Chapter 280

From the moment Li Miao set the rules on the Peak of Mount Song, the occurrence of such things was inevitable. No matter how Li Miao established his authority or how blood flowed on the peak, this rule covering the entire Great Shu Jianghu was bound to have people attempting to cross the line for profit.

Regarding human nature, one contradictory point is—everyone is afraid of death, but there are always those who are not afraid of death—whether in a positive or negative sense.

However, according to Li Miao's expectations, such people looking for loopholes wouldn't appear until after half a year or a year, when the villains in the Jianghu were no longer enough.

Yet he didn't expect that before even two months had passed, someone had already started playing the edge, and it had happened to run right into his face!

"Little Gao."

Li Miao suddenly spoke up, interrupting the old man's scolding.

"Subdue this old man; I have questions to ask."

Once these words were out, the old man's expression changed abruptly, thinking to himself that it was bad. He reached toward his waist to draw his sword, his gaze simultaneously sweeping toward Li Miao and the others, but his pupils shrank.

In just an instant, Gao Anyu, who had been arguing with him, had already disappeared!

Then came a "hum—" sound, and an extremely strange vibration was transmitted from the sword hilt to his palm, followed by intense pain.

"Ah!"

The old man couldn't help but let go, fresh blood spilling from his burst web between thumb and forefinger.

Before he could react, a cold object pressed against his waist.

"Don't move."

"Old man, you scolded me just now; I actually wanted to kill you, but I am a good madman, and considering your family just lost someone, I won't hold it against you."

Gao Anyu's voice came from behind him.

"I don't understand these principles, but my Uncle Li said I could beat you, so you must be in the wrong. If someone is in the wrong, I can kill them—so if you think there is any misunderstanding, don't give me the chance to kill you."

"I am a madman; even if I kill the wrong person, I won't feel bad."

"From now on, whatever my Uncle Li asks you, you answer, understand?"

Having said this, he suddenly withdrew his murderous intent and returned to his previous hearty tone.

"Uncle Li, am I right?"

Li Miao nodded with a smile, then walked slowly up the steps and stood still in front of the old man.

"When did the people from the Kongming Sect come to claim the reward?"

The old man knew he was definitely no match for these people, and with his vital points controlled by the other party, he had lost the qualifications to bargain, so he could only answer with a livid face.

"At the beginning of the Mao hour."

"When did they leave?"

"Not long ago, they went toward the city gate."

"What about the head they gave you?"

"Inside the house."

"Get it."

Gao Anyu thrust his iron ruler, poking the old man until he stumbled, escorted him into the door, and a moment later pushed him back out, reaching out to hand a round package to Li Miao.

Cao Hanyan took it on his behalf, unwrapped the package, and pulled out a head with blood still wet. After just one look, he let out a soft "eh."

"Big, uh, Uncle, this head really does look six or seven parts like Shu Qingyi, and with the several sword wounds on the face, at first glance it really is hard to recognize."

Li Miao swept a glance at the head and asked indifferently.

"What else do you see?"

Cao Hanyan frowned, pondered for a moment, and said slowly.

"This person's teeth are waxy yellow and quite a few are missing, the skin is cracked in many places, the hair is withered and yellow; he must have lived a very frugal life before he died."

He reached out and pinched behind the head's ears, rubbing his fingers together, and said.

"There is quite a bit of dust behind the ears, and it's all mountain soil."

"There is an old scar on the side of the neck; it looks like it was scratched by a wild beast... this person should be a hunter."

"Those people from the Kongming Sect most likely met this hunter after they left last night, and seeing that he looked so much like Shu Qingyi, they had evil intentions and killed an innocent person to claim credit."

"They figured Brother Gao would definitely take the head to the Embroidered Uniform Guard to claim the reward, so they took the head here to claim the reward. By taking advantage of the lack of information exchange between the two sides, they wanted to take this advantage."

Li Miao nodded and pointed at the old man.

"Bring the person out and let this old man see."

Cao Hanyan followed his instructions and pulled the unconscious Shu Qingyi out of the package, grabbing his hair with his right hand and holding the head with his left, placing them both in front of the old man.

The old man had heard Li Miao and Cao Hanyan's words, and his face had already become increasingly ugly. Now, looking at the two faces in front of him, his mouth slowly pursed.

After a long while, he let out a long sigh.

But he said something that neither Gao Anyu nor Cao Hanyan had expected.

"Everyone, why must you bring things out into the open?"

