Chapter 227: Umbrella! It's Been A Long Time

“Bai… Bai Qi?”

Seeing Bai Qi’s appearance, Chen Xiaolian’s heart sank.

Bai Qi should have been wearing pure white clothes. But presently, black, ink-like stripes had appeared across his white clothes.

Killing intent and the aura of death spilled out from his body. It was so thick it almost felt tangible. At that moment, that aura was firmly locked onto Chen Xiaolian.

Back!

Without showing the slightest hesitation, Chen Xiaolian reacted at a faster speed compared to Culkin’s from just now.

What strength he managed to gather up earlier was now unleashed to the maximum. With one hand holding onto Xian Yin’s waist, Chen Xiaolian jumped hastily toward the rear.

Even so – he was not fast enough!

Bai Qi made his move the same instant that Chen Xiaolian pounced backward.

A chilling light exploded and Bai Qi who had been standing still shot out toward Chen Xiaolian.

Although the blade of the sword had yet to make contact with his body, Chen Xiaolian’s entire body had already been engulfed by the sword qi. It was as though innumerable needles were being stabbed into all the pores of his body.

The wounds inflicted by Culkin earlier reopened and blood spurt out once more.

As the sword blade was about to reach Chen Xiaolian, he gritted his teeth and promptly twisted his body to draw an arc while in mid-air.

The sword missed him by a hair’s breadth and grazed Chen Xiaolian’s cheek.

After having barely dodged this sword attack, he heard a series of booms. A shockwave spread out from the sword and both Chen Xiaolian and Xian Yin were blown far away.

Chen Xiaolian made two somersaults in the air and fell heavily to the ground. Then, he sprayed out another mouthful of blood.

Even until now, his hands remained holding onto Xian Yin tightly and he had been using his back to block off the impact for her.

This attack was more powerful compared to when Culkin caused his spear to explode. Chen Xiaolian felt as though all the bones throughout his body had been broken from the attack. Pain coursed toward him from all four limbs, akin to a poisonous snake slithering within his body. The pain made it so Chen Xiaolian was unable to move even a finger.

On the ground, a deep bottomless gully that spread out through the yard could be seen. Under Bai Qi’s attack, the stone tiles that were laid upon the ground had been bombarded and scattered as a result.

This was the result of the power unleashed by just one sword strike!

“Bei Tai! Do not come out!” Chen Xiaolian had been seriously injured by that one sword strike. However, he did not forget to shout out through the guild channel. This War Pet standing before him had originally been stronger than himself. Now that Bai Qi had gone berserk, his strength appeared to be significantly more powerful than before. Even if Bei Tai were to come out, he would simply be marching to his death.

Chen Xiaolian quickly considered his alternatives.

Spear? His spear had been destroyed by Culkin. Besides… even if it was not destroyed, he no longer had the strength to engage in a melee.

Four-Eyed War Cat? Garfield had already taken heavy damage earlier. Chen Xiaolian attempted to summon Garfield but the system indicated that his pet had taken too much damage and cannot be summoned.

As he was thinking about that, Bai Qi slowly stepped toward the now immobilized Chen Xiaolian.

“Blood… lifeblood…”

Bai Qi stood before Chen Xiaolian and slowly raised his left hand.

The ground was stained with Chen Xiaolian’s blood. After Bai Qi lifted his left hand, the blood appeared to be evaporating. They rose up, transforming into a fog of blood, which then flowed into Bai Qi’s palm.

It was not limited to that. Under Bai Qi’s power, blood rose up from the wounds that were inflicted by Culkin and Bai Qi earlier, transforming into that same fog of blood.

Chen Xiaolian had just retrieved a Healing Beast Blood from his Storage Watch. Before he could swallow it, the loss of blood through his wounds due to Bai Qi’s action caused him to rapidly lose his strength.

His hand became limp and the Healing Beast Blood fell to the ground.

As the fog of blood was sucked into his palm, Bai Qi’s face that had been stiff appeared to regain a trace of life. However, the pair of black eyes remained.

