Chapter 13: The Shortcut Thief

Page 1 of 3

“Hold it! I built this road and planted these trees! If you want to pass, leave behind some road money!”

Wang Jingyuan picked his nose. “Can’t you people come up with anything new? Say, Alipay or WeChat. And stop hiding. Your health bars are all showing.”

“Your what?” Amid a rustling of leaves, the men concealed in the woods on either side of the official road finally emerged from the bushes.

There were five road bandits. One of them was tall and massively built, carrying a huge axe; judging by the fallen tree, it was probably his handiwork. The burly fellow looked none too bright. He stared fixedly at Yue Lingshan, who had just caught up from behind, drooling all the while.

“Boss, there’s a woman. A beautiful woman.”

“Shut up!”

The middle-aged man called their leader was considerably more alert than the simpleton. He had noticed the long swords in Wang Jingyuan and Yue Lingshan’s hands. Anyone who had traveled the martial world knew that, for a very long time, forging a sword had been far more difficult than forging a saber. Swords were not something the poor could afford to play with.

Besides, swordsmanship had never been the comfort zone of the martial world’s lower ranks. The rudimentary techniques taught in martial schools mostly consisted of saber and staff techniques.

When two wandering fighters met, one wielding a saber and the other a sword, the saber-wielder’s confidence would immediately drop by three parts. It was not an absolute rule, of course. If someone had mastered the saber well enough to make a name for himself, he could ignore that unspoken convention.

Naturally, five petty highwaymen would never qualify.

The leader took two steps forward, clasped his fists, and called out, “We are the Five Heroes of Huayin. May we ask which school has the honor of claiming the two of you as its disciples?”

Wang Jingyuan pointed at Yue Lingshan behind him. “Her name is Yue Lingshan. Her father is Yue Buqun.”

Huayin City was only twenty miles from Mount Hua. Anyone who made a living in this region could hardly have failed to hear of Yue Buqun. And everyone knew that Yue Buqun had a daughter.

As for whether Wang Jingyuan was lying, the leader never once suspected it. Judging others by his own standards, he imagined that Yue Buqun’s status as the head of a prestigious school meant that anyone daring to impersonate his daughter would be hacked to pieces and left without even a grave.

Wang Jingyuan glanced at the man’s head and stepped forward.

“We all have a hard time making our way in this world. Though we may be considered members of the Mount Hua Sect, we still understand the rules. You gentlemen have worked hard here. I have a few pieces of silver on me; consider it a treat for drinks.”

The leader was deeply moved. As expected of a disciple from a renowned and upright sect—so approachable, and so pleasant in speech. Yet he could not understand why this Mount Hua disciple had glanced at his head once more before hurrying toward him.

The leader was puzzled. Was there something on his head?

Before he could raise it, however, a flash of cold light streaked past, heading straight for his throat.

Fortunately, he had learned a few rudimentary saber techniques and had diligently practiced them for years, until they had become second nature. The instant he saw the sword’s gleam, he twisted his wrist and deftly flicked out a flower of saber light, knocking Wang Jingyuan’s sword aside.

He avoided having his throat pierced, but Wang Jingyuan’s blade still penetrated his lung. That was the disparity between them. Even the rudimentary Mount Hua Swordsmanship, practiced only by a beginner, surpassed the crude saber moves in which the bandit had immersed himself for half a lifetime.

“Tsk. Your loyalties are rather unstable. If I had been just a little slower, your health bar would have turned green.”

Wang Jingyuan did not pause. He abruptly withdrew his sword, stepped around the wounded man, and charged toward the four behind him.

Drawing upon his lightness skill, he pursued them. Had they attacked him together, they might have given him trouble. Turning and fleeing, however, was simply courting death.

His second sword was not blocked. Wang Jingyuan cleanly slit one man’s throat.

[Mount Hua Swordsmanship proficiency +1]

Hearing the heavy thud of a body collapsing behind them, one of the men clenched his teeth.

“At this rate, none of us will get away! Third Brother, you and I will fight our way out for Fifth Brother!”

“Good! Fifth Brother, keep running! Don’t look back, and don’t stop!”

