Chapter 25: Carrying a Blade on a Rainy Night Without an Umbrella

The capital is vast, home to both grand estates where music and song last until dawn, and muddy, desolate old streets.

Youji Street, located on the north side of the West Market, serves as a livestock market. Whenever it rains, the street becomes a quagmire of filth and stench. Those who walk these paths are mostly low-level peddlers and laborers, and the surrounding dwellings are largely occupied by the impoverished.

It was deep into the night, and the rain began to intensify.

In the depths of a side alley off Youji Street, an oil lamp flickered to life, its dim, yellow glow illuminating the windows of a dilapidated courtyard. A slender figure wearing a bamboo hat placed the lamp on the windowsill and removed the hat, carefully observing the surroundings. The light revealed an unremarkable face, making him look like any ordinary man living in the area.

The man’s name was Guo Yuanlong, though no one in the martial arts world knew his true identity. He was generally known by his underworld moniker—the "Wingless Owl."

As Shang Jianli once said, everyone has a story; the only difference is that some are known to all, while others remain obscure.

If one were to unfold the life of Guo Yuanlong, it would be quite a tale. Born into a wealthy family in Yanzhou, he was fond of gambling from a young age. After squandering the family fortune, he "turned over a new leaf" and began to fend for himself, turning to thievery.

Although he had a terrible run of luck at the gambling table, Guo Yuanlong possessed an innate talent for the "craft" of stealing. By the age of seventeen or eighteen, he had become a notorious repeat offender. Because of his nimble movements, he caught the eye of a "senior" in the underworld and was taken on as an apprentice.

From then on, Guo Yuanlong’s luck turned around. After mastering remarkable lightness skills, he wandered among the major sects of Yanzhou, stealing secret manuals, weapons, and rare treasures, never once failing.

He once risked sneaking into the Jiejun Palace of Yanshan. It wasn't that he truly wanted to challenge the Yanzhou hegemon, Lu Jiejun; he simply wanted to sneak in and steal a couple of useful martial arts manuals.

As it happened, his luck was extraordinary. By sheer coincidence, he stumbled upon Lu Jiejun’s place of seclusion. Lu Jiejun was not home, and without any effort, he secured a volume of the master’s insights on martial arts.

Lu Jiejun’s lightness skills and movement techniques were unrivaled in the world. He was always trying to push his limits, jotting down his inspirations as they came to him. For an ordinary person, these notes would be indecipherable.

Guo Yuanlong considered himself quite gifted, yet even now, he had only managed to grasp thirty to fifty percent of what was recorded. Even so, his lightness skills were already head and shoulders above the rest; he could toy with ordinary martial artists as if they were dogs. Thus, he became famous throughout the underworld as the Yanzhou thief king, the "Wingless Owl."

In the eyes of the martial arts community, stealing Lu Jiejun’s martial arts insights was Guo Yuanlong’s greatest achievement, but in reality, that was not the case.

By the candlelight, Guo Yuanlong took an object from his bosom and unwrapped the black cloth. Inside was a sheet of gold paper.

The paper was not made of gold; its material remained a mystery to Guo Yuanlong. He only knew it was incredibly tough—bendable but impossible to fold—and impervious to water, fire, blades, and spears; it was indestructible by any ordinary means.

The sheet was the size of a book page, engraved with an image of a "dragon-headed, tortoise-bodied creature carrying three high mountains." Under the dim candlelight, the image shimmered with golden light, surreal and dreamlike, as if the patterns were alive.

Guo Yuanlong had discovered this gold paper in a hidden compartment in the Prince of Yan’s study. Initially, seeing its indestructibility, he assumed it was just a rare treasure. However, after the Prince of Yan’s property was stolen, there was not a peep of reaction from the palace.

The Prince’s reaction, combined with the unique nature of the gold paper, led Guo Yuanlong to guess its true identity: a page from the *Dragon’s Call Chart*!

The *Dragon’s Call Chart* was first acquired by a founding monarch in history, hence the ancient saying, "He who gains the *Dragon’s Call Chart* shall gain the world." Throughout the dynasties, the *Dragon’s Call Chart* had been a strictly forbidden item; no one dared to hoard it except the Emperor.

For a vassal king to collect such an item was no different from hoarding "dragon robes and imperial seals." It was no wonder the Prince of Yan handled the theft so discreetly.

After obtaining this gold paper, Guo Yuanlong’s life goals shifted entirely. He no longer cared for the mundane martial arts world; his heart was set only on the three "old monsters" on the mountains and the next step toward "immortality and ascension."

According to underworld legends, the *Dragon’s Call Chart* consisted of nine pages, each recording a supreme secret technique. It is said that the previous dynasty once collected over half, but after the country fell, warlords entered the capital to plunder. The founding emperor of the Great Liang only recovered one, and the rest were scattered into the streets and the underworld.

After much investigation, Guo Yuanlong learned that the one in his hand was the "Dragon-Elephant Chart." It was rumored that mastering it would grant one the divine strength of a dragon and an elephant.

Although the "Dragon-Elephant Chart" was not as famous as the "Longevity Chart" or the "Fire-Bath Chart," its overbearing effect of "using mortal strength to shake immortals and Buddhas" far exceeded any mundane martial arts manual.

