The Killing Begins

"Good!"

Li Wenqing's face lit up with excitement. As Qin Yan finished performing the saber technique, he couldn't help standing up to praise him.

Qin Yan's talent was extraordinary.

Even he himself hadn't been able to learn the Six Harmonies Saber after seeing it once. He had spent a full three years learning the technique before he qualified to study more advanced saber techniques.

But his excitement soon subsided.

Smiling broadly, he came over to Qin Yan and patted him on the shoulder.

"Excellent! You have the greatest talent I've ever seen. Practice the Six Harmonies Saber diligently.

Once you reach the beginner stage, I'll take you as my sixth personal disciple."

Li Wenqing's words once again sent the whole gathering into an uproar.

"This Qin Yan really stepped in dog shit. The gang leader is actually taking him as his personal disciple."

The Azure Blade Gang disciples present all had eyes red with envy.

They looked at Qin Yan, wishing they could take his place!

Once he became Li Wenqing's disciple, his status would soar, second only to the gang leader.

It was impossible for them not to be jealous.

The young man beside Li Wenqing also showed a slight change of expression when he heard this.

Looking at Qin Lin, he smiled. "Congratulations, Master, on gaining an excellent disciple.

Junior Brother Qin Yan, I'm your second senior brother, Li Baiqiu!"

Qin Yan took a deep breath, dropped to one knee, and saluted Li Wenqing. "Your disciple pays his respects, Master!"

"Good, good, good! Get up!"

Li Wenqing hurriedly helped Qin Yan up. The more he looked at this disciple, the more satisfied he became.

Only after paying his respects did Qin Yan turn to Li Baiqiu. "Greetings, Second Senior Brother!"

"Junior Brother!"

Li Baiqiu smiled and nodded.

"Qin Yan, come with me."

Li Wenqing gave the instruction and led him to a sitting room.

He then looked at Qin Yan. "Do you know why I called you here this time?"

"I don't!" Qin Yan rolled his eyes inwardly, but on the surface he shook his head in puzzlement.

"I called you here mainly to give you a task. I want you to escort a few people out of Qinghe Town to a courtyard in your village."

At those words, a flash of lightning streaked through Qin Yan's mind.

If he remembered correctly, there was indeed a courtyard in the village that had always stood empty. It seemed to belong to some important person in Qinghe Town.

With famine raging everywhere, wasn't the town the safest place?

Why send people outside?

Seemingly noticing the puzzlement in Qin Yan's eyes, Li Wenqing grew much more serious. "Qin Yan, don't ask too many questions about this. The less you know, the better.

When the time comes, you only need to keep the mother and daughter safe!"

Mother and daughter?

Qin Yan immediately looked at Li Wenqing, a peculiar expression in his eyes.

"You little bastard!"

Li Wenqing cursed him with a laugh. "They have nothing to do with me. Don't use that filthy mind of yours to think about me.

Someone asked me to do this."

"I wouldn't dare!"

Naturally, Qin Yan wouldn't admit it. At the same time, he guessed that the mother and daughter were very likely someone's mistress and child.

Although he was a little curious about the gossip, he didn't take the matter too much to heart.

It was only something he could do along the way.

"Take this saber to defend yourself!"

For Qin Yan's safety, Li Wenqing took a thirty-refined horizontal saber from his personal collection.

"Consider it a small gift from me."

As Li Wenqing spoke, he led Qin Yan to a courtyard in the town. A carriage was already parked outside the gate, with a driver waiting quietly beside it.

"Madam Chen, I am Li Wenqing. Someone entrusted me with a task, so I've come to pay my respects."

Li Wenqing was very deferential, surprising even Qin Yan. It was the first time he had seen the overbearing Li Wenqing act this way.

"So it's Gang Leader Li."

A pleasant woman's voice rang out, carrying a mature charm.

A beautiful young married woman emerged from the house, holding a young girl by the hand.

An elderly servant and a young maid followed behind them.

Qin Yan swept a glance over them without drawing attention.

The beautiful young woman carried the bearing of a lady from a distinguished family. Gentle and graceful, she was clearly not a woman from an ordinary household.

The girl beside her had inherited all of the beautiful woman's looks and possessed a more youthful vitality.

Then there was the elderly servant. His right foot was visibly disabled as he walked out, but his clouded eyes were full of indifference, and his breathing was steady and strong. He was clearly a martial artist.

"Madam Chen, this is my disciple Qin Yan. He'll take you to the countryside to recuperate."

Li Wenqing spoke with a smile, pointing at Qin Yan as he introduced him to the two of them.

"What a young boy. Young man, how old are you?"

