Chapter 190: Chapter 179: Are You Courting Death?

In the depths of winter, an unexpected snowstorm blanketed the majority of Jiangzhou in ice and snow.

Wang Family Town, an unremarkable small town. In the town, there’s an inn that specifically caters to passing merchants and travelers looking for a night’s rest.

Recently, the guests at the inn mostly belong to the martial arts world, carrying swords and sabres by their sides. Many of them have poor tempers, resorting to violence or insults at the slightest provocation.

The inn’s shopkeeper and the waiter are somewhat intimidated by these people, but since they’ve opened their doors for business, all they can do is carefully tend to these guests.

Fortunately, these martial artists seem to be on urgent matters, staying just one night before leaving at dawn, not causing any trouble.

On this day, with yet another heavy snowfall, several groups arrived shortly after noon, quickly filling up the small inn.

Yet, guests continued to stream in, and even the ground floor was soon fully occupied.

Seeing the situation, the shopkeeper was quite nervous, feeling that something might go wrong if this continued.

Sure enough, what he feared came true.

Suddenly, several fierce and malignant figures from the martial arts world burst in, shouting, "Hey, prepare three upper rooms and have hot water ready."

The shopkeeper hurried forward with a smile of apology, "I’m very sorry, dear guests, but the entire inn is full, and there are truly no rooms available."

Bang!

One burly bald man slammed his knife onto the table, "What did you say? No rooms? In this ice and snow, do you want us to sleep on the streets?"

Instantly, the entire inn went silent, with everyone looking their way.

Terrified, the shopkeeper nearly collapsed, "Please don’t kill... me..."

At this moment, a skinny little waiter rushed over, bowing and nodding, "Dear sirs, you are all distinguished figures, there’s no need to stoop to his level. We really have no rooms left, but I could discuss with those already in rooms and see if we can free up one for you."

The bald man was satisfied, "Hurry up then!"

...

The other guests in the inn watched coldly, unwilling to intervene.

In a corner sat a grandfather and granddaughter. The girl, about sixteen or seventeen, angrily remarked, "People say the folks in Jiangzhou are selfish and indifferent. Today I see it’s true."

The old man, holding a pipe, sternly admonished, "Fang’Er, mind your words."

At this point, a chubby middle-aged man at the neighboring table, with a merchant-like appearance, smiled and asked her, "Young lady, since you can’t stomach it, why not stand up for them and fight for justice?"

The girl said, "I can’t beat them."

"Do you know the rule in our Jiangzhou?"

"What rule?"

"Being unwilling to act oneself, yet encouraging others to do so. When others don’t act, then criticizing them. That’s considered stirring shit. In Jiangzhou, such shit-stirrers get beaten to death."

This comment provoked laughter.

"You—"

Furious, the girl almost slammed the table in anger.

"Fang’Er."

The old man with the pipe held his granddaughter back, stood up, and repeatedly bowed to everyone, apologizing, "The young girl lacks understanding and speaks out of turn, offending you all."

Fang’Er fumed, wishing she could tear the merchant’s mouth apart.

Yet she heard him whisper, "Wait, there’ll be a good show soon."

Fang’Er ignored him but was nevertheless intrigued.

At this moment, a middle-aged man with an extraordinary aura descended from the upper floor, with the little waiter following him.

"Is it you who wants us to give up a room?"

The middle-aged man approached the fierce group of men and asked.

The bald man’s expression grew solemn but he still said, "Indeed."

"Hmph."

The middle-aged man sneered and suddenly raised a hand, imprinting it on the burly man’s chest, sending him flying. The other three seemed to simultaneously receive a blow, similarly vomiting blood as they flew.

Inside the inn, there was a hush of deathly silence.

Those with sharp eyes could tell he was a Fourth-Grade expert. In the martial world, that’s considered second-rate top.

For these four burly men to be so arrogant, they couldn’t be weak in their abilities, likely Fifth-Grade. Yet against such an expert, they couldn’t take even one move.

As the bald man spat blood, he said, "May I dare ask your name?"

The middle-aged man turned his head and threw a single sentence, "He Yanwen of Gu Commandery."

Then he turned and headed back upstairs.

The He family in Gu Commandery is also well-known in Jiangzhou, having produced First-Grade experts in their ancestors, currently having Second-Grade figures in residence. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

The He family’s actions are historically domineering, and it’s fair to say these four have hit a tough spot.

Naturally, they couldn’t bear to stay here; they got up from the ground and prepared to leave.

...

Having seen the spectacle, Fang’Er couldn’t help but ask the middle-aged merchant, "What background does the He family have?"

The middle-aged merchant didn’t answer but suddenly stood up and walked towards the four men, laughing, "Lingdong Four Fierce, you have your day too!"

The four turned their heads to see a flash of a fierce blade.

Blood sprayed, and four heads fell to the ground.

The middle-aged merchant cheerfully took out a bag, packed the heads, then pushed open the door and ran out.

This bloody turn of events left Fang’Er dumbstruck; she never expected that middle-aged man, who seemed harmless in merchant attire, would suddenly burst into violence.

The old man pulled his granddaughter to sit down, saying, "This person must be a bounty huntsman, having targeted those four for a while. Now, seizing the opportunity, he cut off their heads to claim the bounty from Six Gates."

Fang’Er heard this and felt a chill throughout her body.

At this moment, she saw three people in the inn stand up and follow out.

The old man said, "Don’t look."

At a nearby table, people whispered, "Those folks must be going to snatch the heads. I remember, the bounty for Lingdong Four Fierce is quite high..."

Snatching heads?

Such an obscure term.

Fang’Er had often heard her senior brothers say that the Jianghu is treacherous, and now she finally witnessed its bloody and sinister side.

