Chapter 365: Between Victory and Defeat

The night was silent, and apart from the rustling of the wind and the sound of leaves, the only thing echoing across the entire sky was the chirping of insects.

Suddenly, a black shadow darted rapidly between the houses; the fleeting figure was like a black elf, making it very difficult for anyone to perceive its existence.

Very quickly, this figure snuck into a mansion covering a vast area and quietly entered one of the rooms.

After observing for a moment, the figure grabbed the person sleeping soundly on the bed and threw him fiercely onto the ground.

After confirming that they had found the right person, the black shadow drew the sword in their hand. The grim killing intent, accompanied by the night wind blowing from the doorway, seemed to bring an extreme chill.

The next moment, the black shadow's sword slashed directly onto the disheveled middle-aged man, causing the other party to let out a painful wail.

The middle-aged man was clearly also an expert; he wanted to resist, he wanted to dodge, but the black shadow's sword was too fast—so fast that it was impossible to dodge.

Every time the sword in the other party's hand fell, it added a wound deep enough to see bone to his body; apart from feeling heart-wrenching pain, he had absolutely no strength left to fight back.

"Who are you?" Watching the black shadow raise the sword again, the middle-aged man hurriedly shouted in a panic, "Who told you to kill me? Do you know who I am?"

"As long as you are willing to let me go, I can give you wealth that you won't be able to exhaust in a lifetime. Whether you want power or beauties, I can help you achieve it."

"But if you insist on killing me, you will inevitably face endless pursuit!"

"Threatening me!" The black shadow stepped forward and kicked the middle-aged man to the ground with a fierce stomp, and the sword in their hand fell again; accompanied by miserable wails, blood sprayed across the floor once more.

"Of course I know who you are: the president of the Nanji Chamber of Commerce, the richest man in Da'an City. But so what? It is exactly you whom I am killing!"

"When you framed my Yu Family, did you ever think of today? Did you ever think that I would come for revenge, that I would come to kill you!"

"Don't worry, I won't let you die so easily. My Yu Family had sixteen people in total, so I will stab you sixteen times. I am here to collect the debt from you on behalf of my entire Yu Family!"

"You are Yu Renqing, you actually still dare to appear, ah, ah...!"

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, the sword in Yu Renqing's hand fell again. The shrill scream seemed to carry very far; he believed the Huwe here would arrive soon.

But the youth did not care about this at all, stabbing with the sword again and again. The grim killing intent in his eyes seemed to be telling of his determination: whoever dared to stop him would be killed as well.

Suddenly, a candlelight appeared, followed by several torches being lit one after another, illuminating the place brightly.

Yu Renqing looked up in surprise, his expression turning somewhat ugly when he saw the team of Black-Clad Guard that had suddenly appeared outside the door. He knew the attire of the Black-Clad Guard, and it was precisely because he knew it that he understood how troublesome these people were.

Especially the one in the lead; that attire was clearly something only a Black-Clad Guard Commander of a region could wear, which meant the Black-Clad Guard experts had already been dispatched in full force.

Holding a torch, Gu Cheng walked forward slowly and asked in a low, uncertain voice, "Are you Mu Zishan? Senior Mu?"

"So you know this old man. Not bad, this old man is indeed Mu Zishan!"

Responding in an old-fashioned tone, the youth straightened his back, yet the sword in his hand continued to stab down without a moment's pause.

The middle-aged man stepped under his feet had already been struck over a dozen times, with every sword strike avoiding vital points, clearly showing he did not want him to die just like that.

Just how deep must the hatred and resentment be to act like this? Was Senior Mu Zishan always this ruthless in his actions?

"Senior Mu, this, this..."

"This old man promised this youth that I would avenge him. Are these people not corrupt and lawless? Framing the loyal and righteous—every one of them deserves to die. Are you still going to shield him?"

Looking up, Yu Renqing's face was full of killing intent, a killing intent that actually made Gu Cheng involuntarily step back two paces.

Mu Zishan—that was Mu Zishan; if he just flicked a finger, he would probably be flattened.

Having witnessed how terrifying Shen Yu was, Gu Cheng naturally knew what kind of terrifying strength such a person would possess; otherwise, he wouldn't have been scared into retreating by just a single look.

After Yu Renqing had stabbed sixteen times—not one sword more, not one sword less—the middle-aged man was completely collapsed in a pool of blood, drawing more air in than he was letting out, and after a short while, there was no sound left at all.

Yu Renqing merely glanced at them, then suddenly flashed away. Throughout the entire process, Gu Cheng did not move, nor did the Black-Clad Guard beside him; they just watched him leave this place with their own eyes.

If the person before them was truly Mu Zishan, their little arms and legs would not be able to stop him. Since Lord Shen hadn't moved, what were they in such a rush for?

Subsequently, Shen Yu walked out from among the Black-Clad Guard in a leisurely manner, glanced coldly at the direction of the middle-aged man who was already turning cold, and then gazed toward the direction where Yu Renqing had left.

"My Lord, is he really Senior Mu Zishan?"

"No, he is not Mu Zishan!" The moment the youth appeared earlier, Shen Yu had truly thought the other party was Mu Zishan.

At that moment, he could feel a huge, terrifying power hidden within the other party, and this power gave him a familiar feeling.

He had once seen the Broken Sword that Mu Zishan had left for the imperial court; the two auras were exactly the same, which was enough to prove that Mu Zishan's power was hidden within the other party's body.

No matter how one looked at it, the other party was Mu Zishan, or rather, Mu Zishan's spirit was attached to him. It was just that this power had not yet awakened, which was why the youth looked somewhat weak.

But Shen Yu was different; he had the "Time Golden Chapter" obtained from signing in, which could conceal his own aura and suppress his fortune, as well as peer into the information and experiences of others.

At first, the other party gave him the wrong impression, but later, when he used the "Time Golden Chapter" to investigate Yu Renqing's various experiences, everything came into view; it was impossible to hide.

The reason Yu Renqing gave people the illusion that he was Mu Zishan was simply because he carried a Sword Intent on him—a Sword Intent left behind by Mu Zishan.

That was why Yu Renqing made people feel he was Mu Zishan; ordinary people would find it difficult to distinguish. Even Shen Yu, if he had no reliance, would still be unable to distinguish it.

However, since the other party carried Mu Zishan's Sword Intent, even if he wasn't Mu Zishan, he definitely had a thousand-thread connection with Mu Zishan.

Facing Gu Cheng's inquiry, the other party had shamelessly admitted it, but this also proved that he knew Mu Zishan and that he had a connection with Mu Zishan.

Ever since Mu Zishan suppressed the Forbidden Land over a hundred years ago, that group of shameless old things had begun to eliminate Mu Zishan's influence and erase the traces of his existence.

How many people in the entire Jianghu knew of Mu Zishan? Ask the Black-Clad Guard present—did they know who Mu Zishan was? Yet this youth happened to know; that was interesting.

"My Lord, since he is not Mu Zishan, then why..."

"Why not capture him, right?" Turning back to look at Gu Cheng and the others, Shen Yu gave a light hum and said indifferently, "Because he was right about one thing: these people all deserve to die."

"Every one of them is wealthy and powerful; one person doesn't know how much harm they can cause, and they don't know how many people they have already harmed. Letting that youth take revenge is fine too!"

"Moreover, if it weren't for your incompetence in letting corrupt officials like Du Zhixia wreak havoc, this youth might still have a harmonious and happy family right now!"

"This subordinate is terrified!"