Chapter 116: A Deadly Night of Moonless Wind

Xiong Bing offered a bitter smile. "Everything was just a fair trade. I did errands for you and got paid. I don't believe I owe you anything from the Special Affairs Bureau, so don't talk to me about betrayal."

His complexion was pale, as if he had reached a decision. "Although my life is worthless, I still understand basic principles—I know what should be done and what shouldn't... Unlike you, a public official of the Imperial Special Affairs Bureau, who secretly targets defenseless widows and orphans. You make me sick."

"This is the first time I've met someone who doesn't want to live," Gu Junwu said, laughing with rage. A fierce light gleamed in his eyes. "You idiot. Isn't it just a matter of taking that mother and daughter away to lure out Xiao Nan? What’s so difficult about that? They wouldn't even suspect you."

"You don't understand."

Xiong Bing gave a scornful smile. He gripped his broadsword tightly, sweat rolling down his forehead as his aura surged with newfound strength. "Come on. Don't think for a second I’ll just stand here and wait for death."

Without waiting for Gu Junwu to strike, he took a step forward, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as he swung his sword in a desperate, tragic motion.

The air seemed to fill with the thick scent of blood. This strike was a point of no return.

Xiao Nan recognized it immediately; it was the final, suicidal move of the Li-Xue Sword School’s three ultimate techniques: "Blood Dyes the Mountains and Rivers." It was a desperate gamble that unleashed every ounce of his vital energy.

"A fool courting death," Gu Junwu sneered. He possessed the strength of a Second-Grade Muscle-Refining martial artist, capable of exerting over a thousand pounds of force with a mere flick of his wrist. For a high school student who hadn't even achieved the status of a true martial artist to attempt a suicidal charge? It was laughable.

Gu Junwu twisted his hands, his fingers curling and extending like a blooming lotus. His left hand suddenly shot forward, clamping onto the vibrating, incoming blade...

Clang!

The sword was sent flying. Meanwhile, his right hand, following the momentum of his charge, transformed into the shape of a tiger-eagle, hooking toward Xiong Bing’s neck. Judging by the fierce wind pressure, one squeeze would surely shatter Xiong Bing's cervical vertebrae.

Gu Junwu’s nostrils flared, his breathing quickened, and a cruel grin spread across his face. As his fingers touched the skin of Xiong Bing’s neck, he felt a surge of exhilaration. He had always loved the look of despair in a person's eyes before death, and he enjoyed using his "Gold-Splitting Hand" to crush necks—a sensation even more satisfying than his wedding night.

Just then, he felt a subtle dampness in the air...

On this warm summer night, a sudden, inexplicable chill descended.

"Not good."

A cold sensation pierced his brow, and his heart hammered against his ribs. He tried to dodge to the side, but a sharp pain erupted in his back. A point of cold light had already pierced through his chest, emerging from the front...

Only then did the distant, booming sound of thunder reach his ears.

Gu Junwu’s right hand remained hooked in the air, but his body had frozen. He looked down at his chest in disbelief, seeing a gaping hole where his heart had been reduced to pulp. The sharp, glistening blade protruding from his chest was marked with intricate, layered chrysanthemum patterns.

"Xiao Nan..."

Gu Junwu coughed up a spray of blood. With his final effort, he turned his head to see a pair of indifferent eyes. "You... you actually dared to kill me?"

"What a stupid question."

Xiao Nan withdrew his sword, watching as Gu Junwu slumped to the ground. He replied with a faint, mocking smile, "Why wouldn't I dare? When you ambushed me at the hospital, I had already decided to slaughter you."

*You might have a powerful brother, but he has to be able to find someone first,* Xiao Nan added silently to himself.

When it came to disposing of bodies and scrubbing away traces, he didn't consider himself an expert, but he was no novice either. In this world, where martial arts flourished and experts were everywhere, he had laid out a few diversions. He believed that even organizations like the Special Affairs Bureau or the City Lord’s Mansion would find it difficult to track down the perpetrator.

Of course, that relied on Xiong Bing and his cohorts not slipping up.

Earlier, he had been filled with cold fury. Ever since the Blood Sacrifice incident, Gu Junwu had refused to give up, having stumbled upon the truth that Xiao Nan had obtained divinity. For some reason, Gu dared not confront him directly, instead choosing to take this circuitous path to target his family. He had even foolishly tried to force Xiong Bing to use his status as a classmate to act in the shadows.

