Seventy li outside Heyuan County, Shizhuang Village.
It was a small village with a sparse population, nestled against the mountains and beside the water, with pleasant scenery.
In a secluded, unremarkable courtyard, a tall, slender middle-aged farmer was lazily turning and drying bundles of grain on his threshing ground.
The simple-looking farmer glanced toward Heyuan City from time to time, a trace of a smile appearing on his face.
"In less than a year, it'll have been twenty years. The crime I committed back then will be beyond the Heyuan Temple's investigation limit... As long as I seize this sliver of hope, I can change my identity and enter the city..."
The simple farmer muttered to himself. Recalling the massacre from years ago, a trace of ferocity flashed through his eyes.
"You can't blame me... You can't blame me... It was the He Family that pushed me too far, forcing me to wipe out their entire household!! If you want someone to blame, blame yourselves for going too far and leaving me no way out!!"
At that moment, a tender five- or six-year-old girl suddenly ran out of the room, shouting at the top of her lungs:
"Daddy, Daddy, look! Look what I made!"
The ferocity on the simple farmer's face vanished in an instant. He turned around, and his expression had already become kindly, though the gloom in his eyes was difficult to erase.
"Lan'er, what did you make? Haha, a grasshopper woven from straw rope? Come, let Daddy give you a kiss."
The farmer scooped up the adorable little girl, his face beaming with smiles.
"Daddy, that tickles." The girl giggled, seeming a little frightened.
Shen Zhui was hiding in a tree outside the courtyard. Watching the father and daughter enjoying themselves together, he sighed inwardly.
"Liu Bin, the culprit behind the extermination of an entire household nineteen years ago... Who would have thought he'd be hiding in this secluded mountain village just seventy li away, even marrying and having a child..."
If not for the system being incapable of error, the sin atop Liu Bin's head would have manifested.
Shen Zhui simply couldn't connect the fiend who had slaughtered more than seventy members of a household with the simple farmer before him.
"Liu Bin must have returned here only recently. The hundred-li radius is precisely the limit of the sacrificial scan performed once every few years. He probably intends to change his identity and prepare to reenter the city and live there."
Taking a deep breath, Shen Zhui jumped down from the tree and slowly approached the courtyard fence.
"Daddy, Daddy, a big brother is coming over from there."
"Hm?" Liu Bin, immersed in happiness, suddenly shuddered and turned his head.
A criminal constable's Iron Ruler, a county-office waist tablet, and a Law Enforcement Edict...
Liu Bin's heart immediately sank, and his face paled slightly.
However, when he saw that Shen Zhui made no further move and merely stood outside the fence—even making a playful gesture toward his daughter—his tension eased somewhat.
He set his daughter down and rubbed her head. "Lan'er, go inside. Father has something to discuss with this big brother. Don't come out, understand?"
"Mhm! Lan'er understands!" the girl replied timidly before quickly entering the room.
Liu Bin quietly stepped out of the courtyard, closed the wooden door, and looked toward Shen Zhui.
Shen Zhui seemed utterly unguarded, allowing the man to approach him.
Only when Liu Bin was twenty meters away did Shen Zhui speak. "Liu Bin."
When Liu Bin saw Shen Zhui expose his true identity with a single word, the last trace of luck in his heart vanished completely.
He stopped, his expression complicated. After a long while, he clasped his fists and bowed. "Thank you, sir, for showing mercy to my daughter and not acting here."
"Sir, please." Liu Bin gestured, then turned and led the way.
Shen Zhui said nothing, following while maintaining a distance of twenty meters from Liu Bin.
When the two arrived in a secluded mountain forest, with no sign of another person anywhere, Liu Bin stopped.
Shen Zhui stopped as well.
"This place is quiet and secluded. I often come here to practice my saber. What do you think, sir?"
"Azure Dragon Turns Its Lair, White Tiger Enters the Firmament. Layer upon layer of mountains, streams winding around them. It is indeed a Wind and Water Array of blessed land. If one were buried here, it would surely bring blessings to one's descendants."
Shen Zhui smiled as if making idle conversation with Liu Bin, but his words concealed sharp barbs.
Perhaps this was the graveyard Liu Bin had chosen for himself. Perhaps it was his, Shen Zhui's.
"Excellent eye, sir!" Liu Bin shed his former farmer's appearance, and a fierce aura radiated from his entire body.
"You only need to hide for another year, and you'll have a chance to survive. In the future, changing your identity and entering the city to live wouldn't be impossible. Why risk approaching the county seat?" Shen Zhui asked, puzzled.
Liu Bin sighed. "My wife died in childbirth. After living in the mountains for so long, the cold seeped into my daughter's body, leaving her born deficient, weak, and often ill. The mountains are damp and cold, with few people around and no good medicine to treat her. I had no other choice."
