No More Than That

The rich smell of wine mingled with the sharp reek of blood throughout the room.

The newcomer flicked his blade, sending drops of blood onto the floor. Dressed in black fighting clothes, he stood tall and straight. His low-brimmed hat hid his eyes and brows, leaving only a mocking smile visible.

"Hong Yuan?!"

Meng Yue gripped his Steel Saber in his right hand, poised to strike at any moment. He stared at the newcomer in disbelief, his expression changing sharply.

Hong Yuan slowly raised his head, revealing his face beneath the hat. Meeting Meng Yue's gaze, he said with a faint smile, "Junior Brother, you're usually so respectful to me as your senior brother. Why are you calling me by name now? Wouldn't the plays call someone like you a two-faced snake?"

Meng Yue's face darkened. Looking past Hong Yuan, he saw the three ruffians who had gone outside to urinate sprawled on the ground. Each had a savage gash across his throat. Like the few ruffians inside who had still been sober, two or three of them were still twitching, but they had already set foot on the road to the Yellow Springs.

Of the dozen or so drunken ruffians left, several were shocked half-sober by the sudden slaughter. They struggled to their feet in terror, fumbling for weapons they had lost somewhere. But their bones felt soft and their legs weak. Frightened as they were, each collapsed as soon as he stood, screaming incoherently, all reason gone.

Fortunately, the little courtyard stood in a quiet part of the county town. These ruffians often drank and made a racket, and their neighbors feared them. Even if the noise reached the street, no one would come meddling.

"Shut up!"

Whoosh! Meng Yue swept his saber backward and slashed the throat of a ruffian howling beside him. Blood sprayed out. The other screaming ruffians fell silent at once, like ducks seized by the neck.

With that stroke, Meng Yue seemed to vent his shock, panic, and every other dark emotion.

His face gradually settled into calm resolve. Eyes sharp as a hawk's, he fixed them on Hong Yuan, gave a low chuckle, then burst out laughing.

"Junior Brother, what's so funny? Tell your senior brother. We can have a laugh together!" Hong Yuan said leisurely.

"I'm laughing at your stupidity!" Meng Yue's laughter stopped. He stared coldly at Hong Yuan. "I don't know when I slipped up and let you catch me. That was my mistake. I underestimated you!"

He paused, his face turning scornful. "But if you'd already noticed, why didn't you tell Yang Erhu? If the two of you had joined forces and attacked without warning, I'd have had no chance to resist. Yet you were stupid enough to follow me alone and then stand right in front of me?"

Meng Yue swept his gaze over the ruffians on the floor. "Or did you think killing these useless fools by surprise would scare me?"

He slowly raised his Steel Saber level with his chest. Its gleaming edge reflected eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"Or did our last exchange give you the illusion that this was all I had?"

Hong Yuan smiled. "From the sound of it, Junior Brother, you held back last time?"

"Heh." Meng Yue's cheek twitched. His mirthless smile vanished beneath a surge of killing intent. "You're about to find out!"

Before the words had left his mouth, Meng Yue's feet moved in quick succession. He spun with astonishing speed and reached a wine table in an instant.

The ruffians had been feasting for some time, leaving the table strewn with cups and plates. A pot of wine still warmed on a small brazier in the middle. The drinkers lay scattered across the floor, while the wine in the pot continued to gurgle.

Meng Yue whirled up to the table and kicked it with all his might. It crashed upward, hurling cups, plates, bowls, cold leftovers, and the little brazier toward Hong Yuan in one great torrent.

The wine table itself spun through the air, sent tumbling at Hong Yuan by Meng Yue's powerful kick.

It tore through the air with a piercing shriek.

Meng Yue's face was cold and stern. As the table flew up, he rushed close behind it, his saber held in a reverse grip. Power surged through his body, ready to be unleashed.

Meng Yue had seen Hong Yuan's strength. He knew he could not match him in raw power, but that did nothing to shake his confidence.

In a fight on the knife-edge between life and death, strength alone had never been enough. However great it was, it meant nothing if a blow missed.

The sect Meng Yue came from had never trained its disciples behind closed doors. Nearly all its outstanding disciples had fought in the jianghu or the army.

Meng Yue stood among the best of them.

Before coming to Yangquan County and joining the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall, he had challenged many skilled fighters of the jianghu and honed himself for years in the army. Could the experience and techniques he had gained through life-and-death battles really fail against that soft-skinned pretty boy?

Perhaps Yang Erhu had indeed trained Hong Yuan with great care, but how many people had he killed? How many battles had he fought?

Whoosh!

A flash of saber light swept aside the cups, plates, brazier, and every other object hurtling his way.

A rookie, sure enough. Even now, he's worried about dirtying his clothes. A cold glint flashed in Meng Yue's eyes. As the debris scattered and the table came crashing down on Hong Yuan's head, he gave a fierce shout and slashed upward at an angle with his reverse-held saber.

His blade flashed cold, swift and savage as lightning. He meant to split the table and Hong Yuan in two with a single stroke.

Rrrip!

The table split diagonally in an instant, its two halves flying apart. But Meng Yue's pupils contracted. He had felt no blade sinking into flesh, and Hong Yuan had vanished from directly ahead.

Whoosh!

A gust of force struck his face. Meng Yue felt a chill between his brows. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Hong Yuan, who had somehow leaped into the air above him. Hong Yuan brought his saber down toward Meng Yue's skull.

The strike was every bit as fast as Meng Yue's had been, and even more ruthless.

Meng Yue could only lean back, seize the hilt with both hands, and slash upward to meet it.

Clang! The sabers collided with an explosive crash. Meng Yue shook violently. A tearing pain shot through the web of his hands, and his feet lost their footing. He staggered backward, step after step.

Meng Yue's face changed in horror. Hong Yuan's strength was far greater than he had expected. Knowing he was in trouble, he stamped down hard with one foot and forced his stumbling body to a halt.

Blood seeped from his palms, but he kept a firm grip on his Steel Saber, ready to fight again. A kick came from the side. Meng Yue had nowhere to dodge, and it struck him square in the chest.

Agony burst through his chest, and his back arched. The force of the kick seemed to punch straight through him. Meng Yue flew backward.

Bang!

Meng Yue slammed down onto another wine table, smashing it to pieces. Cold leftovers spilled over his head and face. The scalding brazier landed on him, and burning coals poured into the collar of his clothes. Together with the searing pain of cracked bones in his chest, it drew a wretched scream from him as he struggled to get away.

Thud!

A flash of saber light descended and plunged straight through Meng Yue's right palm. Hong Yuan's tall figure came into view. Looking down at him, Hong Yuan said lightly, "So this really was all you had."