Chapter 49: Shattered Porcelain

Amidst a pile of broken tiles, the old ape's ears twitched, catching a faint sound. It grinned, bent down to pick up a piece of broken tile, weighed it in its hand, then stood up and hurled it out with swift force. The tile sliced through the wall and roof as easily as a knife through tofu, tearing through the air with a sound like thunder. Its trajectory aimed directly at the source of the sound.

Unfortunately, the old ape did not catch sight of the boy. It tapped its toes, and its massive body shot up, stepping on an old roof beam. Using the rebound force, it leaped high out of the roof's hole and landed on the ridge.

The old ape saw in the far distance, the boy with the wooden bow slung across his back, standing on a rooftop eave, looking at the white-robed old ape with a solemn expression.

The old ape realized it had miscalculated. Throwing the tile had been too loud, probably startling the little mud-legged boy from Mud Bottle Lane, making him realize the situation was dire. He no longer intended to rely on the distance advantage of his bow and arrow. The old ape smiled, spreading its hands to show that it held nothing, then beckoned with a finger, indicating that the boy was welcome to continue his tricks, as it was willing to indulge him to the end, continuing to stretch its muscles.

To say that the old ape was cheating would be an injustice to this guardian ape of Zheng Yang Mountain. With a thousand years of cultivation and a thousand-foot-tall true form, its skills and methods could be praised as heaven-supporting and earth-encompassing.

Throughout the long years of the Mountain Moving Ape's cultivation, especially in the early days of establishing the Zheng Yang Sect, when the weak sect was surrounded by enemies on all sides, the old ape had experienced countless life-and-death battles after the sect's founder was killed in action. Today's "minor squabble" on the rooftops of the alleys was similar to those past battles. During those grand, soul-stirring battles, top cultivators and great Qi Refiners would also use magical artifacts to remotely restrain the old ape, never daring to engage in direct combat, much like the swift Qiang light cavalry in the mortal world's battlefields, who would never directly clash with the heavy armored infantry of the Great Li Dynasty. Instead, they would slowly cut away at the iron bucket formation, bit by bit, seeking opportunities to whittle down the outer layers.

Now, the old ape could be considered one of the figures most suppressed by the local Heavenly Dao, second only to the feudal lord Song Changjing. The military strategist with the tiger tally, due to his special status, was "favored" by this world, so although his cultivation was extraordinary, the impact was not as significant.

At this moment, facing a lithe boy different from the ordinary townspeople, the old ape found a hint of the joy of those bloody battles.

The old ape did not deny that the boy had given it many surprises. He could calculate people's hearts, set traps, exploit the terrain, and most importantly, he was brave.

The old ape looked up at the sky. The sun was setting in the west, and twilight was approaching, so visibility would be increasingly affected. It was also completely unfamiliar with the town's geography. This was probably one of the boy's advantages, a crude, but effective, protective charm.

The old ape began to run wildly, with the momentum of a galloping horse, each step covering more than ten feet, which was terrifying.

The boy, at the instant the old ape moved, turned and fled. He did not follow the continuous alleyways and rooftops to the north, after all, there were many large households and hidden experts in Fulu Street and Peach Leaf Lane. If someone decided to help the old ape, Chen Pingan didn't think he had the ability to escape the encirclement. Therefore, Chen Pingan decisively fled to the west, because the direction of the bridge to the south had an open view, with no place to hide. According to the comparison of their speeds, Chen Pingan estimated that once he lost the cover of obstacles, it would be difficult to escape the pursuit of the Mountain Moving Ape.

Outside the town to the west, was a deep mountain forest, lush with vegetation, and many hidden paths were lined with traps set by hunters.

The mountain roads were difficult to navigate, and it was even more arduous if one did not follow the existing paths. Chen Pingan knew this better than anyone.

The boy's thinking was correct, but he underestimated the old ape. As the guardian ape of Zheng Yang Mountain, its understanding of mountains and rivers was much deeper and more far-reaching than the boy's.

When the boy leaped down from the last rooftop and landed, his knees bent, cleverly dissipating part of the downward force. He quickly turned his head to glance at the scene behind him, and continued to rush forward with his body bent.

During the run, both the wooden bow and quiver disappeared without a trace.

Once Chen Pingan chose to abandon the small paths trodden by generations and "fled without choosing a direction," they would inevitably become a burden.

Seeing that the boy was about to slip into the water like a loach, the old ape felt a little irritable, glancing back at the direction of the Li family's house on Fulu Street. Actually, once in the mountains, the old ape wouldn't dare say it had an absolute advantage, but it was definitely more comfortable than chasing the little rascal around the town.

