One Slash, Slash, Slash

Splash—

The rain showed a tendency to intensify as night fell.

Seeing that the cave was too small and situated below ground level, Chen Guan draped a piece of resin-coated cowhide over his shoulders and stepped out.

The immediate priority was clear: he didn't want to spend the whole night bailing water out of that hole.

He needed to find a proper place to stay.

Around ten o'clock.

With the cowhide over his head, Chen Guan braved the rain and spotted a modest wilderness inn at the foot of a hill outside the forest.

It was brightly lit, and silhouettes flickered within the glow of the lamps.

It seemed there were quite a few guests.

"That'll do."

Seeing the inn, Chen Guan suddenly felt a pang of hunger.

He broke into a light jog for the final two miles.

But as he ran, he noticed the rain had stopped hitting his face, so he tossed the cowhide off his shoulders.

The weather could be such a pain sometimes.

Just as he found a place to hide from the rain, the damn heavens decided to stop pouring.

But since he was already here, he might as well have a meal.

Clack, clack—

He walked into the inn.

A quick sweep of his gaze revealed that nine out of the twelve tables were already occupied.

It seemed business was good on a rainy day.

Some of the guests had damp clothes, clearly having come in to escape the rain and grab a bite to eat.

Perhaps they would even stay the night.

"Waiter, bring a pot of wine!"

Chen Guan scanned the room, found a seat by the window, and sat down with a bold, relaxed posture. Inhaling the aroma of the dishes from the neighboring table, he added, "And five pounds of braised meat, a plate of stir-fried wild vegetables, and a large bowl of mixed-grain noodle soup."

"Whoa... that guy can eat..."

Hearing Chen Guan's order, several diners turned their gazes toward him.

At a glance, Chen Guan's physique was top-tier—tall and sturdy.

He looked like someone with plenty of raw strength.

However, Chen Guan was a cultivator; his posture was loose and completely relaxed, lacking the typical air of a martial artist.

He didn't look like the two knights over there, who remained focused even while eating, their backs straight, ready to strike at any moment, with their hands resting as close to their weapons as possible.

This was how most wandering martial artists behaved.

Anyone who had traveled extensively could tell that those people were not to be trifled with.

Unlike Chen Guan, who truly had a young face.

Coupled with a pair of strange ears and a relaxed expression, if one looked closely, he actually had a somewhat bizarre, cute quality to him.

Especially when Chen Guan sat on the small stool, his large frame hunched over; from behind, he looked just like a round, chubby panda.

For a moment, to these diners, aside from his sturdy build, he looked rather easy to bully.

Meanwhile.

There were two tables of wealthy patrons, mostly men over six feet tall with broad shoulders and thick waists, yet they were dressed in brocade cotton robes like wealthy merchants.

While Chen Guan waited for his food, they cast several secret glances his way.

"This guy doesn't look like he has any internal energy..."

They exchanged a fleeting look before returning to their own conversations.

"Sir! Your wine is here!" The waiter cheerfully brought the wine to Chen Guan and bowed to pour it.

Chen Guan sipped the wine quietly, glancing at the burly, wealthy patrons while listening to them boast about everything under the sun.

However, these boisterous guests could truly drink.

"Come, come... bottoms up!"

"Big Brother, I toast you as well!"

The inn was filled with the sounds of guests playing drinking games, shouting, and chatting.

By the time three rounds of wine had passed and the dishes were mostly cleared.

Compared to the other patrons who had drunk their fill, they didn't appear particularly intoxicated.

But at eleven o'clock that night.

Chen Guan had just finished four pounds of meat and half a bowl of noodles, and was preparing to take a break before finishing the rest of his food.

Those dozen or so boisterous guests exchanged glances, and then four of them split off to block the front and back doors respectively.

Clatter—

Two more rushed into the kitchen, seemingly intent on grabbing someone.

The remaining guests, along with a tall, burly man who appeared to be their leader, suddenly drew long blades. While many patrons were still eating or staring in a daze, he let out a loud roar:

"Put down your chopsticks! Pengfeng Stronghold is conducting business here!"

"Anyone who wants to live, stand still!"

"Pengfeng Stronghold?"

"They're bandits from the mountains..."

