Chapter 134: The Third Guardian – Wei Wuchi

Master swung the Green Lotus Sword away, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, took a drag, and said to us, "The ones in charge are still upstairs. Let's go, stop standing around."

We nodded in a daze and got back into the elevator. It seemed as though someone had deliberately pressed every single floor button; the elevator stopped at every level. Outside, many members of the assassination organization had gathered, but after clearing them out together, we reached the twenty-fifth floor. This floor was dead silent, as if completely empty. Master carried the Green Lotus Sword, a nearly extinguished cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, looked around, and walked straight to the right. We hurriedly followed. Sister Yu walked beside me, whispering doubtfully, "Does your master have clairvoyance? How did he instantly figure out where people were and where they weren't, and with such accuracy?"

Walking along, I smiled and replied, "My master doesn't have clairvoyance."

Sister Yu frowned at me in confusion again. I continued, "However, Master has the Eye of the Dao."

With that, I quickened my pace to catch up with Master and asked, "Master, didn't you say the assassination organization is very powerful? Why has the journey been so effortless?"

Master glanced at me and said, "The ones we've seen so far are just small fries. The real powerhouses are still ahead."

I nodded, then suddenly came to a halt. We all stopped in our tracks. Master looked ahead at a wall where a man dressed in black, holding a black umbrella, was leaning. The man's hat was pulled down very low, obscuring his face, but it instantly reminded me of a photograph I had seen in Wei Wujiang's file. I immediately shouted, "Wei Wujiang! That's Wei Wujiang!"

As soon as I finished speaking, everyone turned alert, staring at the figure ahead. Master shook his head slightly and said, "He is not Wei Wujiang. If I am not mistaken, this person should be one of the Five Elements Protectors."

"Five Elements Protectors? What are the Five Elements Protectors?" I asked doubtfully.

Master looked at the figure and said, "I'll explain later. As for our friend ahead, why don't you state your affiliation?"

Only then did the figure move, turning to face us. This time, I finally saw his face: a man in his thirties with a toothpick in his mouth, expressionless, his eyes carrying a hint of ruthlessness. He shifted the toothpick to the other side of his mouth, gave a cold smile, and said, "The Five Elements Protectors, Wei Wuchi."

Hearing his name, Master did not show much shock, but Sister Yu and Xiang Fang were both startled. Xiang Fang merely looked surprised, whereas Sister Yu took a step back, appearing somewhat nervous. Master stubbed out the extinguished cigarette from his mouth, fished out another one, left it unlit between his lips, and said, "Wei Wuchi, the Third Protector of the Five Elements. Where is your eldest brother?"

Wei Wuchi looked at Master, offered another gloomy smile, and said, "Want to know the eldest brother's whereabouts? Hmph, hmph, defeat me first."

Master nodded, smiled faintly, and said, "I suppose that's the only way."

With that, Master brandished the Green Lotus Sword and dashed forward in a flash. Not letting his reputation as one of the Five Elements Protectors down, Wei Wuchi reacted swiftly. Before Master arrived, he had already prepared his defense, spinning his body to the side. Master's sword thrust missed. Following that, Master flicked his wrist, reversing the blade of the Green Lotus Sword, and a blooming green lotus emerged, its sharp edge flying toward Wei Wuchi. Wei Wuchi hastily retreated, yet the edge of the green lotus still sliced a piece of fabric off his black upper garment.

Wei Wuchi touched the torn edge of his clothes and remarked, "You've got some skills."

Master remained silent, smiling faintly as a surge of sword qi lunged directly at him. Wei Wuchi flicked his arm, and a black baton dropped into his hand. With a spin of the black baton, he cleaved Master's sword qi into two halves, which smashed into the wall behind him. Seizing the opportunity, Wei Wuchi gripped the black baton and charged forward. Master leaped forward. While in mid-air, I actually saw Master pull a lighter from his pocket and light his cigarette. Wei Wuchi turned his head sharply toward Master. At that exact moment of turning his head, Master vanished before landing on the ground. Sensing danger, Wei Wuchi whipped his head back, only to hear Master's cold chuckle: "To block a few of my moves consecutively makes you a decent opponent. But didn't your assassination organization teach you not to get distracted during battle? That is why you lose."

