Spreading Far and Wide

Thud! Thud!

The unbridled laughter still echoed in the wind as the four severed heads, hurled into the air by the immense force of the slash, finally smashed to the ground. They rolled wildly like balls, clattering along and dragging out trails of blood that made hearts tremble.

One of the heads happened to roll to the feet of a thug who was holding a coolie hostage. The thug's neck went stiff, and he could not help lowering his head to look.

The face of the head still held the savagery from the moment its owner had swung his blade. Its eyes were split wide at the corners, staring straight at him, and in those hollow, dark pupils there seemed to lurk an abyss, as if a vengeful ghost might charge out at any moment to claim his life.

The thug only felt a chill rise out of nowhere. His hands and feet turned ice-cold, his whole body went limp without a trace of strength, and the steel blade in his palm fell to the ground with a clang.

He, too, let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground in a heap, his crotch turning wet in an instant.

No one laughed at him. No one even paid him any attention. As if it were a signal, several more thugs lost their grip on their blades. Even the bold ones were now swallowing hard, their faces filled with horror.

The thugs who could still stand all lost their heads and turned their gazes toward the man who could make decisions.

Yan Tieshan stood ramrod straight, looking ahead without saying a word, his face still frozen in a frightened expression.

"Third Master..."

The five dark-skinned hunters could not hide their shock either. They were all seasoned hunters of many years; before they had thrown in with Yan Tieshan, they had spent years running through the mountain forests in pursuit of game.

When that wandering knight had pounced and vaulted just now, they had truly felt the terror of being alone deep in the vast mountains, bare-handed before a man-eating fierce tiger.

His pouncing speed had been too fast. He had leaped and skimmed like he was flying; there had been no chance at all to draw a bow and nock an arrow.

"That kid... that man hasn't run far yet. Do we chase him or not?" One hunter moved close to Yan Tieshan and asked, his heart pounding like a drum.

Before the words had fallen, the hunter felt a chill on his face. He reached up and wiped it with a finger; fresh blood stained his fingertip red.

He abruptly raised his head, his eyes flying wide.

Hiss!

A long line of blood spread across Yan Tieshan's neck. Reeking fresh blood spurted out, and then Yan Tieshan's head dipped. A large head rolled down from his neck.

"Ah!" The hunter staggered backward and cried out in shock.

Only then did the many travelers, merchants, and all sorts of people on the pier finally react. For a moment, clamor rose on all sides, and the crowd turned into a frightened school of fish, dissolving into chaos.

Cries of alarm rang out, rising and falling one after another.

Some of the timid had already covered their eyes, not daring to look again. Others, suddenly seeing such a shocking scene, were so frightened their limbs went weak and they opened their mouths as if to vomit.

Even some wealthy gentry and great merchants who had traveled north and south, seen much of the world, and were surrounded by guards were now dumbstruck, their minds shaken.

As for the few coolies who had been held at knife-point, they took advantage of the thugs' panic and hurriedly scrambled away on hands and feet, their faces showing both fear and a faint delight at hatred finally finding release.

Several jianghu men in tight, swift-fitting clothes had squeezed into the crowd and watched from beginning to end. Now they could no longer remain calm either. A man with a saber at his waist gaped and stammered, "This... what exactly happened here?"

"What else could have happened?" Beside the saber wielder, a bronze-skinned man with a full beard gave a bitter smile. "We all misjudged him. How is that some fledgling who just came down from the mountains? He was clearly an old turtledove pretending to be a little sparrow. Such a fast blade, such a ruthless strike. He hit with one blow and immediately fled far away... heh heh!"

As the bearded man spoke, admiration and reverence gradually surfaced on his face. He murmured, "Killing one man every ten steps, leaving no trace across a thousand li... This trip truly wasn't in vain. It wasn't in vain!"

