Killing Night

The young man looked troubled, hesitant.

Xie An guessed correctly; these items truly were stolen from his master's house.

All night, the young man had been on edge, terrified of being discovered.

Xie An could see the young man's expression and felt it was highly probable. He prepared to apply more pressure.

Thump.

Xie An suddenly placed the heavy bow on the ground, turned, and left indifferently, "Fine, if you won't sell, then don't. You've saved this old man some money. I'll just use it for drinks."

Xie An pretended to leave with firm resolve, but silently chanted in his heart.

Call me back.

Hurry...

As expected, after taking five steps, the young man finally made up his mind, "Sir, please wait. Three taels, I'll pack it all up for you."

"A man of action."

Xie An turned back, exchanging money for goods.

He slung the night pot onto his waist, shouldered the quiver, and held the heavy bow in his hand.

Long after he had left, Xie An still tugged at the bowstring.

The One-stone Bow, easily drawn with one hand.

Effortlessly.

With a strength of four hundred and fifty jin in one hand, drawing a heavy bow with a two-hundred jin draw weight was naturally a simple matter.

He slowly released the tension, and only after the force had dissipated did he let go of the bowstring.

"A good bow!

I'll practice archery later. Once my archery skills improve, with this heavy bow, even facing a martial artist... if ambushed, I can make them regret it on the spot."

With the heavy bow slung across his body, Xie An walked out of the canyon under the cover of night.

Although Xie An's hair was half white, carrying the heavy bow, shouldering the quiver, and his upright, strong physique made him appear imposing as he walked, clearly someone not to be trifled with. Many passersby saw him and actively avoided him.

This feeling of being revered made Xie An feel quite comfortable. Every so often, he would reach down and touch the night pot hanging at his waist, afraid of losing it...

This night pot was a great find.

For the Bear Heart to come, he still needed this night pot.

Walking on the road, Xie An felt full of anticipation for the future.

Everything was looking up.

Outside the canyon.

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

It was Zhang Wei and Lu Wei.

At this moment, both had changed into black night-traveling clothes, each carrying a broad saber, their eyes fixed on the canyon exit.

Lu Wei, being a ruffian who had engaged in robbery and murder, was familiar with such activities. Zhang Wei, as his crony and a regular gambler at the Three Flowers Gambling House, was also accustomed to theft and murder.

"That old fellow has been in there for so long and still hasn't come out. Did something happen to him?" Zhang Wei pouted impatiently.

Lu Wei said, "The Blood Ridge Black Market only has this one entrance and exit; he can't escape. Let's wait a bit longer. Once this old fellow is dealt with, the pawnshop will be my little treasury. Naturally, brother Zhang won't be shortchanged."

Hearing about the benefits, Zhang Wei immediately became much more patient.

Suddenly, Zhang Wei's eyebrows shot up, "He's out. And he's carrying a bow..."

Lu Wei snorted, "At his age, what good is a bow... Let's go, follow him."

Meanwhile, it was already the hour of the Ox when Xie An left the canyon. Dark clouds covered the moon, and the sky was dim. The wind rustled through the trees on both sides, shadows interlacing, and the calls of birds and beasts occasionally echoed.

Xie An walked slowly, his gaze constantly scanning his surroundings.

"I remember being watched when I left the town. I wonder if they're still following me..."

About three to four hundred meters from the canyon, while passing a deserted, shaded mountain path, Xie An clearly felt two tails following closely behind him.

Xie An wasn't about to expose his back to them, so he turned around and faced the two masked figures in black.

"Gentlemen, what is your intention in following me?"

Swish, swish!

The two men in black immediately drew their sabers and blocked Xie An, one in front and one behind, completely cutting off any possible escape routes. Their practiced movements clearly indicated they were accustomed to such dealings.

"Old man, you refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Lu Wei raised his broad saber and pointed it at Xie An, loudly expressing his anger.

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

"So it's the son-in-law... I wonder where I offended you, son-in-law, to incur such resentment."

Seeing his identity revealed and feeling confident of victory, Lu Wei didn't mince words, "Old man, you rejected my friend's pawn business and embarrassed me. And you have the nerve to say that?"

Xie An feigned a look of fear. "I was just looking out for the pawnshop's business before... As you know, young master, I've managed the pawnshop diligently all these years and never dared to make a mistake. If there's anything amiss, please guide me."