Chen Xiaolian was able to roughly deduce that Bai Qi’s current state was due to him devouring Jack the Ripper’s undead spirit. The life qi and death qi within his body had lost its state of balance, leading to a desire for life qi that caused him to lose control. As a result, he only cared about desperately getting lifeblood.

This was a War Soul’s instinct.

But… how is this possible?

In the system, Bai Qi is shown to be my pet!

According to the laws of the system, a pet absolutely cannot attack their owner!

Why can Bai Qi harm me?

Why can his actions defy the laws of the system?

…

Chen Xiaolian could feel that his life was being sucked out by Bai Qi, bit by bit and was being merged together with Jack the Ripper’s undead spirit. Once he regained a state of balance, Bai Qi’s strength would leap up to a much higher stage.

Unfortunately – Chen Xiaolian was uncertain if he would live to see it!

Considering the speed at which Bai Qi was absorbing his life qi, Chen Xiaolian would be turned into a withered corpse long before Bai Qi could regain his state of balance.

Bai Qi’s extended hand suddenly trembled. Following that, the fog of blood that was flowing into his palm also became sluggish.

A figure flew out from the door of the museum.

Bei Tai!

“Guild Leader, let’s go!”

Bei Tai used his remaining right hand to throw a fist at Bai Qi. At the same time, he shouted out toward Chen Xiaolian who was on the ground.

He was originally supposed to play the role of a field controller. However, he finally chose to ignore the warning that Chen Xiaolian gave through the guild channel and make a move against Bai Qi.

Bai Qi was using his left hand to suck up Chen Xiaolian’s life qi. Bei Tai believed that by using his full powered Air Incarceration to lock up Bai Qi’s left hand and then going forward to interrupt Bai Qi, he would be able to give his Guild Leader a chance to escape.

As for what would happen next, what would happen to him, he was simply too reckless of a person to care!

However, Bai Qi did not even bother to give the incoming Bei Tai a glance.

Bai Qi’s extended arm quivered for a moment before regaining its former steadiness. The flow of the fog of blood was only delayed for a negligible instant.

Without putting up any struggling action, Bai Qi had broken the Air Incarceration skill used by Bei Tai on his left hand.

Following the collapse of his Air Incarceration skill, Bei Tai spat out blood into the air and fell face first onto the ground.

He did not even turned his head around!

He did not even raise an eye!

He did not even make an attack!

Yet, Bai Qi had heavily damaged Bei Tai!

After falling to the ground, Bei Tai too spat out a mouthful of blood. Likewise, under the powerful suction force exerted by Bai Qi’s palm, the blood transformed into a fog of blood and were gathered into his palm, used as nutrients by Bai Qi to be integrated with the death qi.

Bai Qi!

God of Slaughter, Bai Qi!

Wounding Culkin in just one move!

Wounding Chen Xiaolian in just one move!

Wounding Bei Tai with just one move!

…

There is no way out…

No, there is one!

Chen Xiaolian gritted his teeth and stared right at Bai Qi who was standing before him.

Goddess of… Dawn!

This final skill was meant to be used against either Culkin or some other BOSS.

Chen Xiaolian could never have imagined that it would end up being used against his own… … pet.

Chen Xiaolian exerted his all to support his own body even as his body was quickly losing blood.

Bai Qi had already turned around. He walked slowly and steadily toward Chen Xiaolian.

Chen Xiaolian faced Bai Qi and slowly opened up his right palm…

Go all out!

At that moment, Chen Xiaolian was quick to notice that something was off!

Bai Qi… he suddenly moved.

Bai Qi’s figure quickly moved past Chen Xiaolian. Surprisingly, his objective was…

Xian Yin?

…

Compared to Chen Xiaolian and the two brothers, Xian Yin who was an ordinary person represented a negligible threat. Yet, Bai Qi’s eyes had turned toward Xian Yin. It was apparent that a surge of change had appeared within his black eyes.

Bai Qi even went so far as to ignore Chen Xiaolian!

He walked until he was beside Xian Yin and looked at the woman who was lying on the ground.

More accurately, there was only one thing that Bai Qi’s black eyes were looking at.

“… … umbrella (簦)! [1]”

…

Xian Yin who was lying on the ground was terrified. She weakly held onto the umbrella and watched the white clothed man standing before her.

