"After I go in, circle around the lake and head up the mountain. Keep yourselves hidden," Su Changqing said softly.
"Wait for my command, then kill our way out together."
Zhou Chu nodded solemnly.
Ye Ronghuo had been demoted, leaving him as the only Centurion.
"Commander Su, what about you?" Zhou Chu asked.
"I'll cross over the lake," Su Changqing said with a smile, pointing toward the rippling Cloud Dragon Lake with one hand.
The Imperial Guards truly deserved to be called handpicked elites. Every one of them was skilled in assassination and concealment as they rushed into the forest.
Even Su Changqing could no longer see their figures.
When would the setting sun return? Its fading light spilled across Cloud Dragon Lake.
The rippling lake lay within Cloud Dragon Village's territory, a place rarely visited by anyone.
Yet at this moment, a lone boat drifted slowly across its surface.
A figure in white stood at the bow.
His white robes were purer than snow, and his bearing was as refined as jade. His sleeves fluttered in the wind, Frost Snow Saber hung at his waist, and his elegance was unmatched.
The lone boat continued forward, heading straight toward Tianfeng Village's Seventh Peak.
Before long, someone spotted Su Changqing. Several dozen bandits rushed down from Seventh Peak and stared coldly at him.
They all stepped aside as a scholar slowly approached. Holding a folding fan, he had handsome features and calmly watched Su Changqing arrive by boat.
"What a handsome fat sheep. That saber is worth at least a hundred taels of silver." Ji Chufeng narrowed his eyes as he stared at Frost Snow Saber at Su Changqing's waist.
"Cloud Dragon Village has swept through everything within a hundred li. Why would a fat sheep dare deliver himself to our doorstep?" a bandit beside him asked doubtfully.
Cloud Dragon Village lived off the water, preying upon passing ships. They abducted women back to the village, while men were killed and thrown into the lake.
Over time, most merchants had learned of this place. They either kept far away and traveled by land, or paid a hefty sum to support Cloud Dragon Village.
Even fishermen no longer dared fish here.
"Why care? Rob him first!" Ji Chufeng said coldly, despite his scholarly appearance.
What he hated most was anyone more elegant than himself!
"Sure thing! We'll seize that white saber for the Village Chief!" the bandits laughed loudly.
Several dozen figures boarded a large ship and ferried toward Su Changqing, intent on killing him.
The large ship was extremely fast and soon approached the lone boat on the water.
"Kid, don't run! Kneel and beg for mercy, and we might spare your life!" A bandit stood at the bow with a Steel Saber in hand, laughing heartily.
"Give us a few kowtows, and we'll sell you to Youyun Workshop. Plenty of people there will serve you."
There were twenty-two water bandits in all. Ji Chufeng was not among them.
Su Changqing watched the large ship without saying a word. With a light tap of his toe, the lone boat shuddered and instantly shattered into countless pieces that scattered across the lake.
He stepped out, light as a swallow, crossing several meters before landing atop a small piece of wood.
Su Changqing seemed to be walking upon the water itself, sending ripples spreading outward.
He borrowed strength once more, crossing several meters with every step as he charged toward the large ship.
The sight instantly horrified every bandit aboard.
"This man is no ordinary opponent! Retreat! Only the Village Chief may be able to fight him!" one bandit cried hurriedly.
The twenty-two men hurriedly turned around, intending to turn the ship and rush back to Seventh Peak. Then they froze where they stood.
A figure had already landed on their ship, white robes fluttering, his bearing peerless.
"Sir, we are men of Cloud Dragon Village! Our seven Village Chiefs are all in the Xiantian Realm!" a bandit said fearfully.
The distance was a full hundred meters. This man had crossed it in only ten breaths, and he had done so by running over the lake. How terrifying was that?
"Gentlemen, I'll borrow your heads." Su Changqing smiled.
A blood-red, eerie flash swept past. Twelve fine heads flew into the air, and blood instantly stained the deck crimson.
The remaining ten men turned pale with terror as they watched their companions' blood spray more than thirty feet into the air.
"You..."
Heavens, what kind of expert was this? He had killed twelve men with a single sword strike?
Everyone scattered in panic. Some even tried to leap into Cloud Dragon Lake and escape through the water.
