Chapter 176: Tie Xinlan, The Young Man in Black

The wind was gentle and the sun was bright; there was not a cloud for ten thousand miles.

The grassland, a vast, boundless grassland.

The wind blew through the pasture grass, and the grass swayed in the wind.

The sounds of cattle lowing, horses neighing, and sheep bleating were all mixed together, carried far away on the wind, blending into a desolate rhythm. Herds of cattle, horses, and sheep could be seen everywhere, dotting the deep emerald grassland, composing a beautiful and magnificent picture.

A horse was galloping across the grassland.

Sitting on the horse were a man and a woman. The man had handsome features and wore light white clothing that fluttered in the wind, just like the white snow of Kunlun Shan. His eyes were like the starlight on the grassland at night.

The woman was dressed in the style of a Tibetan woman, her clothes shimmering. A dozen small, black, and shiny braids flew in the wind. Her eyes were large, and her face was as red as a Peach Blossom.

To an outsider, this was a match made in heaven.

But their expressions were surprisingly ugly, as if they were a young couple who had eloped only to be caught by their family.

As it turned out, the man in white was actually a woman disguised as a man. She was called "Tie Xinlan," and she carried a Treasure Map that had stirred up the pugilistic world, making countless people covet it, forcing her to flee to the grassland.

But others would not give up, and they had pursued her to the grassland as well.

One group, the "Li Family Brothers," had kidnapped the clanspeople of the girl on the horse, who was called "Peach Blossom," and threatened to start a massacre if they did not find Tie Xinlan within half an hour.

Although Peach Blossom had found Tie Xinlan by a stroke of luck, she saw that Tie Xinlan was soft and weak, and she feared she would be no match for that group of Li Family Brothers.

And although Tie Xinlan was a woman, her martial arts were actually quite impressive. She did not fear the Li Family Brothers, but she worried that she would attract more people with ulterior motives.

They could already see the yellow tents and hear the sounds of shouting.

Tie Xinlan suddenly leaped from the horse and shouted sternly toward the tents: "Tie Xinlan is here! Who wants to find me?"

Suddenly, someone in the tent let out a harsh, wild laugh: "Good, you with the surname Tie, you finally have guts. You didn't make us Li Family Brothers wait in vain."

Tie Xinlan sneered: "I had already guessed it was you. You are looking for me, so why are you still staying there?"

A whistling sound erupted from the direction of the tents, and over a dozen strong horses galloped over together. The shrill whistling mixed with the deafening sound of hooves was truly enough to make one's heart tremble with fear.

In an instant, the dozen iron-clad riders surrounded Tie Xinlan. Although the men on the horses were all holding long whips and ghost-head sabers, Tie Xinlan did not even lift an eyelid: "Alright, why are you looking for me? Speak."

A bearded, one-eyed man sitting on a horse in front said sternly: "My brothers want to ask you, is that thing on you?"

Tie Xinlan sneered: "That's right, it is on me, but with the likes of you brothers, you aren't worthy to touch it."

The bearded, one-eyed man was about to get angry when he suddenly heard a clear, calm voice say: "I wonder if the thing you are all talking about is Yan Nantian's Treasure Map?"

Tie Xinlan and the one-eyed man turned to look and saw that a young man in black had appeared outside the nearby tent, though no one knew when he had arrived.

The young man was handsome and stood tall, possessing an indescribable ethereal grace. He held a primitive, pitch-black long sword in his hand, which did not quite fit his image.

The one-eyed man sneered: "A little brat like you dares to compete with us Li Family Brothers?"

He gave a wink, and immediately a man spurred his horse toward the young man, his face twisted in a cruel grin. He swung his ghost-head saber and slashed directly at the young man's head.

"Hey, watch out!" Tie Xinlan could not help but cry out.

Even if the young man in black had come to snatch the Treasure Map, she truly could not bear to see him killed just like that.

The young man in black did not parry or dodge; he merely raised an eyebrow. The arm of the charging man went limp and dropped, his saber fell to the ground, and then the man himself tumbled off the horse's back.

Looking closely, one could see a blood hole had been pierced through the center of his brow; he had died with his eyes wide open.

"How bold, you dare to hurt my brother."

The bearded, one-eyed man was even more furious, but he was not afraid, for he had focused all his attention on Tie Xinlan and had not noticed the young man's strangeness. Amidst the whistling, a group of men surrounded Yu Liancheng with their horses.

"Go to hell!"

The bearded, one-eyed man whipped his long lash through the wind, making a "crack" sound. With a sharp, whistling, wind-breaking noise, it lashed out at the young man in black like a venomous snake.

At the same time, saber light flashed as two horses attacked from behind, their ghost-head sabers slashing straight at the young man's neck.

The young man in black still did not move at all.

But a strange thing happened again. Before the bearded, one-eyed man's whip could strike the opponent, the force of the whip suddenly vanished, and the man fell from his horse's back.

The other two men wielding sabers were much the same; they had both rolled off their horses, and each had an extra blood hole in the center of their brows, their eyes opened wide and round.

