Chapter 142: The Treasure Within the Dragon’s Corpse

Hearing sounds from the stone wall not far away, Guo Dajing quickly collected his scattered thoughts, stood up from the bench, pressed himself against the wall, and looked toward the source of the noise.

By the dim moonlight, he saw a figure in red leap down from the more-than-ten-foot high stone wall, landing steadily within the stockade.

From this, it was clear that the intruder’s skills were far from ordinary; to drop from such a height and land unscathed required a mastery of lightness techniques beyond that of most martial artists.

Keeping close to the wall, Guo Dajing sized up the red-clad figure, his hand sliding to his waist to grip a short knife tightly.

The knife at his waist was called “Heartless.” Forged of black iron, it could slice through metal as if it were mud, sever hair at a breath, and was the treasured heirloom of the Guo family.

As for the origins of this precious blade, Guo Dajing himself knew little. He only remembered, as a child, hearing his grandfather say that this “Heartless” dagger was found by his great-grandfather inside the belly of a dragon’s corpse while passing through the First Mountain of the Tang Dynasty.

Because the blade’s material was so rare and unparalleled in the world, the Guo family had passed it down as an heirloom, and now it was in Guo Dajing’s hands.

Clutching Heartless, Guo Dajing crouched quietly by the wall, waiting for the red figure to approach. Once within striking range, he would drive the blade into the intruder’s body and end him swiftly.

The one who had jumped down from the high wall of stone was none other than Zhou Qing. Upon landing, he glanced around, and soon noticed some faint movement by a stone chamber six or seven zhang away.

As Guo Dajing noticed Zhou Qing, Zhou Qing had also spotted him.

But Zhou Qing pretended not to know, and after landing, strode directly toward the stone chamber.

Six or seven zhang was nothing to Zhou Qing. After only a dozen steps, Guo Dajing, hidden behind the wall, suddenly rushed out, thrusting Heartless straight at Zhou Qing.

Prepared for such an ambush, Zhou Qing was not surprised. As the blade came within a foot of him, his figure flickered aside, evading the deadly edge. Instantly, he raised a finger and jabbed toward Guo Dajing’s throat.

Missing his first strike, Guo Dajing saw Zhou Qing’s hand flash toward him with lightning speed, but he bent at the waist, dodging the attack, and spun Heartless in his grip, stabbing toward Zhou Qing’s abdomen.

As the black blade came again, Zhou Qing pressed his foot to the ground and retreated half a zhang in a single step.

By the standards of ordinary martial artists, Zhou Qing’s skills were peerless; yet his first finger strike was deftly avoided—a clear sign that his opponent’s skills were not lacking either.

However, judging by the opponent’s speed and movement, there was still a gap between him and Zhou Qing.

To defeat him would not be difficult, but it would take some time, and Zhou Qing was in no mood to waste it. As he retreated, his hand reached for the treasure pouch at his waist.

From it, Zhou Qing drew out Illusory Peerless. With a flick of his wrist, a whip formed of spiritual energy lashed out at Guo Dajing.

Ordinary people could not see spiritual weapons. As Zhou Qing lashed out, Guo Dajing only felt an invisible force strike him, sending him tumbling to the ground.

Before he could react, a sharp ache shot through his body, and he saw the red-clad man standing over him, holding a black-handled wooden weapon aimed at him from a distance.

Though nothing visible lay between them, Guo Dajing distinctly felt a blade pierce his flesh, for blood was now flowing from his chest.

Feeling this mysterious wound, Guo Dajing gritted his teeth against the pain, then slashed Heartless at the empty space before his wound—immediately, he sensed an invisible blade being severed by his strike.

Though Guo Dajing could not see the illusory weapon, he had indeed cut through the spiritual spear Zhou Qing held with Heartless.

Seeing his spiritual weapon sundered, Zhou Qing’s face showed astonishment. Since he had begun wielding Illusory Peerless, no ordinary blade had ever been able to cut through his artifact.

“A fine treasure.”

Retreating a few more steps, Zhou Qing studied the black dagger in Guo Dajing’s hand, a new idea forming in his heart: to take this treasure for himself.

Wounded by Zhou Qing’s invisible spear, Guo Dajing stood clutching his injury, but as soon as he rose, Zhou Qing moved again.

With a flick of the hand holding Illusory Peerless, Zhou Qing conjured a long staff, which he swung at Guo Dajing.

Barely on his feet, Guo Dajing was struck down by an unseen blow—he could not see the staff, and was forced to bear its weight head-on.

A mouthful of blood spattered the ground as Zhou Qing’s forceful strike felled him.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing moved swiftly to Guo Dajing’s side, stomped on the hand gripping Heartless, and, as his opponent loosened his grip in pain, kicked the dagger away.

Having secured Heartless, Zhou Qing left Guo Dajing for the moment, stepped aside, picked up the black dagger from the ground, and examined it closely.

On the hilt, he noticed two unfamiliar characters. Whether they were letters or symbols, Zhou Qing did not know—he had never seen such markings before.

As Zhou Qing scrutinized the knife, Guo Dajing tried to rise, but Zhou Qing quickly stepped over and pressed him down with a foot.

“This is a fine treasure. What do these characters mean?” Zhou Qing pointed at the markings on the hilt and asked.

“They’re…” Defeated so easily by this red-clad youth, Guo Dajing felt a bitter unwillingness, but he now saw that his adversary was no ordinary man—not just in skill, but also in the use of the black wooden hilt.

“If you’ll let me go, I’ll tell you the meaning of those two characters engraved on my family’s heirloom.”

“This is your family’s heirloom?” Zhou Qing looked over the dagger again. “Now that it’s in my hands, the meaning of the characters isn’t so important. If I wish, I can learn it elsewhere. But if you’re sensible enough to tell me, perhaps I’ll spare you.”

“The meaning of those ancient characters is ‘Heartless.’” Sensing the danger in Zhou Qing’s tone, Guo Dajing replied hastily.