Chapter 89: Blackstone Fights Back

The saber moved first. Lin Yuan had expected the attack, but that didn’t make blocking any easier.

Steel crashed against his artifact, sending pain through his swollen wrist. Rather than hold the clash, he twisted away and allowed the blade to slide past him.

The masked man followed with another cut toward his shoulder. Lin Yuan stepped back, narrowly avoiding it before a third strike came lower. He shifted aside again, refusing to exchange blows directly with someone who had already proved himself the better fighter.

Unfortunately, the saber wielder seemed to have noticed the change.

"You learned quickly."

Lin Yuan kept moving. "I had a good teacher."

The masked man’s eyes narrowed, and his next strike came faster. Lin Yuan barely moved his head in time, feeling the air shift beside his face as the saber passed.

Apparently, the lesson wasn’t over.

Behind them, Qiao Ren shouted.

"Two went north!"

"I saw!"

Lin Yuan didn’t dare look. Taking his eyes off the saber wielder would be an invitation to get hit.

When another strike came, he moved sideways and tried drawing the man toward the overturned market stall. The masked cultivator stopped before stepping around it, clearly recognizing what Lin Yuan intended.

That was unfortunate. Lin Yuan had been hoping experience didn’t always come with common sense.

Instead of following him, the man changed direction and forced him back toward the open road. For several breaths, neither attacked.

Around them, however, Blackstone was anything but quiet. Weapons clashed near the wagons, where the caravan traders were holding off another raider. Qiao Ren fought between the market stalls, neither he nor his opponent managing to gain much ground.

From farther north came the faint sound of someone striking stone or wood near the restricted site. At least the tavern doors remained closed. Lin Yuan could be grateful for that much.

The saber wielder glanced north, and Lin Yuan immediately stepped forward. His artifact struck toward the man’s injured forearm, the same one he had managed to hit earlier.

His opponent pulled back and blocked, but Lin Yuan followed with two more attacks. None landed cleanly, yet they forced the saber wielder to give ground for the first time.

Lin Yuan knew better than to celebrate.

The man abruptly changed his grip. Lin Yuan saw the movement but misjudged what followed.

Instead of another cut, the saber’s hilt slammed into his injured wrist. Pain shot through his arm, and his fingers opened involuntarily. His artifact slipped from his grasp.

Before the masked man could follow up, Lin Yuan kicked him in the thigh. There was nothing elegant about the movement. His leg had simply been close enough to use.

It worked.

The man staggered half a step, giving Lin Yuan enough time to catch his weapon before it struck the ground. He retreated, trying to ignore the throbbing in his right hand.

The masked man noticed him flexing his fingers.

"You won’t last much longer."

Lin Yuan breathed through the pain. "That makes two of us."

The man’s sleeve had darkened around his injured forearm. It wasn’t much, but Lin Yuan preferred looking at that instead of his own wrist.

The saber wielder laughed quietly, but before either could attack again, someone shouted from the caravan camp.

"Push them back!"

Lin Yuan risked a glance. The seven traders were no longer defending themselves individually. Their leader stood beside the first wagon with a broad sword in both hands, supported by two companions, while the others guarded the animals and cargo.

Working together, the three cultivators were forcing their opponent backward. The raider blocked another strike from the caravan leader and stumbled when a second trader approached from the side.

"Keep him away from the horses!" the leader shouted.

His companion moved to cut off the attacker’s path toward the wagons. The raider hesitated, then glanced toward the road as though considering whether the fight was worth continuing.

The saber wielder noticed as well.

"Useless."

Lin Yuan heard the word but kept his attention on the man in front of him. The raiders had expected to divide Blackstone’s defenders, forcing everyone to protect their own belongings. Instead, the people living and working here had begun helping one another.

Qiao Ren had his shop. Su Mei and Xiao Lan worked at the tavern. Merchants came through regularly, and travelers slept upstairs. Blackstone was still small, but it was no longer an isolated building beside an empty road.

The saber wielder attacked again, and Lin Yuan moved toward the caravan instead of retreating into the open wasteland.

His opponent followed for several steps before realizing where Lin Yuan was leading him. With more cultivators nearby, the masked man would have less room to fight freely.

Both men stopped. The masked man wanted Lin Yuan separated from the other defenders, but Lin Yuan had no intention of making that easy.

Near the market, Qiao Ren blocked a short sword with his blade and kicked the attacker backward.

"You’re very persistent," he said.

The raider rushed forward again. "So are you."

Qiao Ren sighed. "I live here."

Their weapons clashed, and the attacker pressed harder, forcing Qiao Ren between two stalls.

A side window of the tavern suddenly opened, and a clay jar flew out. It struck the ground beside the raider and shattered.

Both men hesitated.

"Sorry!" Xiao Lan called from inside.

Qiao Ren turned toward the building, looking momentarily confused. His opponent made the mistake of looking too.

