Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 171 - 131: Lin Family Manor, Rebel Army’s Mysterious Trail (Second Update)

The three individuals undoubtedly met Su Mu at the worst possible time, coinciding with his repeated failures to refine the Jade Bone Pill this month.

Tonight, three people arrived in total. After Su Mu decisively killed one, there were two left. He knew that unless he resorted to some thunderous methods, he couldn't pry open these desperados' mouths, nor could he extract any information from them.

"I'll give you one more chance, tell me who hired you to come?"

Seeing Su Mu kill one person, the two remaining individuals exchanged glances, each detecting the terror in the other's eyes. Nevertheless, facing Su Mu's horrifying pressure, both instinctively placed their hands on the blades at their waists.

At the brink of life and death, these desperados trusted no one and would never entrust their lives to anyone. Their most reliable allies were the blood-stained blades in their hands.

"Die!"

Gritting their teeth, they both drew their swords and sabers. Two cold blades sliced through the night, gleaming coldly as they headed towards Su Mu.

At this moment, they had forgotten the requirement to capture him alive and intended to rise up and chop Su Mu to death.

"Slash!"

A sword swept across the sky, like a Silver Snake slicing through the darkness. This sword was even swifter than the body technique of the man who had just died at Su Mu's hands, echoing sharply through the sky.

In a split second, in Su Mu's eyes, it magnified infinitely, leaving only a cold gleam. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

"It hit!"

One person showed a wild joy, but soon his expression changed drastically. He saw with his own eyes that his sword stabbed Su Mu through the heart, and then pierced Su Mu's throat, yet it failed to bring any real sensation.

He felt as if his sword had stabbed into thin air.

Suddenly, he was filled with fear, realizing that his sword had missed, and recalling that this person had easily killed his second brother, who was in the Second Bone Forging Realm. Instantly, he knew that the disparity in power between him and Su Mu was not just a tiny bit, but a gulf as wide as the sky and earth; they were not on the same level at all.

"Master Su, spare me..."

Before his plea for mercy was finished, the courtyard suddenly filled with the sound of restless cicadas. Su Mu, like a ghost, had already appeared at the side of the skinny man.

His fingers slightly bent, he flicked gently.

Clang!

Sparks flew.

The sword bent abruptly, shattered, and the broken blade flashed past the man's neck, then flew away. The skinny man and Su Mu passed each other, and his body stiffened. Immediately, a line of blood widened at his neck, illuminating the night with a flash of crimson.

Another corpse fell heavily.

"Third Brother..."

The remaining man on the scene tightly gripped the long saber, trembling as he looked at how Su Mu used his third brother's blade to kill him, his heart filled with terror.

The broken blade flicked away by a finger had grazed by his face, faster than he could catch with the naked eye.

He only felt a sudden pain in his cheek, and as he reached to touch it, a few strands of hair fluttered away, while warm blood oozed from his face.

Suddenly, he realized that none of the three of them could possibly be Su Mu's match. Considering the speed Su Mu had displayed earlier, the three of them could not even touch the hem of Su Mu's robe.

"Clang!"

Sparks scattered, and the tall man at the forefront let his long saber fall to the ground.

Su Mu's gaze coldly fixed on the last man, "If you still refuse to speak, I also know a few Gu Techniques from the Southern Border, I have over a hundred ways to make you live a life worse than death."

A hundred types of Gu Techniques?

And he's calling that just "knowing a few"?!

"Dammit, wasn't it said that this Su kid was just a blacksmith at the Forging Workshop... This man showed no change in expression and casually killed both my second and third brothers. Compared to us, he seems more like a desperado, almost certainly a deity of death, with countless dead at his hands!"

The tall man's expression changed dramatically, his skin crawled with goosebumps like he'd been shocked, and clumps of his hair stood upright as cold fear gripped his heart, breaking his spirit. He promptly knelt before Su Mu.

"Don't kill me, I'll speak, I'll tell you everything!"

Su Mu remained silent, merely stepping into the pool of blood, the tall man swallowed hard, his voice trembling as he spoke, "Master Su, the three of us were merely acting on orders. It was the steward of Lin Family Manor outside Qingyun City who hired us to 'invite' some blacksmiths from the Forging Workshop in town."

