Seeing that the other was so persistent, the big brother of Xicui mountain smiled as he replied, “No problem, hero Lu. I will show it to you now.” After he finished his sentence, he fished around his breast for a short while before taking the plaque out and carefully handing it over to Lu Yueming.

Lu Yueming stared at the big brother of Xicui mountain’s motions wordlessly, and when he extended his hand to receive the plaque, the other party countenance suddenly changed. Xicui Lao Da did not withdraw his hand after pa.s.sing the plaque over, instead, he thrust his hand forward and a dagger appeared in his hands. Under the bright sunlight, the dagger emitted an eerie blue glow which anyone could tell that it contained a deadly poison. The dagger was not aimed at any particular vulnerable area, such as the throat or chest, it seemed that the big brother of Xicui was very confident in the poison efficacy; he was not unconcerned of where the poison is inflicted as long as it entered through any open wound.

Although one can hope high, and the distance between the men was very close, the Piaomiao disciple was simply on a different level compared to the Xicui mountain’s bandits. On facing the sneak attack, Lu Yueming flicked his wrist as he used the plaque in his hands to strike his opponent’s pulse. The big brother of Xicui mountain felt his wrist became numb and the dagger was dropped off his hands. However, Lu Yueming did not just end his counterattack there; he used the front side of the plaque to lever against the dagger causing it to shoot like an arrow back towards the big brother of Xicui. The speed was so fast that latter had no time to react, and with a ‘po’ sound, the dagger struck into his forehead, while an expression of disbelief appeared on his face as he collapsed onto the ground. The site of the wound was immediately tainted black and the color spread rapidly throughout the face and then towards his body. However, the big brother of Xicui mountain was already motionless and it was evident that he could no longer feel anything anymore.

Lu Yueming saw the potency of the poison and a shiver crossed his spine. At the same time, the other two Xicui mountain wolves retrieved their weapons from their horse and upon seeing their big brother killed, their sadness turned into fury as they rushed forward while hollering the men at their side. Lu Yueming was calm when he saw the oncoming attack; he charged his agility skill and glanced back and forth at the four hesitant men. These four men were originally the big brother’s bodyguards and were used to following his orders; now that their boss was killed and the opponent was obviously more powerful than them, they naturally wanted to retreat. However, their second and third boss was still alive, and under their beckoning to charge forward, the four men could not help but hesitate.

Lu Yueming saw that the four bodyguards had no intentions of retaliating immediately, and his heart jumped in joy because although the seven did not pose a threat to him with his level of martial skill, he was still wary of other sneak attacks. Thus, he did not wait any longer as he unsheathed the precious sword on his waist and displayed the Piaomiao seven swords which he had trained with difficulty, attempting to defeat the two opponents in the shortest time possible. The Piaomiao techniques were extraordinary as a few strokes could easily subdue the two Xicui mountain wolves until they could not counterattack. The two wolves of Xicui mountain saw that their backup did not come, and they cried angrily, “Are you still not taking any action? Or do you want to go back and get punished by our rules?”

When the four men heard the threat of punishment under their rules, they unwillingly took out their weapons and charged forward. At that moment, Lu Yueming smiled and said, “You are already too late.” Then, he swiped his sword and cut through the blade which belonged to the second brother of Xicui mountain and went straight towards the latter’s throat. By the time the second brother of Xicui mountain realized that his defense was broken through, Lu Yueming’s sword tip had already withdrawn leaving behind a small red spot on its mark. A stunned expression remained on his face as his body slumped onto the ground.

The third brother of Xicui mountain realized that he could not overcome the opponent so he turned around to flee without hesitation. However, how would Lu Yueming let him escape? Displaying the Piaomiao steps, he appeared like a shadow behind the frightened man and thrusted his sword into his heart from the back. The thrust was not very deep but accurate and the old third of Xicui mountain let out a yelp before tumbling onto the ground. Lu Yueming looked at the bloodstain on his sword and he shook his head in dismay.

The four bodyguards had not wanted to partic.i.p.ate in the fight since the beginning, and seeing the three wolves of Xicui mountain fall under Liu Yueming’s hands, they immediately threw their weapons aside, kneeled on the ground and kowtowed profusely while crying, “Great hero, please spare our lives.”

Lu Yueming threw a glance at the four kneeling men before ignoring them and walking straight towards Zhang Xiaolong and the others. Then, he took out the plaque and inspected it carefully. His brows wrinkled and he asked, “Which of you is junior sister Xue’s relative?”

Zhang Xiaolong looked at Lu Yueming and replied with great difficulty, “I am sorry hero Lu, none of us are relatives with heroine Xue.”

The wrinkles on Lu Yueming’s brows became deeper and he said coldly, “Then where did you get this plaque from?”

Zhang Xiaohua saw that his eldest brother had difficulties speaking, while Liu Qing and Liu Yueyue were tongue-tied from the shock, so he immediately answered, “Hero Lu, it was like this.” Then, he recounted the events in Lu town on the New Year day.

