What, are you telling me what to do?

Only after Li Xian returned his sword to its sheath did the people on deck come back to their senses, as if waking from a dream.

The young officer from Yunzhou let out an incredulous shriek.

"How dare you kill Lord Zhu?!"

He pointed at Li Xian like a madman. "You're finished! You're dead meat! The Yunzhou Demon Suppressing Division will never let you get away with this. You're dead!!!"

The people from the Yunzhou Prefectural Army, however, had gone deathly pale. They knew that this lot probably wouldn't make it off the ship alive today.

A faint smile curled at the corner of Li Xian's mouth. He said lightly, "Our grain ship was attacked by a horde of Pig Dragons. The Yunzhou Demon Suppressing Division and Prefectural Army fought to the death, but were ultimately overpowered and devoured by Demonic Evil. A terrible loss!"

"Hall Master Li, what should we do now?"

After the captain had his men throw the last corpse into the river, he came over to Li Xian and asked cautiously.

Before they had even entered Yangzhou waters, he'd heard that this man was bloodthirsty. He hadn't expected him to be this bloodthirsty.

He'd killed everyone from the Yunzhou Demon Suppressing Division without the slightest hesitation, and in the midst of a Demonic Evil attack, no less.

Just now, Hall Master Li had effortlessly slaughtered every person from Yunzhou aboard the ship.

Afterward, the captain's men had thrown their bodies into the river to feed the Pig Dragons.

Now there was no evidence left.

Oh, no, that wasn't right. There were still plenty of witnesses aboard the ship.

Brother Xin leaned close to Li Xian's ear and murmured, "Hall Master, should we take care of them too..."

As he spoke, he looked toward the captain and the others, his eyes brimming with menace.

The captain was an old hand, sharp as a tack. He understood at once that Li Xian didn't trust him.

He immediately dropped to his knees and begged for mercy through his tears.

"Spare me, Hall Master Li! I swear I won't breathe a word about what happened today!"

"Oh? And how will you guarantee that?" Li Xian asked with interest.

He'd only had the idea on a whim. He wanted to test the captain.

"I..." The captain was at a loss for words.

His expression shifted several times before he seemed to reach an important decision.

He suddenly pulled a dagger from his waist, shouted, and plunged it toward his own palm.

He actually meant to prove himself through self-mutilation.

With a sharp clang, the captain's dagger was knocked away.

"Hall Master..."

"Hall Master Li, you..."

The captain stared at Li Xian in astonishment.

Naturally, Li Xian had been the one to act. The moment he realized what the captain intended, he casually flicked something at the dagger and sent it flying.

"There's no need to hurt yourself. Keep your hands intact and use them to steer my ship," Li Xian said with a smile.

The captain was overjoyed and hurriedly kowtowed.

"Thank you for sparing my life, Hall Master Li! Thank you! Thank you!"

"All right, get up. We still have serious business to attend to!"

Li Xian walked to the railing and looked down at the Pig Dragons, which had eaten their fill but still refused to leave. Puzzled, he asked, "What's with that big fellow?"

When they'd thrown the corpses overboard, many Pig Dragons had been busy fighting over the food and hadn't chased after them.

Only one particularly huge Pig Dragon, leading a few underlings, had kept relentlessly pursuing their grain ship.

It looked like it had some deep-seated grudge.

"I don't know what's going on either," the captain said, looking confused.

"Did you kill its wife or its son or something?" Li Xian guessed casually.

At this, the captain seemed to remember something, and his expression turned odd.

"A few days ago, Lord Zhu was in the mood to go fishing, so he had us find a place. We found one, but accidentally wrecked a Pig Dragon's nest. There were loads of dragon eggs in it, and our grain ship crushed them."

That explained it.

The grudge ran deep. No wonder it had kept chasing them.

Lord Zhu really was a plague, leaving a whole mess behind even after he died.

"Looks like I'll have to swing my sword once more!"

Li Xian said with a smile.

His sword left its sheath!

That silver-white sword light appeared once again.

Everyone on deck felt that same bone-deep chill and stiffness as before.

Impressive. This One Line Sky Swordplay even came with a control effect.

That was exactly why Li Xian had chosen this swordplay in the first place.

His family's Returning Wind Willow Leaf Saber had been too weak to be of any use. Li Xian didn't want to rely on his fists and brawl every time he fought, so learning a sword technique had become a necessity.

The Extreme Cold Line of Heaven Swordplay was said to be devastatingly powerful, with an overwhelming sword intent, but mastering it was as hard as climbing to heaven.

That was why so few people practiced it.

But none of those drawbacks mattered to Li Xian.

He'd spent just one night using Proficiency Points to raise the swordplay to its highest level.

Now that he was using it, the results were truly extraordinary.

The Sword Qi poured down, razor-sharp, and sliced the enormous Pig Dragon—the one whose home and offspring were gone—in half at the waist.

The Pig Dragon was pitiful. First Lord Zhu had destroyed its home, and now it had lost its life too.

But however pitiful it was, why had it picked a fight with Li Xian?

Now it was gone.

Once the biggest Pig Dragon was dead, the others immediately lost their nerve. With a loud howl, they plunged into the Grand Canal and vanished.

"Phew..."

"Wonderful! Those Demonic Evils are gone!"

"We're saved!"

The boatmen who'd escaped death cheered and clapped below.

Li Xian returned his sword to its sheath.

"All right, I'll leave the rest to you, Captain."

The captain replied respectfully, "You can count on me, Hall Master Li."

"Mm."

Li Xian nodded, then turned and walked away.

"Hall Master Li, you shouldn't have spared the captain and his men. None of the others on deck should be allowed to live."

Back in his room, Brother Xin whispered this to Li Xian.

Li Xian looked at him with a faint smile. "What, are you telling me what to do?"

When a leader spoke to you like that, you had better watch yourself.

Brother Xin went pale, realizing at once that he'd made a fatal mistake.

He hurriedly fell to his knees and said, "I'm sorry, Boss Li. I wasn't thinking. I was wrong. I'll slap myself, I'll slap myself..."

He knelt on the floor and began slapping his own face, one blow after another, each one cracking loudly...

Li Xian didn't stop him. He just watched with a smile as Brother Xin slapped himself until his face swelled and blood ran from his mouth...

Wan Cai pleaded for him from the side. "Hall Master Li, it's his first offense. Please let him off this time."

"Mm, stop," Li Xian said coolly.

Only then did Brother Xin stop. One side of his face was swollen, and blood ran from the corner of his mouth. He looked miserable.

Li Xian rested a hand beneath his chin and waved. "A-Cai, take him back to rest."

"Yes!"

After the two had left, Li Xian sat in the empty room in silence for a long while, then finally let out a quiet sigh.

If you think this book is good, add it to your bookshelf so you won't have trouble finding it next time.