The tavern’s door was closed again, and four headless corpses lay on the ground, the thick scent of blood permeating the entire establishment.

The shopkeeper was already scared stiff, hiding behind the counter, muttering, "Murder... "

It was still the boldness of the waiter that drove him to drag the four corpses outside, then he brought some icy water to wash the floor several times.

...

After a while, several people from the Six Gates pushed the door open and entered, instantly quieting the tavern, everyone staring.

When they saw there was only one Cyan Robe Patrol Envoy, and the rest were all in black, they returned to normal.

One of the constables complained, "Boss, why did this lousy job fall on us? In this damned weather, we still have to run to this godforsaken place..."

Before he could finish, his companion pulled him aside.

Only then did he realize that something was off about the atmosphere in the tavern, and he also smelled blood.

"Officer, you arrived just in time..." At this moment, seeing them, the shopkeeper ran over as if seeing a savior, sobbing and sniffling as he recounted the earlier events.

Upon hearing the name "Lingdong Four Fierce", the expressions of several constables changed.

The "Lingdong Four Fierce" are notorious ruffians active around Ling Mountain, all possessing a Fifth Grade cultivation, rampaging without scruples, extremely cruel.

If they encountered these four villains, they wouldn’t even know how they died.

Even the strongest among them was only at the Seventh Grade.

When they heard that someone from the He Family from Gu Commandery stayed upstairs and injured the Lingdong Four Fierce, followed by a bounty swordman chopping off their heads.

The constables were finally relieved, good riddance indeed.

Only Zhuang Xiaotian remained solemn; so many experts had gathered in a small tavern in Wang Family Town, it’s unimaginable how many would flock to Qingfeng City.

Among them, how many more murderous fiends like the "Lingdong Four Fierce"?

"We already know about this matter. Those four were wanted criminals mentioned in the warrant..." Zhuang Xiaotian managed with some formal words, handling the shopkeeper.

Then they found an empty table to sit down.

Those vague gazes from all around made them somewhat uneasy.

Suddenly, a young constable spoke up, "Boss, everyone says that the Chen Er who ranked sixth on the Cyan Cloud Ranking is your close friend, is that true?"

Zhuang Xiaotian hadn’t spoken yet when an older constable next to him eagerly responded, "Of course it’s true. Didn’t you see that as soon as the boss broke through to Seventh Grade, he was promoted to Seventh-Grade Patrol Envoy? You don’t know, do you? That Chen Er and Master Du are very close friends. Naturally, Master Du views the boss differently."

Zhuang Xiaotian smiled and didn’t say much.

He knew he had little experience, rose too quickly, so it’s not hard to understand if his subordinates had complaints.

He didn’t mind, he had long come to terms with reality, knowing his aptitude was average. Achieving anything significant in this life was limited; meeting Chen Ming was the greatest opportunity of his life.

Bam!

Suddenly, a sharp sound of a palm striking a table was heard.

Everyone looked over to see a drunken man, wearing luxurious clothes, and a prestigious-looking sword on the table, sitting with a beautiful young lady.

The man scrutinized Zhuang Xiaotian with disdain, "You’re friends with that despicable person Chen Ming? No wonder you’re just a small-time friend with a mere Seventh-Grade Patrol Envoy, how hilarious..."

With these words, quite a few people in the tavern perked up their ears.

This year’s biggest event in Jiangzhou was the Cyan Cloud Ranking. Among those, the most famous was Chen Ming. Firstly, Qingfeng City hadn’t produced a Cyan Cloud Ranking talent in many years.

Moreover, Chen Ming came from a humble background, neither a noble family nor sect. His appearance on the Cyan Cloud Ranking was legendary.

The tone of the man in luxurious clothing was quite disdainful towards Chen Ming, clearly indicating he wasn’t an ordinary person.

Only the grandfather and grandson pair from out of town hadn’t heard of Chen Ming, but they knew the Cyan Cloud Ranking and could gauge Chen Ming’s significance.

Zhuang Xiaotian’s face changed, abruptly standing up and sternly asking, "On what grounds do you belittle my friend so much, sir?"

"Get lost!"

The man in luxurious clothing threw his wine cup, striking Zhuang Xiaotian in the chest and sending him flying.

A mere Seventh-Grade Patrol Envoy dared to cause a fuss in front of him?

"Boss."

The constables were startled, quickly going to support him, angrily demanding, "Who are you to dare injure members of the Six Gates?"

The man in luxurious clothing only sneered, his attitude showing no regard for the Six Gates.

The black-robed constables couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

At this moment, from the corner of his mouth bleeding, Zhuang Xiaotian shook off the hands of his subordinates, drew his sword and declared, "No matter who you are, I won’t allow you to insult Brother Chen like that!"

"Nonsense!"

This time, the man in luxurious clothing threw his chopsticks, hitting Zhuang Xiaotian’s knee, causing him to collapse to the floor with a thud.

The man in luxurious clothing sneered, "Even a Fifth-Grade Captain wouldn’t dare to speak to me like that—"

Zhuang Xiaotian used his strength to throw the knife in his hand, smashing the wine jug in front of the man’s table.

"You—"

In a fit of rage, he drew his sword and hurled it towards Zhuang Xiaotian.

The young girl beside him was startled, "Brother, stop."

As Zhuang Xiaotian was about to meet his end, suddenly, a sword flew in from outside, smashing through the door and intercepting the sword aimed at Zhuang Xiaotian, its momentum unspent, striking the man in luxurious clothing in the chest.

"Wow—"

The man in luxurious clothing was struck and flew back, colliding with the wall behind, vomiting blood on the spot.

"Jiang, Shi, Hua, you’re courting death!"

An angry voice resounded in the tavern.

Jiang Shihua?

Everyone in the tavern was startled upon hearing this name.