Natural Born Killer

Hearing Huang Rong's reasoning, Li Mochou seemed lost in thought.

"So... that's what the jianghu is like? Then, if we run into those underhanded tactics Rong'er sister mentioned, how should we deal with them?"

Huang Rong giggled.

"One is to use the thirty-six stratagems, with the best being to run away. The other is to be faster than the enemy, to strike first and gain the upper hand. In short, we need to be smart and constantly pay attention to standing in positions with obstacles that make us less vulnerable to sneak attacks. At the same time, we need to be aware of everything around us, seeing in all directions and hearing everything. If someone tries to throw a net, spread lime, or use hidden weapons, we'll use our own hidden weapons to strike first. Mochou sister, are you skilled with hidden weapons?"

Li Mochou nodded repeatedly.

"I know Flying Needles."

Huang Rong nodded with satisfaction.

"Then keep the Flying Needles hidden in your sleeves, ready to be unleashed with a simple flick of your hand. Remember, when dealing with underhanded villains, don't show mercy. Since Mochou sister uses tiny hidden weapons like Flying Needles, just aim for their eyes."

Li Mochou was completely convinced.

"Rong'er sister is right, I'll remember that!"

As they talked, the three of them arrived at the main gate of the Hanshui Gang's headquarters. They saw that the manor, built against the mountain and facing the water, had its main gate wide open. Eight burly men in tight clothes, with long sabers at their waists, stood on either side of the gate. Seeing Lu Chen and the other two, they immediately shouted in unison:

"Honored guests have arrived!"

Their momentum was good, but their expressions clearly showed a hint of nervousness.

Especially when looking at Lu Chen, who wore a black cloak and a bamboo hat, carried a large sword on his back, and held another sword in his hand, their nervousness intensified.

Clearly, Lu Chen, the bane who had single-handedly killed their third-in-command and eighteen brothers, put a lot of pressure on them.

"It seems the Hanshui Gang knows we're coming," Lu Chen said.

"Then, could they have already prepared a trap?"

Li Mochou's face tightened as she looked at the open manor gate, her tone slightly nervous.

Huang Rong chuckled softly.

"Looking at the Hanshui Gang's posture, there's definitely a trap."

Li Mochou asked, "Then what should we do?"

Knowing there was a trap inside, going in would be foolish. But if they hesitated and didn't dare to enter, wouldn't this trip be in vain, and they'd be ridiculed by the Hanshui Gang?

Huang Rong didn't speak, just smiled and looked at Lu Chen.

Having spent a long time with her, Lu Chen understood her perfectly. He smiled and said immediately:

"The Hanshui Gang is putting on an act, displaying a posture of welcoming 'honored guests.' If we follow their planned routine, going in obediently with 'courtesy before force,' we might just step right into their ambush. So..."

He drew his Steel Sword and strode towards the manor gate.

"Since we're here to wipe out the Hanshui Gang, why talk about courtesy before force? Let's just be unreasonable, unwelcome guests, force our way in, kill to our heart's content, and disrupt their arrangements!"

Seeing Lu Chen draw his sword and approach, the eight Hanshui Gang members immediately panicked. Why isn't this kid following jianghu rules?

We've already put on a welcoming stance. Even if we're going to fall out, shouldn't we go in first, talk a bit, and keep up appearances?

Our traps are all set up inside the headquarters...

Unfortunately, Lu Chen never considered following jianghu rules with this kind of dark and evil gang. He rushed several steps forward to the eight Hanshui Gang members. With a flash of sword light, a Hanshui Gang member who had just raised his long saber clutched his throat and fell to the ground with a thud.

The other seven Hanshui Gang members turned and ran without a word, shouting as they ran:

"They're attacking! That kid in black is attacking!"

Lu Chen didn't say a word, striding rapidly in pursuit. He followed the seven into the manor gate, catching up to them one by one, killing them all with a single sword thrust each. Afterwards, he continued forward along the main path of the manor.

Huang Rong called out to Li Mochou and followed closely behind Lu Chen, not too far away, focusing her senses to carefully watch for any movement around them.

Li Mochou pursed her lips and walked beside Huang Rong, also fully focused on being vigilant of their surroundings.

Suddenly, Huang Rong's clear ears twitched slightly. She flicked her finger, and a copper coin shot out with a 'whoosh'. A Hanshui Gang member who had just peeked over the side courtyard wall immediately screamed, covering his eyes, and fell headfirst.

At the same time, on the courtyard walls and rooftops on both sides of the main path, groups of Hanshui Gang members stood up one after another. Some held bags of lime powder, others carried fishing nets. But before they could make a move, Huang Rong whispered to Li Mochou:

"I'll take the left, you take the right!"

As she spoke, she flicked her slender fingers repeatedly, shooting out copper coins rapidly.

Some of the Hanshui Gang members on the left courtyard wall and rooftop clutched their eyes and screamed, falling headfirst from the wall and roof. Some had just raised their lime powder bags when the bags were burst by the copper coins, and the quicklime was scattered all over themselves and nearby companions' heads and faces.

On the other side, Li Mochou, who had already hidden silver needles in her sleeves, suddenly raised her hand and launched the needles. The tiny silver needles turned into subtle silver glints barely visible to the naked eye, shooting towards the Hanshui Gang members on the right.

