Four Blades, Three Men

He did not wait for Liu Xiao'er to pull back his staff.

The firewood cleaver in his hand swept sideways along the direction of his dodge, carving a short, decisive arc straight for Liu Xiao'er's neck.

"Since you insist on bullying me like this, then I'll kill you all."

In an instant, Feng Chen's expression turned cold and savage. It was the look of shackles finally snapping after being pressed down for far too long.

At the same time!

A talent notification rang out in his mind.

Ding! Basic Blade Technique proficiency increased by one.

The firewood cleaver chopped into the side of Liu Xiao'er's neck without the slightest flourish.

The sensation of the blade splitting skin, muscle, and blood vessels traveled clearly through the handle into Feng Chen's palm.

Blood gushed out, splattering warmly across his sleeve.

Liu Xiao'er's eyes flew wide open. The staff fell from his hand and bounced once on the ground. He clutched his neck with both hands, making muffled gurgling sounds as he stared at Feng Chen in utter disbelief, his body folding limply downward.

Beside him, Liu Xiaosan was completely stunned.

The lewd grin that had been hanging on his face turned into sheer shock writ large. His mouth hung open, his eyes staring blankly between Liu Xiao'er twitching on the ground and the blood-dripping firewood cleaver in Feng Chen's hand.

He had never imagined that Feng Chen would truly dare to swing a blade at someone—and strike a fatal spot with a single slash.

How had this skill become completely different from that of the cowardly hunter who had let everyone push him around before?

After cutting down Liu Xiao'er, Feng Chen did not pause. He did not even spare the body on the ground a second glance.

His movements flowed as though he had rehearsed them countless times in his mind. He spun around and rushed toward Liu Xiaosan, whose legs had gone weak, flicking his wrist to send out a second slash.

Ding! Basic Blade Technique proficiency increased by one.

Liu Xiaosan was frightened out of his wits. He hurriedly raised both hands in front of himself as he staggered backward, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Damn you, Feng Chen! You dare use a blade on us? Once we get back to the village, we'll definitely kill both you and Lin Qing'er!"

Feng Chen gave no response at all—not a single word.

Because he truly intended to kill these men.

And to someone who genuinely meant to kill, even half a sentence was superfluous.

All his attention was on the blade, on his opponent's openings, on the next breath.

Crack!

The firewood cleaver came down on Liu Xiaosan's raised arms. The blade split flesh and struck bone, carving deep wounds into both hands that exposed the bone.

Blood instantly streamed down his arms in two crimson rivers.

Liu Xiaosan howled in agony, all color draining from his face in an instant. His arms dropped instinctively, leaving his entire upper body completely exposed.

Then came the third slash, directly across Liu Xiaosan's neck.

Clean and decisive.

Liu Xiaosan's scream cut off abruptly. The light in his eyes scattered at once, and his body toppled like a sawed-off stump, falling into the same patch of dust as Liu Xiao'er two steps away.

Three blades, two men.

Feng Chen straightened up and took a faint breath, warm red droplets splattered across his wrist.

Then he raised his head and looked at the last person still standing.

Only then did Tiger Liu snap out of his shock.

His fleshy face had gone deathly pale, his lips trembling, the corners of his eyes twitching uncontrollably.

When he saw Feng Chen looking at him, he instinctively took a step back. His heel struck a rock, and he nearly tripped.

His gaze bounced several times between the bloody firewood cleaver in Feng Chen's hand and the corpses of his two brothers on the ground before he finally understood what was happening.

"Feng Chen, you have a blade—I won't fight you!" Tiger Liu backed away while raising one hand to point at Feng Chen, his voice shaking badly.

"I'll definitely return to the village and tell my father about this! I'll make him kill you!"

When he said the words "kill you," his voice suddenly rose into a broken, shrill scream.

Tiger Liu was not an idiot. Feng Chen had cut down Liu Xiao'er and Liu Xiaosan in no more than a few blinks. Such skill was nothing like that of the hunter everyone had bullied before.

Seeing that things had gone south, he turned and fled down the other end of the mountain path, his soles slapping against the road with sharp smacks.

Feng Chen watched Tiger Liu flee, coldness flickering in his eyes.

Trying to run now? Too late.

He did not chase after him. Instead, he gripped the firewood cleaver in reverse, drew his arm back, and aimed in the direction Tiger Liu was running.

His archery was also at the Perfect Mastery Realm. A bow was a weapon, and so was a thrown blade.

Target movement speed, changing distance, the balance of the blade and its handle, the angle of release, the coordination of force!

All this information was calculated in an instant, as though an arc had already been drawn in his mind.

