Unexpected Fortune

Xia Qi'an struck with the speed of lightning, killing Li Feihu with a single punch.

The scene stunned everyone present into silence, and sent chills down the spines of the Black Wind Stronghold bandits.

Seeing Xia Qi'an's ferocity, Luo Bingzhong no longer harbored any thought of resistance.

He turned and fled backward like a startled rabbit, while the second-in-command, Li Wen, was a step behind.

Xia Qi'an surged forward like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, his hand like an iron clamp, gripping Li Wen's neck tightly and lifting him with ease.

"Spare... cough... spare... spare my life..." Li Wen's feet left the ground, his face turning a shade of pig liver, begging for mercy incoherently.

Xia Qi'an's fingers were like an iron gate, clamped tightly around Li Wen's throat, making it impossible for him to speak clearly.

"Behave... and I'll spare your life! Understand?" Xia Qi'an's expression was cold.

Li Wen nodded repeatedly upon hearing this, having lost all courage to resist at this point.

However, Xia Qi'an knew in his heart that Li Wen was a martial artist, and to be safe, he incapacitated Li Wen by breaking his bones and dislocating his joints.

He then tossed Li Wen aside like garbage for the Black Armored Army to guard, and immediately pursued Luo Bingzhong, who was fleeing towards the back mountain.

Although the back mountain of Black Wind Stronghold was a sheer cliff face, soaring into the clouds and awe-inspiring, Xia Qi'an knew that Luo Bingzhong, having managed Black Wind Stronghold for years, must have other secret passages down the mountain.

Otherwise, Luo Bingzhong wouldn't have risked his life fleeing to the back mountain. With this thought, Xia Qi'an made a decisive move and immediately shot down like an arrow released from a bowstring.

If Luo Bingzhong managed to escape down the mountain, finding him in such a vast area as Tianfeng Mountain would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Xia Qi'an employed the Light Body Technique, relentlessly pursuing in the direction Luo Bingzhong had fled.

Reaching the edge of the cliff at the back mountain, Xia Qi'an looked around. Luo Bingzhong's trace was nowhere to be seen.

Enraged, he was about to turn back to interrogate the third-in-command, Li Wen, when his gaze inadvertently fell upon a rock crevice at the cliff's edge. There, a metal stake was deeply embedded in the rock.

This stake was vertical to the cliff face, blending in with the rock, and truly hard to spot without a close look.

Xia Qi'an bent down to examine it and discovered a rusty iron chain attached to the stake. The chain, like a coiling python, extended along the cliff, plunging into the unfathomable abyss, its end out of sight.

This, he surmised, must be Luo Bingzhong's escape route.

However, with Tianfeng Mountain soaring into the clouds, it made one curious as to where Luo Bingzhong had found such a long chain.

He then firmly grasped the chain and leaped down.

Unexpectedly, the chain did not lead directly to the foot of the mountain but ended abruptly before a hidden stone cave on the cliff face.

Xia Qi'an lightly touched the rock with his feet and leaped into the stone cave with the grace of a flying swallow.

"Whoosh~~"

As soon as Xia Qi'an steadied himself, he heard a sharp whistling sound, like lightning, heading straight for his neck. A cold smile crept onto Xia Qi'an's lips: "Brave indeed!"

His eyes turned blood red, as bright as a blood moon, shining exceptionally in the darkness, clearly indicating he had been alert for some time.

Simultaneously, his hands reacted swiftly. His left hand, faster than the incoming attack, firmly gripped the blade.

Seeing his great saber firmly held by Xia Qi'an, unable to advance further, Luo Bingzhong turned pale with shock: "You still can't kill me?"

Xia Qi'an's blood-red pupils were filled with intense killing intent, glowing like a menacing lamp in the darkness.

He tightened his grip on the blade with both hands and gave a sudden twist.

With a crisp "crack," the great saber in Luo Bingzhong's hand instantly broke into several pieces.

"You're only at the Early Blood Refining Realm! How can you be this strong?" Luo Bingzhong's face was ashen as he stumbled backward, his voice filled with disbelief.

"There are too many things in this world that you find unbelievable...!" Xia Qi'an pressed forward step by step.

"Stop... stop... As long as you let me go, money... yes, I have money, I'll give it all to you..."

