novelapdf Chapter 47: Are all the fillings here?!
Chapter 47: Are all the fillings here?!
Before long, Li Che had stepped out of the town's east gate and headed straight along the official road.
He walked slowly, as if he were really taking a stroll to digest his food.
Just outside the town gate, there were still a few pedestrians, but after walking for about a mile, only one person remained, lagging behind at a leisurely pace.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man dressed in black, wearing a bamboo hat, standing more than ten feet away, following with his head bowed.
Yuelai Inn has been following us all the way!
Li Che cursed himself for being careless. If it weren't for the reminder from the senior who sold wontons, the commotion at the town's inn would have resulted in casualties among the镖局 (bodyguard agency) brothers.
As for the old man making wontons, he already had a guess in his mind.
He Sanqi, a master from Yandang Mountain!
The old master's strength was comparable to that of the Five Mountains Alliance leaders, yet he was indifferent to fame and fortune, did not seek recognition in the martial arts world, and simply walked among the common people, making a living by carrying a shoulder pole and selling wontons.
A true hermit lives in the city, a person who can truly roam the world freely.
Li Che walked and stopped, his pace quickening. Senior He said there were twelve "wontons," so he had to give them a chance, and scoop one into the bowl.
As for the opponent's strength, Li Che said that once he detected their presence by using the Zixia Divine Skill, their life or death was no longer in their hands!
The moon was obscured by dark clouds, and the stars were nowhere to be seen.
The person behind him suddenly realized that Li Che had vanished.
Where are they?!
There was no need to pretend anymore. He lit a tinderbox and gestured for a while, sending some kind of signal. Before long, several people jumped out of the woods a dozen feet behind him.
"Damn it, I thought we had plenty of time to let that kid live a little longer, but he ran off into the woods to the south. Chase after him!"
"Wait, that kid must have spotted me. I'd better be careful."
"Nonsense, there's no one on the street right now. If you follow behind him, he goes when you go, he stops when you stop. It's no wonder you get caught, you piece of trash!"
Upon hearing this, the person keeping watch realized it made sense, and angrily lifted his straw hat and pulled out a black cloth to cover his face.
The group rushed into the forest.
With toes touching the ground and extremely wide strides, they wield various weapons, including knives, swords, chains, and steel forks.
As the forest grew denser and the tall grass reached waist-high, the leader of the men in black surveyed the surroundings, but there wasn't a single person in sight.
"That damn brat's got some nerve! Let's go, detour around to the west of the town. Nanxiao is his only route. Let's stop those useless镖局 (escort agencies) members, and I bet that kid won't show up!"
"Need not!"
"Who the hell said we don't need it?!"
After the leader shouted angrily, he suddenly realized something was wrong; the voice sounded off!
"One, two... Great, exactly twelve!"
Before he finished speaking, the leader's hair stood on end. He leaped back and at the same time, he exerted force with his right arm, the chain hammer in his hand rattling loudly as he swung it straight up above his head.
"A person is in a tree!"
Without his prompting, the men in black around them all looked up, and the sound of swords clashing filled their ears.
A long sword thrust downwards from the top of the head, its sharp, cold light like a cone or a bolt of lightning, swift and fierce as if it were about to cut through the curtain of the dark forest.
"Clang—!"
The chain hammer was swung high into the air, but the incoming sword showed no sign of retreating. In mid-air, the sword tip tilted slightly and precisely struck the chain head three-tenths of an inch away.
The powerful chain hammer suddenly veered off course, and with a loud bang, the bowl-sized steel hammer with spikes became embedded in the tree trunk.
However, Li Che not only did not reduce his downward momentum, but instead exerted force with his feet, leaving a footprint on the tree trunk, and his sword momentum increased by three points.
"ah--!"
"Splash—!"
The chain crashed to the ground, along with a thick arm. A scream escaped his lips as Li Che flipped through the air and kicked the man in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.
With his two bright eyes scanning half the area, Li Che smiled coldly. He, Li, had never had the habit of talking nonsense before a battle.
In an instant, he leaped up again and charged forward.
