An Unconventional Gift

There were seven people fleeing, all dressed in night-robes. The tallest among them wielded a Goose Feather Saber, repeatedly clashing with the faster enemies behind them to cover his companions' escape.

Clang! Clang! Clang!!!

The tall man spun around in mid-leap and knocked aside three flying darts. His blade struck the iron darts in the night, scattering a shower of sparks. Borrowing the force of the darts' impact, he leaped toward a tree, kicked off its trunk, and accelerated forward once more.

There were more than a dozen pursuers, all highly skilled in lightness skill. They clung relentlessly to the Black-Clothed Figures ahead, occasionally hurling flying darts and even stones picked up from the mountain. Yet most were blocked by the last Black-Clothed Figure.

"Xiang Feng, hand over the Sword Intent Scroll, and we'll leave your corpses intact!!"

As the White-Robed Man shouted, he poured strength into his feet, kicked off a tree, and shot forward. A Nine-Section Steel Whip had already lashed out ahead like a venomous serpent.

"Bullshit! One day, I'll fuck your wife and daughters one by one before I kill them all!!"

Clang~

The black-clothed man blocked the strike and borrowed force from a nearby tree. Yet the White-Robed Man struck his Nine-Section Steel Whip with his left hand, causing the deflected steel whip to turn like a venomous serpent and chase after the black-clothed man.

"Courting death!"

Bang!

The steel whip blasted a chunk from the tree trunk, sending wood chips flying and obscuring vision. Behind them, two men simultaneously shot out their right hands, which had been accumulating power, like arrows released from bows.

Whoosh! Whoosh—

Clang!

Pfft...

One dart was hastily deflected, while another burst into a spray of blood. The burly black-clothed man was finally wounded, struck in the left shoulder by a dart.

Yet the steel whip still swept before him, sometimes like a long staff and sometimes like a spirit serpent, making the black-clothed man break out in cold sweat.

"Ha!"

The black-clothed man poured all his True Qi into a frantic flurry of saber strikes.

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack...

A great number of branches were severed by the black-clothed man named Xiang Feng. He kicked them all toward the rear and no longer dared hold the enemies back alone, instead fleeing forward with all his strength.

The Black-Clothed Figures had originally believed stealing the Sword Intent Scroll would be as easy as turning over a hand. They had never expected the old fellow of the Fan Family to remain so fierce despite his advanced age. To deal with that old fellow, the Thirteen Bandits of Yan had lost two men.

After the remaining eleven bandits obtained the Sword Intent Scroll and fled, the Fan Family, seeing their old patriarch die at the hands of bandits, went nearly mad. They issued a call to the entire Dingyuan Martial Arts World: whoever personally killed the thirteen bandits would not only be given the Sword Intent Scroll, but would also be told every insight the Fan Family had painstakingly comprehended over many years.

For a time, the Dingyuan Prefecture martial world churned with wind and clouds as experts from every road gathered, all to hunt down the Thirteen Bandits of Yan.

The "Sword Intent Scroll" had been left behind at his death by Zuo Kuangtu, an unparalleled master once known as a Sword Immortal. Its words concealed part of Zuo Kuangtu's sword moves and sword intent, and even pointed directly to the place where he had buried his swords before dying. Rumors in the martial world said that whoever could fully comprehend the Sword Intent Scroll could find the Tomb of Zuo Kuangtu and obtain his peerless Martial Arts Manuals and the divine weapon, Long Sword Qingying.

No one had expected the Sword Intent Scroll, which had once stirred up bloody storms throughout the martial world, to have been hidden in the Dingyuan Fan Family all along. Nor had they expected the Fan Family to reveal the news to the public for the sake of revenge.

Now, the pursuing Jianghu experts all vied to be first. This group had already fought the remaining eleven bandits several times after finding them, reducing their number to seven. They had long formed a tacit understanding: they would seize the Sword Intent Scroll together before experts from other prefectures and states could come join the fray.

For the Fan Family's promise, the Thirteen Bandits of Yan had to be wiped out to the last!

The Black-Clothed Figures grew increasingly anxious as they fled. They had originally planned to use the mountain forest to shake off their pursuers, but the dozen or so men behind them were no mediocrities. They pressed too closely, giving them no chance at all.

Quite a few of the Black-Clothed Figures ahead were injured as well. Now that Xiang Feng, their leader, had also been struck by a dart, the situation became even more dire.

"Eldest Brother, this won't work. We can't outlast them!"

"Damn it, that cursed Fan Tong is dead and still causing us trouble! If it comes to it, we'll make our stand up ahead!"

With a savage expression, the leading Black-Clothed Figure pulled a scroll from his robes. After several leaps, he landed atop a relatively open patch of mountain rocks ahead and raised the scroll high in his hand.

The other Black-Clothed Figures landed behind him one after another, gasping for breath.

"You pack of mad dogs, don't you just want the Sword Intent Scroll? Push us too far, and I'll tear this damned calligraphy scroll to pieces!"

As he spoke, Xiang Feng unfurled the previously rolled-up calligraphy scroll.

Behind them, the pursuing experts landed nearby, separated from the Black-Clothed Figures by a distance of two zhang.

The White-Robed Man gave a cold smile.