Su Changqing did not pursue them. Instead, he casually pulled Thousand Year Golden Silkworm Silk taut. It arrived in an instant, dazzling beneath the setting sun, its surface covered in droplets of blood.
One bandit after another froze in place, watching helplessly as their bodies separated and fell onto the deck, blood flowing everywhere.
Every one of them had been severed at the waist. Even their spinal bones had been easily sliced through by Thousand Year Golden Silkworm Silk.
Corpses lay everywhere, blood bright red. Su Changqing watched calmly and shook his head slightly.
Thousand Year Golden Silkworm Silk infused with Profound Heaven True Qi could even cut off Ye Tian's head. These bandits at the Body Refinement and True Qi Realm were nothing by comparison.
This was the fate of bandits. It was somewhat tragic...
But still far better than the fate of the many women they had abducted into the mountains.
At the foot of Seventh Peak, more than a hundred bandits had gathered. Ji Chufeng sat beneath a huge banyan tree, lightly waving his folding fan as he waited.
"The large ship has turned around, and that small boat has been crushed to pieces. I wonder whether that young man is still alive. He could fetch a good price," a bandit reported after observing for a moment.
"A pampered young master dares show off in Cloud Dragon Village?" Ji Chufeng sneered as he lightly waved his fan.
"This one is definitely a huge fat sheep. At least a thousand taels of silver. If he's alive, the price starts at three thousand taels."
The bandits strode forward with vicious grins, rushing toward the large ship that was about to dock.
Su Changqing hid atop the large ship, his eyes narrowing slightly as he calmly watched them.
"Why hasn't anyone come down yet?" a bandit asked doubtfully.
Ji Chufeng's eyes shifted. He frowned slightly and said, "Send two men up to take a look."
Name: Ji Chufeng Realm: Fourth Level of Xiantian Fate: Proficient in Hidden Weapons (Green) Wuxia Script: "Tang Sect" "Stormy Pear Blossom Needles" Minor Villain. Tang Sect was destroyed by Invincible Brat thirty years ago and vanished from the martial world. Ji Chufeng escaped with the sect's exquisite hidden weapon, Stormy Pear Blossom Needles.
He later died when the Suppression Bureau cleared Cloud Dragon Mountain... Before dying, he destroyed the Stormy Pear Blossom Fan, and no hidden weapons from Tang Sect ever appeared again.
His corpse fell into Cloud Dragon Lake and became food for fish...
Su Changqing was at the Xiantian Second Layer, two levels below him. His eyes narrowed slightly.
Though the Imperial Guard's intelligence network was unrivaled under heaven, it could not be trusted completely.
The information claimed Ji Chufeng was at the Xiantian Third Layer, but he was now at the Fourth Level of Xiantian.
It was like Scarlet Blood Scholar. Everyone knew he possessed a Purple Blood Soft Sword, but who would have known that the soft sword was actually the belt hanging around his waist?
Several bandits leaped onto the large ship. What they saw horrified them: headless corpses lay everywhere, some bodies split in two, their deaths gruesome beyond description.
"It's all blood... They're all dead..." the bandits shouted in terror.
"This is bad. We've run into a tough opponent." Ji Chufeng's expression changed abruptly. He snapped his fan shut and hurried over.
Just as he was about to board the ship, he suddenly stopped. Frowning slightly, he said, "Search the cabin. See whether that youth in white is hiding inside."
Su Changqing had originally intended to assassinate him, but Ji Chufeng turned out to be rather clever.
Everyone from Tang Sect was skilled at using hidden weapons for assassination. With the cabin so confined, how could he recklessly put himself in danger?
Su Changqing's gaze was cold as lightning. He was about to wait a little longer and see whether Ji Chufeng would take the bait.
If the man boarded the ship, Su Changqing was confident he could strike from above and split him apart with a single saber blow.
Since Ji Chufeng was skilled in hidden weapons, killing him with one slash here was the simplest solution.
Sizzle!
A firework shot across the sky, tearing through the heavens with an ear-piercing shriek.
The fireworks suddenly lit up the darkening sky!
"Enemy attack!"
"The Imperial Guard has come to kill Cloud Dragon Village!"
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