Counterkill

The thin man clutched his forehead and cried out in pain:

"Then where do we block him?"

The fat man stroked his chin and said as he pondered:

"This area spans more than a dozen li..."

"Xiaoqing Town is the only fairly large town around here. We'll use Xiaoqing Town as our center and ask around the surrounding villages."

"Heaven's Mystery Rankings says Shen Yi is skilled with the saber."

"And this is a poor backwater where martial artists rarely pass through. A young saber wielder ought to stand out like a crane among chickens."

"We'll ask the local villagers whether they've seen a young man carrying a saber. We're bound to find something."

The fat man spoke with great flourish.

But the thin man was staring blankly, as though lost in a daze.

Seeing the thin man's expression, the fat man felt his anger rise from nowhere and slapped the back of his head.

"When I'm talking, you listen!"

"What the hell are you spacing out for?"

The thin man cried out in pain again, covering the back of his head as he pointed at the stall across from them:

"Ow, ow, Boss, stop hitting me."

"Look, isn't that the one you were just talking about?"

The fat man froze.

He slowly turned his head and looked in the direction the thin man was pointing.

A young man sat in the corner of the eatery across the way, wolfing down flatbread and gulping porridge.

He wore fitted black clothes.

A thick-backed saber still sheathed hung at his waist.

His bearing was outstanding and sharp.

He was unmistakably a young saber wielder.

The fat man's breathing instantly quickened. This... this man! There was an eighty or ninety percent chance that he was Shen Yi!

A wanted criminal of the Pacification Office, with a bounty of a thousand taels!

A walking treasure in the eyes of Blade Catchers!

Generally speaking, only experts above the Innate Realm would have bounties from the Pacification Office reaching a thousand taels.

However, Shen Yi was somewhat different.

First, he had betrayed the Pacification Office.

Then, within a short time, he had made it onto Heaven's Mystery Rankings. It was practically a public execution, a slap in the Pacification Office's face before martial artists across the land.

Thus, his bounty had risen again and again.

It far surpassed those of other wanted criminals at the same cultivation realm.

And Blade Catchers who believed themselves strong enough had all moved at the scent of the wind, eager to get in on Shen Yi's windfall.

The fat man and thin man were famous Blade Catchers in Jianghuai Commandery. In their early years, they had trained at the Buddhist Vajra Sect.

But they had only been lay disciples.

Later, they found Buddhist life too bland and tasteless, so they returned to secular life and went out into the martial world to make a living.

They earned themselves the nickname "Fat and Thin Kongos."

Both were First-Class Realm experts. Their coordination was seamless, and even against Acquired Realm experts, they might not be unable to fight.

Naturally, Shen Yi's bounty had stirred their greed as well.

They had not expected to actually stumble upon him.

The fat man pressed down the thin man's hand and rebuked him in a low voice, "That must be Shen Yi. Don't act rashly."

"Let's tail him from afar first and wait for an opportunity!"

"Ah..." The thin man immediately withdrew his hand and pretended nothing had happened as he sucked peanuts from their shells.

On the other side, Shen Yi had filled his stomach.

He rose and left.

Several gazes from all directions followed him closely.

His eyes sharpened.

He had thought that after crossing mountains and ridges and proceeding carefully, he would be safe. Yet the moment he entered town, he had already been targeted?

He gave no sign of it.

One hand resting on his saber hilt, he walked unhurriedly out of the eatery.

He had originally intended to rest in Xiaoqing Town for two days.

It seemed that would not do.

He still had to continue on his journey.

Shen Yi clicked his tongue inwardly. Was he fated to be a Ronin who ate in the wind and slept in the dew, wandering the wilderness?

It sounded rather forlorn, but it had a certain poetic charm to it.

But first, he had to draw out the tails behind him. Otherwise, no matter where he went, his tracks would remain exposed.

Shen Yi entered from the south of town.

And left through the north.

Passing through the bustling streets of the small town, he caught a rare taste of worldly warmth, only to hurry on through it once more.

He plunged back into the wilderness.