Looking at the tall youth who still had a boyish air about him, Madam Chen couldn't help feeling curious.

"Madam, I'm fourteen!"

"Doesn't that mean he's younger than me?" The girl beside the beautiful woman widened her lovely eyes in surprise.

"Wan'er, be quiet!"

Madam Chen's face darkened, and she scolded her in a low voice. "So brash and careless. You don't look like a proper young lady at all."

Qin Yan and Li Wenqing kept their eyes lowered, as though they hadn't heard a thing.

"Sorry to trouble you from here on, Young Qin."

Madam Chen had regained her former composure and spoke with a faint smile.

"Xiao Yan, remember to be careful once you're outside the town."

As they were leaving, Li Wenqing couldn't help giving him a reminder.

"Don't worry. I'll get them safely back to the village."

Qin Yan cupped his fists.

The group soon reached the town gate, where Seventh Uncle and the other person had long been waiting.

Qin Yan explained the situation to Madam Chen, who expressed her understanding.

Passing through the gate was like entering another world.

Beside the Poshui River in the distance, many people were searching for food such as river crabs and small fish.

Some were so hungry they couldn't bear it anymore and pulled up wild grass by the roadside to chew.

The elderly servant beside Madam Chen followed the carriage, keeping pace no matter how fast or slow it went.

"Master, Madam, please have mercy! Give us something to eat. We haven't eaten for days."

A large crowd of famine victims saw the carriage coming out of town and quickly gathered, blocking the road ahead so tightly that not even water could trickle through.

In the crowd, a disheveled young man looked at Qin Yan with eyes full of venomous hatred.

Quite a few men had gathered around him as well.

"These people can afford to ride in a carriage, so they must have plenty of money. In times like these, people can't even stay alive.

If we rob them, maybe we can live comfortably for a while longer."

The disheveled youth spoke in a low voice, stirring up the already restless crowd.

"Let's do it! Even if we die, we'll die with full bellies."

The incompetence of the authorities and the imperial court had long since driven these people at the bottom of society to despair. Forced to the edge of a cliff, they had long harbored a fierce, hostile temper.

"Rob them!"

Someone roared, and Qin Yan's expression changed.

Inside the carriage, Madam Chen's face turned pale as she gripped her daughter's small hand.

"Get out of the way!"

A fierce light flashed in Qin Yan's eyes. He held the Coiling Tiger Staff across his body and stomped hard on the ground, unleashing a tremendous force.

The people blocking his way were instantly pushed over by the force.

That gave Qin Yan room to move. He swung the long staff, striking a burly man on the shoulder.

Crack!

With a scream of agony, the burly man crumpled to the ground. The blow had broken his bone.

Meanwhile, a glimmer appeared in the elderly servant's indifferent eyes, and he waved his withered palm.

With a loud smack, the burly man who had rushed up to him was sent flying backward, killed on the spot by the palm strike.

So strong!

Qin Yan caught the elderly servant's move out of the corner of his eye, and his heart stirred.

"Don't hold back!"

The elderly servant looked at Qin Yan and spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Mm!"

Qin Yan nodded. If anything happened to Madam Chen and the others, it would probably bring him considerable trouble.

Li Wenqing's attitude alone showed that their background was not simple.

Qin Yan no longer intended to hold back.

Bang!

With a single blow from his staff, the brains of a burly man who tried to sneak up on Qin Yan burst from his skull.

Every attack he made was vicious and merciless; anyone he struck was either killed or crippled.

In only a moment, seven or eight corpses were already lying before Qin Yan.

"You can't take my things!"

Seventh Uncle's anxious voice came from behind him. A large crowd was trying to seize the supplies on the ox cart.

Qin Yan's gaze sharpened. He grabbed a corpse at his feet and hurled it behind him.

In an instant, it knocked down a whole swath of the people trying to rob them.

"Anyone who comes closer... dies!"

The long staff in his hands whirled into afterimages like a barrier of death. Everyone who came close had their bones broken and tendons snapped, their brains bursting from their skulls as they died.

Soon, he spotted a pair of eyes full of venomous hatred in the crowd.

"It's you!"

The young man hadn't expected Qin Yan to spot him so quickly.

He was just about to turn and run when a heavy blow struck his head.

A tearing pain swept through him. It was the only thing his mind could feel before he died.

As Qin Yan killed several more people,

the once-restless refugees looked at the demon-like youth and instantly calmed down.

"Murder!"

The refugees scattered as quickly as they had gathered.

Only corpses were left strewn across the ground.

"What a ruthless boy!"

The elderly servant looked at Qin Yan, his deep eyes filled with wariness!