“… … UMBRELLA (簦)!”

Bai Qi’s tone suddenly rose slightly. A trace of hostility leaked out from within his eyes while his voice carried with it traces of…

Anger?

…

Umbrella (簦)?

Chen Xiaolian froze for a bit. Then, he quickly realized it.

The word umbrella (簦) that Bai Qi had said meant umbrella (伞)!

Bai Qi was a citizen of the State of Qin.

In those ancient times, the word for umbrella (伞) was…

Umbrella (簦)!

But…

That can’t be right!

That can’t be right!

…

Chen Xiaolian’s face turned highly odd.

He was unable to understand why the man who looked like Qiu Yun, the one whom he had fought against earlier would act so strangely after seeing the umbrella.

And now… … even Bai Qi was showing such a strange expression.

…

In the distance, Culkin had stopped running away after seeing Bai Qi turn around to attack Chen Xiaolian. The moment Bai Qi noticed the umbrella in Xian Yin’s hands, Culkin subconsciously tightened his palms into fists and his fingers punctured his palms.

“Umbrella? It really is that umbrella? I was not mistaken…?”

…

Xian Yin lay on the ground in a dishevelled state. Naturally, the gracefulness of a Countess was no longer present.

The man in white standing before her had brought too much fear upon her! The invisible pressure, the pervasive killing intent and those black eyes…

“I… I… I… …” Xian Yin trembled as she held dearly onto the umbrella. She brandished it subconsciously and said, “Don’t come! Don’t come!”

“Umbrella… … umbrella!” Bai Qi suddenly became enraged.

His face suddenly became twisted and the sword in his hand was pointed toward Xian Yin!

“You are… umbrella! You… go die! DIE!”

In that moment, Bai Qi appeared to be having emotions of his own.

And that emotion was pure anger!

The degree of anger had caused him to forget his instinct, his instinct to absorb lifeblood!

Chen Xiaolian was lying not far away. Seeing Bai Qi raise the sword in his arm, Chen Xiaolian was only able to give rise to a shout. No matter how he struggled, he could not activate the Overwhelming Sunlight Purification in time…

A chilling sword light flashed out!

The sword pierced through the black umbrella in Xian Yin’s hand with ease. It went through the umbrella fabric and stabbed into Xian Yin’s heart! A mass of blood sprayed out from her back!

Xian Yin’s pair of beautiful eyes widened and she looked at Bai Qi in a daze. Then, she subconsciously lowered her gaze to see her own chest…

Blood was spraying out and Xian Yin’s body abruptly fell limp.

She closed her eyes.

Chen Xiaolian was stunned.

Culkin was also stunned!

Xian Yin… was actually… …

Killed by Bai Qi!

The black umbrella fell onto the ground. It fell above the blood flowing out from Xian Yin’s body.

At that moment, Chen Xiaolian felt his mind going blank.

Xian Yin…

Died?

Miao Yan’s Exclusive Account… … her Exclusive Account!

She died just like that?

Killed by Bai Qi?

…

Bai Qi’s sword pierced through Xian Yin’s heart. However, that did not lessen his anger in the slightest. Instead, he became more enraged!

Rage flashed through his black eyes and he suddenly let loose a loud roar. He raised up his sword and sliced down onto Xian Yin’s neck.

He wanted to behead her!

…

Weng!

At the same instant that the sword blade was slashing downward, the umbrella lying amid the pool of blood abruptly… … opened up!

The opened umbrella was like a rotating disc. It spun around quickly and shielded Xian Yin’s body beneath it.

When Bai Qi’s sword blade struck the umbrella’s frame, a loud sound was emitted!

Then…

BOOM!

A wave of qi exploded outward and all the windows of the museum buildings and that of the other buildings across the road shattered into fragments!

Chen Xiaolian only had enough time to throw himself onto the ground while placing his hands over his head…

He felt the wave of qi washing over and his body was thrown up before falling heavily down the ground.

When Chen Xiaolian finally raised his head, he saw a strange scene.

…

It was a person.

A tall, lanky man with brown hair and dark long trench coat was there. Observing him from the back, he seemed to be exuding a sorrowful atmosphere.

