What're You Looking At?

The inn was a small two-story wooden building.

The ground floor was a tavern, serving food and drink, with a broad bar and plenty of tables and chairs.

Several patrons by the bar were drinking and boasting, while quite a few residents sat at the tables. It looked rather harmonious.

But the moment Li Ang entered, he ran into a drunken fellow carrying a mug of ale straight toward him.

Though he tried his best to dodge, the staggering man still splashed ale all over him. He even grabbed Li Ang in a hug, his throat working as though he were about to vomit.

Li Ang reflexively shoved the drunk away, then stared at the man's terrifyingly menacing mouth, considering where to dodge...

After freezing for a moment, the drunk swallowed hard twice. Rather than throwing up, he asked a familiar question. "You... what're you looking at?!"

Li Ang answered almost instinctively, "Looking at you. So what...?"

The drunk immediately drew his sword. "...Bastard! I'll kill you!"

This was truly a disaster out of nowhere...

Honestly, anyone who heard that classic question would have answered the same way...

The bleary-eyed drunk could barely walk straight, yet he wildly waved his sword around, sending the tavern into an uproar. A whole crowd of drinkers scattered in panic—the drunk swung that sword with complete abandon, and no one knew where he might stab next...

A man in noble robes seemed to get grazed by the tip of the blade. He shrieked like a chicken and scrambled behind the bar to hide.

Li Ang sighed, waited for an opening, then kicked the drunk to the floor. He twisted the man's wrist, preparing to take away his weapon.

But unexpectedly, the drunk seemed too intoxicated to feel any pain at all—even with his wrist twisted behind his back, he stubbornly thrust his sword at Li Ang.

And he was surprisingly strong.

With no other choice, Li Ang stepped back to evade him, then turned and grabbed a chair, smashing it down over the man's head.

The drunk probably raised his sword to block on instinct, but the chair struck like a hammer and drove the blade straight into his face...

The drunk swayed and collapsed, his own sword embedded in his skull.

There was not much blood, but pale fluid streaked with red slowly ran along the sword's fuller—he was clearly beyond saving. His brains had been smashed out.

The tavern fell silent.

So silent that a pin drop could have been heard.

Li Ang was stunned too. Did this count as self-defense or emergency avoidance?

Everyone in the tavern stared at Li Ang.

But the pale-faced young man in noble robes hiding behind the bar was the first to speak.

"Th-there's been a death?! Ah! Murder..."

Then, with a long, shrill scream, he flailed his arms and bolted from the tavern. His speed was so astonishing that Li Ang could only marvel at it...

The tavern owner also emerged from behind the bar. He looked at the dead drunk on the floor, then at the somewhat frustrated Li Ang, and spoke fairly enough.

"I think you can probably claim that bastard's weapon and purse. After all, you stopped more people from having their skulls split open... But someone dying in my establishment is not a good thing, so you'd better take that bastard's corpse and leave immediately."

Li Ang sighed helplessly. It was only natural that the tavern owner did not want trouble, and that shrieking pale-faced fellow who had run out was probably about to bring the city guard here.

In this era, it was not much of a problem for a noble to kill a commoner or two in self-defense. But he was only a Reserve Baron, and his usual conduct was subject to scrutiny as well. He did not want to get entangled in a homicide case at a time like this.

With no other choice, he dragged the corpse onto his horse and left the tavern.

He obviously could not leave the city with a corpse in tow, so Li Ang headed into the alleys, intending to find some deserted spot in town to bury the drunk.

But when someone was unlucky, even drinking cold water could crack their teeth...

Just as Li Ang took the corpse to a patch of grass by the city wall under cover of darkness and prepared to dig a hole, a large group of black-clad, masked men emerged from the corner behind him. They stood in a row, blocking the only passable alley.

The leader carried an oil lamp and even swaggered up to inspect Li Ang's face closely.

"Look at that black hair and black eyes. This must be 'that person'... Tsk, tsk. And he's got a nice fat money pouch too... What a double blessing..."

That voice was exactly the same as the pale-faced young man who had screamed and fled the tavern...

These people were assassins from the Crimson Brotherhood!

Li Ang drew his sword and seriously reflected on whether extorting Count Oden that afternoon had been so shameless that even the gods could not stand it anymore.

Otherwise, why did one misfortune after another keep happening to him?

After all, transmigration had already happened to him. Perhaps the Pande Continent truly did have gods...

Mm. He would have to be more cautious with his words and actions from now on.

At the very least, he had to make sure the Goddess did not dislike him!

In the future, he should try not to extort people near statues of gods...

Rising to his feet, Li Ang looked around at the black-clad, masked men carrying all kinds of weapons and decided to use the most powerful skill he had ever learned!

—Run away!

He flung the corpse from the horse's back to the ground, leaped onto the saddle, and hacked his way out with his sword.

There was no helping it. The Thirty-Six Stratagems were the most profound tactics he had ever learned.

Taking on more than a dozen people alone was something he should avoid whenever possible, unless he had no other choice...

Getting hurt hurt, and losing too much blood meant death. This was not a game anymore.

Running immediately was truly a wise decision.

The black-clad men seemed not to have expected Li Ang to react so quickly, or so decisively. They hurriedly tried to stop him, but Alice had already rammed open a gap.

In the pitch-black alley, the horse could not build up much speed, but at least it was no slower than a running person.

The masked assassins behind him began throwing knives, but in the twisting alleys, the knives could only strike the walls and scatter tiny sparks.

In certain situations, a horse was far superior to vehicles like motorcycles.

Because a horse generally would not run into a wall by itself when left unguided—even at night.

Li Ang was not controlling her at all now. He knew that pulling the reins might instead make Alice do the wrong thing.

He merely kept lightly tapping her flanks, urging Alice onward.

Alice did not let him down. After weaving through the alleys for only a short while, she reached a main street and successfully shook off most of the masked bandits behind them.

This was already an unfamiliar road. Stone house foundations lined its sides, with torches mounted on the walls. Their flickering light illuminated this short stretch of street.

The buildings were extremely tall, and there seemed to be a watch platform at the top. A flagpole extended sideways from it, bearing a golden lion crest.

The instant Li Ang saw that flag, he stopped the horse. Turning back, he bared a brilliant white grin. "Looks like the Goddess likes me!"

The black-clad men behind him gradually stopped.

In fact, only three people had managed to pursue him this far. One of them moved in a very familiar way—he was probably the pale-faced young man with the "astonishing footwork" who had fled the tavern.

The Crimson Brotherhood men exchanged glances, apparently uncertain whether they should continue the pursuit.

But Li Ang directly shouted, "Help! Murder!"

The pitch was almost exactly the same as when that pale-faced young man had run out of the tavern...