Lu Sheng put down his bowl and sank into thought. He could sense that his father, Lu Quanan, was troubled — as though the old man wished to send him far away, to someplace safer.
Yet, Lu Sheng also knew that without Duanmu Wan’s appearance, he had already reached the limits of what Nine Links City could offer. Moving to Mountain Edge City, a place far more prosperous and renowned, might not be a bad idea after all.
“Might as well. I’ll go and come back quickly. If I really can learn something from those famed experts, I’ll send someone back with a letter instead,” Lu Sheng murmured after a moment’s contemplation, finally agreeing.
Mountain Edge City was no short journey — twice the distance of Zi Hua City. Even at full gallop, a horse would need two days and one night to reach it, let alone a carriage.
Once he made his decision, Lu Sheng secluded himself at home for several days, devoting all his time to training and replenishing his strength.
Meanwhile, Lu Qingqing remained her unruly self, venturing out every day. Rumors of her capturing yet another criminal reached the manor from time to time. No one could restrain her — not Lu Sheng, not the servants, not even Second Mother, whose reprimands fell on deaf ears until she finally gave up.
After several days of rest and cultivation, Lu Sheng began upgrading the martial arts techniques he had recently acquired. With his firm foundation in the Black Tiger Saber Technique and Jade Crane Skill, he swiftly used the Modifier to elevate Heart-Shattering Palm to Level 3, attaining full mastery.
The remaining techniques he decided to leave untouched for now — he would refine them once his blood and Qi had fully recovered. As for Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade, he chose to practice it slowly, using it as a personal benchmark against his other skills.
Thus, his days passed in quiet repetition, each one blending into the next — until, just before his departure, a strange event unsettled the city.
A few hunters from the outskirts had mysteriously vanished during the Wan Qing Festival.
Just a few days earlier, several hunters had been seen bringing fox pelts and other wild game into the city to sell. After that, they vanished — as though wiped off the face of the earth.
Their disappearance went unnoticed until their families, alarmed by their absence, reported them missing to the authorities. What made this case different was that one of the hunters happened to be the cousin of a senior constable in the yamen. That single connection kept the matter from being dismissed like so many others.
At first glance, it appeared to be a simple missing-persons case. But the moment the investigation began, strange inconsistencies surfaced. The hunters had followed only one route — straight through the street near the Goldfish Restaurant — before vanishing completely. Not a single witness had seen them after that.
The constables hurried to search the area, yet the Goldfish Restaurant itself had recently burned down and now stood abandoned. Why would those hunters, there to peddle their goods, head toward a deserted, fire-scarred street?
As Lu Sheng pondered the matter, Little Qiao came running in panic, breathless. She stammered out that Lu Qingqing had gone alone to the street near the Goldfish Restaurant at midnight — and even now, under broad daylight, she had yet to return.
Lu Sheng’s chest tightened. A cold premonition struck him.
“When exactly did Qingqing head there?” he demanded sharply.
“Not sure, but it should’ve been during the Chou hour, after midnight,” Little Qiao replied quickly. “Normally, Second Young Miss returns before dawn, but this time she didn’t. Her maid, Little Red, said Young Miss told her to prepare hot water for a bath. She waited and waited, but when there was still no sign of her, she panicked!”
Lu Sheng had been leisurely strolling in the garden moments ago, resting before his saber practice — hardly expecting such dire news to reach him now.
“Go at once and inform Uncle Zhao and the family head! I’ll head over there first to take a look!” he ordered.
“Little Eight has already taken some men to investigate! He was the one who sent word about Second Young Miss’ disappearance!” Little Qiao blurted, her voice trembling.
“Little Eight…” Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. He recalled that Little Eight was one of the manor guards. “Got it.”
Without hesitation, he threw on an outer coat, strapped the standard-issue long saber to his waist, led a horse from the stable, and galloped toward the Goldfish Restaurant.
