A dozen figures slowly walked in, led by the man at the front. He had a broken brow, hawk-like eyes, and a sinister smile playing on his lips.
“I thought I heard someone say they wanted to save him?” The broken-browed man sneered, his gaze sweeping over Qiu Zhiya and the others.
The Shopkeeper, who was still busy picking up silver from the floor, saw more people entering and quickly stood back up to shout, “I am the Shopkeeper of this establishment! If you're going to cause trouble here—”
Before he could finish his sentence, the broken-browed man impatiently drew his blade and swung. The Shopkeeper's head instantly went flying.
Zhang Wuji's expression was incredibly grim. He had never expected to encounter so much trouble upon his return to the Martial Alliance. Logically speaking, he had merely returned after going missing, so the deaths of those two men should not have been blamed on him. Yet, Wu An insisted he was the culprit.
Escaping from more than a dozen people was no easy feat, and by now, he was struggling even to stand.
But as long as he could reach that place, that inn! This thought acted like a protective talisman, keeping him upright and driving him forward step by step.
“I'm protecting him. What of it?” Ning Qingzhu said coldly. Since he was her Young Master's friend, she had to protect him.
Seeing such a young girl dare to stand up and protect someone, the dozen or so men burst into loud laughter, clearly not taking her seriously at all.
“Hahaha! Did you hear what she just said?!”
“This is hilarious! When we were her age, we were already killing people without batting an eye!”
“Hurry up and run home to fetch your parents, kid! Hahaha!”
Listening to their ridicule, Ning Qingzhu's face flushed bright red. This was too much!
“Brother Xu, lend me your saber,” Ning Qingzhu suddenly said.
Xu Qing froze for a moment. Seeing Old Chen nod from the side, he handed the saber over.
“She wants a saber? Hahaha, is she going to—”
Before the man could finish laughing, a cold sensation slashed across his neck. Clutching his throat, he could only emit a muffled whimper as the others stared blankly at the scene.
Ning Qingzhu had suddenly appeared a few paces away from the man, having sliced open his carotid artery with the tip of her blade.
It was a clean and decisive move—swift, precise, and ruthless.
The broken-browed man finally looked at her seriously. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes; the young girl's speed was far beyond their imagination.
“Who on earth are you? Forget it, it doesn't matter who you are. Anyone who interferes with the Martial Alliance today must die,” the broken-browed man said coldly.
Receiving his command, the dozen or so men rushed forward all at once, save for one older, middle-aged man.
“Go look for the Young Master she mentioned. We'll hold them off,” Xu Qing urgently told Qiu Zhiya.
The latter hesitated for a moment but ultimately nodded, slipping out through the window amidst the chaos.
There were still quite a few patrons inside the inn. Seeing this, they were all pale with fright, scrambling to avoid the swinging blades and swords.
Many of them were also jianghu martial artists who were extremely dissatisfied with the Martial Alliance's overbearing ways, but they dared not speak out.
Xu Qing was used to wielding twin blades. Now, with only a single saber in hand, he was understandably out of his element, finding himself struggling under the coordinated assault of several men.
Ning Qingzhu had the easiest time of all. Jiang Moran's bizarre movement technique and footwork allowed her to move like a roaming dragon, effortlessly dodging the incoming blades while seeking opportunities to counterattack.
However, the numerical disadvantage was unavoidable. In less than three minutes, they would surely be defeated.
The middle-aged man standing beside the broken-browed leader was Uncle Liu, whom Ning Qingzhu had encountered that night. He watched the young girl's movements with a deep frown, another figure from that night continuously playing back in his mind.
【Uncle Liu, you have no idea how bizarre that person's footwork was. If I hadn't figured out her pattern, I would probably be dead by now!】
【First the left foot lands, then the right foot glides empty. The figure drifts, and then the right foot lands...】
No, that's not right! Uncle Liu watched her movements. In this step, she did not land her right foot but instead glided her left. Yet, he was certain that she was the other person from that night.
“It seems she realized her own weakness and adjusted...” Uncle Liu thought to himself.
Recalling the strange turn of events that night, he felt a faint sense of unease.
