Arrow Technique

That night, Lu Family Mansion.

Though an unexpected incident had occurred, the welcome banquet still went ahead. It was just that the courtyard was now filled with tense Household Guards carrying staves and blades.

Once the banquet ended, host and guests departed in satisfaction. Lu Guan, head of the Lu Family, brought his third son, Lu Ming, to the Study.

"Father!"

The moment he entered the Study, Lu Ming hurriedly shut the door and asked his father nervously, "Will Li Qingshan really come back?"

"What do you think?"

Lu Guan glared fiercely at his disappointing son. "I told you long ago: if you fail to kill a snake, it will come back to bite you. Since we had already torn off all pretense today, we should never have let him leave alive. Now we've let a tiger return to the mountains, leaving endless Future Trouble. How will either of us sleep peacefully from now on?"

Hearing this, Lu Ming looked aggrieved. "I only thought we could show the Li Family some respect and let them vent their anger themselves, so as to ease the tension between our families. Who could have expected that man to be so ruthless, killing people the moment words failed him..."

"Li Qingshan... sigh!"

Lu Guan sighed as well. "I saw long ago that he was no ordinary man. He knew how to endure, how to advance and retreat, and he had methods of his own. If the Li Family had not found such a Noble Patron in the Prefectural City, and if our families had not formed such Grievances, I would never have made an enemy of him. What a pity, what a pity..."

"Enough with the pity, Father!"

Lu Ming cut him off. "I heard the Li Family Members have already found Li Lao Jiu's body. His head was severed from his body, and he died with his eyes open. And several of the Li Family's guards were shot dead by his arrows. If someone like that comes back for revenge, what are we supposed to do? We can't keep guarding against him forever, can we?"

"Don't worry."

Lu Guan waved a hand, comforting him. "Your father already has a plan. Go to the Storehouse with Zhang Fu later and prepare some gold and silver. Tomorrow, send someone into the mountains to Qing Feng Village and have them search for those three. Then we will join forces with the Li Family and send men to search the mountain together. With us working inside and out, we will surely..."

Pfft!!!

Before he could finish, a dull sound rang out. Lu Guan's body trembled. Looking down, he saw a blood-soaked blade tip protruding from his chest. He immediately understood what had happened and struggled to turn around.

"You...!"

Pfft!!!

Before he could finish speaking or turn his head, the blade in his chest twisted sharply and tore sideways through his torso. Bone and flesh split apart as blood sprayed everywhere.

"Father..."

Lu Ming stood frozen, his face splattered with blood. Before he could understand What happened?, his father's corpse collapsed limply, revealing the person behind him—a fiendish demon like an asura.

"You!!!"

Meeting the man's icy gaze and seeing the dripping blade in his hand, Lu Ming was finally Awakened. His pupils shrank as he prepared to scream.

However...

Pfft!!!

Before the cry could leave his throat, a cold flash tore through the air and struck him heavily to the ground.

After a few convulsions, the Study returned to silence.

Xu Yang sheathed his blade without sparing the two corpses on the floor a glance, then turned to search the bookshelves.

Over the years, he had often slipped into the Lu Family Study to steal a read, but theft was still theft. He could not casually touch certain important collections and frequently consulted texts.

Now that all pretense had been discarded, there was nothing left to fear. He would simply pack up every useful book and take it away.

A short while later, Xu Yang left the Study carrying a bundle. Soon afterward, flames began to spread from within.

A moonless night was made for murder, a windy night for arson!

Elsewhere, in the Lu Family's West Courtyard.

"Fire! There's a fire!"

"Someone, hurry and put it out!"

"What's going on?"

Sharp cries rang out one after another as lights came on in every room.

Two people rushed out from a room in the West Courtyard: a young man and a young woman.

"What's all the noise?"

"What happened?"

With Long Swords in hand and frowns on their faces, they stopped a maid and asked what was happening.

"Miss, Young Master!"

The maid looked panicked. "I don't know either. It seems there's a fire somewhere."

"A fire?"

The two exchanged glances and released the maid. "Go see what's going on."

"Yes!"

The maid turned and left, leaving the pair unsettled.

"How could there be a fire out of nowhere?"

"Could some servant have been careless?"

"Then... shall we get dressed and go take a look?"

"Fine!"

After discussing it briefly, the two were about to return inside to dress.

But then...

Whoosh!

An arrow whistled through the air.

The Man halted in his tracks and swept his Long Sword sideways, knocking the incoming arrow aside.

"Who's there?!"

After deflecting the arrow, the Man shouted and searched for its source.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The only response was the sound of arrows tearing through the air. Three sharp arrows hid in the night as they flew in viciously to claim their lives.

The Man's gaze hardened. His Long Sword swept out and split one arrow apart, but the three arrows came in succession. The second followed immediately after the first, forcing him to barely keep up. His sword swung back, narrowly knocking aside the second arrow.