The two fleeing men suddenly turned around and threw themselves at Wang Jingyuan. They attacked together. Wang Jingyuan did not seek to kill them with a single move; instead, he unleashed “Falling Leaves Without End.” Sword light exploded from his hands, and in the blink of an eye, numerous bloody holes appeared across the two men’s torsos.

They were not dead, but they had lost almost all ability to resist. “Wounding ten fingers is not as good as severing one” was merely a saying from military strategy. In a real skirmish, expending time and effort to kill one person was far less worthwhile than using the same resources to leave several people gravely wounded.

Now only one man remained. The burly fellow with the axe was the so-called Fifth Brother. Hearing the screams behind him, he immediately threw away his axe and ran even faster.

Wang Jingyuan intended to continue the pursuit, but the two men he had stabbed until they resembled bloody gourds suddenly lunged at him as they fell, wrapping their arms tightly around his waist and thighs.

Wang Jingyuan had never learned any concealed-weapon techniques. All he could do was watch helplessly as Fifth Brother disappeared into the bushes. He casually reversed his grip and pierced both men through the throat. Their strength slackened, and he easily broke free of their entanglement.

[Mount Hua Swordsmanship proficiency +2]

Yue Lingshan stared at Wang Jingyuan as he returned, covered in blood, and felt that he had become a stranger.

There was nothing wrong with acting chivalrously after encountering highway robbers. But Yue Lingshan had not seen the slightest unusual expression on Wang Jingyuan’s face. He was just as expressionless as he had been back on Mount Hua, when he went to the dining hall every day, chewing steamed buns while staring blankly into space.

It was as though, to him, killing people was no different from chewing steamed buns.

Wang Jingyuan walked toward the leader, who lay sprawled on the ground. Seeing him approach, the leader resigned himself to his fate and closed his eyes. Yet the anticipated release did not come.

Page 2 of 3

When he opened his eyes, he saw that Wang Jingyuan had noticed a medicinal herb some distance away. He had crouched beside it, pulled out a small shovel, and begun digging it up.

The herb was not particularly valuable, but it increased his proficiency.

[Gathering proficiency +1]

Wang Jingyuan put away the herb, casually wiped the blood from his sword against his own clothes, and began undressing under the terrified gaze of the leader.

“Junior Brother, what are you doing?” Yue Lingshan finally cried out, stopping him.

Wang Jingyuan tossed his outer garment aside and began inspecting his underclothes.

“They’ve been stained with blood. Their cleanliness has dropped terribly. Little Monkey stayed behind on Mount Hua, and I can’t be bothered to wash these, so I might as well throw them away. Besides, I brought plenty of spare clothes for this trip down the mountain.”

When he discovered that his inner garment was stained as well, Wang Jingyuan continued undressing, revealing a lean, pale torso.

Yue Lingshan hurriedly covered her eyes with both hands. The gaps between her fingers, however, were rather wide.

Only after Wang Jingyuan somehow produced a fresh inner garment and draped it over himself did Yue Lingshan reluctantly lower her hands.

But a moment later, Wang Jingyuan removed the garment once more.

There was no other reason than this: a burly figure had come charging back.

The leader, still lying on the ground, saw him too and rasped weakly, “Fifth Brother, run! Don’t come back!”

Soon, however, he realized that his voice was so faint that the burly man could not hear him. He instead turned to Wang Jingyuan and begged, “Great hero, please show mercy! I beg you, spare my foolish little brother. He knows nothing!”

Wang Jingyuan acted as though he had not heard a word. He even began taking off his trousers.

When he started removing his undergarments, Yue Lingshan no longer dared peek through her fingers. With a shriek, she turned her back.

Wang Jingyuan, stark naked except for the sword in his hand, walked toward the burly fellow. Though the man could not understand why Wang Jingyuan had stripped off his clothes, he nevertheless picked up the axe he had discarded earlier.

“Let… let my big brother go, and I’ll—”

Before he could finish, Wang Jingyuan stepped close and slashed open his throat.

[Mount Hua Swordsmanship proficiency +1]

As expected, the blood splashed over him again. Taking off his clothes before a fight had indeed been the right decision.

Ignoring the leader, who lay on the ground wailing with all his might, Wang Jingyuan used his dirty clothes to wipe the blood from his body, then changed into a clean set. Afterward, he patted Yue Lingshan on the back.

“I’m done.”

Page 3 of 3