Scheme to Kill Houtian

This time, Shi Mu did not raise his blade to meet the sword shadows. Instead, he suddenly bent both knees, dropping his stature by half, while a black glove had somehow appeared on his other hand. He punched fiercely into the air.

"Looking to die!"

Wu Tong laughed loudly. The sword shadows that had been sweeping down abruptly scattered, evading the incoming fist. The re-formed longsword flashed with cold light and stabbed into Shi Mu's shoulder from a bizarre angle.

"Rip!" The sword tip did not truly pierce flesh, however. It merely slid across, tearing a gash several inches long in the shoulder fabric, revealing a gleaming golden vest beneath.

"Golden Silk Armor!"

Wu Tong blurted out in shock at the sight. With no force to rebound from, he could not launch himself back into the air.

Shi Mu, as if having anticipated this, reached back and grabbed—his gloved fingers actually seized the seemingly razor-sharp blade. Though the glove was instantly cut through and blood dripped from between his fingers, he spoke with unfeigned excitement, as if oblivious to the pain:

"I've finally got you. Where do you think you're running now?"

Wu Tong's eyes flashed coldly. Without a word, he twisted his wrist, about to activate the soft sword in his hand and slice off Shi Mu's fingers.

But Shi Mu let out a fierce roar. In his other hand, the Sun and Moon Blade suddenly transformed into nine sword shadows that swept outward with a speed far surpassing his previous strikes.

"Nine-Slash Breath—blade art perfected!"

Wu Tong shrieked in alarm. Abandoning all thought of his soft sword, he released his grip and somersaulted backward, landing three zhang away on the ground.

By his estimate, that distance should have been enough to fully escape the range of the blade shadows.

But before Wu Tong could even steady himself, a cold gleam flashed before his eyes. The nine sword shadows were already upon him, clinging like maggots on a bone.

"Not good!"

Wu Tong was truly terrified. There was no time to dodge. He could only gather his qi, and a layer of cyan suddenly surfaced on both his arms as he slapped out repeatedly to meet the incoming shadows.

Thud! Thud! A few dull sounds.

The blade shadows scattered!

Wu Tong had managed to disperse most of them with his bare hands. But with another flash of cold light, the Sun and Moon Blade still struck solidly against one of his arms. It didn't sever the limb entirely, merely breaking through the cyan layer on his arm and cutting several inches deep.

The robed youth was overjoyed. As he braced to retreat despite the pain, a series of clinks suddenly rang from the hilt of the Sun and Moon Blade. The blade lodged in his arm abruptly sprang up, and with a cold flash, it swept across his neck.

A blood line appeared on Wu Tong's throat. His eyes bulged as he stared at the sharp blade stuck in the dirt beside him.

Only then did he notice a thin black chain attached to the hilt—something he had completely failed to detect in the darkness!

"I still had other tricks... If not for the Golden Silk Armor... If not for this chain... If I'd known your blade art..."

Wu Tong pressed both hands desperately against the blood gushing from his neck, muttering through bloody froth. His head tilted, then rolled off his shoulders.

The large head fell into the dirt, eyes still wide open—a look of dying with regret.

The thin chain on the Moon Blade trembled. The entire weapon circled back through the air and landed steadily in the hands of the youth several zhang away.

Only then did Shi Mu collapse to the ground with a thump, panting heavily.

Though the exchange had been brief, the pressure this Houtian Martial Artist had placed on him was several times greater than that of all the Wu Family riders before. In the end, if he hadn't deliberately taken a hit on the Golden Silk Armor to exploit an opening, then used the Let-Go Blade Technique combined with the small trick on the Sun and Moon Blades, he might well have been slain alive.

But after a moment, Shi Mu suddenly burst into wild laughter.

"Who would've thought I'd actually slain a Houtian Martial Artist! Even if this Wu Tong was only the weakest early-stage Houtian, and the whole process was somewhat lucky, a Houtian is still a Houtian! I wonder if that Pulse-Seeking Envoy from the Kaiyuan Martial Academy will think more highly of me after learning of this."

After muttering to himself in self-mockery, Shi Mu pulled a small bottle from his person, scooped out some ointment, and applied it to the wounds on his hand and the shallow saber scar on his face. Then, with renewed energy, he stood up and walked toward Wu Tong's corpse.

Moments later, Shi Mu held a jade box and an ingeniously designed belt.

The belt was, of course, the soft sword Wu Tong had used earlier. When he opened the jade box, it was filled with a thick stack of banknotes—some seventy to eighty thousand taels' worth.

Shi Mu unceremoniously pocketed both items. He glanced at the corpses strewn about nearby, sighed, and turned to leave.

A short while later, at the edge of the woods.

"Brother Shi, I'm so glad you're safe."

Zhong Xiu hugged the young man tightly, her delicate body pressed against his without reservation, her expression one of joy mixed with tears, unable to contain herself.

"Miss Zhong, rest assured—it's all over now..."

Shi Mu's body went stiff. Feeling the faint fragrance emanating from the girl, he was at a loss for what to do.

"Forgive me, I was a bit forward. Brother Shi, what should we do next?" The girl quickly came to her senses, released her arms, and stepped back half a pace, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

"Simple. We go back the way we came." Shi Mu said without hesitation.

On the other side of the woods, Wu Hua leaned against the carriage, idly lost in thought.

The two remaining Wu Family riders on guard duty stood nearby, alert and dutiful.

Not far from the three, the dozen or so Green Wind Colts lowered their heads, grazing on the grass.

Suddenly, two sharp whistles cut through the air.

The two Wu Family riders had no time to react. Two arrows pierced through their skulls, sending them flying backward before they crashed heavily to the ground, lifeless.

"Not good!"

The arrogant youth leaning against the carriage reacted quickly. With a shout, he immediately dashed toward the herd of Green Wind Colts.

But he had only taken a few steps when a third arrow pierced straight through his back from behind, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Wu Hua let out a miserable scream, desperately clawing at his back with both hands, trying to pull the arrow out. But the arrow seemed as if it had grown out of the earth itself, utterly immovable.

Just then, footsteps sounded from the woods. Shi Mu walked out holding the Purple Steel Bow, with Zhong Xiu following closely behind him.

"It's you! Impossible! How did you evade Third Uncle and the others? Don't kill me—if you keep me as a hostage, my Third Uncle will let you go." Wu Hua barely managed to turn his head and see Shi Mu and Zhong Xiu's faces clearly before his heart and guts nearly burst with terror, and he began to scream.