A Dark, Windy Night for Murder!

Someone suddenly suggested, "Could we ask Iron Dragon Stockade for help?"

The moment those words were spoken, everyone stared at him as though he were a fool. Someone shook his head.

"What's the difference between bandits and the authorities? They might protect you for a while, but can they protect you for a lifetime?"

There was actually another way: leave Lingbao County outright. But unless there was truly no other option, Lu Longjing would never make that choice.

The Lu Family had put down roots in Lingbao County, and nearly all their business was there. If they left Lingbao County for somewhere else, unfamiliar with the place and its people, they might well be swallowed up by the Local Tyrants there.

"Ah, it's all my fault. If only I'd been more careful."

Lu Cheng was consumed with shame.

"It's not your fault."

Zhang Zhi patted him lightly on the shoulder. "They were in the shadows while you were out in the open. They plotted against someone unprepared—no matter how cautious you were, what could you have done?"

"Let's go back and discuss this at length. We still have three days."

Lu Longjing let out a sigh.

"Who's there?!"

Suddenly, Zhang Zhi roared, staring fixedly ahead.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

His shout made everyone tense up. They drew their blades one after another.

"It's me."

A familiar voice rang out as Lu Yuan appeared before their eyes.

"Xiaoyuan, why are you here?"

Lu Yuan said gravely, "How could I not come after something this serious happened?"

After the auction ended, he had returned home and immediately heard about the matter from the Butler. Worried for Eldest Brother's safety, he had rushed over without stopping, arriving just in time to meet the group as they were leaving.

"Let's go back. It's over."

Lu Longjing put on a relaxed front, but Lu Yuan could see the heavy feelings concealed beneath it.

Fifty thousand taels—his heart bled for it.

"It's not over yet," Lu Yuan said faintly.

"What are you going to do?!"

Lu Longjing's heart tightened.

Lu Yuan said coldly, "Naturally, I'm taking the money back. That's fifty thousand taels!"

"Xiaoyuan, don't be rash. They have a Blood Qi Like an Ox expert."

"Father, trust me."

A thought flashed through Zhang Zhi's mind like lightning, and joy surged within him. "Xiaoyuan, you've broken through?"

After breaking through yesterday, Lu Yuan had immediately headed to Long'an County and had not yet had the chance to tell him, so naturally Zhang Zhi did not know.

"That's right. Trust me."

Lu Yuan nodded.

Perhaps his confidence had infected them all. Lu Longjing no longer objected. "What do you plan to do?"

"Just hold the line for me. Don't show yourselves, so you don't alert them."

Lu Yuan lowered his eyes and spoke calmly.

With that, he strode toward the ancestral hall in the village, his saber at his side.

The sky was growing ever gloomier. A full moon hung high in the night sky.

A dark, windy night—perfect for murder!

"How about it, Second Boss? I told you so, didn't I? Lu Longjing treasures his two sons like jewels. As long as we use his sons as hostages, he'll definitely pay the ransom."

As soon as Lu Longjing's group left, a fat man who had been hiding in the back emerged with a beaming smile.

"Li Yong, your plan was quite good."

With fifty thousand taels in hand, even Li Yong—fat as a pig and slick with grease—had become pleasing to the Second Boss's eye.

This wanton oppression and plunder of the weak by the strong intoxicated him.

In this world, the weak should obediently submit to the strong!

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"Second Boss's move was brilliant as well. With just a little threat, Lu Longjing submitted. Without lifting a finger, we gained another ten thousand taels of silver." Li Yong flattered him without leaving a trace.

The Second Boss gave a savage grin. "With strength in hand, would he dare say no? He could only obediently hand over the money. Could he possibly dare fight me to the death?"

"Second Boss is wise!"

Li Yong raised a thumbs-up, then shifted the topic and quietly poisoned Second Boss's mind against Lu Longjing:

"But I know that bastard Lu Longjing. He definitely won't honestly hand over those ten thousand taels. He's bound to pull some trick."

Second Boss said calmly, "No matter what tricks he pulls, he'll hand over the silver whether he wants to or not—unless he wants to lose a son. He has two sons anyway. If killing one doesn't work, then kill the other..."

Suddenly, Second Boss jerked his head up and saw a tall, straight-backed figure with the broad back of an ape and the narrow waist of a wasp entering the ancestral hall, wearing a monkey mask.

The man's face was covered so tightly that only a pair of eyes brimming with killing intent showed.

They had taken off their masks, yet someone wearing a mask had arrived.

The four immediately became wary.

"Who is it?!"

Second Boss's expression changed drastically.

"No need for you to go."

A full moon hung high overhead, and Lu Yuan's shadow stretched long across the doorway.

"I'm here!"

The moment his words fell, Lu Yuan stomped down hard. His body shot forward, and the violently exploding air burst in rapid succession like a string of firecrackers.

In an instant, the turbulent air swept through the entire ancestral hall.

The instant he stepped forward, Lu Yuan swung his arm, his fist charging at Second Boss with the savage force of a horned ox demon.

"You are..."

Second Boss was startled. Just as he tried to say something, a fierce gust of wind rushed into his mouth. How could he possibly form a complete sentence?

So fast!

Could he be an expert Lu Longjing had hired?

Second Boss saw only a blur before the violently surging air, carrying monstrous killing intent, came rolling toward him and made his scalp go numb.

Even Eldest Brother's punch was probably no more than this.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Second Boss's heart, and a tremendous sense of danger crashed down on him.

In that split second between life and death, he revealed his cruel and ruthless side. Without sparing a thought for who his opponent was, he roared soundlessly in his heart and slammed out with his right palm. Li Yong, standing beside him and not yet realizing what was happening, was sent flying helplessly toward Lu Yuan, straight into that fist powerful enough to shatter steles and split rocks.

After all, he was a Blood Qi Like an Ox expert. Though he had been caught completely off guard, at the critical instant between life and death, he still displayed the best possible response.

He used Li Yong as a shield to buy himself time to strike.

"You only caught me off guard because you plotted against an unprepared opponent. Once I react, you piece of trash..."

"Long Ying, you beast!!"

Flying through the air, how could Li Yong fail to understand that he had been used as a shield? He immediately cursed at the top of his lungs.

The next moment, he felt as though his chest had been struck by a battering ram. Then he lost all sensation in his body and tumbled through the air.

Li Yong's fat, pig-like body flew out, his entire chest caving in. Broken bones pierced through his torso, several jagged spikes stabbing out through the flesh of his back. His organs were shattered by the impact. He drew an arc through the air before crashing heavily into the wall.

It was as though he had been hit by a car traveling a hundred kilometers per hour. The terrifying force shattered every bone in Li Yong's body, and when he hit the ground, he became a heap of mangled flesh.

He died on the spot.

Without any resistance, without even feeling much pain, and without ever learning Lu Yuan's identity, he was blasted to death by a single unadorned punch.

"I've got my hand on the blade!!"

With one palm strike, Long Ying sent Li Yong flying. He grabbed the hilt of his saber, veins bulging on his forehead. His waist drove his shoulders, his shoulders drove his arm, Blood Qi coursing through his entire body. The corners of his mouth split into a grin.

"You skulking dog, you..."

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!

The blades collided violently. Under the immense impact, Long Ying no longer dared utter another word, afraid that even one word would make him lose his breath.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The two men's saber lights became phantoms, the sounds of metal striking metal unceasing as long trails of sparks streaked through the dim ancestral hall.