Commission Complete

Of the Seven Iron Horse Thieves, the two remaining were their leader and their third brother.

Having narrowly escaped disaster, the two changed horses once they had put some distance between themselves and the scene, then each mounted one and galloped wildly onward.

After racing more than ten li in one breath, they finally slowed down.

Ahead lay a deep pool. The bandit leader swung down from his horse, took several steps to the water's edge, scooped up water with both hands, and gulped it down.

Third Brother came to his side and followed suit.

After drinking, they washed their faces and hair. At last, the bandit leader took out his bloodstained battle-axe and rinsed the blood from it in the water.

Third Brother let out a long breath, his face full of the relief of having escaped death:

"Big Brother, just who were those two women?"

"How would I know?"

The bandit leader's mouth twitched:

"Who knows where those crazy bitches came from? The moment they saw us, they asked whether someone was hunting us down. I had meant to split her with one axe, but she yanked me right off my horse instead.

"With no other choice, I could only play along with what she said... Then you arrived, and I signaled you with my eyes. Luckily, you understood.

"If we hadn't used those two idiots to hold Chu Fan back, this day next year would have been our death anniversary.

"It's just a pity that I didn't split that Chu bastard apart before his junior sister arrived and avenge our brothers."

As he spoke, his expression darkened.

Third Brother drew a deep breath:

"Big Brother, we must avenge this grudge!

"But as they say, a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. There's no need to rush it now."

"Mm."

The bandit leader nodded, his brows tightly furrowed:

"Who exactly is this Night Emperor? From what that strip of cloth said, Fifth Brother died by his hand.

"Have you ever heard of such a person in the martial world?"

Third Brother hurriedly shook his head:

"Never heard of him."

"Hmph. That meddler will meet a violent death sooner or later."

Hearing this, the bandit leader cursed viciously.

Third Brother then asked:

"Chu Fan is the second young master of the Chu Family in Heavenly Dance City, and also the prized disciple of Cui Bunü from the Great Easy Sect. Now that we've formed a deadly feud with him, and only the two of us brothers remain alive, the days ahead will likely be hard. Big Brother, what should we do?"

"Mm..."

The bandit leader pondered for a moment before speaking:

"We'll go to Falling Rain Hall."

Third Brother pondered briefly at this, then nodded softly:

"These past years, Liu Shijie has taken no small number of benefits from us. It's time for him to lend us a hand.

"Besides, Falling Rain Hall is right in Heavenly Dance City. To Chu Fan... that would be darkness beneath the lamp. Even if he racked his brains to pieces, he'd never imagine we were right beneath his nose.

"Big Brother, this move is truly brilliant!"

"As they say, the most dangerous place is the safest place."

The bandit leader smiled and lightly patted Third Brother's shoulder:

"Time waits for no one. Bring over some of the food from your horse. Once we've eaten, we'll set out at once."

"Alright."

Third Brother immediately got up and left. The bandit leader sat on a rock, hugging his battle-axe as he rested.

He was also planning what to do afterward. Falling Rain Hall was no place to remain for long, but it should be fine as a temporary shelter.

As for where to go after that, he would have to think carefully.

Yet every destination he thought of was rejected in turn. The more he thought, the hungrier he became.

After fighting battle after battle and fleeing for his life again and again, even an iron man would not have been able to endure the day's ordeal.

"Third Brother, I only told you to get some food. Why are you dawdling like this? Are you dead?"

Third Brother did not answer. The bandit leader looked up and saw Third Brother's silhouette standing behind the horses.

He immediately rose to his feet, strode over, and reached out to shove him:

"I'm talking to you..."

Before he could finish, Third Brother fell to the ground with a thud. There was a sword wound on his neck.

It was two inches long, yet only a single drop of blood had gathered along the wound!

The bandit leader's pupils instantly contracted.

To kill without spilling blood—this person's swordsmanship was so fast that it was simply horrifying.

Without a moment's thought, he spun around.

A flash of light stood directly before him.

There was no sound, no glimpse of the blade. Their bodies crossed past each other, and before the bandit leader could even see the newcomer's face, the battle-axe in his hand dropped to the ground with a thud.

Then his body collapsed to its knees, his head drooped, and he died on the spot.

Chu Qing slowly sheathed his sword, turned around, and let out a breath:

"They really could run... If my Ruoxu Scripture's breath hadn't been so enduring, I truly wouldn't have been able to keep up."

The earlier turn of events had also exceeded Chu Qing's expectations. What he had thought were two separate opportunities had ended up converging into one.

Fortunately, those two had actually fled... Naturally, Chu Qing would not let such a fine opportunity slip away.

After all, it was best if he could avoid appearing before Chu Fan.

Even though he had disguised himself, it was still better that way. Bloodlines could be strange sometimes; even the slightest suspicion might be magnified countless times over by them.

This outcome could not have been better.

He had followed their trail all the way here and happened upon the two plotting their future beside the pool... He had not immediately made his move. After regulating his breath slightly, he saw Third Brother rise to fetch something, and only then did he strike fiercely.

Since he could defeat them one by one, why gather them together before killing them?

Naturally, he did it in whichever way saved the most effort.

Just as he was about to deal with the two corpses—looting what should be looted and disposing of what should be disposed of—

A prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.

Commission complete!

Successfully killed the Seven Iron Horse Thieves. Obtained one 'Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest.'

Chu Qing curled his lip:

"I killed three, and I only get one reward... Shouldn't it at least be three?"

Naturally, the system gave no response to such a complaint.

In fact, the system did not respond whenever Chu Qing spoke to it at other times either.

It was a mute system.

He was not in a hurry to open the treasure chest. Instead, he continued with his work.

This was no place to linger. Once Chu Fan cleared things up with those two women, he might come chasing after them.

If they met then, without anyone else around to interfere, it would be strange if that brat did not get to the bottom of his identity.

Therefore, he quickened his movements and searched the two bandits from head to toe.

In the end, he obtained a little over twenty taels of silver and two handfuls of gold leaves. The bandit leader in particular had the most gold leaves on him.

With these gold leaves alone, if this had been a peaceful age, Chu Qing could have bought himself a small courtyard and lived a happy life of eating, drinking, and waiting for death.

Unfortunately, setting aside the storms and rains of the martial world, the Mirror of Sin right on his heels alone would not allow him to stop moving.

The rest consisted of banknotes, pills, wound medicine, and the like.

After roughly sorting through them, he kept the pills and wound medicine that could invigorate the blood and disperse stasis. He took none of the others that he did not recognize.

After cutting off the two men's heads, he followed the same method as before, leaving behind the name of the Night Emperor and hanging the heads from the horses, then let the horses run off on their own to spread the news.

The system reward was already in hand, which showed that he truly did not need to see that shopkeeper again.

At last, he used a fire starter to ignite the banknotes, then used the banknotes to set their clothes ablaze. In the blink of an eye, the two headless corpses were engulfed in roaring flames.

Only after confirming that the two corpses had been burned beyond recognition, such that even the most skilled coroner could not determine what means had killed them, did Chu Qing turn and leave.