Then...

Pfft!!!

The third arrow followed close behind. The Man had no time to block or evade it. He could only twist his body with all his might, but the arrow still struck his left shoulder and pierced through his collarbone.

"Qingyun!"

Seeing her lover struck by an arrow, the woman rushed over to shield him.

"The roof!"

"Be careful!"

The Man had also located the archer and shrieked a warning to the woman.

The woman's pupils contracted as she looked up. On the roof to their left stood a person who had appeared at some point.

Dressed in black and clad in armor, he possessed a tall, sturdy frame with the ferocious agility of a tiger or leopard. In his hand was a great bow drawn taut, an arrow already nocked upon its string. The bowstring was pulled to a full moon...

"Li Qingshan!!!"

Though they did not know him and had never met him, the same name burst from both their mouths.

But that did nothing to stop Xu Yang. With the bow drawn full, he loosed three arrows that tore through the air and rained down upon the pair.

The two snapped back to their senses and hurriedly swung their swords to defend themselves, joining forces to knock aside all three arrows.

Xu Yang did not care. He drew another three Bamboo Arrows from his quiver and nocked them once more.

These two were Li Qingyun, the Li Family's second Young Master, and Lu Ying, the Lu Family's Second Miss. Though they had not married, they had already become involved and lived together in the Lu Family's West Courtyard. That was why he had caught them so easily.

Both came from Influential Families and had trained at the Hundred Swords Sect for years. Though they had not cultivated True Qi, they possessed a bit of Inner Force and counted as second-rate martial artists in the jianghu. Otherwise, they could not have blocked his Strong Bow and powerful arrows.

With the two of them joining hands, even firing down from above and using Pierce Willow at a Hundred Paces to shoot three arrows in succession, it would be difficult for him to kill them.

But archery was not his only skill!

"Hurry and go!"

Seeing Xu Yang nock more arrows, Li Qingyun and Lu Ying did not dare face him head-on, much less charge through the barrage. They could only retreat toward Outside the courtyard.

Whoosh!

But the instant they moved, another arrow shot through the air.

Fortunately, the pair had regained their composure. They attacked together, their swords weaving like a net to block the arrow again.

Yet just as the three arrows were deflected, another arrow broke through, pursuing them at the moment their strength was spent, when there was no way to evade or block it...

Butchering the Ox!

Though it was merely a method for dissecting oxen, among the Three Thousand Great Daos, different paths led to the same destination. Their principles were interconnected and not limited by form. It could dissect oxen, and it could dissect people. It could be used with a blade, and it could be used with an arrow, so long as its essence was applied.

And what was that essence?

See through the target, break it down, and analyze its structure!

Predict its movements and strike directly at its weak points!

Thus, the fourth arrow was impossible for them to block. Their movements, techniques, and bodily reactions were all within Xu Yang's predictions. The arrow struck at the exact instant when they could neither evade, defend, nor even react.

Pfft!

Before Lu Ying could react, an arrow struck her shoulder. Her body staggered, and her pretty face instantly turned pale.

"Hurry and go!"

Though his lover had been hit, Li Qingyun dared not stop for her. Terror had already filled his heart, and all he wanted now was to escape the range of his opponent's arrows. With a shout, he fled toward the courtyard entrance.

At that moment...

"Hah!"

Beneath the cold moon, the archer who resembled a demon harvesting lives stood on the eaves and took a deep breath. Then, he slowly closed his eyes.

Though his eyes were shut, his hands never stopped. He drew arrows like lightning and loosed them like rain, pushing the functions of his body and bow to their limits. By himself, he unleashed a Pear Blossom Storm!

"Let spirit meet it rather than the eyes; let conscious awareness cease, while the spirit acts!"

Arrows poured down like rain, flying shafts swarming like locusts as they engulfed the two in the courtyard. They struck where the pair had to move, attacked where they had to defend, cut off every path of escape, and extinguished every chance of survival. Finally...

Pfft!

The final dull impact ended the wild, torrential barrage. Xu Yang opened his eyes, ignoring the aching numbness in his shoulders and arms as he looked toward the two in the courtyard.

The courtyard was carpeted in arrows and awash in blood. The two lay in pools of crimson, their shoulders, arms, waists, abdomens, legs, knees, hearts, throats, eye sockets, mouths, noses, and other vital areas all pierced by arrows. Their faces remained frozen in terror and despair, making it easy to imagine the hopeless situation they had just faced.

That was the power of Butchering the Ox.

See through the target, analyze everything, and seize the initiative—then victory was assured!

There was only one way to break it: use absolute Strength to counter it.

With Xu Yang's current physique and archery, that absolute standard required at least a True Qi expert. Only then could one use overwhelming speed and reactions to counter his Butchering the Ox arrow technique, either evading or striking back.

