Blackwind Stronghold.
Just before dawn, two figures silently crept to the outskirts of the stronghold.
Su Wangchuan and Captain Zhao Heiniu left the city before daybreak by fast boat. They passed Blackstone Village without entering and headed into the mountains.
Su Wangchuan knew very well that if he wanted to hunt down Wang Zheng, he had to set out while it was still dark, find the man’s hiding place in advance, and strike while he was still asleep.
But Su Wangchuan did not dare pursue him along the official road where the escort convoy had been ambushed. He was afraid Wang Zheng had laid traps along the way.
In any case, there was only one foothold in the mountains where a person could shelter from wind and rain—Blackwind Stronghold. So they chose the route they knew best and went up the mountain from there.
Both n were fully ard. They used lightness skills all the way, and by the ti they reached Blackwind Stronghold, the place was utterly silent, quiet as death…
Captain Zhao Heiniu leaned forward and sniffed, then pointed toward the row of rooms behind them. He pressed close to whisper a warning.
“There is the sll of liquor.”
“We ca to the right place.”
A smile appeared on Su Wangchuan’s face.
As long as it was the right place, that was enough.
“Captain Zhao, stay farther back and support
with arrows. I will go in and take him.”
Normally, Su Wangchuan was not accustod to taking risks personally. But now, not only was he wearing a full suit of leather armor, he had also put on the chainmail taken from the Sect Master of the Earthfiend Sect. Dealing with a First-Rank Martial Artist was no problem.
Captain Zhao Heiniu nodded.
“Be careful, Su Wangchuan.”
After Captain Zhao Heiniu took his position, Su Wangchuan vaulted over the wall and slipped inside. He moved along the row of rooms, listening closely.
Before long, snoring ca from the room next door.
He took a deep breath, drew his Hundredfold Steel Longsword, and kicked the door open—yet he did not rush in imdiately…
A cloud of li powder poured down from above!
So Wang Zheng had indeed set a trap at the doorway.
Su Wangchuan flicked his wrist and hurled two Hundredfold Steel Throwing Knives!
THUNK! THUNK!
The crisp sounds landed on the bedboards.
Wang Zheng reacted fast. He smashed through the window and burst out, a steel saber in his hand, shouting as he ran:
“Which hero of the martial world is this? Do not let floodwater wash over the Dragon King’s Temple!”
He was answered by the pull of a strong bow.
TWANG!!
The mont Wang Zheng broke through the window, an arrow sank into his thigh.
Captain Zhao Heiniu’s archery had long since reached the realm of “Perfect Mastery.” With preparation against an unprepared target, he hit cleanly.
Wang Zheng cried out in pain, and Su Wangchuan caught up from behind.
CLANG!
CLANG-CLANG!!
《Swift Sword Art》!
Wang Zheng managed to block only two strikes before the overwhelming force numbed his arm. The web of his hand split open, and the steel saber flew from his grasp. Terrified, he hurriedly begged:
“Spare my life, Hero!”
The Hundredfold Steel Longsword stopped at Wang Zheng’s throat.
“It is you!”
Only now did Wang Zheng see clearly who had attacked him—it was Su Wangchuan, a hall master of the Yulong Gang. His eyes went wide, his face blank with shock, regret flooding in.
He already understood why Su Wangchuan had tracked him to Blackwind Stronghold.
THUD!
Su Wangchuan said nothing. He drove 《Blazing Leg》 viciously into Wang Zheng’s chest.
Wang Zheng’s vision went black from the pain. He collapsed limp to the ground, and Captain Zhao Heiniu rushed over, found a rope, and bound Wang Zheng’s hands behind his back.
“Hall Master Su Wangchuan!”
“I was wrong.”
“I did not know Qingfeng Escort Agency is under your charge now!”
“We should leave room for rcy… If you let
go, Wang Zheng will repay you!”
Wang Zheng seized the mont to beg.
Su Wangchuan was already searching him.
In the money pouch was a thick stack of Gold Notes.
Fifteen large-denomination Gold Notes worth one hundred taels of gold each;
Thirty-seven banknotes worth one hundred taels of silver each;
Altogether: one thousand five hundred and thirty-seven taels of gold!
“As expected of the forr sect master of the Earthfiend Sect. Your fortune is truly substantial. I did not co for nothing.”
Su Wangchuan finally spoke, smiling as he said it.
