A Successful Hit, Third Grade and First Grade

Bold of you!

Qiu Xuemei raised her willow brows and shouted angrily, flinging the broad bean clamped between her chopsticks.

Clang—

The throwing knife was struck precisely by the broad bean. The shell burst apart, and the knife was knocked sharply off course.

Splash, splash, splash—

The rain outside seemed to suddenly intensify.

Having missed with her first strike, Xiao Ling abruptly threw herself to the floor.

Qiu Xuemei inwardly cursed. Not good.

The window opposite flashed brightly, like a barrage of lightning.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Cold glints flashed wildly as the sound of projectiles tearing through the air erupted.

Countless hidden weapons descended upon Qiu Xuemei like a massive net.

With a furious roar, Qiu Xuemei suddenly grabbed her whip. "Huo, huo, huo!" The whip spun like a tornado, knocking down every hidden weapon that shot toward her. They clattered across the floor.

Yet in the next instant, a strange sound came from behind her. Qiu Xuemei was startled and immediately tried to change moves.

But a pitch-black throwing knife flashed over like a ghost in the night, striking the center of her back at once with a metallic tremor as it plunged in.

Qiu Xuemei suddenly clutched her wound behind her back, eyes wide. The long whip in her hand, which had barely begun to change direction, went limp with a swish, just like her body, and she collapsed with a thud.

Her eyes remained wide as she stared fixedly at the pitch-black night beyond the other window, listening to the rain, which seemed to weaken rapidly like her fading life.

A question rose from the depths of her heart.

"Who threw that knife?"

Crimson blood quickly stained her moon-white robe a dark, murky red.

The innkeeper and waiter downstairs had their ears drowned out by the rain. They only wondered why the music upstairs had stopped, unaware that a life had already been lost.

Only then did a figure clinging to the eaves outside bend at the waist and slip into the tavern.

It was Jiang Dali, lean and sturdy, wearing a conical hat.

He glanced at Xiao Ling and Murong Qingqing, who had climbed up from the floor, then walked toward Qiu Xuemei's body.

Looking at this middle-aged woman with the lovely name but a sallow, unremarkable face, Jiang Dali saw that even the crow's feet at the corners of her eyes seemed like traces left by the hardships of wandering the Jianghu.

"Qiu Xuemei

Jiang Dali lowered his eyelids, crouched down, and reached out as though to close her eyes.

"Careful!"

Murong Qingqing opened her mouth to warn him.

But at that moment, a black shadow shot from Qiu Xuemei's sleeve like a chopstick, viciously stabbing toward Jiang Dali's wrist.

"Die!"

Qiu Xuemei, who should have been dead, suddenly opened her eyes at the same time. Murder filled her gaze as her left hand blossomed like a lotus, her five fingers snapping out with crisp pops toward Jiang Dali's throat.

"I knew you weren't dead!"

Jiang Dali sneered and sharply shifted aside, dodging her snapping fingers. A bluish-black sheen suddenly appeared over his face and body, while his muscles and skin bulged like countless tiny broad beans.

With a smack, the black shadow bit down on Jiang Dali's wrist, but could not pierce it. Instead, it was sent flying by his sinewy, bull-tendon-like muscles and fled in panic the instant it hit the floor.

"Iron Cloth Skill!"

Qiu Xuemei's expression changed drastically as she hurried to switch moves.

A thick arm wrapped in bulging veins and knotted muscles was already smashing toward her.

Hum—

The air shuddered violently.

Qiu Xuemei hastily raised a hand to block, but in that instant, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—

Fist shadows seemed to erupt from all four directions, pouncing upon her like four savage wolves. The air itself seemed to turn suffocating in an instant.

Four Directions Fist.

Crack, crack, crack—

Qiu Xuemei's blocking arm was broken in an instant. Lying on the ground with nowhere to evade, she took a ferocious punch directly to the left side of her chest.

Bang, crack—

A sound erupted like a sharp weapon forcibly piercing metal.

Qiu Xuemei screamed. Blood sprayed from both her mouth and left chest as she stared wide-eyed at the man in the conical hat before her, as though trying to see through it and glimpse his face.

