Li Huai's sudden attack threw the Green Bamboo Gang members into disarray.
Most of them were no better than street brawlers. How many had ever seen someone charge in and kill without hesitation?
The short sword in Li Huai's hand thrust, feinted, slashed, and parried with vicious precision. He alone managed to cow the gang members who had come to reinforce their comrades.
"Useless trash!"
Dai Chong nearly choked with fury at the sight. He hadn't expected his men to be so worthless. So many of them had charged at one man, yet they still couldn't stop him.
"Take that brat down first!"
There were four men beside Dai Chong.
All four had followed him for years. They'd killed in gang wars and seen blood, and they wouldn't hesitate to strike.
They immediately drew their weapons and charged at Su Xin.
Dai Chong swung his Drum-Beating Gold Hammer with tremendous force. One hit would leave a man dead or gravely wounded.
Su Xin raised his thin sword to block, swiftly deflecting two incoming sabers.
Dai Chong's massive hammer came crashing down. Su Xin could only retreat, kicking a gambling table into its path. The hammer smashed it to pieces.
Dai Chong's strength was on par with a Post-Natal Initial Realm martial artist, and with four capable gang members backing him up, Su Xin was soon hard-pressed on all sides, barely able to defend himself.
"Brat, you two dare come after me with just the pair of you? You must be tired of living!"
Dai Chong had roamed the martial world for more than ten years, never even sleeping without keeping his weapon close at hand. For two youngsters to try to assassinate him in broad daylight was laughable.
Su Xin's face remained expressionless. Though he was barely holding on, not a trace of anxiety showed.
By then, Li Huai had fought his way to within a short distance of Su Xin. He flung the box containing the heavy sword toward him.
"Catch!"
Su Xin leaped into the air and cleaved the box apart with one stroke. Grasping the heavy sword, he charged straight at Dai Chong and the others.
Su Xin had been suppressed just now only because his weapon was inadequate.
The thin sword was sharp, but far too fragile. With the four gang members harrying him, he hadn't dared meet Dai Chong's blows head-on.
The Drum-Beating Gold Hammer weighed more than a hundred pounds. After a few clashes, his thin sword would have been ruined.
Now that he had the heavy sword, Su Xin immediately unleashed the Great Sumeru Sword Style. Its gleaming blade darted like a swimming dragon, a dense, seamless weave of motion. Though the sword was massive, Su Xin wielded it without leaving the slightest opening.
Dai Chong's Drum-Beating Gold Hammer crashed down, only to be knocked aside by the heavy sword.
The four gang members fared even worse. They had neither inner force nor Dai Chong's inborn strength, and they were no match for Su Xin. He sent them flying with ease.
"What kind of cursed swordplay is that?"
Dai Chong hadn't reached the Post-Natal Initial Realm, but he had cultivated inner force. At a glance, he could tell that Su Xin's sword art was extraordinary.
The Great Sumeru Sword Style was simple in appearance yet ingenious, its intricate moves flowing freely between offense and defense. Once it took a defensive stance, even someone stronger than Su Xin would struggle to break through, let alone Dai Chong.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
The clash of metal rang out without pause.
The heavy sword struck with immense force. Each time it met the Drum-Beating Gold Hammer, it held its ground.
The four gang members wanted to help, but the Great Sumeru Sword Style was as impenetrable as a wall of water. They weren't strong enough even to make Su Xin dodge.
As sword and hammer clashed, Su Xin's left-hand sword suddenly darted out, aiming straight for Dai Chong's dantian.
The handle of the Drum-Beating Gold Hammer dropped into its path, blocking the strike by the narrowest margin. A cold sweat broke out across Dai Chong's forehead.
Fortunately, he'd lengthened the hammer's handle from its original seven inches to half his height for convenience. That was the only reason he'd blocked the thrust. Otherwise, Su Xin's sword would have gone straight into his dantian!
"Left-Hand Sword! What a vicious Left-Hand Sword!"
Those who dared wield a left-handed sword had always favored unconventional, sinister, and vicious techniques.
Su Xin had just been using the upright, orthodox Great Sumeru Sword Style with his right hand. Then, without warning, he'd struck with a vicious left-handed sword. It was utterly impossible to guard against.
"Go get every man I have! We're keeping these two in Yongle District today, dead or alive!" Dai Chong roared at the four gang members.
He'd already realized how dangerous Su Xin was. One careless move, and he might lose his own life. Why bother taking him alive? Kill him first!
As soon as the four men left, Dai Chong immediately went on the defensive.
The Drum-Beating Gold Hammer struck with immense force, giving Su Xin no chance to sneak in another left-handed attack.
Li Huai was in trouble as well.
Though skilled, he was self-taught and had never cultivated inner power. He was far weaker than Su Xin.
The Green Bamboo Gang members couldn't match him one-on-one, but a dozen or so surrounded him, refusing both to attack head-on and to let him aid Su Xin. For the moment, he could do nothing.
Dai Chong sneered. "Brat, put down your sword and tell me who sent you to kill me. I might still spare your life. But once my men get here, you know what'll happen."
