You Came Too Late

"Ah~~~!"

Li Yong's scream rang out. The Green-faced Ghost Mask Man and the Red-faced Ghost Mask Man both jolted, then shouted, "Bastard!"

Both men were skilled fighters who had undergone the Second Blood Change. But Lu Yuan's imposing aura had shaken them from the start, so they reacted more slowly than Long Ying. Now, seeing Long Ying and Lu Yuan locked in combat, they flew into a rage and joined the attack.

In an instant, their blood qi surged, seeming to leap up their faces like flames. They let out low growls as they launched tricky attacks.

One wielded a soft sword, while the other brandished a pair of short spears. Every strike aimed for Lu Yuan's vital points.

But what shocked the three of them was that his saber technique was unbelievably refined, and his footwork was seasoned to the extreme. He revealed no openings at all. As he dodged and shifted, he parried their swift attacks, even finding gaps to add fresh wounds to their bodies.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded. Long Ying glanced back and saw Zhang Zhi rushing in with a group of men, coming to help.

"Fuck! So Lu Family really did hire an expert!"

Fury burned in Long Ying's heart. He regretted not killing the hostage earlier. Blood qi surged through him as he roared:

"Don't hold back! Hack this bastard to death!"

After his furious roar, Long Ying dropped all defense from his moves, preparing to attack with everything he had.

But he glanced back, and just as he turned his head around, he heard Lu Yuan murmur:

"I've had enough fun."

Then came a scream. Two heads shot into the air, blood gushing from their severed necks like fountains.

At the same time, amid the spray of blood, a figure swung a streak of saber light down at him.

"What?!"

Zhang Zhi had just charged into the ancestral hall when he saw Lu Yuan's sharp, vicious strike take two heads at once. His heart lurched in shock.

Behind him, Lu Longjing and the others stood dumbfounded.

Amid the blood mist, Long Ying's eyes widened. Lu Yuan's calm, cold eyes were reflected in them.

The next moment,

the saber light flashed like lightning across his neck.

His six-yang head soared into the sky.

Scalding, surging blood shot up several yards.

Before the head could hit the ground, Po Jun had already impaled it.

As everyone stared in stunned disbelief, Lu Yuan lifted Long Ying's head and turned to look back at them.

"You came too late."

With Long Ying's head held aloft, blood dripping from it, Lu Yuan felt an indescribable rush of exhilaration.

It had been over a year since he awakened the memories of his past life. In this chaotic world, he had always felt some trepidation, anxiety, and unease.

Though he had plenty to eat and wear in this life, there was no guarantee of safety in a world where the strong ruled.

The head he had severed was not merely Long Ying's. It was the unease that had hung over Lu Yuan's heart.

The curtain of unease lifted. The light was about to dawn.

Thud!

The headless corpse hit the ground hard, jolting everyone from their shock. Lu Longjing, Lu Cheng, and Zhang Zhi were shaken, overwhelmed by both surprise and delight.

"Well done!"

Lu Longjing slapped Lu Yuan's shoulder, too excited to put his feelings into words.

That was an expert with Blood Qi Like an Ox—and his son had killed him.

"Xiao Cheng, when did you break through to Blood Qi Like an Ox?" Lu Cheng could hardly believe it.

"Just yesterday."

Lu Yuan pointed to the corpse lying in the corner, now a heap of mangled flesh. "Father, that body is Li Yong's. This is the head of Long Ying, the Second Boss of Iron Dragon Stockade. It looks like Li Yong colluded with Long Ying to kidnap eldest brother."

No one had paid much attention to the corpse in the corner. As for Long Ying's head, it was covered in blood and unrecognizable. Besides, the Lu Family had mostly dealt with Li Jing, the Third Boss; they had little contact with Long Ying. So even though the head stood out, Lu Longjing and the others had not recognized it.

Hearing this, Lu Cheng blurted out, "Could Li Yong have colluded with Iron Dragon Stockade to target us?"

Lu Longjing was startled at first, but soon calmed down.

"Li Yong probably didn't collude with Iron Dragon Stockade. He only colluded with Long Ying personally. Otherwise, the stockade wouldn't have sent only three men. I know these two. One is Zhao Qi, the other Fan Song. They're Long Ying's trusted men."

Lu Yuan nodded. "I think so too. Li Yong only colluded with Long Ying, not the whole of Iron Dragon Stockade. The stockade's other two bosses probably didn't know Long Ying had gone out to make some extra money."

A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Still, Iron Dragon Stockade will answer for this."

Lu Longjing nodded. "We shouldn't linger here. Clear the bodies and leave at once."

The past two days had been a close call for Lu Longjing, but the biggest thing to come of them was a pleasant surprise.

Lu Cheng had returned safely from the kidnapping, and the fifty thousand taels they thought they had lost had been recovered.

The greatest surprise was that his younger son had broken through to Blood Qi Like an Ox.

In Lingbao County, anyone with Blood Qi Like an Ox could be considered an expert. Iron Dragon Stockade dominated its corner of Lingbao County, yet even its Second and Third Bosses were only at that level.

After taking care of everything, they returned home at midnight. But none of the three father and sons felt like sleeping, and they shut the doors tight to discuss matters.

"Father, Li Yong stooped to any means necessary. We don't need to follow any rules either. Let's give the Li Family an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!"

Thinking about being kidnapped and ransomed for fifty thousand taels, Lu Cheng gritted his teeth. He wished Li Yong, the instigator, could come back to life so he could hack him to death with his own hands.

Lu Longjing smiled. "Xiao Cheng, I know you're furious right now and wish you could cut the Li Family to pieces. But simply killing them wouldn't make Li Yong's sons and daughters feel the greatest pain."

"Other than Li Yong, the Li Family are all a bunch of good-for-nothings. Now that Li Yong is dead, they still have quite a fortune accumulated over the years—but they won't be able to hold on to it."

Lu Longjing gave a cold laugh.

"We can't take much of that fortune ourselves, but I can bring a pack of wolves together and lead them in stripping the Li Family of every last bit of property. Wouldn't turning that bunch of good-for-nothings into beggars on the street be more satisfying than simply killing them?"

"Great idea, Father!" Lu Cheng's eyes lit up. He thought Lu Longjing's plan was brilliant.

Going from a rich kid who never lacked food or clothes to a beggar who went hungry two meals out of three—from the heavens down to the dirt. That extreme reversal would be more agonizing than death.

Lu Cheng noticed Lu Yuan had kept his head slightly lowered. He asked curiously, "Second brother, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about how to deal with Iron Dragon Stockade," Lu Yuan said, lifting his head.

His strength was now enough to kill Long Ying of Iron Dragon Stockade. His power gap with the stockade had narrowed considerably, and he could start working toward his next goal.

Lu Longjing shook his head.

"Even the authorities failed. There were certainly factors like their inaction, but that alone shows Iron Dragon Stockade won't be easy to deal with."

"What makes them so difficult?"

Lu Longjing pondered for a moment.

"I've never been to Iron Dragon Stockade, but Shen Tie has. According to him, the stockade is easy to defend and hard to attack. It may not be the sort of place where one man can hold the pass against ten thousand, but it's not far off."