Eliminating Evils for the People, the Mountain Lord Appears!

Wu Heng stared blankly at the masked figure just inches away, his vision blurring.

This wasn't their first encounter.

But from beginning to end, Wu Heng had never taken Su Mu seriously. Or rather, he had never taken anyone from the Li Family Blacksmith Shop seriously. The weak were no better than ants.

In a flash, Wu Heng recalled their first meeting, which traced back to Sun Li's death.

Wu Heng's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the masked man before him. The image of the young man who had helped Zhou Shan in his memory perfectly merged with the person in front of him.

"So it was you... you are Su..."

Wu Heng snapped back to reality, a name escaping his lips. But before he could finish, the long saber plunged into his heart suddenly twisted. Force erupted, directly shredding his insides, causing blood to gush from his mouth and nose.

The second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang looked down at the long saber lodged in his heart, his face filled with intense regret and unwillingness.

Who could have imagined that he, Wu Heng, would die at the hands of a mere kid from a blacksmith shop? Wu Heng never would have thought that someone in such a small shop could be so deeply hidden.

He had hidden an "Eighth Rank Bone Forging Realm" youth.

Tch!

The young man flicked his wrist and yanked the saber out, blood splashing five steps. Wu Heng's corpse toppled forward as if kneeling at the young man's feet. Su Mu, who had just killed Wu Heng, turned to face the remaining two Black Tiger Gang members.

Everyone from the Black Tiger Gang here tonight had to die.

"Hall Master Wu... is dead just like that?"

The two Black Tiger Gang members were utterly terrified. They had just witnessed Wu Heng's death with their own eyes, and any will to fight had vanished. Snapping out of their unprecedented fear, only one thought remained.

"Run... run quickly!"

One of them exclaimed, but the next moment, a muffled groan escaped his lips. Su Mu took a step, covering a distance of over ten feet, and then swung his saber.

A flash of blood appeared.

This Black Tiger Gang member didn't even have time to let out a scream before his body convulsed and he fell into a pool of blood.

"Ah!"

The last person on the scene let out a terrified scream as if driven mad, turning to flee. Su Mu pursued with his Startled Sparrow Steps, his saber flashing. A head flew through the air.

Thus, Wu Heng's residence, including Wu Heng and the other Black Tiger Gang members, were all annihilated. Su Mu casually wiped the blood from his saber on a corpse and sheathed it with a clang.

"Quickly search the place, then leave."

Su Mu quickly searched the four corpses, frowning. He only found twenty to thirty taels of loose silver. He then strode into the study.

Hm?

Su Mu's nose twitched. With his superior senses, he smelled the faint fragrance of medicinal herbs upon entering the study. Following the scent, Su Mu soon found an unclosed sandalwood box in a cabinet in the study. Inside the box was a pot of ointment and several small porcelain bottles.

"Take it first."

Anything Wu Heng would keep in a cabinet was certainly no ordinary item. Su Mu casually tucked the sandalwood box into his clothes. Afterward, he found some other good items in other cabinets in the study.

A small stack of banknotes of various denominations, totaling over two hundred taels. In addition, there was a martial arts manual with dog-eared pages.

"Gale Fist?"

Su Mu's eyes lit up. This was likely the boxing technique Wu Heng had used earlier. The boxing technique Wu Heng displayed during their fight had caused Su Mu some trouble; it was a decent technique.

Afterward, Su Mu searched but couldn't find the Thirty Refinements Long Saber. He didn't dwell on it too much. Since Su Mu could forge a Thirty Refinements weapon, he could forge a second one.

Moreover, just as Shopkeeper Li Tie had thought, Thirty Refinements was not the limit of Su Mu's forging skill; it was merely limited by materials.

"Let's leave."

Su Mu cast a final glance at the four corpses on the scene, confirming they were all dead, and then strode away.

Deep in the night, the Qingshui Town authorities arrived late. Numerous constables, holding torches, entered Wu Heng's residence. Following the scent of blood to the inner courtyard, some of them had drastic changes in their expressions.

"Wu Heng... is dead?"

The constable captain was shocked and hurried forward to examine the body, his heart growing more alarmed.

"Wu Heng died from a sharp weapon piercing his chest. Judging by the wound, it was a long saber. His internal organs were shattered... his right arm was broken... his left wrist was shattered..."

