Chapter Sixty-Eight: Complete Annihilation

The sinister smile on the middle-aged man's face gradually faded, his expression growing more solemn by the moment. He had indeed noticed something peculiar about this thatched hut, but had only discerned two points; as for the brand-new pot that had never seen a hint of oil and the exact number of low stools, he realized their significance only after hearing his opponent’s remarks.

"Who are you, really? What business do you have with Wu?" the middle-aged man asked in a low, guarded voice.

"Chief Inspector Wu, you’re heading to Forgetting Sea City this time, aren’t you?" Ye Xin replied. "To investigate the murder of the military garrison lord?"

A sharp breath drew inward as the middle-aged man's eyelids twitched. He responded in a measured tone, "That’s right."

"Could you not go?" Ye Xin’s voice was soft, yet a chilling aura of killing intent, honed through countless battles, radiated outward from him, instantly lowering the temperature inside the hut.

The middle-aged man at the front remained composed, but the robust men surrounding him looked visibly shaken. The murderous intent was so thick and cold it seemed to freeze the very air. Though these men were not formidable, they had served as constables for over a decade and had seen much—such a presence could only be found in those truly terrifying figures of power.

"If I say I won’t go, would you believe me?" the leading man asked slowly.

"That depends on what kind of promise Chief Inspector Wu is willing to make," Ye Xin said with a smile.

"You waited here for us, which means you came prepared," the man said, voice steady. "But I don’t understand—if victory is already in your grasp, why bother breaking our spirit? Heh... Someone as cautious as you is a rare sight in my life, Lord Ye. Either way, none of us are leaving here alive, are we?"

Ye Xin fell silent, then sighed softly. Truly, one should never underestimate anyone. Even a humble chief inspector could be so quick-witted. His earlier coaxing had indeed been meant to undermine the constables’ resolve.

In the next instant, the middle-aged man let out a thunderous roar. "Run! Whoever can escape, must!"

As his shout faded, the distant sound of hoofbeats drifted in. The man’s face changed again. "Take the river! Hurry!"

Without hesitation, he lunged at Ye Xin. As his fist erupted with force, a shimmering image of a giant rhinoceros formed from the light around him, and as his fist swept forward, it seemed to draw the entire rhino into its power.

The rhino’s image shattered, and the force of the man’s punch suddenly swelled dozens of times, thundering toward Ye Xin like a crashing wave.

The robust men dashed out of the hut, making for the slowly flowing river.

"Good," Ye Xin’s eyes flashed with admiration. He rose to his full height and met the attack head-on with a single, unadorned punch.

In truth, Ye Xin had many ways to deflect the attack or counter with precision. If he used the Soul-Sealing Dagger, it would have been the bane of such a heavy blow. But Ye Xin wished to broaden his experience, to witness more unique combat skills—so he chose to meet force with force.

Boom—their fists collided violently. Ye Xin’s body was flung backward like a powerless stalk of straw, crashing through the hut and flying more than ten meters before landing. The middle-aged man only staggered in place.

Judging by brute force alone, Ye Xin had lost utterly. Yet the blow caused him no injury, while the other man’s face turned an ashen gray. He cried out in a trembling voice, "Celestial Wolf Force..."

The Celestial Wolf Technique was a most unusual combat skill, capable of disrupting the flow of yuan energy within an enemy’s body, even rendering them powerless in an instant. Within the Nine Kingdoms, there was nothing else like it.

The middle-aged man felt as though he had plunged into an icy abyss. His opponent’s background was terrifying; he now realized he was entangled in a plot of staggering magnitude.

In those brief moments of bodily paralysis, countless thoughts raced through his mind. He had never taken external cases, only handling matters within Nine Cauldrons City. This case should have fallen to Chief Inspector Zhu, the trusted aide of Lord Grand Commandant.

But then, Lord Grand Commandant’s son had visited the manor, and somehow the case had been reassigned to him. At first, he was delighted—for external cases offered ample opportunities for profit. As the designated lead investigator, he could extort countless benefits from the locals. Only now did he understand: this was a deadly trap.

Could it be that even Lord Grand Commandant was involved in the conspiracy? The thought nearly made him faint from terror. As his inner energy channels recovered, he spun around abruptly, throwing punches at both Mo Yan on one side and Lin Tong on the other. They were feints—his true aim was to escape the hut, for the longer he lingered, the slimmer his chances.

