Stop it, Taoist, Your Fight almost Ruins the DAO!

Torrential rain cascaded down from the towering clouds, plunging rapidly to the ground and exploding into small and large craters upon the muddy earth.

Yi Chen, wearing a straw raincoat, trudged through the muck towards the county town, cursing inwardly without cessation.

"Damn this weather, been raining non-stop since yesterday, and it's still coming down this morning. Does it know I'm heading out on a long trip, deliberately making things difficult for me?"

"Meow meow meow" (Yeah, right, the rain is so annoying.)

Little Miao perched on Yi Chen's shoulder and responded softly.

Yi Chen lifted his head and glared fiercely at the dark clouds above.

Shit, the rain got even heavier, and a lightning bolt struck a mere ten meters away from him, hitting a big tree nearby, giving him quite a scare.

He shrank his neck and dared not mouth off any longer. Little Miao, too, kept silent, squatting obediently on Yi Chen's shoulder as they resumed their head-down journey.

They continued like this for about an hour when suddenly, a caravan loomed through the distant rain curtain, three covered wagons surrounded by eight knights and about a dozen swordsmen.

The head knight had prominent temples and brawny arms, with a left hand covered in thick calluses, suggesting that he was a formidable fighter.

But that didn't matter much; such fighters were a one-punch affair for Yi Chen, with the corpses perhaps remaining more intact than others, not exploding on impact.

Yi Chen glanced at the caravan plowing through the rain curtain. He didn't spot anyone particularly noteworthy.

He took long strides, covering two to three meters with each step, rapidly making his way forward.

Yet, somehow, things began to subtly change, unclear and intangible.

He was not afraid, but someone in the caravan was extremely so.

There they were, traveling in peace beneath the curtain of rain when, lo and behold, out from behind them in the rain, leaped a man over two meters tall, his muscular form knotted with strength, his pectorals stretching his shirt taut.

He carried a large sword on his back, his expression cold and silent, his stride spanning three meters, both quick and urgent. A large black cat perched on his shoulder, its gaze also cold as it licked its paws.

Frightening? That was an understatement.

At least for Zhang Dekai, who was on rear guard duty, the cold sweat on his forehead flowed down instantly.

He had read countless wuxia novels, and such a scenario had played out in his mind countless times before.

A stormy night, bearing a sword, no umbrella.

A strong man, wearing a straw raincoat, inclement and detached, harbinger of death—a black cat.

The elements were all lined up.

Ah!

A narrative began to form in Zhang Dekai's mind.

He is the strongest assassin in Jianghu, known as the Red Dot of Da Yue.

He is a man cold to the core.

His sword is even colder than himself.

He is devoid of emotion.

After an internal storm, Zhang Dekai suddenly couldn't contain himself any longer, shrieking at the top of his lungs:

"Enemy attack!"

"Enemy attack!"

"Everyone on alert, a strong enemy has come."

"How terrifying."

In an instant, the well-ordered caravan descended into chaos. Some drew their sabers, others unsheathed long swords, some grabbed pouches of lime from inside their robes, others discreetly scattered animal traps on the ground, and one with a furrowed brow took an elegant step back, positioning his comrades in front of him...

The burly knight with a goatee at the front, Zhang Bukai, suddenly swung around.

"Who dares to attack the banner of my Weiyuan Escort Agency? Planting a banner to decapitate, do you take me, Zhang Bukai of Wu Hu's Severing Blades, for a dead man?"

The leading knight bellowed out, then felt a cold, indifferent gaze pierce through the rain curtain towards him. His forehead began to throb like mad.

That was his years of life-or-death experiences screaming a warning at him.

Danger! Danger! Danger!

This man cannot be overcome by force.

Instantly, his fiery temper cooled.

With a stiff expression, he rode forward, "Esteemed hero, I am Zhang Bukai, the deputy leader of Weiyuan Escort Agency in Duanyang County. Our chief escort is the 'Thundering Hand' Wen Tai, who has some influence among the local outlaws."

"Please, in the name of our chief, spare us this day, and we will surely repay you generously in the future."

With that, a heavy pouch of silver flew at Yi Chen's feet.

By then, Zhang Bukai had finally gotten a good look at the man approaching: two meters tall, with bulging muscles, a face like ice, and piercing eyes. Rain water trickled off his straw raincoat onto the ground, and the bizarre black cat seated on his shoulder added to his icy aura.

He thought his own height of over 1.8 meters and his husky build made him quite formidable, but next to the man before him, he felt as underdeveloped as a bean sprout.

If it could be avoided, then avoid it.

Right there and then, Zhang Bukai internally made a decision.

Maybe by giving out some bribery money, they could pass without trouble. If it didn't work, well, he'd consider it a job done for nothing.

Yi Chen: "..."

What had just happened?

Why did the group ahead suddenly erupt into chaos, shouting about some strong enemy approaching? Where was this strong enemy?

Yi Chen himself was slightly bewildered at the moment.

A faint malice spread out from the people in front of him.

"So this is malice? They're all drawing weapons against me. It doesn't seem particularly intense, though; they seem to be afraid."

"Is this malice related to the strength of those who exude it?"

For a moment, Yi Chen was lost in thought.

Little Miao, still perched on his shoulder, kept licking her paw indifferently, this time switching to the right one.

