High atop the rugged cliffs, the moon appeared unusually massive, faintly glowing with an eerie purple halo.
In the distance, black clouds rolled across the horizon, pressing down toward the mountain. Intermittent flashes of lightning momentarily illuminated the world, followed by the distant, muffled rumble of thunder.
Multiple black figures leaped across the high cliffs, the glint of blades cutting through the night as they engaged in a fierce struggle.
The collision of blade against blade sent sparks flying, only for them to be swallowed by the darkness an instant later, too fast for the naked eye to track. In those brief moments, the incessant clang-clang of metal echoed across the empty expanse, the number of exchanges impossible to count.
The sheer killing intent radiating from the scene was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
Upon closer inspection, more than a dozen men were surrounding and attacking a single figure in black.
The man in black struck with ruthless desperation, every move a gamble, every strike aimed for the throat. His style was one of mutual destruction, yet he somehow managed to force his opponents back at the very precipice of life and death.
The rolling black clouds reached the summit in an instant. In one section of the sky, a purple light shimmered—exactly where the moon had been visible just moments before.
However, the combatants were far too occupied to spare a glance upward. Torches had been dropped during the pursuit, leaving the night as dark as ink. The besieged man in black moved like a phantom, appearing before his enemies in the blink of an eye.
Even though they knew the man in black was doomed to die against their superior numbers, their own lives hung by a thread; no one dared to relax for a single second.
Lightning tore through the sky, suddenly turning the world as bright as day.
In that blinding instant, the man in black killed two more people! The crowd was aghast!
But they quickly saw that he was nearing the end of his strength—a spent arrow.
With shouts of coordination, they pressed their advantage, gradually forcing the man in black toward the edge of the precipice.
Finally, the man in black had nowhere left to retreat. From the path he had come, the faint glow of torches and silhouettes appeared; more pursuers were catching up. Seeing them armed with hand-crossbows, he knew there was no path to survival in front of him, and behind… behind him was the abyss.
The man in black swung his blade in a wide horizontal sweep, the edge tracing a bright arc through the dark night and forcing his immediate attackers back. Seizing this momentary gap, he threw himself off the high cliff—
It was not a suicide. In his rapid descent, he pulled a Fine Steel Claw from his waist. The claw shot out, firmly gripping the rocky cliff face and slowing his fall.
But at that exact moment, another bolt of lightning illuminated the earth! An eerie, brilliant white light erupted, enveloping the man suspended in mid-air.
Thunder shook the world, and the figure in black could no longer be seen. He had vanished.
In another time and space, there was no wind or clouds. The night sky was clear, studded with twinkling stars.
Far from the bustle of the city, a car sat parked at an angle on a quiet suburban riverbank.
Ruan Qing sat on the open shore, sucking the last bit of milk tea into her mouth. After chewing the pearls and swallowing, she stood up and hurled the crumpled plastic cup into the river with all her might!
“I swear! I will never spend another cent on a man again!”
“If I ever judge someone by their face again, I’m a dog!”
“If you can’t maintain your manly virtues, then just go die!”
Her boyfriend was several years younger than her, still a student, tall, long-legged, and handsome with six-pack abs. Ruan Qing had been captivated by his face and had supported him for two years. He ate her food, drank her drinks, and spent her money; she had even paid his tuition.
She had been happily thinking she was raising a “young wolf,” but it turned out the young wolf was a two-timer.
No matter how many flowery words he used to admit his mistake and beg for forgiveness, Ruan Qing had caught him red-handed today and had furiously kicked the guy out of her apartment.
She lived alone in Jiang City, far from her hometown. Here, she had colleagues but no close friends. The company had a meeting scheduled for tomorrow, and she wasn’t the type to indulge in the “heartbroken and drunk” cliché. This rage could only be vented in the deserted outskirts.
The emotional wound wasn’t actually that deep; it had mostly been a case of intense, combustible attraction between city dwellers. However, a person had to have principles. Since he was living off her, he should have at least maintained his decorum.
Otherwise, wouldn’t her money be wasted?
It was the same logic as an idol being supported by fans; therefore, they weren’t allowed to date.
Campus romance during university had been unreliable, and the blind dates her parents set up later were equally useless. She thought she would raise one herself this time, but who knew it would be another trap.
Reflecting on her pain, she vowed to the empty river that she would never support a “pretty boy” again! No “puppy dogs,” no “wolf dogs,” none of it!
Her shouts echoed faintly in the vast, dark night. Having vented her anger, she felt much better.
Starting today, she was single again. Tomorrow would be a new beginning.
Ruan Qing exhaled a long breath. Feeling her emotions settle, she prepared to head back. Glancing over, she saw the milk tea cup she had just thrown stuck in a crevice between the rocks in the shallow water.
Littering is probably bad.
Ruan Qing gritted her teeth. In the end, she couldn’t overcome years of quality education. She kicked off her shoes and stepped into the water barefoot to retrieve it.
