Birds startled and took flight.
On the dimly lit road, warhorses stirred restlessly and galloped about. Xu Dong's right hand was severed, the hand gripping his blade splitting into two in a flash of pain. Blood spurted out as he staggered, then was slashed across the thigh, tumbling and slamming into a tree.
The asura wielding the blade walked toward him.
This was the first time in his life he had encountered such a brutal massacre. His brain simply hadn't processed it. He didn't even know how his companions had died. In a mere few breaths, the one who emerged was like an asura from hell, each step radiating flames of karmic destruction.
His master hadn't taught him anything like this. He didn't even know who the person before him was; he couldn't possibly have offended someone like this. The disappearance of his hand felt like an illusion. He still had a large blade on his back and throwing knives at his chest, but he didn't dare touch them. His once imposing figure shuffled on the ground, kicking at the earth. His words were slurred as the figure of the asura, blade in hand, approached steadily.
"H-H-Hero... a mistake, it's a mistake—"
He waved his intact left hand. "I-I-We have no grudges! Hero, it's a mistake…"
The figure was tall, exuding a massive, devastating pressure. Xu Dong didn't recognize him, but the other paused, slowly raising his left hand, pointing at his own eyes with two fingers, then turning and slowly pointing at Xu Dong.
Xu Dong was stunned. He recognized it as a gesture he often used to threaten people, meaning "I've got my eye on you." When had he messed with someone like this?
"H-H-Hero, I didn't... I was wrong... That wasn't me…"
Spittle flew from his mouth, tears blurring his vision. But the figure finally came closer, faint starlight filtering through the trees, dimly illuminating a young face. "After you bullied that girl, I was the one who carried her out. You said you'd remember us. I thought it was interesting."
The youth's gaze was indifferent. "You deserve a few more cuts."
Xu Dong's mouth opened several times. He couldn't connect the unremarkable youth from the group of scholars with this terrifying figure.
"I... I... I don't know... I... Ah…"
The shadow of the blade rose.
"...I have a hostage!"
A thought returned to his mind. Xu Dong raised his hand and shouted.
The youth paused, blade raised. After a long moment, he tilted his head slightly. "...Huh?"
Xu Dong's voice was hoarse, desperate, explaining, recounting what had happened, saying the name of Lu Wenke. The youth's face showed changing expressions. Xu Dong begged, crying, "Hero... s-s-spare my life, I can trade him, I can trade him…"
The youth looked up, thinking for a while.
...
"...What's worth trading?"
...
Murderous intent bloomed in the forest, then blood and darkness enveloped everything.
**************
Even in the most anxious night, impartial time still moves at its own pace.
The people of the Li Family Manor planned their next moves and spent the long night. The next morning, Yan Tiehe, Yan Yunzhi, and others awoke, and under the hospitality of Li Ruoyao, began to dine in the main hall. Outside the manor, a messenger rushed in, frantic.
The previous night, the residents of the Li Family Manor were on high alert, but the murderer who killed Shi Shuifang did not come to cause trouble. However, outside the Li Family Manor, the terrible events continued.
Under the direction of the manor's steward, people began to beat on emergency gongs, followed by the rapid assembly and formation of the residents. After a while, a cavalry, carriages, and a large number of residents poured out of the Li Family gate. They passed the market below and then turned toward Tongshan County. Yan Tiehe, Yan Yunzhi, and others followed in the convoy. They stopped by a road through the woods not far away.
The residents dispersed in groups around the area, sealing it off, while Li Ruoyao and others walked inside.
It was the scene of a brutal slaughter.
Five constables were dead, one of whom was particularly burly and tall, seemingly quite brave. His neck was cut open, and his death appeared grotesque, his eyes still filled with deep fear. Li Ruoyao introduced to Yan Tiehe, "This is my niece's husband, Xu Dong, currently the head constable of Tongshan County... He's been on the battlefield…"
All five constables were fully armed, wearing thick leather armor. As everyone examined the scene, Yan Tiehe was shocked. Yan Yunzhi was also startled, saying, "This is different from the fight yesterday evening…"
"The five of them are armored, and there are fishing nets and lime on the ground," Yan Tiehe said. "Your nephew-in-law's plan was to overwhelm the enemy and subdue him instantly, but... yesterday, that person's skills were far beyond their imagination. At that first exchange, what they used was probably the strongest kung fu they'd ever
used in their lives... Three constables fell with a single strike, to the throat, abdomen, and face. Even wearing leather armor, the opponent only used one move... This means that yesterday, his fight with Shi Shuifang at the foot of the mountain... Stone the Hero's fight, he didn't use his full strength at all. When facing Wu Cheng, Steward Wu... he didn't even involve anyone else…"
"Such martial arts can't be learned behind closed doors at home." Yan Tiehe paused. "Last night, I heard that this person is from the Southwest, but even the Southwest... wouldn't let children go to the battlefield, would they…"
Although Yan Tiehe and Yan Yunzhi were not present during the interrogation of Lu Wenke last night, they roughly knew the outline of the situation. At this time, he hesitated to speak about what everyone was doubting, even afraid to say.
