Chapter 14: A Good Time to Kill

The night was dark and the wind was high, and with government officials presiding, it was a perfect time for murder.

This sentence left Li Hao in a daze.

He had heard it not long ago.

On that day, the night was dark and the wind was high, and a heavy rain was imminent.

"Jiang Wangchun, the Imperial Court already knows you are harboring relics of the former dynasty. This is an act of high treason, an attempt at rebellion. The Embroidered Uniform Guards are already on their way."

"Hand over the treasure map quickly, and I will certainly keep your secret. Even the Embroidered Uniform Guards won't be able to find it, and your family will remain safe and sound."

He had been earnestly coaxing the man before him.

Hearing this, the middle-aged man—who could barely stand due to having been poisoned earlier—struggled to lift his head and look at him: "Then is this not a dark, windy night, with the Imperial Court presiding, making it the perfect time for murder?"

Li Hao smiled and crouched down to look at Jiang Wangchun. "Mr. Jiang, why would I kill you? In truth, I am just like you—my heart belongs to the former dynasty, and I seek to uphold the legitimate lineage."

Jiang Wangchun looked past him toward the door. In the courtyard lay people scattered across the ground—men, women, old, and young—like lambs waiting for slaughter, surrounded by escorts clutching blades.

"Lord Li Si." Jiang Wangchun withdrew his gaze and looked at Li Hao. "You aren't even covering your face. That shows you don't mind being seen by us, and it also shows that we are certainly destined to become dead men."

Is that so? Li Hao smiled and reached out to touch his own face.

"Scholars are indeed clever," he said. "However, there are many ways to die: a quick, painless one, and an un..."

A cry of pain rang out near his ear.

Li Hao's dazed gaze sharpened. He saw a youth standing by the door pierce an escort with a bamboo pole.

...

...

Since this youth entered, he wasn't the only one to notice something was wrong. There were only a few people left guarding the escort agency; how could they not recognize a sudden, unfamiliar face? Naturally, the newcomer came with ill intent.

The escort closest to the door reacted first, charging forward with his blade. But before the sword could fall, the youth's bamboo pole pierced through his chest.

"I am not like you. I only kill cleanly," Mo Zheng said, jerking the bamboo pole back sharply.

The pierced escort collapsed to the ground, dying a "clean" death, unlike that child of the Jiang family back then...

...

...

Back then, right after Li Hao had uttered those words about an unpleasant death, an escort in the courtyard swung his blade and severed the arm of a small child lying on the ground.

The child, who had been unconscious from the sedative, let out a piercing scream, rolling on the ground and wailing for his mother...

Without even turning around, Li Hao knew how miserable that child's fate was, because Jiang Wangchun's refined face had become distorted.

"No—" he cried out in a hoarse voice.

"No?" Li Hao smiled and patted Jiang Wangchun's face with his blade. "Then bring out the treasure map quickly and cleanly—"

Jiang Wangchun ignored him and continued to stare out the door, his expression a mixture of agony and desperation: "Run—run fast—"

He forced the words out through a tongue stiffened by the drug.

Li Hao laughed. Run? How could they possibly escape?

Another scream rang out from behind.

This time it was an adult; the cry was less melodic than the child's and was laced with profanity.

"Damn it, kill him—!"

Wait, that was one of his own. Li Hao wasn't familiar with the voices of Jiang Wangchun's family, but he knew his own men well.

His escorts were shouting.

Li Hao turned hurriedly, only to see one of the Jiang family members kneeling up amidst the bodies in the courtyard. The figure was thin, not much larger than the child rolling on the ground, and was currently clutching a knife.

Meanwhile, the escort who had just cut off the child's arm had tumbled to the ground, his own lower leg severed.

To think they could still fight back after being drugged.

Li Hao's expression darkened, but he didn't care much. So what if they woke up? At the same time, the other escorts reacted, cursing as they swung their blades.

The youth stumbled and rolled, somehow dodging the attacks. He then attempted to scoop up a Jiang child lying on the ground. As the surging escorts swung their blades, a strike slashed across the youth's back.

The youth fell and rolled immediately, dodging more descending blades, all while clutching that Jiang child in his arms...

He looked wretched, yet almost absurd.

Unable to even save himself, yet he still tried to save others.

Li Hao couldn't help but laugh. He turned to Jiang Wangchun. "Impressive, Jiang Wangchun. Your family has hidden talents, but you still underestimated me. Since I have committed to this, I will not let anyone—"

Before he could finish, Jiang Wangchun struggled forward, not toward him, but toward the blade in his hand—

With a *thud*, blood sprayed across Li Hao's face.

Jiang Wangchun had been pierced through the chest. His gaze remained fixed on the door, watching the youth who was still rolling on the ground, being hacked at by the escorts, yet still refusing to let go of the child.

"Go—" Jiang Wangchun let out a roar.

The youth looked over. Li Hao also looked at him. Because of the rolling, the youth's hair was disheveled and obscured his face; only a blurred silhouette could be seen...

The youth set down the Jiang child, rolled to the wall, and climbed up it like a gecko, disappearing over the top.

All of this happened in the instant of Jiang Wangchun's roar. The man vanished like a ghost, leaving the escorts' frantic blades to strike nothing but the wall.

What kind of thing was that! Man or ghost! Li Hao's expression was one of shock, followed by a fierce command: "Don't let him get away—!"

The sounds of slaughter also erupted from outside the wall.

Li Hao looked at the lifeless Jiang Wangchun on his blade, kicked the body aside, and cursed harshly, "You suicidal bastard."

He then pointed into the courtyard.

"Kill them! Kill them all—!"

The courtyard in the dead of night was a scene of carnage.

...

...

Amidst the screams, an escort tumbled to the ground, blood spraying from his throat and splashing onto Li Hao's robes.

Li Hao's memory was pulled from the past back to the present. The current scene was also a bloody mess.

More escorts, armed to the teeth, lunged at the youth.

The youth still stood by the door, appearing as if he might bolt through it at any moment. He knocked away every weapon that came at him; if he couldn't knock them away, he dodged; if he couldn't dodge, he let the blades strike his body. But regardless, every time his bamboo pole struck, it landed precisely on the throat or chest of the escort behind the weapon, delivering a fatal blow.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, five escorts lay dead on the ground.

Li Hao stared at the youth by the door. The youth was covered in blood, his torn robes hanging loosely.

A sudden thought struck Li Hao. The youth wasn't standing by the door to facilitate his own escape, but to prevent them from escaping.

"It's you!"

At the same time, Li Hao realized something else.

"The one who escaped that night!"

The light in the warehouse was much brighter than it had been at the Jiang residence that night. The youth's hair was tied up, revealing his features.

His eyes were like stars, his face pale, his lips thin—he was handsome yet possessed a cold, detached air.

"Yes, it is I. That night, I was poisoned and lacked the strength to kill you, so I could only hide my face. Now..."

He smiled faintly and gripped the bamboo pole. With a cracking sound, the pole shattered, revealing a black iron sword within.

"You will all be killed by me. In the presence of the dead, I have no need to hide my face."

He had actually come back?

How did he dare to come back!

And he had come alone to kill them!

Li Hao looked at the youth before him in disbelief.

Was this man a fool or a madman?!

But Li Hao's hands were trembling slightly.

"Kill him!"

He roared, lunging toward the youth by the door with his blade.

The other escorts followed suit.

The lights in the warehouse instantly went out, leaving only the flashes of blades, the shadows of swords, and the spray of blood and flesh.

(End of Chapter)