However, the *Dragon’s Call Chart* was powerful, and its requirements were equally high. Because it was completely different from ordinary martial arts, Guo Yuanlong had only grasped the surface after years of study, unable to truly enter its inner sanctum.

The *Dragon’s Call Chart* was a secret method for ascension; slow progress was inevitable. Guo Yuanlong did not rush. While researching, he continued to search for the whereabouts of other pages.

Over the years, he had scoured the studies and inner chambers of aristocratic families, even risking a trip to the Sword Pavilion of the Water-Cloud Sword Pool, but unfortunately, he found nothing.

With no other leads, Guo Yuanlong came to the capital, hoping to dig through historical records in the "Censorate Pavilion" for clues, and perhaps find an opportunity to sneak into the Imperial City to look for the "Jade-Bone Qilin Chart," the only one in the world whose location was known to be held by the Great Liang imperial family.

Night was a thief's working hours; they generally didn't sleep.

But today, Guo Yuanlong had heard the unusual rumors about the "Wingless Owl's nimble fingers stealing Ding-Ding," and sensed that something was wrong.

After tailing them all afternoon without figuring out the background of that pair of "male and female thieves," he chose not to go out to work for the sake of safety. He temporarily switched to a new hideout and, amidst the quiet night rain, began to study the "Dragon-Elephant Chart" in earnest.

But he had barely begun to ponder when his ears twitched. From the nearby alleyway, he heard a soft sound:

*Shhh—*

The sound of a mechanism being triggered, the sound of silver needles piercing the air!

***

*Boom—*

A muffled roll of thunder echoed across the towering city under the veil of rain.

Raindrops the size of soybeans hammered against the old tiles, creating a crisp, pitter-patter sound. Ye Jingtang, gripping a single saber, hugged the alley wall and slowly crept toward the dilapidated courtyard in the depths.

Luo Ning walked in front, having removed her veil to avoid any collisions that might alert their prey.

This place was not as deserted as Shuanggui Lane, but it was safer. A butcher who sold dog meat lived in the alley, keeping over a dozen dogs in the yard. Any slight disturbance could trigger barking, which was why even the "bird-birds" had been left at the entrance of the alley.

The two used the sound of the rain to mask their movements, slowly creeping toward their target. Once they reached the vicinity of the dilapidated courtyard, they faintly glimpsed a flickering light in the pitch-black night.

Luo Ning’s gaze was focused; she raised a slender hand, gesturing toward the alley on the side of the courtyard.

Seeing this, Ye Jingtang held his breath and turned into the side of the courtyard to flank the target, ensuring they wouldn't escape.

But even with their extreme caution, they had underestimated the "Wingless Owl's" vigilance.

Even though he was only staying there temporarily, he had meticulously arranged the surroundings of the dilapidated residence, accounting for every possible path an enemy might take.

As Ye Jingtang turned into the side alley, he noticed a wooden stick leaning against the wall. Through the subtle ripples of the falling rain, he sensed the presence of a thin wire—clearly a trap.

Ye Jingtang observed it carefully, minding the wooden pole, and tried to bypass the trap. To his surprise, the moment his foot moved, he heard from below:

*Snap!*

The sound of a cord snapping under tension!

Ye Jingtang had not expected the opponent to set both an obvious and a hidden mechanism. His heart sank, and without hesitation, he leaped outward.

But the Wingless Owl was an old hand in the underworld. Having set the hidden weapons according to the environment, he knew exactly how an intruder would dodge.

The moment the wire snapped, several flying needles shot out from the shadows.

*Swish, swish, swish—*

The target of the hidden weapons was not where Ye Jingtang currently stood, but rather the steps he would take to dodge.

The moment Luo Ning heard the noise, she knew it was a bad turn. Her soft sword slid into her hand, and she pressed against Ye Jingtang’s back. Her sword technique was like the wind, severing the silver needles flying through the rain.

*Ding, ding—*

Ye Jingtang heard the sound of the silver needles piercing the air. His saber was already drawn, and relying on his hearing to locate the threat, he swept his blade twice, successfully knocking down all the incoming projectiles.

However, in his peripheral vision, through the shattering raindrops, he spotted an object already upon him—silent and without a hint of movement.

Ye Jingtang was horrified. It was too late to withdraw his blade; he could only try his best to shift his body and avoid a fatal blow.

Before he could move, a slender arm pressed against his shoulder and yanked him hard to the side, forcing him to narrowly miss the hidden weapon that had been inches away.

Luo Ning’s experience in the underworld was ultimately more seasoned. Her soft sword moved like a peacock spreading its tail, defending her front flawlessly. Upon sensing the silent black needles—which even she hadn't detected—she knew the inexperienced thief, Ye Jingtang, wouldn't be able to defend against them.

Although she had plenty of grievances about Ye Jingtang taking advantage of her, at this life-or-death moment, Luo Ning did not hesitate. She pulled Ye Jingtang away with all her might and used her three-foot sword to sweep away the invisible black needles flying from the shadows.

*Swish—*

*Ding—*

In the haste, a slight sting came from her shoulder.

Luo Ning ignored it, lightly tapping her left shoulder to seal her qi point, and at the same time, she vaulted over the courtyard wall with her sword in hand...