A black guqin lay before the gray-robed old man, an ox head carved into its head.
He said coldly, "Give me your name. I don't kill nameless ghosts."
Li Ping'an sat on a rock and asked in puzzlement, "We've had no quarrel in the past and no grudge of late. Why do you want to kill me?"
"Your memory is truly poor. You just killed my disciples and grand-disciples on Stone Mountain, and now you deny it?"
"Oh? You're their master."
"Indeed I am."
Understanding dawned on Li Ping'an. "So you're in league with this county magistrate."
"I'm his third maternal uncle!"
"No wonder," Li Ping'an said. "Squeezing the people's fat and marrow through official channels wasn't enough, so you secretly nurtured bandits to bolster your own importance. You people really have some clever methods."
The gray-robed old man snorted. "Boy, today I'll at least let you die knowing why!"
The gray-robed old man's slender fingers plucked the strings.
The notes rang high and rattled, their softness mingled with the clang of metal and stone.
Li Ping'an suddenly felt his heart tighten, while a thunderous sound rang against his eardrums.
A Qi Refiner?
The gray-robed old man snorted. "Boy, now you know there's a heaven beyond heaven, and people beyond your betters!"
Hum! Hum! Hum!
Li Ping'an's heart gave a violent shudder, and his gathered qi and blood immediately scattered.
Seeing Li Ping'an like this, the gray-robed old man laughed.
His fingering suddenly quickened, going from eight notes to a hundred, each one like a thunderclap exploding beside the ears.
They shook the soul and jolted the heart.
Only...
The gray-robed old man's expression slowly darkened.
By all rights, his opponent should already have collapsed, bleeding from all seven orifices.
Why was he still standing there?
A cold glint flashed