Sunset Warrior Chant - Chapter 27 - Impenetrable Barrier

Maria watched in horror as the Purple-beaked Eagle was bound by spider silk and thought it was bad. She tried to rush to its aid, but just then, Victor executed a Mountain-Cleaving Strike, blocking her path. As she watched the Purple-beaked Eagle die, she felt utterly powerless and screamed, “Well done, Emily, I will avenge my Eagle. Rest easy, my Eagle; the Lord of Darkness will take you in.”

Emily listened to the thunderous echoes in the restaurant, staring blankly at the wall. What kind of wall was this? Was it truly impenetrable? A Reaper’s Slash with the Purple-beaked Eagle smashed against the wall, which should have crumbled even if it were a meter thick, yet the wall remained unscathed. The echo was also intensely strong. How bizarre! She looked around; not a single piece of the wooden furniture was intact, yet only some plaster had fallen from the wall.

In a split second, Emily had a ruthless idea. She ordered the Red Spider, “Red Spider, use your web to seal off the second floor. Leave no windows open.”

The Red Spider complied, spitting out a web that solidly sealed off a window in front. The web swayed in the window frame, casting mysterious glimmers in the sunlight.

Downstairs, people heard the chaos on the second floor, occasionally throwing rotten fruit or bricks up, but now that the web was in place, it caught all sorts of debris. Emily smirked darkly as a Dark Sword struck the spider web, which stretched outward then snapped back, unaffected like a rubber band.

The Red Spider, with its eight legs, quickly climbed the walls and in no time had covered all the windows of the restaurant and even the stairway entrance, leaving no other way out on the second floor. Maria was puzzled, seeing every window covered with spider webs, and thought worriedly, “Junior sister seems to have made up her mind; she really intends not to let me go today. To think she wants my life in this rundown restaurant, how ridiculous.”

She saw Fu Qiruo’s sword was magical, but the child was only a mage level 3 and far from unleashing the full power of the Spirit Sword. Speaking of true strength, he was no match for Victor, a level 5 swordsman. As long as she was cautious, she wouldn’t suffer easily. What did she have to fear with the three of them together? But, with her injuries, it was ultimately better to retreat.

Maria took one last look at the Purple-beaked Eagle, which had been beaten beyond recognition. A bitter expression crossed her face. Today was not the day she would avenge the eagle. Glancing at the window, she noted the spider web’s extreme stickiness and great elasticity. Without a sharp sword, ordinary blades couldn’t cut through it. Surely, this spider web alone couldn’t trap a person?

Resolved, Maria instantly leapt out of Fu Qiruo’s sword circle and lashed out with her whip towards Victor, then thrust herself violently against the wall, suspecting that neither brick nor rugged rock could withstand her full-force impact.

As Maria’s shoulder hit the wall, she realized that this seemingly ordinary wall was immovable like a mountain. The Dark Shield collided with the wall, emitting a deafening “boom.” Wooden tables and chairs nearby disintegrated into dust in the blink of an eye, and a layer of plaster fell from the wall, revealing its deep red interior.

A piercing pain shot through her brain, and Maria knew her shoulder was truly shattered this time. Her hair disheveled, her face covered in dust, she stared blankly at the wall. When she turned around, Lady Emily, Victor, and Fu Qiruo were already standing in front of her. She thought to herself, “Is today my end?”

The Black Magic Whip mostly trailed on the ground, with Victor stepping on it. He said to Maria, “You’ve injured Lady Emily and Young Master Arthur, and you think you can just run away?”

Emily spoke, “You stole the teacher’s black crystal. If you had just handed over the black crystal earlier, considering you’ve always been threatened by the Dark Restriction, I would have felt sympathy for you, our fellow sister, and might have spared you. But you disregarded our fellowship and were so ruthless; today, you can’t blame me! Hand over the black crystal quickly, put down the Black Magic Whip, and let me deal with it through our teacher. It will save you from further misery and spare me from having to act.”

Maria, seeing that none of the three people before her were to be trifled with, and noticing the Red Spider stirring in the distance, thought to herself, “How did I end up in this situation? Falling into the hands of that old man would be worse than death, and even in Emily’s hands, there would be no chance of survival.”

Maria let out a piercing, shrill laugh from her throat, and then she laughed again.