Li Ruoyao leaned on his cane, stood there for a moment, then opened his bloodshot eyes and told Yan Tiehe more about the situation. "The tragedy that happened last night wasn't just the slaughter here…"
"Ah…"
"Last night, the murder of my nephew-in-law and several constables was in the first half of the night. In the second half of the night, the murderer sneaked into Tongshan County…"
"Wasn't Tongshan County under curfew…" Yan Yunzhi said.
"With the war in Jiangbei, most of the available soldiers have been transferred by General Liu. To guard the entire city, how can there be so many people... That murderer killed people here and then went all the way to Tongshan County and found my niece's house. My niece... was killed in the early hours of the morning…"
As he said this, everyone was speechless. Only the monk Cixin put his hands together and said "Amitabha," then chanted scriptures, as if to save the dead.
The old man's gaze swept over everything.
"...Is there still any justice in this world!?" His cane trembled as he slammed it on the ground. "Using force to break the law! Lawless! Relying on his own abilities, he kills people indiscriminately! The world cannot tolerate such a person! My Li family cannot tolerate such a person! Gather the young men in the village, the local militias, let them all go out, I want to drag him out and give everyone justice!"
His loud roar, his words deafening, everyone gathered around, responding in unison. Yan Tiehe also came over and offered a few words of comfort.
The trip to Jiangning unexpectedly encountered such a tragedy here, but even after witnessing the event, the planned itinerary would certainly not be disrupted. While the Li family began to mobilize the surrounding forces, Li Ruoyao repeatedly apologized to Yan Tiehe and others for the poor hospitality. The most important issue of joint business ventures was naturally impossible to discuss for the time being, but the rest of the goals had been achieved. That day, after lunch, they also gathered their men and prepared to say goodbye.
The current situation was complex for the Li family, and the most complex point was that the other party involved the "Southwest" issue. Li Ruoyao naturally didn't want to keep the Yan family, so he just prepared gifts and sent them out, urging them to be careful about the murderer. The Yan family naturally said that they would not slack off.
"The Li family is hiding many things from us."
Some things could not be said in detail in the Li family's mansion. As the convoy left, Yan Yunzhi spoke of these thoughts to her second uncle.
"Naturally, they can't be completely honest," Yan Tiehe said, riding his horse beside his niece's carriage. "For example, the reason why this happened is that the head constable named Xu Dong was blinded by greed and wanted to defile the girl who was selling her arts. The girl resisted, and his bestiality was not satisfied, and he wanted to beat and kill her. Who knew that there would be a young doctor from the Southwest in the team…"
"How do you know, Second Uncle…"
"When they were questioning the hostage last night, I hid on the roof and listened for a while."
The Yan family's assassination skills were superb, and their ability to secretly hide and gather information was also great. Yan Yunzhi smiled when she heard this. "Second Uncle is truly an old hand."
"I am indeed old," Yan Tiehe sighed. "This morning, those five corpses in the forest startled me. How could someone of that age have such high skills?"
"Could it be… that there is more than one person who came from the Southwest this time? In my opinion, yesterday that youth still held back when killing the Wu steward. Monk Cixin missed him several times, and he did not take the opportunity to fight back. But when it came to the Miao blade Shi Shuifang, the murderous intent suddenly appeared… This person seems to be from a branch of the Southwest's Overlord Blades, but after all, no one saw the two acts of murder at night, so it's not necessarily what he did."
"That's possible, but it's also possible that the land of Southwest Asuras has produced a group of monsters. Who knows what they're like."
Yan Tiehe sighed. In fact, everyone in the world knew that the Southwest was powerful. Its power lay in relying on that corner of the land and using weak forces to directly defeat the invincible Jin Western Route Army. But if you really want to think carefully, to what extent was the Jin Western Route Army powerful? What are the details of the Southwest's power? People who have not personally experienced it always have their own ideas, especially in the Green Forest, and there are all kinds of strange sayings, true and false, and it is difficult to draw conclusions.
At this time, the uncle and niece could not help but think of these strange sayings.
Yan Tiehe said, "What Li Ruoyao is really afraid of today is actually this youth's connection with the Southwest. If a Green Forest master is good at wilderness raids, it is not strange for one person
to make dozens or hundreds of people afraid. But no matter how powerful the martial arts are, one person is still just one person. Even if he reaches the Grandmaster realm, he will naturally be awe-inspiring at first, but when one person fights against many people, over time, with just one flaw, the Grandmaster will also die under a hail of blades. If the Li family wants to gain a foothold in Tongshan, if they really want to find trouble with a Green Forest strongman, even if the Li family suffers heavy casualties, they can always kill the other party, so they don't have to be really afraid."