"The boss is dead!"

"This person knows sorcery!"

"He is not human at all!"

"Run! Run!"

Everyone knew it was the work of the young man in black, but no one knew how he had struck. It was as if a disaster had descended in silence, as if it were sorcery.

The remaining men on horseback were terrified out of their wits and spurred their horses to flee in a frenzy, panicked to the extreme.

The young man in black could not be bothered to pay attention to these underlings. He drifted in front of Tie Xinlan like a white cloud and smiled: "I know the Treasure Map is on you, let's make a deal..."

Before he could finish speaking, Tie Xinlan's face turned pale, her eyes rolled back, and she actually fainted.

The young man in black was taken aback and muttered: "What is wrong with this girl? Could it be that I scared her unconscious? She is, after all, the daughter of 'Mad Lion' Tie Zhan, how can she be so timid?"

He had not guessed wrong; Tie Xinlan had indeed been scared unconscious by him.

That previous move, the "Formless Tribulation Finger," could be called a supreme and exquisite martial art—silent and formless—but in the eyes of others, it was a method like that of a ghost or God, killing without a trace.

Coupled with the top-tier lightness skill he displayed, he seemed exactly like a phantom.

Although Tie Xinlan was the daughter of Mad Lion Tie Zhan and traveled the pugilistic world alone, she was indeed just a girl. How many girls were not afraid of ghosts, even if this ghost's appearance was far more handsome?

"Aiya, we arrived a step late; the Li Family Brothers got here before us." Just then, a strange laugh rang out. This voice was sharp and thin, like stepping on a chicken's neck, making one's ears go numb.

"It's fine, they are not our match anyway." Another voice rang out. This voice was equally harsh and sharp; even killing a chicken would be gentler than him.

"But they still dared to run when they saw us; their guts are a bit too big." The third voice was much heavier, but the speech was somewhat slow, like an ape that had just learned to talk.

"Then let the Li Family Brothers see the power of us 'Three Hairs on Mount Emei'."

Then, heavy thudding sounds and screams rang out one after another.

By the time Yu Liancheng turned his head, he saw that the previously fleeing "Li Family Brothers" had all fallen, and a blood hole had been gouged out of their chests.

The three who had done the deed were strange-looking and shockingly ugly. One looked like a caterpillar, one looked like a molting rooster, and the other was like a hairy ape.

It was as if when the Heavens were creating these three brothers, they had accidentally broken the mold, and in a fit of anger, simply kneaded them into mud, only for them to accidentally slip into their mother's womb.

Looking at these three, one truly wonders what their mother looked like.

That Caterpillar held a human heart in his hand, his hands and face smeared with blood from gnawing on it.

Upon seeing these three, the young man could not help but gasp, laughing involuntarily: "The three of you truly look quite spontaneous and unconventional."

In reality, these three brothers were among the rarest, most vicious characters in recent years; when people in the Edo saw them, let alone laughing, they couldn't even cry.

That Caterpillar sneered, still clutching half a heart in his hand: "Later, I will eat the blood-steamed bun from his chest."

Rooster-Hair said: "With the autumn wind approaching, human hearts are the most nourishing; eating them will surely make one much more spirited. Big Brother, don't eat it all by yourself."

Gorilla-Hair licked his scarlet tongue and said: "This person has delicate skin and tender meat; the taste must be quite excellent."

"Good, the three of us brothers will act together; once we deal with him, we will dig out his heart and each take a bite."

As the words finished, the three of them, as if they had already reached an agreement, suddenly flew up at the same time.

Caterpillar's pair of monkey claws grabbed toward the black-clad youth's chest like lightning. He had relied on this very grab to seize one heart after another before.

Rooster-Hair crouched down and grabbed toward Yu Liancheng's thighs. Gorilla-Hair swung his fist, the punch like a thunderclap, smashing toward his face.

These three brothers not only struck with speed and clever coordination, but the parts they attacked also covered the upper, middle, and lower paths thoroughly.

These three brothers had arrived a bit late; although they hadn't seen Yu Liancheng's methods, seeing him scare the Li Family Brothers into a panicked flight alone told them he was a formidable character who could not be taken lightly.

Therefore, they had killed the Li Family Brothers first to bolster their momentum, and Caterpillar eating a human heart in front of the black-clad youth was also meant to terrify his opponent.

After all, people who eat human hearts always make others afraid, just like Li Dazui, the "Don't-Eat-Human-Heads" among the Ten Great Villains.

And at this moment, the three brothers were attacking with all their might, their moves vicious and unparalleled, swearing to kill with a single blow.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Yet there were three muffled sounds, and the "Three Hairs of Emei Mountain" had all fallen from the air, their eyes wide open, blood holes blooming between their eyebrows, their faces wearing expressions of astonishment.

Even until their deaths, they still did not know how they had been struck.

The youth looked at his slender palms, seemingly murmuring to himself: "They say Buddhist martial arts are rooted in compassion, but in reality, they are no worse at killing people. Boundless Heavenly Venerable, how virtuous, how virtuous."