Seeing Xie An's face filled with terror, Lu Wei's expression grew more smug. "Why are you being so stubborn, old man? The eldest young master of the Li Manor is obsessed with martial arts and will be taking the Martial Examination in the future. The Li Manor's businesses have no successor, and I... will eventually take over the Li Manor's businesses. Do you understand?"

Xie An put on a look of sudden realization. "I understand, young master. From now on, whatever you say goes. That jade pendant, I'll redeem it tonight with a hundred taels of silver."

Lu Wei's heart leaped with joy upon hearing this. He even exchanged a glance with Zhang Wei behind him.

Clearly, both of them were tempted.

Lu Wei's grip on the knife loosened. He had planned to kill Xie An tonight and then pressure He Chunli, aiming for the pawnshop's money.

But if Xie An was so sensible... it would save a lot of trouble.

Moreover, he had threatened the old man today, so he figured the old man would definitely be obedient and well-behaved from now on.

After carefully weighing his options, Lu Wei sheathed his knife. "Old Xie, do you really mean that?"

Xie An cupped his hands, a fawning smile on his face. "You're right, young master. You are the future master of the Li Manor's businesses. I just want to earn a living."

Lu Wei thought it over carefully and found it quite reliable. He then put his knife back into its sheath, walked over to Xie An with a smile, and even patted Xie An's shoulder kindly. "That's excellent. I was impulsive earlier today. Let's go to the pawnshop now and redeem that jade pendant."

Xie An cupped his hands again. "From now on, I will follow your lead, young master. Let's go to the pawnshop now..."

"Hahaha, Old Xie is indeed a sensible person..." Lu Wei was in high spirits, his face beaming. Just as he was halfway through his laugh, he suddenly felt a flash of silver light...

It was Xie An's hand, which had been hidden in his long sleeve, that had emerged. At some point, he had acquired a silver dagger and plunged it fiercely into Lu Wei's left temple.

Thwack!

With immense force and a sharp dagger... it pierced directly through his skull, the tip emerging from the right temple. Crimson blood dripped steadily from the tip of the blade.

"You..."

Lu Wei felt his mind go blank. He managed to utter just one word before his vision went black. As Xie An pulled out the dagger, Lu Wei's body fell straight to the ground.

"You old bastard, daring to sneak attack the Li Manor's young master! Give me your life!"

Zhang Wei, five meters away, exclaimed and without a second word, charged forward with his saber.

Zhang Wei was skilled and his charge was swift.

But Xie An was even faster.

He drew his bow, nocked an arrow.

With a "hum," he pulled the bowstring taut. At a distance of four to five meters, there was no issue with aiming; he simply released the string. The arrow "whizzed" towards Zhang Wei.

This was a one-stone bow, capable of easily piercing armor at close range. Even a martial artist would not withstand being hit by an arrow.

Zhang Wei, living up to his training, and with a stroke of luck, managed to deflect the arrow with a wild swing of his broad saber. With a "clang," his hand felt numb, and he secretly marveled at the arrow's strength.

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

Before Zhang Wei could recover, a second arrow arrived, piercing his head with a thud, killing him instantly.

From start to finish, Xie An's movements were fluid, without any wasted gestures.

Although it was his first time killing someone, the fifty-year-old Xie An maintained a steady composure.

Everything had gone according to Xie An's plan from the beginning.

He feigned submission and goodwill, waited for Lu Wei to lower his guard, and then struck. Before Zhang Wei could attack, he shot him down with the heavy bow!

In this way, facing two opponents posed no risk. There wasn't even a one percent chance of injury.

Although Xie An wasn't afraid of fighting two opponents, he lacked practical combat experience, which carried risks. If he had been cut a couple of times, even if he had managed to kill them in the end, Xie An felt it wouldn't have been worth it.

"When you get old, you don't like to fight. Either you don't act, or when you do, you must be decisive!"

Xie An calmed himself and walked over to Zhang Wei, pulled out the arrow, and used Zhang Wei's clothes to wipe the blood off the arrow before placing it back into his quiver.

He then casually felt Zhang Wei's pockets and found five taels of silver. He searched Lu Wei's body as well, but only found three taels of silver.

"The esteemed young master of the Li Manor, who usually acts so high and mighty, only has three taels of silver... It seems you haven't been working hard all these years."

However, anything was better than nothing, and Xie An unceremoniously stuffed the silver he found into his pocket.

"Killing and robbing really is a fast way to make money... No wonder so many people like to do this for a living."

After pocketing the silver, Xie An turned to leave. He hadn't gone far when he heard a voice from behind him.

"Brother, please wait a moment."