Whispers of a Lonely City Beyond the Heavens – Chapter 39

Ch 39: Escaping Under Long Fu’s Mighty Name

Tian Weihu seemed stunned, or perhaps furious beyond measure, standing there gripping his sword tightly without a sound.

Someone deliberately spoke in a reproachful tone: “Third Brother, what you said isn’t right. Lord Tian’s technique of turning a precious sword into a hidden weapon is a life-saving ultimate move from the Tian Family’s swordsmanship. It’s something you and I could never master in a lifetime…” After finishing, he burst into laughter along with the person from before.

Tian Weihu’s subordinates, hearing the relentless mockery directed at their leader, were dumbfounded and momentarily forgot to act. Though Long Yang couldn’t clearly see Tian Weihu’s face, he could imagine his nose and mouth twisted in rage, the muscles on his face twitching uncontrollably.

“Why aren’t you moving yet?” Tian Weihu roared in a voice trembling with anger. His subordinates surged forward together, and both sides clashed in battle.

“Big Brother, can we go now?” Wei Wei asked.

“Wait a little longer,” Long Yang replied, his heart pounding with urgency. The melee had already begun, and under normal circumstances, he could take Wei Wei and slip away in a different direction. But now, he had to consider this: if four extra people could appear in this courtyard, there could just as easily be forty more.

How many others might still be lurking in the shadows?

Changing direction now would be too risky. He could only hope the five newcomers were strong enough to force Tian Weihu into the fray as well.

Suppressing the panic in his chest, he observed the battle unfolding before him.

Of the five, four formed an outer circle to fend off attacks, while a woman stood within, occasionally seizing opportunities to launch hidden weapons outward. Despite Tian Weihu’s men outnumbering them by double, they hadn’t gained the upper hand yet, and the fight remained deadlocked for the moment.

“It looks like they’ve practiced some kind of sword formation,” Wei Wei whispered in explanation. “Their swordsmanship complements each other, creating a tight defense.”

Long Yang nodded. A moment later, a scream pierced the air—it was one of Tian Weihu’s men who had been injured first. The woman in the center, the one launching hidden weapons, let out a high-pitched, shrill laugh.

Tian Weihu flew into a rage and charged forward with his sword drawn. His swordsmanship clearly surpassed that of his subordinates. After a few moves, his strikes quickened, and suddenly, his longsword flared with a burst of radiant light. One of the opponents let out a muffled groan and nearly collapsed.

The woman inside cried out “Second Brother” in alarm, hurriedly pulling him into the circle. She stepped forward to face Tian Weihu herself.

Tian Weihu sneered repeatedly, his body twisting to the right while his longsword spun leftward. His swordsmanship and movement techniques abruptly turned bizarrely unpredictable. Within a few moves, the woman let out a scream as blood sprayed from her neck, splattering Tian Weihu’s head and face.

Someone cried out in anguish, “Eighth Sister!” Tian Weihu stepped back, wiped the blood from his face with a hand, and laughed heartily.

“Ah…” Wei Wei, witnessing the woman’s gruesome death and Tian Weihu’s ferocious expression, couldn’t help but cry out. Though she tried to keep her voice low, Long Yang was startled and quickly covered her mouth.

Sure enough, Tian Weihu’s expression shifted as he asked his men, “Didn’t you hear something just now?”

“No, my lord,” replied two of the torchbearers.

The first injured man, sitting on the ground cradling the woman’s corpse, burst into harsh laughter. “Tian Weihu, your dog ears are sharp. I’ll tell you the truth—we came with sixteen people in total. The eight of us let you see us on purpose to lure you here. By now, the others have succeeded and are about to burn down your dog kennel…” He laughed maniacally again.

“Finish them off quickly!” Tian Weihu barked, then employed his light body skill, dashing toward his residence. In the blink of an eye, he vanished from sight.

His subordinates, sensing something amiss, grew frantic. They attacked fiercely, while the three remaining fighters in the field continued their desperate struggle. Though they knew death was inevitable, they hoped to take down at least one more enemy.

Long Yang shouted, “Let’s go!” and led Wei Wei and Xiao Hei down from the building, racing toward the back wall. While watching earlier, he had been racking his brain and concluded that the four torchbearers by the back wall couldn’t possibly be Heavenly Soldiers.

The Emperor’s Heavenly Soldiers wouldn’t take orders from Tian Weihu. Moreover, if Heavenly Soldiers were present, the man who reported to Tian Weihu earlier wouldn’t have said that if Tian Weihu didn’t act, someone might slip through the net.

There was another, perhaps more critical point—Long Yang had observed carefully: the four men’s stances were sloppy, lacking any presence. Even compared to Tian Weihu’s regular men, they fell far short.

In just five seconds, they reached the wall. Tian Weihu’s men reacted too late, only managing a chorus of startled shouts.

The four torchbearers yelled and clumsily moved to intercept, but Long Yang and the others easily slipped past.

The blockers were, as expected, a bunch of clumsy fools. Long Yang had already guessed they might be helpers sent by Prefect Xu or perhaps men from the local Regional Military Command. Tian Weihu had likely just positioned them with torches to create an empty show of force.

Wei Wei had already leaped onto the wall, with Xiao Hei climbing up after her. Just as Long Yang prepared to jump, he heard Tian Weihu’s furious roar from behind.

Panic surged through him. He shouted, “Long Fu…” Without daring to look back, he leaped onto the wall and jumped down the other side.

They raced through the alleyways, heading north until they passed through the North City Gate, with no sign of pursuit.

After running a bit farther, Wei Wei stopped, bending over to catch her breath. Long Yang, fearing she might be injured, hurriedly asked, “Wei Wei, what’s wrong?”

“Big Brother, I’m fine, just a little tired…” She took a few more breaths, rubbed her stomach, and smiled. “When I jumped off the wall, I heard you shout ‘Long Fu’?”

Long Yang laughed too, feeling a bit proud of his quick thinking.

At that moment, to intimidate Tian Weihu, he had no choice but to borrow Long Fu’s formidable reputation. If Tian Weihu had chased him full force, a single strike could have ended his life. Had he shouted “Master Long” or “Uncle Long,” Tian Weihu might not have reacted in time and would’ve attacked anyway. By calling out Long Fu’s name directly, he banked on Tian Weihu’s instinctive hesitation—and it worked. Tian Weihu, already paranoid, fell for the ruse.

He pulled Wei Wei behind a large tree, steadying his breathing as they rested for a moment.

Tian Weihu still hadn’t pursued them, which puzzled Long Yang slightly. By all accounts, a man of his caliber should’ve seen through the trick after a few seconds.

Perhaps he truly feared Long Fu would turn against him. After how he treated Long Fu yesterday, it was natural he’d dread retaliation.

They rested a little longer before Wei Wei said, “Big Brother, let’s go.” She took the lead, dashing toward the mountains.

By now, her strength had returned. She ran like a young deer—swift and with a slight bounce—clearly overjoyed at the thought that with the Rain Spirit Grass, Grandfather’s internal injuries could be healed.

The wind blew from the southwest. The stars and moon still hung in the sky; dawn had not yet broken. They ran into the mountains under the moonlight.

It didn’t take long for them to reach Dragon’s Roar Valley. Long Yang pushed open the door and froze—the room was empty. Zhang Tianxun was not in bed.