Killing Night

The young man looked troubled, hesitating indecisively.

Xie An had guessed right. These things really had been stolen from his master.

The young man had spent the whole night trembling with fear, terrified that someone would discover him.

Xie An saw the expression on the young man's face and felt that he had more or less guessed correctly. He prepared to pile on more pressure.

Smack.

Xie An suddenly set the heavy bow on the ground, turned around with an unconcerned look, and walked away. "Forget it if you won't sell. You've saved this old man some money. I might as well keep it for drinks."

Xie An pretended to leave with great determination, but inwardly he kept chanting:

Come on, stop me.

Come on...

Sure enough, when he reached the fifth step, the young man finally made up his mind. "Sir, wait. Three taels. I'll pack everything up for you."

"Now that's what I call refreshing."

Xie An turned back, paying with one hand and taking the goods with the other.

He hung the chamber pot from his waist, slung the quiver over his back, and held a heavy bow in his hand.

After walking a long way, Xie An even tugged the bowstring.

The One-stone Bow opened easily with one hand.

Without the slightest effort.

With one hand, he could lift four hundred and fifty jin. Naturally, drawing a heavy bow with a draw weight of two hundred jin was a piece of cake.

He slowly eased off his strength. Only after the tension had dissipated did he release the bowstring.

"What a fine bow!

I'll practice archery when I get back. Once my archery reaches a certain level, with this heavy bow, even if I face martial artists... if I strike from ambush, I can make them drink their fill of regret on the spot."

With the heavy bow slung diagonally across his body, Xie An took advantage of the night and headed out of the canyon.

Although Xie An's hair was half-white, with a heavy bow slung over his shoulder, a quiver on his back, and his tall, sturdy frame, he cut a mighty figure on the road. At a glance, he looked like someone best left alone. Many passersby took the initiative to avoid him.

The feeling of being feared and respected made Xie An very comfortable. Every so often, he reached out and felt the chamber pot hanging from his waist, afraid it might fall off...

This chamber pot was a treasure he had stumbled upon.

The future Bearheart would still depend on this chamber pot.

As he walked, Xie An's heart brimmed with anticipation for the future.

Everything was getting better.

Outside the canyon.

In a mountain hollow, two people stood behind a large tree.

They were Zhang Wei and Lu Wei.

Both men had changed into black night clothes. Each held a broad saber, and they stared intently at the canyon entrance.

Lu Wei was a vicious man by nature. He had committed murder and robbery before, so this sort of thing came naturally to him. Zhang Wei, his partner in crime and a veteran gambler at Three Flowers Gambling House, was no stranger to theft and murder either.

"This old bastard's been inside for so long and still hasn't come out. Could something have happened?" Zhang Wei pursed his lips impatiently.

Lu Wei said, "Blood Ridge Black Market has only one entrance and exit. He can't have gotten away. Let's wait a little longer. Once we deal with this old bastard, the pawnshop will become my personal treasury. Naturally, Brother Zhang won't be left without benefits."

Hearing that there would be benefits, Zhang Wei immediately became much more patient.

Suddenly, Zhang Wei raised his eyebrows. "He's coming out. He's even carrying a bow..."

Lu Wei snorted. "He's already that old. What use is a bow? Come on, follow him."

When Xie An left the canyon, it was already the second watch of the night. Dark clouds covered the moon, leaving the sky gloomy and dim. The forests on both sides roared in waves, tree shadows crisscrossed, and the cries of birds and beasts rang out from time to time.

Xie An walked very slowly, keeping watch on his surroundings at all times.

"I remember being watched as soon as I left town. I wonder whether they've left now..."

Three or four hundred meters from the canyon, as he passed along a deserted, tree-shaded mountain road, Xie An clearly sensed two tails appear behind him, following close behind.

Xie An would never expose his back to his opponents. He simply turned around and looked at the two masked men in black ahead of him.

"You two, what do you want by following me all this way?"

Swish, swish!

The two men immediately raised their sabers and blocked Xie An from the front and rear, completely sealing off every possible escape route. From their practiced movements, it was obvious they were accustomed to this sort of business.

"Old bastard, you brought this on yourself by refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit!" Lu Wei raised his broad saber and pointed it at Xie An, loudly venting his fury.

Although the masked man before him had deliberately altered his voice, Xie An still recognized him.

"So it's the Eldest Son-in-Law... I wonder where I offended you, Son-in-Law, that you should bear such a grudge against me."

Seeing that his identity had been exposed, Lu Wei, convinced victory was already in his grasp, did not bother hiding anything. "Old bastard, you refused my friend's pawn transaction and slighted me. And you still have the nerve to ask?"

Xie An put on a frightened expression. "I was only protecting the pawnshop's business... You know that, Son-in-Law. I've diligently managed the pawnshop all these years and never dared make the slightest mistake. If I did anything improper, please instruct me, Son-in-Law."

