Chapter 3: Rain Street_1

But as he paused to look at the pair, they also noticed he had regained consciousness.

Pei Ye furrowed his brows and started saying: "The two of you—"

He abruptly gasped and ducked, without any prior warning, a sharp sense of danger approached his lower back. His muscle instinctively spasmed and contracted, followed by the piercing pain of a sharp object entering his body. But before the gleaming dagger could thrust deeper, Pei Ye tightly seized the other party's wrist.

The attacker immediately attempted a knee strike, but Pei Ye's strike to his gut was faster and harsher. His left hand still held his attacker's knife hand, while his right fist landed a punch on the attacker's face. The attacker toppled over, splashing water up to his waist.

Almost at the same time, another dagger lunged towards him, a half-beat slower. Pei Ye tried his best to dodge, resulting in the dagger grazing past his abdomen and leaving a bleeding wound. Stumbling from losing his balance, Pei Ye couldn't avoid a follow-up kick, leaving him sprawled on the ground.

Pei Ye was actually accustomed to fighting, for one had to have competent fists to avoid being bullied on the streets. Yet apart from killing a famished wolf at the age of twelve, he had never encountered such danger.

The two men facing him now were ruthless and decisive in their attacks, clearly hardened criminals used to fighting to the death. This was the first time Pei Ye faced life-threatening foes, and he found himself at a disadvantage, being ambushed by their combined attack.

"There will always be more surprises." The raspy lessons of his old martial arts teacher rang in his ears, "The world of martial arts is not a fighting arena, your enemies won't wait for you to get ready. When danger approaches, you often don't even have the chance to draw your sword."

If he had a sword in hand that wouldn't draw, even if he used it like an iron rod, Pei Ye would have been grateful.

After falling to the ground, Pei Ye immediately rolled away without a second thought. The next moment, another dagger stabbed the ground where he had been. Before Pei Ye's body was straight, his hand seized the dagger-wielding hand. The attacker bent over, unable to straighten up in time. Pei Ye delivered a kick that threw him off balance, followed by a leap and a side flip to pin his attacker on the ground.

With a roar, Pei Ye exerted strength into both arms, forcing the dagger back into his attacker's neck. The attacker's eyes bulged and his arms strained against Pei Ye's force, but blood was already gushing from his throat.

The sound of a swishing wind from behind showed another rapid strike on its way. Again, Pei Ye rolled awkwardly to evade it. As he straightened his body and looked up, his enemy was already upon him, his face a fusion of ferocity and wickedness, smeared with a mix of nose bleeding and tears.

Another knife tried to pierce him. This time, Pei Ye was finally able to employ the martial arts techniques he had practiced. He dodged sideways, trapping his enemy's arm under his armpit. After two knee strikes, the attacker doubled over in pain. At this point, Pei Ye released his armpit hold and seized the enemy's wrist joint, twisting off the dagger. His other hand gripped the enemy's neck, pushing him forward for a couple of steps, before he slammed the enemy against the wall.

He raised his hand, aiming at the head, and landed a punch! Two punches! Three punches!

The body in his hands wilted powerlessly.

Gasping for breath, Pei Ye was awash with a sense of exhaustion; his heart was pounding like a drum while his arms and thighs simultaneously experienced a sense of fatigue after tension.

Pei Ye assessed his injuries; most were minor scrapes and bruises. Only the two knife wounds on his abdomen and lower back were striking. They weren't severe, but due to his exertions after getting injured, they had worsened a bit. Blood was still oozing out, staining his clothes wet, and the sight was somewhat alarming.

Both wounds were difficult to bandage. Pei Ye did what he could and, leveraging the dim light, surveyed his surroundings. He was just outside the city gate, by the city walls.

He looked at the two corpses on the ground, dumbfounded as to their origins. Pei Ye steadied his breath and went to pick up the candle that was still burning steadily in the rainwater.

However, as he bent to reach for it, what he saw made him freeze in his spot.

The flame was reflected in the pooled water, creating a blue mirror. Despite the rain distorting it, Pei Ye's image was visible.

—A bare-chested teenager, looking pale, with a blue symbol on his forehead, as if burning.

The symbol started from a central point, extending upward to form two "Y" shapes. From the top of each "Y," new branches sprawled out, growing into a complex pattern resembling a jagged, abstract flame.

No additional strokes were essential, as the symbol was exactly a replica of the crude one on Old Xiang's forehead!

Pei Ye slowly reached up to touch his forehead, but it was as smooth as before, with no apparent change.

Pei Ye stood frozen for a moment. However, he did not see the so-called "immortals," confirming that this was not the correct location for the "enlightenment".

Thinking back to his attackers, they seemingly had no qualms about injuring him severely but notably refrained from striking lethal areas like his neck or heart.

Where did they plan to take him? What awaited him at the end?

The wind whipped the heavy rain against his body, causing his old injuries to act up. If his injuries flared up when the enemy attacked again, he would be as helpless as a fish on a chopping block.

He should immediately report this to county government.

However, after taking two steps, Pei Ye stopped again. On a rainy night like this, Lord Chang Zhiyuan was the only one living in the government office. Lord Chang was merely an ordinary man in his sixties; he needed to inform the other lords before taking action.

For a remote, small county with less than forty thousand people like Fenghuai, there was a pitiful lack of available force. For incidents related to malignant spirits and monsters, the only ones capable of handling the situation were likely to be county magistrate Lin Lin and the constant inspector from the Immortal Platform, Shen Yanping. Whether it was to report a crime or seek protection, it was better to go to these two lords directly.

At that moment, the heavicopters bestowed a thick bolt of lightning, lighting up the surroundings as if it was daytime.

Even though it was just for a fleeting moment, Pei Ye managed to recognize his surroundings. He was at the north gate of the city; Lord Shen lived in the east part of the city and Sir Lin's residence was in the western suburbs outside the city.

The distances to both of their residences were about the same. Pei Ye wiped the rain off his face and headed to Sir Lin's residence in the west.

He made the decision based on the degree of closeness in their relationships.

Lin Lin was over fifty years old, a decent man who although cold on the outside, was warm at heart. He had been the county magistrate for thirteen years, a year longer than Chang Zhiyuan.

In a peaceful small county like Fenghuai, the position of county magistrate was fairly laid back. Lin Lin often enjoyed going to the martial arts hall to instruct the young boys, and Pei Ye had learnt the basics of his martial arts techniques from this stern yet gentle older man.

"Store energy like a coiled snake, release it like a ferocious tiger", "Use seven parts for attack, leave three parts for defence", these simple mottos accompanied Pei Ye throughout his martial arts training before he had picked up a sword.

After Pei Ye's Dantian was damaged, it was Lin Lin who spent his True Qi to nourish Pei Ye's heart meridians for two consecutive months, keeping the injuries within a bearable extent.

Having no kinship ties, he owed him a deep debt of gratitude. This was an elder person whom Pei Ye had deep respect for in his heart.

Having such a connection made things a lot easier; going to Lord Shen would not afford him such convenience.

Bracing against the heavy rain and wading through the water that reached the top of his feet, Pei Ye went towards the west city gate. By the time he saw the familiar house, the deepest part of the night had passed, the rain had lessened, and there was a faint light breaking through in the sky.