Killing People

The Shopkeeper watched Li Xiao's departing back, a savage grin flashing across his face.

Just a mud-legged peasant, carrying sixty taels of silver and daring to haggle with him—he simply didn't know his place.

"A Da, A Er."

The Shopkeeper called out.

Before long, two broad-shouldered, thick-waisted men emerged from the back courtyard. In times like these, without someone to protect him, his pharmacy could never have remained open for so long.

"That brat has sixty taels of silver on him. You two follow him. Once he leaves the city, kill him and bring the silver back."

A Da and A Er exchanged a glance, greed gleaming in their eyes.

Sixty taels of silver was enough for them to live it up for quite a while. As for bringing the money back to the Shopkeeper—did he take them for fools?

Could something they had seized with their own hands possibly be handed back?

"Rest assured, Shopkeeper. Leave it to us. We'll make it clean and swift."

A Da thumped his chest in assurance. The two grabbed short blades and hurried out after him.

The Shopkeeper stood at the entrance, watching their figures vanish around the street corner, the savage grin on his face deepening.

In the Outer City, who would care whether a hunter lived or died?

Those sixty taels of silver should have been his in the first place.

With the silver tucked away, Li Xiao planned to head home. It was already getting late. He would enter the city again early tomorrow morning and continue asking around about which Martial Arts Hall suited him best.

Li Xiao quickly passed through the city gates, blending into the sparse flow of people. Yet his keen instincts sent a faint chill down his spine.

Ever since his Basic Archery Technique had reached Minor Accomplishment, not only had his eyesight become more accurate, but his hearing had also grown sharper.

At that moment, he clearly caught someone following behind him—the deliberately softened yet still heavy footsteps of two people.

Without showing any reaction, he quickened his pace, his gaze sweeping over a sparse grove of mixed trees by the roadside ahead.

Beyond the city, people became fewer and fewer. It was the perfect place for killing people and plundering their goods, and also his only chance to strike back.

He was merely an ordinary man who had never practiced martial arts. If the people behind him were Martial Masters, they would not need to skulk about like this. So Li Xiao still had a chance.

Without hesitation, he turned into the grove. Dry branches and fallen leaves crackled beneath his feet.

Behind him, those two tails indeed followed him in. Their steps were slightly hesitant, clearly wary of the forest's terrain.

Li Xiao deliberately went farther into the woods and found a slightly open clearing.

He tightened the money pouch against his chest and leaned against a tree trunk, pretending to rest in exhaustion.

"Big Brother, that brat went into the woods. Something feels off."

"What are you afraid of? He's just a poor hunter who happened to come into a bit of unexpected wealth.

His bowmanship is good, so we can't rush him head-on...

As long as we buy enough time for me to get within three zhang of him, he'll be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

You go around that way, pick up a stone, and smash him with it!

Once he panics, I'll pounce from this side. Once I'm close, his bow will be nothing but a firewood stick!"

"Alright!"

If Li Xiao had heard them, he would definitely have mocked them inwardly.

Beyond three zhang, his arrows were fast!

Within three zhang, his arrows were fast and accurate!

Li Xiao continued pretending to rest, but his fingers had quietly settled on the bow body while his other hand gently drew a feathered arrow from the quiver.

A whistling sound suddenly tore through the air from the left!

A fist-sized stone, carrying the sound of wind, smashed toward the spot where he had just been leaning.

Already prepared, Li Xiao nimbly rolled to the side. The stone struck the tree trunk with a bang.

Almost the instant his body dodged away, he had already drawn his bow and nocked an arrow, his movements as fluid as breathing—the bow was a full moon, the arrow a shooting star!

Whoosh!

"Argh!" A short scream came from the distance to his left. A Er, the burly man who had thrown the stone, staggered out from behind a tree, clutching the shoulder pierced through by the feathered arrow, his face filled with horror.

At the very instant the arrow went Off the String, A Da on the right lunged at Li Xiao with a short blade in hand!

He had calculated that after Li Xiao fired an arrow, his old strength would be spent and his new strength not yet born. This was the perfect chance for a killing blow.

