Chapter 11: Wit Is No Match for Fate

The backyard was very quiet.

Duan Laoqi did not go to the armory. He walked straight into his bedroom and dragged an iron trunk from under the bed.

The trunk was heavy. He lifted it with one hand while pushing aside the bed board with the other, revealing a hidden tunnel entrance that led straight to the mountainside of Black Wind Mountain. He had built this escape route when the stronghold was first established but had never used it all these years. He had thought he would never have to.

But today was different.

The person the lackey mentioned was highly likely a disciple of the Celestial Sword Sect from Qing Province.

Duan Laoqi gritted his teeth. He had seen people from the Celestial Sword Sect before. He knew very well that relying solely on his meager manpower, they absolutely could not hold them off. Therefore, leaving was the smartest choice. Duan Laoqi never gambled, let alone with his own life.

The iron trunk contained all the wealth he had accumulated over the years. Gold, silver, jewelry, over a dozen silver notes, and two ingots of horse hoof gold. Shouldering the trunk, he jumped straight into the tunnel.

By the time he saw the light of day again, Duan Laoqi had reached the mountainside.

The wind howled in his ears, and the branches lining the path whipped against his face, stinging with a burning pain. But he didn't dare to stop, or even look back. In the eyes of the stronghold's lackeys, he was a bandit leader who licked blood from the edge of a blade, a tough man who killed without batting an eye. In reality, the more a person acted like this, the more they cherished their life. Those who spoke of death every day were often the ones who feared it the most.

Duan Laoqi ran fast. He was not naturally skilled in Lightweight Skill, but his speed at this moment was faster than ever before in his life. The mountain path retreated rapidly beneath his feet. In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he could already see the official road at the foot of the mountain.

Then, he saw the ox cart on the road.

A young man sat at the front of the cart. Dressed in coarse cloth, with a medium build and a lean, handsome face—he must be the martial arts-capable driver Ma Wencai had mentioned. A woman holding a child sat inside the cart.

Duan Laoqi suddenly stopped. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the two people by the roadside.

The fear in his heart was suddenly replaced by a surge of brutality. Fleeing from his own stronghold like a stray dog today was a grievance too bitter to swallow. Right now, he could vent a little. Moreover, tying up this woman to use as a hostage wouldn't be a bad idea.

He slowly drew the saber from his waist. It was a precious blade, its edge gleaming with a cold, cyan light.

He might not be able to kill the people from the Celestial Sword Sect, but killing a cart driver shouldn't be a problem, right?

Duan Laoqi walked toward the ox cart with his saber in hand, the scar on his face looking particularly hideous in the shadows.

"Bitch!" he sneered. "If you must blame something, blame your bad luck."

Lin Yan heard the commotion and looked up in that direction. He saw a dark-faced, burly man charging down the mountain path, carrying an iron trunk on his shoulder and a saber in his hand. The man had a face full of fierce, bulging flesh and eyes glaring like brass bells as he cursed and rushed toward them.

Shen Qingci turned deathly pale from fright, clutching the child tightly as she shrank back into the cart's canopy.

Lin Yan stood up. He didn't speak, nor did he ask who the man was, because the stranger's eyes were brimming with killing intent. And Lin Yan had always had only one response to killing intent.

He jumped down from the shafts and went to meet Duan Laoqi.

Duan Laoqi let out a savage laugh as his short saber traced an arc, slashing straight at Lin Yan's neck. The strike was fast and carried heavy momentum. If it were an ordinary person, their neck would be severed instantly.

But Lin Yan was not an ordinary person. Unsurprisingly, the blade was blocked by the Golden Bell Illusion.

Duan Laoqi's heart sank.

*Inner Qi Release?*

He thought, "Motherfucker, you're this powerful and you're working as a cart driver?"

Lin Yan stood completely unharmed in his original spot. Duan Laoqi froze, the ferocity on his face slowly melting into fawning sycophancy.

Disregarding his bleeding hand, he swiftly dropped his saber and tossed the trunk onto the ground. The gold, silver, and jewels inside spilled out, looking exceptionally eye-catching under the sunlight.

"A misunderstanding, this is a misunderstanding! Young Hero, I mistook you for..."

As Duan Laoqi spoke, he cursed that servant from the Ma Family in his heart. Disciples of the Celestial Sword Sect were always as elusive as divine dragons, and experts capable of Inner Qi Release were even rarer. Yet, of all the luck, he, Duan Laoqi, had run into both on the same day.

"Mistook us for what?" Lin Yan looked down at him, his gaze devoid of any fluctuation.

"Uh..."

Duan Laoqi tried to quibble, but an incoming fist shoved his next words right back down his throat.

THUD!

Lin Yan's fist slammed into his temple with a bizarre, muffled thud.

Duan Laoqi's entire body convulsed violently. His eyes bulged out, the sockets instantly filling with blood. The immense force sent him flying through the air. By the time he landed on the muddy ground a short distance away, his chest had ceased all movement.

He was dead. Killed by a single punch.

Even in death, he couldn't comprehend how a poor cart driver possessed such martial prowess.

Lin Yan looked down at his own fist, then at the corpse nearby. After a moment of silence, he walked over and thoroughly searched Duan Laoqi's body. There was nothing valuable on him—only a few pieces of broken silver and a yellowed deed. Some words were written on the deed, but Lin Yan didn't look closely, casually stowing it inside his robes.

He repacked the scattered gold, silver, and jewels into the iron trunk, then weighed it in his hands. It was quite heavy. Placing the trunk onto the ox cart, Lin Yan sat back on the shafts.

Shen Qingci's expression was taut. She looked at the corpse on the ground, her voice a little dry. "He... he's Duan Laoqi, the head of the Black Wind Stronghold. I've seen his portrait."

Hearing this, Lin Yan gave a slight nod. "Just a worthless thug. Let's go."

He snapped the reins, and the ox cart continued forward, quickly passing that stretch of road.

Shen Qingci glanced back. Duan Laoqi's body lay sprawled in the middle of the road. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, congealing into a dark red puddle in the dust.

"I wonder how Young Hero Xie is faring," Lin Yan suddenly said.

"Judging by how Duan Laoqi was fleeing like a terrified stray dog, he should be fine," Shen Qingci replied, having regained her composure.

Just then, the child in her arms grew hungry and began to wail loudly.

"You greedy little kitten!" Shen Qingci glanced up at the front. Lin Yan was staring steadily at the main road ahead, showing no intention of turning around.

Thus, she pulled open her lapel and began to nurse her son. She didn't know since when, but she had become increasingly uninhibited in front of this man. Although there were times she felt guilty, thinking she was letting down her late husband, whenever the moment came, she just couldn't help herself. She even felt a strange, thrilling sensation.

They traveled onward just like that. As the two were about to leave the territory of Black Wind Mountain, a figure approached from a distance.

"You two!" Xie Yun called out. He was carrying a person in his hand—none other than Ma Wencai. "This man harbored malicious intentions. He came for you."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qingci immediately turned her head and spotted the unlucky fellow at a glance. As Madam Liu, she naturally recognized this loyal dog of the Ma Family. An expression of both disgust and immense satisfaction immediately appeared on her face.