Muddy Waters

"The White-Robed Society's little bastard is this strong?" The attacker stared at Li Mu, shocked and uncertain.

This man was Ji Hong, fresh from worshipping Buddha.

He had never expected that after worshipping, his injuries would miraculously heal, and his vitality and blood would increase considerably.

The voice in his mind continued without pause. Ji Hong could barely suppress the urge to kneel and worship again, but sensing pursuers behind him, he gritted his teeth, put away the wooden carving, and ran.

Boss Huang and the others slipped away early... They should have finished collecting protection money. With that thought, Ji Hong used his familiarity with the alleys to shake off his pursuers. He arrived at Everlasting Celebration Ward, intending to find those gang members, collect the money, and immediately return to meet up with his elder brother, Ji Qing.

Along the way, he felt an unprecedented urge—a thirst for blood, an urge to kill.

To avoid further trouble, he had been desperately suppressing it when he suddenly ran into a figure in white blocking his path.

Instinctively, he assumed the other party was from the White-Robed Society. With his fighting spirit surging and demonic madness nearly taking hold, he drew his saber and slashed without hesitation.

To his surprise, the youth deflected the strike with a single sword. The brute force and the sword force that burst forth left Ji Hong's tiger's mouth numb.

"You?"

Li Mu read the man's vitality and blood at a glance: 16.2.

No wonder he could block Li Mu's full-powered Listen to Thunder.

"You misunderstand. I'm not from the White-Robed Society. I'm from Hidden Sword Manor." Li Mu did not want to cause further trouble.

"Oh... If I say you are, then you are." Ji Hong sneered. "You killed three of my brothers, and now you want to hide behind Hidden Sword Manor's name?"

As he had rushed over, he had already seen the three corpses of Boss Huang and the others. Then he saw this white-clad youth striding quickly ahead of him, and immediately formed his suspicion.

The Azure Dragon Gang's incense master stood nearly two meters tall. Dressed in a short blue outfit with his upper body bare, his muscles bulged like a high wall blocking the alley entrance, his massive shadow falling at Li Mu's feet.

He gripped a heavy saber, his vitality and blood thick and powerful. Compared to Li Mu, his imposing presence was vastly stronger.

"Remember this well!! The one killing you is Ji Hong, incense master of the Azure Dragon Gang!!"

Ji Hong's body seemed to swell as he stepped forward like rushing thunder. Suddenly, he flung open one hand.

Pfft!

A cloud of white powder scattered through the air.

Li Mu was startled and hurriedly turned his head.

This bastard was fighting dirty!

"Die!"

Ji Hong roared. He knew this youth lacked experience in the martial world. The unexpected lime powder would surely work.

The instant Li Mu turned away, Ji Hong charged in. He gripped the refined steel saber in both hands, raising a cyclone like crashing waves.

His savage momentum was unstoppable as he brought down his saber with all his strength!

From their earlier clash, he knew the youth before him had definitely not broken through the second gate. Yet he was certainly no ordinary first-gate martial artist. Thus, Ji Hong's arms instantly flushed red as his fury drove him to unleash his full power!

With one strike, he would cleave this reckless youth in half!

Bang!!

To his surprise, a shocking cyclone exploded before him. He immediately screamed in agony as blood sprayed from his face, and his descending saber slowed by half a beat.

Then it cut only empty air.

All Ji Hong could see was blood and darkness. Pain and humiliation filled him. He could not understand how his opponent possessed such terrifying swordsmanship. From several steps away, it had erupted in an instant, so quickly that he could not even react!

Furious, he shouted, "You..."

Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft!

Ji Hong only felt a gust of wind whirl around him. Then four sword strikes pierced his body before he even had time to swing his saber.

Four consecutive sword thrusts turned his entire body into a punctured waterskin, blood gushing from the wounds.

"There shouldn't be anyone else besides you around here, right?" As Li Mu spoke, he looked into the distance in every direction but found no further traces.

"I..."

Ji Hong wanted to say something. After years of fighting in the martial world, he had never suffered such humiliation. Before he could even complete a single move, he had been killed by one sword thrust from a mere junior...

The stabbing pain throughout his body completely severed his consciousness, and he crashed to the ground.

A trace of soft armor showed through his torn clothes.

"Swordsmanship truly depends on flexibility. Assassination..."

Li Mu had not anticipated the lime powder, but his body reacted too quickly. With a raised hand, he unleashed the peak-level Dripping Water Sword Force. It was not something a first-gate martial artist like Ji Hong could react to.

Afterward, he casually practiced Dream Spring Tiger Run, and four strikes killed the man.

Now he had confirmed that Black Frost was sharp enough to pierce even close-fitting soft armor.

However, given the finances of an Azure Dragon Gang incense master, the soft armor he had bought could only be considered low-grade. If it had been of higher quality, Li Mu's current explosive power would have needed a bit more effort to penetrate it.

Li Mu quickly searched the corpse. This time, the money pouch was much fuller.

The three men earlier had yielded a total of ten taels, while this incense master, Ji Hong, carried twenty taels by himself. There was no need to think about where it had come from—it had all been squeezed from the common people.