Hearing this, and seeing the blades in the hands of these men, most of the patrons had their drunken stupor scared away.

Only two swordsmen were slightly startled, their hands instantly moving to their sword hilts.

Robbers? Chen Guan saw this scene and hadn't expected these robbers to be so well-disguised!

He hadn't truly suspected them at the start either.

Because looking at their polished gear and proper attire, they were a far cry from the disheveled, sloppily dressed bandits he had seen before; they were truly two different breeds.

Anyone who didn't know better would have thought these men were rushing off to negotiate some major business deal.

But this business of murder and robbery was indeed large enough.

"Grandpa, spare my life..."

"This little one only has this much..."

However, as the patrons rose in terror, begging for mercy or fumbling for their silver.

Chen Guan's mountain-like stillness became very conspicuous within the inn.

As footsteps echoed from the back door, the robbers who had gone to the kitchen brought out the cook and the guests staying in the backyard.

The burly leader tilted his head to the side, eyeing Chen Guan, who remained seated.

"Has this half-grown brat not heard my instructions?"

Hum—

The blade vibrated.

The burly man pointed his sword tip toward Chen Guan's neck from a distance.

"Seeing as you're young, I'll take pity on you and say it one more time: do you want your money or your life?"

"I am untalented." Chen Guan looked at their fierce, menacing faces. "I want both."

"Oh?" The burly man found this kid interesting and revealed a smile like a cat playing with a mouse. "What did you say? You want both?"

"Hahaha..." The others heard Chen Guan's reply and laughed until they couldn't close their mouths.

"Is this kid drunk?"

"Big Brother! Let me go and deal with him!"

Amidst their laughter, they brandished their weapons and slowly approached Chen Guan.

In their eyes, Chen Guan had a youthful face and no stance in his walk; he was clearly just a fox pretending to be a tiger.

He was vainly attempting to use the tone of an expert to scare them off.

They saw this type of person often, which was why they had initially posed as merchants, secretly observing everyone's every move to avoid running into a tough opponent.

"Brothers, don't be hasty."

However, seeing his brothers about to strike, the burly man reached out to stop them.

Chen Guan had just slighted his honor.

He wanted to handle this himself.

Tap, tap—

He waited after stopping his brothers.

The burly man approached Chen Guan with a look of disdain, sword in hand.

"Kid, do you know who your master is?"

As he spoke, the burly man stopped ten feet from Chen Guan. His longsword flickered under the lamplight, dancing into a flourish before pointing steadily at Chen Guan's throat.

"I am the second-in-command of Pengfeng Mountain, known to all as the Pengfeng Sword!"

"Pengfeng Sword..."

"He is a master of the Acquired Realm..."

The diners in the inn gasped in shock upon hearing the name.

Most of them were travelers and merchants who frequented these parts, so they naturally knew the reputation of this expert.

Even the two martial artists who had previously considered resisting fell silent, reaching for their coin purses to buy their lives.

"Since you've heard of me, hand over your money and be quick about it!"

Seeing this, Pengfeng Sword felt a surge of arrogance.

But when he saw Chen Guan remained indifferent, his cold, detached expression caused the man to lose face. Unable to maintain his facade of calm superiority, he bellowed at Chen Guan in a rage:

"Truly, a newborn calf is not afraid of the tiger!

Does a brat like you think you have some great ability?"

His eyes turned bloodshot.

"State your name, let me hear it! Perhaps I'll even leave you a whole corpse instead of feeding you to the wolves."

"Fine..." Seeing the man lose his composure, Chen Guan smiled. His wrist, resting on his scabbard, tilted slightly, using spiritual energy to jar the blade loose.

"Then listen well..."

Swish—

The next second, the blade flashed from its sheath.

Chen Guan crossed the ten-foot distance in a single stride. In the blink of an eye, the crowd saw only a flicker of light, and the longsword had already severed the head of Pengfeng Sword!

In that same instant, Chen Guan leaped forward, charging into the midst of the stunned bandits.

Accompanied by pleas for mercy and the sound of blades snapping through cervical vertebrae, Chen Guan wove through the crowd.

It took barely ten seconds.

Chen Guan stood with his blade held firm, surrounded by a stunned crowd and the bodies of bandits slowly collapsing to the ground.

"I am Chen Guan."