“Lord Feng, where…where are you heading to? The city’s exit is further down this road…” It was a meek Sun Jian that cried out for Qin Shoufeng. “Didn’t we say before that we’d go drinking after the auction? You…”
He suddenly paused when Qin Shoufeng turned his head to give him a brief look before turning back.
What kind of look was it?
Sun Jian knew what kind of look it was. He also believed that if he said even just one word more, Qin Shoufeng would’ve killed him where he stood…
Qin Shoufeng had given him a look filled with complete and utter murderous wrath!!
He looked like a man who had given up on his rational senses in favor for the more primal ones. A man who was completely doped up on his furious irrationality to guide his actions.
“Brother…brother Zhang…I feel like there’s something wrong with lord Feng…what do you think we should do…”
Next to Zhang Qian was a young and skinny-looking youth who was as nervous as he was intimidated by the sight of Qin Shoufeng.
Zhang Qian was the oldest of the entire group and also the most sensible. But even he was looking hesitant. Anyone could see that Qin Shoufeng was acting quite strange.
Qin Shoufeng hadn’t said a single word ever since they left the auction house. Everyone thought at first that Qin Shoufeng was only feeling moody after seeing Bai Yunfei and Tang Xinyun there at the auction. It was understandable at least in that regard. They also thought that Qin Shoufeng was heading for that place to go vent his frustrations.
The more they walked the more unsightly Qin Shoufeng’s face became. The group had tried to cheer him up with jokes but stopped after seeing how ineffective they were.
Then they realized the place Qin Shoufeng was walking for wasn’t the drinking place they agreed to go to at all.
There was a point in time where Qin Shoufeng stopped in a small alleyway as if waiting for something. No one understood what he was doing, and no one could even ask him why since he wasn’t responding. It was so strange that two of his groupees took the opportunity to go back home…
And that led the group to right now with them ready to leave Swallow City. But that also lead to people finally admitting that whatever Qin Shoufeng was up to, they didn’t want to stick with him and get into trouble.
Zhang Qian had furrowed eyebrows at the development of everything so far. He was more attentive than everyone else in the group. He could already tell that Qin Shoufeng was trailing after someone but he himself couldn’t sense who it was even after using his soulforce to discreetly look ahead. That was strange in of itself since he and Qin Shoufeng should’ve had the same level of sensory capabilities. But nonetheless, Zhang Qian had a good guess on just who Qin Shoufeng was tailing. After all that happened as of late, who else could it be?
“He can’t be so lovesick in the head that he’s going to look for that Bai Yunfei, could he? If that’s the case, then…I can’t just let him go to his death!”
He beckoned for the pudgy fellow nearby to listen to what he was going to say. “Go and find lord Hao, Qin Lei. Tell him where lord Feng is! I’ll follow him for now and make sure he doesn’t do anything reckless.”
“Yes, brother Zhang! I’ll go at once!”
He took off towards the auction at full speed.
Neither Zhang Qian or Qi Lei were being quiet with their conversation so Qin Shoufeng should’ve heard it, but the person didn’t seem to look like he had. He was still walking one step at a time towards the southern gates.
The gnawing feeling in Zhang Qian’s heart intensified. Something about this situation was not sitting well with him at all. “I have to follow him! I can’t let lord Feng do anything stupid!” He bit his lips in hesitation.
Qin Shoufeng’s footsteps quickened shortly after they stepped out from the southern gates. He was practically running now, and his body was emitting a foreboding aura…
His entourage followed for about ten kilometers and passed a hill before they came to a short stop next to a wide open plain.
Qin Shoufeng’s aura was a bonfire by this point like a man fully excited to go into battle!
Aghast by his aura, everyone turned to look ahead several meters.
Several meters ahead walked a graceful figure over the official roads…
“That’s…don’t tell me that woman is…Tang Xinyun?!”
Zhang Qian’s shock saw to him crying out the name in surprise.
“What?! Tang Xinyun?!” The group cried out as a collective. “Lord Feng was chasing after her?! And if she’s by herself, where’s…where’s Bai Yunfei then?!” Sun Jian cried.
“Lord Feng!! Stop! What are you doing?!”