The old ape made up its mind, quickly weighing the pros and cons, and took a deep breath of "fresh air," no more, no less, just enough to kill. The old ape's face rippled with waves of cyan and purple, and its massive figure rose abruptly into the air without any warning. The unfortunate house beneath its feet was trampled down by its strength, though thankfully, the people living on the west side of the town were all poor, and the houses were much thinner than the buildings on Fulu Street. For example, the wood used for the beams and pillars was not strong enough. The family of four living in the house were, luckily, not inside at the time.

The old ape leaped high, drawing a huge arc in the air. When it landed, it was just beside the boy, and two large pits appeared where its feet landed, with loose spring mud splashing everywhere.

The old ape punched towards the boy's back.

The human back is where the yang meridians are located, so whether it's the meridians or internal organs, they are all connected to the back. Especially the back of the heart, which is only a foot away from the heart, is the most vulnerable.

Between life and death,

Hearing the movement beside him, the boy suddenly exerted force, and his body was even two or three times faster than when he had lured the old ape to step on the decayed roof earlier!

This meant that the boy had been hiding his strength from beginning to end.

This caused the old ape's punch not only to fail to pierce the boy's back, failing to crush a heart, but only "brushed" the back of the boy's back, an inch below his heart.

Although he did not take the punch head-on, the boy was still hit like a bell, sending his whole body flying off the ground.

In the next scene, the boy's breathtaking agility was displayed to the fullest.The straw-sandaled youth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, should have face-planted after being sent flying by a punch. But, extending his hands forward, he braced against the ground, his elbows bending before explosively straightening. This allowed him to perform a complete mid-air flip, landing on his feet. Using the forward momentum, he continued his frantic escape without losing speed.

Even the battle-hardened Mountain-Moving Ape, a creature of immense experience, couldn't help but grit its teeth at the young boy's tenacity.

The old ape raised its hand, the back smeared with blood.

A minor wound, easily dismissed with a sneer. However, its resolve to eliminate the boy only hardened.

The reason for the injury was simple.

The weather was still chilly, and the sparsely clad boy from the slums appeared before the ape today noticeably bulkier. Over his own thin clothing, he wore Liu Xianyang's oversized old garment. But between the two layers lay a hidden defense: a makeshift "Wooden Porcelain Armor." Six long, polished wooden planks, each drilled with holes, were connected by tightly bound silk cords, three protecting his chest and three his back. Crucially, this crude armor was studded with a dense layer of small, broken porcelain shards.

The old ape felt a deep sense of frustration, akin to a noble accidentally stepping in dog excrement, difficult to shake off.

The ape clenched its fists, holding its breath and concentrating. It suppressed the turbulent surge of internal energy, its face shifting from a purplish-blue ripple to a fleeting, regal purple-gold hue.

The ape erupted in fury. At that very moment, a pebble shot from the depths of the woods.

The ape caught the unusually hard pebble, no larger than a fingernail, between its fingers.

Then, a rustling sound indicated the boy's continued flight deeper into the forest.

The old ape's face was a mask of dark rage.

It glanced back at the evening sky over the town.

Fear gnawed at it. Was this a feint to draw it away?

But instinct screamed at the ape to swiftly eliminate the straw-sandaled boy in the mountains.

The pagoda tree on Fortune Street, recently scaled by the young assassin, had a pair of unexpected visitors perched on its highest, weight-bearing branch – a spot far above the rooftops. Below them, another figure stood.

These two newcomers forced the jittery Li family mansion to pretend they didn't notice, for the white-robed man seated above was none other than the Imperial Supervisor. He had brought Song Jixin to the pagoda tree, promising him a good show. However, it was already late in the evening, and Song Jixin's eyesight was poor. He could only listen as Song Changjing recounted the ridiculous chase that had begun on the roofs of Mud Bottle Lane.

The man rested his elbow on his knee, propping up his chin with his hand, gazing into the distance. Interspersed with the narration of the chase were fragments of the town's secret history, and whimsical insights into the cultivation path.

"Leaving aside the matter of fate and focusing solely on tangible artifacts and treasures, the long-rumored, famed Sword Scripture could currently rank in the top three within the town. Stretching the timeline to encompass the entire three-thousand-year history of the town, perhaps not top ten, but definitely within the top twenty. Don't think that's a low ranking, it's actually quite high."

"Adding in that Warty Armor, if that Liu kid can digest all of that, in my eyes, his good fortune isn't any less than yours."

Song Jixin didn't look up, because a certain someone had his feet dangling directly above the boy's head. The boy asked curiously, "Then why was he killed by a single punch from the Ascending Sun Mountain Ape?"

Song Changjing smiled calmly. "His luck was too good, attracting jealousy, and he had no backing. Is that so hard to understand?"

