Murder

"How about testing my skills?" Su Yuan was just thinking.

Unexpectedly, Tie Niu came running from behind. "Brother Yuan!"

"Why aren't you keeping Junior Sister Jiang company, Tie Niu?"

"After we practiced for a while, Junior Sister Jiang said it hurt and she couldn't take it anymore, so I came to find you, Brother Yuan. Are you in a bad mood?" Tie Niu said.

Su Yuan chuckled. "You should go easy on the young lady. I'm fine. Let's head back to the Martial Academy first."

"All right."

In the shadows, Zhang Jing was directing the others.

He was a Martial Warrior from the Shan Family Martial Academy, sent here on Han Gui's orders to carry out an assassination.

Three Blood Condensing Martial Warriors had come on this mission.

They had initially thought that sending so many people after an ordinary man like Su Yuan was overkill. Any strong man could have crushed him to death.

But with Tie Niu here, things had become somewhat troublesome.

"Chen Feng, go draw Su Tieniu away. Song An and I will hunt down Su Yuan," Zhang Jing ordered.

Chen Feng frowned. They were giving him the most troublesome task?

He grumbled, "Why do we need two people to deal with that good-for-nothing Su Yuan? Su Tieniu has superior talent. I can't handle him alone."

Zhang Jing was delighted. "Then, Song An, you go deal with Su Tieniu too. You don't need to fight him to the death. Just draw him away and give me a chance to strike."

Chen Feng also realized that Zhang Jing wanted to hog the credit. He didn't agree right away.

The group fell into an awkward stalemate.

At that moment, Song An spoke up. "Why don't we try taking Su Tieniu down as well? Killing him would earn us even greater merit. If we can't handle him, I'll draw him away while you two join forces to hunt Su Yuan. I'll take the others and cover you."

Song An volunteered to take responsibility, and the other two had no objections. They sprang into action at once.

A furious shout rang out without warning. "Su Yuan! You traitor, groveling to the enemy for power and glory, slaughtering your own countrymen! Today, I'll carry out Heaven's justice and cut down you Liang lackey!"

Three black-clad men sprang from the shadows, lunging straight for Su Yuan.

Tie Niu snorted and stepped forward. His burly frame blocked Su Yuan like an iron tower as he took the three men's combined attack head-on.

Zhang Jing and the other two immediately surrounded Tie Niu, their fists and palms crossing.

Tie Niu practiced a fierce, forceful boxing style. His fists pounded out like heavy hammers beating drums. He faced all three without falling behind, driving them back again and again until their arm bones throbbed with pain.

"Brother Yuan, I'll hold them off! Run!" Tie Niu roared.

Su Yuan tried to go help, but several more men suddenly darted out of the shadows and rushed at him.

Seeing that Tie Niu could handle the others, Su Yuan realized that these men were targeting him. He turned and ran.

When Zhang Jing saw Su Yuan getting away, he exchanged a glance with the others.

He and Chen Feng immediately broke away and chased after Su Yuan, while the men who had been surrounding Su Yuan turned back to block Tie Niu.

Tie Niu realized at once that he had been tricked. With a roar, he jerked both arms and blasted the man in front of him away with a punch, then rushed in Su Yuan's direction.

Song An's arm throbbed after clashing fists with him. Realizing things had gone badly, he hurriedly ordered the others to move in and keep Tie Niu occupied.

Zhang Jing and Chen Feng were swift. One blocked the way back to the Martial Academy while the other drove Su Yuan onward. Su Yuan had no choice but to sprint through the streets and alleys, forced toward a riverbank.

Water rushed and splashed. The way ahead was blocked.

It was the Anlan River, which cut across Ji City.

"Su Yuan, from the day you sided with the Liang People, you should have known this day would come! Senior Sister Yun, today I'll avenge you!" Zhang Jing was still pretending to be from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall as he lunged with his palm.

At the same time, Chen Feng quietly attacked from the side and behind, blocking Su Yuan's escape by jumping into the river.

Attacked from both front and back, Su Yuan faced the two men as their palms struck toward him.

Su Yuan stood perfectly still, as if waiting to die.

"You're too slow." Su Yuan suddenly raised his head and stared at Zhang Jing, his gaze clear and cold as ice.

Zhang Jing's heart inexplicably skipped a beat. "Hmph, quit your tricks!"

Su Yuan moved.

He poured all his strength into his legs, then drove his right foot against the ground. His body shot forward like an arrow, one fist thrusting straight at Zhang Jing's face!

"How fast!" Zhang Jing was shocked, but still met the punch with his palm.

Fist met palm, but the force in Su Yuan's punch suddenly vanished.

The punch had been a feint. He used the momentum of his charge to twist his waist and swing his shoulder, then slammed his head into Zhang Jing's chest like an iron hammer.

Zhang Jing sneered and whipped his left palm out, intending to smash the head that had practically delivered itself to him.

Did this guy really think he'd trained the Iron Head Skill?

Crack!

A stabbing pain shot through his arm bone!

Zhang Jing's palm strike was smashed apart by that headbutt, and his arm bone broke with a sharp snap.

Before he could even cry out, Su Yuan's forehead slammed squarely into his chest.

