Within Daming County, on the bustling streets thronged with people and flowing with carts and carriages, a man clad in patched rags, his hair hanging loose and disheveled, stared coldly at the grand residence around the street corner.
Hidden among the crowd, he was inconspicuous, and no one noticed anything unusual about him.
The vermilion gates of that mansion stood open. On the plaque above, large black characters against a red background read: Zhou Residence. Two stone lions, each weighing over a thousand jin, stood at the entrance, along with two broad-shouldered, stout-waisted servants guarding the gate. The place looked immensely imposing; even passersby lowered their heads and hurried past the Zhou Family gates.
"There's a saying: a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. But I'm no gentleman. Of Qū Dōng Liú, Pang Shichong, Zhào Yù, and Zhou Xiong, Zhou Xiong has the lowest martial arts and is the easiest to deal with. I'll start by cutting you down."
This wretched-looking man was none other than Duàn Yì, who had used King Yue's Divine Arrow's lightness skill to rush from Shalu Mountain to the county seat. He had raced like wind and lightning the entire way, consuming more than half his true qi before arriving here.
His purpose was nothing else but to kill Zhou Xiong before leaving Daming County—and Wei Prefecture altogether—to vent the resentment in his chest.
They had originally borne no grudge against one another. Duàn Yì practiced his martial arts, while Zhou Xiong acted as his sect's chief outer disciple and the county town's local rich man. Their waters had not mixed with their well waters.
Yet for the sake of his sister, Zhou Xiong had harbored sinister intentions. He had bribed Pang Shichong to set him up, intending to cripple his martial arts and break