After the Matter, He Brushed His Sleeves and Left

"Ah—"

"My hand... My hand's broken!"

A shrill scream rang out across the docks. The burly thug, who had looked so vicious a moment ago, clutched his dangling right hand as blood seeped through his fingers. The pain drove him half-kneeling to the ground, where he howled and wailed.

"Useless trash!" The fat, hulking leader of the thugs drew an ironwood staff, and with his empty hand swung a full slap into the back of the screaming thug's head, barking, "Are you mourning the dead? Shut your mouth!"

He cursed savagely, the slabs of flesh on his face trembling, then fixed a ferocious glare on the young wanderer in black martial attire who had leaped onto the dock.

Once he saw that the other party was alone, and though a bamboo hat hid his brows and eyes, the fair chin beneath it and the clear, bright voice from before marked him plainly as a young man, fury surged up in him at once.

"Son of a whore, what green whelp crawled out here to meddle in other people's business? Don't you know how many eyes Lord Ma has? Tired of living and itching for a beating, are you?"

The thug leader bared his viciousness in full. He raised the ironwood staff in his hand and pointed it straight at the black-clad man opposite him, looking as if he would poke several holes through the man's body if he did not give an explanation.

The dozen or so other thugs on the dock reacted as well, raising clubs, sabers, and swords one after another, grinning savagely as they gathered behind the fat leader.

Every one of them had malice in their eyes. They were only waiting for their leader's order before swarming forward to beat the troublemaking brat dead or crippled.

There were quite a few travelers and merchants coming and going on the docks. They were long used to the overseers and thugs bullying the laborers and had stopped finding it strange, but they had not expected that, of all days, a wandering swordsman would see injustice on the road and "lend aid with a flying stone" today.

At that moment, they all stopped in their tracks, looking both sides over with great interest. Some were even flushed with excitement, wishing the two parties would hurry up and start fighting so they could watch a good show.

Among the crowd watching the excitement, there were also a few jianghu people with sabers and swords at their waists, wearing tight martial outfits suited for swift movement, yet they merely looked on with calm expressions and folded arms.

Splash!

A large ship flying a sail marked with the character "Tao" pushed through the waves and drew up to the dock. A girl in a fiery-red dress, bright-eyed and vivid of feature, had already run onto the deck. She asked an old man dressed like a steward, who was directing the servants on deck, "Uncle Yong, what's happening on the dock?"

As she spoke, the red-clad girl also turned her clear, crystalline eyes toward the noisy crowd.

At this moment, two more people walked out from the cabin. The one in front wore splendid brocade robes, his features handsome and heroic. He looked to be in his twenties, yet he already possessed the bearing of one in a high position, with considerable authority between his brows.

Following behind the richly dressed young man was a burly man with a powerful build, broad shoulders, large hands, and rugged looks. As he walked, his gaze shifted open and shut, bright and piercing.

The beautiful girl in the fiery-red dress waved to the two of them with a smile. "Big Brother, Master Jin, come look at the excitement!"

The steward called "Uncle Yong" spoke respectfully at this point. "Young Master, Miss... Old Third Yan's men are beating and cursing the laborers on the dock. A wandering swordsman couldn't stand it and wounded someone. It looks like they're about to start fighting."

"Oh? Hurry! Bring the ship over quickly. I want to go ashore and watch," the red-clad girl said impatiently.

The richly dressed young man could not help but smile wryly. This younger sister of his had always liked reading storybooks about swordsmen and knights-errant, and was full of longing for the tales within. Now that she could watch such a scene in person, of course she was unwilling to miss it.

Just then, a clear, powerful voice rang out from the dock.

"You don't need to care who I am. When the road is uneven, someone will level it; when a matter is unjust, someone will intervene. In short, bullying people recklessly is wrong. I cannot allow you to keep running wild and doing evil."

Everyone on the dock saw the bamboo-hatted, black-clad wanderer raise the long saber in his hand. His words were impassioned, each one clear, landing with force.

In an instant, everyone's faces took on different expressions as they looked at the wandering swordsman with strange eyes.

It was not admiration, but the look one gave a simple-minded fool.

On the Tao Family's large ship, the richly dressed young man heard that fervent speech and laughed despite himself. "So he's a hotheaded fool."