Song Jixin was puzzled. "Then why didn't you try harder to recruit him in Mud Bottle Lane?"

The Great Li Prince, perched above the boy, laughed heartily, full of pleasure. After a long while, he said, "My feelings about those cultivation geniuses from the mountains… well, once you leave this place, if you hear one of my nicknames, you'll understand."

Song Changjing suddenly stood up, looking into the distance, his expression changing slightly. One hand gently caressed the jade belt at his waist, his eyes burning with intensity.

In the eyes of this martial arts grandmaster, who had almost reached the summit, the breaking of the rules by the Mountain-Moving Ape on the western edge of the town caused a sudden surge of energy. The aura in that area became chaotic, like shattered pieces of porcelain scattering in all directions.

Song Changjing said slowly, "You might be curious why those outsiders all have that look in their eyes, as if they see others as ants. Do you really think it's just their innate arrogance? Their eyes are set on the heavens? Personality is a small part of it, but it's mostly because of the grand scheme of things. You've never left the town, so you don't know the transcendent status of these Immortals in the outside world."

Song Jixin replied, "I'm not curious at all."

"It's exhausting talking to someone who has read books."

Unsurprised, Song Changjing continued, "Because there's a line, placed between you and them. This line isn't big, for some people, it's less than a small ditch; as long as they encounter it, they can cross it in a single stride, like you, the previous Liu Xianyang, and that bookish seed, Zhao Yao, who was favored by a Daoist grandmaster from another continent. But it's also not small. The vast majority of the townspeople, looking at that line, see it as an insurmountable chasm, unable to even muster the desire to cross it."

"The difference between the two groups separated by that line is actually like… the difference between humans and plants, no different from the divide between Yin and Yang, or even greater."

At this point, the Great Li Prince suddenly let out a sound of surprise, somewhat astonished, and then gloated, "That old beast is having a bit of bad luck this time, managing to provoke such a little hedgehog. He's hidden himself very well. Song Jixin, I'm starting to understand you now. Anyone who runs into such an opponent is going to have a hard time. Aside from cleanly killing him with a single punch, it's really a disgusting mess."

Song Jixin frowned.

In the distance, the Li family mansion erupted with shouts, and the pillar of support hidden in the shadows angrily intervened.

The straw-sandaled boy did indeed have reinforcements.

And not ordinary ones.

Song Changjing smiled. Even as the assassin's figure flashed past below the pagoda tree, the Prince had no intention of stopping him.

In their view, the old ape's burly figure returned from the west, constantly "rising and falling" above the town. It paid no attention to whether its landings would collapse houses or ruin people's courtyard arrangements.The old ape from True Yang Mountain seemed to have found a punching bag.

Suddenly, Song Changjing frowned, then relaxed, and then his fighting spirit erupted in an instant.

Song Changjing, a martial artist of Great Li, had three lifelong loves: building Jing Guan (displays of enemy heads), slaying geniuses, and battling immortals.

The next moment, Song Jixin's eyes widened, not knowing when the man above him had landed on Fortune Street, colliding head-on with the burly old man rushing from afar in a simple, almost barbaric manner.

The Mountain Moving Old Ape, a feudal lord of Great Li.

Each exchanged a punch, striking each other's chest.

Song Changjing didn't retreat but advanced, taking a step forward, while the old ape took a step back.

Again, each exchanged a punch, this time striking each other's forehead between the eyebrows.

Song Changjing strode forward, this time only he threw a punch.

He stepped heavily on the ground, his knees slightly bent, his left hand extended forward, his right fist pulled back.

The man was dressed in a snow-white robe with wide sleeves fluttering, standing on a ground of shattered bluestone slabs.

A punch straight forward.

The old ape had to extend a palm to block Song Changjing's fist.

Between heaven and earth, there seemed to be two cracking sounds, one after the other.

The old ape slid back dozens of feet, a shocking gully plowed into the bluestone ground.

Song Changjing lightly waved his sleeve, one hand behind his back, the other holding the white jade belt around his waist, smiling, "Qi Jingchun, are you not going to come forward to stop this? Do you really want to let things fall apart? Don't do that, hold on a little longer."

The old ape exhaled a mouthful of turbid air.

Song Changjing raised a palm and shook it, smiling, "Let's fight after I get out of here, for now let's mind our own business."

The old ape grinned, "Song Changjing, you better be able to beat me by then, otherwise the Southern Border Army of Great Li will suffer."

Song Changjing smiled, "As you wish."

The old ape snorted coldly and entered the Li family mansion alone. The young lady was safe and sound, not even startled. After understanding the details, the old ape realized it was just a clumsy trick. After thinking for a moment, he grinned and headed towards the west side of the town.

To hunt in the mountains.