As long as he took advantage of Li Xiao having no chance to fire a second arrow, Li Xiao would be a lamb waiting for slaughter.

Yet Li Xiao seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. After firing the arrow, he did not even look at the result.

His waist suddenly exerted force as he spun around.

At some point, a second arrow had already been nocked. The motion of drawing the bow was so fast that it left only an afterimage!

At such close range, there was no need to aim at all.

Pfft!

The sharp arrow sank precisely into A Da's throat!

His forward charge halted abruptly. His eyes bulged as he stared in disbelief at the stern-faced hunter before him.

The short blade in his hand clanged to the ground. His massive body crashed down like a golden mountain collapsing, a jade pillar toppling, sending dust flying.

On the other side, A Er, with an arrow in his shoulder, had just endured the pain and tried to run when Li Xiao's third arrow was already in place.

"Spare..."

Whoosh!

His plea for mercy was cut off by the sound of the arrow splitting the air.

This arrow pierced straight through his heart. A Er's body stiffened, and he fell straight backward.

The woods instantly returned to deathly silence, leaving only a faint smell of blood beginning to spread.

Li Xiao slowly exhaled a mouthful of Stale Breath, his cold gaze sweeping across the two Corpses.

It was his first time killing people, yet his heart was strangely calm, as though he felt no discomfort at all.

Could it be that I was born for this line of work? he thought.

At the instant of killing them, the two men had seemed no different from prey in his Eyes. There had been none of the nausea or revulsion he might have expected.

Probably because I'm used to seeing blood from hunting.

After hunting, not only had he slaughtered prey, he had even skinned it several times.

He stepped forward, briskly pulled out his arrows, wiped the blood clean on the Corpses, and returned them to his quiver.

He picked up the two short blades, then crouched down and searched the two Corpses.

A Er had nothing on him. From A Da's chest, Li Xiao found a money pouch. Weighing it, he estimated it contained a few taels of loose silver.

These two were broad-shouldered and thick-waisted, and they even knew to split up for a sneak attack. Clearly, they were not comparable to ordinary street thugs.

Either they were elites from some gang, or the Shopkeeper of Huichun Hall had wanted to rob the robbers!

Li Xiao's gaze turned icy. He would remember this grudge...

"Insatiable greed invites death."

Li Xiao muttered softly and did not linger.

He brought over two more stones and smashed them into the two men's faces.

Only after their faces had been smashed into a bloody blur did Li Xiao leave.

These days, dead people were a common sight. They were only two small-time lackeys, so Li Xiao was not worried. Still, he would do whatever cleanup he could.

With his longbow on his back, he swiftly vanished into the depths of the woods, heading quickly toward home.

In this world, only the bow and arrows in his hands were truly reliable.

The moment Li Xiao pushed open the door to his home, Li Youde came up to greet him. At a glance, he spotted the Dark Red marks on Li Xiao's lapel, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"What happened? Why is there blood on you?"

"It's nothing. It isn't my blood." Li Xiao set down his bow and arrows, making his tone as calm as possible.

"I ran into two vicious wolves in the mountains. Some got on me while we fought. I already dealt with them."

He did not want his family to know about the killing, so he could only make up an excuse.

Li Youde was doubtful. Li Youde was doubtful as he reached out to inspect his clothes, but Li Xiao gently avoided him.

"Dad, I'm really fine. It's just some wolf blood. I'll go wash it off now."

Taking a change of clothes, he quickly walked to the water vat in the corner of the courtyard and rinsed his lapel again and again with cold water.

The icy water soaked through the cloth, and the Dark Red bloodstains gradually faded. Yet they seemed to have seeped into his bones, impossible to wash clean no matter what he did.

Li Youde stood in the doorway, watching his son's bowed back as he scrubbed his clothes, his Eyes full of worry.

He had lived for most of his life. He could still tell the difference between the smell of blood and the smell of beast blood. What was on his son was definitely not as simple as wolf blood.

But he did not question him again. He merely sighed and turned back into the house.

Some things, if a child did not want to say them, were useless to press about.