There had been a fifth person hiding at the scene back then, and their strength was absolutely not inferior to his own. Today, it might not be so easy to capture them.
“I need to head back,” Uncle Liu said.
The broken-browed man frowned. Although Uncle Liu had only come along as a favor to Wu An, he did not actually have the authority to order him around.
“Hmph,” the broken-browed man snorted coldly, not bothering to reply.
Seeing this, Uncle Liu did not take his attitude to heart and simply turned to leave.
The battle inside the inn raged on, though it had now become completely one-sided.
Before even a minute had passed, Xu Qing was struggling to hold his ground, and several new wounds had appeared on his body.
The broken-browed man sneered. To him, Xu Qing was already at the end of his rope, only one strike away from death.
Drawing his longsword, he lunged viciously during a gap in Xu Qing's defense. Xu Qing also sensed the danger, but he simply had no time to react.
Splat!
Blood splattered everywhere, leaving crimson dots speckled across Xu Qing's face. The rest of the fighters halted their movements and looked over.
The one who had been pierced was not Xu Qing, but the broken-browed man himself. He stared at his own chest in sheer bewilderment, where a long saber now protruded right through him.
Hiding behind a table, Old Chen stared with wide eyes at the owner of the saber.
“Is... isn't that the Dead Man's Blade? What is he doing here?” Old Chen muttered to himself, recognizing the unique blood groove on the blade.
Once stabbed by this blade, blood would flow relentlessly without stopping, which was how Mo Wuyun had earned the moniker of Dead Man's Blade.
Mo Wuyun watched him coldly, observing the man's pupils lose focus and dilate until life finally left him.
This sensation... was something he had truly missed.
He had been drinking in this inn from the very beginning, and from the moment these people had walked through the door, he had noticed the wooden plaques hanging from their waists.
The only reason he had waited until now to make his move was because his wine had just run out.
Thud. The broken-browed man's corpse collapsed to the floor with a dull thud.
Blood continuously flowed from the saber's blood groove. As Mo Wuyun walked forward, it trailed behind him like a shocking, crimson tail.
The remaining men were so terrified that they slumped to the floor. Mo Wuyun's gaze was far too horrifying, making them feel as if his blade would fall upon their necks in the very next second.
“I... I am...” As he drew closer, one of them reached the absolute peak of terror, trembling and babbling incoherently.
However, Mo Wuyun ignored his words and decapitated him with a single stroke.
The head rolled twice across the floor, a look of release frozen on its face.
In less than a minute, everyone from the Martial Alliance was dead. The smell of fresh blood filled the nostrils of everyone inside the inn.
Nobody dared to move, merely staring in horror at the sole figure standing amidst the sea of corpses.
“Is this... the strength of an old-generation jianghu master...?” Ning Qingzhu murmured, a bit dazed. Was this the fabled Dead Man's Blade, where once drawn, someone must die?
Hearing rumors could never compare to the shock of witnessing it in person.
Mo Wuyun wiped the blade with a white cloth, stepping toward Zhang Wuji as he did so.
Facing the menacing Dead Man's Blade, Zhang Wuji shrugged in resignation. Dying at the hands of the Dead Man's Blade was far better than being swarmed to death by a bunch of absolute nobodies.
A smirk played on Zhang Wuji's lips. In the future, word would spread of a duel to the death between the Dead Man's Blade and Zhang Wuji in an inn. And in the end, Zhang Wuji was narrowly defeated and died. Now what would you call that? A true man!
Having wiped his blade clean, Mo Wuyun looked at Zhang Wuji leaning against the table, a flicker of respect for a proper opponent finally appearing in his eyes.
He assumed his stance, the blade drawn back and tilted behind his left shoulder, preparing to send Zhang Wuji on his way with his most powerful technique.
A deathly silence hung over the inn. For some reason, even Xu Qing and the others remained silent. Only the faint, dragging sound of footsteps could be heard approaching from the distance.
Mo Wuyun did not notice that a figure had already walked up behind him.
“Excuse me, step aside. You're blocking my view of my friend.”
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