Encountering Danger

"Tomorrow, I hope you two brothers will hold back a little. Don't beat him to death in one blow. It would be best to leave him badly injured. Afterwards, I'll make sure to properly torture him."

Li Kui spoke in a gloomy tone.

"Easy, easy."

The two replied with smiles.

"Then..." Liu Xin's eyes flickered meaningfully.

"Rest assured, brothers. Tomorrow, I'll carry the fist manual and the Old Ginseng on me. The moment Yang Heng dies, I'll hand them over to you at once."

Li Kui promised.

"Good, good, good."

Zhang Meng and Liu Xin exchanged a smile, their eyes filled with desire.

The night passed without incident.

The next day, Yang Heng went out to deliver medicine as usual, completely unaware that a deadly trap aimed at him had quietly taken shape.

That afternoon, Yang Heng delivered the medicine to Xiahe Village and finished his work for the day. He strolled leisurely along a small path.

The surrounding grass and trees were lush, and the scenery was beautiful. The only thing Yang Heng found strange was that whenever he passed through this place before, birdsong and insect cries never ceased. Yet today, he heard nothing at all. Truly strange.

Before he could think further, as he passed a small mound of earth, three burly men suddenly emerged from the thick vegetation on either side, weapons in hand and an imposing manner about them.

One of them was Li Kui.

Yang Heng recognized the other two as well. They were the two men who had walked with Li Kui outside the tavern yesterday.

Now that they had appeared in this desolate wilderness, their purpose was obvious—they had come to intercept and kill him.

Yang Heng understood this perfectly.

"Li Kui, what... what do you mean by this?"

He deliberately put on a panicked appearance, his face full of terror as his body trembled and swayed without stop.

Seeing Yang Heng in such a pathetic state, Li Kui threw back his head and laughed.

"Yang Heng, I never thought there would come a day when you'd be afraid too. Weren't you so mighty at the medicine shop? You forced me to kneel and beg for mercy, made me lose all face, and left me unable to hold my head up in the shop. You're really impressive!"

Li Kui hysterically poured out his grievances, his eyes blazing with fury.

"Today, I want you... dead!"

He dragged out the final word, expressing his towering hatred for Yang Heng.

"Dead?"

"Heh, with just you? Have you forgotten? At the medicine shop, I knocked you down with one hand. It hasn't even been that long, and you've already forgotten?"

"Something's wrong with your brain. You should get it treated!"

Yang Heng deliberately provoked Li Kui, hoping he would charge forward in rage so Yang Heng could deal with him first and have a better chance of escaping with his life.

Yes, escaping with his life.

The moment the three men appeared, Yang Heng sensed a threat from the other two. Goosebumps rose over his body, warning him of danger.

Although the threat they posed was far inferior to Shopkeeper Chen's.

With Yang Heng's current strength, ordinary people could no longer threaten him at all. Yet the moment he saw those two, a chill ran through his body. That alone was enough to show they were no ordinary men—they had practiced martial arts.

Moreover, they carried weapons, each holding a long saber.

The blades gleamed with cold light. Their bodies were black, about a foot wide, with thick, heavy backs.

Even from afar, they made one shudder.

With weapons in hand, their strength increased by several degrees out of thin air.

Meanwhile, he was empty-handed. How could he defeat two suspected martial artists armed with weapons? Escaping alive would already be a blessing as distant as the heavens.

Yang Heng knew that today would be dangerous.

"Yang Heng, death is at your doorstep, yet you still dare gain the advantage with your tongue? You're courting death!"

After saying that, Li Kui looked at the two men beside him and nodded, signaling that they could make their move.

Seeing that Li Kui had not taken the bait, Yang Heng inwardly cried out in regret.

The two men raised their sabers and were about to pounce on Yang Heng when he suddenly shouted, "Wait! There's a martial artist backing me. If you kill me, aren't you afraid he'll avenge me?"

"A martial artist? Heh heh."

