Chapter 434: Brazen

Jin Qiu’s surname was Guan; her full name was Guan Jinqiu.

She and Gu Xizhi were childhood sweethearts, having grown up together.

The two of them each joined the Celestial Cyan Double Sword Sect.

Gu Xizhi studied under “Celestial Sword” Ying Wusheng.

Guan Jinqiu studied under “Cyan Sword” Xiao Wumei.

Everyone had assumed they would follow in their masters’ footsteps and become a celestial couple.

Unexpectedly, after descending the mountain to wander the martial world, they encountered Scholar Jingtan.

The three of them became caught in a tangled affair, and in the end, Guan Jinqiu chose neither of the two men, instead marrying Meng Huan, the master of Purple Moon Manor.

Purple Moon Manor was not in the same direction as Jinyang Prefecture, where Jiang Ran was headed. They would have to take a slight detour to the northwest.

Their route would take them through two major cities, into Dong County Prefecture, and then west before they could enter the territory of Purple Joy Mountain.

The journey was neither too far nor too near.

With passengers and a carriage, it would likely take more than half a month.

The first few days of the journey were peaceful enough.

After the battle on Sunset Plateau, everyone knew Jiang Ran had lost the Jiaowei.

Consequently, no one was plotting against them.

But what kind of person was Jiang Ran?

An Assassin!

As an Assassin, when no one was targeting him, he felt the urge to target others.

Therefore, the routes he chose were either desolate, treacherous paths or places he’d heard were gathering spots for bandits and highwaymen.

Even if these guys didn’t offer a decent reward, he could still stack buffs.

And as it turned out, those buffs were seriously sweet.

And yet, nothing happened! It was still peaceful.

Jiang Ran was a little puzzled.

“Have all these bandits and highwaymen washed their hands of the business and retired from ambushing, murdering, and robbing people?

“If so, what use is there in this world for Assassins like us?”

“Assassins aren’t just for catching bandits…”

Tang Huayi rolled her eyes. “You could also go after perverts.”

“There isn’t even the shadow of a thief right now. What the hell am I supposed to catch?”

“We’ve only had a few days of peace. Can’t you just settle down?

“If not for yourself, at least think about the ‘He-ro Gu’ inside.”

When she said the two words “Hero Gu,” Tang Huayi seemed to be grinding her teeth.

As a little demoness of the Demon Sect, she truly couldn’t stand such pedantic, self-righteous people.

It wasn’t that she detested him with a passion, but their clashing ideologies were glaringly obvious.

Moreover, Hero Gu loved to lecture people.

He desperately wished he could spread his philosophy to the eight corners of the world and enlighten all of humanity.

He was especially compelled to earnestly enlighten someone like Tang Huayi, who walked a “crooked path,” hoping she would renounce her evil ways and return to the righteous one.

As a result, every one of their conversations ended on a sour note.

While Tang Huayi was so angry she felt like she could spit blood, Gu Xizhi would get so angry he *actually* spat blood.

He was already severely injured, and after Tang Huayi’s “attentive care,” an injury that should have healed in three months would now probably require a few more years of bed rest.

Scholar Jingtan was delighted by this turn of events, grinning from ear to ear.

Tang Huayi had many complaints about this as well.

Jiang Ran couldn’t help but chuckle at her words, but he also felt as if he had changed a great deal.

He didn’t know when it started, but he had grown unaccustomed to a peaceful life.

If there wasn’t someone chasing him, plotting against him, or trying to assassinate him, he felt that his life was missing a great deal of excitement.

Jiang Ran realized it, too. ‘This kind of thinking is actually quite dangerous.’

‘There is no one in the martial world who is forever victorious. Even the greatest under heaven cannot fend off both the open attacks and hidden arrows of treacherous villains.

‘Even a tiger dozes off sometimes. Who can claim they can remain on high alert forever?’

‘Once such a reckless thought appears, one must act with caution. The slightest mistake could lead to disaster.’

As he was reflecting on this, he heard the sound of something cutting through the air.

Immediately after, the carriage dipped, and a person appeared on the roof.

The man had a large bow slung across his back. With his arms crossed, his face was grave.

“Big Brother, you were right. The bandits are all dead.”

“Huh?”

Jiang Ran froze, unable to stop himself from glancing back at Li Tianyu.

“How did they all die?”

“I just followed the mountain path up and found a stronghold on the mountain.

“However, the stronghold had been put to the torch, leaving nothing but ruins.

“I rummaged through the rubble for a while and found some bodies, but…”

Li Tianyu hesitated here, only continuing after a long pause.

“They were all killed before the fire was set.

“The bodies are mostly in pieces. Their deaths were quite gruesome…”

Jiang Ran fell silent for a moment, then couldn’t help but exchange a look with Tang Huayi. “Want to go see?”

“Let’s go.”

Leaving Scholar Jingtan and the others to wait in the carriage, Li Tianyu pointed out the direction for Jiang Ran and Tang Huayi.

The two of them used their Lightweight Technique and hurried toward the mountain stronghold.

The distance was short, and the two were fast. They arrived in the blink of an eye.

The situation was just as Li Tianyu had described.

The entire stronghold had been put to the torch. A few charred corpses and unidentifiable chunks of flesh had been picked out and arranged in one spot, obviously found and set aside by Li Tianyu for inspection.

Jiang Ran also gave them a quick examination.

“No soot in their mouths or nasal cavities… They definitely weren’t burned to death.”

“These marks…”

Tang Huayi stared at the severed parts of the bodies, her brow furrowed.

“It doesn’t look like they were cut by a saber or sword. It’s as if they were shattered by an overwhelmingly powerful Inner Strength.

“To shatter a living person to pieces isn’t something that can be done so easily.”

Jiang Ran’s lips moved, but before he could speak, Tang Huayi shot him a glare.

“Shut your mouth!”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“But you were thinking it!”