Chapter 64: Murder

There was something in human nature called a love for the new and a dislike for the old. For example, many Wandering Martial Artists hoped to find a place to settle down and have their own homes, while many people living in peace fantasized about wandering the world.

To put it simply, they were bored and tired of their original lives and wanted to seek entirely new experiences.

When Xi Xiaoru, Zhou Qian, and Lu Feixia decided to enter Yunshui Marsh, they were all cheering and excited. However, once they actually walked inside, they realized that adventuring was not as fun as they had imagined.

That night, the sky was full of dark clouds with no stars or moon. Su Tang was unable to identify any tracks, so he decided to find a place to settle down first.

He cut down a few small trees and pushed them into the ground to form a square. He found some hemp cloth from his bundle, wrapped it around a few times, and covered the top with another piece of hemp cloth. A temporary small hut was built. It was just a bit small, and getting in and out was inconvenient, as they could only jump out from the top.

After resting for a while, Su Tang found some food to share with Xi Xiaoru and the others. However, Xi Xiaoru and her companions were used to a life of exquisite food and fine dining; they could not stand the coarse food. After taking only a few bites, they wanted to throw it away. Su Tang hurriedly grabbed the food back one by one, laughing inwardly. If they could return to the city in just a few days, it would be fine, but if they really stayed for ten or fifteen days, they would be begging him.

Although the environment was somewhat harsh, Xi Xiaoru and the others were optimists. The path of Cultivation was very difficult. They were children of great clans, but that only meant they had a massive amount of resources they could use. To make great progress, they also had to put in their own effort and sweat. A few small hardships could not scare them at all.

After chatting for a while, everyone felt tired and fell asleep. Only Su Tang did not sleep, as someone definitely had to be responsible for the night watch just in case.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Qian suddenly sat up, quietly lifted the hemp cloth on top, and jumped out. It was pitch black inside the tent, so she likely did not notice Su Tang.

A moment later, a loud sound of splashing water suddenly came from outside. This place was still at the edge of Yunshui Marsh, and there were not many insect beasts. The night was very quiet, so the sound of water was incredibly clear.

Lu Feixia was very alert. She opened her eyes groggily and murmured, “Is it raining?”

“It seems… it is,” Su Tang replied, feeling a bit awkward.

Lu Feixia rolled over and returned to her dreams. Not long after, Zhou Qian jumped back into the tent. After her release, her mental state was somewhat cheerful. She found the most comfortable position and quickly fell asleep again.

“Why aren’t you sleeping yet?” Xi Xiaoru suddenly asked in a low voice.

“I have to keep watch,” Su Tang said. “Everyone is asleep. What would we do if some monster suddenly broke in?”

Xi Xiaoru stopped talking. Su Tang suddenly sensed something and asked, “Do you also want to go ‘rain’?”

Xi Xiaoru remained silent for a moment, then suddenly burst out laughing. Then, gritting her teeth, she said, “Little San, just wait and see how I deal with you after we return to the city!”

“Big Boss, I just asked out of kindness. How did I offend you?” Su Tang said with a bitter smile.

Xi Xiaoru huffed, lifted the hemp cloth, and jumped out. Soon, the sound of water came from outside again, and it was louder and lasted longer than before. Clearly, she had been holding it in for a long time.

“Is it raining again?” Lu Feixia asked sleepily. She seemed particularly sensitive to this kind of sound.

“Yes, it’s raining harder than before,” Su Tang said.

The next morning, everyone packed up simply. Su Tang found the tracks left by those people and continued forward.

Xi Xiaoru and the others were not the kind of delicate girls. The resilience they showed exceeded Su Tang’s expectations. In this wasteland, they encountered all kinds of annoying things, such as stepping into mud or being harassed by mosquitoes, but their mood remained optimistic, and they were always chatting and laughing.

At noon on the third day, Su Tang and the others were resting at the foot of a hillside when they suddenly heard faint roaring coming from behind the slope. They had not seen any people for a long time, so Xi Xiaoru and the others immediately cheered up and tiptoed up the hill.

Some things are learned without a teacher. They were all very careful, lying in the grass and poking only half their heads out to look down. Su Tang had originally wanted to give Xi Xiaoru a few warnings to prevent her from exposing herself due to impulsiveness, but seeing that they were behaving well, he kept his mouth shut.

Below the slope, a young man was confronting a dozen Martial Artists. Between the two sides was a fire-red rabbit. The rabbit had already been killed. It looked like a dispute had broken out over the ownership of the prey.

Su Tang recognized the young man. He was the first one to cross the bridge, and at that time, Xi Xiaoru had not charged him a crossing fee.

“Where are those Martial Artists from?” Zhou Qian asked in a low voice.

“They are not from Red Leaf City,” Lu Feixia said.

“No kidding!” If she didn’t have to hide herself, Zhou Qian would definitely have jumped up to hit Lu Feixia on the head.

“They seem to be from Eight-Sided City,” Xi Xiaoru said. “It’s unlikely for Martial Artists from other places to come here.”

“They are all wearing badges. The thing carved on them… seems to be a dog’s head?”

“You can see from this far?” Xi Xiaoru was very surprised.