Shen Zhui sighed inwardly. Liu Bin certainly cared deeply for his daughter.
Just as Shen Zhui was reflecting on this, Liu Bin suddenly dropped to his knees. "I know I committed a monstrous crime and that my sins are unforgivable. However, my daughter is weak and often ill. I, Liu Bin, am willing to extend my neck for execution. I only ask that you help me care for my daughter!"
"Ah, get up first." Shen Zhui sighed and stepped forward to help Liu Bin up.
Just then—
"Whoosh!" Liu Bin actually pulled a short blade from beneath a bamboo stalk and slashed it toward Shen Zhui's abdomen!
The short blade had been concealed beneath fallen leaves, impossible to detect. The attack was far too sudden!
"Pfft!" A trace of blood seeped from the corner of Shen Zhui's mouth as he staggered backward.
"Hahaha, has the government really run out of people? They actually sent an inexperienced boy like you."
"Want to kill me? In your next life!"
Liu Bin gave a savage grin and charged forward with the short blade in hand, bringing it straight down toward Shen Zhui's skull.
"Whoosh!"
The blade cleaved through empty air. Shen Zhui had shifted to the side and drawn the Iron Ruler at some point, standing ten meters away.
"What incredible movement speed! How is that possible?" Liu Bin was secretly shocked. Shen Zhui's speed was probably no slower than his own.
Shen Zhui lowered the hand covering his abdomen. His clothing had split, revealing the Silver Scale Soft Armor beneath, with a shallow blade mark across it.
"Die!" Taking advantage of Liu Bin's momentary astonishment, Shen Zhui drew the Iron Ruler and swiftly closed in.
"Dream on!" Liu Bin's gaze turned vicious, and he advanced fearlessly with his blade.
"Clang, clang, clang!"
The sound of metal colliding rang out. The short blade and Iron Ruler clashed, sending sparks flying as waves of immense force passed into both men's wrists.
Shen Zhui wielded two Iron Rulers. The Iron Ruler's original form was a Trident Spike, quite similar to a sword, with two side branches that could catch an opponent's weapon, giving it a major advantage against sabers and swords.
The Nine Layers of Iron Ruler could be wielded with one hand.
It could also be combined with two rulers, held either forward- or reverse-grip, one for offense and one for defense.
"He's actually using two rulers? And his strength is almost equal to mine?" Liu Bin was stunned as his short blade was caught.
Wielding two rulers and wielding one were entirely different.
Whether attacking or defending, two rulers were several times stronger than one. They could be called both offensive and defensive, extraordinarily flexible.
Of course, the difficulty was much greater as well. But anyone who wielded two rulers was absolutely among the best of the criminal constables!
"Ha!" Though his short blade was caught, Liu Bin advanced instead of retreating. His wrist suddenly exerted force, forcing Essence of Vital Energy out of his body and onto the blade, trying to drive the tip farther forward, break through the Iron Ruler, and pierce Shen Zhui's skull.
Yet at that instant, light surged from Shen Zhui's Iron Ruler as well. In the blink of an eye, two strands of Essence of Vital Energy overlapped upon it.
Under their opposing strength, Liu Bin's short blade could not advance at all. Instead, it began pressing back toward him!
With no alternative, Liu Bin withdrew the short blade. But Shen Zhui's Iron Ruler followed like a spirit serpent, turning defense into offense.
"Break, break, break!" Liu Bin seemed to go mad, swinging his blade repeatedly. The short blade brought misty radiance with it as it hacked toward Shen Zhui again and again.
Shen Zhui advanced and retreated with measured precision. His two rulers danced around him in a seamless weave. No matter how Liu Bin attacked, he could not break through the pair of Iron Rulers.
Within ten breaths, Liu Bin had launched more than thirty attacks. Though he had suppressed his opponent at first, he gradually felt himself losing the initiative. Instead, he was faintly being suppressed!
"How can this be?!"
Liu Bin's heart pounded wildly.
The more he fought, the more alarmed he became!
"His two rulers leave no opening. In every ten moves, seven carry layers of illusory images. This is the realm of Minor Accomplishment in the Ruler Technique... How is this possible? How is this possible?! How old is he?!"
Liu Bin had practiced saber techniques for decades, yet he was still slightly short of reaching the stage of great accomplishment.
He had only reached the Minor Accomplishment realm of being able to wield his weapon as naturally as his own arm.
After all, a weapon was an external object. To train a weapon of considerable weight until it moved like a part of the body—how difficult was that?
Yet this young man had achieved great accomplishment in the Ruler Technique. His attacks faintly carried a certain Momentum. Though his rank was higher than Shen Zhui's and his strength was also slightly greater, he was instead being suppressed!
