Peril of the Huang Family

Lu Li walked straight to Elder Qing. "Elder Qing, I'm here to pick up a mission."

Elder Qing, lying on a lounge chair, heard the voice and opened his eyes slightly.

With a flick of his hand, dozens of mission slips floated in front of Lu Li.

Lu Li quickly took them. "Why are there so many missions this time?"

He flipped through them one by one, saw the names on them, and immediately understood.

Huang Rongyue, the eldest daughter of the Huang Family, an Organ-Refining Realm martial artist, about to break through to the Blood-Exchange Realm, with a bounty of 1,500 taels.

Huang He, the patriarch of the Huang Family, an Organ-Refining Realm martial artist, with a bounty of 2,000 taels.

Wang Yu, the eldest son of the Wang Family, an Organ-Refining Realm martial artist, with a bounty of 1,000 taels.

The core figures of both sides were all being targeted.

Lu Li vaguely guessed that the county magistrate's control over the two major families might not just be about making money.

His actions, which depleted the strength of both families, showed he was a very thoughtful person.

However, his goal was certainly not just to clip the fangs of the two families.

What exactly it was, he couldn't guess for now.

Seeing Lu Li lost in thought, Elder Qing also spoke. "Blood Ghost, you're from Changfeng County too, aren't you?"

"You're going to make a fortune this time. With the two major families in Changfeng County going to war and so many people on the bounty list, you should seize the opportunity."

He reminded him kindly.

Lu Li nodded.

Thus, hiring assassins proved that the two major families were serious.

But on the Huang Family's side, everyone's minds were not on this, their state was lax, and they would surely suffer.

Lu Li shook his head inwardly, scanned the papers for a moment, and finally selected eight, all of them Wang family members.

After finishing his selection, Lu Li took his leave.

Elder Qing took back the papers and looked at them. His leisurely expression froze. He looked at Lu Li's retreating back for a long time before looking at Lu Li with surprise.

"This kid is interesting."

After returning, Lu Li first practiced his martial arts.

Due to the tight schedule, Lu Li mainly focused his time on the Flying Swallow Step.

He planned to use the two days to practice the Flying Swallow Step to perfection.

He practiced in his own home until it was almost dark, then Lu Li moved into the pharmacy that needed guarding.

Inside the pharmacy, Lu Li did not slack off.

The pharmacy was extremely vast, almost as large as a mansion.

There was even a medicinal garden within it.

Various herbs were planted there, filling the courtyard with the fragrance of medicinal herbs.

Lu Li was initially puzzled as to why a mere pharmacy needed guarding.

Now he understood.

Since no one usually came to the medicinal garden, Lu Li continued to practice the Flying Swallow Step here.

Until the sky was as dark as ink, Lu Li finally finished practicing the Flying Swallow Step.

[Martial Skill: Flying Swallow Step (Perfection)...]

Lu Li's toes lightly tapped, and his entire body instantly soared into the air. Like a swallow, he nimbly and rapidly swept across the entire medicinal garden.

He controlled his body as it slowly descended, as light as a feather, drifting slowly in mid-air.

Finally, his eyes locked onto an herb that resembled lettuce, and he slowly landed on its leaves.

Throughout the entire process, it was calm and silent, and the herb did not stir in the slightest.

When Lu Li's toes landed on the herb's leaves, the herb remained motionless.

It was as if Lu Li was air, almost without substance.

A single herb leaf managed to support Lu Li's entire body.

If this were to spread in his previous life, it would have been unbelievable!

But this was a world where martial arts reached the divine. Lu Li did not feel the slightest bit of pride.

His heart was as still as water. He tapped his toes on the herb leaf again and landed steadily.

The herb leaf remained motionless.

Everything was done with ease, as if he had mastered such exquisite lightness kung fu since birth.

Lu Li gave a slight nod: "Not bad. To move without making a single sound, without causing the slightest disturbance—this is the perfection of light-body technique!"

"However, although my Flying Swallow Step has reached perfection, there are even more profound light-body techniques in this world. Merely mastering the perfected Flying Swallow Step is nothing to boast about; I still cannot afford to be complacent!"

After completing his training, Lu Li saw that it was getting late and brought his practice to an end.

Soon, deep night arrived. The moon was dark and the wind was high; one could not even see their own fingers in the pitch-black void.

Suddenly, a fierce blaze appeared in the distance, illuminating the area for miles as if a beam of light had pierced through the night, shining directly toward Lu Li and the others.

Lu Li, Li Qing, and the others hurriedly put on their clothes and rushed to the front courtyard, their hearts turning cold as they gazed at the raging inferno in the distance.

Li Qing widened his eyes, placing a hand to his brow to peer into the distance: "This... didn't those people say they wouldn't actually fight, that they were just going through the motions like in the past? What is going on here?"

"It's burning like this; it certainly doesn't look like they're just going through the motions."

"Brother Li, wh-what do we do?" His two lackeys looked at the fire in the distance, trembling and clearly terrified.

Strictly speaking, they had not yet stepped into the martial artist realm; if a real fight broke out, they would be nothing more than the lowest-level cannon fodder.

It was no wonder they were afraid.

Li Qing swallowed hard, trying to ease his inner anxiety, and gritted his teeth: "What are you afraid of? The front line hasn't fallen yet; we are safe."

"Right, let's hide. If the enemy really shows up, we can catch them off guard." A sudden thought struck Li Qing, and he hurriedly led his lackeys into the house.

Lu Li, however, quietly slipped away, changed into his black robe and blood-colored mask, and vanished in an instant using the Flying Swallow Step.

Atop a pavilion belonging to the Huang Family.

The pavilion was exceptionally tall, offering a view of the entire Changfeng County.

Huang Rongyue stared fixedly at the fire before her, clenching her fists so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

Her expression was one of indignation, and unable to contain herself, she urged Huang He beside her: "Father, what do we do? Are we really just going to sit here and watch?"

In just one night, the Huang Family had lost two streets, had ten of their properties seized by the enemy, and some had even been burned to the ground.

These were the assets the Huang Family had accumulated bit by bit, generation after generation, through blood and sweat!

Although she did not approve of the Huang Family's conduct and possessed a sincere heart, she was, after all, a member of the Huang Family.

Seeing the Huang Family fall into defeat step by step, she felt a deep sense of distress.

Huang He shook his head.

His eyes were filled with the reflection of the flames, his heart a tangled mess.

Yet, his mind remained clear, and he said calmly: "I know the caliber of our Huang Family's martial artists; even if we were to lose, we wouldn't be defeated this miserably."

"Do you think the enemy is just the Huang Family's rivals?"

"I fear there is more to this than meets the eye."

Huang He narrowed his eyes further and said in a low voice: "It must be the handiwork of the County Magistrate. That old bastard, he deserves to die!"

He let out a long breath, suppressing the surging rage in his heart: "Yue'er, stay calm. If we act impulsively, we will inevitably fall into the enemy's ambush."

"Only by standing firm can we minimize our losses."

Huang Rongyue gave a bitter smile. Although she was still lacking in the art of making friends, the fact that she had traveled the jianghu at such a young age and survived until now proved she was no fool.

She understood these principles.

But cowering and refusing to act was also a slow death—it was nothing more than waiting for the end!

"What should we do?" Her heart was filled with confusion.