"There's something in the water!"
In the water some distance away, someone seemed to be swimming toward shore.
"Let's go take a look," Xiao Wu said.
Xiao Wu was nothing like Li Ping'an.
Li Ping'an had lived two lives and had been blind for over twenty years.
Having grown up in the streets and alleys, he understood all too well that one less trouble was better than one more.
Xiao Wu, on the other hand, had grown up carefree, reading martial arts novels and listening to legends of the martial world.
How could he understand the risks involved?
One careless step could plunge him into eternal ruin.
Li Ping'an let go and took Old Ox by the lead, intending to leave on his own.
He had always held to one principle: never do anything that should not be done.
"Stop!"
The two soldiers from earlier blocked Li Ping'an's path.
Their expressions were cold, savage smiles spreading across their faces.
To them, these two were lambs awaiting slaughter, theirs to butcher as they pleased.
Assassins who had blown up the ship?
"A blind man?" The soldier on the left raised an eyebrow and glanced at his companion.
His companion said quietly, "We can't spare him just because he's blind."
The words had barely left his mouth.
Li Ping'an flipped his arm, and a flash of steel swept across both men's throats like lightning.
Blood instantly gushed out like a fountain.
Both men died on the spot.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu had already jumped into the water and rescued the drowning person.
It was a woman-or, more precisely, an exceptionally beautiful woman.
Xiao Wu grinned. A hero rescuing a beauty~
For someone who read novels as often as he did, this scene could hardly have been more familiar.
The woman lay facedown on the ground, coughing up water.
She looked utterly bedraggled.
"Miss, are you all right?"
The woman's ample chest heaved violently, and she could not get a single word out.
Only after she had recovered a little did Xiao Wu ask who she was.
Liu Yun quickly regained her composure and glanced at Xiao Wu.
"Take me... take me to your prefect."
The prefect?
Xiao Wu was slightly startled.
He might not have been especially bright, but he was no fool.
The first thing this woman had asked was to see the prefect.
Looking at her more closely, he realized her beauty was enough to take one's breath away.
She could not possibly be an ordinary palace maid.
A bold thought surfaced in Xiao Wu's mind. Could she... could she be the princess herself?!!
Xiao Wu was frightened by his own thought, then filled with excitement.
I actually saved the princess.
Never mind glory and riches-I'd never have to worry about food or clothing again.
The princess might even take a fancy to me and fall in love at first sight.
Wasn't this a common plot in novels?
"Hero!" Xiao Wu turned to look for him.
But Li Ping'an was nowhere to be seen. Only the two soldiers' corpses remained.
Xiao Wu had just left the riverbank with Liu Yun when they came face-to-face with a group of burly men in black uniforms.
Their leader was a tall, dark-faced man, built like a black iron tower, with a long, broad saber strapped to his back.
The Brocade-Clad Guards!
What luck, running into them.
Xiao Wu hurried over. "Officers, the Princess Treasure Ship was attacked. This lady was aboard the ship."
The dark-faced man raised a sword-like eyebrow and quietly sized Xiao Wu up.
Then his gaze settled on Liu Yun behind him.
"Who are you?" the dark-faced man asked in a deep voice.
"I'm Xiao Wu, a Bounty Hunter."
Xiao Wu gave his name without the slightest wariness.
"Was anyone else traveling with you?" the dark-faced man asked again.
Xiao Wu almost blurted out Li Ping'an's name, but suddenly froze.
Instead of asking about the attack on the princess first, the man was asking about him.
And he looked calm, as though... as though he had known all along that the Princess Treasure Ship would be attacked.
Xiao Wu swallowed, his hand stealthily reaching for the saber at his waist.
But he was facing several assassins disguised as Brocade-Clad Guards.
Even if Li Ping'an had not left, he probably could not have turned the tide against so many experts.
What chance did Xiao Wu have?
A cold gleam flashed past, and Xiao Wu's body went rigid.
He clutched his throat, his features contorting.
Just as the assassins were about to strike at Liu Yun behind Xiao Wu-
Bang!!
With a tremendous blast, white smoke burst outward.
"Look out! The smoke is poisonous!"
The assassins hurriedly retreated several dozen feet.
Xiao Wu collapsed to the ground, his eyes staring blankly in the direction where Liu Yun had disappeared.
Even as he died, he probably could not understand why his life had ended so abruptly.
He had still had so many dreams.
Marrying the princess, ascending to the heavens in a single bound, and carving out a realm of his own in this age of turmoil.
Yet... the world was just that cruel.
Li Ping'an returned to the inn, took off his shoes, and sat on the bed.
He sat cross-legged, his back against the wall.
He circulated his true qi, quieted his mind, replenished his depleted strength, and gathered his spirit.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
Day had broken.
When he raised his head, everything was gloomy.
Li Ping'an left the inn and found many more soldiers on the streets.
Every so often, a few swift horses galloped past.
News that the Princess Treasure Ship had been blown up had already reached the Capital City. Such an enormous incident had happened in little Luoshui City.
Word had it that many people had been arrested the night before. The Luoshui City Governor's Office, the Military Command, the Golden Guard, and the Brocade-Clad Guards had all been mobilized.
The troops had all been urgently transferred from the two neighboring provinces.
But there was still no one who could take overall command. Each force acted on its own, leaving everything in chaos.
Li Ping'an fed Old Ox and stayed in the inn all day.
He had no intention of continuing his commissioned task, either.
Although he badly wanted the ingredients for Life-Pulse Powder, the situation was far too chaotic now.
The slightest lapse could stir up enormous trouble.
If he were arrested as a rebel, the loss would far outweigh the gain.
The next day.
Li Ping'an learned that Xiao Wu had died.
The authorities had found Xiao Wu's body by the river, along with the bodies of two soldiers.
Naturally, Xiao Wu was treated as a suspect.
Everyone connected to him-his parents and family-was thrown into prison. Even several of his friends were arrested.
His portrait spread through every street and alley.
Li Ping'an placed the portrait on the table and listened to the tea drinkers around him discussing it.
He sighed silently.
He did not know whether it was sympathy or regret.
Regret for the tragic fate of another insignificant person like himself.
The authorities had been investigating strictly of late.
The inn was turned upside down every few days, and from time to time another group of people was taken away.
To be on the safe side, the innkeeper moved several long-term guests into rooms in the rear courtyard.
That was how Li Ping'an came to rent a small, detached house for a bargain price.
He could even grow some vegetables in the garden outside the door.
Whenever he had the time, he wandered around the courtyard with Old Ox.
Within a couple of days, the other tenants had all left.
Only Li Ping'an and an ox remained in the entire courtyard.
The innkeeper was a decent man. Seeing that Li Ping'an was blind,
he asked him to help sweep the courtyard and waived the rent.
The courtyard was used for storing odds and ends anyway. Having someone living there would bring it a little life.
Otherwise, rats and the like would gnaw up the furniture everywhere.
That day, Li Ping'an had just returned from buying vegetables.
He heard Old Ox mooing, as though something had happened.
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