Bamboo Chest Chapter 64: Without Further Ado

That night, a faint candlelight illuminated a woman’s pale face. Lei Xi sat on a wooden chair inside the room, gazing from afar at her brothers in the courtyard.

"Eldest brother, what should we do now?"

Lei Qian was the first to break the silence.

Lei Bo first glanced at Lei Zhong, and on Lei Zhong’s face, he saw an undisguised, surging fury.

"What else can we do?"

The eldest young master of the Lei family slowly stood up and said decisively, "Only by killing can we vent this rage!"

Things had reached this point. The family’s dispatched consultant was heavily injured and could no longer fight, and his two younger brothers were too weak. Now, only he, Lei Bo, remained.

"Brother, I know my own limits. I cannot kill that man, but I am going to kill An Luo!"

Lei Zhong clenched his fists, unable to suppress the killing intent radiating from his entire body.

Just as Lei Bo was about to speak, a familiar voice rang out directly above his head.

"Want to kill me? I'm afraid that might be a bit difficult."

Looking up, they saw An Luo sitting with a smile upon the rooftop. Standing beside him was a youth dressed in black with a sword tucked at his waist.

It was Lu Yun.

Silence. A prolonged silence.

Both factions burned with raging fury in their hearts, but clearly, the four members of the Lei family were now at a disadvantage.

Before Lei Zhong, whose eyes seemed to blaze with fire, could strike, Lu Yun tightened his grip on his sword hilt.

An Luo slowly stood up, stretched, and leaped down from the roof tiles.

"How does that saying in the Barrens go again? When you beat someone, target the right ones. The young, the sick, the wounded... those are the easiest to kill."

"How dare you!"

Glaring at the figure in black, Lei Bo roared, "Do you believe that Heavenly Drum City can hunt you down for the rest of your life?!"

But it was already too late. Lu Yun raised his sword and slowly brought it down.

The rooftop collapsed in an instant. Inside the room, the candlelight illuminated the panic on Lei Xi’s face, but a moment later, the candle and Lei Xi alike were buried beneath the shattered tiles and splintered wood.

Darkness enveloped Lei Xi’s vision. Just as she tried to crawl up, a hand hoisted her into the air.

"What a coincidence. We meet again."

The calm voice echoed in Lei Xi’s ear like a demon.

Lu Yun didn't even need to place a sword against Lei Xi’s neck to decide her life or death.

Carrying the sword in his right hand and hoisting Lei Xi with his left, Lu Yun completely ignored the other two members of the Lei family.

Looking only at Lei Bo, Lu Yun suddenly asked, "Do you know where this place is?"

Anxious for Lei Xi’s safety, Lei Bo assumed Lu Yun would use her as leverage, but he hadn't expected the youth to simply ask a calm question.

Where is this place?

Where else could this possibly be?!

The Barrens, the Kingdom of White Plains, Changxing Prefecture!

Lei Bo knew the answer. As the most promising descendant of his generation in the Lei family, he naturally grasped Lu Yun’s underlying meaning.

Observing Lei Bo’s increasingly unsightly complexion, An Luo leisurely remarked, "I heard Heavenly Drum City is the city of hypocritical gentlemen in the Barrens—on the surface most adept at preaching benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness, but in reality possessing the most explosive temper. Now it seems, they are nothing much."

Standing beside Lu Yun, An Luo smiled and said, "Come on then. Weren't you going to play hardball with us? Let's fight to the bitter death. My Luo Ze family truly isn't afraid. If you have the guts, call your ancestors over here!"

"I think there has been some misunderstanding between us."

Lei Bo said, "Our coming here was by the old ancestor’s decree, intended to escort the old master of the Luo Ze family. We are friends."

"Friends?"

An Luo realization dawned. "So it turns out we're friends."

"Of course. Perhaps some things happened during the day, but those were all misunderstandings. We can sit down and explain them slowly."

Lei Bo narrowed his eyes. "Or rather, we can discuss terms."

Just as An Luo was about to speak, Lei Xi, being dangled in Lu Yun’s grasp, suddenly screamed, "Brother, attack!"

Talismans flashed as they flew out from Lei Xi’s sleeves, bursting into a brilliant radiance in a mere fraction of a second.

Countless bolts of lightning engulfed Lu Yun and An Luo.

Lei Bo took a step forward, a spear formed of pure lightning materializing in his hand.