The entire Lu Manor was thrown into turmoil. Lu Quanan immediately commanded Uncle Zhao to lead a search party to the scene, while other men were dispatched to report the matter to the prefectural yamen. In moments, a vast web of manpower and connections spread across the city.
Their first priority was clear — to confirm whether Lu Qingqing was truly missing, or if she had simply gone off the radar for a while.
“Jia!”
Lu Sheng spurred his horse forward, racing through the cold, dim morning streets. At this hour, the roads were mostly empty, allowing him to ride without restraint. Had it been later in the day, even he would have faced censure for galloping so wildly through the city. But this was no ordinary time.
Little Eight’s report about Lu Qingqing’s disappearance was merely the spark — what truly tightened Lu Sheng’s chest was the memory of the strange happenings he’d once encountered near the Goldfish Restaurant.
His yellow-speckled horse neighed sharply as it came to a stop before the charred remains of the restaurant. Its doors were bolted shut, and the dawn sky hung dimly above, offering only the faintest light.
The side street beside the restaurant was strewn with soot and ash. Several wooden houses stood half-demolished — the fire had devoured only part of them, leaving jagged remains that mingled with the rubble, their silence heavier than the morning mist.
Lu Sheng dismounted, his boots crunching against the scorched ground as he stepped forward.
“Ka-cha…”
A crisp crack sounded beneath his heel. His hand instinctively went to the hilt of his saber. The two real battles he had survived had tempered his nerves — he was no longer the same as before.
Light flickered in his eyes as he scanned the desolate surroundings. Before long, he noticed something that stood out amidst the ruins.
A deep sword mark was gouged into a wooden beam standing among the half-burnt houses along the blackened street.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmLQM9G11BQ
Messy footprints surrounded it, and in some of them, damp black soil still clung fresh to the ground.
Lu Sheng reached out and brushed his fingers against the cut. The beam, scorched black on the outside, was pale-yellow within — the mark had cleaved through the charred layer, revealing untouched wood beneath.
“Should be nearby,” he murmured.
He drew his saber with a slow, deliberate motion and stepped inside, the blade angled downward at his side.
The interior was in ruin. The fire had devoured the ceiling, leaving the beams above skeletal. Charred furniture lay toppled in heaps; scorched bundles of cloth and melted remnants of unknown things littered the floor.
Barely a few steps in, another mark caught his eye. A blackened table had collapsed to one side, its edge bearing two deep saber cuts. Tiny fragments of metal glinted faintly along the gouges.
“What great strength,” Lu Sheng muttered under his breath.
He plucked a shard from the wood, rolling it between his fingers. From its texture and color, he recognized it — a fragment of his second sister Lu Qingqing’s steel longsword.
Lowering his gaze, he traced the footprints across the soot-covered floor, following them toward the back of the house.
Pushing through the half-burnt doorway, he stepped into the backyard.
There, crouched beside a crumbling wall, was a one-eyed man with tangled hair, clad in battered brown leather armor. A thick-backed broad saber hung at his side, and his muscular frame was streaked with grime. The man was muttering curses as he pressed something — a slip of paper — against the wall.
“Who’s there!?”
Sensing the intrusion, the man spun around, his single eye burning with hostility.
“Who’s there? I should be asking you — who the hell are you?” Lu Sheng retorted coldly, narrowing his eyes.
He took in the man’s appearance at a glance — nearly one point nine meters tall, muscles bulging like coiled ropes, a silver saber streaked with fresh blood in his grip. The stench of violence clung to him like a shadow.
“Me?” The man gave a low chuckle, tossing the slip of paper aside.
A sneer curled the one-eyed man’s lip as he spat out the words, voice oily with triumph. “Looks like you’re from that brat girl’s family? That brat actually dared to kill two of my disciples. So big bro and I captured her. Too bad you’re too late — that brat has been sent back to the stronghold for my big bro’s entertainment.”