Seeing his entire fortune fall into Su Wangchuan’s hands, Wang Zheng’s face went deathly pale with pain. He nearly passed out, yet he still had no choice but to plead carefully:
“Hall Master Su Wangchuan, I still have another place where I hid gold and silver. If you spare my life, everything the Earthfiend Sect owns will be yours! I only ask to live!”
“Stop trying to fool .”
Su Wangchuan smiled coldly as he put away the Gold Notes and silver notes.
“You Earthfiend Sect’s two thousand-plus taels of gold already fell into my hands. What other stock could you possibly have left? You are trying to lure
into your trap so you can drag
down with you.”
“…”
Wang Zheng’s expression changed. He shook his head repeatedly.
“I would not dare! I absolutely would not dare!”
“This ti, my Earthfiend Sect robbed many convoys during the flood in Rongcheng County. Just that one haul from the county office and several families was no less than two thousand taels in Gold Notes. Besides, there were wealthy households in Rongcheng County that paid road tolls.”
Wang Zheng fought desperately to explain.
In the end, Su Wangchuan still shook his head. He tore open Wang Zheng’s clothing and continued searching for anything else.
And then…
Wang Zheng’s breathing changed.
There ca a drawn-in wheeze, like bellows sucking air—clearly he was gathering strength.
Su Wangchuan’s vigilance snapped tight in an instant. He raised his hand and slamd 《Iron Sand Palm》 down hard onto Wang Zheng’s chest!
The five fingers of the Second-Rank 《Iron Sand Palm》 stamped solidly into Wang Zheng’s chest. The full forty-one points of a Second-Rank Martial Artist’s strength poured into him without restraint.
CRACK!!
Ribs snapped in a neat line, collapsing inward.
Wang Zheng’s face twisted into a savage grimace. At the final mont, he jerked his head with all his remaining strength and completed a lethal counterattack—an inky, cold flash shot out from behind his hair, striking Su Wangchuan squarely in the chest.
CLANG!!
The black dart slamd into Su Wangchuan’s chest with a crisp, tallic ring. Sparks burst in all directions.
In that split second, Su Wangchuan had already activated 《Iron Shirt》. He only felt a slight vibration in his chest, and then… nothing at all.
Wang Zheng spat a huge mouthful of blood. He stared at Su Wangchuan’s chest as the rope dart fell away, leaving no trace of blood. Disbelief filled his eyes.
Still shaken, Su Wangchuan pulled open his leather armor and revealed the chainmail beneath. He touched the spot where it had caved in by a millet-grain’s width and said:
“The chainmail of the Sect Master of the Earthfiend Sect is indeed excellent.”
Wang Zheng naturally recognized that chainmail’s origin. He had never imagined that the rope dart from his last-ditch counterattack would be stopped by a piece of equipnt he knew better than anyone.
Whimper… whimper…
PUFF!
A spray of bloody foam mixed with fragnts of organs burst from his mouth. The forr sect master of the Earthfiend Sect, Wang Zheng, finally died—carrying endless despair and unwillingness with him into the dark.
“Su Wangchuan, are you all right?”
Even Captain Zhao Heiniu, an experienced hunter, had been startled by Wang Zheng’s lightning-fast ambush. He had not had ti to react at all.
Su Wangchuan stood and shook his head.
“As expected of the most cunning sect master the Earthfiend Sect ever had. He actually hid a killing move in his hair. Fortunately, that palm strike made his attack deviate and it did not hit my head. Otherwise, I might have fallen today.”
Even now, Su Wangchuan’s back was icy cold, as if he had just walked once through the gates of death.
“That bastard truly was cunning.”
“His head is still useful. If we cut it off and bring it back, we can claim a reward of thirty taels of gold.”
Wang Zheng of the Earthfiend Sect had planned the operation against the Rongcheng County magistrate’s group. Now he was also the Earthfiend Sect’s only surviving witness, so the bounty was high.
After that, Su Wangchuan found a rope dart and so loose gold and silver on Wang Zheng’s corpse.
Rope Dart: White Grade (Durability 90/100)
A black flying dart that can be concealed in the hair, Attack 10.
With repeated practice, it can beco a highly covert hidden weapon. Its killing power is limited, but if it hits the head, its lethality increases sharply.
Su Wangchuan put away the rope dart, then handed the loose few taels of gold, the dozen or so taels of silver, and the thirty-seven silver notes to Captain Zhao Heiniu, telling him to purchase the remaining Second-Rank martial arts from the gang.
The two of them searched through Blackwind Stronghold once more. Only then did they head down the mountain, carrying Wang Zheng’s severed head and the steel saber.
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