"But what if this youth is really from the Southwest China Army, or is out on some mission? Look at him pretending to be naive, hiding among a group of scholars, seemingly without the strength to truss a chicken, hiding for at least two months, why did he do that?" Yan Tiehe said, "Maybe he's going to Jiangning to do something big, but this time, the Li family's niece and nephew-in-law did something unethical, and he couldn't help it. If the Li family is willing to kill this person, what if the next people to be killed are a team of China Army…"
He lowered his voice: "In the past one or two years, the China Army has been doing business with the world. In order to protect the business routes, people have been sent out. In General Liu's territory, there were originally these people. They fought in the Southwest and were not at a disadvantage even when fighting against the most elite Jin scouts. Each of them is ruthless and highly skilled in martial arts. If such a team of people attacks the Li family, even if Li Yanfeng personally sits in charge, I am afraid that he will be beheaded. What the Li family is most afraid of now is this."
Yan Yunzhi also nodded: "But the Li family is now riding a tiger, and now the nephew-in-law has been killed on the road, and the niece has been killed at home. The matter has been raging, and if he doesn't dare to catch the person, the Li family will lose face in this area."
"People must be caught."
"Can that youth escape?"
"This matter has been said, in a one-to-many fight, those with high martial arts can be daunting at first, but no one can be always at their peak. Last night, in that fight in the forest, the other party used fishing nets and lime, and his attacks were all fatal. Even Xu Dong only had three or five knife marks on his body. The time of this battle was definitely not as long as when he killed Shi Shuifang, but it cost several times more energy. Now the Li family's villagers, together with the surrounding local militiamen, have all been released, and he will eventually not get any advantage."
Yan Yunzhi was silent for a moment: "Second Uncle, I just thought about it. If this youth really came out with other Southwest Black Flags, let's not talk about it. But if he really left the Southwest alone, wouldn't there be other possibilities?"
"...Tell me."
"The Southwest acts ruthlessly, and the battlefield killings are frightening, but in the past world, I have never heard of them sending children to the battlefield. This youth is fifteen or sixteen years old. When the Jin attacked the Southwest, he was only thirteen or fourteen years old. To develop such martial arts skills, a large part of it must be from family tradition."
Yan Tiehe nodded.
"He is from the Southwest, and because of the Miao affair, he killed that Miao blade Shi Shuifang. These things show that at least his elders must have had a relationship with the Miao Overlord Blades, and may even be important figures in the Overlord Blades. Because of this relationship, he is good at martial arts, and maybe he helped on the battlefield, but if his parents are still alive, they would not throw such a youth out of the Southwest and let him travel alone, right?"
"Your idea is…"
"His parents are dead, and may have died in that Southwest war as heroes," Yan Yunzhi said. "That is also why he left the China Army and traveled alone around the world. I think this possibility is also great."
Yan Tiehe thought for a while, looked at Yan Yunzhi, and Yan Yunzhi looked back seriously. After a while, Yan Tiehe smiled: "Are you saying…"
"If he is on a mission, then so be it…" Yan Yunzhi lowered her voice, "In fact, even if he is on a mission, the Li family of Tongshan, not our Yan family, has a grudge against the China Army. We can help him, which can be regarded as a good relationship. But if it is really as I expected, he has no worries in the Southwest and is out to travel the world, this master can be used by us… You also said that if he really fights with the Li family, he can only take advantage in the front. If we can save the person along the way, when the world is in chaos again in the future, this will be a fierce general…"
The carriage moved forward. Although Yan Yunzhi's tone was not high, her words still fell into Yan Tiehe's ears, who was riding a horse on the side, without missing a word. He thought for a moment and nodded: "Not to mention a fierce general, our Yan family has no grudges with the China Army. No matter what the youth's origins are, it's always good to make friends… This matter is not simple, I will discuss it with your senior brothers. If that youth is still wandering nearby, it will be an easy task for us to send someone to leave him a message."
He usually reads Green Forest novels and naturally has his own understanding of alliances and various strategies. At this time, he felt that there was a lot of room for operation, so he rode forward to summon the other core figures in the team to speak.
The steed galloped out a few zhang before opening his mouth to one of Yan Yunzhi's senior brothers, and suddenly there was chaos in the rear.
It was the figure of a pedestrian walking on the side of the road. In an instant, he rushed onto the carriage where Yan Yunzhi was sitting. With just one kick, the coachman, who was driving the carriage for Yan Yunzhi and whose martial arts were considered quite strong, was kicked out and fell down the grassy slope on the side of the official road, rolling down.
At this moment, the figure tore open the curtain. Yan Yunzhi suddenly drew her sword and rushed out, thrusting out with her sword. The other party waved his hand and knocked off Yan Yunzhi's short sword. The other hand swung out, grabbing Yan Yunzhi's
face, and pressed her back into the car like a chicken, causing the wooden boards of the large cart to rumble—
The whole team was alarmed, and everyone tried to kill them.
The afternoon sun in autumn was a bleak white.