Yang Yi felt his sword arm go completely numb. The long blade slipped from his grasp, and Zhao An kicked it away, sending it straight into the rafters.
Zhao An pointed again. Pulse-Severing Finger!
Yang Yi tried to circulate his Internal Breath, but under that finger, his meridians suddenly felt blocked, and his energy could no longer flow smoothly through his body.
A breath caught in his chest. With his Internal Breath in disarray, his face instantly flushed red, and he couldn't help spitting out a mouthful of blood.
"You!" Yang Yi was horrified. He had no idea what technique Zhao An had used. Without even making a sound, Zhao An had somehow interfered with the flow of his Internal Breath!
"The fight's over!" Seeing that his opponent had been injured by his own Internal Breath, Zhao An changed moves once more, seamlessly following up with Silver Snake Hand.
His hand shot out like a claw, like a giant python opening its jaws. It clamped onto the other man's neck and ripped through his throat cartilage!
Zhao An's hands had been tempered by both body-hardening techniques and finger techniques.
On top of that, he had mastered Gale Palm, Mountain Crushing Fist, and Silver Snake Hand. His hands had been forged through endless practice.
His five fingers were like steel bars, and his finger strength was astonishing!
To him, ripping and crushing someone's throat cartilage was no different from snapping a rubber band!
The scars across Yang Yi's face twisted into an ugly mass. Clutching his throat, he stared in disbelief before toppling stiffly to the ground. He was soon dead.
Zhao An lightly flicked the tip of his foot, lifting the blade from the ground. Then he strode toward Zhao Ke.
Zhao Ke's legs went weak with fear. He had never imagined Zhao An could kill the Third Leader of Black Wind Stronghold.
"How... how is this possible?"
"An, little brother An, I..." Zhao Ke had just started begging when a flash of blade-light swept past. Then his view began to spin.
His head fell to the ground!
Zhao An couldn't be bothered to hear another word from him.
He had never accepted Zhao Ke as his blood elder brother.
If Zhao Ke had kept out of trouble, Zhao An wouldn't have bothered with him.
But he had insisted on provoking Zhao An time and again. There was no way Zhao An would let him live tonight.
Inside the house, Lu Yixiu and Gao Baoding, the two Chief Constables, had still been searching for valuables.
At first, when Zhao An came back, they hadn't paid him much attention. Neither of them thought he could deal with Yang Yi.
They had assumed Zhao An would soon give in to Black Wind Stronghold, just as they had.
But when Yang Yi suddenly dropped dead and Zhao Ke's head was cut off with one stroke, the two of them finally realized they were in danger.
"Run!"
Lu Yixiu made a snap decision and vaulted through the window.
But in the next instant, a flying blade pierced through him.
Gao Baoding, who had only just climbed out after him, was so terrified he nearly wet himself. With a thud, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed, begging Zhao An for mercy.
"I had no choice..."
Zhao An glanced at the Red Name above his head and ended him with one stroke, without a word.
Words could deceive, but the name above a person's head could not.
None of the Chief Constables who enforced the law in the Outer City were decent people. They deserved their deaths.
Even if they hadn't broken into this courtyard today, Zhao An wouldn't have let those Red Name Chief Constables live much longer.
After all, there were only a handful of Red Name Martial Masters in the Outer City.
"M-my lord, you... this..." The coachman, who should have left already, stood trembling in the doorway. After witnessing Zhao An's slaughter, he had no idea what to do.
"Sorry for the trouble. Go inform the County Magistrate. Tell him there are remnants of Black Wind Stronghold, and that I have information about the Moon People as well." Holding his bloodied blade, Zhao An turned to the coachman from the County Magistrate's residence.
"Yes, yes!" The coachman hurriedly agreed and rushed off.
Zhao An had no intention of hiding what had happened tonight.
Though he had killed several Chief Constables, those men had colluded with Black Wind Stronghold and even conspired with the Moon Tribe to the west. Their crimes were unforgivable.
Killing them hadn't merely been justified—it was a service to the authorities.
As for the matters connected to Black Wind Stronghold, he had no intention of getting involved. He would leave them all for the County Magistrate to worry about.
An hour later, the clatter of hooves rushed toward the courtyard.
A contingent of Prefecture Soldiers from the County Magistrate's residence poured in, nearly filling the already cramped courtyard.
Torches lit up the scene.
Then Tao Heng stepped down from a carriage, dressed in plain clothes.
"Zhao An, what happened here?" Tao Heng asked at once, looking at the wreckage and corpses strewn across the courtyard.
Zhao An told him the truth.
One of the guards beside Tao Heng heard that the dead man was the Third Leader of Black Wind Stronghold. Frowning, he stepped forward to examine the body, and his expression darkened.
"Jin Er, didn't you say you had already wiped out those bandit leaders? Then what is this corpse?" Tao Heng demanded, his tone displeased.
"This subordinate was careless. When we went up the mountain to suppress the bandits that day, they must have used a diversion to escape." Tao Jin'er didn't argue. He simply lowered his head and admitted his mistake.
"Fortunately, Zhao An has eliminated this threat. But the other bandit remnants may still be hiding near the county seat. I order you to mobilize the County Soldiers and investigate immediately! Make sure not a single bandit leader escapes!"
Tao Heng didn't punish him. Instead, he issued an order, giving his guard a chance to atone for his mistake by doing good.
"Yes. This subordinate won't make another mistake!" Tao Jin'er replied solemnly.
"Now, what was the information about the Moon People you wanted to tell me?" Tao Heng continued, turning to Zhao An.
Compared to a few leftover bandits, he was far more concerned about news of the Moon People.
That was why he had come in person.
"The bandit leader of Black Wind Stronghold seems to have colluded with the Moon People across the border. He wanted to seize the county seat and present it to the Moon Tribe. If what he said was true, the worst-case scenario is that the Moon People's army will reach Lianjiang County within days," Zhao An said.
Tao Heng's face turned as dark as still water.
"Zhao An, if only you'd left him alive..." Tao Heng sighed, looking at the bandit leader's corpse on the ground.
This matter was of great importance. The more intelligence they could get about the Moon People's movements, the better.
Zhao An said nothing.
There was no way he would have left him alive. Right now, he was in desperate need of high-quality Soul Slaves. How could he let this bandit leader go?
"My lord, if the Moon People's army is coming, they can only take the water route and land at Python Water Bay. That's where our defenses need to be concentrated," Tao Jinyi said quietly, moving closer.
Tao Heng shook his head.
"If the Moon People's army invades, these defenses won't make any difference..."
"We'll discuss it when we get back."
Tao Heng had arrived in a hurry, and he soon left just as quickly.
Before going, he specifically warned Zhao An not to let word of tonight's events spread.
Zhao An agreed, but he knew this matter was far from over.
He had killed the Third Leader of Black Wind Stronghold, and there were probably still two bandit leaders hiding in the shadows.
The most dangerous was the chief of Black Wind Stronghold, who called himself the Black Wind King. His strength was formidable.
After making an enemy of Black Wind Stronghold tonight, Zhao An couldn't be sure the Black Wind King wouldn't come looking for him one day.
My strength still isn't enough to be secure! Zhao An thought.
He absolutely couldn't slack off in his cultivation—not even for a moment!
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