In the height of summer, the tap water in the city was always lukewarm, but the water in a natural river was still icy cold, especially at night.
Ruan Qing nimbly bent over, picked up the cup, and hurried back to shore. She shook the water off her feet and slipped on her sandals. Looking around, she noted this wasn’t a scenic area; it was just a wild river below a suburban highway. Forget trash cans, even the light was borrowed from the distant road.
Holding the cup, Ruan Qing decided to put it in the trash bag in her car and dispose of it when she got home.
As she walked toward her car, the sky suddenly erupted in brilliant white light!
To say it was a “bright night” felt wrong, but at that moment, Ruan Qing’s vision was indeed as bright as day. A cluster of purple clouds swirled in mid-air, and a piercing white light shot out from the center of the vortex.
In that crystal-clear illumination, Ruan Qing watched with wide eyes as a person fell straight out of the cloud vortex. With a loud thud, he slammed onto the roof of her car!
He then bounced, crashed onto the hood, and rolled onto the ground!
It… looked… very painful.
Immediately after, the white light vanished, and the purple clouds dissipated. The only source of light returned to being the distant highway streetlights, and the night regained its rightful gloom. It was as if the eerie spectacle had never existed.
Ruan Qing was dumbfounded.
She stood frozen for several seconds before reacting. She glanced at the empty night sky and hurriedly ran over to check on the person on the ground.
The moment she crouched down, she smelled a thick scent of blood. The person was wrapped in black clothing, lying face down.
“Hey? Hey?” She poked him gently. “Are you okay? Hey?”
The man in black remained completely unresponsive.
Ruan Qing had no choice but to grab his shoulder and forcefully roll him over.
Suddenly, her wrist was seized! The strength was like an iron pincer!
For a split second, Ruan Qing thought her bone was going to be crushed.
In the dim light, she saw a pair of sharp, bright eyes. Ruan Qing froze. How could a person’s eyes be so bright?
The man, his face masked by black cloth, saw that the person before him was a woman and not a pursuer. For a moment, he seemed to show a look of profound relief.
In the next instant, his eyes closed, and the hand gripping Ruan Qing’s wrist went limp, falling to the ground.
This scene was strikingly similar to those TV dramas where a character kicks the bucket right after their last words. Ruan Qing almost thought he was dead.
With a trembling hand, she checked his breathing. Confirming he was still alive, she quickly took out her phone to call an ambulance.
After explaining their location and hanging up, she looked down at the unconscious man lying on the ground.
The man was lean and well-built, wearing a set of black… was this Hanfu? Anyway, it was the kind of ancient costume with a Cross-Collar Right Lapel. He was entirely in black from head to toe. It looked just like the Nightwalker’s Garb from TV shows.
No, it wasn’t just “like” it. He was even wearing a mask. This was definitely a Nightwalker’s Garb!
Looking closer, not only was he wearing ancient-style black clothing, but he even had his hair in a bun.
The kind of hair bun ancient men wore!
Ruan Qing’s heart suddenly began to pound. She had a faint feeling that she had stumbled into something big. The kind of thing that only happened in novels!
She stood up and walked to the side of her car. The roof was dented and deformed. This was the kind of impact that could only come from a free fall from a considerable height.
But looking up, it was a clear summer night with a bright moon and sparse stars. There was nothing in the air.
Looking around again, this was an empty riverbank below a highway. Because it was the suburbs and not a park, there was no artificial landscaping. There was some soil and wild grass near the road, but the area near the river was all pebbles.
There wasn’t even a tree.
The possibility of him jumping from a tree was 0%.
No planes had flown over just now, either. It was impossible for a passenger plane to drop a person, and a helicopter couldn’t have been that silent. A fighter jet… don’t even go there.
Having eliminated all the impossibilities, the only answer was that this man in ancient garb… had truly appeared out of thin air!
Ruan Qing couldn’t help but take a deep breath, stepping back at the same time. Her foot suddenly stepped on something.
She looked down and leaned over to pick it up.
Long and narrow… was it a sword?
No. A sword was straight and double-edged. This one looked mostly straight but actually had a slight curve, and it was single-edged.
This was a blade.
Yes, Ruan Qing knew that real ancient blades weren’t the broad, cleaver-like things seen in old black-and-white movies or stage operas. Practical ancient blades looked like this.
There was still blood on the blade’s surface.
Ruan Qing’s hand shook slightly as she held it.
She glanced at the man in black on the ground, pursed her lips, opened her car trunk, and placed the blade inside first.
Returning to crouch beside the man, she pulled away the black cloth covering his face, revealing a handsome countenance. His eyebrows were long, the bridge of his nose was sharp, and the lines of his jaw were very well-defined.
Appearing out of nowhere, dressed in ancient clothes, hair in a bun, carrying a steel blade.
Ruan Qing took a deep breath.
Could it really be what she was thinking?