Chapter 21
Soon, the two of them arrived at the foot of Nine Links Mountain.
In the dense forest halfway up the mountain, he saw three men in black clothes standing by the side of the forest path.
The three of them carried large sabers on their shoulders and looked impatient.
“Manor Master Zhu, you’re really slow. You made us brothers wait!”
One of them, the horse-faced man, stepped forward.
When he walked to Zhu Kangsheng’s side, he glanced at Han Zhao beside him. After noticing his clothes, he suddenly sneered. “Manor Master Zhu, don’t tell me you think that just bringing a child from the Mountain Shaking Fist Academy can support you?”
Zhu Kangsheng’s expression froze. He had originally wanted to bring Han Zhao over to mediate. The Flying Dragon Stockade would more or less give him some face. He did not expect the other party to see through his thoughts at a glance.
The horse-faced man reached out and patted Zhu Kangsheng’s shoulder. “Have you brought enough money? Everyone will get an additional tael of silver. Originally, we were going to add two taels of silver. Fortunately, our boss is kind-hearted. Now, it’s only one tael of silver. Don’t you think so?”
[They’re really too gentle. They could have s.n.a.t.c.hed it away directly.]
Han Zhao’s forehead muscles twitched slightly.
Zhu Kangsheng’s expression was a little ugly. He bowed to the horse-faced man and said, “Sir, please make an exception. The men in our manor can’t earn more than ten taels of silver a year. They exchange their blood and sweat for money. If they pay one tael more, their children will starve!”
“Cut the c.r.a.p! Not even a tael of silver or a penny less. If you don’t pay, be careful when your family members go out in the future!” The horse-faced man cursed and placed the saber on Zhu Kangsheng’s shoulder.
Zhu Kangsheng knelt down with a thud and begged the pockmarked man behind him, “Fourth-in-charge, please give us a way out. Those people in the manor…”
The long-faced man pressed his knife down and interrupted Zhu Kangsheng. “Looks like you haven’t suffered enough.”
“That’s right. It’s better for you to starve than for us to starve.”
“Do you really think our Flying Dragon Stockade is a charity?”
“We’re bandits! Do you know what bandits are?”
“We s.n.a.t.c.h money.”
“Hahaha!”
The fourth-in-charge and another bandit echoed each other.
The horse-faced man’s expression was mocking as he punched Zhu Kangsheng’s face.
“Bang!”
His fist did not land on Zhu Kangsheng’s face.
Han Zhao held the hilt of the saber with his right hand and blocked his fist with the scabbard.
“You?!” The horse-faced man was shocked. His punch seemed to have hit a wall, but the scabbard did not move under his strength.
This young man was so strong!
Step! Step!
Han Zhao exerted force, and the horse-faced man was forced to take a few steps back.
“Haha! Zhang Hong, did you f*cking use all your strength in bed last night?!”
“You don’t even have the strength to hit people. You haven’t eaten, right?”
“Go to h.e.l.l!” The horse-faced man was furious. He raised his saber and slashed at Han Zhao.
Han Zhao was expressionless. He took a step back with his left foot and turned around, dodging the horse-faced man’s powerful saber.
Swoosh!
At the same time, Han Zhao unsheathed the long saber in his hand. He spread his fingers, and the hilt of the saber seemed to stick to his palm. The saber drew an arc in the air.
Clang! Before the scabbard fell to the ground, Han Zhao returned the saber to its sheath and put it back into his belt.
Bang! The horse-faced man’s right hand and saber fell to the ground at the same time.
“Ah! My hand!!!” The horse-faced man let out an earth-shattering scream.
Pfft!
A bright silver blade flashed, and the screams stopped.
The horse-faced man’s head fell to the ground with a thud. His body was still standing on the spot, and more than three feet of blood splattered.
“Rascal! How dare you?!”
The sudden change shocked the other two.
“You’re courting death!” The fourth-in-charge dragged his saber and ran towards Han Zhao.
Clang!
The two sabers clashed, and the saber shook violently, emitting a loud sound.
Crack!
The fourth-in-charge felt a huge force pa.s.s through the blade and into his arm. The bones in his right forearm instantly broke and snapped.
“Ah! You’re in the Blood Tempering Realm?!”
His face was filled with disbelief, and his eyes widened in horror as if he had seen a ghost. Although he had only entered the Bone Tempering Realm for less than a year, his arm should not have been broken by a single strike.
It was too terrifying!
“Run… run…” The fourth-in-charge ran away. At this moment, he really hated his parents for not giving him two more legs.
The expression on the other person’s face instantly froze. He actually threw the saber in his hand to the ground and decisively ran to the other side.
Han Zhao’s expression was cold, and a trace of viciousness flashed across his eyes.
Swoosh!
He threw the long saber in his hand at the fourth-in-charge and immediately chased after the person on the left.