"Let me live! I'll give you all my money!"

Luo Bingzhong's liver and gallbladder were shattered. He curled up in a corner, afraid to meet Xia Qi'an's gaze.

Xia Qi'an shook his head: "I can't take the money from Black Wind Stronghold... it needs to be handed over in full! ... Do you have any last words?"

"No... no... I still have... I have privately hidden money... I've exchanged it all for banknotes and deposited it in banks in Jinling City!"

"Take it all!... Just spare my life!"

Xia Qi'an paused upon hearing this and asked, "The banknotes?"

Seeing Xia Qi'an's interest piqued, Luo Bingzhong quickly fumbled in his embrace and produced a stack of banknotes.

After Xia Qi'an inspected them, he found they were indeed banknotes from Jinling banks, totaling three thousand taels.

"Is that all?... No cultivation techniques or anything?" Xia Qi'an's tone was tinged with dissatisfaction.

"Yes... yes... but there are only two low-tier cultivation techniques. I don't know if they're worthy of your dharma eye!"

Xia Qi'an impatiently said, "Why all the nonsense? Take them out!"

Then, Luo Bingzhong produced two more animal hides.

They contained a Blade Technique and an Iron Claw Skill.

This Iron Claw Skill, coincidentally, matched Xia Qi'an's martial arts style.

He planned to practice it in the future.

As for which blade technique, he wasn't interested.

Although these were just two low-tier cultivation methods, if they were put on the market, each one would be worth several hundred taels of silver.

Xia Qi'an accepted them both, planning to sell them later.

However, just as Xia Qi'an was contemplating whether to kill Luo Bingzhong, a lazy voice echoed from the darkness: "Lord Xia... seems to be short on silver, doesn't he...!"

"Damn it!"

Xia Qi'an cursed himself for getting carried away. He hadn't noticed the elusive Snake Guard at all.

He naturally recognized the owner of this voice.

It was Liu Qing of the Snake Guard.

"Did you hear everything?" Xia Qi'an knew she wouldn't have shown herself unless she wanted something.

Otherwise, she could have reported him to the Wei Dao Si without anyone noticing.

"Lord Xia... no need to be nervous... we're all martial artists, naturally we need plenty of silver... so... this isn't a big deal..."

"However... when we encounter this kind of situation, in our Wei Dao Si, there's an unwritten rule... called 'finders keepers'!"

Xia Qi'an understood her meaning immediately and said helplessly, "One thousand taels!"

Liu Qing chuckled, "If it were anyone else, one thousand taels wouldn't be enough to send me away. But... I'm quite optimistic about you, sister... so... one thousand taels it is! Deal...!"

Seeing Liu Qing agree, Xia Qi'an took out a thousand-tael silver note and handed it to her, asking, "Does Lord Liu also need money?"

Liu Qing scoffed, "Of us who are responsible for carrying out missions, how many don't need money?"

Xia Qi'an thought about it and realized it was indeed true. Although the Wei Dao Si had a monthly salary of fifty taels of silver.

This was far from enough for martial artists.

After all, the resources required for martial artists to cultivate often cost thousands of taels.

"Since that's the case! Why don't we cooperate?"

"Your Snake Guard has excellent information! In the future, if there are any more missions like this that can earn money, you can send them to me! How about a four-six split?"

Liu Qing was a little moved upon hearing this, "Are you really only sixteen? I can't tell, you've got quite a few tricks up your sleeve!"

"It's all because I was poor before!" Xia Qi'an joked.

"This matter... let's discuss it after we get back to Jinling!" Liu Qing said with a smile.

Xia Qi'an nodded, "Then how should we report this mission to our superiors? And what about Luo Bingzhong?"

"How to report to the superiors is my business... you don't need to worry about it... relax!... Since I've taken your money, we're in this together..."

"As for this Luo Bingzhong... I suggest we kill him!... lest he talks too much in the Jinling prison..."

Xia Qi'an naturally understood the reasoning behind this.

And he hadn't intended to let Luo Bingzhong go from the beginning.

"Ah~~" A heart-wrenching scream echoed through the heavens, as if trying to break through the firmament.

Xia Qi'an had successfully completed the bandit suppression mission.