Bounty Hunter

Luoshui City in March still carried a chill that had yet to fade.

Beneath the gray sky lay a measure of solemnity and a measure of peace.

And a little more of the calm before a storm.

Xiao Wu, a bounty hunter, ordered a few dishes and a pot of wine.

He drank while surveying the people coming and going along the street.

Bounty hunters were people issued identity tokens by the authorities.

They made their living exclusively by capturing criminals listed on wanted notices.

"Back on Mannan Mountain, I faced the Seven Monsters of Lingnan all by myself. One against seven, and I didn't give an inch!"

Xiao Wu was boasting to everyone around him about just how formidable he was.

Scornful voices rose around him.

"You're still wet behind the ears, but you blow your own trumpet loud enough to shake the roof."

A roar of laughter followed.

Xiao Wu snorted and slapped his bounty hunter's token onto the table.

Then he lifted his clothes to expose the scar on his belly.

"Hahaha, I know that one! Your dad gave you that beating when you stole money.

"All these years, and the scar's still there."

Everyone burst out laughing again, making Xiao Wu's young face flush bright red.

Just then, his gaze flickered.

The wanted criminal Ma Sandao emerged from the restaurant and strolled leisurely down the street.

Ma Sandao?

Xiao Wu rubbed his eyes. Although he could only see the man's back...

"Hey! Xiao Wu, where are you going?"

"This kid can't take a joke."

Carrying his saber and identity token, Xiao Wu hurried out of the little eatery.

The wanted criminal Ma Sandao emerged from the restaurant and strolled leisurely down the street.

There was something strange about the way he walked.

His right foot stepped forward first, then his left slowly followed, as though every step took great effort.

Was he injured?

The corners of Xiao Wu's mouth lifted slightly. Heaven itself is helping me.

Once I bring Ma Sandao in, let's see who dares laugh at me.

Ma Sandao took a roundabout route, his feet crunching over the pebbles scattered across the muddy ground.

Eventually, he walked the length of a street and turned into an alley.

Xiao Wu climbed onto a nearby rooftop and quietly watched Ma Sandao.

"Hey! Come out."

The cold wind carried Ma Sandao's hoarse voice.

Xiao Wu shivered despite himself, fear appearing on his youthful face.

No one answered. Only a rat crawled out of a small gutter nearby, its large, shiny black eyes looking around.

Whoosh!!

Several figures flew through the air like ghosts bursting out of the darkness, charging straight at Ma Sandao.

They tore through the dark with the ringing of blades leaving their sheaths.

A scream rang out, and a long saber fell to the ground.

A figure flew more than ten feet away and hit the ground with a thud.

He died on the spot.

The attackers were incredibly fast, but Ma Sandao's blade was faster still.

Too fast-so fast that his movements were impossible to make out, as though he had vanished into thin air.

Xiao Wu held his breath. In less than three breaths,

four corpses lay in the alley.

Xiao Wu's calves began trembling uncontrollably.

Ma Sandao twirled a throwing knife in his hand, his face expressionless.

Xiao Wu's heart leaped into his throat, and he dared not move a muscle.

Suddenly, the throwing knife shot toward him.

Like a meteor streaking through the night sky, it reached Xiao Wu in the blink of an eye, trailing a glittering tail!!

Xiao Wu instinctively ducked, and the knife skimmed his scalp.

A stroke of luck amid misfortune.

Run!!

That was the only thought left in Xiao Wu's mind.

Before this man, he could not summon even the slightest thought of resistance.

He swiftly slid off the roof and leaped into a tall tree.

Kicking hard with both feet, he vaulted straight over the wall and landed outside.

Just as he was about to flee for his life, a knife struck the back of his knee.

Thud!

His whole body went sprawling.

Ma Sandao had already landed and stood a hundred meters away.

He watched the inexperienced boy with amusement.

The courage Xiao Wu had felt earlier, when he had wanted to capture Ma Sandao alive, had now vanished without a trace.

He was so frightened he nearly wet himself.

"Ahem!"

Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.

Ma Sandao turned to look, only then noticing someone crouched in the corner.

Old Ox lay beside him.

Li Ping'an had no intention of meddling, so he pretended to be a dead man.

He had seen nothing and heard nothing.

Ma Sandao narrowed his eyes. He certainly had no intention of sparing this witness.

Xiao Wu suddenly roared, drawing courage from somewhere he could not name.

"Run! He's the wanted criminal Ma Sandao! Go get the authorities! I'll hold him off!"

As he spoke, he actually stood up, saber in hand.

Ma Sandao snorted. "A brat who hasn't even grown his hair yet, and you're already trying to play with blades like the grown-ups."

Li Ping'an's expression shifted slightly.

Ma Sandao?

He took the reward notice he had crumpled and torn from inside his clothes.

One hundred alive, fifty dead.

"You're Ma Sandao?"

Ma Sandao glanced at Li Ping'an. "So you're blind."

The hope that had just risen in Xiao Wu's heart shattered at once. He had actually run into a blind man.

The man probably could not even find the entrance to the government office.

Li Ping'an moved a few steps closer, but still could not make out Ma Sandao's features.

Seeing that he was blind, Ma Sandao thought little of him.

With a backhand flick, he sent a knife flying.

Li Ping'an tilted his head and dodged the throwing knife as calmly as drifting clouds in a gentle breeze.

Startled, Ma Sandao asked in a low voice, "May I ask your name?"

"Blind Man."

Only when killing did he call himself Blind Man.

Blind Man gripped his walking stick and took a step forward.

Ma Sandao hurriedly retreated, raising his hand to send two more knives flying.

Both knives shot straight toward vital points, swift as a gale.

And in the darkness of night, an ordinary person would have had no chance of handling them.

The instant the blades flashed,

Blind Man tilted his head and evaded another knife.

At the same time, he swung his walking stick to block the other.

He took one stride forward, and before Ma Sandao could react,

he was already right before him.

By the moonlight, he examined Ma Sandao at close range.

Li Ping'an could only see within half a meter. Though his vision was blurry, he could still make out the general details.

Thin and tall, the man looked just like a bamboo pole.

He had a long, horse-like face, a high nose bridge, and sharply protruding cheekbones.

He matched the man in the portrait astonishingly well.

It really was Ma Sandao.

"Let's make a deal," Blind Man suddenly said.

Xiao Wu stared blankly at Blind Man.

So... so powerful!!

"You're a bounty hunter, right? I'll catch him, and you take him to the authorities for the reward. How about we split it thirty-seventy?"

Blind Man had no bounty hunter's token. Even if he caught Ma Sandao, his effort would be wasted.

Besides, he was a wanted criminal himself.

Xiao Wu still had not come to his senses.

"Answer me!"

Only then did Xiao Wu react, nodding dazedly. "...All right..."

Ma Sandao's face turned livid. They were making a deal right in front of him.

And he was the object being traded.

Ma Sandao felt more insulted than he ever had in his life. He turned his hand, and five throwing knives appeared.

All five flew at once, each vicious beyond measure, stirring a fierce rush of wind.

Blind Man's ears twitched, and he wielded his walking stick as a saber.

The blade turned, his wrist flipped.

Clean and decisive, all in one seamless motion.

A cold gleam flashed, carrying a fierce blade wind as it struck Ma Sandao hard.