Chapter 65: The Provocation Tactic! Old-Fashioned but Effective

Behind him, Yun Sheng Zhenren glared viciously at Ye Liuyun’s back.

He looked like he wanted to set Ye Liuyun on fire right then and there.

The truth was, Yun Sheng was a proud and arrogant guy.

He’d been orphaned since he was a kid, surviving by stealing chickens, swindling, and pulling one con after another, until one day he happened to get ahold of a secret manual from someone else, and actually managed to master the magic inside.

Ever since then, Yun Sheng firmly believed he was someone special.

Other folks couldn’t pull it off, but he could—if that didn’t make him a genius, what did?

From then on, Yun Sheng started making his living off ’magic’.

Before coming to Shuihe County, Yun Sheng had already been to several villages, and things always went smoothly—who’d have thought he’d run into Ye Liuyun here, of all places.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort.

He’d already committed Ye Liuyun’s face to memory, planning to let Ye Liuyun have a taste of what it feels like to be burned alive later tonight.

After that, Yun Sheng lost all interest in selling Peace Talismans and just packed up and left.

,,,

"Sir, is there something wrong with that guy?"

On the way out, Shi Sheng was honest to a fault—he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

But Si Nan was shrewd enough to catch on; their lord almost never acted like this, so naturally, there had to be something strange about that so-called Yun Sheng Daoist.

Otherwise, would their lord say such things on purpose?

"We’ll know if there’s an issue by tonight."

At that,

Ye Liuyun just chuckled and explained in a single line.

It might have just been a hunch, but there was no denying that the Mage trait on Yun Sheng Zhenren had caught Liuyun’s eye.

Let him dare show his face, and he’d be finished in minutes.

"Understood!"

Si Nan, grasping the situation, grinned and nodded in understanding.

But then—

"Understood? Understood what? Who did you say was suspicious just now?"

Shi Sheng looked on curiously and blankly, while Si Nan could only roll his eyes.

"You’ll see when the time comes."

"Tch!"

In Shi Sheng’s eyes, Si Nan was just putting on airs, so he threw him an annoyed glance.

If you won’t say it, then it can’t be anything good anyway.

,,,

Night fell.

Ye Liuyun assigned his Embroidered Uniform Guards to various intersections of Shuihe County.

Two men per team.

As for himself, Ye Liuyun kept only Si Nan and Shi Sheng by his side, strolling down the night streets.

Back in the old days, Shuihe Town was still lively at night, with plenty of folks out strolling around; in these little towns, there was no curfew, no annoying rules about when you could be out on the streets.

But ever since the ghost fire incidents,

The people of Shuihe County had rarely dared to go out at night anymore.

"Sir, do you really think that ghost fire stuff is real?"

Some things, if you’ve never seen it, it’s normal to doubt.

Walking by Ye Liuyun’s side, Shi Sheng kept looking nervously left and right, like something might jump out at any second.

"If you’re so scared, why not wait for us in the inn? I can keep Lord Ye company myself."

On the other side, Si Nan—

Seeing Shi Sheng like this, he couldn’t help joking.

"Pah!"

Shi Sheng didn’t hesitate to talk back.

"Me, afraid? Get outta here."

"Then what’s with you right now?"

"I’m just cold, all right!"

,,

Never mind it wasn’t even winter, and a Martial Artist afraid of the cold? That was pure comedy. He might as well admit he was scared of ghosts.

Si Nan just rolled his eyes, too lazy to bicker with Shi Sheng anymore.

He followed Ye Liuyun quietly.

They walked for about an hour or two.

The night grew deeper and deeper, but the so-called ghost fire never appeared. Even the nervous Shi Sheng started getting bold.

"Told you so, that ghost fire is all fake."

Si Nan ignored Shi Sheng’s boasting, glancing at Ye Liuyun instead.

"Sir?"

He wanted to ask if they should keep walking.

The town wasn’t that big; in this time, they’d pretty much made a full circuit around Shuihe County.

"No need to rush!"

Ye Liuyun had already sensed the little rat skulking in the dark, tailing them.

Probably just waiting for the right moment to make a move.

May as well wait and see—Ye Liuyun was curious how this guy planned to fake some supernatural shenanigans.

Sure enough,

They’d only walked a few more steps when Ye Liuyun and the others stopped in sync.

"Gh—gh—ghost fire!"

Shi Sheng, who’d just calmed down, blanched in an instant at the sight of a few little fireballs floating out from up ahead.

"Ghosts! There really are ghosts!"

"Ghosts, my ass—someone’s faking it for sure!"

Si Nan didn’t believe in ghosts or spirits.

He whipped out a few throwing darts and chucked them into the air.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The darts sailed straight through the fiery red balls.

But the little fireballs kept floating in midair, drifting toward Ye Liuyun’s group like nothing had touched them.

"Heh."

By the moonlight, Yun Sheng, hiding in a corner behind a wall, watched the scene on the street.

He wore a mocking grin.

"So what if they’re Embroidered Uniform Guards? Out here in the sticks, a few of them dead won’t lead to me, no matter what."

In Yun Sheng’s view, even if the guards really died, by the time anyone traced things back to him, he’d have long since skipped town.

The world’s a big place. If the Great Qian Dynasty gets too hot, he’ll just head somewhere else. Who’s scared?

,,,

"S-sir! What do we do, run for it?"

If the enemy was just a man, Shi Sheng wouldn’t blink an eye.

But facing this weird supernatural crap, Shi Sheng honestly had no idea what to do.

Still, even though he was scared, Shi Sheng stood his ground and turned to Ye Liuyun, waiting for his command.

"Run?"

Ye Liuyun grinned as he watched the fireballs drift toward them.

"This? Not even enough to make me take a step back."

Mage tricks, huh. Entertaining, for sure.

Too bad they’re no real threat.

He waved for Si Nan and Shi Sheng to step aside. And then—

"Overlord Saber Slash!"

In one swift motion, he drew his saber, flaming hot, and hurled it at the approaching fireballs.

Before they could even get close to Ye Liuyun, his saber sliced right through them midair, extinguishing them all.

"Sir, you’re amazing!"

After seeing that,

Si Nan praised without hesitation, slapping Shi Sheng on the shoulder and saying,

"See? There’s no such thing as ghosts—it’s all just someone playing tricks in the dark."

Ye Liuyun re-sheathed his saber.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the wall in the distance, then called out loudly with a grin,

"A rat’s just a rat. Play your little tricks in the gutter and you’ll never see the light of day."

,,,,,,