He suddenly hurled the firewood cleaver.

Whoosh!

The blade flipped once through the air and struck precisely into the left side of Tiger Liu's back with a dull thud. The edge sank into flesh and lodged between his ribs.

Tiger Liu looked as though someone had given him a vicious shove from behind. His hands clawed wildly at the air a few times before he slammed face-first into the dust of the mountain path.

"It hurts! It hurts so much!"

Tiger Liu lay prone on the ground, his legs kicking weakly. His hands tried to reach his back but could not, his fingertips scratching helplessly at empty air.

The handle quivered slightly as his body twisted. Blood poured from the wound, soaking through the clothes on his back and flowing down to the cloth sash at his waist.

His voice carried a sobbing note. "Feng Chen, spare me, spare me! I was wrong!"

Feng Chen strode quickly to Tiger Liu's side.

Looking down at Tiger Liu's miserable struggle on the ground, Feng Chen saw that face once filled with arrogance and tyranny now twisted beyond recognition by pain and terror. Snot and tears covered it, mixed with the dust of the mountain road, like a crumpled filthy rag.

Feng Chen crouched down, a brilliant smile appearing on his face.

Sunlight fell through gaps in the treetops overhead, illuminating that sharply defined face with perfect clarity.

"Spare you?"

"Why should I?"

Without waiting for Tiger Liu to answer, he reached out, gripped the handle of the firewood cleaver in his back, and yanked it free.

As the blade slid from the wound, it made a wet, sticky sound, flinging a trail of blood droplets onto the roadside grass.

Tiger Liu let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered. His whole body arched violently before going limp again.

Feng Chen stood with the blade in hand, about to finish off the last man.

Tiger Liu rolled over onto his back, his chest heaving violently.

The last glimmer of pleading in his eyes vanished, replaced by pure venomous hatred, as though he wanted to burn the appearance of the man before him into his eyeballs and carry it underground.

"Feng Chen, if you kill me, you won't meet a good end. My father will definitely avenge me!"

Tiger Liu gritted his teeth and spoke word by word. Bloody foam seeped from the corner of his mouth, mixing with his blackened yellow teeth.

"But you'll never see it."

Feng Chen paused. His gaze was terrifyingly calm as he added indifferently, "And who said I won't kill your father too?"

As his words fell, the firewood cleaver traced a smooth arc, slicing from one side of Tiger Liu's neck to the other.

Blood spurted out, drawing a glaring crimson streak beneath the midday sun before falling into the dirt, where the thirsty soil of the mountain path swiftly drank it in.

Ding! Basic Blade Technique proficiency increased by one.

The talent notification sounded in his mind again, and another layer of insight into blade techniques poured into his consciousness.

The angle at which the blade cut into flesh could tilt another three degrees, allowing it to avoid the obstruction of cartilage more smoothly!

This knowledge naturally became part of his body's memory, as though it had merely been confirmed in that last slash.

After dealing with the three men, Feng Chen stood on the mountain path and looked down at the three corpses.

A mountain wind blew from the woods, carrying the scent of pine resin and fresh grass as it scattered the heavy stench of blood around his nose.

A sense of release welled up from the depths of his heart. It was neither excitement nor exhilaration, but the feeling of finally letting out a long breath after being stifled for too long, as though some knot that had been clenched in his chest suddenly loosened.

"So this is what revenge feels like? It really is satisfying."

"From now on, I'll never swallow my anger again. Whoever provokes me, I'll chop them to death."

Feng Chen bent down and quickly searched the three men.

Tiger Liu had a cloth money pouch sewn inside his clothes. Opening it, Feng Chen found several bits of broken silver, totaling roughly two taels.

He also found some copper coins on Liu Xiao'er and Liu Xiaosan, thirty coins altogether.

He tucked all the silver and coins into his clothes and weighed them in his hand.

It was not a bad haul.

Once he had searched them clean, he dragged the three bodies, one by one, into the woods beside the road and found a steep slope from which to throw them down in succession.

The corpses rolled and crashed into the shrubs and rocks below with several dull thuds before swiftly vanishing beneath the thick trees.

These mountains were vast, and deep in the forest lived wild boars, wolves, and all manner of carrion-eating beasts.

The scent from the corpses would naturally draw those lovely creatures over. It would not be long before every trace was cleaned away.

Besides, even if someone discovered them, this mountain path was not traveled only by people from Green Mountain Village. Who would suspect him?

Feng Chen put away the firewood cleaver, wiped the blood from its blade with roadside grass, hoisted the sack back onto his shoulder, and continued toward Green Mountain Town.