Compensation

Li Xian calmly held his saber across his body.

Crimson blood sprayed from Liu Feng's throat, rapidly carrying away his body heat.

"Urgh..."

He staggered and fell to his knees, clutching his neck with both hands in terror, using every ounce of strength to try to plug the wound.

But no matter how hard he pressed, blood continued to seep between his fingers without end.

Above all, the sword wound to his throat had destroyed his windpipe, leaving him unable to take in oxygen and forcing him to open his mouth wide to gasp for air.

Yet his hands held the gushing blood tightly in place, leaving it nowhere to escape. As he gulped for breath, it immediately triggered violent coughing, and blood spilled and spewed from his mouth and nostrils, staining his entire body red.

The horrifying sight instantly made every remaining guard feel as though he had plunged into an icy cavern.

"C-Captain..."

One nearby guard's saber hand was trembling slightly.

They still had eight men.

They clearly held an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Their target was merely a scholar who, in theory, had lacked even the strength to truss a chicken just a month or two ago. This assignment should have been as easy as taking a holiday...

So why?

Why had things suddenly turned out like this?!

"Come on."

Li Xian leveled his blade.

In an instant, all eight guards retreated several steps, huddling together for support.

They looked...

As though Li Xian alone had surrounded them.

"Fierce on the outside, hollow within."

At the sight, Li Xian felt somewhat disappointed. "You weren't like this at the beginning. Is it because you can only strut about with your noses in the air when you have the upper hand, but now that things have turned against you, every one of you is trembling in fear?"

"L-Li Xian, we can talk this through. Why resort to blades and weapons?"

One of the more senior guards spoke, trembling.

"Talk this through."

Li Xian nodded. "I practice martial arts precisely because I've always liked persuading people with reason and discussing the Dao through martial skill. That way, whatever the principle, it always becomes clearer the more we debate it."

He was not someone who liked using his strength to bully the weak.

If his opponents did not resist, fighting them was no fun.

He looked at the guards. "You entered my courtyard without my permission and rummaged through my belongings, making you no different from bandits. To protect myself, I seized a saber and killed. Entirely reasonable and justified, wouldn't you say?"

The guards exchanged glances, completely unable to understand what Li Xian meant by this.

But right now...

Circumstances forced their hand.

Even their captain, who had already begun Internal Organ Refinement, had fallen to Li Xian's blade. In all likelihood, his martial attainment had reached the Martial Dao Fourth Stage.

Against a martial master like this, even if the eight of them fought stubbornly to the last, their ultimate fate would be little better.

Between personal honor and their lives, they would naturally choose the latter.

At once, several guards nodded together. "Reasonable."

"Whatever you say."

"We were at fault first for entering Young Master Li's courtyard. Young Master Li killed in self-defense... Whatever the consequences, we brought them upon ourselves."

"We were only following orders. Please show us mercy, Young Master Li."

They spoke one after another.

"Since you know you were wrong, you should naturally compensate me for the losses you caused. Let's say ten taels each."

Li Xian spoke.

Captain Liu, Fang Rui, and A Quan's corpses were still lying in the courtyard.

Losing money was better than losing their lives.

How could these guards dare refuse?

"We're willing to pay compensation."

The eight hurriedly agreed.

Ten taels?

As guards who had at least reached Bone Tempering Great Accomplishment, their monthly pay was substantial. Over a year, they could earn anywhere from a dozen or so taels to twenty or thirty.

But high income came with high daily expenses.

Producing ten taels at once was no easy matter.

The guards who had the money took out their silver immediately.

But four others still hung back timidly.

Finally, one said, "I haven't brought enough money with me. Could you please grant me some leniency, Young Master Li? Once I return to the Marquis's Residence, I'll certainly gather the money and make good your losses."

"Young Master Li, we have absolutely no intention of refusing to pay. It's just that we rarely carry ten taels of silver when we go out..."

The others hurriedly echoed him.

Some sincerely, some not.

"That's fine."

Li Xian did not care what these men truly thought. As he searched Liu Feng's corpse and the other three bodies, he said, "I can go with you to the Marquis's Residence to collect it."

"To the Marquis's Residence?!"

The remaining four guards abruptly widened their eyes at Li Xian's words.

Li Xian...

Actually intended to go to the Marquis's Residence?!

Wasn't he walking straight into a net?!

Just then, Li Xian's voice rang out again.

"The Marquis's Residence has forty or fifty guards. I don't know the exact number, but apart from you, there must be twenty or thirty left there. Besides, the residence is bound to have experts at Viscera Great Accomplishment."

His voice was unhurried, as though he were stating a fact. "I killed four of your men today. You're bound to twist the facts, and the Marquis's Residence will likewise think it still has strong fighters and refuse to let the matter rest, leading to endless trouble. Before Dingfeng Marquis returns, I can't be bothered to waste time on you. For some peace and quiet, I'd better visit the Marquis's Residence and give everyone harboring grievances a beating."

These words seemed to lay bare the true thoughts stirring in the guards' minds.

Several of their expressions shifted slightly at once.

The Marquis's Residence's guards had originally numbered forty-eight, divided into four squads. Even though the marquis had taken twelve with him to the royal capital, and even excluding their own twelve, the injured Zhang Qing, and the few men on leave, there were still twenty or so left.

And with Head Steward Liu Fu, a martial master who had reached Viscera Great Accomplishment long ago, there as well...

They felt that if Li Xian dared visit the Marquis's Residence, he truly would be seeking his own death!

Yet now, despite knowing how dangerous the Marquis's Residence was, Li Xian still dared to go...

Either he had no idea of life and death and was utterly arrogant!

Or...

He had absolute confidence in his strength!

Li Xian, in all likelihood, was the latter!

"No, we were at fault in this matter. We absolutely wouldn't dare twist the facts..."

Naturally, the guards would not admit to those thoughts.

Li Xian ignored them. From Liu Feng and the other three, he found forty-three taels of silver, as well as a fist technique manual.

After putting the items away, he exchanged his saber for another long saber and turned to the four guards who had paid. "Take them to the government office."

The four guards' eyes shifted evasively, but they dared not disobey. They soon shouldered Liu Feng's corpse and the other bodies and left.

Whatever happened, they would get out of the courtyard first.

At this point, the senior guard, Tan Zhang, also stepped forward and cupped his hands, saying with a bitter smile, "Young Master Li, better to untie a knot of enmity than tie another. By status, you are our Marquis's Residence's son-in-law, and there is no great feud between you and the residence. Even with what happened to Liu Feng today... they offended you first and brought it upon themselves. Why must you go to the Marquis's Residence and leave Madam and the others with no graceful way out?"

By now, he had realized that Li Xian was extraordinary and wanted to turn weapons of war into gifts of jade and silk. "Why don't I go ahead and report to the Marquis's Residence? I believe that once they learn you have attained such accomplishments in martial arts as well, they will certainly change their former attitude and sweep the couch clean to welcome you. What do you think?"

"What does whether they have a graceful way out have to do with me?"

Li Xian said, "I'm only going to resolve the trouble."

"This... why take things this far..."

Tan Zhang's voice was bitter.

"People often only believe what they want to believe."

As Li Xian spoke, he glanced at the guard, calm and unhurried. "Relax. I'm not some murderous demon. If reason can get through, I won't readily resort to violence."

Seeing that Li Xian had made up his mind, and fearing that saying too much might get them cut down by him on the spot, Tan Zhang dared not offer further persuasion. He could only say, "We'll take you back to the estate now, Young Master Li."

At once, the group "escorted" Li Xian out of the courtyard and headed straight for the Dingfeng Marquis Estate, just four li away.

(End of chapter)