Lu Yueming listened to the end andtwhen smiled when Zhang Xiaohua finished his tale, before asking, “Then have you met junior sister Xue before?”

Zhang Xiaohua replied, “We did meet heroine Xue, but she was wearing a veil the entire time so we did not get to see her real appearance, and we did not know that her surname is Xue.”

Lu Yueming nodded more vigorously in understanding, he knew that Wen Wenhai and Xue Qing had pa.s.sed by town Lu but he was not aware of the events regarding Zhang Xiaolong and the other people. However, Zhang Xiaohua’s recount was believable, and even though Piaomiao sect had strict regulations regarding their plaques, Xue Qing was obviously being thorough when she chose to leave hers behind. To have chanced upon these people and even saved them again, Lu Yueming smiled as he imagined himself informing his junior sister, and perhaps even gaining her favor.

When he thought up to here, Lu Yueming walked to the front and studied Zhang Xiaolong’s injuries, and first went to connect his dislocated arm before taking out a few pills from his breast to let Zhang Xiaolong consume them. The pitiable Zhang Xiaolong had suffered full body injuries in his previous attempt to rescue Li Qing, and even before he could bring Liu Qing back home as his bride he suffered another round of injuries that were more grievous than the first time. Even though he did not fracture any bones, the internal injuries he incurred from the kick on his chest was not light and there was no way he could recover in less than half a year. Of course, Lu Yueming was unaware of the spring water, and instead, he advised Zhang Xiaolong to recuperate well during the next six months.

After tending to Zhang Xiaolong’s injuries, Lu Yueming turned towards the four bodyguards who were still kneeling and hesitated as if thinking of how to deal with them. The four men knew that their lives depend on that critical moment, and they immediately resumed their kowtowing. Seeing the blood dribbling from their foreheads, Zhang Xiaohua cringed uncomfortably from the side.

Lu Yueming seemed to have noticed the uneasy look on Zhang Xiaohua’s expression and he asked smilingly, “Xiaohua, how do you think they should be dealt with?”

Seeing that hero Lu has asked him, Zhang Xiaohua shifted uncomfortable as he replied softly, “Since they did not hurt us or any other people, why don’t we let them off?”

Lu Yueming looked at Zhang Xiaohua with seemingly great interest as he continued to ask, “Do you feel pity for them because of the blood on their foreheads?”

Zhang Xiaohua flushed as he said, “Of course, they really look pitiful and sincere.”

Lu Yueming kept back his smile and said seriously, “Xiaohua-ah, you have to remember that even pitiful people can be vicious. They did not hurt anyone just now not because they were unwilling, but rather their master did not order them too. Furthermore, we are on the main road and killing an innocent would have consequences that they were not willing to bear. Imagine right now if the one who was killed was me and not their master, would you still feel that they are pitiful? Do you think that they will spare your lives?”

Zhang Xiaohua nodded thoughtfully.

Lu Yueming asked again, “Do you know what it means to eradicate evil to protect civilians? It means that to eradicate evil, you must pull out the root and not leave a blade of gra.s.s behind. If we let them off today, there is no guarantee that they will not look for you in the future for revenge, and it will be too late to cry then.”

When the four men heard Lu Yueming lecture Zhang Xiaohua, they raised their heads and exchanged glances before fleeing in different directions without any hint of their previous regret. Lu Yueming smiled slightly as he looked at Zhang Xiaohua’s astonished expression. Then, as though he had already prepared for the scenario, Lu Yueming picked up the blades from two of the dead wolves of Xicui mountain and threw them towards the escapees. The blade spun with colors like a rainbow before striking squarely into their targets. At the same moment when he threw the blade, Lu Yueming activated his qinggong and appeared behind the third escapee’s back. With a flash of his sword, he pierced straight through the chest and did not bother to look at the last escapee while he pulled out his sword. The last escapee’s qinggong was quite good and he had managed to create a distance of several ten zhang before Lu Yueming could pay him any attention. Lu Yueming took a deep breath and he quickened his pace; his figure glided forward but the last escapee seemed to have noticed and threw back a hidden weapon towards his pursuer. Lu Yueming did not dare to confront the weapon and he kicked off the ground and flipped into the air narrowly missing the hidden weapon before slashing his precious sword onto the last escapee’s head.

Although the confrontation took place at a distance from Zhang Xiaolong and the others, Zhang Xiaohua could see everything clearly up to when the sword landed on the bodyguard’s head.

After Lu Yueming killed the last bodyguard, he immediately returned towards his original position and look at Zhang Xiaohua’s dazed look. Then, he shook his head and wiped the bloodstained precious swords onto the clothes of a corpse before sheathing it back.

Lu Yueming walked towards the equally dazed Zhang Xiaolong and handed back the Piaomiao sect plaque as he said, “You all should continue to keep this safely, who knows if it can be useful to you again.”