Fu Qiruo found it hard to imagine that such a stunningly beautiful woman could produce such an unpleasant laugh. If her gentle smile could make one feel as if basking in the spring breeze, her proud laugh could make all the ugly women feel insecure, her eerie laugh could chill one to the bone, and her seductive laugh could make a man’s blood surge, then her current shrill laugh seemed utterly tragic.

Fu Qiruo had never seen a woman who loved to laugh as much as she did, feeling that her laughter in a single day could equal another’s in a year. Her laughter at this moment almost made Fu Qiruo want to cry.

Maria’s face was a picture of misery as her laughter abruptly stopped. She leaned weakly against the wall, gazing at the corpse of the Purple-beaked Eagle lying under another wall, and murmured a prayer, “Beloved Lord of Darkness, the Purple-beaked Eagle was Maria’s messenger, conveying my resolve to join the dark halls. I offer my heart, filled with sincerity, to the Lord of Darkness. In this life, I will forever stand by your side, becoming your loyal servant. I pray for your blessing!”

Just as Maria was preparing to fight like a cornered animal, making a final stand against the three people before her, a voice that seemed to come from the dark halls said, “What are you screaming about?”

Suddenly, a loud roar came from the stairwell, followed by a thunderous crash, like a sudden burst of thunder. A large section of the floorboards exploded, revealing a gaping hole several meters across. The rumbling sound echoed endlessly throughout the restaurant, and Fu Qiruo felt his eardrums vibrate; everyone in the restaurant turned pale.

The floorboards, as solid as walls, had inexplicably gained a hole in the blink of an eye, an utterly unbelievable sight. Dust swirled around the hole, and standing at its edge was Li Changshun.

“You talk of fighting and killing as if it’s nothing, not even considering where you are. This is the Eight Directions Inn of Kur City! How can such a distinguished inn allow you to behave so recklessly?”

At the foot of Yan Mountain lies Kur City, where even royalty must show some respect. How dare you youngsters run wild like this? Do you have a death wish?

Our Eight Directions Inn doesn’t mind your brawls, but you push your luck too far!

Get out, all of you!

Li Changshun’s voice was no longer subdued or softly gentle. He sounded like a lion fresh out of its cage, and Fu Qiruo felt that he had never appeared so imposing.

Upon seeing Li Changshun, Maria felt like she was looking at a lifesaving deity. She thought, “With such a figure here, would Emily dare to hurt anyone?” From a face about to cry, Maria’s expression quickly turned into a smile as she said to Li Changshun, “You’ve come at just the right time. These three were about to commit murder, completely disregarding the rules of Kur City and the Eight Directions Inn.”

Li Changshun looked at the woman by the wall, beautiful and pitiable, with a fresh bloodstain on her shoulder. At the sight of her, barely eighteen or nineteen and cornered by some kids, his surprise turned to pity. He then noticed the three surrounding her, two about fifteen or sixteen and one not even ten, guests from the backyard, one holding a sword that was frightening indeed.

Li Changshun angrily exclaimed, “You little brats, ganging up on a woman? Is this the act of humans?”

Emily, seeing Li Changshun now imposing, wondered why she hadn’t noticed it before. Just moments ago, he seemed as meek as a sheep. She defended herself, “She ambushed us! My younger brother has been injured by her, unconscious.”

Li Changshun then noticed Arthur lying nearby and turned to Maria, asking, “Why would you attack without provocation?”

“They were all hitting me! Even my Eagle is dead, look!” Maria said, glancing at the body of the Purple-beaked Eagle, tears falling from her eyes.

Li Changshun approached and touched the deceased Purple-beaked Eagle, whose heart had already stopped. He stood up, surveyed the second floor, and said, “A Purple-beaked Eagle dead, two seriously injured-one a beautiful girl, the other a handsome young master-and two slightly injured. What’s your name? And you, what’s your name?”

Li Changshun approached Emily and Victor to speak.

“I’m Emily.”

“I’m Victor.”

“There’s another person… He’s poisoned.” Li Changshun’s gaze swept over to Fu Qiruo’s flushed face and said, “Considering there were no human casualties, only a bird, the Eight Directions Inn will not pursue responsibility. Compared to that, the attackers suffered heavier injuries. I suggest everyone stop here, leave the Eight Directions Inn, leave Kur City, and do whatever you wish outside the city… Oh, and one more thing, since this young guest is a valued patron of the Eight Directions Inn, please remove the poison from his face.”

