Unexpected Fortune

Xia Qi'an struck like a bolt of thunder, killing Li Feihu with a single punch.

The sight left everyone present dumbfounded, while the bandits of Black Wind Stronghold trembled with fear.

Seeing how valiant Xia Qi'an was, Luo Bingzhong no longer had the slightest intention of resisting.

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

Xia Qi'an lunged forward like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. One hand clamped around Li Wen's neck like an iron pincer and lifted him effortlessly into the air.

"Spare... cough... spare... spare my life..." Li Wen's feet dangled off the ground, his face flushed like pig liver as he stammered out his plea for mercy.

Xia Qi'an's five fingers were like an iron gate, locking tightly around Li Wen's throat and leaving him unable to speak clearly.

"Behave yourself... and I'll spare your life! Do you understand?" Xia Qi'an's expression was cold and grim.

At his words, Li Wen nodded repeatedly. At that moment, he no longer had the courage to resist.

However, Xia Qi'an saw through him as clearly as a mirror. He knew Li Wen was a martial artist, so to prevent any mishaps, he crippled his meridians and shattered his bones.

He then tossed him aside like a piece of trash for the Black Armored Army to guard, before immediately pursuing Luo Bingzhong, who had fled toward the rear mountain.

Though the rear mountain of Black Wind Stronghold was a sheer precipice that towered into the clouds and inspired dread at a glance,

Xia Qi'an knew that Luo Bingzhong had run Black Wind Stronghold for many years and must have left behind another secret passage down the mountain.

Otherwise, Luo Bingzhong would never have risked his life fleeing toward the rear mountain. With that thought, Xia Qi'an made his decision at once and chased after him like an arrow loosed from a bow.

If Luo Bingzhong managed to escape down the mountain, finding him again in a place as vast as Tianfeng Mountain would be no easier than searching for a needle in a haystack.

Xia Qi'an used the Light Body Technique and pursued Luo Bingzhong relentlessly along the path he had taken.

When he reached the cliff at the rear mountain, Xia Qi'an looked around, but Luo Bingzhong had vanished without a trace.

He was furious and was just about to turn back and interrogate the third-in-command, Li Wen, when he accidentally caught sight of something: a metal stake stood embedded deep in a crack between the rocks at the edge of the cliff.

The iron bolt was perpendicular to the cliff face and blended into the rock. It truly would have been difficult to notice without a careful look.

Xia Qi'an bent down to examine it and discovered a rust-covered iron chain attached to the stake. The chain was like a winding giant python, stretching along the cliff and plunging into the abyss ten thousand feet below, its end nowhere in sight.

This was presumably the escape route Luo Bingzhong had prepared in advance.

However, Tianfeng Mountain towered into the clouds, and it was truly puzzling where Luo Bingzhong had found such a long iron chain.

Xia Qi'an then gripped the chain tightly and leaped down.

Unexpectedly, the chain did not lead straight to the foot of the mountain. Instead, it ended abruptly before a concealed stone cave on the cliff face.

Xia Qi'an lightly tapped the rocks with his feet and sprang into the cave as nimbly as a swallow.

"Whoosh~~"

The instant Xia Qi'an steadied himself, he heard a sharp sound tearing through the air. Like a bolt of lightning, it slashed straight toward his neck. The corner of Xia Qi'an's mouth curled into a cold smile. "You've got some nerve!"

His eyes were blood-red, as bright as blood moons, shining exceptionally vividly in the darkness. Clearly, he had been on guard all along.

At the same time, both his hands reacted swiftly. His left hand moved like a fierce wind, striking later yet arriving first, and firmly seized the descending blade.

Seeing Xia Qi'an grip the saber so tightly that it could not advance another inch, Luo Bingzhong was horrified. "You still didn't die from that?"

A thick murderous intent filled Xia Qi'an's blood-red eyes, eerie as a lamp glowing in the darkness.

He clutched the blade with both hands and suddenly twisted.

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

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

"There are far too many things in this world that you can't imagine...!" Xia Qi'an pressed forward step by step.

"Sto... stop... If you let me go, silver... yes, I have silver. I'll give it all to you..."