On the other side, the thin He Xiaofeng paid no attention at all to the thugs' panic. With a wooden expression, he sheathed his curved blade, crouched down, and carefully examined the severed opening at the neck of Yan Tieshan's headless corpse.

After a while, he shifted his gaze to the five hideous bloody holes in Scholar Qian's throat, his eyes dark enough to drip water.

"Good! Good lad. To think even I, He, was played for a fool!"

He muttered hoarsely, his eyes narrowing slightly, and the image of the other man flinging out his bamboo hat to block the path of his curved blade involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

Using that brief instant when his curved blade had been delayed, the other man had thrown his whole body forward, swept his blade-light around, and neatly cut off Yan Tieshan's head.

He Xiaofeng recalled the instant the bamboo hat had shattered and splinters and wood chips had flown in all directions. What entered his eyes had been a pair of calm, indifferent eyes.

Their exchange had passed in the blink of an eye, and smoke and dust had blocked his view, so he had not seen the other man's appearance very clearly. But those eyes—once seen, they would never be forgotten.

The next time they met, he would definitely be able to recall him at once.

He Xiaofeng looked indifferently at that crowd of thugs. Some were still lying on the pier, wailing without end; the rest had become headless flies, every one of them dazed and dispirited.

Having lost Yan Tieshan, these people could not possibly keep a foothold on the pier. Before long, a new gang or a powerful clan would step in.

Some of them might perhaps be kept to continue doing dirty work. As for those thugs whose bones had been smashed, no one would spend money for nothing to support them.

He Xiaofeng had no intention of looting Yan Tieshan's lair.

It was not that he was not greedy for money, but that he knew Yan Tieshan's lair actually did not have much spare wealth.

The reason Yan Tieshan had been able to become the pier's Third Master and occupy the profits from the pier and the surrounding Fishery Street, Coolie Alley, and other territories was because he had the support of powerful households in the city behind him.

Most of the goods and wealth he got his hands on had to be shared out, and he himself had to support nearly a hundred thugs. In the end, how many coins could be left?

Precisely because the gains were not as high as others imagined, while the expenses were great, Yan Tieshan had felt his flesh ache after investing in He Xiaofeng for only a few days.

Without saying a word, He Xiaofeng turned directly around and strode away.

The autumn wind stirred the clear waves.

On the Yudai River, the deck of the Tao Family's great ship had sunk into a strange silence.

Only after a long while did Master Jin give a bitter smile and shake his head, then let out a deep breath.

"I, Old Jin, have traveled north and south for so many years and fancied myself an old hand of the jianghu, with a pair of eyes that have seen a hundred kinds of people. I never imagined that today, I too would be blind with eyes wide open..."

"It isn't Master Jin's fault. Even I didn't see any flaw."

The richly dressed young man stared into the direction where Hong Yuan's back had vanished, his expression grave.

"That man's true target may well have been Yan Tieshan's head all along. But he was unwilling to risk barging into Yan Tieshan's lair, so he disguised himself as a greenhorn fresh out of the thatched cottage, then deliberately put on a softhearted, merciful front to lure him out. Yan Tieshan did not die unjustly."

Master Jin said, "Such scheming truly does warrant caution, but this man's martial arts are even more cause for dread."

"Indeed. In the snap of a finger, he used one saber to parry four blades and cut off four men's heads. That was an eruption of True Force, was it not? Immediately after, he killed Old Third Yan and that old scholar. His saber art was so fast that even after the head was severed, no one else could see anything amiss. His claw technique was even more terrifying—one strike tore open that old scholar's throat!"

"With such martial arts, let alone among the younger generation, even among those famous experts still in the prime of life, there aren't many who can compare to him."

The richly dressed young man suddenly laughed again. "To think that on this sudden whim of mine, coming out for a stroll, I would so quickly encounter such a formidable figure. Truly, under the vast heavens, heroes rise in endless ranks! Judging by that man's voice, he is not old either, and with that prudence and scheming, it is not necessarily impossible for him to one day reach 'subtlety.'"

