Night Raid on the Granary

"Knock, knock, knock."

Unfazed by his seventeenth-place ranking, Cui Hao was practicing in the courtyard at midnight when three measured knocks sounded at the gate.

His right hand silently closed around the handle of the woodcutter's hatchet leaning against the wall. "Who is it?"

There was a brief silence outside, then a warm, clear male voice answered, "Brother Cui, I'm sorry to trouble you so late. I'm Lou Ziming, of the Wusheng Sect."

The Wusheng Sect? Cui Hao's heart suddenly tightened.

He walked behind the wooden gate and pondered for a moment before pulling it open with a creak.

A man stood outside, around thirty years old. He wore a green scholar's robe and had a fair, handsome face, clear brows, and a faint smile at the corners of his mouth. He looked like a failed examination candidate, except for his eyes, which seemed especially deep in the moonlight.

He carried no weapons and stood at ease.

Cui Hao sized him up and asked in a low voice, "What do you want?"

"Brother Cui, let's be frank," Lou Ziming said, his smile unchanged, his tone warm and direct. "Miss Lingdang has been imposing on you for quite some time. It's time for us to take her back."

Looking at Lou Ziming, Cui Hao was silent for a moment, then slowly nodded. "All right."

The smile in Lou Ziming's eyes seemed to deepen a little.

Cui Hao immediately added, "Five taels of silver."

A flicker of malice crossed Lou Ziming's eyes, but his smile didn't fade. Instead, he readily reached into his robe, pulled out an ingot worth about five taels, and tossed it to Cui Hao. "Brother Cui knows how to do business."

Cui Hao caught the silver and weighed it in his hand. "Wait here."

He turned and went straight into the west room. Lingdang was fast asleep.

Without hesitation, Cui Hao pressed two fingers against the back of her neck like a blade. Lingdang's body went limp, and she fell into a deep sleep.

He wrapped her in a thin quilt and carried her over his shoulder.

When he came out of the west room, Su Yun was already standing in the doorway of the main room, wearing a coat. Her lips moved as she silently shook her head, mouthing, "Brother Hao... no..."

Cui Hao looked at her, his gaze calm and his tone leaving no room for argument. "Don't say anything. Don't come out."

Su Yun bit her lip, but in the end, she made no sound. She only clutched the hem of her clothes tightly.

Carrying the unconscious Lingdang, Cui Hao returned outside the courtyard gate and handed her to Lou Ziming.

Lou Ziming took her with one hand and nodded to Cui Hao. "Thanks, Brother Cui. Until we meet again."

With that, he turned and walked away, his steps light. He soon vanished into the shadows along the village road.

Strangely, he was heading deeper into the village.

Cui Hao slammed the courtyard gate shut and shot toward the west room like a leopard!

He snatched the hard bow and quiver hanging on the wall, then pulled a piece of dark, old cloth from the corner—the kind used to cover a medicine stove—and wrapped it over his face, leaving only his sharp eyes exposed.

With a short run-up, he vaulted over the courtyard wall as lightly as a wildcat, landing without a sound. He picked out the direction and gave chase!

His [Stealth] skill was working at full strength. His presence nearly vanished, and his footsteps were barely audible.

Su Yun stood in the main room doorway, watching her husband vault over the wall and disappear. Her heart pounded as she pressed her hands together and prayed.

A waning moon hung in the sky.

Cui Hao held an iron bow, a short blade tucked against his chest. His soles touched the road without making a sound, and as he moved through the shadows, not a trace of him could be seen.

He followed Lou Ziming, keeping to the dark while the other man walked in the open. They crossed the village, passed a field of wheat, and entered a farmstead's granary.

Even in the middle of the night, dim yellow lamplight spilled from inside. The clink of cups and bowls mingled with the stifled sobs of women.

It was nothing unusual for cultists to take widows and respectable married women for their pleasure. Some widows struggling to make ends meet even threw themselves at them, hoping for help.

Qiu Hui, an enforcer of the Wusheng Sect, had an undressed woman in his arms. Reeking of alcohol, he slapped the table and shouted, "Is Lou Ziming back yet?"

