“Old Four, look back, is anyone quietly tailing us?”
“…”
“Nothing, not a single shadow, no sounds either.”
“Good, looks like that guy really didn’t have any killing intent.”
“Heh, a greenhorn!”
“Probably been living peaceful days too long, sure he struck decisively, but he didn’t dare kill.”
“Damn it, looked like a pretty boy, so timid in the day, who’d have thought he’s a master!”
“Such bad luck, tendons in hand and foot severed, even if Old Man You helps, it’ll take a year or two to recover.”
“Stop whining, lucky he’s a greenhorn, fooled by our words, otherwise he could’ve silently taken us out, I’ve still got corpse-dissolving powder on me.”
Old Three shivered.
“Boss, what now?”
“We leave the city tonight, of course.”
“Good thing we sent the stuff out earlier, or we couldn’t have climbed the wall with it.”
…
At Lu Zheng’s home, he calmed Uncle Li and Aunt Liu, who’d come out to check the noise, urging them to rest, then returned to his room, swiftly crossing back to the modern world, changing into a black Hongxing Erke tracksuit and black Anta trainers.
Crossing back, he pulled out a short blade.
It was the one he’d taken when he broke Old Four’s wrist, kept for this moment.
Taking out a qi-tracking talisman, he formed hand seals, soon gathering a large mass of qi, tinged with faint coldness.
Folding the talisman and holding it in his palm, Lu Zheng gripped the blade in reverse and leapt out of the courtyard, moving swiftly along the wall’s edge.
When he caught up to the four, not far behind, they’d reached a blind spot by the city wall.
Unlike modern impressions from films, where city walls are ten metres high and wide enough for horses, ancient county walls were usually simple earth structures, five metres at most, wide enough for three to walk abreast.
The Great Jing Dynasty was no different, Tonglin County wasn’t a major city, its few-metre-high earth wall no barrier for the four brothers.
Old One and Old Two supported the others, a grappling hook was thrown up, and in a few steps, they scaled the wall and flipped over.
Outside, the area was open, so Lu Zheng waited a moment, then leapt forward, speeding up at the wall’s base, scaling it in a few steps and gliding over.
Descending, he spotted the faint figures ahead, just entering the woods outside the city.
Smiling faintly, guided by the qi-tracking talisman, Lu Zheng followed silently.
…
“We’re here.”
“Rest a bit, ugh, it hurts!”
“Damn it, that pretty boy’s gotta pay!”
“Boss, you’re brothers-in-law with the second hall master, just get him to act, that pretty boy’s as good as caught!”
“Are you stupid? Didn’t you see how beautiful that woman was? If the second hall master takes her, you think we’ll get anything good?”
“Uh, well…”
“Deal with a greenhorn, need the second hall master? Today we faced him head-on, didn’t get to use our tricks.”
Old Two said darkly, “In a while, I’ll get some poison from Old Man You, send him to his grave at night!”
“Heh, exactly, we were foolish, just thinking of venting.”
“Once he’s dead, we’ll come back sometime, heh…”
“Hmph, use the corpse-dissolving powder then, make both families, a dozen people, vanish without a trace!”
As Old Two spoke, he pulled a small bottle from his pocket, tossing it up and down, as if Lu Zheng was already dealt with.
“Alright, dig up the stuff, walk a bit more, stick close to the official road, watch for poisonous bugs in the woods, don’t get caught by wildcats.”
“Tomorrow, I’ll rent a cart at the relay station, head to Lijia Town to lay low.”
Old One and Old Two stood, went to a large tree nearby, bent down, cleared the underbrush, and pulled two large bundles from a hollow.
“Let’s go.”
Old One spoke, each taking a bundle on one side, supporting the other injured man on the opposite side.
Old One helped Old Four in front, Old Two supported Old Three behind.
The next moment…
“Swish!”
A blade’s light flashed, and Old Two and Old Three’s heads flew upward.
Hearing the sound behind, Old One instantly used Old Four as a shield, then bolted into the woods’ depths.
Lu Zheng suppressed his nausea, swinging again.
“Slash!”
The patterned steel Xiuchun blade, infused with a warrior’s blood qi, was unstoppable, severing Old Four’s outstretched arm, the blade’s momentum cutting most of his neck.
Lu Zheng sidestepped the spraying blood, leaping into the woods.
…
In the dark, the woods’ moonlight was blocked by tree cover, not pitch-black but barely visible beyond seven steps.
Old One, escaping early, grabbed stones and threw them in all directions.
When Lu Zheng finished Old Four and leapt into the woods, it was already silent.
Lu Zheng smiled faintly, another qi-tracking talisman in hand.
…
In a tree hollow, Old One crouched, breathing as lightly as possible, not daring to look out, fearing Lu Zheng might sense his gaze.
“Damn it, what greenhorn? Fooled by that pretty boy, he’s a cunning old fox!” Old One cursed inwardly.
They’d been played from start to finish.
“He never meant to let us live, just didn’t want to kill us in the city to avoid trouble.”
“When we mentioned our backing, it suited him, made us think he was scared, so we’d leave confidently, then he’d follow quietly, ensuring we didn’t die at his house.”
“He crippled Old Three and Old Four’s legs right away, spared me and Old Two, so we could leave the city but drag each other down.”
“Good thing he didn’t know about the corpse-dissolving powder, or he’d have killed us in the city.”
“No, wait, he wouldn’t, damn it, he even left that woman with a kind-hearted impression.”
“Just wait, once I’m back, I’ll report to the hall master, make you wish you were…”
“Slash!”
The long blade pierced the tree trunk, straight into his neck.
“Gurgle… gurgle…”
“Slash!”
The blade withdrew, Old One clutched his neck, collapsing limply, his strength drained as if taken by the blade.
Next, a pinch of powder was sprinkled into the hollow, landing in the blood flowing from Old One’s neck.
“Sizzle!”
A cloud of smoke spread, and in moments, Old One vanished from the world…
