Hidden Kill Order

Meanwhile, the masked man stamped down hard, leaving a footprint an inch deep in the brickwork atop a courtyard wall.

In the next instant, his body twisted sharply in midair. Powerful true qi burst forth from within him, propelling him in a rapid leap toward another direction.

Li Musheng, seated on the roof ridge, looked up and frowned slightly, just about to raise a hand and swat away the object flying toward him.

But the old man chasing after it suddenly burst forth with speed, charging straight at Li Musheng as he shouted in a deep voice:

"Get lost!"

The old man's face was aged, his skin slack, and the wrinkles across his face crowded together like ravines. Yet his gaze was incomparably sinister and sharp.

Eerie glimmers rose from his bluish-gray palms, while his mighty true qi stirred up gusts of fierce wind. One hand reached for the cloth-wrapped object, while the other palm slammed mercilessly toward Li Musheng.

"You old bastard!"

Li Musheng's expression darkened. He had only wanted to admire the moon in peace and had no desire to stir up trouble.

Yet this bunch had no sense at all. They insisted on coming over, and that would have been one thing—but they had attacked without bothering to distinguish black from white. Who could stand that?

So, the hand he had intended to use to bat away the object suddenly turned at an unbelievable angle, directly meeting the old man's palm, whose gaze was vicious and whose killing intent blazed.

In the old man's eyes, his other hand was already about to touch the cloth-wrapped object, and a surge of wild delight rose in his heart.

As for this pretty boy before him, whose hair had barely grown in, the old man naturally did not take him seriously. No matter what martial arts a young man might know, how could he possibly match the decades of bitter cultivation behind him? The old man was confident he could easily finish him with a single palm strike.

Yet in the next moment, the old man suddenly discovered that the item which had been practically within his grasp was rapidly vanishing from his sight.

A savage look flashed across his face. He thought someone had snatched food from a tiger's jaws right out of his hand.

But as a piercing pain came from his arm, the old man abruptly lowered his head and realized in terror that it was he himself who had been blasted away.

The arm that had exchanged a palm strike with Li Musheng had long since snapped and twisted, like a length of rope wrung into a spiral.

The unimaginable shock and the agony of his shattered organs made the old man's pupils contract sharply. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the young man on the rooftop grow smaller and smaller.

He knew he had likely been blasted dozens of meters away, and he seemed to have no intention of stopping at all.

"...How could he... be this strong?"

The old man was horrified. At that moment, the young figure in the corner of his vision, already shrinking into the distance, suddenly vanished.

The next instant, a voice rang out beside his ear:

"Get back there."

In that instant, the old man felt like duckweed adrift in a storm. Like a tattered sack, he was kicked by the other party straight back along the path he had come...

Meanwhile, after throwing out the cloth-wrapped object, the masked man had kept his head down and fled without looking back.

True qi surged wildly between his feet, bringing bursts of whistling wind as he sped through one street and alley after another.

He reached into his robes and touched the item lying safely in his chest, then glanced back at the woman in red who was still close on his heels. A cold smile appeared on the masked man's face.

"I only hope that brat is at least somewhat useful and can hold that old bastard off for a while. Once I get farther away, I'll find a chance to kill this woman."

With that thought, the masked man turned back around and flashed around the corner of the alley ahead, leaping into another long street.

Yet after rushing only a few yards, he suddenly came to a dead stop.

Under the frost-silver moonlight, a young figure stood in the middle of the deserted blue-brick street, silently blocking the path of his escape.

The masked man focused his gaze on the figure, and his entire body froze.

"Why is it you?"

The young man before him was peerlessly handsome and dressed in plain robes, yet the masked man recognized him at once. He was none other than the young man who had been sitting on the rooftop earlier.

At that moment, the young man ahead looked at him expressionlessly, then directly held out a hand and asked:

"Where's the treasure you promised to give me?"

The masked man stood where he was, his expression shifting with uncertainty. He did not understand why the other party, who should have been slapped to death by the old man behind him, had appeared in front of him instead.

But he had a feeling that this young man was likely not someone to be trifled with. His thoughts spun rapidly, and he immediately cupped his hands.

"Young brother, there was a gold bar hidden in the cloth strip I threw to you earlier. That was the treasure I gave you."

As he spoke, the masked man cast a sideways glance behind him. Seeing the woman in red drawing ever closer, he hurriedly said:

"Young brother, I'm being hunted by my enemies and must flee for my life. That gold bar is yours. Until we meet again."

With that, the masked man prepared to leave through another alley.

But he suddenly discovered in horror that he could not move his legs no matter what he did. At that moment, the young man had somehow appeared beside him as though he had teleported...

Seeing the shock in the masked man's eyes, Li Musheng shook his head. He reached into the man's robes and pulled out an object wrapped in black cloth.

"A man cannot stand without trust. You have to keep your word. Understand?"

As he spoke, Li Musheng was about to unwrap the black cloth in his hand and see what was inside. What could have made these martial wanderers fight to the death in the middle of the night and disturb his refined enjoyment of the moon?

But before he could do so, a woman in red rushed out from the shadows of the alley.

The woman's face was seductive and enchanting, her figure as slender as a snake's waist. Surrounded by a haze of pink mist, she suddenly crouched and sprang forth like a jumping shrimp. Her speed at that moment was extreme, leaving only an afterimage drifting through the moonlight.

At the same time, an intensely rich floral fragrance filled the air, carrying an intoxicating and bewitching aura as it shrouded Li Musheng.

"Clang!"

A crisp blade cry rang out. The beautiful face of the woman in red was filled with venomous ruthlessness as she appeared behind Li Musheng, the black-glinting blade in her hand slashing straight for his neck.

But Li Musheng did not even glance at her. Ignoring the pink poisonous mist, he casually slapped backward.

Before the woman in red even understood what had happened, she felt an irresistible force strike her body. Then her entire body plunged toward the ground in an instant.

The next moment, a "Bang!" shattered the tranquility of the long street at night.

Half of the woman in red's body smashed into the hard blue-brick pavement. Countless bricks and stones exploded and flew apart, leaving a pit over a foot deep in the ground.

Under the violent impact, her entire face was flattened into a bloody pulp, no longer bearing any trace of its former seductive beauty.

Li Musheng, meanwhile, calmly opened the object wrapped in black cloth.

Inside was a bronze token mottled with rust, bearing three ancient, archaic characters:

"Hidden Kill Order!"