Beside him, a smile also tugged at the unsmiling face of "Master Jin." "One glance tells you this boy is a fledgling just out of the nest. Who knows whose family's child he is? If he has some backing, perhaps he'll merely suffer a bit. If he has no backing or background at all, once he falls into Old Third Yan's hands, then... hehe!"

Master Jin laughed twice, but everyone present, including the red-clad girl, understood the meaning in his words.

Though she appeared lively and innocent, she was ultimately born of a great clan. Having heard and seen such things since childhood, she also knew of certain sinister and cruel matters.

If that wandering swordsman had no backing, then after injuring Old Third Yan's man today, he would likely be tortured until he could neither live nor die.

Yan Tieshan's den was located in the center of the docks, only twenty or thirty zhang from the place where the thugs were facing off.

At this moment, Yan Tieshan stood on the second floor of the gambling house, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze cold as he watched the scene unfolding on the dock through the open window.

Aside from him, there were five other people in the room: four guards who stayed by his side year-round.

Among these four, two were deserters who had committed crimes in the army, and two were desperadoes who had drifted through the marketplace and possessed quite some skill.

Yan Tieshan had only twenty or thirty elite thugs under him, and these four were their leaders.

And not long ago, he had recruited another five hunters with exquisite archery.

Originally, Yan Tieshan had felt that his power was already rather impressive, at least enough to monopolize the interests of one dock and several streets and alleys.

But not long before, one night, a powerful intruder had broken in. Even after beating twenty or so of Yan Tieshan's men dead or injured, the intruder had still not been kept behind. It left Yan Tieshan feeling as if there were thorns at his back, and so in recent days he had begun thinking of drawing in a true expert as his right-hand man.

This person was now standing shoulder to shoulder with Yan Tieshan. He looked to be in his forties, with a strangely shaped curved saber at his waist. His body was so thin and withered that he resembled a hemp stalk, his shoulders, back, and collarbones jutting like blades, every joint sharply defined. Only his eyes were keen as a hawk's, carrying a chilling coldness that seeped into the skin.

The gaunt middle-aged man let out a hoarse, grating laugh and said, "Brother Yan, it seems your territory isn't very peaceful either. You've taken good care of me these past few days, and I'm not someone who takes benefits without doing work. Why don't I help you take down this troublemaking little brat, and call it repayment for your kindness?"

A cold glint flashed in Yan Tieshan's eyes, but he smiled lightly. "A mere little whelp who doesn't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth runs—why trouble Brother He to act?"

Though he spoke with an easy smile, Yan Tieshan was already furious to the extreme in his heart.

This gaunt middle-aged man was named He Xiaofeng. Though his body was as withered as a hemp stalk and seemed to have no strength, in truth he had cultivated an excellent saber technique. His attacks were both strange and fierce, and his saber technique was swift as a gale. Truly, few people could withstand a single round of his rapid assault.

This man had made his name in the Hero Arena. It had been less than a year since then, yet he was already a ring champion with nine consecutive victories.

In order to win over He Xiaofeng, Yan Tieshan had not only treated him to fine food and drink, but had also stuffed great amounts of silver and women into his arms.

In just a few days, the extravagance of the spending had made even Yan Tieshan's flesh ache, and he even felt some regret.

But He Xiaofeng had taken the benefits, yet did not want to do the work. He was not even willing to call him "Third Master." And now he actually wanted to rely on dismissing one little brat to repay his kindness—how could that not make Yan Tieshan burn with rage?

He Xiaofeng gave two humorless chuckles, his smile not reaching his eyes, and did not even look at the change in Yan Tieshan's expression.

He truly looked down on Yan Tieshan.

Linjiang Prefecture governed twelve counties, and the Hero Arena was organized with money and backing from some of the great households and powerful clans among those twelve counties. It could gather formidable trained fighters under their command while also opening gambling pools and amassing wealth.

And as the arena champion who had won nine matches in a row, He Xiaofeng naturally had no shortage of great households trying to win him over. It would be strange if he thought much of Yan Tieshan.

In He Xiaofeng's eyes, Yan Tieshan was nothing but a local thug who had stepped in dogshit luck and happened to make his fortune.

He Xiaofeng knew perfectly well why the other man had invited him here. He simply treated him as a fat sheep, eating and drinking his fill, grabbing money by the handful, and playing with women.

