Killing Begins

The night was thick as ink that could not be dissolved.

Scattered lantern lights flickered under the night wind, bright one moment and dim the next, as though someone were holding down the entire city's breath.

North Gate Avenue was deserted. In the darkness, a swift shadow moved close along the walls, its footsteps exceptionally light.

It was only the second watch.

The moment the watch drum fell silent, torrential rain came smashing down, washing Blackwater City's blackness into something even blacker.

Narrow Gutter Alley.

Lu Li held his breath and drew close to a small courtyard. Fierce shouts kept sounding from within. Rainwater ran down his fists and dripped silently into the puddles at his feet.

He did not act in haste, instead standing in the shadows at the alley entrance some distance away.

Through the night, he saw that Zhang Biao's group was still ransacking the courtyard house, turning chests and cabinets upside down, digging through walls and earth, leaving no place where money might be hidden untouched.

Studying the courtyard's layout, he began counting heads... two men guarding the entrance, four searching the courtyard...

Through the window, Zhang Biao and an old Forty-Niner were in the main room, interrogating the householders.

There were another four ransacking the inner room. Lu Li's gaze shifted back and forth. One, two, three... twelve.

Very good.

They were all here.

Not one was missing.

He had long since been drenched by the downpour. His black hair clung damply to his shoulders, and two strips of black cloth covered his face, revealing only a pair of eyes cold enough to pierce the bone.

"Master Biao, this is the last alley. Let's be quick about it. I keep feeling something is off about that brat Lu Li. Killing his uncle-in-law should have been nothing, but now he's a martial artist, and he's been this calm about it. I'm afraid this grudge won't end peacefully."

Ironwood Hall's old Forty-Niner, Feng Sangun, tugged at Zhang Biao and urged him.

Zhang Biao's eyes flickered uncertainly. How could he not know the severity of the matter? But he had just been promoted to Grass Shoes and had sworn a military pledge before Zhao Shuiliu. He had to hand over two hundred taels of silver within three days. Once they finished searching this alley, it should be about enough.

"Pass the word. Tell the brothers to search carefully, but move faster. Once we're done, I'll take the brothers to Fragrant Joy Pavilion and let them have some fun."

"Understood, Master Biao!"

Feng Sangun had just turned away when he suddenly turned back and asked, "Master Biao, I think we should send a brother to report to the Hall Master. The sooner we report Lu Li's successful Gate-Breaking, the better."

Zhang Biao rubbed his beard, pondered for a moment, then nodded. "You handle it. Be quick. Go now."

A sly glint flashed through Feng Sangun's eyes. This was exactly what he wanted. He could not wait to leave this place.

"Master Biao, I'll be back in no time."

BOOM!

One moment, there was dead silence. The next, thunder exploded. A fist shot through the rain curtain, carving a grim arc through the air and smashing squarely into the left gatekeeper's temple.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the back of his head slammed into the earthen wall and crumpled under the impact. The explosive crack of bone was swallowed by the thunder, like a ripe watermelon smashed open with a stick, scarlet pulp spraying through the air.

Lu Li tapped the pooled water lightly with his foot, leaving only a black shadow in the rainy night. After blowing apart one man, he bent down and seized the saber hanging in midair.

"Who's there?!"

The Forty-Niner on the right instantly became alert.

The answer was a saber.

The saber in Lu Li's hand pierced through the rain, fast and precise, slashing steadily across the man's throat. Before the blood could even spurt out, the torrential rain scattered it. Bloody water ran along the base of the wall, mixing with the mud beneath their feet into a murky slurry.

The lackey clutched his neck and collapsed, his eyes wide open. Even in death, he never saw who had killed him.

Just then, Feng Sangun opened the courtyard gate.

Thunder exploded. When lightning flashed again, he abruptly saw two corpses lying on the ground.

Feng Sangun's heart immediately turned cold.

Half his body had already stepped outside the gate. Just as he tried to retreat back inside, the world suddenly spun around him. The world in his eyes whirled who knew how many times. Before he lost consciousness, he saw his body still standing at the courtyard gate, slowly falling over—and why was his head so far from his body?

The courtyard erupted into chaos.

"Someone's here! Grab your weapons!"

Lu Li no longer hid. Saber in hand, he kicked open the courtyard gate and rushed inside, only to find three men charging at him with sabers in the cramped, dilapidated courtyard.

From the corner of his eye, he also saw people rushing out of the house.

