As dawn broke, a slanting ray of sunlight shone through.

Li Xian's face was covered in frost, his eyelashes frozen with crystal snow dew, his limbs stiff from the cold. Pang Long was right; even with thick inner Qi, long exposure to wind and snow was not ideal.

"Brother!"

Li Xiaofan suddenly said, "We're back again."

With the help of the first rays of sunlight, they could finally see everything around them clearly. Not far away stood a mansion, half-destroyed by fire.

In front of the mansion.

Dozens of people, covered in ash, looked wretched and miserable.

"Brother, what should we do?" Li Xiaofan asked anxiously, clutching Li Xian's clothes tightly.

Li Xian frowned and patted the horse's back. It turned out that the horse knew the way. Riding it all night, Li Xian couldn't see the road because it was too dark, so he let the horse run freely.

This horse, being the house horse of Mr. Liu, recognized the way and ran back as dawn approached.

Just as they were about to turn the horse around and quickly escape, they noticed that despite the number of people in front of the house, they were all mere servants and housekeepers, with no sign of the Black Water Gang members.

"That's right, the Black Water Gang captured me overnight. How could they expect me to backtrack?"

Li Xian felt a surge of joy in his heart and noticed a well-dressed man among the crowd. Though he looked just as bedraggled, his attire distinguished him from the servants.

Li Xian squinted and pointed, asking:

"Brother, is that Zheng Caiqi?"

Li Xiaofan nodded, "It's definitely him."

"Good!"

Li Xian stepped on the saddle and suddenly stood up, pulling the bowstring taut like a full moon, taking aim at Zheng Caiqi.

The distance got closer and closer...

The servants of the Liu Mansion, hearing the sound of hooves, turned to look. Zheng Caiqi, hearing the commotion, turned his head as well, but the next moment, his face was overcome with an expression of horror.

"No..."

Just as the word left his mouth, an arrow from Li Xian flew ferociously.

It hit him right in the chest.

Zheng Caiqi doubled over in pain, looking down to see the arrowhead embedded in his flesh, knowing this time there was no chance of survival. His heart was filled with bitterness and reluctance.

Moments later, a second arrow pierced his throat. Li Xian's eyes were icily cold as he notched a third arrow to the bowstring and shot again...

It went through his skull.

Three consecutive arrows, each one lethal, swift and decisive.

"Go!"

Li Xian yanked the reins, turning the horse around to leave.

The change happened so quickly that by the time Li Xian had ridden away, Mr. Liu and the other servants realized what had happened and hurried to check Zheng Caiqi's breathing and pulse.

Seeing the young master dressed in luxurious mink garments, in death looking thoroughly disgraceful, blood pouring, bodily functions voided, his legs convulsing continuously.

Finally, with one last twitch...

He gave up the ghost, utterly lifeless.

His expression frozen in a state of panic, shock, unwillingness, and confusion.

Before this, Li Xian had wanted to kill Zheng Caiqi, but the dire situation didn't allow him to think much, only hoping to save his younger brother first. Unexpectedly, the horse knew the way, inadvertently giving Li Xian a chance.

They galloped away quickly, soon leaving Huangyu County.

By then, the day had fully dawned.

Li Xian looked at his younger brother, still so young, and knew that this farewell meant the rest of his journey depended on himself. Understanding the harshness of the world deeply pained him, prompting him to want to send him further.

Then he suddenly saw a figure blocking the road ahead.

"Commander Pang." Li Xian was startled, his heart sinking.

"Li Xian, even taking a leave, you shouldn't stray too far from the estate," Pang Long said expressionlessly.

Li Xian had to dismount, "Xiaofan, Brother can only take you this far."

Li Xiaofan said, "Hmm, Brother, I'll miss you."

"We've never been to the prefecture city, be careful on the road,"

Li Xian said in a deep voice.

He knew full well the world's instability, a teenager embarking on a journey of thousands of miles to the prefecture city alone faced unimaginable dangers and obstacles.

This devouring world, with his brother's frail body, how could he ensure his own safety?

"Brother, don't underestimate me," Li Xiaofan said cheerfully, "I can pick flowers."

"Good, be careful on the road!"

Li Xian patted Li Xiaofan's shoulder, stuffing him with travel expenses and silver. Li Xiaofan smiled, holding back his tears, waved his hand, and quickly ran away.

Once he had run far enough, he allowed himself to cry quietly, but after wiping away the tears, he earnestly continued on his journey!

A good man doesn't cry.

"You, as an older brother, are truly beyond words," Pang Long sighed.

Li Xian remained silent.

"Let's go back to the estate," Pang Long patted Li Xian's shoulder, "Don't blame me for stopping you."

"Learning from the lady equates to her property."

"Consider it my petty thoughts suspecting a gentleman. Everything comes at a cost."

"On second thought, without the lady's martial arts, how would you have saved your brother?"

Li Xian smiled wryly. He knew the estate's strict rules, martial arts being precious, and allowing nursing home members to roam freely would have led to its leakage long ago.

Yet, the stricter the rules...

The more determined he was to help his brother break those many chains.

As for himself... he believed firmly that without relying on anyone, he could punch his way through the chains and break open the shackles.

Heaven rewards diligence, human effort makes things happen!

...

Yang Cheng had pursued all night, scouring every inch, vowing to find Li Xian. However, the little thief was as cunning as a fox, remaining elusive.

By the time the sky brightened.

Yang Cheng had no choice but to accept reality, leading the gang back home.

Thinking:

"The young master has lost his beloved horse, and now the little thief is nowhere to be found. With his temper, it'll be hard for me to continue in the gang."

Returning to the mansion, seeing the dilapidated scene, Yang Cheng sighed as expected.

Yet after a few more steps, the slight scent of blood made his hair stand on end.

He rushed into the crowd and saw the seventh young master lying in a pool of blood, his body already stiff. Three arrow wounds on his body looked gruesome and terrifying—one through the heart, one through the throat, and one through the skull.

The intensity of this killing intent and the decisiveness of the action… made Yang Cheng shiver all over.

"It's him!"

"It must be him!"

Yang Cheng remembered the three arrow scars on his body. They were just as cold, ruthless, decisive, and tricky...

Like shooting a deer.

Pale-faced and trembling, Yang Cheng was full of fear. The seventh young master had died under his care, and if this news reached the Black Water Gang...

His fate was unimaginably bleak!

"I… I lost sight of everything, focused on catching the thief, but failed to protect my master, finally… finally… am I going to lose my life?"

"Rather than return to the gang, I should flee, maybe there's still a slim chance of survival!"

"Yes… indeed, so I must cover up the young master's death. Strive to steal some time to escape!"

This Yang Cheng, having risen from hardship, had weaseled his way to his position through superior cunning.

...

...

On the way back to the estate, Li Xian recalled everything from the night before.

The fight with Yang Cheng was extremely dangerous. A slightest mistake might have led to capture right away.

"If it weren't for my brother's presence."

"I might have wanted to spar with him a bit more."

Li Xian had won thanks to an unintentional act of hiding bow, arrows, and an iron knife in the trees.

But even without these, with his Perfect Four Directions Fist, mastery of Jade Palm, and Great Success Clear Wind Leg, he could have exchanged a few more moves.

Gaining experience in the Jianghu.

"Commander Pang, is the Black Water Gang very powerful?" Li Xian asked.

"Hmm…" Pang Long pondered for a moment, "It's pretty formidable, the gang leader Zheng Xuezhang is not a simple character."

The two talked about the Black Water Gang.

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