At this time, she hadn't learned to use poison yet, and the silver needles she launched were not the extremely poisonous "Ice Soul Silver Needles" that struck fear into people's hearts.

But even without poison, with her Flying Needle technique learned from the Ancient Tomb Sect, dealing with these low-level gang members was more than enough.

Under the rapid flight of silver glints, the Hanshui Gang members on the right also covered their eyes one after another, screaming as they fell.

While Huang Rong and Li Mochou were working together to deal with the Hanshui Gang members preparing to throw fishing nets and spread lime, a group of Hanshui Gang members rushed towards Lu Chen in front.

Those dozens of Hanshui Gang members each carried a bamboo pole over ten feet long, with the iron tips at the front sharpened and gleaming. The rows of bamboo poles were held level, forming a rudimentary Spear Formation.

Such a "Spear Formation" might be quite powerful in gang brawls, but it was far from sufficient when dealing with experts.

Or rather, a single "Spear Formation" couldn't deal with experts; other methods were needed as assistance. The Hanshui Gang had originally prepared for this.

However, Lu Chen and the other two did not follow the "courtesy before force" routine that the Hanshui Gang had anticipated.

Instead of walking obediently into the ambush, they brazenly charged straight through, cutting down anyone in their path and completely disrupting the Hanshui Gang's setup. The fishing nets and lime powder that could have restricted the movements of experts were neutralized by Huang Rong and Li Mochou's preemptive strike. All that remained was a Bamboo Pole "Spear Formation" that was far from disciplined – how could it possibly pose a threat to true masters?

Watching the Hanshui Gang members surge forward with their long bamboo poles, Lu Chen didn't even bother with the Profound Iron Heavy Sword. He simply held up his Steel Sword and charged directly into the face of the Spear Formation. The Hanshui Gang members roared in unison, and the front two rows thrust their bamboo poles forward simultaneously, aiming to pierce Lu Chen.

Lu Chen swung his Steel Sword, drawing a brilliant arc of light. With crisp snapping sounds, the dozen-odd bamboo poles thrusting from the front and sides were severed, their "spearheads" scattering everywhere.

Lu Chen then dashed forward, cutting down several more bamboo poles from the third row with another swing. He had already broken through to the first row of Hanshui Gang members. Immediately, his long sword swept horizontally again, a arc of light like a bolt of silk flashing past. Several Hanshui Gang members in front of him simultaneously had their throats slit, blood splattering as they collapsed to the ground without a sound.

Having already breached the formation, this "Spear Formation" naturally lost its effectiveness.

Lu Chen's sword light flashed continuously as he pressed forward relentlessly. Wherever he went, blood rained down, screams were incessant, and Hanshui Gang members fell one after another, their chests pierced, throats slit, or foreheads struck.

Just as he was killing with abandon, an angry roar rang out:

"Stop!"

Lu Chen ignored it, continuing his slaughter, killing several more in one go.

The gang members who formed this "Spear Formation," especially the first two rows, were basically the most fierce and brave fighters of the Hanshui Gang.

But no matter how brave they were, they couldn't withstand such a massacre. After the bravest twenty or so in the front row fell, the remaining Hanshui Gang members had long since lost their nerve, abandoning their useless bamboo poles and scattering like birds and beasts, crawling and rolling away.

It took fully one-third of their numbers dying before they routed. It wasn't that their ability to withstand casualties was particularly strong; it was purely that Lu Chen killed too quickly, and many of the gang members didn't have time to feel fear at first.

Having routed the Spear Formation, Lu Chen pursued for a few steps, killing a few of the slower runners. Seeing the lackeys scattering in all directions and escaping too widely, he finally lightly swung his long sword, shaking off the blood drops, and glanced at the person who had just yelled at him to "stop."

It was a burly man with a fierce face, holding a large nine-ringed saber. At this moment, his eyes were red, glaring at him in anger.

To the left of the big man stood a young man dressed in black robes, holding a folding fan, with the appearance of a scholar and sinister eyes. Several other agile men, armed with single sabers, long swords, spears, and truncheons, stood to their left and right.

Another fair-skinned, chubby old man, dressed in the robes of a wealthy landowner, stood with his hands behind his back on the steps above. He was surrounded by several men wearing clean, patched clothes, holding clubs, and each carrying several bags on their backs.

At this time, Huang Rong and Li Mochou had also broken through the ambush and followed.

Li Mochou saw Lu Chen surrounded by bodies lying crisscrossed, with blood flowing everywhere, yet he had a calm and composed expression. She couldn't help but mutter to herself:

Killing so many people in one go again, this Brother Lu is truly vicious, practically a Natural Born Killer! I absolutely must not provoke him in the future... What, I'm with him? Ah, you know what, I actually feel quite safe!

Li Mochou's inner thoughts were quite rich, while Huang Rong appeared as if nothing had happened. Only after seeing the chubby old man did she softly say behind Lu Chen:

"That chubby old man is carrying nine cloth bags. He should be Elder Peng, the Nine-Bag Elder of the Beggar Gang's Clean-Clothed Faction, the backer of the Hanshui Gang that Zhang Yong was boasting about earlier."

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