Song Mo looked at the head at his feet, its eyes still open in death, his entire face black as coal.
He, the illustrious Wind-Chasing Sword, Song Mo, one of Yun Prefecture's Ten Swordsmen, had spoken, only for his words to amount to a fart!
He abruptly raised his head, his gaze as terrifying as a hawk's.
"Good, good, good!"
"You will pay an extremely heavy price for this!"
Song Mo slapped backward, and a three-foot blade flew from its sheath, spun half a turn, and landed firmly in his hand.
He stamped down and became a blur, lunging through the air with his sword aimed straight at Lin Yuan's throat!
"Watch out!"
Shen Qing reacted swiftly. Her embroidered spring saber swept from its sheath as she darted in front of Lin Yuan.
Gripping her saber with both hands, she poured the power of her blood and Qi into her arms and hacked hard at the thrusting sword.
Clang!
Violent force exploded outward, sending broken stones flying.
Shen Qing grunted and staggered back seven or eight steps before barely steadying herself.
The blood and Qi inside her surged, and her little face flushed scarlet.
The Second Rank Late Stage really was formidable!
Seeing this, her six subordinates drew their sabers and stepped forward.
Shen Qing snapped coldly.
"Stand down."
Their loyalty was commendable, but they were ultimately only Body Tempering Realm warriors. Were they going to offer up their heads for nothing?
Silently resenting their lack of strength, the six gritted their teeth and withdrew to one side.
Shen Qing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed her discomfort, and pushed off on her toes to meet him again.
Since a head-on clash gained her nothing, she would use the advantage of her movement skills.
She circled Song Mo, keeping him engaged and occasionally slashing from an exceptionally tricky angle.
The two figures leaped and wheeled along the street. Invisible force suddenly erupted, blasting a courtyard wall down in an instant.
At the top of the steps.
Zhao Yan stood dazed for a moment, then let out a piercing scream.
"Ah! My son!"
Trembling, she knelt beside Lin Shan's head, tears streaming down her face.
"Lin Yuan, I want you dead!"
Zhao Yan screamed like a woman possessed, roaring hysterically through the main entrance.
"Where's the man we sent to the county office for help? Why isn't he back yet?"
A steward in a silk shirt edged out from behind the door, his neck hunched.
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and spoke in a trembling voice.
"M-madam, there's still no word."
"Useless! Every last one of you is useless!"
Zhao Yan shook with fury, her chest heaving.
"Are you waiting for Zhao Meng?"
Lin Yuan's voice drifted up from below the steps.
Zhao Yan's eyes turned cold, and she abruptly looked down.
Saber in hand, Lin Yuan slowly mounted the steps.
"No need to wait. I'll send you down to join him right now."
Watching Lin Yuan draw closer, Zhao Yan's eyes suddenly contracted.
She scrambled to her feet, clutched her skirts, and backed away, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Stop him! Hurry, stop him!"
Whoosh!
Six figures instantly sprang out from either side of the entrance.
Dressed as stewards, they were all powerfully built, with bulging temples-every one of them an expert at Body Tempering Major Accomplishment.
The six drew their waist sabers and braced themselves as they barred the way in front of Zhao Yan.
Lin Yuan smiled contemptuously and continued up the steps.
As he advanced, the six stewards involuntarily retreated.
Their hands trembled around their sabers, and their legs shook nonstop.
The sight of Lin Yuan killing earlier was still vivid before their eyes. How could they not be afraid?
The steward in the middle swallowed, his face pale, and stammered.
"Y-you stay back!"
Lin Yuan looked the six of them up and down and shook his head, rather speechless.
"Come on, gentlemen. A few taels of silver a month-why risk your lives?"
At those words, the muscles in the six stewards' faces twitched.
They exchanged glances, each seeing profound helplessness in the others' eyes.
They had troubles they could not voice, too. Madam might not pay much monthly silver, but she gave them plenty in other places!
The steward on the left wiped away his cold sweat and cupped his hands ingratiatingly.
"Second Young Master, we're all family here. Could you... show mercy and spare Madam?"
Lin Yuan lifted his eyelids, turned his wrist, and brought his saber down.
Swish!
A blood-red flash of saber light vanished as quickly as it appeared.
The expression froze on the steward's face as he was instantly cleaved in two, spraying blood over the other five men's heads and faces.
Lin Yuan spat on the ground.
"Pah! Who do you think you are?"
He turned toward the remaining five and slowly raised his saber.
At that, the five finally broke, their livers and gallbladders splitting with terror!
Whatever affection they had was dogshit in the face of certain death!
They hurriedly dropped their sabers, their knees buckling as they knelt in unison and kowtowed nonstop.
"Spare us, Second Young Master! Please spare us!"