"Enforcer, I'm back..." His voice arrived before he did. A moment later, Qiu Hui saw Lou Ziming walk in with a woman slung over his shoulder. "That Cui Hao is greedy. He extorted thirty taels of silver from me."

"Thirty taels is nothing. Once he's dead, we'll get the money back." Qiu Hui wiped his greasy mouth with his sleeve and hurriedly got to his feet, reaching out with both hands. "Bring me the beauty!"

"Enforcer, if we sell her in the prefectural city, she'll fetch a good price."

"I know... I know..." Qiu Hui itched with desire. "I'll just have a feel."

He could only touch her, not have her. The whole room burst into laughter.

In the corner, several young women with their hands and feet bound trembled in fear.

They had no idea that a carriage to the prefectural city awaited them, or that they would have an endless stream of customers.

"Forget it." Afraid he wouldn't be able to control himself, Qiu Hui handed Lingdang to a woman. "Keep a close eye on her."

The woman answered.

"Let's keep drinking!" Qiu Hui called. "Bottoms up!"

"Bottoms up!"

Everyone raised their cups and drank. Before long, the two jars of rice wine were empty.

The room reeked of alcohol, and everyone's faces had flushed an unnatural red.

"I can't hold it... I need to relieve myself..." Lou Ziming swayed to his feet and staggered outside.

"Let's keep going." Qiu Hui raised his large bowl, grinning through drunken eyes. "Once this batch of goods reaches the prefectural city, we'll make them take customers day and night. Silver will come pouring in like a river!"

A member named Tao Da smiled ingratiatingly. "Brother Qiu is as brilliant as ever, coming up with such a clever way to make money."

"Brilliant my ass! The Tu Family's been doing this for ages. Who do you think takes in all those women who get sold?"

Tao Da froze. "The Tu Family does this too?"

"In this world, nobody's clean..." Qiu Hui paused. "Keep your mouths shut. This is just extra pocket money, not our main business. Don't breathe a word of it outside."

Everyone hurriedly agreed.

Outside, Cui Hao crept close to the granary, using the shadows for cover. Hearing the lascivious voices from within, he remained perfectly still.

When Lou Ziming staggered outside to relieve himself, Cui Hao sprang at him from behind like a leopard. He clamped a hand over his mouth and drove his short blade precisely into the back of his neck.

Before the corpse could hit the ground, another man stumbled out to relieve himself.

Using Lou Ziming's body for cover, Cui Hao had already crept close. His blade flashed, and the second man fell, clutching his throat.

The second man sobered up. Clutching his neck, he stared wide-eyed, unable to believe he was about to die.

Time passed. A quarter of an hour later, they suddenly realized two men were missing. Qiu Hui's heart gave a jolt. Years of experience in the martial world made him sense danger.

"Grab your weapons!" Qiu Hui sprang to his feet and slapped the table. "Everyone, come outside with me!"

They opened the door and surged out in a mob, warily searching the darkness ahead. They didn't notice Cui Hao edging along the wall, and he was bold enough to slip in behind them.

A blade flashed! Cui Hao struck cleanly and decisively, driving a knife into the back of a man's neck and into his brain as he covered the victim's mouth.

He gently lowered the body, then followed by taking the second, the third... the sixth. Until then, everyone's attention had been focused ahead.

Then one member happened to glance back and cried out in terror. "Behind us!"

His cover blown, Cui Hao flung the short blade in his hand. With a wet thud, the blade sank all the way into a man's chest.

He charged forward and landed an iron fist. Another member's breastbone cracked with a crisp snap.

The remaining four shuddered, sobering up most of the way. Qiu Hui stepped forward and demanded, "Who are you?"

After killing so many men, Cui Hao was surging with battle intent and boiling with killing intent. His blood and qi burst forth, and he was terrifyingly calm. He launched a deadly attack straight at Qiu Hui!

Qiu Hui hurriedly sidestepped the fierce punch and swung his blade in return.