Suddenly, Maria pointed at Emily and said, “The poison on that young man’s face was from her Red Spider, and she has also poisoned me. Your Excellency, please take charge and ask her to remove my poison as well. The antidote is on her.”

“What? Such a vicious young lady?” Li Changshun exclaimed.

Emily realized that Li Changshun, with a single motion, had made a hole in the floor, and the walls, hard as ironstone, were startling. In front of the inscrutable Li Changshun, her strength was utterly insignificant. Killing on Li Changshun’s turf was now an impossibility.

With her plan to kill Maria no longer feasible, Emily stopped arguing, took out the antidote for the spider poison, handed it to Fu Qiruo, and then took out the antidote for the Dark Restriction, addressing Li Changshun, “She stole our black crystal. Please have her return it to us.”

Li Changshun said, “Then let’s make peace, let the Eight Directions Inn mediate, exchange gifts, and have a meal together, how about that?”

Maria, reluctant to lose her Purple-beaked Eagle and the black crystal, and with her power greatly weakened, knew seeking revenge against Emily was now a distant possibility. However, with the Dark Restriction lifted, at least her life was spared.

Emily and Maria exchanged antidotes and the black crystal. After Maria carefully examined them and no longer had doubts, she took the antidote on the spot and said to Li Changshun, “Thank you for your kindness, Your Excellency, but I must decline the meal, as I have urgent matters to attend to.”

Li Changshun bowed and said, “Goodbye, goodbye, take care, no need to see you out!” Maria put away her whip, and with a swift movement, jumped out through the hole.

Emily also found it dull and, picking up Arthur and Victor, left with them. The Red Spider followed suit. Li Changshun continued to bow and see them off, saying, “No need to see you out, safe travels, my spider friend, safe travels!”

Fu Qiruo took the antidote, and the swelling on his face slowly subsided, even the white spots on his ears disappeared.

Yu An, who had been watching from the sidelines, gasped in amazement. “This chap is so formidable, and he doesn’t even show it off. I often joke about him.” Thinking about how unusually hard the walls of the restaurant were, he said to Li Changshun, “Uncle Li, you’ve built a really solid building here.”

Li Changshun suddenly burst into laughter and said, “The Eight Directions Inn has never been afraid of any ruckus. The entire restaurant is constructed from special rocks from Fire Dragon Mountain. Even a level 7 swordsman wouldn’t be able to scratch it. Do you think it’s easy to run a restaurant at the foot of Yan Mountain Academy, amidst the dragons and snakes of Kur City? How could the Eight Directions Inn survive here in Kur City without a solid foundation?”

“Then you must be at least a level 8 swordsman or mage?” Yu An exclaimed.

Li Changshun laughed, “Of course, I am.”

Yu An then asked, “What happens if such a great building gets a hole in it?”

Li Changshun replied, “Out with the old, in with the new. If the building is damaged, it can naturally be repaired.”

He suddenly stared straight at Fu Qiruo and said, “The valuable furniture on the second floor has been completely wrecked by you folks. Just now, one of the ladies has already paid me compensation, and another one’s bird died, so I, being merciful and generous, decided to waive her compensation. But you, having the lightest injuries among them, must not pay less. Considering you’re a guest from the backyard, I’ll give you a discount.”

Fu Qiruo was puzzled, nearly poisoned to death, and yet he had to pay compensation? The money Arthur had just given him was more than enough. However, seeing the deep and immense power hidden within Li Changshun’s chubby body, and knowing he was not someone to provoke lightly, he couldn’t argue with him. Glancing at the Purple-beaked Eagle’s corpse lying by the wall, he suddenly remembered something. He picked up the Spirit Sword, sliced open the belly of the Purple-beaked Eagle, and extracted a dragon’s eye-sized magic core from its body, then turned and handed it to Li Changshun, saying, “A level 5 magical beast’s magic core, this should suffice, right?”

Li Changshun weighed it in his hand and remarked, “Hmm, not bad, you’re lucky.” He then walked over to Yu An and said, “Young sir, you’ve been an audience while they fought desperately. You’ve been enjoying the show here; shouldn’t you also pay a little appreciation fee?”