Roaring Dragon-Chapter 81: Speed Is the Soul of War

Wu Su fixed his bloodshot eyes on the white-clad young man before him, breathing heavily. His gaze, once full of caution, now burned with desperate resolve. The body that had been hunched for years straightened with a creak.

“If I kill you, everything on you will still end up mine—”

BOOM—

He hadn’t even finished the sentence when a deep blast echoed through the courtyard beneath the moonlight.

Wu Su’s gaze had never left Xie Jinhuan. The instant he moved, Wu’s left hand flipped up the Huanglin Seal.

“Earth!”

WOMM—

The word had barely left his lips when the seal erupted in rippling streams of light.

The crouching qilin on the seal seemed to come alive, emitting a ripple of invisible rings that expanded outward. The ground of the courtyard trembled.

As Xie Jinhuan launched forward, his first step struck the ground—but instead of solid footing, the entire surface turned to loose quicksand. His foot slipped, his momentum lost, and he stumbled forward—

CRASH—

But his reaction was razor-sharp. With a snap, the Tiangang Mace drew from its sheath, swinging downward in a sweeping arc.

BOOM—

The sand exploded from the strike, revealing a two-foot-deep furrow that cut straight to the packed earth beneath.

In the next breath, Jinhuan stabbed the mace into the ground and used it to vault backward, skimming like a dragonfly across water.

“Fire!”

Wu Su shouted again, already leaping backward in an attempt to flee.

But in the blink of an eye, Jinhuan had broken free of the trap, and the Huanglin Seal in Wu Su’s hand glowed like red-hot iron. From the qilin’s tiny mouth, a crimson beam shot forth—

SHRIEK—

BOOM—

The beam traveled barely three feet before exploding midair, erupting into a wall of flame that lit up the entire courtyard like daylight.

Suspended in midair, Xie Jinhuan was blasted head-on by the inferno. The scorching heat hadn’t even reached him yet, but his face already burned from the intensity.

But between the third and fourth martial tiers lay an uncrossable gulf.

Before the blaze could consume him, an invisible vortex of energy erupted around him—a spiraling shield of force like a coiling mountain dragon.

WHOOOSH—

The searing flames were pulled inward, whirling around him and transforming into a fire dragon that coiled around his body.

?!

Wu Su’s eyes widened in disbelief. A mere third-tier martial cultivator had manifested full Body-Protecting Qi? That shouldn’t have been possible. Frantic, he began switching hand seals.

Too late.

As Jinhuan landed on the rooftop, his left hand gripped the Tiangang Mace. He pointed it forward, body flowing behind the weapon.

BOOM—

The fire dragon coiled around him blasted forward, exploding into a raging inferno that surged straight at Wu Su and the roof beneath him.

Faced with this city-burning tide of flame, Wu Su’s eyes filled with panic. The Huanglin Seal in his hand turned jet-black, exuding a bone-chilling cold. Before the flames could reach within three feet of him, they fizzled and vanished—snuffed out by sheer force.

But the impact—the raw, unstoppable force—was still coming.

BOOM—

Xie Jinhuan burst through the wave of fire like a blade. The tide split around him.

Under the moonlight, it looked like a divine maiden had parted a crimson curtain—at the very front of it all, a cold glint of silver.

Wu Su was fast—very fast—but against the brute force of a high-tier martial artist, speed was meaningless. Just as the fire died, and the blade-light pierced through, the white figure was already three feet away—

BOOM—

He didn’t even see the attack. A flash of fire, a thunderous blow—his entire chest exploded under the weight of the mace.

His vision spun. In that final instant, he caught a glimpse of the white-robed man raising his left hand and grabbing the glowing Huanglin Seal.

The rest of Wu Su—waist down—stood still amid the flames, surrounded by splattered flesh and bone.

...

THUD THUD THUD—

The fire vanished in a blink. Wu Su’s head hit the ground and bounced forward several times.

The rest of his body toppled off the roof, crashing into the courtyard below.

SPLAT—

Xie Jinhuan caught the Huanglin Seal and examined it in the pale moonlight, flipping it around.

“‘Five Elders of the Five Directions, command the Huanglin...’ Pretty damn strong. What’s its story?”

Ye Hongshang appeared beside him, equally curious.

“Built-in Five Elemental Arts: gold-seeking, earth-breaking, metallurgy, quenching, and wind control. Looks like a high-grade tool for an artificer. Not bad, but not much use as a weapon.”

Artificers and alchemists were usually filthy rich, and their personal tools cost a fortune. The only one Jinhuan had seen before was the massive pill furnace owned by the Lin family. Something this small, pocket-sized even, was unheard of. Must be worth a fortune.

He remembered how Wu Su had just used it for backtracking and asked, “Gold-seeking... think it could help find the Zhenglun Sword?”

Ye Hongshang shook her head. “The Zhenglun Sword is a celestial-grade weapon. If it could be found from miles away, how would it ever kill demons? High-tier treasures like that are usually cloaked in ‘keep-it-low’ enchantments. As long as you don’t use it, it looks like a regular tool. That’s how people end up ‘getting lucky’ at junk shops.”

Jinhuan felt relieved. The Huanglin Seal was definitely a treasure, but honestly, kind of useless to him.

He wasn’t an artificer, and its only relevant function—‘treasure detection’—was totally outclassed by his ghost wife.

She could spot hidden loot and see what the landlady shaved that morning. No contest.

Still, could be a decent backup plugin...

He pocketed the Huanglin Seal, vaulted into the courtyard, and checked the enemy’s pack.

Inside were a few bottles of Monster Dissolving Pills, a small box of Longyang Flowers, silver notes, and a martial arts manual.

He gave the silver notes a quick glance—more than 3,000 taels. Not bad. Honestly, the guy was pretty thoughtful, considering Jinhuan had been chasing him around town all night...