The constable captain's expression was grave, tinged with surprise. The person who broke into Wu Heng's residence tonight, amidst the siege of Wu Heng and several Black Tiger Gang elites, had fought with ease, first breaking Wu Heng's arms, and then finally killing him with a long saber.

Coupled with the look of terror on the faces of the Black Tiger Gang elites present, the constable captain immediately pictured the scene of Wu Heng and his men being brutally slaughtered.

The perpetrator tonight was far stronger than Wu Heng!

The constable captain, having reached this conclusion, was himself deeply shaken.

Wu Heng was the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang, renowned in Qingshui Town for a long time. What kind of strength would it take to brutally kill an expert of Hidden Force?

"An Eighth Rank Bone Forging Realm martial artist... is it Zhao Xuan? Or did he provoke someone he shouldn't have?"

That night, the news quickly reached the ears of the Black Tiger Gang leader, Zhao Xuan. A Black Tiger Gang member described the news he had heard in detail.

"I heard there was a tiger's roar when it happened..."

Upon hearing of a tiger's roar, Zhao Xuan's face changed drastically. "Wait, you said someone heard a tiger's roar?"

"Yes, Gang Leader."

Zhao Xuan's expression shifted several times. Finally, he dismissed his subordinate. "I understand. You may leave."

The candlelight flickered erratically within the room, casting shifting shadows on Zhao Xuan's volatile expression. Over twenty years ago, Zhao Xuan and Wu Heng were expelled from the Clear Wind Gang for jointly killing a monk from the Vajra Temple. They then came to Qingshui Town, changed their names, and founded the Black Tiger Gang.

Leveraging their connection to the Clear Wind Gang, the two secretly allied themselves with a certain influential figure in Qingyun County. Within just a few years, they became the largest gang dominating Qingshui Town.

In recent years, Zhao Xuan had even used the wealth acquired through coercion and plunder to advance to the Eighth Rank Bone Forging Realm. However, about half a year ago, the secret manual for the Tiger Subduing Fist was inexplicably stolen from his residence, and the suspected traitor has yet to be found.

"Was it someone from the Vajra Temple?"

"No, if it were truly someone from the Vajra Temple... given those bald donkeys' vengeful nature, they would have come for me tonight..."

"Who exactly killed Wu Heng?"

Zhao Xuan remained sleepless that night.

As the rooster crowed, signaling the dawn of a new day, a youth wearing a bamboo hat and a straw cloak walked through the drizzling streets and alleys.

"Did you all hear? Wu Heng of the Black Tiger Gang was killed last night."

"He was really killed? That's truly cause for celebration. I wonder which passing hero brought justice to the people!"

"It's said that a tiger's roar was heard from Wu Heng's residence last night, loud enough for half of Qingshui Town to hear. It was earth-shattering... Could it be that Wu Heng, who committed countless evils, was killed by the manifestation of the Mountain Lord?"

The Qingyun County area is surrounded by large mountains, and ancient legends of the Mountain Lord circulate among the folk.

Su Mu's hands and feet grew cold as he walked, his face turning slightly pale. The Gu Poison within him had acted up on this rainy day, though he was temporarily suppressing it with his Force and vital energy. All along the streets and alleys, people were abuzz with speculation.

The Black Tiger Gang had a history of evil deeds, lording over the people of Qingshui Town, who had long harbored resentment. Everyone rejoiced at Wu Heng's death, with many adding their own embellishments. The talk of the Mountain Lord's manifestation brought a strange look to Su Mu's face.

"Three people can make a tiger appear in the marketplace." If Su Mu hadn't been the only one aware of last night's events, he might have believed it to some extent.

Before Su Mu even reached the blacksmith shop, he could faintly hear Master Zhou Shan and the other blacksmiths excitedly discussing the news from half a mile away. Upon seeing Su Mu arrive, Li Xiaohu excitedly recounted the hearsay about the "Mountain Lord's manifestation" right in front of Su Mu himself.

"Well killed! The Mountain Lord should have manifested to eliminate evils for the people long ago!"

Su Mu frowned upon hearing this. A steady, powerful set of footsteps was rapidly approaching the shop.

As expected, soon a blacksmith ran into the backyard with a look of panic. He swallowed hard and stammered, interrupting their discussion.

"Bad news! Zhao Xuan, the leader of the Black Tiger Gang, has arrived... He's outside asking to see our shop owner."