Unlike the other three, Lei Bo’s spear was constructed entirely of lightning, forged only after expending a massive amount of manpower and resources from Heavenly Drum City.

Dense bolts of lightning, like roaming dragons, surged straight toward Lu Yun.

"Slight Ripples."

As the words fell, countless sword flashes cut through the air. Defying the lightning talismans, Lu Yun held his accompanying sword horizontally before him, blocking Lei Bo’s spear strike.

Lei Bo raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

Though those talismans were not top-tier, their effect upon striking his opponent shouldn't have been this weak.

Yet Lei Bo had no time to dwell on it. He thrust his spear forward, forcing Lu Yun to take a step back and parry once more.

This provided an opportunity for Lei Zhong.

Unbeknownst when, Lei Zhong had lunged from Lu Yun’s blind spot. Forsaking his spear, he threw a punch backed by all his accumulated strength.

Assaulted from both sides, even Lu Yun was forced to temporarily retreat.

Lei Xi was heavily tossed to the ground, and Lei Bo stepped forward to help her up.

"Little sister, are you alright?"

Lei Xi shook her head, pointing shakily at Lu Yun, her voice hoarse.

"Brother, kill him!"

"Little girls shouldn't always have killing on their minds."

An Luo strolled out from the sea of lightning generated by the talismans, walking as leisurely as if taking a stroll in a courtyard.

The python-patterned robe he wore currently emitted a faint radiance, especially the eyes of the giant python—which was reared back in a ferocious posture, on the verge of transforming from a serpent into a dragon—shining brilliantly.

"How could you possibly possess such high-grade magic robes?!"

Try as he might, Lei Bo could never believe that the quality of this magic robe was undoubtedly the best he had ever laid eyes upon!

"Tsk, disciples of Heavenly Drum City really are so uncultivated."

An Luo feigned an air of nonchalance as he brushed the dust off his python robe.

That was a long time ago, back when the soaring-realm old demon of Qianjing City was not yet a soaring-realm cultivator, but merely a jade-like entity, and when Yuan Feng was not yet an emperor, but merely an idle prince.

For reasons unknown at the time, that old demon favored solely the most unfavored Yuan Feng, exerting utmost effort to help him ascend the throne.

The python robe on An Luo’s body was precisely the one the soaring-realm old demon had once bestowed upon Yuan Feng, which Yuan Feng later also granted to Yuan Mo.

After the letter An Luo entrusted to Lu Yun was delivered to Qianjing City, Emperor Yuan Mo said nothing, merely sending people to deliver this python robe right before An Luo’s eyes.

Only then did An Luo experience a sudden realization.

He had been wrong, absurdly wrong.

Yuan Mo would make a good emperor. Perhaps no one would believe it, but at least Yuan Mo demanded that much of himself.

Furthermore, why had An Luo sent people to steal stones from the Hundred Thousand Mountains?

It was precisely to further elevate the quality of this magic robe, hoping to give Luo Ze a more hopeful chance of stepping into the soaring realm.

Pity that though Lu Yun brought back a few stones from the Hundred Thousand Mountains, An Luo discovered they yielded very little enhancement to the magic robe.

Consequently, this magic robe ended up worn upon An Luo’s own body.

On the other side, Lei Zhong was steadily pushed back in his exchange with Lu Yun. He simply could not fathom why every single one of his moves seemed to be anticipated by the man in black.

It felt as though the opponent was merely toying with him.

"What on earth do you people want?!"

Suppressing his anger, Lei Bo demanded, "What possible benefit is there in completely breaking ties with our Heavenly Drum City?!"

"Heh, you folks from Heavenly Drum City really have learned some genuine tricks from the Scholarly Sage faction."

An Luo sighed. "So righteous and awe-inspiring, anyone unaware would think we were the villains here."

The tone of the White Plains prince shifted abruptly, turning bone-chillingly cold.

"Cut the crap with me. None of us are good birds; you're guarding against me, and I'm guarding against you. Today, mister here will spell it out plainly with you Heavenly Drum City folks: right now, get the hell out of the Kingdom of White Plains and get out of Changxing Prefecture! Otherwise, I, An Luo, will stand right here and wear you down. Without Brother Lu needing to strike, I'm genuinely curious to see if the lot of you attacking together can manage to rip even a single tear in my magic robe!"

"You've all gone mad!"

Lei Bo said coldly, "Yuan Mo of Qianjing City has gone mad, and your Luo Ze family has gone mad as well."