These men in black were clearly seasoned killers who had seen death many times before. When they saw their leader seriously injured and unconscious, not one of them panicked and rushed to his aid. Instead, they stood in a circle and guarded their own territory.
Moreover, a leader who has lost an arm is no longer a leader!
But a single thought inexplicably arose in everyone's mind: "Damn it, the information is wrong, this kid's a tough one!"
If one's lightness skill is insufficient and one's martial arts are insufficient, being alone will surely lead to being killed one by one. The only option now is to join forces with others to surround and kill one of them.
Little did they know that their thoughts coincided with Li Che's!
A bowl of wontons cost me thirty-four copper coins. There were twelve wontons; it would be a loss if there were even one less!
In the blink of an eye, the sword's edge had arrived.
Now, Li Che's swordplay is no longer confined to sword techniques, but rather he reacts to each move and strikes first.
The black-clad man who charged forward was actually wielding a pair of mandarin duck swords.
The two swords are paired, their lengths complementing each other, and their body movements and footwork are coordinated, making them both offensive and defensive.
But then he swung his long sword diagonally and thrust his short sword straight forward, shouting at the same time, "Attack!"
However, before he could finish speaking, he was immediately shocked. The longsword that had almost missed the incoming sword suddenly vanished, and there was no trace of the sword above him.
The longsword, like a snake spitting its tongue, retreated and then advanced swiftly, piercing through the throat in an instant. The words "Attack!" became his last words.
In the blink of an eye, he had killed two people, yet Li Che remained cold and indifferent, his aura showing no sign of wavering. He was no longer the same as before, and these few more souls were no match for him.
Seeing the knives, spears, clubs, and hammers coming one after another, Li Che filled his feet with energy, leaped more than ten feet into the air, his body flipping in mid-air. His sword moved like a shooting star chasing the moon, or like a shadow chasing the wind.
The sword light fell like an overturned bowl, and in an instant, the remaining ten "wontons" stood frozen in place.
The hammer-wielding assassin was the first to succumb to the momentum of his charge and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
Then came several more thuds, and the forest fell silent again.
This sword technique was inspired by Linghu Chong; it's useful, I love using it, but I only use it when the opportunity arises.
If they hadn't come in such a large force, it would have taken a lot of effort.
The only difference is that Linghu Chong's attack was blinding, while Li Che's was throat-slitting!
After catching his breath, Li Che stood up again and went to touch them one by one...
Only when he touched the one-armed leader did he pull out a portrait from his pocket.
"I must say, the drawing skills are not bad."
Li Che examined his own portrait and had already guessed who was behind it all.
The two are either Ren Yingying or Zuo Lengchan.
Miss Ren has seen him wield a sword; she wouldn't send such incompetent men to kill him.
Others may not know that the Songshan Sect keeps unorthodox practitioners, but Li is well aware of it.
"Being targeted by Master Zuo is no good! It's going to be difficult to frame someone now; it's going to be very troublesome. The only thing we can do now is destroy the evidence."
The reason for luring these thieves to this place was that there was a steep cliff not far from here. Li Che carried the corpses and weapons back and forth several times, but it took more effort than when he killed the people earlier.
When they reached the one-armed bandit leader, who was no longer of any use, they finished him off with a single sword stroke and threw him off the cliff.
The forest was quiet and secluded, and the summer breeze carried away the stench of blood. Before long, the blood on the ground would turn into nutrients, and the grass would surely grow half a head taller than the surrounding grass.
......
When we returned to the inn, it was already late afternoon.
The laughter and banter continued in the hall, the wine flowing freely.
Li Che didn't disturb them. Instead, he went to the wonton stall again and sat casually on the stone steps like the stall owner.
He didn't speak first, and the stall owner only glanced at him before continuing to prepare the wontons. It was clear that the old man truly loved this line of work.
Li Che sat there blankly for a long time, his ears filled with the gurgling sound of water and the rough sound of stirring filling. Suddenly, he felt a rare tranquility.
"Grandpa, a bowl of wontons, please."
After a moment, "Hold on tight, eight copper coins."
......