Cao Hanyan frowned.

The old man continued.

"If you need the reward silver, I can just go inside and get another portion. Just now, I didn't know your Wu Gong, and I thought about covering this matter up; it was my fault... I hope you will forgive me."

Gao Anyu was confused, but Cao Hanyan suddenly understood and looked at the old man, saying in a deep voice.

"You knew all along?"

The old man smiled bitterly.

"How could I not know?"

"Although I left home to wander the Jianghu in my early years, I have made a name for myself over these years; of course I know what the villain who raped and killed my grandniece looks like."

Cao Hanyan frowned and said.

"Then just now..."

"Oh, you were afraid."

"You were afraid of the Kongming Sect, so when you said 'the talented disciples of the Kongming Sect already brought the head,' you were reminding us to leave."

Speaking to this point, the matter was already out in the open, clear and distinct, and the old man had no intention of hiding it anymore, sighing as he said.

"Yes."

"I am just a wanderer in the Jianghu, and my family is just a wealthy merchant family. And the Kongming Sect can be said to cover the sky with one hand in the Jianghu of this Guangxin Prefecture; how could I not be afraid?"

"Serving the great with the small is just how it is. Even if the other party is in the wrong, we must do our best to cover for them; even if we know this head is not right, we can only pretend we didn't notice."

"After all, if this matter were to spread, it might attract the Embroidered Uniform Guard, which would be a devastating disaster for the Kongming Sect. To eliminate this calamity, even if the Kongming Sect is a famous and upright sect, compared to their own inheritance and lives—"

"My family's dozens of lives can be considered cheap..."

After the old man finished speaking, he closed his eyes and let out a long sigh, saying no more.

Cao Hanyan stared into the old man's eyes for a while and sighed.

"Brother Gao, put away your weapon."

"This matter is not his fault."

Gao Anyu looked at Li Miao, and seeing he had no intention of objecting, he sheathed his sword.

Cao Hanyan turned to look at Li Miao again.

"Uncle, what should we do?"

Li Miao sneered.

"What else?"

"Those who should die must be killed, the silver that should be taken must be taken; the logic is clearly laid out here."

"With me here, are you still afraid that someone won't be reasonable?"

Cao Hanyan suddenly understood and offered a salute.

"Yes!"

After saying this, he lifted Shu Qingyi's neck with his left hand and pressed several points on his back with his right.

A "huff—" sound was heard as Shu Qingyi suddenly woke up, looking at the old man in front of him with confusion.

Cao Hanyan kicked him in the back of the knee and stepped on it. He grabbed his hair with his left hand, exposing his throat, and drew his blade with his right, slicing it cleanly.

Ssh—

The old man's expression changed slightly, and just as he was about to speak to dissuade him, the fresh blood spraying from the headless cavity stained the steps at his feet red.

"Sigh!"

Seeing Shu Qingyi pay the price, the old man first felt a sense of satisfaction, but then sighed and stamped his feet.

"Everyone, why be so impulsive! You killed someone in the street; not to mention the trouble from the officials, if the Kongming Sect finds out, they will definitely come to silence you—or even exterminate you!"

He gritted his teeth.

"Like this, I will make up an excuse, saying this person was an accomplice of Shu Qingyi, and you were hired by my family—"

Li Miao waved his hand to interrupt him.

"It's not your concern."

"The real murderer's head is given to you; as for this fake head, you can take it to report to the officials yourselves, and decide how to explain it."

"The person died because of your family's affairs; from now on, you will provide for his family's old and young, understand?"

The old man nodded.

"As it should be."

"Everyone, wait a moment, I will go get the reward silver."

But he heard Li Miao sneer.

"I don't want your portion."

"One head, one reward, clear and distinct. One head exchanged for two portions of silver, that is the truly strange thing; does an old man like you not even understand this little bit of logic?"

The old man's face changed abruptly.

The meaning in Li Miao's words was clear; he was also an old Jianghu hand, so how could he not understand? He immediately tried to dissuade him.

"Everyone, do not act on a moment's impulse—"

Li Miao, however, turned and walked toward the city gate.

Zheng Yi gave a cold laugh, Cao Hanyan had a cold face, and the two turned and left together.

Gao Anyu looked left and right, his eyes rolled, he clapped his hands, a smile appeared on his face, and he flashed to chase after Li Miao.

"Uncle Li! Are we going to kill people?"

"Where are we going? Who are we killing? How many?"