"Pfft—"

His chest caved in with a muffled crunch.

Zhang Jing's body flew backward like a torn sack, crashing heavily among the rocks by the river. He didn't move again.

Though Chen Feng was shocked by Zhang Jing's miserable state, he didn't hesitate. He curled both hands into claws and took the chance to strike at Su Yuan's back!

But Su Yuan's arms moved with astonishing coordination. His other hand reached behind him, and as their fingers and palms met, he suddenly exerted force, twisting Chen Feng's hand out of shape.

"Ah!" Chen Feng cried out in pain and stumbled back.

"You're a Martial Warrior already, and you've even trained in several martial arts!" Chen Feng was horrified. He turned and ran.

Blood streamed down from Su Yuan's forehead and over his cheek. He grinned, looking like a demon. "You know too much."

Then he charged after Chen Feng.

With Flying Horse Leg and Slippery Escape, Chen Feng was no match for Su Yuan. In the blink of an eye, Su Yuan caught up with him.

The tide had turned.

Horse Head Charge!

"Damn it! He was pretending the whole time!" Chen Feng regretted it too late. If only he'd gone to draw Su Tieniu away.

For his last gamble, he leaped into the river.

But the instant he sprang up, a powerful shove struck him in the back.

The crisp crack of his spine breaking rang out clearly.

"Cosplaying as a truck is still the best."

A quiet murmur he couldn't understand drifted into his ear. Then came eternal darkness.

[Slaughter: 45/100 (Beginner)]

Su Yuan dragged Chen Feng's corpse back and quickly searched it, taking the silver on him before throwing the body into the river.

He returned to Zhang Jing and did the same, finding about ten taels of broken silver in total.

"Are Martial Warriors really this poor?" Neither man had anything on him that could prove his identity.

Still, Su Yuan could tell they weren't from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall.

Even when they both used palm techniques, different martial arts produced different variations.

Though these martial arts had "Palm" in their names, they actually engaged the whole body and affected a person's entire bearing. The differences were clear.

The two men's builds were more like Han Gui's. Could they be from the Shan Family?

Recalling what he knew about Liang martial arts, this seemed to be Wind Horse Palm from the Shan Family Martial Academy.

The sound of familiar footsteps rapidly approached. It was Tie Niu.

It seemed he'd dealt with his opponents too.

After a brief moment of thought, Su Yuan jumped into the river.

[Swimming: 245/500 (Minor Achievement)]

Tie Niu hurried to the scene. Seeing blood all over the ground, his face went deathly pale. He fell to his knees and clutched his head, trembling. "Brother Yuan..."

"Tie Niu, I'm still alive!" Hearing him, Su Yuan popped his head above the water.

"Those two fools thought I was drifting downstream, but they didn't realize I was hiding upstream." Su Yuan splashed around in the water.

Seeing that Su Yuan was alive, Tie Niu hauled him ashore and held him tight, tears streaming down his face. "Thank goodness... Brother Yuan, you're still alive..."

Su Yuan could barely breathe from the squeeze, and hurried to reassure him. "Tie Niu, let's get back to the Martial Academy first."

On the way back, several corpses lay on the ground. They had clearly died at Tie Niu's hands.

By now, a squad of Liang guards had surrounded the scene. Their leader wore a sable-fur helmet and bore some resemblance to Young Master Shan.

Shan Xi looked around. "What happened here?"

"These men claimed to be from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall and attacked my big brother and me. I dealt with all of them, but their martial arts didn't seem like Great Jing styles. They were closer to those of Great Liang," Tie Niu answered honestly.

Shan Xi's gaze turned cold.

He had originally been helping Zhang Jing and the others clear the area. He hadn't expected Su Tieniu to be so formidable and deal with everyone so quickly. "Cloud-Striding Martial Hall? This is a serious matter. Come back with me for questioning."

Tie Niu shook his head. "We need to get back to the Martial Academy and treat our injuries first."

"The Fierce Horse Army enforces the law. You dare defy orders?" Shan Xi snorted.

The Fierce Horse Army was the force stationed in Ji City by Great Liang. Its power was immense, and all the Liang nobles in the city were involved with it.

Tie Niu stood his ground and took out a token. "I have the Chai Family Token from Second Young Master Chai. Even if you want to question me, you must get his permission first."

Seeing the Chai Family Token, Shan Xi knitted his brows. In the end, he said, "Then we'll escort you to the Chai Family Martial Academy first."

After all, even a dog had to be beaten with its master's permission.

Su Tieniu actually had the Chai Family Token. The Chai Family must value him highly.

On the way to the Chai Family Martial Academy, a soldier suddenly rushed up to report, "Lord Xi! Rebels from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall have launched a surprise attack on the Void Cloud Horse Ranch! Our superiors have ordered you to take your men back at once and surround and suppress them!"

A flash of light passed through Shan Xi's eyes. "Those cowards have finally shown up? Let's go!"

He no longer paid Su Yuan and Tie Niu any attention. He hurriedly led his men away.

Su Yuan looked up. Flames blazed toward the sky in the direction of the Void Cloud Horse Ranch, lighting up half the night sky.

Tonight was destined to be anything but peaceful.