Chapter 102: The Harvest
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“He is already at the end of his strength. Attack together.”
Seeing this, Chai Guiliang immediately gave the order.
The Third Chief let out a low roar. His blood and vital force surged through his body as he struck toward Yang Xing with one palm.
He cultivated the Mountain-Shattering Palm, a fierce and overbearing technique. In the mountains and forests, even tigers and bears were no match for him.
Yang Xing’s vital force was powerful and steady. Standing firm as a mountain, he stamped one foot heavily against the ground, then sent both legs crashing down like a raging storm.
Bang!
His first kick forced back the Third Chief’s Mountain-Shattering Palm. His second kick was as swift as a violent gust of wind, striking the Third Chief directly in the throat.
Thud!
The Third Chief crashed heavily to the ground, never to draw another breath.
At the same time, the Second Chief’s whip lashed toward Yang Xing at lightning speed, moving like a venomous snake and aiming straight for his eyes.
The Fourth Chief swung his long spear, smacking it fiercely with his arm. It flew forward with a buzzing roar, the red tassel at its tip whipping wildly.
Most sinister of all was the First Chief, Chai Guiliang. A ghost-headed saber had appeared in his hand, and he slashed it toward the back of Yang Xing’s head.
After enduring a fierce battle, Yang Xing now faced three masters of transformed force. The slightest lapse in attention would cost him his life. No wonder even ordinary masters of lower elixir force paled at the mention of Seven Wolves Stronghold.
Yang Xing drove his Iron Shirt technique to its utmost limit. Golden light seemed to surge across the surface of his body, while the long saber in his hand spun with blinding speed.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
A violent clash of metal rang out, and the attacks of all three men were instantly shattered.
The Fourth Chief staggered backward, his arm numb and aching.
“Careful!” Chai Guiliang shouted in alarm.
Whoosh!
A steel pellet shot from between Yang Xing’s fingers, streaking through the air like a flash of lightning.
Pfft!
The Fourth Chief could not dodge in time. A bloody hole appeared between his brows, while the terror in his eyes had yet to fade.
“How despicable!”
The Second Chief could not help roaring in fury.
Yang Xing had clearly said earlier that he had no hidden weapons left.
Yang Xing did not reply. His fingers flicked rapidly, sending steel pellets flying like lightning.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
The Second and First Chiefs were both at the pinnacle of transformed force, and their speed far surpassed that of the other five. With their entire attention focused, they managed to block nearly all the steel pellets.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Suddenly, Yang Xing swept his sleeve.
“Dodge!” Chai Guiliang hurriedly shouted.
The steel pellets descended like a violent storm. Many of them would explode when struck with sufficient force.
“Argh!”
The Second Chief caught one between two fingers. In the next instant, lime powder burst from it and blasted directly into his eyes.
Yang Xing naturally understood the principle of striking while an enemy was down. His swift saber whirled through the air and came slicing forward.
The Second Chief frantically brandished his leather whip, relying solely on his ears to determine Yang Xing’s position.
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Pfft!
Yang Xing unleashed the Wave-Stacking Saber Technique. His attacks surged like ocean tides, each slash faster than the last.
Before long, several bloody wounds had appeared across the Second Chief’s body. Every slash tore through flesh, causing him to repeatedly suck in sharp breaths of pain.
“Second Brother!”
The veins on Chai Guiliang’s arm bulged. A sharp cry rang through the air as his ghost-headed saber shot forward with a streak of cold light.
Yang Xing knew that Chai Guiliang was no ordinary opponent, so he met the saber head-on.
Clang!
The piercing sound reverberated through the air, sparks scattering in every direction.
“I’ll kill you!”
Chai Guiliang let out a beastlike growl. His ghost-headed saber came crashing forward with even greater fury.
Yang Xing twisted his body and avoided the heavy slash. Then his long saber swept toward Chai Guiliang’s throat in a strange and unpredictable arc.
The blade flashed as swiftly as a gale, reaching Chai Guiliang in the blink of an eye.
Ding!
Chai Guiliang raised his ghost-headed saber and blocked the tyrannical strike. An overwhelming force surged through the blade, crashing against him like mountains and seas.
Step, step, step...
Chai Guiliang’s face turned deathly pale as he retreated again and again.
Yang Xing’s assault came once more. A simple but devastating overhead slash descended, its howl tearing through the air.
Chai Guiliang had reached the pinnacle of transformed force, and his saber technique was naturally formidable. His experience even surpassed Yang Xing’s. Unfortunately for him, Yang Xing possessed the formidable hard skill known as Iron Shirt.