Work for Yan Tieshan? Work doing what?

When had he, He Xiaofeng, ever agreed to that?

At that moment, when the fat, burly leader on the dock heard those ringing, forceful words, the slabs of flesh on his face twitched, and a vicious light flared in his eyes.

"So you're a damned idiot after all. If the road is uneven, someone will step on it, huh? All of you, get him! Cripple his legs and let's see how he steps then!"

At his order, the dozen or so thugs behind the fat leader twisted their faces into savage grimaces and roared in unison. Short sabers and long clubs were all drawn, and one by one they charged like mad dogs, with no so-called coordination to speak of, pouncing at Hong Yuan.

"When I was little, film and television dramas always had scenes where bullies oppressed the old and weak, then young heroes and wandering knights appeared and knocked the bullies flat in a few moves. I guess this counts as fulfilling a dream, right?"

Hong Yuan held his saber in hand but did not draw it from the scabbard, watching the thugs rush at him one after another.

The first few thugs to charge close came at him; two roared wildly and swung clubs at Hong Yuan's head, while another two, one on the left and one on the right, actually raised their hands and flung something.

"Little bastard, go die!"

Pfft! Pfft pfft!

Clouds of dust and fine sand scattered everywhere, shooting straight toward Hong Yuan's face. It was clearly things like lime powder and dirt. Hong Yuan had long since noticed the two men's little movements, and now he turned, avoiding the fine sand and ash, while still obligingly shouting, "Despicable!"

His long saber was in hand. His wrist turned with incredible speed, bracing crosswise against the two clubs smashing down. No matter how hard those two thugs exerted themselves, Hong Yuan's hand that held the saber did not move in the slightest.

He looked at the two of them and advised, "Stop, all of you, stop! I see you two have shifty, ratlike faces and look utterly unsightly. You must have been bullied plenty since birth, right? You're bitter-fated people just like these dockworkers. Why act as a tiger's claws and teeth? Turn back, and the shore is right there."

"Fuck your mother!" The two thugs flew into a towering rage and raised their legs to kick Hong Yuan in the chest.

Bang bang!

Hong Yuan tapped his foot, kicked out, and sent two continuous kicks forward. Though he moved later, he arrived first, almost simultaneously striking the two thugs in the face. While helping them get their faces rearranged, a surging force burst out. Blood sprayed from their mouths and noses, and both men flew off the dock together, falling into the river beside it and splashing up great sheets of water.

"If you don't want to go ashore, then go into the river."

Hong Yuan sighed. The long saber spun like a top in his palm, and the scabbard tapped twice in succession, striking the mouths of the two thugs who had thrown lime and fine sand earlier. In an instant, crisp cracking sounds rang out, and the two men covered their mouths and staggered back, every tooth in their mouths smashed to pieces.

In the span of a breath, four thugs had lost their fighting strength. The sight made the expressions of the remaining thugs rushing in jolt. Seeing this, the fat leader also swung the refined iron club in his hand and charged over like a wild boar, shouting loudly, "Attack together! Beat this little bastard to death!"

Instead of retreating, Hong Yuan advanced, charging straight into the crowd of thugs. With the long saber in hand, he blocked left and right. Though it was only a single saber, it stopped more than ten clubs and blades that came at him, and not a single attack landed on his body.

Hong Yuan was as slippery as a swimming snake, weaving through the crowd. It was as if he had eyes on his back; he always avoided or blocked the chopping sabers and clubs with his scabbard in the blink of an eye.

With saber and scabbard together, he either jabbed, slapped, smashed, or chopped... sometimes landing on the thugs' hands, sometimes on their legs, sometimes on their faces or mouths. Only the sounds of bones cracking rang out one after another, accompanied by rising and falling cries of pain.

"Stop! I can't control my strength. It wouldn't be good if I accidentally beat you to death!"

The scabbard in Hong Yuan's palm turned, then slapped across the fat leader's mouth. His teeth shattered on the spot, and blood filled his mouth.

The many onlookers on the dock were already staring dumbfounded. Shock showed on many faces. They had originally thought that under the siege of this gang of thugs, that wandering knight would easily be beaten to death by a storm of clubs, but they had not expected the result to be reversed.

The wandering knight had not even drawn his saber from its scabbard before he knocked more than ten sturdy thugs to the ground, every one of them injured.