But Li Qingyun and Lu Ying clearly lacked that level of Strength. Having yet to turn their Inner Force into True Qi, their fate had been sealed the moment they faced Xu Yang's ambush.

He twisted his aching, numb, swollen arms and looked at the finely made Bamboo Bow in hand, now visibly cracked. Xu Yang shook his head, then leaped down into the courtyard and walked toward the two corpses.

Though his body was powerful and his bow and arrows formidable, he had not trained in martial arts. Such an outburst placed enormous strain and damage on both his body and weapon, so he would not be able to use it again anytime soon.

Fortunately, among the Li and Lu Families, the only people who posed a direct threat to him were Li Qingyun and Lu Ying, the two experts who had returned after training at the Hundred Swords Sect. The other Martial Masters, instructors, Household Guards, and estate guards were not even his One-Round Opponents.

Therefore...

A short while later, Lu Family Mansion was engulfed in flames and chaos.

Some fought the fire, some fled in panic, and some took advantage of the turmoil to leave with stolen goods...

Amid the chaos, Xu Yang carried a large bundle toward the Li Family residence under cover of darkness.

Some things were either left undone or done thoroughly. Otherwise, failing to kill the snake would inevitably leave Future Trouble!

Late at night, the mountains echoed endlessly with wolf howls and monkey cries.

Inside the hidden Bamboo Hut, Li Hong Yu hugged a dagger and curled up in a corner, her eyes Full of unease.

Li Qing He sat beside the bed with a blade in one hand and a bow in the other, staring fixedly at the sealed bamboo door. He had unconsciously bitten his lips until they bled, showing just how tense he was.

Then...

Knock, knock, knock!

A knock sounded at the door. The two jumped in fright, but before they could move, a voice came from outside. "It's me. I'm back. Open the door."

"Brother!"

Hearing the familiar voice, the two finally relaxed. They hurried forward and opened the door.

"Whew!"

The instant the door opened, a heavy stench of blood rushed in with the night wind. The two stopped unconsciously. Xu Yang stood before them with a blade on his back, a bow over his shoulder, and two large bundles in hand. A thick bloody aura emanated from him, and several bright red stains marked his leather armor.

"Brother!"

"What happened to you?"

The sight frightened them badly, and they hurriedly asked.

"I'm fine!"

"Close the door!"

Xu Yang gave no explanation. Carrying the two bundles to the table, he removed his armor and clothing, revealing his sturdy body and swollen shoulders. He then opened one bundle, took out several bottles of medicinal powder, and applied them to himself.

Li Qing He and Li Hong Yu stood nearby. They wanted to ask, but did not dare make a sound.

Xu Yang did not explain much to them either. After applying the powder to promote circulation and disperse bruising, he said, "Everything has been dealt with. But we'll need to live here for a while, so ration the firewood, rice, salt, and oil properly. Otherwise, we'll have to leave the mountains to buy more."

As he spoke, he opened both bundles. Aside from some gold and silver, they contained jars of salt, bottles of oil, and stack after stack of books.

"Bring me something to eat."

"Okay, okay!"

Li Hong Yu answered and handed Xu Yang a braised pork knuckle.

Xu Yang accepted it and took a bite, then picked up a book. "You kept watch all night. You're tired too, so go sleep. I'll stand guard."

"Mm..."

Though they had countless questions, Xu Yang had said so, and they could not press him. They could only lie down on the bed and secretly watch him.

But after watching for only a little while, they could no longer resist their sleepiness and soon fell asleep.

By then, Xu Yang had finished the pork knuckle. He was now studying a Martial Arts Manual he had looted from the Li Family—the Three Yang Stance!

It was an Internal Cultivation Method, one that was common and even somewhat widespread.

But that commonness applied only to martial sects. To a mountain commoner like him, any Internal Cultivation Method was knowledge and power that was nearly impossible to access, precious beyond measure.

Besides the Three Yang Stance, Xu Yang had packed many books he had never read before. There were also quite a few Martial Arts Manuals among them, but they were mostly common techniques, such as the Mandarin Duck Blades, Tiger Subduing Fist, Arhat Staff, and Grasshopper Step—ordinary martial arts known to the public.

But he did not mind at all. He flipped through and studied every book in detail, like a shriveled sponge absorbing every drop of water it could, doing everything he could to enrich himself.

Broad but not refined?

Greedy for too much and mastering none?

To him, these were not problems at all. With Zhuang Zhou's Dream Butterfly, traveling between two worlds, the vast difference in the flow of time, and the effects of the Attribute Panel, he could master an enormous number of skills, make up for every shortcoming, and even dabble in countless fields, flourishing on all fronts.

Knowledge was power!

Information was wealth!

And with ample time and a long Lifespan, so long as he made good use of it all, he would surely live a brilliant life.