Six Harmonies Saber Technique

Night.

Beneath the bright moonlight.

Two figures wielded blunted sabers, rapidly exchanging blows.

Clang, clang, clang!

Their weapons clashed, ringing out with a series of clanks.

Lin Zheyu's saber skills were mediocre, so he relied on the Golden Goose Technique to circle around Han Mo.

Han Mo, meanwhile, stood his ground, his saber dancing in a tight, impenetrable weave. It followed his movements, shifting at will.

As the outside world grew increasingly chaotic, Lin Zheyu had recently developed the urge to learn saber techniques.

Compared to fists and kicks, sabers really did offer an advantage when it came to killing enemies.

After more than ten days of instruction from Han Mo, Lin Zheyu had learned to perform the Six Harmonies Saber Technique with some skill.

Clang!

Han Mo found a gap in Lin Zheyu's guard and suddenly struck with his saber, sending Lin Zheyu staggering several steps backward.

"Senior Brother, you're amazing!"

Lin Zheyu said admiringly.

Han Mo had practiced the Six Harmonies Saber Technique to an extremely advanced level. In his hands, the saber moved as naturally as his own arm.

"Your senior brother here has been practicing the saber for over ten years. What would people say if you surpassed me so quickly?" Han Mo said with a laugh.

"But you're a little too quick to learn. I'm getting jealous just watching you."

"Haha, I'm only so-so, only so-so."

Lin Zheyu laughed.

The two went over to the stone table and sat down, drinking a little wine with some side dishes.

Lately, Han Mo had been coming by every few days to spar with Lin Zheyu.

"I'm heading out to suppress bandits tomorrow. I might be away from Songyi City for more than half a month, so I won't be able to come spar with you."

Han Mo said.

"You're going out to suppress bandits?"

"Then why are you still coming over these past few days? Why not stay home and keep your wife company?" Lin Zheyu asked.

"Your sister-in-law, she... Ah, forget it. Don't ask."

Han Mo sighed, lifted his cup, and drained it in one gulp.

"See? I told you there's nothing good about getting married. It's much happier living alone." Lin Zheyu shrugged.

"That's because you don't understand."

"Married life has its joys and its troubles. That's life. How could everything be joyful, with nothing to worry about?" Han Mo said.

"Yes, yes. You're absolutely right."

"You'd better hurry home and keep your wife company. You're going out to suppress bandits, and you're still running over here."

"Drink less, or your wife might scold you when you get home."

Lin Zheyu snatched Han Mo's cup and pulled him up, ushering him toward the door.

"You brat, give me back my cup. I'm finishing this before I go." Han Mo laughed and scolded him.

He didn't have many hobbies. He avoided gambling, drugs, and vice, and just liked drinking.

Unlike Lin Zheyu, who was at odds with gambling and drugs as if they could never share the same sky.

"One more person's leaving. Songyi City gets more boring by the day."

Watching Han Mo's retreating back, Lin Zheyu muttered under his breath.

His master had left not long ago, and now Han Mo was going out to suppress bandits.

At this point, the only familiar faces he had left in Songyi City were Jia Yanyong and a few others.

The next day.

Outside Songyi City.

Lin Zheyu stood silently beyond the city gates, watching Senior Brother Han Mo depart and seeing him off.

They would not meet again until more than a month later.

He hoped Senior Brother Han would return safely.

Han Mo had treated Lin Zheyu well. Though they hadn't known each other long, Han Mo often came to help him practice actual combat, acting every bit like a senior brother.

"Sir, please, have a heart. I haven't eaten in over ten days."

A refugee on the road begged passing pedestrians for food.

The pedestrians kicked the refugee aside, their faces cold and their eyes full of disgust.

One of them spat at the refugee and hurried away.

The temperature had dropped again last night.

Senior Brother Han had just told him that when they got up this morning, they had disposed of over a hundred corpses.

In the days to come, the number would only grow. As time passed, more and more people would succumb and die.

"Human lives are as worthless as grass!"

