The Hedgehog

Xiao Chongyang's vision suddenly plunged into total darkness; he lost all sources of light, as if blinded in an instant.

Even though there was still a faint glimmer of twilight, to his eyes, it was no different from the deepest, darkest night.

"Quick, dodge! Stay away from him," Lin Xuan warned.

Lin An moved swiftly to evade, then fired an arrow at the man. It was another Sleeve Arrow, but the target no longer had the capacity to dodge. Such hidden weapons, which made little sound, relied primarily on keen eyesight and experience to defend against.

The bandit's hearing and experience were clearly not sharp enough for that.

"Puchi." The Sleeve Arrow buried itself into the man's arm. Xiao Chongyang winced in pain, gritted his teeth, and began swinging his blade wildly in every direction, devoid of any technique or form, chaotic and frantic.

He could not see where anyone was, nor did he have any idea of their positions. In the panic of his sudden blindness, he grew paranoid, startled by every rustle of the wind, and could only lash out blindly.

In doing so, he left his entire body exposed.

"Damn it! Damn you all! You must die! What kind of tricks did you use? If you have the guts, fight me fair and square!"

"Enough with the nonsense. Stand still and I'll give you a quick death," Lin Xuan scolded.

Lin An hurried back a few paces, staying out of the man's wild swinging range. Furthermore, having been granted Silent Step by Lin Xuan, her movements were soundless, making it even harder for him to track her.

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

Raising her bow, she aimed at the man and fired.

The target was massive, so hitting him was easy.

Lin Xuan's Twelve-Strength Bow worked in a continuous cycle, averaging one shot every three seconds. Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrow after Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrow was released, all of them embedding themselves into the living target.

Although one in the Breath-Connecting Realm possessed immense physical strength, when faced with cold steel, they were no different from fish on a chopping block.

Soon, Xiao Chongyang was bristling with arrows; from an outsider's perspective, he looked just like a hedgehog.

Moreover, these were *Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrow*s, which possessed formidable lethality. Even if fired at beasts like black bears or tigers, they would tear flesh and muscle to shreds, let alone a human.

Yet, the Breath-Connecting Realm was truly formidable. Even after being struck by so many *Tri-edged Armor-Piercing Arrow*s, Xiao Chongyang showed no signs of exhaustion. Having lost all reason, he roared madly in place, hacking at the air until it seemed to shatter, yet he failed to land a single blow on Lin Xuan or Lin An.

The two watched coldly from the sidelines, waiting for the man to bleed out and lose his strength before finishing him off, so as to avoid any desperate final counterattack.

Lin Xuan had five arrows left, and he was waiting for the man to collapse.

Xiao Chongyang gasped for air, his breathing ragged. Deciding the time was right, Lin Xuan fired his remaining arrows into the man's vital points.

The eyes, the throat, the groin, the heart, and the lungs.

Until the golden characters Sharp Eyes appeared above the man's head.

This bandit of the Breath-Connecting Realm, with hardly an intact spot left on his body, died right there in the wilderness.

Confirming that the man was well and truly dead, Lin Xuan decapitated him and retrieved his arrows.

As for the corpse, he tossed it aside onto the wild fields.

A bandit who had spent half a lifetime plundering did not deserve a proper burial.

The only thing Lin Xuan found regrettable was that the man possessed no talents for him to plunder, save for the Sharp Eyes he had granted himself.

It meant this man had reached his current realm through pure, bitter, and arduous training—truly no small feat.

Lin Xuan acknowledged his effort, but condemned his character.

"Brother, what do we do now?" Seeing the bandit decapitated by Lin Xuan, Lin An felt a sense of bewilderment. The man had been so powerful, clearly capable of taking them both on just moments ago.

Yet, he had suddenly acted like a madman. She didn't know how he had died.

"I'm taking you to kill." Lin Xuan picked up the bandit's worn saber and the *Willow Leaf Arrow*s he carried.

Being this strong, he must have been the Breath-Connecting Realm bandit leader. If such a formidable enemy had been taken down by him, the others couldn't possibly be stronger. Tonight was the perfect time to completely wipe out this gang of bandits.

He had inquired about Wolf Cave Mountain during this time and knew their exact location; the information he had extracted from the previous bandit was still fresh in his mind.

Lin Xuan's blood was surging; having been on the back foot during the fight, his mind felt somewhat stifled.

Lin Xuan frowned slightly. It probably wasn't the right time yet, as his mother had told them to wait for her. If they returned too late, she would grow anxious and go to the neighbors to look for them, which would be too dangerous.

Therefore, he decided to go home first, leaving the bandit leader's head at his doorstep.

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

Seeing them return safe and sound, she finally set her heart at ease.

"Didn't you catch any game? It's fine, we'll go again tomorrow. Mother has warmed up your food; the rice porridge in the pot is still hot. Drink it while it's warm, don't let it go cold again."

Lin Xuan chuckled foolishly: "Mother, it's so late now, you go to sleep first. An-jie and I will eat and have a chat."

Chen Fang sensed something was off. Seeing the bloodstains on Lin Xuan, she asked with concern: "Where did this blood on you come from? You aren't hurt, are you?"

"No, no, this is from a wild boar I hunted. It's what it left behind. That boar was huge and cunning; it played dead, and then it escaped while I was dressing it."

"If you don't believe me, look, I don't have a single scratch." Lin Xuan took off his shirt, his lean, muscular frame appearing perfectly contoured under the candlelight, without a single scar on his body.

Seeing that her son was truly uninjured, Chen Fang finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh my, you scared me to death."

Lin Xuan comforted her: "What are you afraid of? I told you, no one in this place can hurt your son. Go to sleep early."

Chen Fang finally gave up and returned to her room.

Lin Xuan and Lin An ate millet porridge and bitter vegetable roots to regain some strength, waiting for the night to deepen and their mother to fall asleep before setting out.

An hour later, the two arrived at the foot of Wolf Cave Mountain. To prevent their identities from being exposed, they chose to cover their faces.

Lin Xuan glanced at the sentry. The man was yawning; it was already late at night, and the vast majority of the bandits were fast asleep. It was the perfect moment for them to strike.

Lin Xuan drew his bow. Aided by the moonlight and his own keen eyesight, he loosed an arrow toward the sentry.

"Swish!" The man was struck directly in the throat and collapsed instantly. He didn't even let out a groan, all because he had been dozing off and was completely unprepared for danger.

After the man died, no one else shouted or called out, which meant the bandit den only had visible sentries and no hidden ones.

They often engaged in robbing wealth, violating women, killing, and looting, yet they lived without fear, feeling quite secure instead.

In fact, they lived even more securely than the common folk! They didn't have to worry about being robbed by officials or bandits.

Lin Xuan remained silent for a long moment, a cold sneer forming in his heart: So, the several men of my own family and the thousands of soldiers on the frontier have sacrificed themselves for the likes of them!