"Kill, kill, kill!"
Liu Bin went mad as well.
He had finally found a sliver of hope. How could he let it go easily?
Shen Zhui said nothing. His two rulers danced in an impenetrable weave, raising layer upon layer of ruler shadows and gradually widening the gap between them!
"Rip!"
Shen Zhui's Iron Ruler swept across Liu Bin's waist, immediately drawing a thread of blood!
"Damn it! I can't keep fighting!" The pain jolted Liu Bin out of his frenzied state.
Before sixty attacks, he had still been able to suppress his opponent through rank and strength. But after sixty attacks, he had instead been wounded. If this continued, he would likely fall at Shen Zhui's hands!
"Die!" Faint rays of light appeared across Liu Bin's short blade. In that instant, he erupted with all the Essence of Vital Energy in his body.
Every strand of Essence of Vital Energy was hard-won. It was the essence of the body's vital energy. If it were completely exhausted without killing the enemy, he would be left powerless and at the mercy of others.
Even if he won, he would need a long period of recuperation to recover. Unless they were absolutely certain of victory, no one was willing to use their Essence of Vital Energy against an enemy before the final moment.
Liu Bin had wandered the world for more than a decade and knew the mysteries of Shen Zhui's Bloodburn technique. In terms of quality, Shen Zhui's Essence of Vital Energy at the Eighth Stage of Acquired Realm might not match the energy cultivated through his own technique.
But in terms of quantity, Shen Zhui was far, far beyond him!
Still, Liu Bin had no choice. Continuing to drag things out meant certain death as well!
He could only gamble!
No matter how exquisite the Ruler Technique was, he could rely on the explosive force of Essence of Vital Energy to break through technique with sheer strength!
Shen Zhui's heart tightened. He knew Liu Bin was fighting for his life.
One had to understand that no matter how exquisite a saber technique was, if the difference in strength between the two sides was too great—for example, one at the Postnatal Third Stage and the other at the Postnatal Ninth Stage—it would all be useless!
But if Liu Bin could erupt with Essence of Vital Energy, so could Shen Zhui!
"Ha!"
He let out a low roar. His left hand blocked across his body as Essence of Vital Energy surged out of him.
A full sixteen strands of Essence of Vital Energy erupted!
His strength doubled. His right ruler suddenly accelerated, shooting straight toward his opponent's skull!
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Blade light and ruler shadows flashed past.
"Pfft!" Shen Zhui spat blood and was sent flying backward.
Looking again at Liu Bin, an Iron Ruler was embedded in his chest. His face was deathly pale, and he staggered back several steps, forced to use his saber as support before he could barely remain standing.
"Thank goodness for this Silver Scale Soft Armor. That strike only shook and injured me. It didn't cut through the armor."
Shen Zhui touched his abdomen. Beneath his clothes, a huge slash had appeared across the Silver Scale Soft Armor.
He was both shocked and frightened. A full-strength strike from a Postnatal Martial Artist Ninth Stage, combined with an eruption of Essence of Vital Energy, was indeed terrifying.
At the final moment, he had barely managed to block, yet the opponent had still broken through his defense and slashed across his body. Without the Silver Scale Soft Armor, he would likely have suffered serious injuries even if he hadn't died.
But now, he had only suffered internal injuries from the impact, while his opponent's internal organs had been pierced.
"Sir, though you're so young, your saber technique has already reached great accomplishment. I didn't lose unfairly..." Liu Bin finally could not hold himself up any longer. He collapsed to the ground and spat out mouthful after mouthful of blood.
Shen Zhui rose and looked at Liu Bin, his eyes cold.
Divine Law followed the principles of Heaven's law. He had thought that for a case of Liu Bin's level, if he had not been captured after twenty years and had committed no further crimes during that time, a sliver of hope would appear.
That was because for cases that occurred outside the city, Divine Law usually traced neither the incident nor the person back more than twenty years.
Of course, the case would still be downgraded and filed, then handed over to "people" to investigate.
But that would make things much easier for the culprit. After disguising himself and changing his name, he could even swagger into the city without being easily discovered.
He had originally thought there might be some hidden circumstances. But now, it seemed that was completely untrue. Recalling the tender little girl, Shen Zhui quietly looked at Liu Bin. "It was all fake?"
Liu Bin gave a savage grin. "Of course it was fake. That girl was nothing more than someone I bought to help me put on an act. It was all to lower the guard of whoever came to capture me. I didn't expect to fool you, yet still fail to kill you."
Shen Zhui nodded.
"I understand. You can die now."
"Pfft!" He pulled out the Iron Ruler. Blood sprayed in all directions, and Liu Bin breathed his last, never to stir again.
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