"Remember the Flying Eagle Gang member your Green Bamboo Gang beat to death yesterday?"
Dai Chong's face filled with disbelief. "You're with the Flying Eagle Gang? Impossible! They wouldn't start another fight with us now. Besides, you're at least as strong as a chief, but I've never seen you in the Flying Eagle Gang!"
"Clang!"
Su Xin's left-hand sword suddenly thrust out, but Dai Chong blocked it once again.
Su Xin's sword was fast, but Dai Chong was no slower.
Besides, Dai Chong knew how sinister and unpredictable Su Xin's left-handed attack was. He stayed on guard against it every second. Even while talking, he never took his eyes off Su Xin's left hand.
"Trying to sneak in a strike? You're still too green!"
Dai Chong gave a cold laugh. But before it had faded, the giant sword in Su Xin's right hand had already pierced his abdomen, moving even faster than the thin sword!
"I never said my specialty was the Left-Hand Sword," Su Xin said softly.
Jing Wuming's sword was famous for its sharpness, ruthlessness, and unpredictability. Ever since he first entered the martial world, he had wielded his sword with his left hand.
But in Border Town Blade Sound, Jing Wuming had once said that when his left hand was crippled, everyone thought he'd become a cripple. Yet all of them had died beneath his right-hand sword!
Jing Wuming's right hand was stronger than his left. For the past month, Su Xin had been practicing only with his right hand!
Dai Chong's eyes brimmed with unwillingness. But the heavy sword had left a wound as wide as a palm, and he'd already lost so much blood that he had no strength left.
"One last thing: I really am with the Flying Eagle Gang. I came to avenge that gang member who was beaten to death."
Su Xin flicked his left-hand sword, and Dai Chong's head was soon in his grasp.
The Green Bamboo Gang members who had been fighting Li Huai stopped at once.
Their boss was dead. What was the point of fighting?
Without another word, they turned and ran.
Dai Chong was their boss, not their father. He was already dead. Why risk fighting a ruthless man like Su Xin?
Su Xin didn't chase after the fleeing men. Instead, he suddenly stopped one of them and asked with a pleasant smile, "Zhang Hong?"
The man Su Xin stopped was Zhang Hong, the one who had beaten his subordinate to death.
When the fight had started, the coward had hidden off to the side, hoping to launch a sneak attack.
But now that he'd seen Su Xin kill Dai Chong—and heard that Su Xin had come to avenge the murdered gang member—he was scared out of his wits.
"No, it wasn't me!" Zhang Hong hurriedly waved his hands, his face deathly pale.
"Oh, so it wasn't you." Su Xin smiled and waved him on.
As if pardoned, Zhang Hong turned and ran. But in the next instant, his head was in Su Xin's hand.
Su Xin wrapped the two heads in a tablecloth. Then he saw Li Huai approach, his expression complicated. On his eternally blank face, a rare look of conflict had appeared.
"Boss Su, I was wrong about you before," Li Huai said with difficulty.
Li Huai's words came out of nowhere, but Su Xin knew what he meant: the things he'd said outside Third Master Hu's residence.
Su Xin hadn't taken Li Huai's words to heart. From Huang Bingcheng's information and his own interactions with Li Huai, he had more or less figured out what kind of person he was.
His temper was awful, but he respected only those stronger than himself.
Third Master Hu was stronger than him, so Li Huai had been content to work as his enforcer. He didn't want power; he only wanted Third Master Hu to give him chances to fight.
Ji Gang wasn't as strong as him. Even though Ji Gang held the same rank, Li Huai had never thought much of him.
The same had been true of Su Xin before. Though he was Third Master Hu's son and a junior leader of the Flying Eagle Gang, Li Huai hadn't thought much of him.
Only after seeing Su Xin's strength did Li Huai truly accept him as his boss. Only then had Su Xin earned the right to be called "Boss Su" by Li Huai.
Su Xin patted him on the shoulder. "You said you were wrong about me before. As long as you're not wrong about me now, that's enough. Come on. If we wait until the Green Bamboo Gang's men arrive, we won't be able to leave."
As a senior leader of the Green Bamboo Gang, Dai Chong had eight hundred or a thousand men in Yongle District. No matter how formidable they were, if the two of them were surrounded by that many people, they'd be doomed.
"I hope I'm not wrong about you now. Following Third Master Hu, I haven't seen blood in a long time." Excitement flickered in Li Huai's eyes. It seemed that only swords and blood could stir his interest.
Su Xin walked out of the gambling den, carrying the heads. "Don't worry. There'll be plenty of chances if you follow me. You just have to keep up."
Su Xin had grown a little interested in Li Huai as well.
A man interested only in swords and slaughter—he couldn't imagine how Li Huai had grown into someone like that.
A man like Li Huai didn't belong in a small gang. He'd be far better off enlisting and fighting at the front.
The two of them strolled away. It was only half a quarter-hour later that the Green Bamboo Gang's main force arrived.
All they found waiting for them were two headless corpses.
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