While on Mount Hua, my mind is at peace!

Chapter 106 Murder

The Heavenly Sword Sect is located on Heavenly Sword Mountain outside Huazhou City, forming a triangular shape with Water Moon Mountain. Yue Feng discerned the direction and spurred his horse forward slowly. Halfway there, he saw in the distance a dozen or so burly men on horseback, surrounding something in the middle.

A dozen burly men, all armed, exuded a murderous aura. The leader, a one-eyed brute, gripped a bronze cudgel slung over his shoulder and shouted at the surrounded woman, "Hey little girl! Hand over your invitation, and I'll let you go! Otherwise, I'll rape you and then kill you!"

A trembling female voice said, "You...aren't you from the Xie family? My invitation was for Young Master Feng, a subordinate of the Xie family's second young master. Why are you making things difficult for me?"

The one-eyed dragon's remaining eye darted around, and he changed his tone, saying, "Hmm, that makes sense. Since the flood has washed away the Dragon King's temple, fine, I won't make things difficult for you."

"However, you need to give me your invitation first, and then I will pass it on to Young Master Feng. After all, the Xie residence is so big, you wouldn't know where to find him, would you?"

As the woman hesitated, another man with a long face shouted, "Boss, why are you wasting your breath talking to this little girl! That guy surnamed Feng is the second young master's subordinate, and we are the eldest young master's subordinate. How can we be confused? If the eldest young master's men hear this, will we still be able to stay in the Xie family in the future!"

The one-eyed man said, "Hmm, that makes sense. So, what do you suggest we do?"

The horse-faced man grinned maliciously and raised his knife to strike the woman's shoulder: "That's it!" Suddenly, he roared and tumbled off his horse, knife and all.

The burly men were startled. Upon closer inspection, they saw a strange, bloody hole in the horse-faced man's throat, as if pierced by some hidden weapon. They searched the surroundings but found no hidden weapon except for some suspicious debris.

At this moment, a young man in a blue robe rode slowly towards them from the end of the official road. Logically speaking, given the distance the young man had traveled, it was impossible for him to have launched the hidden weapon. But it was early in the morning, and there wasn't a single pedestrian on the road; the young man was the only suspect.

One-Eyed Dragon gave his men a signal, and the ten burly men spurred their horses and charged towards the boy with a whistle. One-Eyed Dragon held his staff above the woman's head, his one eye fixed on the boy without blinking.

The ten burly men were all skilled horsemen, and in the blink of an eye, they were less than ten paces away from the boy. The boy calmly took a paper package from his pocket. Opening the package, he found many roasted peanuts, their color a deep reddish-brown, emitting a fragrant aroma.

The boy picked up a peanut, smacked his lips, and with some unknown technique, the peanut vanished from his hand. At the same time, the head of the burly man closest to him snapped back, revealing a bloody hole on his forehead identical to that of the horse-faced man.

The burly man dismounted, and the horse instinctively bypassed the boy, running into the woods beside the official road.

The boy fired ten peanuts in quick succession, knocking down all ten burly men. He shoved the remaining peanuts into his mouth, chewing as he swayed and continued on his way. He never stopped moving forward while he was killing. His horse, like its master, seemed to be used to killing.

Suddenly, only the one-eyed man, the woman, and the boy remained standing on the official road. The one-eyed man's hand gripping the stick trembled. He channeled his inner strength to forcefully calm his shaking body and roared at the boy, "Who are you? What do you want?"

"Great question, it really hits the nail on the head."

Yue Feng reined in his horse in front of the one-eyed man and the woman, a gentle smile on his face.

"I am Yue Feng, the leader of the Dafeng Gang. Please release this young lady and then go to the Xie family to deliver a message for me."

"I'll tell them I have five days to return my men to me. Otherwise, I'll kill one member of the Xie family for every day that passes. If I haven't seen my men by the end of the five days, I'll make sure the entire Xie household is wiped out."

The one-eyed man swallowed hard. "You...you mean what you say? You're really letting me go?"

Yue Feng said calmly, "My patience is limited. If you don't leave by the time I count to three, I have a thousand ways to kill you. One."

With a clang, the one-eyed man threw down his stick, raised his whip, and frantically lashed his mount's rump, leaving bloody welts. His horse seemed to sense his fear and galloped away, carrying him at breakneck speed.

Yue Feng picked up a pebble from the ground and, as before, shot it out using the Meteor Flying Technique—Meteor Flying Technique is a universal hidden weapon martial art, not limited to throwing knives—the pebble struck the one-eyed dragon in the back without any suspense. Blood gushed from the one-eyed dragon's mouth, and his body went limp as he collapsed onto the horse's back.

[Accessibility +20]

The woman's eyes widened as she looked at Yue Feng and said, "Chief Yue, you...didn't you promise to spare his life? Why are you..."

Yue Feng laughed and said, "I only promised to let him go, but I didn't say how. Since he has been so disrespectful to you, young lady, wouldn't letting him live put you in danger?"

When the woman heard Yue Feng's concern for her, her face immediately turned red, and she stammered, "But...but, don't you still want him...?"

"Don't worry, I left him with a breath, enough for him to make it back to the Xie family. May I ask your name, young lady?"

The woman bit her lip and said softly, "My name is Shen Hui, and I am an outer disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect."

Yue Feng said, "Could you spare Miss Shen a little more time and take me to the Heavenly Sword Sect's mountain gate? It's my first time there, and I'm not sure I'll be able to find the way."

Recalling Yue Feng's methods of killing, Shen Hui couldn't help but worry that he might be going to cause trouble for the Heavenly Sword Sect. But then she thought again; Yue Feng had just saved her, so he was clearly a good person. Moreover, knowing she was just an insignificant outer disciple of the Heavenly Sword Sect, he still spoke to her kindly, which only made him more virtuous. So she said:

"It's alright if I'm delayed a bit, but... our sect never allows any men to come up the mountain except on special days. Even the families of inner disciples can only stay in the villages at the foot of the mountain. Chief Yue, if you're going to our sect to find someone, could I call that person for you?"

Yue Feng thought to himself, "I'm looking for your sect leader, do you really think you can call him down for me?" He couldn't help but chuckle, "Miss seems to have other important matters to attend to. Just take me to the Heavenly Sword Sect's mountain gate, and I won't trouble you with anything else."

Shen Hui let out a slightly disappointed "oh." Yue Feng led one of the one-eyed man's horses from the roadside and let Shen Hui ride it. The two rode along the main road for a while, then turned east onto a side road. After riding for another while, a small village appeared ahead.

Shen Hui said to Yue Feng, "Shenjia Village is just ahead. My family is from Shenjia Village. After passing this village, the foot of Tianjian Mountain will be just ahead."