But in the end, bubbling blood gushed from her mouth.

A streak of white light, visible only to Jiang Dali, flashed into view.

"Defeated Inner Strength Realm Jianghu wanderer Gale Whip Qiu Xuemei. Reward for defeating an opponent above your level: 60 Potential Points, 30 Cultivation Points, 30 Jianghu Reputation."

Jiang Dali let out a quiet breath. Only after confirming that she had no breath or pulse and that her heart had stopped beating did he turn her body over.

On this side, blood had soaked through her clothes.

The black throwing knife had been driven through the other side of her Golden Silk Armor by the force of his punch, piercing her body. Only its handle remained exposed.

Jianghu grudges were settled in the Jianghu; Jianghu men and women grew old in the Jianghu.

But in the Jianghu, how many wanderers truly lived to old age in peace?

He took Qiu Xuemei's travel funds and spoils.

Another notification appeared.

"Obtained 21 taels of broken silver, one string of copper coins, one third-grade weapon, Green Python Whip (slightly worn), and one first-grade armor, Golden Silk Armor (slightly damaged)."

"Not bad for an Inner Qi Realm expert. She actually dropped two good items. Too bad there were no martial arts manuals. Still, that was normal. Though this world resembled a game in some ways, it was only similar. Not everyone carried martial arts manuals around with them."

Jiang Dali glanced at the notification. His assassination mission was now complete, and he could take her snake back to Green Robe Pavilion to report in.

The so-called "snake" was Jianghu slang, comparing a weapon to the snake held by a beggar.

When traveling the Jianghu, a snake never left one's hand.

Once it left your hand, you lost your life.

Taking Qiu Xuemei's snake meant that he had truly killed her.

"Hero, thank you for helping Qingqing avenge my parents' deaths. Qingqing truly has no way to repay you."

Murong Qingqing approached then. Her eyes were red as she looked at Qiu Xuemei's corpse, her gaze carrying the satisfaction of vengeance as she thanked Jiang Dali.

She was another pitiable soul. Four years ago, Qiu Xuemei had killed her parents, and she had sworn to kill Qiu Xuemei in revenge.

But without Jiang Dali's help and her willingness to serve as bait, this would have been nearly impossible.

Yet conversely, without Qingqing's assistance, it would not have been easy for Jiang Dali to kill Qiu Xuemei, the Ancient Tomb Disciple who had gained some renown around Yuanzhou.

Xiao Ling studied Jiang Dali's face, concealed beneath the gauze hanging from his conical hat. Her pearly teeth parted as she asked, "Qingqing's great vengeance has been fulfilled, but we still do not know your name or true appearance, Hero."

"You successfully helped Murong Qingqing avenge herself. Obtained 20 Cultivation Points, 10 Potential Points, 500 Favorability with Murong Qingqing, and 50 Favorability with Tianqin Sect."

"Murong Qingqing's Favorability toward you has reached the Respect level. Note: when favorability with the opposite sex surpasses Friendly, marriage is possible."

"Tianqin Sect's Favorability toward you has reached the Indifferent level. Note: when Tianqin Sect's favorability surpasses Friendly, you may receive some assistance from the sect."

The Tianqin Sect's favorability even came with Cultivation Points and Potential Points. Not bad.

As for Murong Qingqing, I never heard of this woman in my previous life. Her favorability probably won't be much use either.

Jiang Dali pondered inwardly, pointing at his green robes as he said calmly, "You and I had no fate between us. It was all because of Qiu Xuemei. The Jianghu road is long; take care of yourselves. If you see anyone dressed in green like me in the future, Miss Qingqing, you should keep your distance."

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Dali heard footsteps on the stairs. Clearly, the tavern's innkeeper and waiter were coming up to investigate.

He immediately stepped back, flipped through the window, and vanished from sight, leaving Qingqing standing there in stunned melancholy.

The bandit camp mission was finished. Once he returned to the camp and turned it in, he should be able to break through to the Inner Qi Realm.

And by then, those players who called themselves a locust-like calamity would begin entering the stage one after another.

A new storm of bloodshed and endless conflict in the Jianghu was about to begin

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