Qiao Ren immediately stepped forward and struck the man’s wrist, knocking the short sword into the dirt. Before the raider could recover it, he kicked the weapon beneath a nearby stall and raised his own blade.

"Stay there."

The man looked at him as though that were an unreasonable request. Qiao Ren lifted his sword a little higher, and the raider reconsidered.

From inside the tavern, Xiao Lan whispered loudly enough for half the courtyard to hear.

"I missed."

"Don’t throw another one," Su Mei replied.

Qiao Ren almost smiled, but another warning from the restricted site quickly wiped the expression from his face. He turned north.

At the restricted site, the two raiders who had left the courtyard joined a third man already working beside the exposed stone.

Loose soil had been cleared away, revealing another section of the buried structure. The spearman crouched beside the excavation, favoring the wrist Lin Yuan had struck earlier.

"What did you find?"

"Another edge."

"That’s it?"

"It continues under the ground."

The club wielder glanced toward Blackstone. Weapons were still clashing near the tavern, and their companions seemed to be having trouble.

"We don’t have time."

The man beside the excavation pointed toward a shallow gap between the soil and the worked stone.

"There’s a seam here."

"Can it open?"

"I don’t know."

"Then find out."

The club wielder raised his weapon, forcing the man to move aside. His first strike landed against the exposed stone with a sharp ringing sound, sending dust into the air.

Nothing else happened.

He lifted the club and struck again. This time, a palm-sized fragment broke away from the exposed stone and fell into the dirt. The club wielder picked it up and examined it briefly.

Holding the fragment in one hand, he raised the club with the other and resumed striking the exposed structure, searching for anything else worth taking.

Lin Yuan heard it, and so did the saber wielder. For a fraction of a second, Lin Yuan glanced north, and his opponent immediately took advantage of the distraction.

The saber swept diagonally toward him. Lin Yuan caught it with his artifact, supporting his injured right hand with his left, but the impact nearly drove the weapon into his chest.

The masked man pressed harder.

"You can’t protect both."

Lin Yuan struggled against the pressure. "No."

His answer seemed to surprise the man.

"But neither can you."

Behind the saber wielder, the caravan leader shouted. The raider fighting near the wagons had finally broken away and was running toward the road.

Two traders started after him, but their leader called them back.

"Don’t chase!"

They obeyed and returned to the wagons. Lin Yuan approved. He had already learned how dangerous pursuing an enemy into unfamiliar darkness could be.

The saber wielder glanced over his shoulder, giving Lin Yuan an opening. He stepped forward and drove his shoulder into the man’s chest.

His opponent recovered quickly, but Lin Yuan wasn’t trying to knock him down. He only needed enough space to break away.

"Qiao Ren!"

"I’m busy!"

"The north!"

"I know!"

Qiao Ren was still keeping the disarmed raider away from his dropped weapon. The short sword lay beneath a stall, well beyond the man’s reach.

Another heavy impact sounded from the restricted site. Qiao Ren glanced north, then pointed his blade toward the road.

"Leave."

The raider looked toward the saber wielder, but no order came.

Another blow rang out from the north, and Lin Yuan decided he had heard enough. He turned toward the caravan leader.

"How many can stay here?"

"Four."

"Keep the tavern covered."

The trader looked at his wagons, then toward the retreating raider and the remaining armed men. After considering the situation, he nodded.

"Fine."

Lin Yuan turned back to Qiao Ren.

"North."

Qiao Ren kicked the unarmed raider away when the man tried to move toward his weapon, then broke away and ran toward the restricted site.

The saber wielder immediately stepped toward Lin Yuan, who moved to meet him. For a moment, another exchange seemed unavoidable, but three caravan cultivators approached and positioned themselves across the road leading back toward the tavern.

They weren’t joining Lin Yuan’s fight. They were making sure the attackers couldn’t slip past them toward the wagons.

One trader raised his spear.

"We’re not letting you near the wagons again."

The saber wielder looked from the traders to Lin Yuan. He could keep Lin Yuan occupied or maintain pressure on the caravan and tavern, but with his companions scattered across Blackstone, he couldn’t do both.

Lin Yuan began moving north, and the masked man followed cautiously with his saber ready. Neither attacked as they moved farther from the courtyard, where the caravan cultivators remained on guard.

After twenty paces, Qiao Ren was already some distance ahead.

The saber wielder finally spoke.

"You’re trying to pull me away."

Lin Yuan offered no answer. That had been the idea.

His opponent stopped, forcing Lin Yuan to do the same. The tavern and market now lay farther behind them, while the restricted site remained to the north. Neither could easily reach the other’s intended destination without risking an attack.

The masked man glanced back toward the market. Near Qiao Ren’s shop, the raider who had lost his short sword had retrieved it and was retreating.

The attack on central Blackstone was falling apart.

