Dark clouds obscured the moon, and the night was dim.

Zhao Lin and Liang Song snuck into Three Families Village under the cover of darkness. About a dozen meters from his own home, Zhao Lin sensed Zhao Feilong’s presence.

Ultrasound attenuates with distance. Zhao Lin’s exceptional hearing could cover a range of about fifty meters; any farther, and it was only slightly better than an average person’s.

If there were obstacles or complex terrain, his auditory positioning would be affected.

Zhao Feilong was hiding behind the main hall door. Only when Zhao Lin got closer and heard the man’s breathing could he pinpoint his exact location.

He was the only one here. There was no one else.

’So he really is a lone wolf. Today, I’ll see you off on your final journey!’

Zhao Lin gestured to Liang Song, indicating that Zhao Feilong was hiding inside the house.

To make their act more convincing, the two deliberately peered over the wall for a moment before vaulting into the courtyard.

"The silver is under the bed in the inner room. I’ll go get it now. You wait for me out here."

While speaking words meant to deceive the enemy, Zhao Lin raised his iron spear and pointed its tip to the left of the door, indicating Zhao Feilong’s position.

Liang Song nodded, took down his hunting bow, and held three poisoned arrows in his hand.

Zhao Lin spoke in a low voice, but in the dead of night, Zhao Feilong, who was behind the door, heard him loud and clear.

’Heh heh, come on. I definitely won’t miss this time!’

Zhao Feilong, not yet aware that his role had shifted from hunter to prey, held his breath and gripped the Long Sword in his hand tightly.

He was just waiting for Zhao Lin to enter the house to run him through the heart with his sword.

Zhao Lin took a soft breath and walked toward the door, iron spear in hand.

This man was a Qi Realm master. Killing him in an open area would be nearly impossible.

Only in a confined space like this, with the element of surprise, did they have the best chance.

Zhao Lin knew the layout of his own house like the back of his hand. The place where Zhao Feilong was hiding was just an adobe wall made of straw, wood, and lime—it couldn’t possibly block a strike from his iron spear. It wasn’t even as sturdy as the tree hollow a bear might hide in.

There were three stone steps in front of the house. Zhao Lin climbed them one by one, then took another step forward, assumed a spearing stance, and thrust out with extreme speed and ferocity.

Zhao Feilong waited for a breath’s time. Hearing no further footsteps, he was growing puzzled when he suddenly felt a fierce gust of wind. ’Not good!’ he thought. He circulated his qi, twisted his body, and rapidly retreated.

But it was too late. An iron spear burst through the wall, its sharp tip plunging under his left ribs, breaking two of them and piercing deep into his internal organs.

With a RUMBLE, the earthen wall collapsed.

"Die, you rat!"

Zhao Feilong never imagined that his ambush would be seen through and that he would be struck in return. But he was fierce and brave by nature. Instead of retreating, he advanced, gritting his teeth and swinging his sword in a vicious thrust toward Zhao Lin’s throat.

A long spear is unwieldy in close-quarters combat. Zhao Lin released his spear and drew the club from his waist to block.

Before letting go, he gave the spear one last push forward.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

Liang Song raised his bow and fired three sharp arrows in quick succession.

Zhao Feilong parried and attacked simultaneously, blocking two of them. But because he was severely wounded and had to divert his attention to deal with Zhao Lin, he took an arrow to the leg.

PFFT!

Zhao Feilong endured the pain and pulled the long spear from his side. Leaving the arrow in his leg, he unleashed his life-saving technique, each sword strike faster than the last, trying to force Zhao Lin back.

’This is a lost cause.’ He knew his only chance of survival was to break out.

Although his Swordsmanship was superb, it was difficult to utilize in such a confined space. Zhao Lin remained purely on the defensive, resolutely refusing to give him a path to escape.

’As long as we keep the bandit trapped in the house, killing him is just a matter of time.’

Seeing the two locked in combat, Liang Song tossed aside his hunting bow and moved in with a short dagger to support Zhao Lin.

Zhao Feilong fought two against one without being at a disadvantage. But after seven or eight moves, he suddenly felt an unbearable itch from his wound, followed by a tightness in his chest. His hands and feet began to twitch uncontrollably.

"Shameless! You dare use poison!"

Zhao Feilong roared, furious.

Once a Martial Artist entered the Qi Realm, they could use Qi Strength to suppress poison. But he didn’t dare do that now; otherwise, he would be unable to withstand the combined assault of Zhao Lin and Liang Song.