"We were blinded by lard! We'll get lost right now, right now!"
The five scrambled on all fours toward either side of the steps.
Watching from behind them, Zhao Yan felt her vision darken and demanded shrilly.
"You ungrateful wolves! After how well I've treated you, this is how you repay me?"
Huddled in a corner by the wall, one steward could not help raising his head to argue.
"Madam, you can't put it that way. We were only taking what we each needed."
Another steward chimed in, looking entirely matter-of-fact.
"Exactly, Madam. Ours was nothing but an intimate friendship. Besides, when have we ever failed to repay you with gushing springs?"
"You... you..."
Zhao Yan trembled with fury and nearly failed to catch her breath.
Lin Yuan listened with a deepening frown.
What kind of nonsense was this?
Irritated, he raised his hand.
Saber light flashed and vanished.
The five stewards' voices cut off abruptly. Clutching their necks, they fell into pools of blood, twitched twice, and went still.
Lin Yuan stepped through the sticky blood, walking toward Zhao Yan one step at a time.
Zhao Yan instinctively turned her head and glanced into the residence.
The maids and servants who had been peeking from hiding had long since fled without a trace.
Not far away, Shen Qing had Song Mo firmly tied up in combat. He could not get over here anytime soon.
Wind swept through the entrance porch, stirring a few fallen leaves.
Driven into a complete dead end, Zhao Yan instead gradually quieted down.
Lin Yuan's earlier words suddenly echoed in her mind, and she abruptly realized something.
She stared fixedly at Lin Yuan and spoke one word at a time.
"What did you do to my eldest brother?"
Lin Yuan stopped five paces in front of her and tilted his head.
"You mean Zhao Meng? Your Zhao Clan plotted rebellion. Naturally, he went down to meet the King of Hell."
Boom!
Those words utterly shattered the last shred of hope in Zhao Yan's heart.
No wonder the man sent for help had never returned. No wonder the Dragon Guard had come killing their way straight to her door!
It turned out someone had long since uncovered every detail of the Zhao Clan's schemes!
She smiled bitterly.
Before her eyes, Lin Yuan slowly raised his saber.
Zhao Yan's pupils contracted, and she instinctively reached out.
"Wait!"
Without so much as blinking, Lin Yuan savagely brought his saber down.
Squelch!
The blade sliced across Zhao Yan's neck, raising a spray of bloody mist.
Clutching her neck with both hands, Zhao Yan staggered back two steps and fell faceup into a pool of blood.
Lin Yuan stepped forward and planted a foot on Zhao Yan's head, looking down at her from above.
"Do you want to ask how your Zhao Clan was exposed?"
Zhao Yan convulsed, struggling to turn her eyes as she stared fixedly at Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
"Normally, seeing as you're about to die, I ought to show great mercy and grant your last wish."
He paused, then abruptly pressed down with his foot.
"But I won't."
Zhao Yan's head sank deep into the ground, and her breathing ceased completely.
Beside him, Lin Jiu walked over holding the spirit tablet, tears streaming down his aged face as he choked out softly.
"Master, did you see? The young master has avenged you!"
Lin Yuan slowly closed his eyes, his earlier memories flashing past like a revolving lantern.
He opened his eyes again and let out a heavy breath of stale air.
With this mother and son dealt with, the resentment pent up in his heart for years had finally dispersed.
From now on, his thoughts would flow freely, with skies high enough for birds to fly and seas vast enough for fish to leap!
Lin Yuan turned toward the battle in the middle of the street.
By now, Shen Qing and Song Mo's clash had reached its fiercest point.
Shen Qing was ultimately only at the Second Rank Early Stage and suffered from the gap in their cultivation.
Now she was breathing rapidly and drenched in sweat, her saber technique no longer flowing smoothly, a trace of sluggishness creeping in.
The sword in Song Mo's hand moved so fast that only a blur remained. Sword Qi crisscrossed, forcing Shen Qing into one perilous situation after another as she retreated repeatedly.
Hiss!
The sword tip grazed Shen Qing's right arm.
Song Mo flicked his wrist and drove the blade inward, punching a bloody hole straight through her right arm!
Blood streamed down her arm, quickly staining half her cuff red.
Shen Qing grunted, her footwork inevitably slowing half a beat.
When experts exchanged blows, every move was lethal.
Song Mo's eyes lit up. Seizing the opening, he shouted sharply.
"Die!"
He strode forward, unleashing all the blood and Qi in his body. Seven feet of sword radiance gathered around his blade as he thrust at Shen Qing's chest!
This strike was fast to the extreme!
Shen Qing's hair stood on end, and she hurled herself backward with all her strength.
But Song Mo's sword pursued her relentlessly like a venomous snake, about to pierce straight through her on the spot!