The saber wielder raised two fingers to his mouth and whistled sharply. Lin Yuan recognized the signal from the previous attack, but this time the response came from the north.

The club wielder and the spearman emerged from the restricted site. A third man remained near the shallow excavation behind them.

Something in the club wielder’s hand caught Lin Yuan’s attention. It looked like a broken piece of worked stone, no larger than his palm.

The Association had ordered the site left undisturbed, yet these people had been digging around it and breaking pieces free.

Qiao Ren reached the two raiders first.

"Put that down."

The club wielder laughed and swung his weapon. Qiao Ren jumped backward, avoiding the strike, but the spearman immediately moved around him.

Lin Yuan started forward, only for the saber wielder to step into his path again.

"You really don’t learn."

Lin Yuan looked past him toward the stone fragment, then returned his attention to the masked man.

"No, I think I finally did."

Instead of attacking, he raised his voice. ℴℴ𝗺

"Qiao Ren! Don’t stop them from leaving!"

Qiao Ren froze. "What?"

The raiders looked equally confused.

Lin Yuan kept his eyes on the saber wielder.

"If they want to run, let them."

The masked man studied him without speaking.

"But nobody takes anything from the site."

The club wielder tightened his grip around the fragment.

Qiao Ren understood. Rather than block the road west, he moved aside and positioned himself where the raiders would have to pass if they wanted to carry the stone away.

They could leave Blackstone whenever they wished, but they couldn’t take the fragment with them.

The club wielder looked toward his leader, waiting for an order. The masked man’s jaw tightened.

"Drop it."

"Boss—"

"Drop it."

The fragment hit the dirt.

Qiao Ren immediately kicked it back toward the restricted site, away from the raiders. Some of the tension left Lin Yuan’s shoulders, though he kept his artifact ready.

Another sharp whistle sounded, and the man who had remained near the excavation abandoned his work to rejoin the others.

The raiders began withdrawing toward the western road. The caravan traders didn’t pursue them, and Qiao Ren stayed near the exposed stone.

Lin Yuan continued watching the saber wielder.

"You’re losing people."

The man glanced toward the road.

"They know when to leave."

"Do you?"

His opponent looked back at him. Most of the raiders were retreating, but the saber wielder remained where he was, making no attempt to follow them.

Lin Yuan was tired enough to find the whole situation irritating.

The man slowly adjusted his grip on the saber.

"Go."

Lin Yuan frowned. The order clearly wasn’t meant for him.

The club wielder turned.

"Boss?"

"Take them out."

After a brief hesitation, the man obeyed and headed west with the remaining raiders.

Qiao Ren started after him, but Lin Yuan raised a hand. There was no need to chase anyone who was already leaving.

One by one, the attackers withdrew through the market and toward the damaged section of the western boundary. Soon, only the saber wielder remained.

Qiao Ren approached cautiously, his blade still raised.

The masked man looked at him.

"Stay out of this."

Qiao Ren gave a short laugh. "You attacked my shop."

The saber wielder ignored him and kept his attention on Lin Yuan, who glanced toward the road before looking back at the man.

"You can leave too."

His opponent didn’t move.

Qiao Ren took another step forward, drawing the saber wielder’s attention for a moment. The masked man’s eyes shifted toward the restricted site.

Lin Yuan noticed the movement but understood its meaning too late.

The man lunged north.

Qiao Ren immediately moved to block him, but the saber changed direction halfway through its swing, turning toward Qiao Ren instead.

"Qiao Ren!"

Lin Yuan stepped forward and intercepted the strike. Metal crashed together, sending pain through his swollen wrist hard enough to make his fingers tremble.

Qiao Ren stumbled backward toward the exposed stone.

"Watch the site," Lin Yuan told him.

Qiao Ren glanced at Lin Yuan’s swollen wrist.

"Your wrist—"

"I know."

The masked man attacked again before either could say more.

Despite his injuries, Lin Yuan couldn’t let the man reach the restricted site. He gave ground, drawing the fight away from Qiao Ren and the excavation.

Another slash came toward his shoulder. Lin Yuan stepped aside and retreated farther west, drawing the saber wielder away from the exposed stone. The masked man followed, leaving Qiao Ren behind to guard the site.

The road west remained open, and nothing prevented the attacker from retreating. He simply wasn’t taking the opportunity.

Lin Yuan tightened his grip around his artifact. His wrist was swollen, his ribs hurt whenever he breathed too deeply, and the opponent before him was still the one person he had struggled against all night.

The saber wielder lowered his stance. Until now, the man had been trying to keep Lin Yuan occupied or force his way past him. This time, there was no sign that he intended to avoid a serious fight.

Lin Yuan couldn’t tell whether the man wanted the restricted site, revenge for the failed raid, or both. At the moment, it hardly mattered.

The saber flashed beneath the moonlight.

Lin Yuan raised his artifact.

The hardest fight of the night had finally begun.