Hedgehog

Xiao Chongyang's vision suddenly went pitch-black. He could barely see a thing; all his sources of light had vanished.

There was still a little twilight, but to him, it was no different from the deepest, darkest night.

"Quick, get out of the way. Stay away from him," Lin Xuan warned.

Lin An quickly dodged, then shot an arrow at the man. This time, too, it was a Sleeve Arrow. But the man could no longer dodge. Against a silent hidden weapon like a Sleeve Arrow, the best defenses were eyesight and experience.

This bandit's hearing and experience clearly weren't good enough.

"Pfft." The Sleeve Arrow sank into the man's arm. Xiao Chongyang grimaced in pain, gritted his teeth, and swung the blade in his hand wildly in every direction. His movements had no technique or pattern and were utterly chaotic.

He couldn't see where anyone was, and had no idea where they might be. Blinded without warning, he panicked at every rustle and saw danger in every shadow, so all he could do was swing blindly.

That left his whole body full of openings.

"Damn it! You'll all die! What trick did you use? If you've got the guts, fight me fair and square!"

"Enough talk. Stand still, and I'll give you a quick death," Lin Xuan snapped.

Lin An hurriedly retreated several steps, out of the range of the man's wild swings. On top of that, Lin Xuan had bestowed [Silent Step] on her, so her footsteps made no sound, making it even harder for the man to tell where she was.

She suddenly realized this was a perfect chance to practice her archery.

She raised her bow, aimed at the man, and fired.

He was such a large target that hitting him was easy.

Lin Xuan's Twelve-Strength Bow kept firing, averaging one arrow every three seconds. He shot Armor-Piercing Arrows one after another, every one of them sticking into the living target.

Though those in the Breath-Connecting Realm possessed astonishing physical strength, they were no different from fish on a chopping block when faced with cold weapons.

Before long, Xiao Chongyang was bristling with arrows. To anyone watching, he looked just like a hedgehog.

What's more, these were all Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrows, which were devastatingly powerful. Even the hide and flesh of ferocious beasts like black bears and tigers would be torn to shreds by them, let alone a person's.

Still, someone in the Breath-Connecting Realm was formidable. Despite being struck by so many Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrows, Xiao Chongyang showed no sign of running out of strength. By then, he had lost all reason. Having lost too much blood, he roared and swung wildly where he stood, as if he were hacking the air to pieces—yet he still didn't hit Lin Xuan or Lin An.

The two watched coldly, quietly waiting for the man to lose enough blood and strength before finishing him off, lest he feign death and launch a sudden counterattack.

Lin Xuan had five arrows left. He waited for the man to run out of strength.

Xiao Chongyang gasped for breath. Lin Xuan decided the time was right and shot all the remaining arrows into the man's vital points.

His eyes, throat, groin, heart, and lungs.

Only when the golden words [Sharp Eyes] appeared above the man's head did it end.

The bandit who had reached the Breath-Connecting Realm had barely a patch of uninjured skin left on his body. He died there in the wilderness.

Once Lin Xuan was certain the man was well and truly dead, he beheaded him and retrieved the arrows.

As for the body, he simply left it in a field in the wilderness.

A bandit who had spent half his life robbing people didn't deserve a proper burial.

The one thing Lin Xuan regretted was that the man had no talent for him to plunder. The only one he had was [Sharp Eyes], which Lin Xuan himself had bestowed.

That meant the man had reached this level through sheer endurance and hard training. It hadn't been easy.

Lin Xuan respected his effort, but not his character.

"Little brother, what do we do now?" After Lin Xuan beheaded the bandit, Lin An felt a little lost. The man had been far too powerful. Just moments ago, he had been able to fight both of them alone.

But then he had suddenly gone mad. She didn't know how he had died.

"I'm taking you to kill some people." Lin Xuan picked up the bandit's old waist knife and the Willow Leaf Arrows he carried.

He was so strong that he must have been the bandit leader in the Breath-Connecting Realm. Since Lin Xuan had taken down such a formidable enemy, the others couldn't be stronger than him. Tonight was the perfect time to wipe out the whole bandit gang.

He had asked around about Wolf Cave Mountain and learned its exact location. He also hadn't forgotten the information he'd gotten from torturing that bandit earlier.

Lin Xuan's blood was still boiling. He had been at a disadvantage throughout his fight with the man, and it left him dissatisfied.

Lin Xuan furrowed his brow. It still wasn't the right time. His mother had told them to wait for her. If they stayed out too late and failed to return, she might panic and ask the neighbors to come looking for them. That would be far too dangerous.

So he decided to go home first and leave the bandit leader's head by the front door.

Chen Fang waited at home for her son and daughter-in-law to return.

When she saw them come back safely, she finally relaxed.

"Didn't you catch anything? It's all right. We can hunt again tomorrow. I've warmed up your meal, and the millet broth in the pot is still hot. Drink it while it's warm. Don't wait until it gets cold again."

Lin Xuan grinned foolishly. "Mother, it's so late already. Go to bed first. An and I will eat and have a little heart-to-heart."

Chen Fang sensed something was wrong. She saw the blood on Lin Xuan's clothes and asked anxiously, "Where did all that blood come from? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm not. It's from a wild boar I hunted. It was huge and cunning. It pretended to be dead, then got away while I was dealing with it."

"Look, I haven't got a single injury." Lin Xuan took off his clothes. In the candlelight, his muscular body looked especially well-defined, without a single scar.

When Chen Fang saw that her son really wasn't hurt at all, she finally let out a breath of relief.

"Oh, you scared me half to death."

Lin Xuan reassured her, "What are you worried about? I told you long ago that no one around here can hurt your son. Go to bed."

Only then did Chen Fang leave for her room.

Lin Xuan and Lin An ate millet porridge and bitter greens to regain some strength. They would set out once night had deepened and their mother had fallen asleep.

An hour later, they arrived at the foot of Wolf Cave Mountain. To avoid revealing their identities, they both covered their faces.

Lin Xuan glanced at the lookout. He was yawning, and it was already the dead of night. Most people were fast asleep, making it the perfect time to strike.

Lin Xuan drew his bow and, by the light of the moon and with his already keen eyesight, shot an arrow at the lookout.

"Whoosh!" The arrow struck him in the throat, and he fell without so much as a muffled groan. He had been dozing off, completely unprepared for danger.

After he died, no one called out or shouted. That meant the bandit den had only a visible lookout, with no hidden sentries.

They were always robbing people, forcing themselves on women, killing, and looting, yet they never seemed especially worried. They actually thought they were quite safe.

In truth, they really were safer than ordinary people! They didn't have to worry about being robbed by officials or bandits.

Lin Xuan fell silent for a moment, then sneered inwardly. My family's menfolk and the countless soldiers at the frontier had all ended up sacrificing themselves for the likes of these people!