This gang of thugs were the ones truly suffering unspeakably now. Somewhere on each of their bodies, one or more bones had been shattered. They were not hard-boned men to begin with; bullying common folk in the marketplace was one thing, but at a time like this, where would they still have any savage, vicious air? They had long since wanted to run.

On the Tao Family merchant ship, the youth in luxurious clothes stood with his hands clasped behind his back and chuckled. "I didn't expect this wandering knight to be rather methodical when he acted. He can be counted as quite a skilled hand. Unfortunately..."

The girl in red asked in surprise, "Unfortunately what?"

Master Jin walked to the side of the youth in luxurious clothes and said in a deep voice, "Unfortunately, this young man is far too softhearted. Even now, he still refuses to draw his saber and kill. Hmph! Did the elders in his family never teach him? In a life-and-death battle, how can there be room for a soft heart? He is kindhearted and unwilling to strike to kill, but his enemies may not be. And with such mercy, any enemy can seize on that point."

A cold smile appeared on Master Jin's face as he looked toward the center of the dock, at the two-story gambling den. "Just watch. Old Third Yan is about to make his move."

On the second floor of the gambling den.

He Xiaofeng watched the crowd of thugs on the dock crying for their fathers and mothers, groaning in pain again and again, and could not help giving a soft laugh. "Brother Yan, although this boy is a bit tender, his kung fu is quite pretty. What I said earlier still stands. I'll make a move and repay your hospitality over these past few days."

Yan Tieshan could no longer maintain his smile either. His expression was ugly, but he still waved a hand and refused. "No need. I trust my men can take him down!"

As he spoke, he nodded to the four guards in the room. Protected by the four of them, he left the room. In the corridor before the door, five dark-skinned men carrying longbows and quivers on their backs were waiting.

Yan Tieshan looked left and right, then said in a deep voice, "Gather the men. Go take down that troublemaking brat."

"Third Master!" Waiting respectfully at the side, Scholar Qian, dressed in a scholar's long robe and bearing the nickname Poison-Heart Scholar, stroked his goatee and smilingly drew close to Yan Tieshan. He said, "Qian has a plan that can easily take down that blind little bastard."

He waved his feather fan, looking as if wisdom pearls were firmly in his grasp.

Yan Tieshan's eyes widened, and he snapped angrily, "Stop keeping me in suspense. If you have something to say, say it."

Scholar Qian coughed. "Third Master, although that boy's kung fu isn't weak, he never dared strike to kill when fighting our men. That shows he's not only a fledgling fresh from the thatch, I'm afraid he may never even have stained his hands with blood. Since he is a kindhearted good man, we can start precisely from that point... hehe!"

Scholar Qian leaned close to Yan Tieshan's ear and muttered a few words softly. Yan Tieshan's eyes lit up, and he laughed loudly. "Good. Military Advisor Qian, this plan is truly marvelous. As expected of my brains. Since that boy wants to be a good man, we'll let him be one to the end. Let's go!"

As he spoke, Yan Tieshan, protected by his four guards, with He Xiaofeng following behind and dozens of thugs crowding around them, strode out of the gambling den.

Yan Tieshan and his party rushed straight over, brimming with killing intent, frightening the surrounding onlookers into retreating again and again. Although there were some wealthy old gentlemen who did not fear Yan Tieshan, they did not want to provoke him at this moment either.

Seeing the dozen or so subordinates sprawled all over the ground, wailing without end, Yan Tieshan let out a cold snort through his nose and abruptly waved a hand.

Scholar Qian gave the faintest nod, and several sturdy thugs beside him, steel blades in hand, rushed out. They barged straight into the surrounding crowd of laborers, pressed their blades to a few of the men's necks, and, faces full of murderous menace, dragged them out under guard, glaring toward Hong Yuan.

Yan Tieshan glanced at Hong Yuan and said coldly, "Kid, I, Old Third Yan, don't care where you crawled out from. If you want to play the wandering hero dispensing justice, you can go anywhere you like, but you should never, ever have come to Third Master's territory. Now, who can you still save? At one word from me, their heads will hit the ground."

Hong Yuan glanced at the laborers trembling with steel blades at their throats, then slowly stepped through the thugs sprawled across the ground and stopped three zhang from Yan Tieshan. His hand rested on his long saber as he smiled. "Oh? Then, Old Third Yan, what do you want?"