The sound of their voices gradually faded away, leaving only a headless cavity, a head with eyes wide open in death, and blood all over the steps.

————————

In a tea stall by the official road, three disciples of the Kongming Sect were resting, their bags placed on the table, bulging. Others only had to look at the protrusions to know that they were filled with a full bag of silver.

Many people cast stealthy glances over, but seeing the three had blades and swords on the table, walked and talked with the stride of dragons and tigers, and were dressed elegantly, they knew they were disciples of a major sect and extinguished their thoughts.

Suddenly, the youngest of the three disciples drank his tea in one gulp and said with a worried face.

"Senior brother, I still feel... a bit uneasy."

The leading disciple squinted and said.

"It's already done, what's the use of saying these things now?"

"Besides, wasn't it you who discovered that the woodcutter looked like Shu Qingyi last night and called us two to look? And now you regret it?"

The young disciple pursed his lips and said hesitantly.

"No, senior brother, I don't mean anything else, I'm just afraid."

"If it were before last year, this thing would be done and that would be it. But now this matter is related to the rules of the Embroidered Uniform Guard... with the temperament of that 'Death-Dealing Commander,' if the Embroidered Uniform Guard finds out about this, our Kongming Sect might suffer."

The leading disciple gave a cold laugh.

"What are you afraid of?"

"Not to mention that the silver we claimed isn't from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so there's no question of provoking them. And let's not even mention that this Shu Qingyi is only a mid-level villain in the entire Jianghu and wouldn't even catch the eye of that Commander."

"Just look at that wealthy family—even if they found out, so what? We can't afford to provoke the Embroidered Uniform Guard, but can they afford to provoke our Kongming Sect?"

He raised his tea and said persuasively.

"Junior brother, today I will teach you a principle."

"Everything in this world is nothing more than 'momentum'! Unless one reaches the level of that Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, who can suppress the entire Jianghu with his fists, then he himself is the 'momentum'."

"All of us must act according to the momentum."

He said triumphantly.

"You and I went through so much trouble to enter the Kongming Sect, for what? We can't become Celestial Beings, and our aptitude only goes as far as second-rate, and we have to follow so many sect rules; what are we aiming for?"

"Isn't it for the 'momentum' of our Kongming Sect? Using momentum to suppress others, using momentum to profit; otherwise, why do we practice martial arts and worship masters?"

The young disciple was stunned.

This was the first time he had heard such words, which were completely different from the Jianghu morality his master had taught him in the sect, making him instinctively want to refute.

But the words died in his throat.

Because he discovered that his two senior brothers' eyes no longer had their usual warmth, but were gradually becoming cold.

His heart shuddered violently.

These rebellious words were both a reminder and a warning to him. The three of them had already conspired to do this; if it were exposed, he feared all three of their heads would be cut off by their master and sent to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Neither of his senior brothers would keep a bomb that could explode at any time by their side.

He could be an accomplice and share this silver... or he could be a hero, sacrificing his life for righteousness, dying at the hands of Shu Qingyi.

Life or death depended on his next answer. Having been able to commit the act of killing an innocent person to claim credit, his moral standard was clearly insufficient to support him in giving a negative answer.

An ingratiating smile appeared on his face.

"Senior brother, after hearing what you said, I am truly enlightened! If I had wandered the Jianghu with you earlier, why would I have been foolishly polishing my muscles and wasting my years in the sect?"

"Thank you, senior brother, for telling me these things; I understand everything now!"

Under the satisfied gazes of his two senior brothers, he lowered his head, diligently picked up the teapot, and was about to pour tea for them.

"Since you two senior brothers have cultivated me so much, I am deeply grateful; today I will use tea instead of wine to thank you—"

Swish.

A scarlet liquid spilled into the teacup, splashing and swirling on the back of his hand.

A round object fell onto the table, rolled, hit the ground, and made a dull thud.

Screams rang out in his ears, tables and chairs were knocked over by panicked footsteps, tea splashed, and steam rose.

Figures ran past him in chaos, and time seemed to be frozen.

The sounds seemed to become distant, and then slowly approached. He shuddered violently and slowly moved his gaze up from the tabletop.

An overturned teacup, blood swirling in the tea; a scarlet-stained collar, a long sword that fell halfway out of its sheath; wriggling flesh on the severed cross-section; a headless corpse slowly falling to one side.

A pitch-black iron ruler that had pierced through his senior brother's skull.

Gao Anyu's excited smile.

"Uncle Li, it's these three, the silver has been found!"