Killing

In the darkness, five figures crept closer.

They slowly surrounded Gu Chang'an on a bluestone slab in the middle of the ruined temple.

The five men were dressed in rags, their faces gaunt and haggard. Yet their eyes were vicious, and their bony hands gripped their weapons tightly. Clearly, this wasn't the first time they'd done this.

At the front stood a middle-aged man whose face was covered in knife scars. His name was Sun Wenhao.

He wore a tattered leather jacket, its torn opening revealing a yellowed undershirt. The straw sandals on his feet were worn nearly to pieces, but he stood steadily, his face brimming with Killing Intent. Like a wolf that hadn't eaten in ages, he fixed his gaze on Gu Chang'an.

On his left stood a tall, skinny man with a sharp chin and beady eyes. His name was Guo Zimao.

He wore a short gray cloth jacket, with several lengths of hemp rope wound around his waist. In his left hand he held a thick wooden club, and a mocking smile lingered at the corner of his mouth. He was like a cold, cunning fox.

The other three men were of varying heights, all filthy and stained with blood like beggars.

Their expressions were savage. Without a word, they quietly closed in, sealing off Gu Chang'an's escape routes.

Gu Chang'an looked around. A trace of coldness flashed in his eyes.

"What... do you want?"

Sun Wenhao's mouth curled into a cold smile. His voice was hoarse and low, like stone grinding across sandpaper.

"Kid, hand over your money, or I'll make sure you die here."

He took a step forward. Broken tiles crunched beneath his foot, the sound echoing through the temple's still air.

"This place is deserted. If you die, no one will bury you. Your body will rot and become a wild dog's dinner. Believe me?"

Killing intent surged in Gu Chang'an's heart, but his expression remained calm.

He quietly activated the system—

At the same time, a pale golden virtual panel appeared before him:

[Sun Wenhao: Constitution 28]

[Guo Zimao: Constitution 25]

[Wang Shuanzhu: Constitution 21]

[Zhang Laosi: Constitution 22]

[Li Erguai: Constitution 18]

"...That's a relief."

Gu Chang'an narrowed his eyes, silently assessing the situation.

The strongest among them had a Constitution of only 28, while his was 37.

The firewood saber in his hand was dull, but his Iron Cutting Saber Technique had reached Initial Mastery.

In a fight to the death, he had a good chance of winning.

He suppressed the killing intent in his heart and deliberately kept his tone even.

"I... don't have any money on me."

As he spoke, his left hand slowly dropped.

His fingers quietly settled on the rust-covered firewood saber at his waist, lightly brushing its hilt as killing intent gathered in his heart.

Guo Zimao let out a cold laugh, a glint of menace flashing in his eyes.

"Who do you think you're fooling? I've been watching you for days. You earn seventeen or eighteen copper coins a day and barely spend any. You've saved at least three hundred by now, haven't you?"

Greed filled his gaze, and his expression twisted with a viciousness that sounded almost gritted between his teeth.

His narrowed eyes gleamed in the dark, as if he could already see the money falling into his hands.

If they could get their hands on that money, they could live well for a few days.

At Guo Zimao's words, Gu Chang'an's gaze turned icy. A flicker of killing intent crossed his brow.

He gritted his teeth and said nothing, lowering his body and readying himself to strike. He was like a bow drawn taut, poised to spring at any moment.

Sun Wenhao narrowed his eyes, noticing the change in Gu Chang'an's bearing. He stopped wasting words. Killing intent surged in his gaze as he roared:

"Get him!"

In an instant, all five men sprang into action!

The air in the ruined temple turned bitterly cold, and killing intent crashed over Gu Chang'an like a wave.

A cold glint flashed in Gu Chang'an's eyes. He drove off the ground with both legs and shot upward like a hawk!

His firewood saber tore through the air, its slash roaring like thunder!

—He had struck!

The slash split the darkness like torn silk. The saber whistled sharply through the air, sweeping out from Gu Chang'an's waist with tremendous force, ripping through the air as it hurtled toward the man at the front—Wang Shuanzhu!

The beggar was burly, with broad shoulders and a thick waist, and had been charging at the front.

He hadn't expected the young man's saber to be so fast. He barely had time to react before he could only cry out:

"No—!"

The next moment—

"Pfft!"

The saber struck with a dull thud, slashing diagonally from his shoulder into his neck. It cleaved through flesh and shattered bone, and blood gushed out like a spring.

Terror and disbelief filled his bulging ox eyes. His throat gurgled a few times, but he couldn't get out a single complete plea for mercy.