The blade cut through the air, every detail clear as day. Early Clear Force!

Cui Hao dodged the slash by a hair, every nerve taut. His enemy had drunk heavily, numbing his reflexes and slowing him a little, but Clear Force was still Clear Force, worlds apart from ordinary martial arts.

In the briefest instant, Cui Hao made his decision and turned to run.

Qiu Hui hesitated. He had been a little wary when the man hadn't run; now that he was fleeing, Qiu Hui figured he had nothing to worry about. He gave chase at full speed!!

As he ran, he flicked out his sleeve, revealing a callused hand holding three throwing needles.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The needles flew in a triangular formation, tearing through the darkness toward Cui Hao's back.

In the past, Qiu Hui had made it through countless dangerous situations thanks to his hidden needles. They were his specialty.

And now it was dark, and he was in pursuit—the perfect time to use his hidden weapons.

Hearing the rustle of Qiu Hui's sleeve, Cui Hao grew wary. Just as the needles were about to hit him, he shifted aside in time.

"You're dead!" His hidden weapons had failed, and Qiu Hui charged after him in long strides. "I'll twist your head off!"

Cui Hao's mouth curled into a cold smile. The next moment, he rolled across the ground, came smoothly back to his feet, and found a bow and arrow in his hands. He raised the bow, drew it to the limit, and released as naturally as moving his own arm—shoot!

Qiu Hui's heart lurched. He tried to dodge, but his momentum was too great, and the alcohol hampered him. He could only watch as the iron arrow pierced through his body.

Cui Hao stamped down, sending the quiver upright. His movements flowed together as he loosed a second arrow, a third... an eighth.

Including the three men who had chased after them, he shot every last one of them dead in one go.

"Ghh... ghh..." An arrow had pierced Qiu Hui's throat, and air leaked from his windpipe. He tried to say something, but no sound came out.

He stamped on the throat of the Clear Force expert and snapped it. Standing-Posture Technique progress increased by 60 points!

With the underlings included, he'd gained about a hundred points in total. The trip hadn't been for nothing. The risk had been worth it!

He picked up the steel saber the Clear Force expert had used and held it up to the moonlight. It was a fine weapon, but unfortunately, he had no way to sell it off.

He retrieved his iron arrows and dragged the four corpses back to the granary entrance.

There were more corpses inside. He finished them all off.

He entered the granary. The scent of wine and meat hit him, and in the corner were several young women who had been tied up.

Not wanting to reveal that he had a bow, Cui Hao stepped back outside to hide it, then walked into the granary again.

Lingdang had woken up. A woman was holding a sharp weapon against her throat.

"Don't come any closer!" The woman pressed a dagger hard against Lingdang's throat. "Or I'll kill her!"

Unconcerned for the hostage's safety, Cui Hao deliberately lowered his voice and asked the woman, "Where's the silver hidden?"

The woman's attention wavered for an instant. Cui Hao threw the long saber in his hand. With a wet thud, it pierced her body as precisely as an arrow.

"Untie them!" Cui Hao ordered Lingdang. "Get out of here on your own."

Lingdang was still in shock, standing motionless where she was...

"Hurry!"

Her wits returned. Lingdang took a deep breath and went to help the captive girls.

Cui Hao walked three or four steps forward and pulled the long saber from the corpse. He glanced around the granary. It was bare, and didn't look like a place where anyone would hide money. He went outside to search the bodies. He found silver on the first one: three taels.

The second corpse had nothing.

Finally, he searched the Clear Force leader's body. The money pouch was heavy; he found more than thirty taels of silver!

Altogether, he had more than forty-five taels.

Besides the silver, the Clear Force expert had a piece of animal-hide paper and six Qi and Blood Pills on him. He took them all.

By then, all the young women had escaped.

To be safer, Cui Hao didn't leave right away. He threw all the corpses into the granary and stacked them together. He doused them with lamp oil and touched a flame to them. The blaze quickly took hold.

The granary was soon swallowed by flames, along with all the evidence, while Cui Hao... seemed never to have been there at all.