For the past few days, he had noticed unusual movements on Madame Gao’s side and had specially snuck in to investigate, never expecting to run into such a scene.
“That mysterious man calling himself the Blood-Clad Marquis is demanding pureblood vampires as sacrifices. This bodes nothing but ill.”
“He must be stopped.”
As Matt sprinted, he quickly assessed the situation.
Facing Madame Gao alone in a duel was already difficult enough.
Now, with four more leaders of The Hand and an overwhelmingly powerful Blood-Clad Marquis added to the mix, fighting head-on would be suicide.
“Pursue him!”
Outside the factory, Madame Gao commanded in a cold voice, her eyes locked onto Matt’s retreating figure.
“Yes!”
A group of completely brainwashed ninjas of The Hand responded in unison, darting out like arrows released from a bow.
Once the ninjas had completely dispersed, only an oppressive silence remained.
The other three leaders stared at Madame Gao in unison, their expressions grim.
“Madame Gao, when you summoned us, you didn’t mention there would be someone like the Blood-Clad Marquis.”
“I was also backed into a corner.”
“But this might also be our turning point.”
Madame Gao narrowed her eyes, the crisscrossing wrinkles on her face folding into a sinister smile.
“The current Iron Fist has returned from Kunlun.”
“As long as we use the Blood-Clad Marquis to keep him occupied, we can reclaim the power of the Iron Fist and reopen the ‘gate’ that has been sealed for so many years. When that time comes, immortality will be within our grasp.”
“Did you deliberately lure Daredevil here?” Murakami asked, his gaze sharp.
“I only leaked a bit of information.”
Madame Gao smiled like a calculating old fox.
“Once those self-righteous superheroes learn that an evil ritual is threatening the entirety of New York, they will swarm here.”
“We only need to sit back and watch.”
“When the critical moment arrives, we will turn on him, slay the Blood-Clad Marquis, and monopolize the power of the Iron Fist for ourselves.”
“What about the Gu insects inside our bodies? How do we cure them?” Bakuto suddenly interjected.
Madame Gao paused, a pained look flashing across her face.
“I still have a small piece of Dragon Bone left in my possession. It is enough to resurrect each of us once.”
…
Deep within a dark and damp alleyway.
Matt parried a ninja’s slashing blade with his cane, spun around, and delivered a side kick.
The blow caved in his attacker’s chest, sending him crashing hard against a brick wall before dissolving into a wisp of white smoke.
“Again.”
Fighting as he retreated, warning bells rang loudly in his mind.
Having fought them for years, he had long figured out the strange nature of these ninjas.
Every time they died, they dissolved into smoke, as if they had never truly existed.
“Why are there so many of them popping up today?”
After taking down two more fearless, suicidal ninjas, a deep gash was sliced across Matt’s left shoulder.
“Damn it!”
Clenching his batons, he “looked” around at the rapidly closing black-clad figures, his expression turning increasingly grim.
“My friend, your situation doesn’t look very promising.”
Just as Matt was preparing to put his life on the line, a lazy voice floated down from above.
On a nearby rooftop, a man dressed in white stood with his hands behind his back.
The mustache on his upper lip was trimmed as neatly as his eyebrows, making it look as though he had four eyebrows at first glance.
A casual smile hung on his face, and his demeanor was incredibly relaxed.
This was none other than the clone sent by Luke Lane—Lu Xiaofeng.
“Sir, it’s dangerous here.”
“Please leave immediately.”
Though Matt found the man’s archaic, eccentric attire strange, he had no time to overthink it.
He shouted a warning while fending off the continuous onslaught of the ninjas.
“What a coincidence.”
“I, Lu Xiaofeng, happen to love sticking my nose into other people’s business.”
Before his voice could fade, he lightly tapped his toes against the eaves, drifting down from the height of over ten meters like a piece of willow catkin.
[Shock Value from Matt Murdock +200]
Though Matt was blind, his five senses were as sharp as a leopard’s.
Solely from the shifts in the air currents and the lightness of the man’s footfalls, he knew this person’s martial arts were far beyond ordinary, sending a jolt through his heart.
“What on earth is going on today?”
“One after another, powerful experts I’ve never seen before are popping up.”