This man was standing before Xian Yin.

His hand… … was holding onto an umbrella.

It was the umbrella from the ground!

He held the old-fashioned wooden handle with one hand, the black coloured umbrella fabric had already been furled up.

Holding onto the umbrella in his hand, he resembled a peerless swordsman of his generation who was holding onto a sword with unparalleled sharpness!

The frame of the umbrella had stood up against Bai Qi’s sword!

Surprisingly… this man was…

Ambler!

…

“Umbrella! Umbrella!” Bai Qi’s hand was seemingly quivering and his eyes stared intensely at Ambler. His voice became jerky as he shouted, “Umbrella! Umbrella!”

What consciousness he had seemed to be capable of only saying that one word. Yet, that one word carried an endless amount of anger.

Ambler looked at Bai Qi. His eyes showed deep shock and also a profound sorrow.

This man’s eyes seemed full of anguish and melancholy.

“It’s been a long time… … Gongsun Qi.”

…

Gongsun Qi!

Bai Qi!

The aristocrat from the State of Qin, Gongsun Qi!

…

The moment Ambler used those words to address Bai Qi, Chen Xiaolian became highly shocked.

He forgot to cover his head, forgot the many wounds covering his body; he forgot about everything else around him.

He just looked at Ambler's back in surprise!

There was only one thought in his mind.

Just who is this man?

…

Using an umbrella as a sword!

He was as powerful as Bai Qi who could easily beat him, Bei Tai and that man who resembled Qiu Yun.

Bai Qi who was so powerful and his sword…

Had his attack intercepted by Ambler!

Moreover, in addition to calling out Bai Qi’s name…

It’s been… … been a long time?!

…

“Seeing an old friend in such a state hurts my heart to the extreme,” said Ambler with a faint sigh. “Gongsun Qi, you ended up in such a state.”

“Umbrella! Umbrella!”

Bai Qi was a War Soul after all, one without a complete form of consciousness. Even so, Chen Xiaolian was able to feel it; each time Bai Qi said the word ‘umbrella’ (簦), his words were filled with anger and hatred.

Even after becoming a War Soul, even after losing his consciousness…

The hatred imprinted inside went so deep!

…

“It’s already a story from long ago, why be obsessed with it still?” said Ambler with a faint sigh. He looked at Bai Qi, at his figure and at his sword; finally, his gaze fell onto Bai Qi’s face. An unrestrained sense of sorrow was etched upon Ambler’s eyes. “Oh why… oh why!”

“Umbrella! Umbrella!”

Bai Qi roared furiously. He raised the sword in his hand and attempted to stab it toward Ambler. Ambler flicked his wrist and his umbrella firmly slammed the sword down!

Under the suppressive power of Ambler’s umbrella, not even Bai Qi’s terrifying level of strength could cause the sword to move.

“You are no longer that Gongsun Qi I knew from long ago,” Ambler slowly said. “You have become a War Soul and not even 1 % of your original strength remains. The current you is no longer a match for me.”

“Umbrella! Umbrella!”

Ambler no longer bothered with Bai Qi’s roaring. With lightning like speed, he pulled his umbrella back. Then, the umbrella was promptly opened up and the edges of the umbrella spun…

Chi Chi!

A long split appeared upon the chest area of Bai Qi’s long clothes and his body was thrown back by a powerful force.

Ambler’s figure became like a shadow as he sped forward, staying close to Bai Qi’s body that was being thrown back. Ambler abruptly raised his hand and his umbrella fell onto Bai Qi’s forehead where it then lightly poked forward!

With a furious roar, Bai Qi transformed into a beam of white light and disappeared in the middle of the air!

Chen Xiaolian quickly realized that Bai Qi had been returned into the system’s pet box.

He was greatly surprised.

This was the first time that Bai Qi had, outside of his control, been forced back into the system by someone else.

He looked at the man known as Ambler with a horrified expression.

Ambler on the other hand, frowned as he turned around and crouched down. He lowered his head to look at Xian Yin who was lying on the ground.

Xian Yin lay above a pool of blood and her breathing appeared to have completely stopped…

Ambler turned to look at Chen Xiaolian.