"Still struggling at death's door? So what if you destroy the Ink Treasure left behind by Sword Immortal Zuo? As long as we have the Fan Family's accumulated insights from years of study, it'll be the same!"

"Hehehe, Jiang Chongli, you may think so, but will the people beside you think the same? If the Fan Family's little bit of comprehension were useful, wouldn't they have gone looking for Zuo Kuangtu's peerless sword arts and divine weapon themselves long ago?"

Under the black-clothed man's cold mockery, a brief silence fell between the two sides.

This time, Xiang Feng no longer hoped to truly take the Sword Intent Scroll away. He only wanted to escape. Just as he was about to say something more, a fierce mountain wind suddenly rose.

Wooooo~~~~ Wooooo~~~~~~

The gale swept up leaves and dust, making the night even darker. Xiang Feng's hand suddenly loosened, and the calligraphy scroll was unexpectedly carried into the air by the wind.

"Not good!"

"The Sword Intent Scroll!"

"Snatch it!"

Several of the pursuers immediately sprang into the air, using their lightness skill to leap up and seize the Sword Intent Scroll.

As hatred had only just risen in Xiang Feng's heart, he suddenly realized this was an opportunity. He led the many Black-Clothed bandits in quietly leaping backward, escaping amid the gale and the chaos of the pursuers fighting over the Sword Intent Scroll.

In the forest clearing, many skilled fighters leaped up to snatch it. Some even attacked others in midair, hoping to seize the Sword Intent Scroll first.

Unfortunately, the wind was exceedingly strange. Just as the White-Clothed Guest was about to touch it, the Sword Intent Scroll suddenly rose higher and was swept directly toward the heavens.

Wooooo~~~~ Wooooo~~~~~

More fallen leaves, dead branches, and dust were swept through the air. The gathered martial heroes had reached the limit of their leaps, and they fell back down one after another. When they looked skyward again, the calligraphy scroll had vanished into the night, while the remaining bandits had disappeared from the ground as well.

"Damn it! Utterly damnable!"

"Alas, all our efforts went down the drain!"

"This wind came far too strangely!"

"Are we still chasing them?"

"Hmph, find the Sword Intent Scroll first!"

To be safe, the Jianghu Guests split into two groups and searched in two possible directions.

On an unnamed peak of Niu Kui Mountain, Lord Lu lay lazily at the entrance of a mountain cave. In his tiger paw was a comparatively tiny-looking calligraphy scroll—the Sword Intent Scroll he had casually swept away while passing through some part of the mountains earlier.

Sharp claws gently spread open the calligraphy scroll. On the slightly yellowed paper were over a hundred characters, their iron strokes and silver hooks vigorous and forceful.

"Fine calligraphy! Yet there is nothing particularly remarkable about it."

Though the characters carried a sharp intent, they possessed no Spiritual Qi. As expected, it had been left behind by the so-called "Sword Immortal" of ordinary martial artists. Yet just as the Fierce Tiger was about to open his mouth and swallow it away, he suddenly paused.

But the calligraphy is good calligraphy!

With that thought, the enormous Fierce Tiger slowly rose, carrying a faint breeze as he darted into the mountain forest.

More than an hour later, at a mountain hollow near Ning'an County.

A red fox had its tail pinned beneath a tiger claw nearly as large as its own body.

"Whimper... whimper..."

The red fox's body was rigid, trembling violently. It did not dare struggle too much. Instead, it carefully turned around with remarkably humanlike movements, pressed its two front paws together, and seemed to beg the Fierce Tiger for mercy.

Lord Lu's tiger mouth curled slightly upward, revealing terrifying fangs.

"Heh, I knew long ago that you fox had developed intelligence. I also know that you often go down the mountain to Ning'an County to steal farmers' chickens and ducks. Have you ever seen the blind Master who once lived in the Mountain God Temple on the outer peak?"

"Whimper, whimper, whimper..."

The fox nodded, not daring to resist in the slightest.

"Good, then do something for me."

As he spoke, a calligraphy scroll drifted from the Fierce Tiger's mouth. A thin cord woven from tiger fur was wrapped around it, and it was directly hung on the red fox's back, hidden beneath its crimson fur.

"Go to Shuixian Town and Ning'an County town and find Mister Ji for me. If you find him, give this calligraphy scroll to him on my behalf. My fur is wrapped around you, so Mister Ji should not attack you. But remember not to act rashly and disturb his peace and quiet. Do you understand?"

Find where Mister Ji lives and deliver this calligraphy scroll to Mister Ji for me. Mister Ji is blind, yet he is a Hermit Master. Once you meet him, you will not fail to recognize him.

"Whimper, whimper, whimper!"

The red fox only dared respond weakly.

The ferocious light in Lord Lu's tiger eyes receded, revealing satisfaction as he lifted his tiger claw.

"Very good. This is also a stroke of fortune for you. Whether you find Mister Ji or not, do not try to be clever. Go!"

The red fox took several trembling steps, looked back at the Fierce Tiger in the mountains, then accelerated on all fours and darted deep into the forest, going far away.

Lord Lu watched the red fox disappear, pondering to himself. Giving someone calligraphy and paintings should not count as a conventional gift, no matter how one put it.