"We heard that a skilled young blacksmith appeared at the Forging Workshop recently, and that's..."

The man dared not continue, while Su Mu's brows furrowed.

This meant he had fallen victim to undeserved misfortune; the Manor Master at Lin Family Manor wanted them to abduct several blacksmiths, and so these three thieves targeted Su Mu.

Su Mu had heard of Lin Family Manor, about thirty miles southeast of the city. Manor Master Lin Yun was kind and often assisted many poor families, earning a reputation as a philanthropist in the area.

Why would such a normally benevolent Manor Master Lin specifically hire thugs to abduct blacksmiths?

"Lin Family Manor?"

"Yes, it was that steward Uncle Fu from Lin Family Manor who personally hired us brothers." The tall man hurriedly added for fear Su Mu wouldn't believe him.

"Why did he hire you to abduct people?"

"That... that steward at Lin Family Manor, why did he hire us to abduct people?" The tall man's Adam's apple moved, sweat of beans dripped from his forehead. He swallowed hard, his voice quivering as he spoke, "Jianghu rules, we three brothers work for the money... without questioning the reasons."

"What else do you know?"

"They previously also captured some blacksmiths from other towns; most of those blacksmiths are probably still in the manor... Master Su, you're magnanimous, spare me, I've told you everything I know."

As he spoke, the tall man crawled two steps and took out a stack of silver notes from his coat.

"These are the three hundred taels of engagement silver given to us by Uncle Fu from Lin Family Manor. Our brothers haven't touched a single coin..."

Su Mu reached out to take the silver notes, and the tall man immediately felt a bit relieved, thinking he could save his life. But Su Mu lightly tapped a finger on the man's forehead.

"Slash!"

A scorching torrent burst from Su Mu's fingertip, and before the tall man could even utter a miserable cry, his body went limp and collapsed to the ground, a horrific hole smoking from his forehead.

"Humph, trying to use the money given by Lin Family Manor to buy your life, you're dreaming too beautifully."

Earlier, Su Mu had already given the three individuals one last chance, which they did not cherish. From the moment those two had drawn their swords, Su Mu saw them as dead men.

Now, trying to use the money paid by Lin Family Manor to abduct people as a way to buy their own lives, no such luck exists in the world.

After swiftly killing the three, Su Mu searched through their bodies, finding a few more silver notes, totaling over six hundred taels.

He then turned back indoors, took two masks from the cabinet and placed them inside his coat, then took a flask of medicinal wine and hung it at his waist.

"First deal with the three corpses... tonight I'll pay a visit to Lin Family Manor."

A touch of cold mixed with doubt flickered in the depths of Su Mu's eyes; the abduction of blacksmiths by Lin Family Manor reminded Su Mu of the Sharp Gold Banner stronghold of the Black Mountain Rebel Army that County Captain Li had eradicated months earlier.

He vividly recalled the victory report, which mentioned not only over three hundred executions but also the rescue of more than thirty craftsmen. Furthermore, he learned from Li Zhihe that the stronghold contained many murdered craftsmen.

"Purple Shirt?"

Su Mu hadn't forgotten that the final truth revealed by Shangguan Feng before he died also linked back to the Black Mountain Rebel Army. Su Mu was not one to overlook grievances.

Clear in his enmity, he always avenged wrongs.

Additionally, since returning from Canghe City, Su Mu sought clarity of mind in his actions.

Since the Black Mountain Rebel Army had already targeted him, should Lin Family Manor be involved with them, he wouldn't mind erasing Lin Family Manor from Qingyun tonight, and collect some interest.

"Second form of Thunder Shock Fist is stuck at a bottleneck... tonight will serve as a stretch of the muscles."

At this moment, Su Mu changed his mind about going to the Black Market; instead, he intended to see why Lin Family Manor dared set its sights on him. He quickly donned a Cyan Wolf Mask.

"Crack!"

A series of crisp bone sounds echoed as Su Mu's face and figure changed. Once done, Su Mu grabbed a corpse in each hand and one with his left.

With a light step, his body flew like a wisp onto the rooftop heading out of Qingyun City.