“Don’t come over!” The person who was running away heard the footsteps coming from behind. He was so frightened that he cried. He turned around, took out two handfuls of lime powder, and threw them at Han Zhao’s face.
Han Zhao suddenly stomped on the ground with his left foot. With an extremely exaggerated speed and explosive force, he quickly stopped and turned around, dodging the lime powder that was charging at him. Then, he threw a punch and hit the other party’s face.
Accompanied by the sound of the skull shattering, that person’s head exploded like a watermelon, and blood and brain matter splattered all over the ground.
Thump!
The man’s body fell backward.
Han Zhao’s right fist shook hard. He squatted down and wiped the other party’s clothes. He got up and walked to the right.
The fourth-in-charge fell to the ground, his body convulsing non-stop. The long knife pierced through the back of his neck and emerged from his throat.
“This… This is…” Zhu Kangsheng, who was kneeling on the ground, widened his eyes. Before he could even get up, Han Zhao had already killed three bandits with lightning speed. The fourth-in-charge of the Flying Dragon Stockade was a Bone Tempering martial artist, but he was actually unable to fight back?
Han Zhao wiped the blood off his saber and sheathed it. The viciousness in his eyes had completely dissipated.
He had already felt injustice when he came, but he did not want to interfere.
However, the other party had provoked him.
Only by drawing his saber could the world be peaceful.
“Killing the bandits has provoked the Flying Dragon Stockade. Looks like I have to think of a way to destroy the Flying Dragon Stockade. I can’t let the Zhang family off either. Otherwise, it will be too dangerous!”
After selling the Pine Breeze Sword Technique this time, he would not leave the city easily unless he cultivated the Life Nurturing Technique to the Third Level.
“Hahaha! Good death! Good death!” Zhu Kangsheng suddenly laughed out loud like a crazy man.
However, when he saw Han Zhao skillfully touching the corpse, his laughter suddenly stopped.
“Brother Han, you’re in the Blood Tempering Realm?!” Zhu Kangsheng snapped out of his daze.
“No, I just broke through to the Bone Tempering Realm yesterday.” Han Zhao shook his head and added, “I was just born with divine strength.”
“Good! That’s great!” Zhu Kangsheng suddenly knelt on the ground, tears, and snot flowing down his face. “Brother Han, you must help me. I beg you! I’ll give you all my a.s.sets. I’ll forge a saber for you. I’ll use everything I’ve learned in my life to forge a good saber for you!”
Han Zhao’s heart skipped a beat, and he said seriously, “What do I have to pay?”
“Help me kill the leader of the Flying Dragon Stockade, Qi Xing!” Zhu Kangsheng’s face was filled with hatred, and his face was almost twisted.
“And the reason?”
“He killed my entire family 15 years ago. Back then, I was the one who led the rebellion against the Flying Dragon Stockade. In the end…”
“I’m not Qi Xing’s match now, and I can’t deal with the Zhang family,” Han Zhao said in a low voice.
“It’s okay, I can wait for you. You’re only 18 years old this year, right? You haven’t practiced martial arts for more than a year and a half? I’ll wait for you to break through to the Blood Tempering Realm. I can wait for eight to ten years!” Zhu Kangsheng hurriedly said. If Han Zhao agreed directly, he would have some doubts. Han Zhao’s current performance showed that he was prepared to fulfill his promise.
Furthermore, based on the fact that Han Zhao paid back the money on credit and did not drag it out, he knew that Han Zhao was a man of his word.
What’s more, he had fought the three of them just now to help him. Otherwise, he could have just watched him get beaten up and not provoked the Flying Dragon Stockade.
At this moment, Zhu Kangsheng was like a drowning person who had grabbed onto his last life-saving straw.
“Get up,” Han Zhao said calmly.
“Brother Han, believe me! I…”
“Three years.”
“I can help you… What did you say?” Zhu Kangsheng was stunned.
“In three years, I’ll help you kill Qi Xing,” Han Zhao added. Although he might break through in two years, it was better to be more conservative.
Zhu Kangsheng widened his eyes and stared at Han Zhao, but he didn’t see any signs of lying or boasting on his face.
After a long time, he stood up. “I believe you! I’ll forge the saber for you first. When you bring Qi Xing’s head to me, I’ll pour my life’s work into it and reforge a treasure saber for you!”
“Mm.” Han Zhao nodded.
With such hatred, nothing Han Zhao said could comfort him. What Zhu Kangsheng wanted was for him to complete the deal.
At this moment, Zhu Kangsheng looked up at the sky and said in a choked voice, “Yu’er, Feiyu, wait for me for another three years! I’ll be back soon to accompany you!”
After saying that, he wiped his tears and snot. “Brother Han, leave this place quickly. Leave the matters here to me. What happened today has nothing to do with you. You only accompanied me to the foot of the mountain before leaving.”
“I understand.”
Han Zhao’s expression was calm as he turned around and left.