Mo Yan and Lin Tong, both seasoned warriors, saw through the ruse at once. They neither dodged nor raised a hand to stop him, merely watching in silence as the man bolted outside.

The middle-aged man didn’t hesitate. He hurled himself toward the river, leaping into the air, and as he descended, he glanced back. The black-robed figure he’d struck was calmly flexing a wrist and approaching at a measured pace, while the other two warriors strolled leisurely out of the hut—none showed any intention to pursue.

No—this is a trap! Years of experience as a constable told him so instantly. Yet he was already airborne, with nowhere to gain purchase, and could only watch helplessly as he fell toward the water.

Splash! He hit the river and struggled to the surface, twisting his head desperately to look back toward the bank, just in time to see Mo Yan slowly unshoulder a longbow.

Only now did he realize his opponent had an archer. Cunning—deadly cunning. He could almost be certain the hoofbeats earlier had been a deliberate ruse, meant to drive them into the river and turn them into targets for the archer, who would pick them off one by one.

Though the situation was dire, at least he now understood the enemy’s plan. Survival was not impossible. He shouted with all his might, "Swim! Swim for the far bank! If even one of us escapes, we’ve won!"

The constables from Nine Cauldrons City all knew how to swim; they thrashed toward the opposite shore.

Mo Yan drew an arrow, notched it, and, without even aiming, loosed it into the air.

Thwack! The arrow struck a man’s ear, tearing it clean off with such force that the man screamed horribly and immediately lost control, sinking beneath the surface.

"Was that enough?" Mo Yan turned to Lin Tong.

"The current may be slow here, but it’s still moving," Lin Tong replied, shaking his head. "A little blood won’t draw all the River-Tooth Fish. A few more arrows should do it."

Moments later, the man who had been shot bobbed to the surface, swimming desperately faster than before.

Again, the middle-aged man's mind filled with questions. He had assumed the archer must be extremely skilled—yet the shot had only taken an ear? Was it a miss?

His judgment was keen, but his knowledge limited. Had Chief Inspector Zhu been here, he would never have jumped into the river. Years on the road had taught Zhu the dangers of local customs, and the River-Tooth Fish in these waters were infamous—entering the river was as good as a death sentence.

Almost as if to prove the point, Mo Yan loosed arrow after arrow, each one striking a man’s ear. The constant screams of pain drove the constables to the brink of terror.

Suddenly, one man convulsed as if electrocuted, then sank straight down. After a heartbeat, he burst out of the water, nearly breaking free of the surface.

His body was covered in hundreds of thumb-sized silver fish, glinting in the sunlight.

A moment later, he let out a scream of ultimate agony and began to sink. In mere seconds, the fish clinging to his body had turned a faint pink.

What are those? The leader stared, dumbfounded.

"River-Tooth Fish! River-Tooth Fish!" shrieked one of the men.

The moment the name was uttered, chaos erupted among the constables. They scattered, desperately trying to escape the now-reddening waters. But it was too late—the blood had already drawn a swarm of fish, trapping them.

The first man bitten surfaced again; one arm was stripped to the bone, the other mangled, and the water around him was bright red.

The screams grew ever more desperate. The River-Tooth Fish’s jaws were terrifyingly strong—within seconds, the churning surface began to calm.

"I’ll go search below," Lin Tong said, then sprinted a few steps and dove into the water like a fish.

Lin Tong’s unique skill was tempered from the essence of a Golden Armored Giant Crab. On land, his combat strength could not rival Mo Yan, but in the water, not even a hundred Mo Yans could match him, and even the fearsome River-Tooth Fish could not harm him.

After about half an hour, Lin Tong emerged and wiped his face, then reported to Ye Xin, "My lord, they’re all dead—eleven in total. Nothing left but bones, even the viscera have been hollowed out by the River-Tooth Fish."

"I know a few formidable types in the Commandant’s Manor," Mo Yan said slowly, "who can move through water as freely as Lin Tong. But even if they trace things back here and find the constables’ corpses, it won’t matter. I can make sure there’s no wound on their bones, and then I’ll sink the ferry here—the authorities will just assume it was an accident."

"That gives Fu Shang’s side two more months. That should be enough," Ye Xin nodded. "If not, we can do this again."

"My lord, Shadow and I will stay in the area," Lin Tong added. "If anyone from the Commandant's Manor comes investigating, I can vouch for the story."

(Seeking votes from the Three Rivers, seeking recommendations, begging earnestly!)