I Can Merge Techniques-Chapter 54 - 53: Encountering Huang Yu, Killing Intent Arises

Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Encountering Huang Yu, Killing Intent Arises

The apothecary was filled with the rich aroma of medicinal herbs.

Dried mugwort, aged angelica root, and freshly picked Baikal skullcap—all sorts of medicinal scents intertwined in the air, creating a uniquely bitter fragrance.

Chu Fan was pinching a small bit of licorice between his fingertips, his head lowered as he checked the ingredients on a prescription with the Shopkeeper.

Suddenly, a clamor erupted outside, as if a massive crowd was causing a commotion in the street.

The din was so loud it even made the apothecary’s door planks tremble slightly.

"What’s happening outside?"

The Shopkeeper set down his small hand scale, his brow furrowed as he craned his neck to peer out the door.

An itinerant physician who had been watching from the doorway for a moment hurried back inside and said, "Shopkeeper, it’s Zhou Ye from the Seven Stars Gang! He’s fighting Huang Yu from the Blood Saber Sect!"

’Zhou Ye and Huang Yu are fighting?’

Chu Fan’s fingers, still holding the licorice, suddenly tightened.

Before entering the apothecary, he had been wracking his brain, trying to figure out how to lure Huang Yu out of the Blood Saber Sect’s headquarters.

After being wounded by someone from the Moon Worship Sect, that bastard had been holed up in the Blood Saber Sect’s headquarters recovering. He hadn’t even shown his face after killing the Huang Family’s butler and guards.

’Who would’ve thought the bastard would come out on his own?!’

He forgot all about checking the prescription and hastily said to the Shopkeeper, "I’ll come back for the herbs later."

With that, he rushed out of the apothecary and pushed his way into the crowd of onlookers.

The crowd on the street surged like a tide toward one spot, their eyes filled with schadenfreude.

Xingning Street was a bustling area in the Outer City. The Seven Stars Gang, the Blood Saber Sect, and the Iron Armor Sect often clashed here over territory.

The common folk and various merchants who made their living here had been oppressed by these three gangs for years. They held no love for any of them and were eager to see them tear each other apart.

Now that Zhou Ye and Huang Yu were fighting, everyone was watching the spectacle from a safe distance. Though they didn’t dare to comment loudly, their eyes were filled with mockery and glee at their misfortune.

Chu Fan moved closer to get a look. In a clear space on the street, two figures weaved and dodged, locked in a fierce, inseparable battle.

He recognized the man on the right, having seen him once before: Zhou Ye, the one who had been viciously beating a handyman at the Seven Stars Gang’s entrance.

Zhou Ye wore a brocade robe, and the longsword in his hand moved with agility. His Swordsmanship was grand and open, each movement powerful and heavy.

The man opposite him wore tight-fitting blue martial arts attire and had a sinister face. ’That must be Huang Yu,’ he thought.

Huang Yu wielded a Long Saber that carried a bloody stench. The wind from his blade was sharp, and every strike aimed for Zhou Ye’s vitals—it was clearly the Blood Saber Sect’s exclusive Saber Technique, the Nine Blood Soul Blades.

Zhou Ye’s longsword would at one moment thrust toward Huang Yu’s wrist, and at the next, flick toward his abdomen. His moves revealed the solid foundation of the Bone Marrow Forging Realm.

But as Chu Fan narrowed his eyes and observed closely, he soon discerned their respective strengths and weaknesses.

Although Huang Yu was only at the Blood Refining Realm, one Realm lower than Zhou Ye, his Saber Skills were exquisite. Each slash was fast, accurate, and ruthless, to the point where he was faintly suppressing Zhou Ye’s sword moves and had forced him into several desperate dodges.

However, his old injury had not yet healed. When he swung his saber, his shoulder would unconsciously dip slightly, his breath was a little weak, and his movements were occasionally stiff.

Zhou Ye had clearly noticed this. Relying on the superior strength and speed of the Bone Marrow Forging Realm, he attacked relentlessly, intending to overwhelm skill with brute force.

Finally, he seized an opening and brought his sword down in a vicious chop!

"CLANG—!"

Huang Yu steeled himself and blocked with a horizontal slash of his saber. The piercing sound of metal on metal rang out!

Tremendous force traveled down the blade. Huang Yu staggered back three steps, clutching his chest as he began to cough violently. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, staining the front of his martial arts attire red.

Zhou Ye stood with his sword raised, a mocking expression on his face. "Huang Yu, you dare show your face in such a pathetic state? The Blood Refining Realm is still just the Blood Refining Realm, after all. Utterly fragile!"

