Chapter 12: Don't come over!

Xu Lao Er ran panic‑stricken toward the mountains, his body already covered with several fine wounds.

After all, he had lost an arm, and the blood loss made his mind increasingly confused.

But whenever he could barely hold on, Shen Qing would come up and slash him.

Not fatal, but very painful.

Xu Lao Er felt a surge of humiliation.

Suddenly, a flash of silver light appeared in the woods, and Shen Qing gave him another slash on the buttocks.

"Xu Hu, how miserable you are."

Suddenly, laughter came from the woods.

On the road to the mountain peak appeared a middle‑aged man in blue robes, with a red jade long sword at his waist.

He spoke with a smile.

"Sir, I'm really sorry, but today I've taken this person under my protection, Lan Yu."

Xu Lao Er's eyes, filled with shame and indignation, finally showed a hint of hope: "Save me!"

A silver light flashed, and Shen Qing cut Xu Lao Er off at the knees; Xu Lao Er lost his balance and fell flat on his face.

Lan Yu's smile froze, his face turning slightly red.

"Don't you understand what I'm saying? I said I'm protecting this person!"

"If you move him again, you'll bear the consequences!"

But the next moment, Shen Qing swung a sweeping wind blade, and Xu Hu's head was chopped off directly.

Only the sound of something rolling, "gurgle‑gurgle," remained in the forest clearing.

Shen Qing kicked, sending Xu Lao Er's head to Lan Yu's feet, and gave him a teasing look.

"Ah! You spoke too late—he seems to be a bit dead."

Hearing Shen Qing's words, Lan Yu's face grew ever colder.

"Good, good, good, what an arrogant junior!"

"Then you'll stay here today as well!"

But before his harsh words were finished, Shen Qing moved, his speed so fast that even an afterimage appeared.

Lan Yu's eyelid twitched, "Damn, that fast?"

Then he reached to draw the long sword at his waist.

But before the sword left the sheath, Shen Qing was already there.

Three rapid slashes in succession cut Lan Yu's sword‑gripping right hand into three pieces.

The fierce blade wind even split the trees behind Lan Yu into three sections, and the shrubs and grass were reduced to fragments.

Shen Qing snorted: "You only draw your sword now? Don't you think it's too late?"

In a life‑and‑death fight, there are only two reasons not to have your sword ready beforehand.

Either you possess a skill like iaijutsu that lets you strike extremely fast,

or you're an idiot, playing house in a life‑and‑death battle, waiting to draw your sword.

Obviously, Lan Yu does not have the quick‑draw technique.

The answer is all but spoken.

Lan Yu is an idiot.

Lan Yu grimaced in pain and fell straight onto his backside.

"Stop, stop, stop, I surrender, I surrender, I'll buy my life with money."

A single slash from Shen Qing cleared Lan Yu's head.

"Don't move, don't move! Your Embroidered Uniform Guard's target is the Xu brothers; I haven't provoked you."

"I'm just a hired thug the Xu brothers paid for."

"Like this, I have a sack of gold; if I use it to buy my life, will that be okay? Just pretend you never saw me."

Saying this, Lan Yu opened the sack's mouth with his hand, and the brilliant gold gleamed brightly even in the night.

Lan Yu was certain that no battalion commander could refuse this gold.

After all, this sack holds nearly a hundred taels of gold—enough for a battalion commander's salary for several years.

Shen Qing raised his hand and brought down the blade; Lan Yu's head hit the ground.

【Slain Post‑Heaven Fifth‑Layer Martial Artist, loot entry: Initial Sword Dao (green)】

"Do you lie without even drafting? A hired thug? Which thug has the guts to take a job against the Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

Shen Qing lifted the sword tip, hooking the sack from Lan Yu's hand, and gave a light chuckle.

"And besides, after killing you, the gold would still be mine, wouldn't it?"

He raised his head.

The battle at the summit of Niu Jiao Shan seemed about to end.

There was no more time to waste on Lan Yu.

From Shen Qing to Niu Jiao Shan, the mountaintop has been filled with shaking shouts of battle.

By now it has grown weaker and weaker.

If we go late, the battle might already be over.

Shen Qing stepped out with the Carefree Step, set foot on a thin branch, and leapt onto the treetop.

After a few jumps, he rushed straight to the summit.

After a while, Xu Quan, Hei Gou, and the others finally arrived late.

Hei Gou crouched down and picked up Xu Lao Er's head.

Xu Quan darted forward, took Xu Lao Er's head, and wiped the blood from its face.

"It's definitely Xu Lao Er."

Xu Quan then crouched down to examine Xu Lao Er's corpse; his whole body was covered with wounds, numerous but none fatal.

A thought suddenly flashed in his mind: this is cat playing mouse.

Shen Qing never regarded Xu Lao Er as an enemy at all; he was merely toying with him.

Xu Quan felt uneasy; his group had pursued the Xu brothers for two months, and he had clashed with Xu Lao Er several times, always ending up at a disadvantage.

As a result, Xu Lao Er today was slaughtered like a mouse by a younger chief banner.

The sharp-eyed scholar seemed to have seen Lan Yu's remains, pointing and saying: "Isn't there another corpse?"

The crowd gathered, searched the surrounding grass, and finally found Lan Yu's head.

Lao Li pieced together Lan Yu's remains, looking puzzled.

"Could this also be one of the Xu brothers? The build doesn't seem right."

Xu Quan beside him frowned, silent, only feeling that Lan Yu's face was unusually familiar.

In the next instant, Xu Quan's voice rose a few pitches.

"He is Lan Yu! Listening Rain Sword Lan Yu!"

"Listening Rain Sword? Lan Yu?"

Black Dog and the others were completely bewildered.

"Not bad, Listening Rain Sword; a few years ago he had some reputation in Autumn Water City, then vanished without a trace, with word that Lan Yu had joined the White Dragon Sect."

"He appeared just three days ago; in the siege of the White Dragon Sect's stronghold, the big fish were all netted, only some small fish escaped, and Listening Rain Sword is one of them."

"Just, how did Listening Rain Sword get mixed up with the Xu brothers?"

Suddenly, a cold sweat broke out on his back; could Listening Rain Sword be here to kill them?

Xu Quan thought more and more that this was possible.

The White Dragon Sect's stronghold had been razed; Listening Rain Sword naturally couldn't linger nearby, but fleeing required money.

It was quite possible to earn some extra cash before running away.

In this light, Shen Qing's killing wasn't just a help; it saved my life.

That's a huge debt of gratitude.

Suddenly, from the mountaintop came several miserable cries.

"What is it? So fast!"

"Run..."

"Don't come over!"

Those cries all stopped abruptly, as if they had encountered something.

The answer is obvious.

Xu Quan's eyelids kept twitching.

"Damn, how long has it been? We've just cut from the mountain base to the summit!"