The Reason

Elsewhere, after leaving the Lu Family, Xu Yang did not pause for even half a step before rushing home.

"Open the door!"

"Brother!"

Li Hong Yu opened the door. Seeing Xu Yang empty-handed and in such a hurry, she found it strange. "What happened? No pigs to slaughter today?"

"Shut the door!"

Xu Yang offered no explanation, tossing out those words before heading straight into the inner room.

Seeing this, Li Hong Yu realized something was wrong. She hurriedly shut the door and ran after him.

Inside, Xu Yang stripped off his bloodied, filthy clothes and tossed them aside. He took out a fresh set from the wardrobe and changed, then pulled on a leather shoulder-guard vest.

Seeing Xu Yang put on armor, Li Hong Yu grew even more nervous. "Brother, what happened?"

"Where's Qing He?"

Without explaining, Xu Yang took down his bow and arrows from the wall, then hung two quivers from his waist.

"Brother!"

Li Qing He ran into the room. Seeing Xu Yang with bow in hand and arrows at his waist, his expression changed as well. "What happened?"

Xu Yang said no more. He pulled out a long case from beneath the bed and opened it, revealing a heavy, thick-backed Nine-Ringed Great Saber. "Put on your armor, bring your bows and arrows, and take everything we practiced bringing before!"

With that, he sheathed the saber across his back, took up his bow, and headed outside.

Where was he going?

The Lu Family?

Because of that conflict just now?

Of course not!

Xu Yang was decisive and ruthless when facing enemies, but he was not some deranged madman who would wipe out an entire family over a minor argument. Besides, strictly speaking, he had not been in the right over what happened earlier. A family slave had pocketed goods in secret, and the master punished him. That was Heaven's will and Earth's justice.

If it had only been such a minor matter, Xu Yang would have lowered his head and endured it.

But this was no minor matter. Or rather, behind that small conflict lay a greater reason.

Butchers keeping some meat for themselves was an unspoken rule. No one exposed it without cause, because doing so would only embarrass everyone and leave the master of the house unable to save face.

Xu Yang was no exception. Did Lord Lu truly not know about his Actions?

He knew. He simply turned a blind eye and allowed it. With Xu Yang's current abilities, taking such a small benefit was only natural. If Xu Yang refused it, Lord Lu would be the one feeling uneasy.

Then why had Lu Ming come looking for trouble this time? Why had he picked a fight with him? Could it be that this Third Young Master had nothing better to do?

Of course not. At least, Xu Yang did not think so.

Nothing happened without a reason!

Given Xu Yang's current abilities, the Lu Family would never make things difficult for him or create a rift without reason. Lu Ming's attempt to cause trouble must have had some purpose behind it.

What purpose?

Xu Yang did not know, but he knew that the Lu Family's attitude toward him had changed. And whatever had caused them to turn against him could not be ordinary, or it would not have driven the Lu Family to fall out with him like this.

Seeing the leopard through a tube, seeing the greater from the small—Xu Yang did not believe the Lu Family would continue getting along with him peacefully.

So...

Strike first and gain the advantage; strike late and suffer disaster!

Xu Yang was not the sort of man who, knowing an enemy harbored ill intent, would still wait for them to make the first move.

"Brother!"

"Are you both ready?"

"Yes!"

Soon, Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu came before Xu Yang. Both wore leather armor, and each carried a large bamboo basket on their backs.

They had clearly rehearsed this before.

"Let's go!"

Without hesitation, Xu Yang pushed open the door and led the two of them toward Little Yellow Mountain.

Though he intended to strike first, he was not foolish enough to bring Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu to fight the Lu Family to the death.

He would first take them into the mountains and hide them at the secret stronghold he had established. Then he would return and deal with this matter.

But unexpectedly...

"Quick, quick, quick!"

Not long after the three left home, they saw a group approaching them head-on. At its head was none other than the limping Li Lao Jiu.

"Li Qingshan!!!"

Xu Yang spotted Li Lao Jiu, and Li Lao Jiu spotted the three of them as well. He immediately shouted in delight, "So you have this day too! Get them! Seize these little bastards who betray their own—"

Whoosh!!!

Before he could finish, a powerful arrow tore through the air toward them.

Pfft!!!

Li Lao Jiu had no idea what had happened when he felt something warm splash across his face. He turned in shock and saw a man beside him staggering backward, an arrow having pierced through his right eye and out the back of his skull before he toppled to the ground.

"M-Murder?"

"Murder!"

"Murder!!!"

Only then did the few people awaken to what had happened, and the scene instantly descended into chaos.

Yet from a hundred paces away, Xu Yang showed no concern. He drew his bow again and fired another arrow, shooting down a Li Family servant beside Li Lao Jiu.

Craftsman (Bow Making, Leatherwork, Toughness, Durability, Bamboo Masterpiece)

Archery (Pierce Willow at a Hundred Paces, Three Stars in a Row, Running Shot)

With a tough, finely crafted bamboo bow and the archery skill of Pierce Willow at a Hundred Paces, let alone a mere servant, even fierce mountain beasts or Martial Artists with cultivated skill would not dare face Xu Yang's arrows head-on.

"Ahhh!!!"

"Run! Run!"

Li Lao Jiu and the others finally came to their senses in horror. With shrill cries, they turned and fled.

However...

Xu Yang strode after them, drawing and firing his bow. In the blink of an eye, he shot them all to the ground.

Pfft!

Li Lao Jiu fled with his back turned, but his unhealed limp severely slowed him down. Before he had gone far, a burst of agony knocked him to the ground. An arrow had pierced his good right leg, its iron-tipped bamboo shaft punching through flesh and bone and jutting out, dripping with blood.