Huang Yu wiped the blood from his lips, his eyes filled with indignation and rage. "Zhou Ye, you’re just relying on being one Realm higher than me!"

"If it weren’t for my old injury, killing you would be as easy as slaughtering a dog! Just you wait. Once I break through to the Bone Marrow Forging Realm, taking your worthless life will be effortless!"

"You’re courting death!" Enraged by his words, Zhou Ye raised his sword to attack again.

But from behind Huang Yu, four or five men in blue martial arts attire suddenly rushed forward. Each held a Long Saber, and a Blood Saber was embroidered on the left side of their chests.

They shielded Huang Yu, their gazes toward Zhou Ye openly hostile.

Zhou Ye glanced at their numbers, then swept his gaze over the surrounding crowd, his brow furrowing slightly.

’There’s probably nothing to be gained by continuing this fight.’

’Humiliating Huang Yu today is enough.’

He snorted coldly and shot Huang Yu a vicious glare. "Next time we meet, I’ll definitely take your worthless life!"

With that, he and his two subordinates left, cursing under their breath.

The crowd gradually dispersed, but Chu Fan didn’t leave. He hid at a street corner by an alley entrance, his eyes fixed on Huang Yu’s group.

As soon as Huang Yu and his men left, he immediately began tailing them from a distance.

’That bastard Huang Yu is extremely cautious. It’s not easy for him to come out like this.’

’I absolutely cannot miss this chance!’

Chu Fan followed the group through several long streets.

Before long, he saw Huang Yu separate from the others and slip into a small alley alone.

Chu Fan quickened his pace, following close behind.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Huang Yu turned into Qingfeng Lane and entered an adobe house.

’Is this the place Zhao Hu mentioned? Zhang Mazi’s house in Qingfeng Lane?’

Chu Fan hid behind a large tree at the alley’s entrance, using its shadow to observe the adobe house.

After confirming no one was nearby, he crept around to the back window of the house, held his breath, and listened intently.

Inside, besides Huang Yu’s voice, there was another person’s response. The voice was deep and rich, their breathing long and steady. While not on the level of the guards’ instructor, Master Wang, they were clearly no ordinary servant.

Chu Fan’s heart sank.

’Huang Yu is at the peak of the Blood Refining Realm. With a helper of unknown strength, fighting one against two is too risky.’

He suppressed the urge to act immediately and, like a patient hunter, lay in wait in the shadow of a haystack outside, biding his time for the perfect opportunity.

Time slowly trickled by...

「The sun set, and dusk fell.」

Before long, there was movement from inside the house again.

Huang Yu’s voice was heard saying, "Damn it, my mouth is so bland I could spit out a bird! Go buy some spiced beef and wine."

"Yes, Young Master," the other person replied.

Then came the sound of the door opening.

A glint appeared in Chu Fan’s eyes.

The door opened with a CREAK. A man dressed in the uniform of a Huang Family guard stepped out. After glancing left and right, he headed toward the alley entrance.

Once the man was some distance away, Chu Fan immediately fell in behind him, then quickened his pace to circle around in front of him.

"TAP! TAP! TAP!"

The sound of Chu Fan’s footsteps came from around the corner.

The man was extremely vigilant. He slowed his pace and slid his right hand into his robes, as if gripping a sharp weapon.

Upon reaching the corner and seeing only a skinny youth approaching, his tense nerves instantly relaxed. He gave Chu Fan nothing more than a casual glance.

The instant they passed each other, Chu Fan spun around and chopped at the man’s neck with the edge of his hand!

Empowered by the Traits ’Sword Swift as Wind’ and ’Sword Heavy as a Mountain’, Chu Fan’s hand-blade strike was both fast and ferocious, landing squarely on the man’s neck!

"THWACK!"

With a muffled thud mixed with the faint crack of bone, the man only had time to let out a short, stifled grunt before he pitched forward.

Chu Fan closed the distance in a single step and followed up with a Bear Form Shattering Fist, smashing it into the man’s back and driving his body into the piled-up snow.

He quickly dragged the corpse behind a woodpile to hide it, took the man’s money pouch, and hurried back to the adobe house.

Only Huang Yu was left inside the house.

Chu Fan peeked inside through a crack in the window.

The adobe house wasn’t large and was sparsely furnished with just a wooden table, two chairs, and a bed.

’The space is cramped—perfect for close-quarters combat.’

’Huang Yu will probably have a hard time wielding his Long Saber in here.’

’This is undoubtedly a great opportunity for me.’

Chu Fan took a deep breath, circled around to the front, and slowly walked to the door.

"You’re back?"

Huang Yu’s voice came from inside the house.