Witnessing Injustice on the Road

After noon, Lu Yuan set out for Qinghe Village with two sturdy shop assistants.

The distance wasn't far—only about half an hour by horse.

Halfway there, they passed a windward gap. Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and caught the scent of blood on the wind.

"Do you smell blood too?"

The two shop assistants inhaled deeply and drew their blades in unison: "Young Master, be careful. We smell it too."

Dismounting and rounding a corner, they could see ahead about five or six bandits wielding steel blades surrounding a group of people.

It seemed to be a family, driving a donkey cart with their belongings. On the ground lay two corpses—a man and a woman. One had been disemboweled, the other had their throat slit. Their deaths were gruesome, blood pooling everywhere.

Still alive were an old man and two young people, a boy and a girl. Facing the vicious bandits, they kept begging.

"Kind sirs, please have mercy! Let us go. Take all our things—just leave us a few days' rations."

Old Man Liu knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly.

His family were simple, honest folk, crushed by the local landlords and bullies until they could no longer survive. They had fled with everything they owned, only to run into bandits on the road. His son and daughter-in-law had been killed on the spot.

If he were alone, Old Man Liu would have fought them to the death. But thinking of his grandchildren, he could only swallow his hatred and beg them to spare the children.

"Get lost!"

A bandit kicked Old Man Liu aside. Spotting the girl's pretty face, he grabbed her, ignoring her panicked screams, and shoved her to the ground, starting to tear off her clothes. He leered, "Old man, your granddaughter's not bad—young and tender. Let us have some fun, and maybe we'll be in a good enough mood to let you live."

"Animals! Let my sister go!"

The brother's eyes split with rage as he lunged to save her. The bandit, caught off guard, was tackled to the ground.

"Little sister, run!!! Run!"

Old Man Liu also shouted, "Nannan, run! Don't worry about us!"

The girl fled blindly, running faster than she ever had in her life. She dodged two bandits trying to block her and ran straight toward Lu Yuan.

"Young Master, what do we do?"

The shop assistant asked for orders.

They could simply ignore this, mount their horses, and take a detour. Those bandits on foot could never catch up.

Lu Yuan took a deep breath. Reason told him a wise man doesn't court danger. But if he truly stood by and did nothing, he couldn't live with himself.

He was no saint.

But neither was he cold-hearted. If he were just an ordinary man, he would have turned and left. But since he had already succeeded in his Blood Exchange, if he still ignored a death in front of him, wouldn't that be wasting all his martial arts?

"Save them!"

Lu Yuan's voice rang out firm as he stepped forward.

The two bandits chasing the girl were startled by the sudden appearance of the three men. "Who are you?!"

"Gentlemen, you're after money—why take lives? Take the valuables, but can you let these three go?" Lu Yuan said in a low voice.

"Let them go? You say let them go, so we just do it? Who do you think you are?"

A tall, thin bandit sized up Lu Yuan and his men with ill intent. But seeing the two shop assistants were strong and armed, not easy targets, he threatened, "Kid, we're from Iron Dragon Stockade. I advise you to know your place and scram, before you ruin our fun!"

Iron Dragon Stockade!!

Lu Yuan's eyes sharpened. He had sworn to himself before that one day he would uproot Iron Dragon Stockade completely.

It was a small goal he had set.

Since these bandits were from Iron Dragon Stockade, he'd collect some interest first!

By then, the girl had already hidden behind Lu Yuan. The two bandits, seeing their threats had worked and Lu Yuan's group hadn't moved, smugly walked over to grab the girl.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan stomped hard, his right leg springing like a startled python, carrying immense force. Before the two could react, he kicked one bandit square in the crotch, shattering his vitals and pelvis into pieces.

The bandit leaped a foot into the air, unable even to scream in pain. His eyes bulged as he fell stiffly to the ground, dead on the spot.

Whether he died from the pain or the kick itself was unclear.

This bandit had only learned a few moves—no real expert. Just ruthless and willing to risk his life, which made ordinary people no match for them.

Lu Yuan struck like thunder, ending one life in an instant.

The moment his foot lashed out, his hands didn't stop. He punched the other bandit right in the protruding throat.

Crack!

The throat bone shattered under the force, blood spraying everywhere. That one was dead beyond doubt too.

In less than a second, he had killed two men. It was also the first time he had ever killed anyone in either of his lives, yet Lu Yuan felt nothing unusual—not a trace of nerves.

Instead... a hint of excitement.

Was he... a born executioner?

Lu Yuan wasn't sure about that. He drew his Miao Saber and walked forward.

The remaining four bandits finally noticed their two companions were dead. Shocked and enraged, they charged, roaring, "Cut them down!"

They worked in perfect sync, two blades slashing at Lu Yuan's upper body while two more aimed for his lower half—the edges sharp enough that any hit would slice through bone and flesh.

Lu Yuan felt a hint of pressure. Even if these four weren't martial arts experts, blades were coming at him from every direction, making it hard to dodge.

Fortunately, he had already succeeded in his blood exchange, his physical condition far surpassing theirs, and he had honed a solid saber technique. Though startled, he stayed calm, his feet nimble as he retreated step by step, waiting for an opening. Then his Miao Saber flashed like a streak of light cutting through the air.

With a puchi, the head of the lead bandit—fierce and vicious—fell straight to the ground, blood spurting from his neck like a fountain.

Body separated from head, the headless bandit's corpse stumbled a few steps before crashing to the ground with a thud.

The remaining three bandits, seeing one of their own taken out in a single exchange, realized they'd bitten off more than they could chew. Terror spread across their faces, they halted their charge mid-step, their courage shattered, and turned to flee.

But before they could run more than a few paces, Lu Yuan charged after them like a tiger descending a mountain, covering ground in long strides. His blade thrust straight forward, piercing one bandit clean through, skewering his heart—blood sprayed as he died.

Then the saber swept sideways, cutting down another bandit.

Seeing his companions all dead, the last bandit stopped running without hesitation, spun around, and dropped to his knees begging for mercy, knocking his head frantically just like Old Man Liu had before: "Spare me, good sir! I've got an eighty-year-old mother at home and a three-year-old child..."

Lu Yuan strolled over to him, resting the blade against his neck with a faint, mocking smile: "Eighty-year-old mother? Your mother gave birth to you at sixty? Quite the fertile woman."

"Yes, yes, my mother's quite fertile," the bandit nodded frantically.

"Do you think I should believe that?"

"I... I..."

The bandit was left speechless.

Why wasn't this trick working?

Before he could figure it out, the blade sliced across his throat. His body pitched forward, blood spraying like a fountain, and after a few twitches, only the convulsing corpse remained.

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