Legends of Ogre Gate

“Cloth bracelet? No, you didn’t.” Only a few meters behind Bao, Ping Fangrou was also fighting one of the city guards. As the man’s spear slashed through the air, she swayed backward at an odd angle to avoid it, then snapped toward him and punched him in the chest, sending him flipping head over heels across the rooftop.

On a few nearby rooftops, and within some of the dark alleys below, other Dragon-Phoenix fighters were also tangling with various city guards.

Having dispatched the last of the group set specifically after them, Bao and Ping Fangrou began to speed across the rooftop, heading south toward the docks. “Yeah, he made a cloth bracelet and gave it to me as a gift.”

“Made it himself? Wow!”

“I guess it’s a tradition from up by the Bay of Yu.”

“That’s so sweet!”

They leaped over the gable end of the rooftop and flew to the air, landing on the roof ridge of the adjacent building.

“I wore it for more than two years straight,” Bao said, “until it was about to fall apart.”

“Then what? He made you a new one?”

Bao chuckled. “No, you wouldn’t believe what happened. That dolt Sunan.”

Before she could continue, the whistle of arrows flying through the air could be heard.

“More guards,” Ping Fangrou said. After leaping forward into a tumble to avoid two arrows, she continued running across the roof ridge. “So what happened? What did Sunan do?”

**

“Dragon Sovereign,” Lin Cuirou whispered, “I heard some news about you and the Phoenix Sovereign. Is it true?”

“There’s no need for formalities,” Sunan replied in just as low a tone. “Just call me Sunan.”

Lin Cuirou and Sunan were crouched in the eaves of a pagoda in a temple overlooking the city magistrate’s palace complex, well concealed in the shadows cast by the crescent moon which hung low over Huisheng. Lurking nearby were numerous other Dragon-Phoenix fighters, all of them armed to the teeth and dressed in dark clothing complete with masks to cover their noses and mouths.

By chance, Lin Cuirou had been returning from Yu Zhing, and his mission to deliver the head of the Bone General, at just the same time that others from the sect arrived in Huisheng for the mission they had accepted from the Timeless Master. The addition of another Dragon Lord made Sunan and Bao even more confident in the success of the mission.

“Anyway,” Sunan continued, “I’m not sure exactly what you heard, but it’s probably accurate.”

Lin Cuirou grinned. “Congratulations! How did you win her over?”

Sunan shook his head. “I wonder that myself just about every day. A handsome fellow like you probably understands women a lot more than someone like me. I’m really just a villager, you know.”

“The founding emperor of the Lin dynasty also started out as a villager, so there’s no shame in that. Although I do have to say, with my good looks, women tend to throw themselves at me left and right. So you’re correct about that part.”

Sunan chuckled. “Well, in any case, the news you heard is true. Bao and I are enga--”

Before he could finish his sentence, a commotion broke out in the magistrate’s palace below. Servants and guards alike poured into the main square in the middle of the complex, many of them bearing lanterns affixed to long poles.

There was much shouting and yelling; apparently, the entire complex was being mobilized. A moment later, the magistrate himself appeared, clearly having been awoken from sleep. Despite that, he held a jian sword in his right hand as he called out orders to the scrambling guards and servants.

“That’s him?” Lin Cuirou asked.

“Yes, that’s him.” Sunan’s grip on the hilt of his Wind Sabre tightened. “Magistrate Zhou, the most hated city administrator in all the south. Last month he had twenty children executed as punishment for accusations of treason leveled against their clans. Take out Magistrate Zhou, and Huisheng will be completely leaderless.”

“So that’s why the Timeless Master sent you here?”

“No, this part of the plan was devised by Bao.” Sunan closed his eyes for a brief moment to begin circulating his Qi. “Alright, let’s go!”

**

“I truly envy you, Bao,” Ping Fangrou said, stepping onto the gable end of the roof and then leaping out into the air. “In our society, it’s usually the matchmakers who--”

Before she could finish her statement, a pebble shot through the air toward her torso, moving at such incredible speed that it was virtually impossible to dodge. Ping Fangrou managed to twist to the side, preventing the pebble from striking her head on, and instead, it clipped her shoulder. Even still, she felt like she’d been kicked by a horse.

The blow sent her spinning through the air, and she just managed to pull her momentum under control before she hit the wall of the building. By sheer stroke of luck, her feet landed on the wall, and then she pushed out, somersaulting to the ground below.

Bao had been just behind her, so instead of leaping out toward the next building, she leaped down to join Ping Fangrou below. They were in a small rear courtyard of what appeared to be a grain warehouse. It was mostly empty with the exception of a few bags of grain piled up against one wall, as well as a few push carts.

“Are you alright?” Bao asked.

Ping Fangrou had landed in a crouch, and was now rising to her feet, simultaneously rubbing her shoulder. “I’m fine. But whoever threw that pebble is very, very strong.”

A cold chuckle drifted out into the cool, night air. “Strong is one word you could use,” said a deep voice.