Looking at the other man's calm expression, Yan Tieshan's heart gave a sudden jolt. For no reason at all, he felt something was wrong. With this kid's earlier behavior, shouldn't he have been full of righteous fury?

He suppressed that strange feeling and said in a low voice, "It's not about what I want to do. It's about how you want to settle this."

"I, Old Third Yan, was sitting properly in my own house, provoking no one and offending no one, yet you came out of nowhere and wounded my men for no reason."

Yan Tieshan stared coldly at Hong Yuan and snapped, "Now I'll say only one thing. If you want to fight, then I'll kill these poor wretches at once. They'll all have died because of you. After killing them, we can have our bloody brawl! If you want to talk, then come into my building and talk!"

Yan Tieshan did not tell the other man to lay down his blade and surrender. Even if the man was softhearted, he would probably find it very hard to agree to such terms.

Therefore, what he was thinking now was to trick the other man into the building. That lair of his could be called littered with traps and mechanisms; once inside, the other party could only let him knead and pinch him as he pleased.

Of course, even if it came to a real fight with naked blades and loaded weapons, Old Third Yan did not think his several dozen thugs would be unable to deal with him. He simply did not want to lose too much of his old foundation.

"Since you've said one thing, I'll say one thing too." Hong Yuan smiled.

"What?"

"You can go die!"

The moment the words fell, Hong Yuan's figure suddenly erupted into motion. The stone slabs under his feet shattered with a bang, sending a great spray of gravel shooting out, while Hong Yuan himself was like an arrow loosed from the string, lunging forward in an instant!

In the blink of an eye, the distance of three zhang was crossed in a single burst, and he was already pressing right up to Yan Tieshan. Yan Tieshan was startled badly, his feet instinctively retreating.

The four guards flanking him surged forward. Each gave a furious roar, and the long sabers already gripped in their hands swung out, chopping down fiercely at Hong Yuan as he lunged in!

Clang!

The steel saber in Hong Yuan's hand left its sheath, like a flash of vicious lightning. In an instant, one steel saber collided with four blades. The bodies of the four guards shook as one; they only felt a violent force surge in, making the webbing between thumb and forefinger ache sharply. Just as horror crossed their faces, the saber in Hong Yuan's hand rose and swept through the air!

The light of the blade rose through the air like a strip of white silk, slicing across the four men's throats. With a series of "puchi" sounds, four heads shot into the sky.

As fresh blood sprayed wildly, Hong Yuan's figure did not pause in the slightest. In a flash, he closed in on Yan Tieshan, whose expression had already changed drastically.

"Good lad!" A cold shout rang out. He Xiaofeng's hand moved, and the curved saber at his waist had somehow already appeared in his grasp. Immediately, a blade gleam like a cold moon lit up, cutting toward the space Hong Yuan was about to rush into, its momentum making it seem as though Hong Yuan were delivering his own head beneath that "cold-moon curved saber."

Hong Yuan backhandedly pulled off his bamboo hat and flung it out with a "whoosh." It struck the cold-moon saber light, and in an instant, splintered bamboo chips scattered in all directions. Amid the hazy dust and smoke, as He Xiaofeng's blade light faltered, his expression also changed violently.

They saw that wandering swordsman throw his whole body forward, crossing past Yan Tieshan. The chilling, gleaming blade light rapidly withdrew, and the man had vanished from sight, shooting over to Scholar Qian's side. His great hand seized out, like a fierce tiger leaping from the mountain forest.

Puchi!

With a muffled sound, five bloody holes appeared in Scholar Qian's throat. Terror filled his eyes, and an expression of incomparable shock appeared on his face as he toppled stiffly to the ground.

Immediately afterward, loud laughter rang out. Everyone saw only that wandering swordsman striding as if flying; in three bounds and two leaps, he swiftly broke away from the dock area, leaving only his laughter echoing behind:

"Ten steps, one man slain; a thousand miles, no trace remains."

"When the deed is done, I brush off my sleeves and go, hiding deep both merit and name."

Hong Yuan had not wanted to show off like this, but he felt the atmosphere had already been built up to this point, and if he did not spit it out, he would not feel satisfied. Thus, singing wildly and laughing freely, he left.

Upon the dock, there was dead silence.