"Ahhh!!!"

Li Lao Jiu howled miserably, clutching his right leg as his body convulsed. Before he could call for help, a terrifying shadow fell over him.

"Q-Qingshan, it—it wasn't me... Spare me, spare me!"

Looking at Xu Yang's tall, tiger-like build, Li Lao Jiu finally understood the situation. He stammered incoherently as he begged for mercy.

But Xu Yang ignored him completely. He grabbed Li Lao Jiu by the shoulder and lifted him up as easily as a chick.

Thus, Xu Yang carried the shrieking Li Lao Jiu and led the panicked Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu toward Little Yellow Mountain outside the village.

No one blocked them along the way. The villagers and neighbors all fled in horror at the sight, while the large groups from the Li Family and Lu Family were nowhere to be seen. It seemed they had not yet reacted, allowing the three to leave the village without trouble.

After leaving the village and entering the wilderness, Xu Yang finally stopped. He threw the already hoarse Li Lao Jiu to the ground and pulled the Nine-Ringed Great Saber from his back.

"N-No, don't kill me!"

After screaming all the way here and losing blood from his arrow wound, Li Lao Jiu's face was already deathly pale and his mind muddled. But faced with Xu Yang's gleaming, terrifying saber, he immediately sobered up. "It wasn't me, it was the Li Family! Li Qingyun, he came back! He wants you dead! It wasn't me..."

Li Lao Jiu babbled excuses, but Xu Yang did not care. The Nine-Ringed Great Saber he had bought for a high price from the Prefectural City Blacksmith Shop went directly to his throat. "Speak. What is going on?"

The cold blade and its piercing touch made Li Lao Jiu shudder. Trembling like a leaf, he hurriedly said, "It's Li Qingyun, the Li Family's Second Young Master. He returned from the Hundred Swords Sect, and he got together with the Lu Family's Second Miss. The Li and Lu Families are going to form a marriage alliance..."

"Li Qingyun?"

"The Hundred Swords Sect?"

Xu Yang frowned and pressed further. "Why would the Li and Lu Families suddenly form a marriage alliance?"

Li Lao Jiu swallowed with difficulty. "I-I don't know. I really don't know. It had nothing to do with me..."

"Hm?!"

Xu Yang's eyes narrowed as he suddenly pressed down with his saber.

A sharp pain shot through his neck, making Li Lao Jiu's body jerk. He cried out at once, "I-I heard that the Eldest Young Master Li found some Noble Patron in the Prefectural City. The Lu Family received word too and learned that the Li Family was about to rise to greatness, so they sent a letter to the Second Miss at the Hundred Swords Sect, telling her to seduce Li Qingyun, the Li Family's second son who was also training there. After some time, the two got together, and the Lu Family proposed marriage..."

"A Noble Patron?"

Xu Yang frowned. "What Noble Patron?"

"I don't know. I really don't know."

Li Lao Jiu wept until tears and snot covered his face. "Qingshan, I was wrong. I was terrible. I deserve to die. Spare me, for the sake of our shared clan—"

Pfft!!!

Before he could finish, a dull impact cut off his Words. Scarlet blood sprayed miserably alongside a flash of gleaming steel, and a head rolled to the ground.

"Urgh!!"

The sight made Li Hong Yu's face turn pale. She clamped both hands tightly over her mouth.

Li Qing He was no better off. He clenched his teeth and forced himself to stand, barely managing not to vomit.

"Go!"

Xu Yang paid it no mind. He sheathed his saber and led the two deeper into the mountains.

The matter was clear now.

The Lu Family had sold him out.

Over the past few years, in order to acquire more resources and secure his own development, he had fought for the Lu Family as their vanguard against the Li Family. Relying on his ever-growing Strength, he had caused the Li Family no small losses.

Originally, this arrangement had benefited both sides. The Lu Family had been quite willing to use a traitor of the Li Clan like him to strike against the Li Family, so his relationship with the Lu Family had always been good. Lord Lu had also come to value him more and more, showing him favor several times in the hope of completely winning him over.

But the weather was unpredictable. The Li Family had somehow found good fortune and attached themselves to a Noble Patron in the Prefectural City. With their rise to prominence imminent, the Lu Family saw that the situation had turned unfavorable and immediately sought to ease relations between the two families. Not only had they arranged a marriage between their children, but they had also cast him out as a discarded pawn.

What Lu Ming had done at the Lu Family Mansion earlier was because of this. He wanted to publicly sever ties with Xu Yang, pin the crime of stealing from his master and betraying his household on him, and use it as grounds to throw him out.

That way, they could show goodwill to the Li Family while preserving their own dignity. It was quite a clever move.

The key to all this was the Noble Patron the Li Family had attached themselves to in the Prefectural City.

Who was that Noble Patron?

Xu Yang did not know, nor did he care to know.

He only needed to know one thing: the Li Family and the Lu Family had already torn off all pretense with him.

So...

"Wait here until I return. If I'm not back after three days, do as I told you before!"

Xu Yang led them winding through the forest before quickly arriving at a hidden Bamboo Hut.

This was a secret stronghold he had built in the mountains, prepared for the arrival of this very day.

"Brother!"

Seeing that Xu Yang intended to leave alone, Li Qing He grew nervous. "Do you really have to go?"

Li Hong Yu was even more worried. "Yes. We can't afford to provoke them, but can't we hide from them? We can stay hidden in these mountains. They can't possibly find us, can they?"

"A man living in this world can endure some things, but there are other things... that must be fought for!"

Xu Yang shook his head and said something neither of them understood. "Wait for me to return!"

With that, regardless of how the two reacted, he turned and left the Bamboo Hut.