Evergreen Immortal-Chapter 28: Shot Dead

The night was dark and the wind was high, crows cried low.

At the tavern.

Three visibly drunk burly men sat, one of them was Zhu Lie.

Zhu Lie’s eyes were bloodshot and hazy from alcohol. “Damn it, just a mere stablehand, what the hell is he? He thinks he deserves an apology from me?!”

Another man chimed in, “Exactly, Second Master. I'll help you kill that old bastard another day.”

“Yeah, yeah, I also heard he has a disciple. Let’s have him fall into a latrine and drown in shit tomorrow.”

These two were not members of the Zhu family, but Zhu Lie’s underworld friends, infamous and ruthless figures in the local black circles.

Hearing their words brought Zhu Lie some comfort.

“My elder brother is just too timid when it comes to handling things!”

Back in the day, he and his brother Zhu Ping had carved out their territory in Qinghe. Zhu Ping was clever and resourceful, while he was aggressive and domineering, that’s how they built their empire.

“If it wasn’t for my elder brother holding me back, those two other families in Qinghe would’ve long been wiped out by me.”

Zhu Lie muttered.

Over the years, life had become increasingly frustrating for him, he missed the days twenty years ago when he could chop down anyone who pissed him off.

The three men drank until deep into the night before staggering out the tavern. Of course, there was no chance they’d pay, no shop owner in Qinghe dared to take the Second Master Zhu's money.

It was already midnight.

The streets were pitch black, only a few strands of moonlight as pale as white sand offering a faint glow.

The trio staggered down the main road. As they turned into a secluded alley, suddenly!

An arrow pierced the air.

It struck the temple of the burly man beside Zhu Lie with terrifying precision. The arrow went straight through his skull, and his body collapsed to the ground with a thud.

Everything had happened too fast!

Zhu Lie jolted, half his drunkenness instantly gone.

“Who’s there?!”

“Son of a bitch! If you’ve got guts, come out! Killing people with sneak attacks, what kind of cowardly shit is that?!”

Zhu Lie roared.

He was also an entry grade martial artist, his reaction was sharp. He immediately crouched and began scanning the surroundings.

A staff in youth, a blade at manhood, but a bow kills all.

Even children could mortally wound adults with a bow, let alone someone hiding in the shadows.

He hadn't yet located the archer—

Whoosh!

Another arrow came flying.

This one struck the chest of the other burly man. A blood-curdling scream erupted, blood flowed freely, he was clearly not going to survive.

At this moment, Zhu Lie finally spotted the archer’s position.

“You want to die?!”

He rolled forward on the spot and sprinted like a panther toward where the arrow had come from.

With a leap, he jumped onto a wall.

In the darkness, he saw a figure crouched atop the wall.

“Who the hell are you?!”

With two of his men dead, Zhu Lie was now like a furious bull. He wanted nothing more than to tear this sneak attacker to pieces.

But that person casually flung the bow over their back, leapt down from the wall, and vanished.

Zhu Lie wasn’t about to let them go so easily.

He also jumped down and gave chase.

A back-and-forth pursuit ensued, winding through seven or eight alleys.

Finally, the masked man stopped at an abandoned residence.

Zhu Lie looked around, frowning slightly. “So this is the grave you’ve chosen for yourself?”

He spoke while keeping a close eye on the man in front of him.

The man’s face was hidden by a black cloth, his features and age indiscernible, but clearly male.

“You’re—”

Before he could finish the sentence, the man tore off the black cloth himself.

Zhu Lie’s pupils contracted. In disbelief, he spat out three words: “Old Li?!”

Before he could move, Li Rui had already come knocking at his door.

But just as Zhu Lie was still stunned, a cloud of white powder suddenly burst from Li Rui’s hand.

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“Shit!”

“Lime powder!”

In the dead of night, Zhu Lie realized it too late.

His eyes burned with searing pain.

A sudden gust of wind rushed in.

Zhu Lie staggered backward, trying desperately to open his eyes.

Through swollen eyelids, he barely squinted open a slit and in that moonlight, all he could see was a dazzling flash of a blade.

“Such a strong blade...”

That was Zhu Lie’s final thought.

His head spun through the air, landing on the ground with a thud.

His eyes were still wide open, staring at Li Rui in disbelief.

He never figured it out.

How could a seventy-year-old man possibly be this strong?!

Li Rui’s face remained calm.

From the corner of the wall, he pulled out a shovel he had placed earlier and began digging swiftly.

Soon, a pit large enough to fit a body appeared before him.

“Are you satisfied with the burial plot I picked out for you?”

He kicked both Zhu Lie’s body and severed head into the pit.

Then shoveled dirt back over the grave.

Lastly, he scattered a layer of old soil on top to cover any signs of disturbance.

Once everything was properly handled, he clapped the dirt off his hands, erased all traces from the abandoned courtyard, and returned to his room in Flower Night Brothel.

At dawn.

A plump woman stirred awake to find Li Rui sitting by the bed with his eyes closed in meditation.

“Master?”

She softly called out. She had no memory of how she fell asleep last night, nor any idea what had happened afterward.

Li Rui slowly opened his eyes and walked out the door.

“Old Brother Li, how’s that bow working out?”

Wu Tu looked at Li Rui with a half-smile.

In the Kingdom of Yu, where martial strength ruled, ordinary weapons could be carried freely but powerful bows and crossbows were strictly forbidden.

The destructive power was simply too high.

Even a regular person using a strong bow could injure a martial artist and if lucky, even kill them. The bow in Li Rui’s hand was made of sturdy boxwood and could draw eighty shi of force(approx 2,400 kilograms). Its power was immense.

“It is indeed a fine bow.”

Li Rui nodded in appreciation, recalling the moment last night when the arrow pierced through the burly man’s skull.

“You handle matters cleanly, Brother Li. I respect that.”

“Please, no more flattery for an old man like me.”

Li Rui chuckled, like any carefree old man.

Wu Tu reclaimed the boxwood bow.

He glanced at the quiver, only three arrows left. Yesterday, he had given Li Rui five.

That morning, news came from Qinghe.

In the eastern part of the city, two notorious martial artists who dabbled in shady business were shot dead with arrows, exactly two people.

“Quite the skill you’ve got.”

Of course, Wu Tu wasn’t about to spell things out. No amount of favors compared to doing a dirty deed together. Li Rui had clearly treated him like family.

He was thrilled.

As for killing?

Anyone walking the Jianghu had blood on their hands.

Besides, those two thugs in Qinghe were wicked scum, forcing women into prostitution and committing all sorts of filthy crimes. They deserved to die.

What shocked Wu Tu was Li Rui’s sheer ability to kill.

He’d heard that even the Zhu family’s Second Master had gone missing last night.

To take down a ranked martial artist?

Tsk tsk. That was no ordinary feat.

Li Rui returned to Tianyi Hall.

As if nothing had happened, he casually flipped through his Daoist scriptures.

Suddenly, his hand paused.

In the next instant, a line of small characters appeared before his eyes.

[Congratulations to the Host for completing the Entry Level Achievement: Make a Name for Yourself, Upholding Justice by Eliminating Evil.]