This behavior had crossed Xiao Nan’s line. Even if the heavens themselves were involved, he would kill them first and ask questions later.

"Tell me, when things went wrong, why didn't you just tell me?" Xiao Nan asked, looking at Xiong Bing.

He had just pierced a Second-Grade Muscle-Refining expert to death as if it were nothing, leaving Xiong Bing’s eyes bulging in shock.

"Your... your strength?"

"Don't worry about my strength. It’s called an ambush, understand? You followed me to the Four Seasons Sword School that day; surely you understood what kind of sword technique 'Drizzling Rain' is?"

Xiao Nan brushed it off with a casual excuse. In truth, it wasn't entirely a lie. The Four Seasons Sword was an odd technique. Until one grasped its true intent, it was merely a sword dance—beautiful, but lacking any lethality. Especially in a frontal assault, it was so soft and graceful it was almost painful to watch. That was precisely why it had so few students and no reputation in Yuanjiang City.

However, once Xiao Nan had grasped its true intent and tasted the vitality of spring, he realized the technique pushed toward another extreme. The three swords of spring were like the light of spring—they posed no threat to the eyes, yet could take a life before the victim even realized it. It looked like a sword of life, but taken to its extreme, it was a sword of death.

For ambushes and traps, this technique was perfect. As the saying went, "The spring breeze and rain nourish all things in silence..."

With Xiao Nan’s extensive experience, hiding in the shadows to strike meant that even a Third-Grade Bone-Refining expert would be caught off guard and suffer a devastating blow. Once he struck, he showed no mercy. He pierced Gu Junwu, the blade imbued with the true intent of thunder, shattering the man's heart instantly.

He hadn't left the Special Affairs official a single chance to counterattack. A Second-Grade Muscle-Refining expert wasn't exactly weak, possessing over two thousand pounds of force. If they truly fought to the death, they could be quite troublesome. And Xiao Nan hated trouble.

Hearing Xiao Nan's reply, Xiong Bing scratched the back of his head, flashing his signature honest grin, and stopped dwelling on the question. Since seeing Xiao Nan shatter the Ape Puppet with his sword earlier that day, he had stopped trying to guess anything. Regardless of what cards Xiao Nan held or what level his strength had reached, it didn't matter.

He walked over, retrieved his broadsword, and returned to Gu Junwu. Channeling his vital energy, he used the Li-Xue sword style to pierce the wound on the chest seven or eight more times, until the flesh was so mangled that nothing could be discerned. Only then did he stop.

Xiao Nan watched quietly from the side before suddenly asking, "Are you leaving Yuanjiang? Let’s be clear: I won't look after those little brats for you. You’re taking them with you."

"You guessed?" Xiong Bing looked at him in surprise.

By falsifying the wounds and leaving behind his own signature technique, he had naturally intended to take the blame for killing Gu Junwu himself. In reality, he couldn't escape the connection anyway. The damaged wall and the bloodstains on the floor were things that couldn't be cleaned up in such a short time. The Special Affairs Bureau might not realize their man was dead immediately, but they wouldn't be kept in the dark for long.

"Don't take everyone for a fool," Xiao Nan said with disdain. "Did you think playing the idiot would make things easier? If I had arrived one step later today, have you thought about the consequences?"

Seeing Xiong Bing look embarrassed, Xiao Nan stopped lecturing and asked curiously, "I don't recall us having any friendship during those two years of high school. Why help me?"

"It’s not for you. It’s for myself." Xiong Bing looked at Xiao Nan steadily, a glimmer of fervor in his eyes. "There are some things you just can't do. I don't want to live in the shadows forever, like a rat in a gutter, never seeing the light. Besides, I still want to get into a martial arts university and reach the pinnacle of my life."

There was one more thing he didn't say: after that martial arts test, Xiao Nan had spoken to him about the combination of personality and talent, suggesting he reconsider his cultivation path. It had deeply moved him. From childhood, no one had ever said such things to him, nor had anyone cared. He didn't need pity or help, because no one understood him. After years of struggling, training hard, and suppressing the deep-seated inferiority and pride etched into his bones, he felt a moment of connection.

For a brief moment, Xiong Bing wondered if he had finally found a soulmate. In the vast sea of people, it was a wonderful thing to find someone who understood his heart.