While everyone stood stunned, Mo Chen had already returned to his original spot and handed the branch to the old woman beside him.
"Granny Liu, this branch is for you. Next time they come looking for you, you can use it to swat flies."
But Granny Liu was utterly dumbstruck, even more shocked than the band of marauders beside her.
Seeing that Granny Liu did not respond, Mo Chen pried open her fingers and placed the branch in her palm, then swept a cold gaze over his surroundings.
The bandits and marauders nearby were hardly better off than Granny Liu. They stood rooted to the spot, their legs trembling.
"What just happened?"
Where was my saber?
My chest... when was it cut open? I didn't feel a thing.
"Who is this man?"
"Why are his martial arts so powerful?"
The marauders looked down at the slits in the fronts of their clothes, then looked up at Mo Chen.
All seven slits were perfectly neat, each cut right over the heart. Had he used even a little more force, their flesh would have split open.
Naturally, the consequences of having their chests cut open were easy to imagine.
His attack was plainly a warning to them: if he wanted their lives, he could take them at any moment.
At this realization, cold sweat streamed down the marauder leader's face. He could not utter a single word. The men behind him were even paler, not daring to pick up their sabers.
"Why haven't you scrammed yet?"
Mo Chen did not speak loudly, but his words made them shudder.
As though they had seen a ghost, the marauders let out strange, incoherent cries and fled Hongfeng Town, scrambling and tumbling without daring to look back.
Still shaken, the townspeople gathered around to thank