Lin Zheyu felt pity, but there was nothing he could do.

He was just an ordinary person struggling to survive in these troubled times.

After lingering outside the city only briefly, Lin Zheyu turned to leave once Senior Brother Han Mo had disappeared from view.

Clip-clop!

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!

The hurried beat of hooves came from behind.

Lin Zheyu turned around and saw an armored soldier riding a fine steed straight toward him.

He frowned and activated the Golden Goose Technique, nimbly dodging the horse.

"Whoa!"

The soldier yanked the reins, wheeled his horse around, and cracked his whip against its rump. Then he charged at Lin Zheyu again.

"What's this guy trying to do?!"

Anger flared in Lin Zheyu's heart. He activated the Golden Goose Technique again and darted far out of the way.

The horse charged past.

It was moving too fast to stop and barreled into the refugees, trampling several of them to death.

Seeing this, Lin Zheyu's eyes filled with cold fury.

This man was far too indifferent to human life.

In his eyes, those refugees were probably worth less than pigs and dogs.

Whoosh—

The man squeezed his legs against the horse, and his steed galloped toward Lin Zheyu once more.

He swung the halberd in his hands with fierce force. It cleaved through the cold wind with a whoosh and crashed down toward Lin Zheyu's head.

"An Organ Refining expert!"

"Such intense Killing Intent!"

Lin Zheyu's eyes narrowed. He could sense a Killing Intent from the man as intense as Senior Brother Han Mo's.

Only someone who had survived hundreds of life-and-death battles, fighting their way out of mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, could gather such powerful Killing Intent.

Lightly pushing off with his toes, Lin Zheyu's body quickly retreated.

Relying on the speed and agility of the Golden Goose Technique, he kept the man at bay.

Fighting on horseback was ill-suited to close combat between two people. A warhorse had tremendous force, but lacked agility.

Lin Zheyu easily dodged the man's repeated, ferocious attacks.

Thud—

Lin Zheyu pushed hard against the ground and swiftly retreated. Once he had put more than ten meters between them, he said in a low voice, "Who are you, and why are you attacking me?"

"Haha, you really do have some skill!"

The man pulled on the reins and said with a hearty laugh, making no further move to attack.

Clip-clop, clip-clop, clip-clop!

Behind him, another man—a burly young master in fine clothes—rode up on a fine steed.

"Xing Jinglong!"

Lin Zheyu narrowed his eyes.

He quietly backed up a few steps, moving closer to the city gate. Seeing these two together made him uneasy.

"Brother, I told you this kid was pretty strong!"

"I heard he's been practicing martial arts for barely a month, and he's already this capable. He's a natural talent."

Xing Jinglong said with a smile.

After seeing Lin Zheyu's strength last time, he had specifically asked the Wuding Gang to keep an eye on him and report at once if he left the city.

He hadn't expected Lin Zheyu to walk right out of the city so soon.

"He does have some skill."

"Kid, what realm have you reached?"

The man on horseback spoke, then removed his helmet, revealing a familiar face.

"Xing Penghai, Xing Jinglong..."

"These two are brothers?"

"Talk about running into my worst enemies at every turn..."

Lin Zheyu watched them in silence, thinking that this was bad.

He knew they had their eyes on him. Otherwise, there was no way he could have run into these two by coincidence.

"I'm Lin Zheyu. Greetings, sir."

Lin Zheyu clasped his hands toward Xing Penghai. "I've only just reached the Bone Forging Realm. I'm afraid I'm a poor sight before you, sir."

"Hm? You look familiar."

"Right, you're the young fellow who was with Han Mo last time, aren't you?" Xing Penghai thought for a moment, then remembered where he had seen Lin Zheyu.

Lin Zheyu didn't answer. He watched the two men warily.

From the corner of his eye, he studied the city gate. If anything seemed amiss, he would immediately use the Golden Goose Technique to rush into Songyi City.

Once he was inside the city, he didn't believe the man would dare act recklessly.