Darkness clouded Lu Sheng’s features. He stepped forward, voice steady but cold. “Brat girl? From your manner, you’re no mere ruffian. The Lu name carries weight in Nine Links City. Name your price — let’s talk this out.”
The man barked a coarse laugh that scraped against the silence. “Talk your ass! Are you the only one here, brat of the Lu family?”
Lu Sheng did not hide the truth. “My men are behind me.”
The man’s grin widened like a blade. “You came alone and still dared to show up… gutsy.” He spat to one side and called out, “Number Two, Number Three — take him down. Make the Lu family pay for him!”
At his shout, two more figures vaulted through a gap in the wall, clad in the same battered brown leather. One bore a long-hilted axe; the other twirled a Qi Mei staff like a toy.
One of them scoffed, voice high and petulant. “Just one little brat — I can handle him. Godpa, why call both of us?”
The leader’s eyes glittered. “Whoever brings him in gets the credit!”
They advanced with the hunger of wolves. “Heheheh, what a handsome little boy. He’ll make a fine companion for that brat girl — take turns keeping them amused,” Number Two leered, letting his gaze trail in a way that made Lu Sheng’s jaw tighten.
“Play my ass! If anyone’s going to play with him, it’s godpa first!” Number Three crowed, rubbing his palms together.
The leader waved a hand as if issuing instructions for butchery, voice casual and cruel. “Break both his legs, but don’t draw too much blood — looks ugly and ruins the mood. Last time your axe took off a man’s arm and blood sprayed everywhere… his body fell apart,” he said, as if recalling a sport.
“That’s on you! Didn’t you bash him with your staff? He was nearly dead by the time it was our turn!” Number Two snapped back in defense, eager to shift blame and ready to strike.
The two newcomers were twin brothers, both built like oxen and gifted with brute strength. By a twist of fate, they had once apprenticed under the infamous Lin brothers — the Phantom Head Blade and the Severed Head Blade — names whispered with dread in both Nine Links City and Black Winds Ridge.
The one-eyed man wielding the thick-backed saber was none other than Severed Head Blade Lin Hongshui himself. He and his elder brother, Phantom Head Blade Lin Shuanghuo, were murderers who had fled Nine Links City over a decade ago after massacring two merchant caravans in a single night, vanishing with carts full of silver and jewels.
The brothers were notorious for their ferocious Wind-Rippling Saber Technique, a brutal art designed for overwhelming power and carnage. Each of them favored a heavy, wide-bladed saber that could cleave a man apart in one blow. Lin Shuanghuo, the elder, had once set a gruesome record — splitting a man in two during a chase with city constables.
Now, Lu Sheng found himself facing the younger brother — along with his two monstrous disciples. It was his first real confrontation, and he was outnumbered three to one.
He raised his long saber, eyes fixed on the approaching twins, Number Two and Number Three.258Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWsJeZrEiYL
Let me test the waters first, he thought calmly. If it doesn’t work, I’ll retreat. I don’t know how strong I really am yet.
Caution tightened his grip. He chose not to unleash the Black Tiger Saber Technique or the Heart-Shattering Palm — revealing everything at once would be foolish. Instead, he shifted into the stance of Eighty-Four Swallows Pursuing the Wind Blade, a technique he had quietly practiced in solitude.
Holding the saber loosely, he leveled his gaze on Number Two.
“Come!” Number Two jeered, grinning as he raised his axe and tapped his own head mockingly. “Little brat even poses like an expert! Go on, strike here! Right here! Your grandpa will stand still and let you—”
“Chi!!”
A silver flash split the air before he could finish.
The long saber in Lu Sheng’s hands danced like a swallow, crossing the space between them in a single breath. A clean, horizontal stroke gleamed through the gray morning light.
“Splat!”
A head flew up into the air, trailing a spray of blood that splattered across the ashen ground.
The courtyard fell silent — utterly, deathly still.
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