"Subtlety..." Master Jin sighed, envy and jealousy showing in his eyes.

He had come from the wilds of the jianghu, and by relying on his fine martial skill, he had won the Tao Family's appreciation, becoming the guard and martial instructor for the Tao Family's young master and young miss. On ordinary days, the Tao siblings were also quite courteous to him, always addressing him as "Master."

But he understood his own place. The Tao siblings' courtesy toward him was only the cultivated bearing that scions of great families prided themselves on; it did not mean he could truly put on the airs of a teacher.

To put it bluntly, he, "Master Jin," was merely a higher-class household servant whom the Tao Family valued relatively highly!

But if his martial arts reached the level of "subtlety," then everything would become different.

Subtlety was already the realm of martial grandmasters, first-rate figures who, by one man's strength, could contend against several dozen armored soldiers or even more. They were genuine "hundred-man foes." In the jianghu, they could establish a school, found a sect, and dominate a region as martial masters.

On the battlefield, clad in heavy armor, such men were first-rate fierce generals who charged through formations, scattering all who stood before them. For such figures, even if one could not say they stood on equal footing with those great clans and noble families of long inheritance, the other party at least had to grant them the corresponding regard and courtesy.

Unfortunately, whether in talent or opportunity, Master Jin was somewhat lacking. For him, achieving subtlety in his force was only a distant fantasy.

The girl in red recovered from the shock of all that dripping blood and said, "Since this man is so extraordinary, why doesn't Eldest Brother find him and, before he has reached 'subtlety,' draw him over to our Tao Family's side? That way, our family would gain a great helper too."

The richly dressed young man pondered briefly, then shook his head. "Forget it. Judging by this man's style, he kills decisively, without the slightest dragging mud and trailing water. If I rashly go prying into his identity, I may botch things through cleverness and instead provoke his anger..."

"I did not think it through," the girl in red said, her expression turning a little more solemn.

Thinking of that swift and vicious saber stroke from before, she also felt somewhat weak inside. At the same time, she could not help but yearn after it, sighing, "I have read so many chivalric storybooks on ordinary days, and I have practiced martial arts under Master Jin, so I thought I had gained a bit of skill myself. Only today do I understand what true wandering-hero bearing is..."

"Kill a man in ten steps, travel a thousand li and leave no trace. When the deed is done, brush off the robe and go, hiding deep both merit and name." She could not help softly reciting it. "What a fine poem. I wonder which great master wrote it? Only such a fine poem could be worthy of such a soul-shaking saber stroke!"

The richly dressed young man stood tall at the bow with his hands behind his back, watching as the clamor on the pier continued without end. Some people were shouting about reporting to the authorities, while even more had no stake in the matter and hurried away.

He gave a light laugh and said, "I'm afraid this matter will spread very quickly. When those wandering heroes drifting through the jianghu hear of it, they will surely be wild with joy and take this poem as their guiding rule..."

Whoosh! Whoosh, whoosh!

Hong Yuan swept along swiftly like the wind. After quickly leaving the pier area, he turned this way and that before entering an unfamiliar street alley. He stopped in a quiet corner, adjusting his breathing technique and calming his slightly hurried breath.

His face was faintly flushed, a sign that he had erupted with True Force several times in a short span, causing his qi and blood to surge upward against the current.

On the pier, Hong Yuan had erupted with True Force three times in total. The first was when he used one saber to parry the four guards' blades and cut off four heads in passing!

The second was when he darted to Yan Tieshan's side to kill him.

The third was when True Force erupted beneath his feet, letting him sweep away like the wind and vanish.

If it had been Yang Erhu, one eruption would have left him helplessly waiting for death. Hong Yuan's qi and blood were merely a little scattered.

After slowly adjusting for half a quarter hour, Hong Yuan opened his eyes. He was already as he normally was, his spirit complete and his breath abundant.

