hiding for the rest of his life. Eventually, he would have to surrender to the Xizhou Protectorate and the Imperial Court.

Chen Meng slowly stepped forward and stood face-to-face with Qi Xuansu. Behind him was a group of Black Robes lying injured on the ground.

Qi Xuansu asked, “Aren’t you going to search me?”

Chen Meng sneered, “These are my comrades, but you’ve injured them so severely that some will have to retire from the army.”

“That’s because they wanted to kill me first. If I was shot, what would’ve happened to me? I’m not a Heavenly Being, so I can’t just wave my sleeves to block those bullets. Of course, if I were a Heavenly Being, I wouldn’t be standing here, talking crap with you.” Qi Xuansu continued, “Or, do you think their lives are more precious than mine?”

Chen Meng laughed in response. To him, Qi Xuansu was a stranger, suspected of being a secret society member. Those Black Robes were his brothers and friends, whom he lived with day in and day out. Of course, there was no comparison to speak of.

Qi Xuansu had the same thoughts. He viewed these Black Robes as his enemies because they attacked him without warning or explanation. Thus, he did not care about these soldiers’ backstories or whether they had families to get back to. They were impolite to him first, so he would not be polite either.

If Qi Xuansu was a Heavenly Being, he might have been more understanding because these soldiers would not be able to hurt him. However, at his level of cultivation, these people did hurt him and could even kill him.

Qi Xuansu was not the Holy Xuan eager to make the world a better place. He was just a lone traveler, putting himself first.

If someone wanted to kill him, he would retaliate. It was that simple.

This matter had nothing to do with being morally right or wrong. Chen Meng had his own standpoint, and so did Qi Xuansu. This was just a matter of life and death.

At this moment, the cavalry were less than 300 meters away. Seeing that Qi Xuansu was not resisting, the cavalry began to slow down.

Chen Meng punched Qi Xuansu hard on the abdomen. “This punch is for Wang Mutou.”

Qi Xuansu remained motionless.

The cavalry slowly approached. The sound of horses galloping became louder, but it was not as intense as when they were charging forward.

Chen Meng punched Qi Xuansu in the abdomen again. “This punch is for Sun Shuisheng.”

Qi Xuansu stood in place and only narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, the cavalry formed a circle around them and came to a stop.

Chen Meng grabbed Qi Xuansu’s shoulders with both hands and kneed the latter’s abdomen. “This is for Xiao Gao.”

Qi Xuansu watched the cavalry from the corner of his eye, but he still did not resist.

Chen Meng was unrelenting. “This is for Lao Shi. This is for Er Zhong.”

He had no intention of stopping, repeatedly striking Qi Xuansu with his fists and knees. Every punch and kick showed no mercy.

Qi Xuansu did not use his qi shield to resist. Instead, he relied on his strong physique and clenched his muscles.

When Chen Meng finally stopped to catch his breath, Qi Xuansu reached out to press on his own abdomen. If Qi Xuansu did not have the healing capabilities comparable to those of a Martial Arts Practitioner, he would have died. Even with his strengthened physique, he could still feel the pain from the repeated strikes.

Qi Xuansu took a deep breath and said, “Can I leave now?”

Chen Meng narrowed his eyes, keeping mum.

Qi Xuansu sneered. “Without trust, we cannot stand. You shouldn’t go back on your word.”

Chen Meng held the hilt of his saber while the cavalry watched solemnly like a group of spectators.

Qi Xuansu said, “I respect the black armor you are wearing, and I understand your desire to avenge your brothers. But that isn’t a reason to kill me. You were the ones who attacked me indiscriminately, with each gunshot aimed at my vitals. That’s why I had to fight back to protect myself. As a result, you all were inferior to me and got injured. But now you’re trying to blame it all on me. Don’t you think you’re being unreasonable toward me, a common civilian?”

Chen Meng slowly pulled out his saber. “The Imperial Court and our military orders are always reasonable.”

Qi Xuansu scoffed. “I told you before that it’ll be easier for everyone if you just let me go.”

“But I told you that you won’t end well fighting against the Black Robes and the Imperial Court,” Chen Meng said coldly.