Moments later, someone blurred through the air and dropped down into the opposite end of the courtyard.

The mere sight of him would cause most people to grow weak in the knees. He was more than two meters tall, with shoulders as broad as an ox and fists the size of melons. He had a guandao cradled in his arm, and was bare chested, revealing rippling muscles covered by countless tattoos. The scenes depicted by the tattoos were horrific; every imaginable form of torment was inked in grisly detail, almost as if the most terrifying torture chambers of Emo Cheng were embodied in this hulking man.

There were trees of knives, vats of boiling oil, burning flames, and worse.

Bao rarely needed to fight with weapons any more, but she still kept knives in her sleeves, and she quickly checked to make sure they were ready.

“Who are you?” she said.

“I’m Kang Zhenya, also called the Executioner of the South. I have to admit that your plan to steal the Zhizhu Coral was a clever one. But when a clever mind meets an iron fist, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out which one will come out on top.” With that, he swung the guandao out and pointed it straight out at Bao. That in itself was an impressive display, considering that most guandaos weighed upwards of 10 kilograms. And this one looked much larger and heavier than the ordinary type.

However, based on Bao’s experience, she could tell that in terms of Qi level, this man was not her match. She had her Phoenix Crown in a cloth pack strapped to her back, but in this situation, she didn’t feel the need to resort to such means to deal with someone like this.

“Ordinarily,” she said, “I would be much more inclined to bandy words with you. But I’m in a bit of a hurry. Why don’t you step aside and let us be on our way? If you do, you might live to see the light of day.”

Kang Zhenya immediately threw his head back and laughed uproariously. “I might live to see the light of day?” He laughed again. “You think two little girls like you can win in a fight against the Executioner of the South?”

Bao took a step forward. “Since you hurt my friend Ping’s shoulder, I think it would be best if she rested for this fight. I’ll kill you myself if I have to.”

Kang Zhenya laughed yet again. “Very impressive. Do threats like this usually work for you?”

“I don’t usually threaten. I just kill.” She took another step forward.

Kang Zhenya’s eyes flickered, and this time, instead of laughing loudly, he merely chuckled. “You kill people? And who did you kill last, a sick beggar on the street?”

“The Bone General.”

Kang Zhenya subconsciously took a step back. “W-what? What did you just say?”

“I’m Phoenix Sovereign Bao of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect. The last person I killed was the Bone General. I stabbed him in the eye, cut his head off, and burned his body like trash.”

Kang Zhenya swallowed hard before gripping his guandao in both hands and assuming a ready position. “Girl, there is no way that you--”

“I rescind my offer,” Bao said. Two knives dropped down into her hands as she began to run forward at full speed....

**

The instant Magistrate Zhou saw black-garbed figures dropping out of the shadows, he knew that he was facing a deadly crisis. The guards in his palace were trained Qi fighters, but considering the type of martial artists that had been rising up throughout the empire recently, he had no faith in their ability to defend against a major assault, especially when outnumbered.

Sure enough, as soon as the black-garbed figures clashed with the guards, the guards were on the defensive. Within moments, one of the guards fell, pierced through by a spear. Half a moment later, one of them lost a head.

Gritting his teeth, Magistrate Zhou spun, preparing to run toward the library building, where a secret passage led outside of the complex. However, before he could take more than three steps, a black-garbed figure blocked his path, a young man with a sabre.

Magistrate Zhou was actually one of the top martial artists in the city, so it was without hesitation that he lashed out with his jian sword.

The young man reacted with lightning speed, his sabre flashing through the air to deflect the jian sword.

The instant the two weapons touched, a wave of coldness swept up into Magistrate Zhou’s arm, leaving it tingling on the verge of going numb. He quickly took a step back.

Lips turning up into a sneer, he said, “What kind of a coward are you, attacking from the shadows, hiding your face. Some kind of thieves or bandits I assume?”

The young man slowly reached up and loosened the black cloth stretched out across his nose and mouth. As the cloth fell, his face was revealed, handsome, with sharp eyes and lips that seemed to form a faint, perpetual smile.

“I’m Dragon Sovereign Sunan of the Dragon-Phoenix Sect. I’ve come here to execute the judgement laid forth upon you by the martial world of Qi Xien. For your treasonous collusion with the Demon Emperor, and crimes against morality, you have been sentenced to death.”

The blood drained from Magistrate Zhou’s face. A moment later, he lashed out with the jian sword again, but it was only a feint. Even as Sunan raised his sabre to defend, Magistrate Zhou spun on the balls of his feet and prepared to make a dash for the front gate.

That was when another black-garbed figure blocked his path.

“Before you accuse me of being a coward....” Lin Cuirou removed the black strip of cloth, flashing a smile as he said, “I’m Lin Cuirou, the most handsome hero to ever walk the face of Qi Xien. And you, Magistrate Zhou, will pay for your crimes tonight!”

Taking a deep breath, Magistrate Zhou leaped forward and swung his jian sword at Lin Cuirou.

--

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