He also carried various miscellaneous medicinal powders. Li Mu did not know how to identify them, so he took them all. They might prove useful someday.

Unfortunately, the soft armor had been punctured beyond use.

But what slightly startled Li Mu was that Ji Hong actually carried a wooden Buddha carving!

"Did he come into contact with remnants of Sacred Buddha Temple?" Li Mu sensed trouble.

Just as the wooden Buddha carving absorbed all of Li Mu's attention, a figure in a short blue outfit watched the scene from a distant corner. Trembling all over, he fled wildly in one direction as though running for his life...

"Ji Hong!! Where do you think you're running!!"

Several furious roars suddenly rang out.

A few white-clad men wearing black iron masks arrived with sabers and swords in hand. When they saw the corpse on the ground from afar, they were all stunned.

"Ji Hong is dead?"

"This youth is..."

Members of the White-Robed Society had pursued Ji Hong here, only to find that he had been killed by this white-clad youth. There were also three Azure Dragon Gang corpses nearby...

But this youth looked unfamiliar. They could not gauge his strength, nor did they know his identity.

They felt somewhat wary. Anyone who could kill Ji Hong without suffering so much as a scratch was certainly not someone to take lightly.

Li Mu felt that he had accidentally waded into muddy waters, and the deeper he went, the murkier they became. Seeing that the other party had no intention of starting a conflict, he said nothing and was about to leave.

Then a burly white-clad man wearing a bronze mask stepped out from behind them.

"One sword through the face, four swords through the heart, and not a scratch on yourself. As expected of a Hidden Sword disciple... Young hero, could you stay for a talk?"

Li Mu froze when he heard that. It was not because his identity had been exposed, but because of that voice...

Looking carefully, familiar information immediately surfaced:

[Zhou Dayuan, Vitality and Blood: 18.8 (foundation damaged, unable to advance further)]

This White-Robed Society bronze envoy was none other than Zhou Dayuan, the Hunter Gang member Li Mu had encountered at Black Camel Ridge!

So it really was him. Li Mu was inwardly surprised, but his expression remained calm.

"You lot, go deal with the other Azure Dragon Gang members first."

"Yes, Bronze Envoy."

The White-Robed Society members respectfully withdrew.

"Young hero, follow me." The bronze envoy turned and walked away.

Li Mu said nothing and followed directly.

The bronze envoy led Li Mu around in a circle before knocking on the door of a small courtyard. Disguised White-Robed Society members were waiting inside.

They entered an underground passage. The bronze envoy led the way with practiced ease, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at a butcher shop.

"Brother Zhou, you can take off the mask now," Li Mu said.

"Brother Li Mu, you recognized my voice just now?"

Zhou Dayuan removed his bronze mask, revealing a face entirely without a beard, and laughed heartily.

Li Mu's calm response to the unexpected situation, and his composed decision to follow, had truly surprised him.

After Zhou Dayuan had disguised himself, put on the mask, dressed in white, and taken up twin sabers, his bearing had instantly changed from that of a seasoned hunter into something entirely different.

If Li Mu had not vaguely recognized his voice and seen his information, he would not have dared to confirm that it was Zhou Dayuan.

Zhou Dayuan clicked his tongue in praise. "Potential, combat strength, courage, and sharp eyes. It truly wrongs you to be cooped up in Hidden Sword Manor as a servant."

Zhou Dayuan took off his clothes, stuck on a beard, tied on a red headscarf, and turned back into a bare-chested butcher.

Li Mu was slightly stunned. Hunter, butcher, White-Robed Society... Zhou Dayuan had quite the colorful history.

Seeing Li Mu's confusion, Zhou Dayuan said helplessly, "The world is too chaotic. Later, there was an epidemic, then swine fever broke out. My butcher shop could no longer stay open, so I went to learn hunting. After entering the mountains, I discovered I simply could not hunt alone, so I could only join the Hunter Gang. Life got better after joining them, but when I returned, the Azure Dragon Gang extorted me. I had no choice but to join the White-Robed Society..."

Li Mu immediately understood. Zhou Dayuan had also been driven to this by the times...

"Here, the map I promised you."

Zhou Dayuan pulled out a rolled-up map and tossed it to Li Mu.

Li Mu unfolded it. It was a simple map of Azure River City's inner and outer districts. It also marked several hunting locations in the wilderness, including Black Camel Ridge outside the city, as well as the territories of forces outside the city that were best not provoked, such as Hidden Sword Manor.

Li Mu's eyes brightened slightly. He knew very well that this map was extremely valuable!

"How did you run into Ji Hong?" Zhou Dayuan asked.

"By chance." Li Mu recounted how he had been approached at the Xing Family residence.

"I see. A bunch of beasts, robbing respectable women in broad daylight! You killed them well!" Zhou Dayuan said indignantly.

Then he added, "Don't worry. We've already taken Qingyuan Ward, so your sister-in-law can rest easy. Before long, the Azure Dragon Gang will be wiped out just like the Mountain-Holding Vulture."

"The Mountain-Holding Vulture is behind the Azure Dragon Gang?" Li Mu finally understood.