The Commission Was Completed

The two remaining members of the Iron Horse Seven Bandits were the Thief Leader and their Third Brother.

Having escaped disaster, the two rode off on separate horses as soon as they had put some distance between themselves and the danger, galloping for all they were worth.

They rode more than ten miles in one go before finally slowing down.

Up ahead, they spotted a deep pool. The Thief Leader dismounted and hurried to the water's edge, scooping up handfuls of water and gulping it down.

Third Brother came up beside him and did the same.

After drinking, they splashed water over their faces. At last, the Thief Leader took the bloodstained broad axe and rinsed the blood from it in the pool.

Third Brother let out a long breath, his face full of relief at having escaped death:

"Big Brother, where did those two women come from?"

"How should I know?"

The Thief Leader's mouth twitched.

"Some crazy women from who knows where. They saw us and asked if someone was chasing us. I was going to split one of them in half with my axe, but she yanked me right off my horse.

"I had no choice but to go along with what she said... Then you showed up. I gave you a look, and luckily you understood.

"If we hadn't used those two idiots to hold Chu Fan back, today would've been the death anniversary of all of us.

"Too bad we didn't split that Chu bastard in half before his junior sister arrived and avenge our brothers."

At that, his expression darkened.

Third Brother drew a deep breath.

"Big Brother, we have to avenge them!

"But, as the saying goes, a gentleman can wait ten years to avenge himself. There's no need to rush."

"Mm."

The Thief Leader nodded, his brows knitting together.

"Who is this Night Emperor, anyway? Judging by the note, Fifth Brother died at his hands.

"Have you ever heard of anyone by that name in the martial world?"

Third Brother hurriedly shook his head.

"Never."

"Hmph. Meddling in other people's business will get him killed sooner or later."

The Thief Leader cursed viciously.

Third Brother asked, "Chu Fan is the Second Young Master of the Chu Family in Heavenly Dance City, and a prized disciple of Cui Buno of the Taiyi Sect. Now we've made an enemy of him, and all our brothers are dead except for you and me. The days ahead won't be easy, Big Brother. What should we do?"

"Hmm..."

The Thief Leader pondered for a moment, then said, "We'll go to Luoyu Hall."

Third Brother considered it briefly, then nodded.

"Liu Shijie's taken plenty of benefits from us over the years. It's about time he helped us out.

"Besides, Luoyu Hall is in Heavenly Dance City. To Chu Fan, it'll be hiding in plain sight. He could rack his brains all he liked and still never guess we were right under his nose.

"That's a brilliant move, Big Brother!"

"After all, the most dangerous place is the safest."

The Thief Leader smiled and patted Third Brother on the shoulder.

"No time to waste. Go get some food from your horse. We'll eat, then set off at once."

"Got it."

Third Brother immediately got up and left, while the Thief Leader sat on a rock, resting with his broad axe in his arms.

He also began plotting what to do next. Luoyu Hall wasn't a place to stay for long, but it should be safe enough for the time being.

Where they would go after that, however, required some careful thought.

He considered a few options, then dismissed them all. The more he thought, the hungrier he got.

He had fought one battle after another and then fled for his life. After a day like this, even an iron man would be worn out.

"Third Brother, I asked you to get some food. What's taking you so long? Are you dead?"

Third Brother didn't answer. The Thief Leader looked up and saw him standing behind the horse.

He immediately got to his feet and strode over, reaching out to shove him.

"I asked you a question—"

Before he could finish, Third Brother toppled to the ground with a thud. A sword mark ran across his neck.

It was about two inches long, yet only a single drop of blood welled from the wound.

The Thief Leader's pupils shrank at once.

To kill without drawing blood—this person's swordsmanship was terrifyingly fast.

He spun around without a second thought.

A flash of light met his eyes.

There was no sound, no visible blade. They crossed paths, and before the Thief Leader could even make out the newcomer's face, the broad axe in his hand clattered to the ground.

Then he sank to his knees, his head drooping as he died on the spot.

Chu Qing slowly slid his long sword into its sheath, turned around, and let out a breath.

"You sure can run... If my Void Scripture didn't give me such deep reserves of breath, I really wouldn't have been able to keep up."

The earlier turn of events had caught Chu Qing by surprise, too. What he'd thought were two chances had ended up coming together.

Fortunately, the two men had actually run off... and Chu Qing wasn't about to let such a perfect opportunity pass him by.

After all, it was best not to show himself in front of Chu Fan.

Even in disguise, it was still best to avoid it. Blood ties were strange things; even the slightest suspicion could be magnified a thousandfold.

The outcome now could hardly have been better.

He had followed their trail all the way here and found them by the pool, planning their future. He hadn't struck right away, but had taken a moment to catch his breath. Then, when Third Brother got up to fetch something, he'd made his move.

If he could take them on one at a time, why kill them together?

Naturally, he'd do whatever took the least effort.

He was about to deal with the two bodies—searching them for anything valuable and taking care of the rest—

when a prompt suddenly appeared before his eyes.

[Commission Completed!]

[Successfully killed the Iron Horse Seven Bandits. Received one 'Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest.']

Chu Qing curled his lip.

"I killed three of them, and only got one reward... It should've been at least three, shouldn't it?"

The system naturally didn't respond.

In fact, it never responded when Chu Qing spoke to it at other times, either.

It was a mute system.

He wasn't in a hurry to open the treasure chest. He continued with what he was doing.

He couldn't stay here long. Once Chu Fan explained things to those two women, he might come after them.

If they ran into each other without anything else to distract him, the boy would surely figure out who he was.

So Chu Qing picked up the pace and searched the two Great Thieves from head to toe.

In the end, he found a little over twenty taels of silver and two handfuls of Gold Leaves. The Thief Leader, especially, had the most Gold Leaves on him.

With just those Gold Leaves, if this had been a peaceful era, Chu Qing could have bought himself a small courtyard and lived a happy life doing nothing but eating and waiting to die.

Unfortunately, putting aside the storms of the martial world, the Sin Mirror Platform on his trail alone wouldn't let him stop moving.

The rest consisted of Silver Notes, Pills, Golden Wound Medicine, and the like.

After a rough look, he kept the Pills and Golden Wound Medicine that could promote blood circulation and disperse bruises, but left behind everything else he didn't recognize.

After cutting off their heads, he followed the same method as before: he left a note bearing the name Night Emperor hanging from a horse, then let the horses wander off on their own to spread the message.

The system's reward was already in hand, which showed that he really didn't need to go see the shopkeeper again.

Finally, he used the Fire Starter to ignite a Silver Note, then used it to set the clothes alight. In the blink of an eye, the two headless corpses were engulfed in roaring flames.

Only after confirming that the bodies had burned beyond recognition, so that even the most skilled coroner couldn't tell how they had died, did Chu Qing turn and leave.