The surrounding ninjas of The Hand had no intention of playing by any rules.
Seeing “Lu Xiaofeng” suddenly barge into the fray, they immediately swarmed him, blades flashing with murderous intent.
But “Lu Xiaofeng” was a top-tier martial arts master from Gu Long’s works.
His movement speed and the precision of his strikes were far beyond anything Matt could match.
His figure moved like mist and shadow, weaving effortlessly through the flashing blades.
With a swipe of his hand or a strike of his palm, a ninja of The Hand would silently dissolve into a wisp of dark smoke.
In the blink of an eye, the scattered shadows on the ground vanished, leaving not a single enemy standing.
“Thanks.”
The moment the last ninja dissolved, Matt’s tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly.
Pressing a hand against his bleeding wound, he spoke in a slightly raspy voice.
“A minor matter.”
“I, Lu Xiaofeng, love making friends with heroes. How should I address you, brother?”
A faint smirk played on Lu Xiaofeng’s lips, his smile lazy yet carrying a hint of cunning.
Matt paused.
“Matt.”
“Matt.”
Lu Xiaofeng nodded, his gaze falling onto Matt’s peculiar black mask.
His tone carried a touch of genuine curiosity.
“Your eyes…”
Matt nodded.
“An accident took away my sight forever, but it gave me something else in return.”
“You remind me of an old friend of mine, Hua Manlou.”
“He was also blind in both eyes, yet he lived more transparently and passionately than anyone.”
“He often said with a laugh, ‘I cannot see, but I can hear the gentle breeze passing by my ears, and feel the breath of the grass and trees. Sometimes, I end up savoring more of life’s flavors than those who can see.'”
Luke Lane’s clone, “Lu Xiaofeng,” had already completely immersed himself in the character, his actions and words entirely natural.
“Hearing you say that makes me truly want to meet this Brother Hua.”
Matt was still clutching his wound, fresh blood seeping through his fingers.
Though blind, his six senses were incredibly acute, as if his eyes were still intact, currently “staring” at the ancient Chinese-style robe on Lu Xiaofeng—a style identical to that of the Blood-Clad Marquis.
After a brief hesitation, he finally spoke.
“Lu Xiaofeng, do you… know the Blood-Clad Marquis?”
“The Blood-Clad Marquis!”
Lu Xiaofeng’s voice suddenly went up an octave, a flash of shock and eagerness crossing his eyes.
“I traveled all the way from China to New York specifically to find him, Bai Yifei.”
“He was my brother-in-arms, but he betrayed our path at Mount Shu.”
“Mount Shu?”
Matt gasped in shock.
His master, Stick, was Chinese, and through years of influence since childhood, Matt was incredibly familiar with the legends of the sword immortals of Mount Shu.
Weren’t those just fictional tales from storybooks?
Could such a place and such people truly exist?
[Shock Value from Matt Murdock +200]
Lu Xiaofeng narrowed his eyes, his expression turning solemn as his voice dropped.
“The Demon Locking Tower has suppressed countless evils for tens of thousands of years. Back then, the Blood-Clad Marquis was seduced by the Blood Demon sealed within the tower and helped it break free.”
“As his old friend, I cannot stand by and watch him sink deeper into darkness. So, I followed him to New York to stop him.”
Matt remained silent for a moment to digest this information, then said in a low voice, “I overheard the Blood-Clad Marquis ordering Madame Gao to secretly capture a batch of vampires… Could this truly be related to that Blood Demon?”
Lu Xiaofeng nodded solemnly.
“An elder once told me that the Blood Demon is the ancestor of Western vampires, possessing terrifying power.”
“Years ago, it led a horde to invade the East, but was severely wounded by a joint effort of my Mount Shu predecessors and sealed deep within the Demon Locking Tower.”
“Although it has luckily escaped now, only a wisp of its remnant soul remains. Bai Yifei is capturing vampires for sacrifice, most likely to forcefully awaken the Blood Demon using an ancient ritual.”
“If it is allowed to feed on fresh blood right upon waking, I fear it will unleash a bloodbath upon New York.”
[Shock Value from Matt Murdock +300]
Matt furrowed his brow tightly.
“We must not let him succeed.”
“Your wound is still bleeding.”