Seeing that Yi Chen offered no reply, Zhang Bukai's forehead beaded with even more sweat.

Damn, was it not enough?

Biting his lip, he stomped his foot and, with a pained expression, fished out another ingot of silver from a hidden pocket and tossed it in front of Yi Chen.

"Hero, there really is none left, not a single ingot."

"I even took out my private savings."

At this point, Yi Chen understood.

As if resurrected from a deathbed, he realized the strong man was himself.

He was about to explain, but at that moment, a young swordsman in the convoy, holding a waist knife in his left hand and a lime bag in his right, seemed to recognize Yi Chen and began shouting loudly:

"Damn, it's a misunderstanding, all a misunderstanding!"

"Second Master, this hero is Yi Taoist from Hidden Dragon Temple in Fengyun County, not some brigand."

"I'm from Fengyun County myself. The Wang family, one of the major households, suffered from an evil spirit, and it was Yi Taoist who resolved it."

"This is a master of Taoist magic; I've seen it myself."

.....

Five minutes later, Yi Chen was sitting in the last carriage at the end of the convoy. Due to the overwhelming hospitality and the increasingly annoying rain, Yi Chen pondered for a moment and did not refuse. He agreed.

By then, he had also figured out the mix-up that had occurred.

The convoy was a mission accepted by the Weiyuan Escort Agency to escort Madame Li back to the provincial town of Duanyang County for a family visit.

However, the problem arose when Zhang Dekai, the leader's nephew on his first escort mission, had no experience and let his imagination lead things astray.

Youth, lacking the gravity of the more experienced.

As the instigator of the mix-up, his preconceived notions nearly doomed the entire convoy. Therefore, his irate colleagues outside began a session of 'loving education' after which they decided he no longer needed to keep watch and should instead feed the horses.

.....

After another hour or so, the convoy suddenly stopped. By this time, the rain was not as heavy as before, becoming as fine as cow hair.

A voice came through.

"Second Master, trouble! Qingshui River has flooded, even the bridge is submerged. We can't cross!"

Yi Chen exited the carriage upon hearing this. The bearded cavalry leader looked at the flooded Qingshui Bridge with despair.

With the Qingshui River being nearly a hundred meters wide without a bridge, how could it be crossed by mere human strength?

"The bridge is submerged, we can't cross now."

"Perhaps, Taoist Priest, you could join us in retreating to an inn nearby to rest for a bit. We could cross together after the water recedes?"

One day and one night of heavy rain combined with flash floods had significantly raised the river level, surpassing the bridge.

However, while the convoy might afford to wait, how could Yi Chen?

He promised Lin Baihu he would arrive today, so he couldn't break that commitment.

Turning his head to glance around, a smile appeared on Yi Chen's face.

"I've got it."

"Zhang Master, I do appreciate your kind offer to transport me this way in a carriage."

"But, Master Zhang, you really need to exercise more; you seem to have no energy."

Yi Chen said encouragingly as he gently patted Master Zhang's shoulder, almost causing Zhang to stagger.

Then, Zhang's pupils shrank suddenly, as if he had seen a ghost.

No, the pupils of everyone in the convoy contracted at the same time.

As if they had collectively seen a ghost.

Their mouths gaped open, as wide as a goose egg, shocked by the scene before them.

Yi Chen flashed to a large tree by the roadside as thick as a sea bowl, cut it into two with a hand chop, making it look as effortless as slicing through sugarcane.

He chose the most eye-pleasing segment, stood by the riverbank, put strength into his feet, gathered fifty percent of his power, and with a mighty kick, the large log shot across the river's surface, throwing up a cascade several feet high.

The log sped away quickly, but Yi Chen was faster. With a powerful push off the ground, he took off after the log, arriving before it, and landed firmly on it.

A single log stirred waves thousands of layers deep.

Today, Yi Taoist crossed the river on a log.

"Gentlemen, I must be on my way. With fate, we shall meet again!"

The thunderous voice suddenly exploded on the spot, echoing long in the heaven and earth.

This scene left the members of the escort agency dumbstruck.

"Damn, what sorcery is this? Are all the masters from Fengyun County like this?"

"Yi Taoist's Divine Power is truly terrifying. Today has truly been an eye-opener."

"Look, Yi Taoist has already crossed the river, but the momentum doesn't diminish. That log has hit shore, and he is still sliding, still sliding~"

.....

The people of the escort agency on the riverbank began to chatter.

Little Miao gripped Yi Chen's collar tightly with its paws, terrified of falling, the strong river wind squinting even its eyes.

Suddenly, it found the experience exhilarating.

It couldn't help but start meowing again.

However, unnoticed by everyone, at the very front of the convoy on the riverbank, the corner of the curtain on one of the carriages had already been lightly lifted by a palace-dressed beauty. With her delicate fingers like freshly cut scallions and her lips as if adorned with cinnabar, she clasped her hands over her red lips, fearful her startled cry might escape.

"My heavens."

"Could there truly be such a strong man in this world?" Continue reading on мѵʟ

Madame Li, who witnessed Yi Chen's log crossing from beginning to end, watched his retreating figure with a slightly dazed look in her eyes.

Not until she could no longer see Yi Chen did she gently let the curtain fall back in place.

She crossed her long, jade-like legs in another position.

Shifted to another position.

And yet another position.

...

Madame Li came from a wealthy family and had been a widow for many years.

.....