He fell like a chopped-down dead tree, crashing to the ground. Blood poured from his nose and mouth as his limbs twitched, then he died.

"One."

Gu Chang'an's gaze was icy. He pulled his saber back, its bloodied blade dripping like beads.

The other three recoiled in horror. Sun Wenhao roared:

"Don't be afraid! He's just one man! One chop each, and we'll hack him to pieces!"

The remaining three instantly closed in. Zhang Laosi moved the fastest, swinging the iron hook in his hand, its gleaming tip aimed straight at Gu Chang'an's calf!

Gu Chang'an snorted. He had already seen it coming. He shifted his feet and slid aside, his body darting diagonally away!

"Break!"

His saber suddenly came down from above, its blow heavy as a mountain!

"Crack!"

Before Zhang Laosi could fully dodge, his right hand gripping the iron chain, along with half his wrist, was severed clean off!

"Ahhh! My hand!"

Zhang Laosi dropped to his knees, howling in agony, blood gushing from the stump. His eyes bulged, and the pain nearly drove him mad!

But Gu Chang'an didn't pause for an instant. He stepped forward and brought his saber down like he was chopping deadwood, straight at Zhang Laosi's head!

"Pfft!"

Blood and brain matter sprayed through the air. One stroke split Zhang Laosi's body in two!

"Two."

His voice was low, yet sounded like a summons from hell.

Blood ran down the saber's spine, seeping between Gu Chang'an's fingers like splashed ink.

The stench of blood grew stronger. In the ruined temple, a ghostly aura swirled like a living hell.

Li Erguai had seen it all. His face was drained of color, and his legs trembled. He dropped to his knees with a thud.

"Don't kill me! I don't want to die! They forced me! I-I was only watching, really! I won't take your money. I didn't do anything!"

Tears and snot streamed down his face as he babbled incoherently, slumped in the pool of blood and repeatedly kowtowing as he begged for mercy.

Gu Chang'an watched him silently, his gaze as cold as frost and snow in early winter.

"When you surrounded me, did you ask if I wanted to live?"

His voice wasn't loud, but it struck Li Erguai's heart like a thousand-jin hammer!

The next moment, he drew his saber and slashed sideways!

"No—!"

Li Erguai's scream cut off abruptly. His head flew into the air, and a column of blood surged upward.

Even as that twisted, terrified face hit the ground and rolled, its eyes remained wide open, as if it couldn't believe any of this was real.

"The third."

Gu Chang'an murmured. His foot crunched over broken bricks and tiles as he slowly turned, his gaze falling like a blade on the last two men—Sun Wenhao and Guo Zimao.

Their faces were as pale as paper. Their earlier savagery had vanished without a trace, leaving only terror and regret in their eyes as their bodies trembled uncontrollably.

Blood flowed beneath their feet like a river.

The aura of death churned through the ruined temple.

At last, they realized that the young man before them wasn't prey, but the god of death!

For a moment, Sun Wenhao and Guo Zimao instinctively wanted to turn and run, but behind them were broken walls and shattered pillars, and beyond them the dark night. There was nowhere to retreat.

"Don't be afraid!" Sun Wenhao roared, trying to encourage his companion and shore up his own courage. "He's just one man! The two of us can take him together! Kill him!"

Guo Zimao's lips trembled. He forced down his fear, gritted his teeth, and drew a short knife hidden in his sleeve. His face twisted, his expression half savage, half crazed.

"Damn it! Let's fight!"

Before the words had even left his mouth, the two men charged at once, one from each side, closing in on Gu Chang'an from both directions!

Sun Wenhao raised his cleaver high and brought it down with the weight of a mountain, aiming straight for Gu Chang'an's crown!

Guo Zimao moved lightly, darting like a ghost to the flank. His short knife flashed coldly as he stabbed toward Gu Chang'an's ribs!

"Die!!"

Their two roars rang out like thunder!

But Gu Chang'an showed no fear. The cold light in his eyes only grew sharper.

In a fight to the death, there was no room for hesitation!

"Just what I wanted!"

He growled and stamped his foot, sending grit and gravel flying!

"What?!"

Sun Wenhao's eyes were blinded by the gravel. Alarm flared in his heart, and his expression turned frantic.

"Bang!"

Just as the edge of his cleaver was about to fall, Gu Chang'an abruptly rolled close to the ground. His sweeping slash surged around like a storm, the blade circling behind him as fast as lightning!

"Ugh—!!"

Guo Zimao had no time to react. The firewood saber flashed across like a streak of wild thunder!

