Search, Strike, Withdraw

Lu Chen seemed to have reached a dead end.

He looked at the silver needles in Elder Ning's hand.

Elder Ning had used them to save people in the past.

Now they could be used to kill just as well.

Elder Ning was not a fighter. He was better at treating illnesses and saving lives, but that did not mean he had no fighting strength at all.

He picked up the silver needles, but instead of approaching Lu Chen, he chose to throw them from a distance.

Lu Chen's expression remained calm. With both feet suspended in midair, he forcefully curled them forward, then swung them sharply downward, sending them arcing back from above like a swing.

At the same time, he strained with his whole body. A tremendous force surged through both arms, making his muscles bulge.

His waist and abdomen strained at the same time.

Xiong Pi felt as though he were holding a real bear in his arms. The wildly violent force nearly wrenched his arms from their sockets.

He clenched his teeth and glanced at Lang Gou, who lay on the ground, his fate unknown. His eyes reddened. "Ah—!"

The wound at his waist burst open, blood pouring out, and the muscles all over his body seemed ready to split.

In the space of a lightning flash, Lu Chen abruptly forced his arms outward, widening the gap, then suddenly contracted them. His whole body slipped downward.

Elder Ning twisted the silver needles in his hand, and they shot toward Lu Chen's face like pear blossoms in a rainstorm, whistling through the air.

Lu Chen had already freed up a little room. He drew another deep breath, and a terrifying force erupted from his chest.

"Open!"

He shouted, his feet already touching the ground.

Bang!

He drove both elbows backward.

The silver needles whistled into Xiong Pi's body.

A few needles also pierced Lu Chen, but most were stopped by the protective mirror over his chest.

Elder Ning frowned, picked up the Swordsman's sword from the ground, and thrust it at Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's gaze was calm. He reached back with one hand and grabbed Xiong Pi's arm, hoisted Xiong Pi, whose muscles were trembling all over, onto his shoulder, then swiftly hurled him at Elder Ning with a shoulder throw.

Bang!

Elder Ning hurriedly moved his sword out of Xiong Pi's way and scrambled to catch him.

Xiong Pi was already coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

He had used all his strength to hold Lu Chen just now. After Lu Chen burst free, both his arms had been completely dislocated, and the muscles in his chest and shoulders had been strained, making it hard for him to exert himself.

He could only roar, "Move!"

Elder Ning did not react in time.

He had never imagined how much force Xiong Pi carried when Lu Chen threw him. The collision sent Elder Ning flying as well, and the sword in his hand fell to the ground.

Lu Chen snatched up a chair and pursued them as fast as lightning. With a single strike that could cleave Mount Hua, he smashed the chair hard against Xiong Pi's back.

Xiong Pi spat out a mouthful of blood with a pfft, his body trembling as he shielded Elder Ning. "Go, quickly!"

A vicious look appeared on Elder Ning's farmer-like face.

There were only a few of them in Sand Lake County Town. If he left, he still would not escape the Black Kill Pavilion's punishment. In the end, death was all that awaited him!

Seeing that Xiong Pi still had the strength to speak, Lu Chen could not help feeling immense admiration.

He spotted the sword on the ground, stepped forward, and bent to scoop it up before suddenly charging ahead.

Blood trickled from the corner of Elder Ning's mouth. He had just pushed Xiong Pi aside when he saw a flash of cold light.

Squelch!

The sword plunged straight into his heart.

The vicious light in Elder Ning's eyes gradually faded. He looked down at the sword, then at Lu Chen. His head lolled to one side, and he breathed his last.

Lu Chen pulled out the sword and looked at Xiong Pi, whose whole body had gone limp. Without listening to his nonsense, he hurled the sword.

Squelch!

The sword sank into Xiong Pi's chest, its tip piercing through his back.

Lu Chen stepped forward again, pulled out the sword, and swept its tip across.

A line of blood appeared on Xiong Pi's neck.

Spurt!

Blood sprayed from his throat like a little fountain.

With that, all five were dead.

Lu Chen pulled the silver needles from his body, drew a breath, and walked into the room.

The thin quilt on the bed was a mess, and the person who had been lying there was gone.

Lu Chen shook his head. "Nothing but trouble!"

He headed for the back door and, sure enough, saw Crippled Blade crawling along the ground.

"Tell me, do you think you can get away? As an assassin, didn't you ever think that those who kill will always be killed in turn? Why run? You'd only be going to reincarnate sooner and enjoy happiness in your next life!"

Lu Chen talked, but his hands did not stop for a moment.

Squelch!

The sword pierced Crippled Blade's back, and despair appeared on his face.

He had never imagined it. He had meant to trick Lu Chen into coming here and join forces with everyone to kill him.

The different knocking rhythm earlier had been their internal distress signal, indicating that an enemy had come.

Who would have thought this man would be completely unharmed!

Ghost Hand's poison had failed!

He gave a bitter laugh.

Lu Chen stepped forward and stabbed down with his sword.

Blood slowly flowed out, soaking the earth.

[With the host's involvement, the fates of Crippled Blade and six others have changed]

[Fate Value +2310]

[Luck Value +22]

Lu Chen did the math. He had 2,360 Fate Value left, while he was still 19 Luck Value in the red.

He glanced at the sky.

The sun had completely set.

The fight had actually taken only a few short minutes and had ended quickly.

From the very beginning, he had never intended to join the Black Kill Pavilion!

Crippled Blade was probably the same, never intending from the start to let Lu Chen join the Black Kill Pavilion.

Both sides had been aiming to kill the other.

It was just that their methods were inferior to Lu Chen's.

Time to start looting!

Lu Chen first searched all six—no, seven—corpses. He found five tokens, several hundred taels of silver, and some miscellaneous items.

Ghost Hand carried quite a few poisons, some powders and some liquids. Lu Chen could not make sense of them, so he set them aside for the time being.

Elder Ning had only a smoking pipe on him. It was not worth much, so Lu Chen tossed it aside.

The others had nothing of value.

He went into the room.

There were quite a few things here, much of it intelligence.

Lu Chen gave it a quick look, then found a sack and simply swept everything into it.

"Oh, so many medical and pharmacological books? Good stuff, I'll take them! There's a medicine chest too. I'll take that along as well."

He searched the entire room, going over it inch by inch and missing no place where something might be hidden.

By the time he finished, it was nearly midnight.

The fight had made such a racket, yet no outsiders had come to investigate. The location the Black Kill Pavilion had chosen was indeed good, very well hidden.

Lu Chen moved the corpses together and threw them into the room. He took the most important things back to the house he rented first, then made several more trips, carrying the rest back like ants moving house.

Once everything was done, he found the information on Li Ziren.

"Even though the Black Kill Pavilion is gone, I can still continue the trial mission!"

He studied it carefully and memorized where Li Ziren lived.

Lu Chen took off his clothes and looked at the protective mirrors over his chest and back.

The one on his back had been dented by Xiong Pi's punch. Lu Chen punched it flat again and put it back on.

After replenishing his throwing knives, Iron Pellets, and packets of lime, Lu Chen picked up a new Yanling Saber and dressed in black.

The night was moonless and windy, just right for murder and arson!

Lu Chen first paid a visit to the Black Kill Pavilion. After spending a while there, he turned and left, heading straight for Li Ziren's place.