Zhao Feilong’s thoughts raced. He decisively abandoned the idea of breaking out and retreated back into the house. He pulled a bamboo whistle from his robes, blew it forcefully, and its shrill sound instantly pierced the night sky.

The scene suddenly fell quiet.

The room was pitch-black, so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Zhao Feilong pressed himself against the base of the wall, hiding motionlessly behind the Five-Drawer Cabinet.

The darkness made him feel safe.

’As long as those two brats dare to approach, I can deliver a fatal blow.’

The five senses of a Qi Realm Martial Artist were stronger than those of a Power Realm Martial Artist, giving them an advantage in the dark. The logic was sound, but unfortunately for him, he was facing Zhao Lin.

Zhao Lin knew what the man was plotting. He sneered inwardly as his larynx vibrated, continuously emitting ultrasound waves, and he quickly locked onto Zhao Feilong’s position.

"Time to go!"

He took out a throwing axe and hurled it toward where Zhao Feilong was hiding.

The throwing axe, propelled by a thousand pounds of force, was as fast as lightning. It let out a sharp whistle as it cut through the air and struck Zhao Feilong square in the chest.

THUD!

Zhao Feilong fell to the ground. A final question flashed through his mind before he died: ’How did he find me?’

Zhao Lin felt for the oil lamp on the table from memory and lit it with a tinderbox.

Zhao Feilong lay on the floor in a pool of his own blood, as dead as could be.

Liang Song, still not satisfied, went up and stabbed the body one more time.

Zhao Lin flicked the corpse’s chest with his club. With a CLATTER, a dozen or so taels of broken silver fell out of the satchel that had been split open by the axe.

"I said there were about a dozen taels of silver in the house. You played your part well."

Zhao Lin collected all the silver and picked up the Long Sword from the ground, handing it to Liang Song.

"This is a good sword. You take it."

Liang Song took the sword and praised it, "It really is a fine sword! So fast and thin." Then he handed it back to Zhao Lin. "You’re the one who killed him. It should be yours." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Zhao Lin waved his hand. "This sword is too light. I can’t use it properly."

Only then did Liang Song accept it.

The two of them quickly cleaned up the battlefield, retrieving the spear, throwing axe, and arrows.

Before leaving, Zhao Lin cut off Zhao Feilong’s head.

"What do you want his head for?" Liang Song asked, confused.

Zhao Lin held up a finger. "This head is worth at least one hundred taels of silver."

He still remembered the bounty poster on the city gate.

Coming out of the house, both of them let out a long sigh of relief.

The process had been perilous, but they had ultimately taken down a key member of the bandits, which was, admittedly, quite remarkable.

The huge commotion from the house had long since alerted the surrounding villagers. The bolder ones stood at their courtyard gates, craning their necks to look over.

"Fellow villagers, I, Zhao Lin, have killed the bandit!"

Zhao Lin held up the head in his hand and shouted, then he and Liang Song ran toward Baitou Mountain in the north.

Before long, a dozen or so mounted bandits arrived, having heard the commotion. They grabbed a few villagers and questioned them to find out what had just happened.

They went to Zhao Lin’s house, and were dumbfounded by the sight of the body on the floor.

"Who is this? How come his head is missing?"

"Looks like Heartless Pillar."

"No way! How could Heartless Pillar die here?"

"Whatever, he’s definitely one of ours. Go get the others..."

Two of the bandits took their leave as ordered, while the remaining ones stood guard around the village.

About two hours later, Drilling Mountain Leopard arrived in a great hurry with a group of bandit leaders.

After surveying the scene, Drilling Mountain Leopard’s expression was grim.

"I told Feilong to make his move in the city. What was he doing here?"

The strategist, Tuo Tianliang, said, "It seems he was lured here and ambushed."

Drilling Mountain Leopard frowned. "Just those two brats who’ve only been learning martial arts for half a year? They could kill Feilong?"

The Second Shopkeeper guessed, "Could they have had help from an expert?"

Tuo Tianliang didn’t speak. He held a torch, squatted beside the body for a moment, and said, "The wound is blackened. It’s poison."

The hot-tempered Third Shopkeeper cursed, "Damn it all! Despicable!"

Just then, one of the bandits who had arrived first came forward to report, "Boss, I just questioned a few of the village men. They all said it was those two brats. There was no one else. When they left, one of them was carrying the head."

A vein throbbed on Drilling Mountain Leopard’s forehead. "It seems we’ve underestimated them."