Just as he was finishing up, wind howled from beyond the compound.

WHOOSH WHOOSH—

Three celestial officers descended from different directions, and Linghu Qingmo landed on the rooftop, scanning the scene with concern.

“You okay?!”

Jinhuan was tempted to give her a cut of the loot, but he had bigger problems—like a ghost wife with a habit of tomb-raiding. That’d have to wait at least twenty days. For now, he just replied:

“I’m fine.”

The patrol officers circled warily, surveying the courtyard.

“Who are you two?”

Jinhuan took out his Dan token.

“Xie Jinhuan of Dan Province’s Affairs Office. Linghu Qingmo. This man was the mastermind behind the corpse-drying case. Notify the magistrate.”

“Coo!”

Meiqiu, ever the slacker but a pro at surrender, raised both wings when he saw Jinhuan raise his hand...

5:00 A.M.

Dawn crept over the eastern sky. Streetlamps flickered to life on Buzheng Street. A few carriages rolled toward the imperial city, carrying half-awake officials.

In the Wanan County yamen, Fei Ji was up early, directing constables to arrange the meeting room for the soon-to-begin “Corpse Case Leadership Briefing.”

“Chairs and tea—mind the placement. The County Magistrate gets the main seat. Jinhuan’s from the Dan Prince’s Mansion, so he sits to the right. The Astronomical Bureau to the left, Chilin Guard next, then me...”

“And where does Master Linghu from Danyang sit? She’s a Zihui Mountain heir and a sworn sister to Princess Changning...”

“Hmm... right-hand second seat. The Bureau and Guard can sit on the left...”

...

County Magistrate Wu Yuanhua, expecting to be yelled at again, had also woken early. He arrived just in time to scold:

“If you’ve got time to fuss over chairs, how about using that energy to solve the case?”

Fei Ji rushed up, eager to please.

“Lord Wu, you’re up already? Eaten yet? Should I fetch some buns—”

Wu waved him off, clearly irritated.

“Chen Fuyin’s already tearing the uniform off my back. You think I care about breakfast?”

“I heard Xie Jinhuan was all righteous fury—always out catching demons. Thought he was some tireless prodigy. Look at the time—dawn’s here and no one from Danyang has even shown up...”

...

The hour of the mao—when the emperor rose and ministers went to court—was prime time. If a sleepy minister passed the county office and saw it still locked up, there’d be hell to pay. So the yamen opened right on time, and any official who cared about his future made sure he was there.

Fei Ji, childhood friend of Xie Wen and lifelong colleague, had basically watched Jinhuan grow up. He quickly jumped in to defend him:

“Jinhuan’s tactful. He’s part of the Prince’s household now. If he acts too eager, won’t it make us look like we’re slacking? We should be grateful he’s holding back!”

Wu mulled it over, then sighed.

“Being late isn’t the issue. I just worry the Dan Prince is hyping up his ‘son-in-law’ to inflate his reputation. What if the kid doesn’t have the goods...?”

Fei Ji clung to his arm, smiling hard enough to # Nоvеlight # sprain a cheek.

“Impossible! Jinhuan’s always been bright. He just arrived yesterday—hasn’t even had time to show his skills. These things take days.”

“And besides, that demon gang in Danyang? Jinhuan took them all out in six or seven days—leader and all. The whole Danyang yamen and even their guards got scolded by the Censorate for being useless.”

“We’ve been at this for eight months. If Jinhuan solves it in three to five days, imagine the insults we’ll get.”

Wu Yuanhua thought for a moment: “Hmm... waste of taxpayer money, lazy gluttons. The Emperor hears that, he might demote the whole office and send us to the southern frontier to be chewed on by demon beasts.”

“Exactly.”

Fei Ji clapped. “The faster Danyang cleans up, the more useless you look. So we can't rush this case!”

Wu nodded, almost convinced.

“Yes... slow and steady, that’s the—”

“Report!”

A loud explosion cut him off.

Wu jumped, eyes blazing.

“Who the hell’s dying at this hour?! Another dried corpse?!”

“Not quite—”

A panting patrol officer stumbled in, face lit with excitement.

“The case is solved! The killer’s been found!”

“What?!”

Everyone froze. Chairs scraped. Eyes widened.

Fei Ji’s smile froze as he stepped up quickly.

“Don’t talk nonsense. Who found the killer?”

“It was Master Xie Jinhuan!”

“Beautiful!”

Fei Ji clapped and turned dramatically.

“See? I told you! Jinhuan treats us like family. Even with royal backing, his heart’s with the yamen! Look how proactive—”

“Outta my way!”

Wu shoved him aside and stormed to the door.

“You sure? They just arrived last night! How could they possibly—”

“No mistake!”

The officer was practically tripping over his words.

“The Chilin Guard said Master Xie and the Zihui heir were just out strolling when they found a clue, chased it from Xiaoyao Cavern to the antique street, ran the demon scum down after several miles—and killed him on the spot!”

“I rushed to the scene and saw dozens of folks from the Astronomical Bureau and Chilin Guard! Even Fuyin Chen, Minister Li of Personnel, and Censor Wang stopped by! We were the only yamen not represented!”

“This is our case! Solved overnight! Huge achievement!”

“I even heard the three bigwigs discussing Lord Wu’s name—words like ‘Ruizhou,’ and ‘promotion.’ I think they’re planning to elevate you—uh, Lord Wu?”

Wu Yuanhua didn’t answer.

He fainted on the spot.

Fei Ji moved fast—scooped him up and shouted:

“Hurry! Get a horse—!”

“Shouldn’t we call a doctor?!”

“Screw the doctor! Ruizhou’s in Lingnan! Even if he dies, he’s dying at the crime scene!”