“Yes,” Su Tang nodded.

“Where would there be a dog-head badge? Isn’t that just insulting oneself?” Zhou Qian wondered.

“It should be a wolf’s head. Little San hasn’t seen the world, so he doesn’t recognize it,” Xi Xiaoru analyzed.

“Is it because the pattern on the badge is carved too poorly?” Su Tang felt a bit wronged.

“Can’t you use your brain to think? How could there be a dog-head badge?” Xi Xiaoru said.

At that moment, the arguing below became louder and louder.

“I killed the fire rabbit. I will only take the fire rabbit’s teeth and leave everything else to you. Is that still not enough?” the young man said coldly. “You people from Wolf Map should not push others too far!”

“Bullshit! My brothers and I chased this fire rabbit for over ten miles, and you say it’s yours?!”

“Kid, knowing we are from Wolf Map, you still dare to argue with us? You’ve got some guts!”

“If you’re smart, get lost quickly, and I’ll spare you this once. If you keep stalling, I’ll set up a tombstone for you right here today!”

The situation was bad. Su Tang frowned. Although those Martial Artists looked like they just wanted to scare the young man away and did not want the dispute to turn into a conflict, they had actually developed killing intent. Two archers were quietly circling to the sides, while several strong men stepped forward while cursing. This was to shorten the distance between the two sides and cover their companions’ movements. Once the young man became afraid and turned to leave, leaving his back to them, they might act immediately.

“Want to bully people from our Red Leaf City? How bold!” Lu Feixia suddenly stood up.

“Attack!” Xi Xiaoru could not stand it either.

The three of them, including Xi Xiaoru, charged down the slope side by side. Su Tang, however, stood there stunned. He had just started to think highly of them when he saw they could be cautious, but now he finally realized he was wrong.

“Ch… Chief?” The young man was extremely shocked. He never expected to see Xi Xiaoru and the others in such a place.

“Hehe, kid, I wondered why you were so arrogant. It turns out you have helpers?” a big man sneered.

“Is he arrogant or are you arrogant?!” Zhou Qian shouted. The three devils of Red Leaf City had never been the type to fear trouble.

“Don’t be impulsive, everyone, don’t be impulsive. Why damage the harmony between Red Leaf City and Eight-Sided City over a mere fire rabbit?” a middle-aged Martial Artist walked out slowly. He smiled gently. “We say the fire rabbit is ours, and you say it’s yours. Sigh… how about this, we follow the rules and have a gambling fight.”

“How do we gamble? How do we fight?” Xi Xiaoru raised an eyebrow. She had the highest status here, so she naturally made the decisions.

The middle-aged Martial Artist waved his hand, and a strong man with a full beard stepped forward. “His name is Chang Qing. He has practiced Fist Strength for over ten years. In our Eight-Sided City, they call him Iron Fist. You can pick anyone. As long as they can block one of his punches, we lose. We will turn around and leave immediately without another word.” After speaking, his gaze fell on Xi Xiaoru.

“Compare Fist Strength? Compare Fist Strength with me?!” Lu Feixia laughed contemptuously, then stepped forward. “Come on.”

Xi Xiaoru was also laughing. She had enough confidence in Lu Feixia. Even if it were herself, she might not be able to beat Lu Feixia in an unarmed fight.

Su Tang showed a suspicious look because when Lu Feixia volunteered, a flicker of disappointment flashed in the middle-aged Martial Artist’s eyes. The young man also frowned and thought about something, clearly sensing that something was wrong.

The strong man named Chang Qing revealed a cruel smile, then strode toward Lu Feixia. Lu Feixia stared back at him without any fear.

“Little girl, get ready… take the punch!” the strong man named Chang Qing roared. His huge fist created a heavy sound of breaking air as it smashed straight toward Lu Feixia’s chest.

Lu Feixia also swung her fist to meet it. At that moment, the young man looked panicked and suddenly shouted, “Watch out!!” Before his voice fell, his body shot over like lightning.

Lu Feixia was stunned, then discovered that cold light was flashing between Chang Qing’s finger bones. They were sharp, cone-shaped protrusions. The moment the two fists collided, her hand would likely be ruined on the spot.

Lu Feixia’s combat experience was quite rich, and her reaction was fast enough. She hurriedly withdrew her hand and took a step back.

A green snake as thick as a wrist bone suddenly emerged from Chang Qing’s waist and bit toward Lu Feixia’s thigh. Meanwhile, a dagger appeared in Chang Qing’s other hand, and with a flash of cold light, it shot toward Lu Feixia’s neck.

This was not a gambling fight at all, but murder!

However, the first one to complete a killing blow was not the fighter, nor those ready Martial Artists, but Su Tang.

A soul-shaking scream suddenly appeared. Then, the head of the archer on the left of those Martial Artists suddenly turned into a burst of bloody mist. However, there were two archers in total, and the other archer had already completed his attack.

At the same time, the young man had knocked Lu Feixia away with his shoulder. Holding dual swords, one sword light accurately cut down the green snake, and another sword light swept toward the flying arrow. Unfortunately, the arrow was only knocked off course and shot into his shoulder.