Seeing the terror all over Xie An's face, the smugness on Lu Wei's face grew even stronger. "Why are you being so stubborn, old bastard? The eldest young master of the Li Household is obsessed with martial arts and plans to take the Martial Examination in the future. With no one to inherit the Li Household's industries, sooner or later I'll take them over. Do you understand?"

Xie An put on an enlightened expression. "I understand. From now on, whatever you say goes, Son-in-Law. Tonight, I'll go back and pawn that jade pendant for one hundred taels of silver."

When Lu Wei heard this, his heart leaped with joy. He even exchanged a glance with Zhang Wei behind him.

Clearly, both men were tempted.

Lu Wei's grip on his saber loosened. He had planned to kill Xie An tonight, then pressure He Chunli into handing over the pawnshop's money.

But if Xie An was this sensible... it would save them a great deal of trouble.

Besides, after threatening this old bastard today, the old man would surely behave himself and obey from now on.

After weighing it over and over, Lu Wei lowered his saber. "Old Xie, do you really mean that?"

Xie An cupped his hands and put on a fawning smile. "You're right, Son-in-Law. You're the future master of the Li Household's industries. I only want enough to get by."

After thinking it over carefully, Lu Wei found this quite believable. He sheathed his saber, then walked over to Xie An with a beaming smile and amiably patted him on the shoulder. "Excellent. I was impulsive about what happened during the day. Come, let's go to the pawnshop now and pawn that jade pendant."

Xie An cupped his hands. "From now on, I'll follow your lead, Son-in-Law. Let's go to the pawnshop now..."

"Hahaha, Old Xie really is a man who knows what's what..." Lu Wei was in excellent spirits, his face wreathed in smiles. But halfway through his laughter, he suddenly sensed a flash of silver...

It was the hand Xie An had kept hidden inside his long sleeve. At some point, it had produced a gleaming silver dagger, which plunged viciously into Lu Wei's left temple.

Pfft!

With tremendous force and a razor-sharp blade, it pierced straight through his skull. The tip emerged from his right temple. Scarlet blood dripped steadily from the blade.

"You..."

Lu Wei's mind went blank. He had only managed to utter one word when his vision went black. As Xie An pulled out the dagger, Lu Wei's body toppled stiffly to the ground.

"You old bastard! How dare you ambush the Li Household's Son-in-Law! Pay with your life!"

Zhang Wei, five meters away, cried out in shock and charged over with his saber without a second word.

Zhang Wei was an expert, and he charged at tremendous speed.

But Xie An was faster still.

He nocked an arrow and drew the bow.

With a humming sound, he pulled the bow into a full moon. At a distance of four or five meters, there was no need to aim. He simply released the bowstring, and the arrow shot toward Zhang Wei with a sharp whoosh.

This was a heavy One-stone Bow. At close range, it could easily pierce armor. Even a martial artist couldn't withstand an arrow from it.

Zhang Wei truly had trained in martial arts. Combined with his good luck, the broad saber he waved wildly actually deflected the arrow. With a clang, the impact left his palm numb, and he secretly marveled at the arrow's power.

How could a fifty-year-old dying old man draw such a heavy bow?

Before Zhang Wei could recover, a second sharp arrow followed close behind, blasting straight through his head and killing him on the spot.

From start to finish, Xie An's movements flowed in one seamless sequence, without a single unnecessary gesture.

Although this was his first time killing someone, Xie An had lived fifty years, and his mentality was rock steady.

Everything, from start to finish, had been within Xie An's plan.

Pretend to admit defeat and show goodwill, then strike and kill Lu Wei when he relaxed his guard. After that, shoot Zhang Wei dead with the heavy bow before he could attack!

That way, fighting two against one carried no risk whatsoever. There wasn't even a one-percent chance of being injured.

Although Xie An wasn't afraid of fighting the two of them head-on, he had no practical combat experience, so there was still a risk. If he took a couple of slashes, even if he ultimately killed them both, Xie An would still consider it a bad bargain.

"Now that I'm old, I don't like fighting back and forth. If I don't strike, so be it. But once I do, I have to finish the job!"

After calming himself, Xie An went to Zhang Wei's side and pulled out the arrow. He wiped the blood from it with Zhang Wei's clothes before placing it in the quiver on his back.

He conveniently searched Zhang Wei and found five taels of broken silver. Then he searched Lu Wei and found only three taels of broken silver.

"The dignified Son-in-Law of the Li Household, always throwing his weight around, and he only had three taels of silver... Looks like you haven't been working hard all these years."

It was better than nothing. Xie An stuffed the silver he had found into his pocket without the slightest hesitation.

"Robbery and murder really is the fastest way to make money... No wonder so many people like doing this."

After pocketing the silver, Xie An turned and left. But before he had gone very far, a voice suddenly came from behind him.

"Big Brother, please wait."