The noonday sun blazed fiercely.

Countless mottled shadows fell beneath the trees.

Shen Yi's black-clad figure flickered between brightness and darkness in the dense forest, appearing and vanishing like a silent ghost.

Then, in an instant.

Shen Yi's figure seemed to vanish completely.

"Where did he go?"

Several low cries rang out through the woods.

Shadowy figures looked around in every direction and conversed in low voices, each trying to find Shen Yi's trail.

Just as the trackers grew frustrated.

A fierce saber force descended from the heavens.

The long saber swept up a hurricane, moving like startling thunder unleashed, spreading layer upon layer of saber shadows.

Saber in hand, Shen Yi descended like a god.

"Shen Yi!"

The tracker only had time to cry out before the blade flashed like lightning, grazing across his throat.

Slain Second-Class Realm martial artist...

Reward: 2 years and 4 months of secluded cultivation time...

These people were all Blade Catchers who had rushed over after discovering Shen Yi's whereabouts.

For the bounty, they were willing to risk their lives.

Shen Yi therefore drew his saber without restraint or hesitation. Life and death were decreed by fate.

Everyone had to pay for their choices, no matter how carelessly they had made that fatal decision in the first place.

Shen Yi did not even notice the faces of those who died by his hand. Like an arrow loosed from the bow...

He charged toward the next follower.

In the blink of an eye.

Another departed soul had been added to Shen Yi's Cold Night.

The other Blade Catchers in the forest barely came to their senses and shouted, "This one's a tough nut!"

"Get him together!"

They wielded all manner of Unorthodox Sect weapons—axes, halberds, hooks, forks—and their surging inner force swept through the undergrowth, sending fallen leaves whirling into the air.

Though the other side had several people.

Shen Yi faced many alone without the slightest fear. His thick-backed saber seemed to cleave through invisible waves of air as it thrust into the crowd in an instant.

In an instant, airwaves surged and churned.

Saber light like the night danced and scattered through the forest.

The clang of metal came fast as drumbeats. Blood sprayed like falling crimson blossoms.

Mixed among it were terrified cries and screams.

The already chaotic forest of shifting figures became ever deeper and more terrifying.

Yet none of it could disturb Shen Yi.

He focused only on killing.

He killed every single person who tried to kill him.

Clang!

The gale subsided.

Shen Yi suddenly sheathed his saber.

The three figures still standing around him crashed to the ground with heavy thuds, stirring up faint clouds of dust.

Secluded cultivation remaining: 11 years and 2 months

Shen Yi took a deep breath. His secluded cultivation time had skyrocketed, changing from nearly nothing to a brimming abundance.

He now felt that being wanted did not seem entirely bad.

His secluded cultivation time could remain plentiful at all times, allowing him to cultivate and study more martial arts.

Farther within the forest.

Fat and Thin Kongos crouched atop a towering ancient tree, observing the situation through gaps in the branches and leaves.

They had taken in every detail of Shen Yi's earlier scene, as though a killing god had possessed him.

As he slaughtered the Blade Catchers.

The thin man muttered:

"Damn, that's vicious."

"Big Brother, this kid is ruthless and savage!"

"Saber rises, heads fall—he didn't hesitate even a little. And his saber technique is so damn hard. Are we still doing this?"

The fat man's heart was pounding as well.

Though both of them were First-Class Realm experts, and could unleash strength greater than one plus one through their cooperation.

Shen Yi's imposing aura was simply too overwhelming.

It had already completely suppressed the two of them. If they truly faced him, they would lose in spirit before the fight even began.

They had no confidence.

The fat man was considering whether they should simply retreat.

They caught blades for money.

But losing their lives for money was simply not worth it. Even losing an arm or breaking a leg would not be worth it.

Besides, a prodigy who could make it onto the Qilin Rankings truly could not be judged by common sense.

Suddenly.

He blinked.

Shen Yi, who had been standing motionless in the woods, vanished again.

An indescribable, terrifying instinct surged into his mind, making his scalp go numb. He roared:

"We've been exposed!"

"Retreat!"