He felt a chill at his waist and looked down, only to see that a saber stroke had cut his abdomen open. His guts spilled out as blood poured forth in a torrent!

"Ahhh!! My stomach—!!"

He staggered backward, trying to hold in the spilling organs with both hands. Wailing in agony, he fell to his knees, utterly broken!

"Fourth."

Gu Chang'an murmured. Without waiting to catch his breath, he sprang around and raised his saber overhead in both hands, its weight like a mountain!

Sun Wenhao roared as he charged after him, swinging his cleaver. "Go to hell—!!"

But Gu Chang'an had already gathered his strength. He brought the firewood saber down from above like a bolt of thunder, meeting the cleaver head-on!

"Clang!!"

Metal crashed against metal, sparks flying!

Sun Wenhao felt his tiger's mouth go numb. His entire arm was nearly shaken limp!

"H-how is this possible?!"

He was utterly horrified. He couldn't imagine how a mere boy could unleash such terrifying explosive power!

But Gu Chang'an gave him no chance to catch his breath. He spun on his feet and, turning halfway around, drove his elbow into Sun Wenhao!

"Bang!!"

The elbow struck Sun Wenhao square in the face. His nose collapsed instantly, blood spraying as he staggered backward, his vision blurring.

Before he could steady himself, Gu Chang'an had already closed in!

The firewood saber darted upward like a venomous snake striking!

"Pfft!"

The blade slashed diagonally upward from Sun Wenhao's chin, passed straight through his mouth and nose, and burst out through his skull!

Blood and brain matter sprayed across the wall. Sun Wenhao stared in astonishment, as if he still couldn't believe he had died like this.

"I... don't want..."

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but only a few muffled sounds came out. Then he crumpled to the ground, never to stir again.

"Fifth."

Gu Chang'an stood in the pool of blood, his clothes stained red and his firewood saber hanging at his side. Scarlet liquid dripped from its rust-covered edge, pattering in the silence.

He let out a soft breath and looked up at the sky.

Although his Constitution wasn't much higher than theirs, his Iron Cutting Saber Technique had reached Initial Mastery, making him far better at fighting than these men.

Without the slightest hesitation, he quickly searched the five bodies.

Before long, he found several tattered pouches on them.

He stuffed them into his cloth bag, then quickly turned and slipped away from the ruined temple under cover of darkness.

Gu Chang'an hurried through one narrow alley after another. Only after confirming no one was following him did he finally stop. He sank down onto a stone slab, braced himself with both hands, shut his eyes, and breathed deeply.

It was his first time killing someone, but his heart hadn't pounded wildly as he'd imagined. Instead, he felt surprisingly calm.

He murmured, "I can't go back to the ruined temple now. I'm still short on money for a new household registration..."

Suddenly, his hand felt around inside the cloth bag and found some copper coins. His eyes brightened slightly.

He quickly pulled them out and was surprised to find that Sun Wenhao and the other four had been carrying copper coins on them.

And it was quite a lot...

Before dawn the next day.

Several constables in short blue-gray robes, with their insignia hanging at their waists, wore cold expressions and impatient eyes.

At their feet lay five corpses, their blood still fresh, sprawled among the dirt and grass, their faces twisted and their deaths horrifying.

"Ugh..." One young constable had only just started the job. At the sight, he turned away and immediately retched.

Captain Zhao, the older one, frowned and crouched to examine the bodies. He gently pulled open Sun Wenhao's lapel, revealing the neck bone severed by a single blow.

He narrowed his eyes and watched for a moment before finally speaking in an unhurried voice:

"Not a monster, not torn apart by claws, and not drained of blood. A human did this."

He lifted Guo Zimao's corpse again, pointed to the wound, and sighed:

"Judging by the cut, it's clean and precise, with plenty of force and a steady angle. One strike, one kill. Hmm, the murderer's a trained fighter—and one who's practiced with real blades."

Another constable wore his confusion plainly on his face. "A trained fighter? Looks like an internal gang feud."

It never crossed their minds that the murderer might be a displaced person.

After all, displaced people struggled just to survive. Where would they get the strength and resources to train in martial arts?

Captain Zhao gave a cold snort. "These days, displaced people get killed all the time."

He got to his feet and waved behind him:

"Right, drag the body away and dump it in the mass grave. A displaced person's life isn't worth much."

"Got it."

Several constables briskly hauled up the corpse, tied it with hemp rope, loaded it onto a battered handcart, and creaked off toward the western outskirts.

The ruined temple fell silent once more, as though last night's bloodshed had never happened.

Patches of dark red blood remained in the corners, faintly reeking of blood, but no one paid them any mind.

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