Lu Li flicked his blade lightly. The saber tip touched the incoming man's chest. Primordial Unity Force surged, and with a gentle push, it was like puncturing a sheet of thin paper. The man stared wide-eyed, his mouth open but unable to make a sound, as his body slowly slid down.

Thud!

His knees scraped across the stone slabs, the sound jolting awake the two men behind him who had been about to charge.

The two turned to flee.

Lu Li pursued at once, weaving through the small courtyard like a gust of wind. Saber light flashed in the pouring rain. The fifth, the sixth, the seventh... bodies fell into the mud, twitched twice, and lay still.

Lu Li was already a Skin Tempering martial artist, while these men were merely lowlifes who had not even mastered Internal Force. To him, cutting them down was no harder than slicing vegetables.

The rain washed blood all over the courtyard, and the entire place carried the smell of rust.

Narrow Gutter Alley was lined with low-tiled houses. There were no back doors, and the windows in the rear walls were tiny. The only exit was the main courtyard gate.

And now.

Lu Li stood in the courtyard with a long saber in hand, his eyes moving as he confirmed the positions of the remaining five men.

Other than Zhang Biao, the remaining four no longer dared think of fleeing. Suppressing their panic, they shouted to one another, gathered together, formed a battle array, and stared fixedly at Lu Li in the curtain of rain.

Sabers and staves crossed as all four lunged at once.

Lu Li sank his breath and lowered his stance, holding the saber as he stood sideways. The opening stance of the Eight Trigrams Saber—no puffed chest, no posed display.

His eyes locked onto the four men as he judged the paths of their incoming blades. His mind was steady, without the slightest trace of impatience.

The first saber came slicing in. Lu Li used the Eight Trigrams Wandering Dragon Steps, shifting aside as his blade turned over. Though he moved later, his strike arrived first. His already-mastered Eight Trigrams Saber was swift and precise, its edge easily cutting open the first man's throat.

Then the second...

The third...

The fourth... every one died from a single slash across the throat, clean and decisive. Like harvesting wheat, they fell one after another.

Splash!

Splash! Splash!

Splash!

Four bodies hit the ground, kicking up sheets of water.

Within two breaths, all four had fallen.

At this point.

All eleven men had been executed.

The rain suddenly eased. At last, the alley fell quiet, leaving only Zhang Biao's heavy breathing.

"I know who you are. You're Lu—"

"Zhang Biao!" Lu Li suddenly roared, pressing down his voice to blur it. His throat was hoarse as he said in a low voice, "You have utterly lost all conscience. There is no need for more nonsense. Today, you will die without a doubt. Even Zhao Shuiliu can't save you. I said so."

Before his words had faded, Lu Li raised his saber and stepped forward. The single blade thrust straight ahead, neither chopping nor slashing. Its tip shot forth like a snake leaving its hole, locking onto the Tiantu acupoint at Zhang Biao's throat.

Zhang Biao's pupils contracted as he frantically raised his saber to block.

Clang!

Lu Li's Primordial Unity Force erupted, powerful and heavy. The broadsaber in Zhang Biao's hand was instantly knocked away.

Lu Li stepped forward, formed his right hand into a palm blade, and chopped at Zhang Biao's throat. Then he swung his saber, severing the tendons in both Zhang Biao's hands, followed by the tendons in his feet.

"Urgh... argh!"

Zhang Biao howled in agony. His throat had suffered a devastating blow, leaving him unable to speak. He could only scream hoarsely.

Lu Li casually tossed aside the saber and used Zhang Biao as a wooden post for practicing punches. His fists hammered Zhang Biao's chest one after another, each punch heavier than the last. Zhang Biao's mouth gaped wide as blood surged up from his organs...

No one knew how many punches he threw. Even after Zhang Biao breathed his last, Lu Li did not stop.

After venting all his fury in one go, Lu Li shook the beads of blood from his fists and bent down to search through the spoils—money pouches, broken silver, copper coins... he left nothing valuable behind.

After searching all twelve corpses and confirming nothing had been missed, he stabbed each body again and mutilated them to destroy the evidence. Only when he felt there was no flaw left did his figure silently disappear into the night.

The heavy rain gradually became a deluge.

Lu Li did not head straight for the martial arts school. Instead, he went toward the city outskirts, darting back and forth, changing routes, circling around the Outer City several times. Only after confirming no one was following him did he race back to the martial arts school.

By the time he returned to the rear courtyard, the rain had stopped.

Shen Gangfu had long been standing beneath the eaves of the main hall with his hands behind his back, seemingly waiting for him.