Panic flooded Zhang Qian’s heart when he glanced over to Qin Shoufeng. Like an arrow, he darted out to block Qin Shoufeng from moving ahead.
“Scram!!”
But he hadn’t even bypassed Qin Shoufeng when the man suddenly whirled around to glare at him with bloodshot eyes. There was a brilliant flash of red light as his arm came up before a sword appeared to cut down Zhang Qian!
No one in his group expected Qin Shoufeng to react so suddenly and so violently towards Zhang Qian like that. But Zhang Qian wasn’t too shocked to get out of the way. His body flashed with green as he shifted his weight to slink off towards the right side.
“Swish!!”
He hadn’t been fast enough to avoid injury. The sword left a gash onto Zhang Qian’s left arm deep enough to see his bones. His arm would’ve been severed had he been even a beat slower.
“Qin Shoufeng!! Have you gone crazy?!”
Zhang Qian’s face was flushed with angered disbelief. The fact that he was crying Qin Shoufeng’s name rather than ‘lord Feng’ was proof of that anger.
Everyone else could only watch in stunned disbelief from where they were.
But Qin Shoufeng said nothing. He didn’t even spare them a look to turn and make a mad dash for Tang Xinyun.
“He’s…he’s gone crazy!! Is lord Feng really that lovesick?! He doesn’t even look like he’s all there in the head anymore!!”
Someone in the group cried out as soon as they realized Qin Shoufeng had run off.
“Brother Zhang, are you alright? What…what should we do?”
Frightened so badly that his body was shaking, Sun Jian held onto Zhang Qian’s arm to heal the wound on it.
Resentment flitted across Zhang Qian’s eyes. He glared at the retreating back of Qin Shoufeng. “His sword…cut not just my arm, but any ties the two of us had! Whatever he does, I won’t be a part of it!”
And with that, he turned around to fly back to Swallow City!
Zhang Qian was truly angered at the fact that Qin Shoufeng had injured him so grievously without due reason, but he also wasn’t stupid. With how things were unfolding…there was no good end for him if he stayed here!
It didn’t matter if Qin Shoufeng had gone crazy or not. But to walk the same path as he was to walk the path to a dead end! Zhang Qian didn’t know why it seemed like Tang Xinyun was by herself, but Zhang Qian was still sure a terrible death would follow if Qin Shoufeng took action!
Should he stay here, Zhang Qian would be considered ‘guilty by association’ and hunted down! Renouncing Qin Shoufeng’s actions was the most rational thing to do, and his arm being sliced was a very convenient excuse for him to do so.
“Brother Zhang…! Brother Zhang!!”
With Zhang Qian’s departure, Sun Jian and the others stood there and stared nervously at one another. No one knew what to do.
“What…what should we do?” Someone cried out nervously.
“I…I just remembered I have some family matters to take care, I’ll be going first!”
Someone turned tail to flee back to the city.
“Same here!”
A second followed suit.
“Wait for me!”
The third and fourth followed afterward…
Only Sun Jian was left standing there by himself by the end of things. He blinked as he watched his group flee towards the city before looking back to Qin Shoufeng. Fearful, he muttered, “It’s too dangerous here, I…should go back to Xi city…”
He took off onto a path that divulged towards the left—this wasn’t Swallow City he was running for, but back to his own city.
……
A little before that commotion was taking place, Tang Xinyun was humming happily to herself as she walked. She seemed quite content about something.
But then she felt a disturbance in the air and turned around to look.
What she saw surprised her.
“Qin Shoufeng?! What’s he doing here?”
She came to a sudden stop to watch as Qin Shoufeng approached. Her eyes narrowed when he got closer—that was some murderous aura Qin Shoufeng was having, and…that was a sword in his hand!
She became vigilant at once. Her soulforce swirled around his person as she prepared for battle, but she still had a diplomatic look on her face to speak, “Lord Qin…what do you mean by thi—”
“You…slut! Go die!!”
But Qin Shoufeng interrupted her before she could finish her sentence.
Without a pause in stride, Qin Shoufeng leaped quickly through the air to bring the shining-red sword in his hand down onto Tang Xinyun!