Clang!
Chai Guiliang barely managed to raise his saber above his head. The moment he did, that terrifying force descended again.
It was like a thousand weights pressing down upon a cauldron, like a sharp arrow piercing leather.
“Urgh!”
Chai Guiliang could no longer hold back. A jet of blood sprayed from his mouth.
Yang Xing had no intention of giving him a moment to recover. His fierce assault continued relentlessly.
Slash!
Yang Xing’s saber cleaved through the air, cutting apart the surrounding currents and sending them spreading toward both sides.
“I’ll fight you to the death!”
Chai Guiliang roared. Both hands gripped the ghost-headed saber, and blood-colored energy seemed to surge through its blade. His entire presence instantly rose to its peak.
The intent of the Asura Saber.
The blood-red saber shot forward, like a crimson wave of energy surging through the air.
The two men crossed paths in an instant, swift as meteors.
In that fleeting moment, Chai Guiliang felt a stimulation and agony beyond description.
It was something he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life.
As the red light faded, all sounds fell silent save for the dripping of blood.
Drip!
Drip!
Chai Guiliang’s body trembled, and disbelief filled his eyes.
Across from him, Yang Xing’s expression was impassive. Blood dripped from the long saber in his hand.
Time itself seemed to have stopped.
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Thump!
Three or four breaths later, the light in Chai Guiliang’s eyes gradually faded. His body toppled stiffly to the ground, scattering a wide spray of powdery snow.
Yang Xing looked toward the distant Second Chief.
The man had already suffered several saber wounds and was dead.
As for the bandit underlings and the women, they had fled through the rear of the mountain long ago.
Yang Xing exhaled a breath of stale air. He then hurried over to the corpses of the chiefs and gathered all their belongings and silver notes, paying special attention to the ghost-headed saber in Chai Guiliang’s possession.
In the end, he did not spare even the low-ranking bandits.
After all, even the smallest mosquito was still meat.
There were simply too many things, so he had no choice but to wrap them in a piece of torn cloth.
After finishing, he searched the barracks as well, stripping them of every valuable possession.
It was not long before he found the goods belonging to the Fortune Escort Agency in the warehouse.
Apart from that, Yang Xing also discovered a letter in Chai Guiliang’s room.
...
Fortune Escort Agency, main hall.
Su Jiangfeng sat at the head of the hall, his brows tightly furrowed.
Su Tong paced back and forth, the worry on his face plain to see.
Several escort leaders were likewise filled with helplessness.
Su Qun could no longer sit still. “Jiangfeng, the Qi family has already come two or three times. If we cannot think of a solution, we really will have to pay them one hundred and fifty thousand ounces of silver.”
One of the escort leaders clasped his hands and said, “That’s right, Chief Escort. We have to come up with something. We cannot simply keep waiting like this.”
“What other choice do we have now?”
Su Jiangfeng gave a bitter smile. “We can only compensate the Qi family with one hundred and fifty thousand ounces of silver.”
Su Tong pondered for a long while before saying, “Could we use some connections to retrieve the goods? Or buy them back, if necessary. Either would be better than handing the Qi family one hundred and fifty thousand ounces of silver for nothing.”
Several escort leaders nodded repeatedly.
“Yes. Paying to ransom the goods would still be better than compensating the Qi family with one hundred and fifty thousand ounces of silver.”
Su Jiangfeng lowered his voice. “If we buy the goods from the bandits, the reputation of the agency will be ruined from this day forward.”
“At a time like this, how can we afford to worry about that?”
Su Qun hurriedly said, “I have a friend who knows a master of elixir force from the Tower Beyond the Clouds. I will go ask her whether she can use her connections to send someone to contact the First Chief of Seven Wolves Stronghold.”
“Those bandits at Seven Wolves Stronghold have no use for the goods. They mainly want money.”
“If we are willing to pay, the people of Seven Wolves Stronghold should be willing to return the goods to us.”
“Saddle a horse. I’m going there now.”
With that, Su Qun hurried to the stables, mounted his little red horse, and galloped toward the Tower Beyond the Clouds outpost.
Su Jiangfeng let out a sigh but said nothing.
The main hall fell into complete silence. Everyone was weighed down by gloom.
After this matter, the reputation of the Fortune Escort Agency would certainly suffer a severe blow.
Just then, A-San came rushing in, panting heavily.
“Chief... Chief Escort, the goods...”
Su Jiangfeng soothed him. “What is it? Speak slowly.”
A-San took a breath and hurriedly said, “The goods... our goods have returned. They are right outside the gate!”
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