The next instant, Master abruptly materialized behind Wei Wuchi. He struck down with a palm radiating golden light, slamming it squarely into Wei Wuchi's shoulder. Wei Wuchi lurched forward, spat a mouthful of blood, and collapsed to the ground. Taking a puff from his cigarette, Master held it between his fingers and walked step by step toward Wei Wuchi, saying, "Now, will you talk?"

Lying on the ground, Wei Wuchi heard Master's words and broke into a sinister laugh. Master frowned in astonishment. The next second, Wei Wuchi suddenly crushed a small bead. The bead instantly produced a cloud of thick white smoke, and Wei Wuchi vanished from the spot without a trace. Master rushed into the white smoke, only to find Wei Wuchi gone, and struck the wall with a furious fist, cursing, "Runs pretty fast, damn it."

With that, Master slowly retracted his hand, leaving a fist-sized spiderweb of cracks on the wall. While I was used to it, the others were once again shocked by Master's action. Li Muyang even yelled out, "Holy crap, Senior, doesn't your hand hurt?"

Master paused, looked at his knuckles, and showed not a trace of pain. As the white smoke dispersed, I suddenly spotted a slip of paper lying on the ground. I hurriedly alerted Master and ran over. Prompted by my reminder, Master also saw the note, picked it up, and read the sentence written upon it: "If you have the guts, come to Sanjiao."

Both Master and I read it clearly and frowned simultaneously. Looking at Master in confusion, I asked, "Master, where is Sanjiao?"

Master shook his head, turned to Xiang Fang, and asked, "Do you know where Sanjiao is?"

"Sanjiao?"

Master nodded and tossed the note to Xiang Fang. The note flew through the air like a heavy object and landed directly in Xiang Fang's hand. Catching it and looking it over, Xiang Fang frowned and said, "It's not far from here, a suburb thirty kilometers away. It's still under development and practically deserted."

Master nodded, stubbed out his cigarette, threw it into a trash can, put away the Green Lotus Sword, and said, "Let's go. What's meant to come will come eventually."

We nodded, with Master leading the way at the front. Feeling a bit warm, I rolled up the sleeves of my thin black long-sleeve shirt. As I rolled them up, Sister Yu beside me suddenly froze, stared at my right arm, and said, "Good grief, Lin Xuan, you've got a tattoo even at your age."

I was taken aback as well, looked at my right arm, and replied, "This isn't a tattoo."

"Huh? Then what is it? It looks sort of 3D. How much did it cost to get it inked? I've always wanted to get one, but I'm afraid of pain," Sister Yu continued.

Speechless, I looked at Sister Yu and said, "I told you, it's not a tattoo."

With a slight mental command, the black and white fish flew out and fluttered beside me. Sister Yu's shock deepened. Staring at the black and white fish, she exclaimed, "Holy cow, they're alive! What on earth are these? Black and white fish?"

I smiled bitterly, nodded, and recalled the black and white fish back into my body. Afterward, we boarded the elevator and went straight down to the ground floor. Along the way, Sister Yu kept hovering around me with endless questions—sometimes about Master, sometimes about me. My head was about to burst from her chatter, but I could only endure it silently, tossing back perfunctory replies. After all, she was a woman, and I had to save face for her. If Li Muyang had acted like that, I would have kicked him flying without a second thought.

We got into a car. With the driver included, it was technically overloaded, and the driver adamantly refused to take us. In the end, it was only after Master handed him an extra hundred yuan that he agreed to start the car. Compared to money, investigating the case and ferreting out Wei Wujiang was far more important at the moment, so we didn't quibble over the fare. The car sped down the road. The driver felt somewhat happy for having made an extra hundred yuan, yet deeply anxious as well, knowing that getting caught for overloading would mean paying hefty fines out of his own pocket.

Soon, we arrived at the suburban area thirty kilometers away. Only then did the driver let out a sigh of relief, started the car, and sped off. We stood outside in the suburb littered with withered grass and fallen leaves. Just as Xiang Fang had described, the area was still under development and completely deserted. Walking forward for over ten minutes, we finally spotted someone standing ahead—dressed in the exact same black attire, holding a black umbrella, with eyes locked firmly onto us.