Lu Xiaofeng glanced at Matt’s blood-soaked shirt.
“Stop the bleeding first. We can discuss other matters later.”
Matt shook his head.
“It can wait.”
…
“Keep it steady, Daredevil.”
Far away in the shadows, Luke Lane, who was controlling the clone, slowly withdrew his consciousness, a slight smirk playing on the corners of his lips.
Since discovering that cards could perfectly integrate into shadow clones, he had given it a try, and the results were pleasantly surprising.
The clones possessed both form and spirit, moving with absolute freedom, only dispersing upon death.
Even better, he could coordinate them from afar, retrieve cards at any time, and switch them instantly.
“The show is just getting started.”
He stroked his chin, his eyes burning with excitement.
Everything he had just told Matt was completely made up on the spot.
As of now, Mount Shu had only one sole representative—Lu Xiaofeng.
The so-called Blood Demon was pure fiction.
He had already quietly arranged for En Oyashiro to use the Blood Dragon Eye to mimic the Blood Demon’s aura.
But it didn’t matter.
As long as shock value kept pouring in, he could draw even stronger cards, making Mount Shu a reality, bringing the legends to life, and gradually leading the entire world to believe that these “lies” would eventually become “truth.”
“Now, let’s start a fire to warm up the stage.”
With his mind made up, he sank his consciousness and quietly shifted his focus to another battlefield, checking on the movements of his “Blood-Clad Marquis” clone.
…
A few days later.
In a luxurious yet gloomy manor on the outskirts of New York.
Two vampires wrapped in specially-made black robes leaned against the porch pillars, clutching submachine guns as they grumbled endlessly.
“What awful luck. There’s a glorious blood feast tonight, and yet we got stuck on guard duty.”
“Tell me about it. Drinking artificial blood plasma for a month has made me almost forget the warm pulse of a fresh neck.”
“Heh, I had better luck. I ran into a young girl a couple of days ago. That scream of hers combined with the scent of scalding blood… it was absolutely intoxicating.”
As he spoke, the vampire narrowed his eyes and smacked his lips in ecstasy.
The next second, a silver-gleaming dagger pierced straight through his chest.
“Mmph!”
He had barely let out half a grunt before his mouth was tightly covered by a ninja of The Hand.
In twisted terror, he dissolved into falling ash.
Beneath the distant shadows of the trees, the Blood-Clad Marquis stood as silent as iron, his gaze cold and hard.
“Infiltrate.”
Madame Gao and the others answered in unison, their figures flashing as they slipped into the manor like ghosts.
Inside the manor, the ballroom was magnificent and brightly lit, with slow, languid music filling the air.
Gentlemen dressed in The Tuxedo raised their crystal glasses, the crimson liquid swirling inside as they nodded politely to one another.
“Ladies and gentlemen,”
Baron Anhalt slowly walked onto the stage and clapped his hands three times.
Over a dozen dark-haired girls were roughly shoved forward, their faces pale and their bodies trembling.
“I have always had a preference for Eastern girls.”
“Their blood is sweet and rich, unlike the nauseating, metallic tang that comes from white girls of the same age.”
“Ain’t that the truth.”
Several nearby vampires murmured in agreement, a crimson hunger flaring in their eyes as their throats bobbed slightly.
“Shall we…”
As the surrounding vampires bared their stark white fangs, Baron Anhalt raised a hand, intending to call for order.
Before he could speak,
Boom!
The doors were kicked open, and Madame Gao burst in with her people.
“Madame Gao?”
Baron Anhalt was taken aback, his face darkening as he recognized the intruders.
“Does The Hand intend to be completely wiped off the map of New York?”
“Leave the purebloods. Slay the rest.”
The Blood-Clad Marquis slowly walked through the entrance, his gaze sweeping over the dozen or so girls with Chinese features, the coldness in his eyes deepening.
“You must be tired of living.”
Baron Anhalt bared his teeth as four sharp fangs extended.
In a flash, he lunged straight for the Blood-Clad Marquis’s face.
“Bang!”
Madame Gao met his strike with a palm of her own, sending him flying backward with a cold smile hanging on her lips.
“Allow this old woman to trade a few blows with you.”
“Kill them all.”