He carried his saber and set off, intending to seek trouble with Meng Yue's superior, that so-called "Mr. Cui."

One hour later.

Hong Yuan walked out of a dim alley, his expression slightly displeased. He had come up empty; that Mr. Cui was not in the house.

He had even hidden in the shadows and silently waited for more than half an hour, yet there was still no sound or movement at all.

Hong Yuan possessed the ability of [Clear Eyes Through the Nether], and his powers of observation were unlike ordinary people's. He was ninety percent certain that when Meng Yue was forced to confess, he had not lied.

So either Mr. Cui did not trust Meng Yue all that much and had three burrows like a cunning hare, or he had simply gotten lucky.

Whichever it was, Hong Yuan felt it would be very difficult for him to grasp this Mr. Cui's trail in the short term.

After all, he did not even know Mr. Cui's exact appearance.

And once the incident at the pier spread, if Mr. Cui heard even a little of it, he would likely become alert at once. Then, after waiting and waiting without Meng Yue arriving...

In fact, while Hong Yuan was hiding in the shadows and respectfully awaiting Mr. Cui's grand arrival, the shocking change that had occurred on the pier had already spread through several bustling streets in the county town.

"What? Yan Tieshan, Third Master Yan of the pier, was killed?"

"What? Third Master Yan's strategist, Scholar Qian, is dead too?"

"What Third Master? Yan San is just a dead dog with its head cut off now. Tsk, tsk! You people didn't go see the scene. It was a miserable sight, blood flowing all over the ground!"

The pier was already a place where people came and went, gathering all sorts from the three teachings and nine streams as well as many traveling merchants. In addition, Yangquan County's town was not large. Though a short hour was not enough for word to spread through the whole county, the most crowded and lively commercial districts were already in an uproar. Everyone was bustling as if celebrating the New Year.

Quite a few arguing crowds had gathered inside wine houses and teahouses. Many of them had experienced the scene at the pier in person and had specially run over to spread the tale, each one flushed with excitement, gesturing wildly.

"Ah! What a pity you didn't see it with your own eyes. This was far more thrilling than the stories those storytellers tell in the teahouses."

In a certain teahouse.

The speaker was beaming with excitement, one foot planted on a stool as he gestured with his hands. "That wandering hero wore a bamboo hat, was dressed all in black, and had a steel saber at his waist. All by himself, he beat the hundred-odd men under Old Third Yan until corpses lay strewn everywhere. Then he swung out with another slash, so fast it was practically like lightning. My eyes blurred, and several heads flew into the sky..."

"The funniest one was Old Third Yan. His head had already been chopped off, but his men still thought he was alive. They went over and touched him, and bang!" The speaker spread his palm before his eyes and tilted his own head.

"His head fell right off!"

"Good! Good that he was killed! That old dog Yan committed every evil under the sun—he should have died long ago! Wuwuwu..." Someone burst into loud sobs, perhaps having once suffered Yan Tieshan's bullying as well.

"Ha, the King of Hell of the docks ran into the real King of Hell!"

"How did I hear that swordsman killed several hundred men all by himself, that the blood dyed the Yudai River red, and the corpses clogged up the channel..."

"Ah! Such a huge scene—why don't we go take a look right now?"

"Forget it, forget it!"

"Has anyone notified the authorities?"

"Someone reported it ages ago, but what can the county yamen do? Matters of the jianghu are settled by the jianghu. At most, the county magistrate will send men over to collect the bodies..." someone muttered softly.

In the window-side corner of the teahouse, a prosperous-looking middle-aged man with an emerald archer's ring on the thumb of his right hand had originally been sipping his tea at leisure. Now, however, his brows were tightly furrowed. He set a bit of broken silver on the table, hurriedly rose, and headed outside.

But after taking only a few steps out of the teahouse, his body suddenly halted. A pensive look surfaced on his face, and he turned back and entered the teahouse again.