"This is the middle of nowhere. No one saw anything. Who would know we killed you?"

"Accept your death obediently!"

Zhang Meng sneered, dismissing Yang Heng's words.

Before an Intermediate Martial Art, let alone some martial artist far beyond the horizon, even if the academy master's son stood before them, they would still dare to kill.

The two did not hesitate. One moved left and the other right, advancing step by step as they charged toward Yang Heng, giving him no opportunity at all.

From the looks of it, the two had worked together many times. Their coordination was seamless, and they were exceedingly experienced.

Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit.

The two understood this principle well.

As Yang Heng watched them bear down on him, the long sabers in their hands whistled through the air. The blade wind was fierce, and a wave of coldness rushed straight at his face.

He knew that facing them head-on would leave him only one road—death.

Only if they separated would he have even the slightest chance.

Before they could reach him, Yang Heng turned and ran.

This was not his first time in this area. He was familiar with the terrain and could use the vegetation and bends in the road to wear down their stamina.

He also had strips of pork on him. With the power of the Marrow Cleansing Pearl, he could rapidly restore his strength and wait at ease for the exhausted enemy.

Once they were completely spent, it was not as though he had no chance of winning.

Yang Heng also understood that even if he escaped today, with a venomous snake like Li Kui watching him from the shadows, he would sooner or later face the same calamity again.

As the ancients said, one could be a thief for a thousand days, but who could guard against thieves for a thousand days?

He might as well seize today's opportunity and wipe Li Kui out in one stroke.

Of course, that was only if he could ensure his own safety.

If things could not be done, he would never stubbornly persist.

Seeing Yang Heng turn and flee, Zhang Meng and Liu Xin laughed coldly. "Run! Do you think you can get away?"

"An ordinary man wants to compete in speed with martial artists? What a joke!"

After saying that, no one knew what method the two used, but their speed suddenly increased by a whole notch, and they drew closer and closer to Yang Heng.

Yang Heng caught sight of this from the corner of his eye. He accelerated as well, charging forward with all his strength.

In his eyes, the trees on both sides became blurred shadows, rushing backward at incredible speed.

"Eh?"

After chasing for a while, the two let out startled cries when they realized they still had not caught up with Yang Heng.

Could the long sabers in their hands have affected their speed?

But even so, how could an ordinary man outrun them?

It was truly a strange thing beyond belief.

Ordinary people indeed could not outrun them, but Yang Heng underwent the Marrow Cleansing Pearl's tempering every day. His body was strong and robust, and every aspect of him had reached the absolute peak an ordinary person could attain. His physical condition was no weaker than that of some martial artists.

What was more, he was quite familiar with this place. He knew where there were rocks and dirt to avoid, where the bends lay, and where he needed to slow down.

Besides, the two were not true martial artists after all. Their bodies had not undergone a qualitative transformation. No matter how fast they were, they could not surpass ordinary people by much.

And they had not cultivated a Lightness Skill.

Those who practiced martial arts were stronger than ordinary people, but only to a limited extent. Against seven or eight ordinary people armed with weapons, they would still be in danger, and one careless mistake could even cost them their lives.

Martial artists were different. Their bodies had undergone a transformation. They could briefly withstand cleavers and blades, their skin was tough, their stamina enduring, and they did not fear being surrounded and attacked by weapon-wielding ordinary people.

Before they knew it, half an hour had passed.

Seeing that Yang Heng had not slowed down and continued running without a flushed face or labored breath, the two began to doubt their lives.

They sighed inwardly. Which one of them was supposed to be the martial artist? They had never seen an ordinary person capable of running like this.

They looked behind them and found that Li Kui had long since vanished from sight, left far behind.

The two did not give up.

First, the Intermediate Martial Art was far too tempting for them to abandon. Second, they refused to believe that, as martial artists, their stamina could be inferior to that of an ordinary man.

The final victory would surely belong to them.

As long as they caught Yang Heng, his life would be in the palm of their hands, and the Intermediate Martial Art would be theirs.