Chapter 17

The masked man in black let out a harsh cackle. "Men die for wealth, birds die for food!"

Chang'an had already raised the iron staff in his hand.

The masked man in black suddenly said, "Don't be in such a hurry to strike. Listen to a few words first. I can't die. If I die, someone named Little Brother won't survive either. If you listen to what I have to say, someone will give me eight hundred taels of silver. Let me deliver the message first, then I'll kill you. That way, I can get fifty thousand eight hundred taels of silver."

Chang'an sneered. "What if you can't kill me?" He found this assassin rather interesting.

The masked man in black said, "Then I still won't return empty-handed. At the very least, there'll be eight hundred taels for me to take."

Chang'an said, "Speak."

The masked man in black said, "Before the Hour of the Tiger tonight, you must reach Qingfeng Ferry Crossing outside Mohe City. Otherwise, wait to collect Little Brother's corpse!"

Chang'an said, "Who sent you?"

The masked man in black chuckled. "Money!"

The moment his words fell, he moved. The black saber in his hand danced out saber light, slashing wildly at Chang'an from every direction. His saber technique seemed chaotic and without pattern, yet it sealed off Chang'an's left, right, and front. From the very first move, he sought to suppress Chang'an completely, leaving him not the slightest chance to retaliate. His fighting style was incomparably domineering.

Chang'an excelled at wielding a sword, and excelled even more at fighting with one for his life. He was just as fierce and valiant a man himself. When fighting others to the death, his first thought had never been retreat.

So Chang'an shook his iron staff, and with a hum, thrust it forward.

Clang!

The masked man's saber light instantly vanished, and both Chang'an and the masked man retreated three steps at the same time.

A ghostly gleam flickered in the masked man's eyes as he could not help praising, "What poisonous eyes!"

With that single thrust of his staff, Chang'an had struck directly at the flaw and opening in his saber technique, targeting his vital point.

Chang'an said in a low voice, "You're from the Wild Wolf Society!"

The masked man snorted coldly. "You actually dared say you liked assassins. Your troubles are huge now. Assassins cannot be liked!"

The Wild Wolf Society was an assassin organization.

Chang'an said, "But assassins can be killed."

The iron staff in his hand thrust out like a dragon, like a mad python leaving its den, like a vicious flood-dragon surging from the sea. The air was filled with the trembling roar of the iron staff.

If the Dragon Head Sword had been in his hand, waves of dragon roars would have shaken the soul.

Chang'an used his staff in place of a sword and unleashed himself completely. He immediately seized the initiative, driving the assassin into peril. The man had no strength left to fight back and could only fend left and right in clumsy desperation.

Ever since his battle with Lu Jing, after so many twists and turns, Chang'an could finally let loose in this fight, freely displaying his swordsmanship and venting all the resentment in his heart.

When assassins killed, they had to be prepared to be killed.

Not every assassin necessarily deserved death, but killing them was not wrong either. Those who made murder their profession were, in the end, utterly wicked. Once people created civilization, they were no longer beasts. There could be butchers who specialized in slaughtering beasts, but there could never be demons who specialized in slaughtering people. That was why assassins could never stand in the light, and why everyone had the right to execute them.

Those who killed for money deserved death all the more.

Thus, Chang'an had no reservations whatsoever.

The masked assassin was already drenched from head to toe, cold sweat pouring down him. He only felt that Chang'an possessed strength that would never run out. The iron staff in Chang'an's hand jabbed, swept, stabbed, and lashed in endless variations, each move incomparably tyrannical.

The thought of retreat had already arisen in him.

Chang'an suddenly said, "Am I not allowed to kill you?"

The masked assassin said, "You absolutely must not kill me. Once I die, Little Brother is as good as dead. Little Brother saved you. You can't harm him."

Chang'an said, "I truly cannot harm him. Little Brother is a real man of loyalty and feeling."

Clang!

Sparks flew in all directions.

The masked assassin's saber suddenly flew away, and his entire palm nearly split open at the tiger's mouth. Beads of cold sweat rolled down the assassin's face as he gritted his teeth and groaned without cease, yet he did not cry out.

Chang'an nodded. "A tough bone!" The iron staff in his hand struck out again and again. The assassin could no longer endure the pain. He rolled on the ground while screaming without end.

The night was quiet, but the screams were loud enough to make one's heart tremble.

Chang'an smiled. "Sister Ruyan, you should prepare a fast horse and a rope for me!"

At some point, Liu Ruyan had appeared behind Chang'an. She said softly, "Are you really going? It's very dangerous."

Chang'an said, "I have to go." Even though he knew it was a trap, he still had to make the trip. If not for Little Brother that day, he would never have been able to leave with Yu Fu.

Chang'an was not an unfeeling, ungrateful man who repaid kindness with nothing.

Liu Ruyan said, "Wait here!"

Before long, Liu Ruyan came walking over with graceful swaying steps, leading an exceptionally tall black horse. A thick hemp rope lay across its back. The horse had huge bones and muscles that stood out in solid blocks. It looked extraordinarily majestic. Each breath it took made a puffing sound, its breathing deep and long.

"Chasing Lightning?!"

Chang'an said in surprise.

Chasing Lightning was Liu Ruyan's personal mount. To those of the martial world, seeing this horse was no different from seeing Liu Ruyan herself.

Liu Ruyan smiled faintly. "The Wild Wolf Society should give me some face, at least! With this horse, they'll restrain themselves a little. Chang'an, be very careful."

After saying that, Liu Ruyan vanished like the wind.

Chang'an took down the rope, tied the assassin's feet together, then mounted the horse while holding its other end.

Chasing Lightning gave a neigh and shot off like wind racing and lightning flashing.