Qi Xuansu nodded. “You’re right. I won’t end well fighting against the Imperial Court and the Daoist Order. But what does this have to do with you? If you die, what will happen to your wife and children? You ought to think about your family.”

Chen Meng’s expression suddenly changed, but it was already too late.

Qi Xuansu abruptly leaped forward, closing the distance between them so quickly that Chen Meng had no way of avoiding him.

He grappled Chen Meng’s body with all four limbs, and suddenly exerted some force, like a python strangling its prey. What followed was a horrifyingly audible sound of bones cracking.

Chen Meng, who was almost in the Kunlun stage of cultivation, had no chance to fight back. His limbs and chest were crushed to pieces, his eyes wide open and almost popping out of their sockets.

During the crash of the flying ship, Qi Xuansu used this move to strangle the undying old Daoist priest.

The Black Robes around them never expected this sudden move. As soon as they came to their senses, they aimed their guns at Qi Xuansu.

However, Qi Xuansu had anticipated their reaction, so he rolled over and used Chen Meng’s body as a shield.

He had given Chen Meng a chance to live, but that soldier did not cherish it. So that man had no one but himself to blame for his own death.

The Black Robes’ projectiles landed on Chen Meng’s body. With the body as a barrier, the projectile’s strength was reduced to that of a crossbow bolt, which could not do any damage to Qi Xuansu.

Qi Xuansu waited until the wave of gunshots stopped before shoving Chen Meng’s body and picking up his Divine Dragon Pistol. He then jumped up and charged at the cavalry leader.

When Chen Meng was punching Qi Xuansu, the latter was observing the cavalry around him. One of the reasons Qi Xuansu put down his gun was that he did not want the cavalry to charge at him. Without sufficient distance for an accelerated charge, the power of the cavalry was quite limited.

The brigade leader of the cavalry stared down at Qi Xuansu. Instead of retreating, the brigade leader pulled on the horse’s reins and clamped the horse’s belly with his legs while drawing his sword to meet Qi Xuansu.

The infantry and the cavalry of the Black Robes cooperated well. Seeing the brigade leader drawing his sword, the others followed suit and surrounded Qi Xuansu.

This was an era where firearms were on the rise, but cold weapons still reigned supreme.

Although the usage of firearms could sway the course of battles, cavalrymen were still important, as the Great Xuan Dynasty placed significant importance on cavalry politics.

There were five major regions in the world known for horse production—the northwest, including parts of the Western Region, Qinzhou, and Liangzhou; Saibei, the vast grasslands under the control of the Golden Horde; the southwest, mainly Shuzhou and Yunzhou; ​​​the Central Plains, mainly Jinzhou; and lastly Liaodong, mainly Fengzhou and Liaozhou.

The Great Xuan Dynasty established horse-related administration offices in the five areas, called Yuanma Temples. Their duties were to manage the stables and all horse-related affairs, similar to the Taipu Temple in the Imperial City.

Each Yuanma Temple had one minister and one deputy minister, overseeing 24 breeding grounds, which were divided into three grades. The first, second, and third grades bred approximately 10,000 horses, 7,000 horses, and 4,000 horses, respectively. The Yuanma Temple supervised the care and breeding of horses and reported to the Ministry of War.

The horses from the Northwest Yuanma Temple were tall and big. Even without armor, each horse weighed more than one tonne. Including the weight of the soldier and armor, it amounted to more than 1.5 tonnes. Such heavyweight cavalry charging in formation made for a formidable sight.

What happened next stunned everyone.

Qi Xuansu stood motionless as the brigade leader’s horse charged at him, stopping the horse with his shoulder. He exerted strength from his whole body and grabbed the tall horse by its legs, the veins on his arms bulging. Qi Xuansu exuded all of his qi as he abruptly twisted his body to flip the large horse, throwing the brigade leader to the ground.

This was the power of a Martial Arts Practitioner in the Five Immortals Lineage. Although Qi Xuansu was not a pure Martial Arts Practitioner, his innate qi as a Rogue Cultivator gave him a boost of power.

The brigade leader was pinned under the horse, unable to get up. Qi Xuansu stepped forward before the other soldiers came to their senses and grabbed the brigade leader by the throat.

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