At that moment, Culkin who was situated some distance away quickly jumped up. Disregarding all else, he ran away!

In but an instant, his body covered a distance of over ten meters. Next, his body disappeared in the middle of the air. That was where he had first appeared… … clearly, Culkin had already set a spatial coordinate beforehand.

“You may not be the one to have killed her, but you are also responsible!”

Ambler’s eyebrows knitted together and he promptly extended out his left hand. The hand was extended in the direction where Culkin had disappeared.

Poof!

A spatial crack seemingly appeared in the middle of the air before disappearing.

At almost the same time, Culkin who was just reappearing from a spatial coordinate located at least a hundred meters away suddenly turned pale. He let out a wretched cry and his body was fiercely ejected out instead, causing him to spray out blood from his mouth.

The spatial coordinate that he had set up beforehand was utterly destroyed!

Culkin was aghast.

At that moment, there was only one thought running through his mind: RUN!

Run as far away as possible!

Having no time to make any adjustments, Culkin forced himself to utilize his spatial skill! He was barely able to create a rift. However, he did not have any time to determine the direction of the rift. Even so, he threw himself head first into the rift!

In the next instant, Culkin reappeared by the side of the River Thames. His body was soaked with the river’s water and he coughed out blood in succession.

He struggled to swallow down a Healing Beast Blood. However, Culkin was shocked to find out…

He found out that he had been seriously injured! The progress bar for his spatial skill had been utterly shattered!

“My tens of years of hard work…” Culkin gave a wretched smile and spat out another mouthful of blood. He then shook his head and said, “So be it… … to be able to stay alive even after bumping into him is considered a win.”

…

From across the computer monitor, Tian Lie clenched his fists as his eyes stared intently at the monitor screen.

He observed the tall and lanky man who was standing there with an umbrella in hand through the monitor screen.

“It’s him… it has to be him… that is him,” Tian Lie mumbled in a low voice.

Then, the man in the monitor screen suddenly turned his head and his gaze swept its way toward the screen…

…

With a seemingly indifferent attitude, Ambler’s gaze swept around and fell upon the surveillance camera across the road.

…

Tian Lie was shocked! He felt as though an intense killing intent was enveloping his entire body!

He quickly shouted out and swung his fist, which violently smashed the computer equipment before him.

Boom!

A mass of fire burst out and Sasha who was right beside Tian Lie flew to the back and slammed onto the corner of the walls.

As for Tian Lie, he remained seated in the same spot, gasping for breath.

“Boss Tian Lie… you, why did you destroy the computer?” Sasha sat in the corner with a pitiful expression.

Tian Lie panted and shook his head forcefully. Then, he murmured, “Don’t destroy? If I did not destroy it, he would have found me in an instant! Bloody Hell… … how could he be that strong? He is actually so strong!”

He exhaled and turned his head to glance at Sasha. He said, “You idiot. Do you know how close we were to getting killed just now?”

“Err… … that fellow, the one with the umbrella seemed very powerful…”

“Powerful?” Tian Lie had a peculiar expression on his face as he said, “Powerful doesn’t even cut it!”

He ran his hand through his bald head and said in a low voice, “I used to have a Guild Leader who once told me…”

…

“Tian Lie, your strength is not bad. As a team Inspector, you have enough strength to work alone. However, there is something I must remind you. With your level of strength, you would be able to fight against most of the top experts. Even if you fail to beat them, you would still be able to survive. However… … I have one warning for you. You had better keep this in mind.

“If… if you were to encounter a tall, lanky man with an umbrella in the future, the first thing you should do is… … run! Run asap! Run as fast as you can, run as far as you can!”

…

Tian Lie recalled the warning he received from back then.

Despite his reckless nature, he always kept those words of warning in mind.

Because those words were said to him by the Guild Leader of the Thorned Flower Guild!

…

1 The word here is ‘簦’ (dēng) which is presently used for a big umbrella usually used by stalls. The word that the author had normally used is ‘伞’ (sǎn) which means umbrella, the type used when raining. All subsequent “umbrella” uttered out by Bai Qi is the former.↩