The assassin was dragged along the ground, suddenly howling madly without end. Chang'an said impatiently, "Don't scream. It's only a dozen or so miles. I'll keep watch at all times and make sure you don't die!"

The masked assassin cursed at the top of his lungs. His back scraped against the stone slabs of the street, tormenting him beyond endurance. After only two curses, he could curse no more and began shrieking as though his heart were being torn apart and his lungs ripped out.

Chang'an shouted, "In the middle of the night, everyone is asleep. What are you yelling for? Won't you let the neighbors sleep in peace?!"

Driven mad by pain, the assassin screamed fiercely, "I'll kill you! I'll definitely kill you! I'll cut you into a thousand pieces..."

Chang'an sneered. "You'd best not say such things." As he spoke, Chang'an suddenly yanked the rope in his hand, and the assassin abruptly flipped over, ending up with his chest and face pressed against the ground.

The assassin immediately suffered terribly and could not even cry out.

Chang'an sneered. "Who sent you?"

The assassin no longer dared act recklessly and begged, "Let me turn over first..." Chasing Lightning was simply too fast, chasing the wind and pursuing lightning. In the blink of an eye, they had already rushed out of the city.

The guards atop the city walls turned a blind eye. At such a late hour, they would never invite bad luck by interfering.

Chang'an pulled the rope again, flipping the assassin back over. The assassin confessed, "Dao Lang sent me. It was Dao Lang!"

Chang'an said in a deep voice, "Dao Lang? The Wild Wolf Society's chief leader? Why does he want to kill me?"

The assassin said, "Money. For money. Fifty thousand taels."

Chang'an sneered. "I don't believe you."

The assassin was flipped over again.

Before long, he told the truth. A day earlier, the Wild Wolf Society's leader, Dao Lang, had suddenly received a sum of money, a letter, and a person. He had then immediately sent two men to assassinate Chang'an. The visitor's identity was mysterious, their entire body wrapped in black robes, impossible to tell male from female.

That person among the money, letter, and person was Little Brother.

Before the Hour of the Rooster, Chang'an had already reached Qingfeng Ferry Crossing. The crossing was completely deserted. Not far from it stood a small courtyard with lights still burning, dim and gloomy.

This small courtyard had originally been the residence of the old ferryman. It stood beside the Mo River. At this hour, no one would be crossing the river, and the old ferryman ought to have been asleep. Yet he was standing at the entrance to the small courtyard, holding an orange-red lantern and anxiously looking about in every direction.

Chang'an rode up to the courtyard entrance and stopped before the Ferryman.

The Ferryman spotted the bedraggled assassin on the ground at once and let out a long breath. "It should be you. Is he dead?"

With a flick of his hand, Chang'an sent the unconscious assassin on the ground flying like a torn sack into the courtyard. The assassin cried out in hysterical agony the instant he hit the ground. Chang'an smiled faintly. "Old sir, go have some wine to settle your nerves. It wouldn't be suitable for you to stay here any longer."

The Ferryman nodded and let out another long breath. "This old man will leave now. Leave now."

The Ferryman had only taken a few steps when three cold stars suddenly shot out from the courtyard, flying straight toward the middle of his back. Chang'an's expression turned cold. He sprang up from Chasing Lightning and swept his iron staff, batting the three bone-piercing nails aside in midair.

The old man's face went deathly pale with fright.

Chang'an said, "Old sir, you should leave faster!"

Chang'an watched the Ferryman walk away into the distance before entering through the wide-open courtyard gate.

The first person he saw was Little Brother.

Little Brother's body was covered in wounds, blood staining him from head to toe. He was already at death's door.

Beside Little Brother stood a burly man holding a Ghost Head Saber. Next to the man stood a chair, upon which sat the assassin Chang'an had brought in, still clinging to a single breath.

Figures emerged one after another around the courtyard, and the courtyard gate suddenly creaked shut.

The Wild Wolf Society was an assassin organization that wanted money, not life. This time, they had come out in full force. They had Chang'an trapped in the center of the courtyard, murderous intent glowing in every pair of eyes. Like starving wild wolves who had encountered a fat sheep, they revealed their fierce, ravenous faces.

Chang'an swept his gaze around before it stopped on three burly men in yellow. His heart gave a jolt. Each of the three men held a steel crossbow, bolts already loaded and aimed directly at him.

These steel crossbows were immensely powerful. Their arrowheads could pierce refined steel plate armor. They were rarely seen in the hands of martial world people, because they were extremely difficult to manufacture and could only fire one bolt at a time, making them impractical. Steel crossbows mainly appeared in the military, used for surprise assaults, flank strikes, and seizing the initiative to break the enemy. In the Great Gan Dynasty's Crossbow Battalion, hundreds of steel crossbows firing at once, wave after wave, were nearly unstoppable.

Even true qi and hardened skin could not withstand such steel crossbows.

Chang'an had no choice but to become exceptionally vigilant.

The burly man holding the Ghost Head Saber had his robe open at the chest, revealing thick black hair. A savage wolf head was tattooed across his chest, making him seem utterly wild. This man was Dao Lang, the Wild Wolf Society's leader, Dao Lang.

The moment Dao Lang saw Chang'an enter the courtyard, he fixed him with an icy gaze and roared, "You actually dared ignore my warning?"

Chang'an said in surprise, "Your warning?"

Dao Lang pointed at the masked assassin slumped in the chair, no longer resembling a human being. "Why did you injure him like this?"

Chang'an said, "Is this man important?"

Dao Lang said, "He is my only sworn brother, the Wild Wolf Society's second-in-command, and you actually dared cripple him completely. You dared harm my brother, so don't even dream of taking this person away. Today, even if you grow wings, you won't escape. Die here for me!"