"Spare me! I'll give you all my silver!"

Luo Bingzhong was scared witless. He curled up in the corner, not daring to meet Xia Qi'an's gaze.

Xia Qi'an shook his head. "I can't take the silver in Black Wind Stronghold... It all has to be handed over!... Do you have any last words?"

"No... no... there's more... I still have silver hidden away... I exchanged it all for silver notes and deposited them in a money house in Jinling City!"

"Take it all!... I only ask that you spare my life!"

At his words, Xia Qi'an paused and asked, "Where are the silver notes?"

Seeing that Xia Qi'an seemed tempted, Luo Bingzhong hurriedly rummaged through his clothes and pulled out a stack of silver notes.

After checking them, Xia Qi'an found that they were indeed notes from Jinling Money House, totaling three thousand taels.

"That's all?... No martial arts manuals or anything?" Xia Qi'an's tone held a trace of dissatisfaction.

"There... there are some... but only two inferior manuals. I don't know whether they will meet Your Excellency's standards!"

Xia Qi'an said impatiently, "Why are you wasting so much breath? Take them out!"

Luo Bingzhong then pulled out two sheets of hide.

They recorded one saber technique and one Iron Claw Skill.

This Iron Claw Skill happened to suit Xia Qi'an's martial path.

He intended to practice it later.

As for the saber technique, he had no interest in it.

Although these were merely two inferior martial arts manuals, each one would still be worth several hundred taels on the open market.

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

However, just as Xia Qi'an was considering whether to kill Luo Bingzhong,

a lazy voice echoed from the darkness. "Lord Xia... you seem to be rather short of silver...!"

"Damn it!"

Xia Qi'an cursed inwardly, blaming himself for getting carried away. He had completely failed to notice the elusive Snake Guard.

He naturally recognized the owner of that voice.

It was none other than the Snake Guard, Liu Qing.

"You heard all that?" Xia Qi'an knew that her revealing herself openly meant she wanted something.

Otherwise, she could have simply reported it to the Wei Dao Si without making a sound.

"Lord Xia... don't be nervous... We're all martial artists, so naturally we need plenty of silver... So... this isn't anything serious..."

"However... when something like this happens, there's an unwritten rule in the Wei Dao Si... It's called 'finders keepers'!"

How could Xia Qi'an fail to understand what she meant? He said helplessly, "One thousand taels!"

Liu Qing smiled. "If it were someone else, one thousand taels wouldn't be enough to send me away. But... I have high hopes for you, little brother... so... one thousand taels it is. Deal...!"

Seeing Liu Qing agree, Xia Qi'an drew out a thousand-tael silver note and handed it to her. "Does Lord Liu also lack silver?"

Liu Qing scoffed. "Among those of us responsible for carrying out assignments, how many don't lack silver?"

Xia Qi'an thought about it and realized that it was indeed so. Although the Wei Dao Si paid a monthly salary of fifty taels,

that was far from enough for martial artists.

After all, the resources required for martial cultivation easily cost thousands of taels.

"Since that's the case, why don't we work together?"

"You Snake Guards have well-informed channels! If there are any more missions in the future that can earn silver, send them my way! How about we split it forty-sixty?"

Liu Qing was somewhat tempted by his proposal. "Are you really only sixteen? I never would have guessed you had so many tricks up your sleeve!"

"Isn't that all because I used to be poor?" Xia Qi'an joked.

"We'll discuss it after we return to Jinling," Liu Qing said with a smile.

Xia Qi'an nodded. "Then how should we report this mission to our superiors? What should we do with Luo Bingzhong?"

"How we report it to our superiors is my business... You don't need to worry about it... Relax!... Since I've taken your silver, we're on the same side now..."

"As for Luo Bingzhong... I suggest we kill him!... That way, he won't spout nonsense after he reaches the Jinling prison..."

Xia Qi'an naturally understood the reasoning.

Besides, he had never intended to spare Luo Bingzhong in the first place.

"Ah~~" A heart-rending scream rang through the sky, as if it were about to shatter the vault of heaven.

Xia Qi'an had successfully completed this bandit-suppression mission.