Sixty-Three

Chapter 65: Drawing the Sword to Counterattack

The wind near the Mid-Autumn Festival was desolate and bleak, whipping up fallen leaves that incessantly struck Duan Mingyu's face. The leaves, which should have been withered and yellow, were instead as crimson as fresh blood.

A ground covered in blood-stained leaves weighed heavily on Duan Mingyu's heart. At the very least, he knew that once the battle had moved out of his sight, it had become far fiercer and more breathtaking.

The powerful sword qi unleashed by the two fighters had stripped the trees across the mountain bare of most of their leaves. Aside from the faint crunch of footsteps on the foliage, not a single sound could be heard in the surroundings.

Duan Mingyu exchanged glances with Luo Hou, who had just arrived.

Luo Hou said, "Mr. Yang is right ahead. We didn't disturb him!"

Duan Mingyu quickened his pace. He had already spotted Qin Chuan's corpse; his clothes were tattered, and his body bore no fewer than a hundred wounds.

Yang Yanguang was sitting cross-legged on a boulder, white steam continuously rising from the top of his head—this was clearly the sign of him using his internal energy to heal his wounds.

Duan Mingyu walked over gently, then dropped to his knees with a dull thud, lowering his head without a word.

Seeing Duan Mingyu act thus, Luo Hou and the other brothers laid down their weapons, knelt in unison, and bowed their heads in silent tribute.

Wan Yanyan hesitated for a moment before slowly kneeling as well.

The white steam rising from Yang Yanguang's head grew increasingly dense, and sweat poured from his face in ever-greater amounts, so much so that from the inside out, the man looked as though he had just been fished out of water.

At a certain moment, the autumn wind blew away the last wisp of white steam from Yang Yanguang's head. He slowly opened his eyes. His aged eyes, turbid yet flashing with a piercing light, swept over the crowd around him, and he murmured softly, "This place possesses far more human warmth than the deep walls of the imperial palace!"

Duan Mingyu still kept his head lowered, remaining silent. Yang Yanguang walked over to him and said, "A man's knees kneel only to heaven, earth, and parents. You shouldn't have knelt."

"The senior master fell into grave peril to save me, showing a kindness as great as a second birth. It is only right that Mingyu kneels," Duan Mingyu replied.

Yang Yanguang helped Duan Mingyu up. "Very well, this old man accepts your kneel." Yang Yanguang turned to the others and asked, "I did not save you, so why do you kneel before me?"

Luo Hou straightened his back and answered, "We kneel only to heroes!"

"That's right, heroes!"

Yang Yanguang stroked his beard and asked, "And why did this little lass kneel?"

Wan Yanyan's pretty face blushed. She had simply knelt along with Duan Mingyu without thinking much about it, feeling instinctively that since Duan Mingyu had knelt, she ought to kneel as well. As the saying goes, a wife follows her husband's lead. Wan Yanyan replied evenly and without servility, "What this young lady kneels to is naturally also a hero!"

Yang Yanguang said, "This man was a top expert among the Qin family's Fang of the Wolf elite guards. The Qin family cannot produce three such experts. Now that this old man has pulled out this thorn, Mingyu, you need not worry too much about encountering such strong adversaries again. Tomorrow, this old man can set off on his journey with peace of mind."

Duan Mingyu asked, "Can the senior master not stay for a few more days?" Though the address had shifted from "Old Master Yang" to simply "Senior Master," a difference of only two words, in Duan Mingyu's heart, Yang Yanguang had truly become a revered and esteemed mentor, a sentiment Yang Yanguang naturally understood.

Yet Yang Yanguang replied jokingly and with playful banter, "What, do you want this old man to act as your free mercenary?"

"Perhaps the senior master might consider it—ten taels of silver a month!"

"Humph!"

"Twenty taels!"

"Get lost!"

"Thirty taels!"

With a kick, Yang Yanguang sent Duan Mingyu flying, rolling his eyes as he said, "You brat, are you trying to anger this old man to death?"

Yang Zhaoniang helped Duan Mingyu up and said, "Humph, Grandpa, you can't be like this. You know very well that Brother Mingyu was just joking with you."

"You ungrateful girl, you've only been here for a few months, and now you only recognize your Brother Mingyu instead of your grandpa."

"Hahahaha!" Hearing this, the crowd could not help bursting into laughter, and the oppressive atmosphere was swept away in an instant.

Yang Zhaoniang planted her small hands on her hips and protested indignantly, "What are you saying? I am siding with righteousness, not with relations!"

"Alright, alright, siding with righteousness, not with relations." Yang Yanguang affectionately ruffled Yang Zhaoniang's little head.

"Everyone back to camp!" Duan Mingyu ordered.

When the night grew deep and quiet, Wang Aiqing and Luo Hou arrived at the training ground, where Duan Mingyu and two hundred team members were already neatly lined up and waiting.

Duan Mingyu asked, "Have you scouted out all the locations?"

Luo Hou replied, "All scouted. A total of seven inns, five gambling dens, and four brothels—all of them belong to the properties of the Majestic Escort Agency."

Duan Mingyu instructed, "Set out then. Remember not to harm the innocent, but as for the people of the Majestic Escort Agency, leave not a single one alive!"

"Understood, subordinate obeys!" Wang Aiqing and Luo Hou shouted in unison.

With over two hundred men clad in inner armor, each equipped with a repeating crossbow and fully armed, anyone could guess the fate of the Majestic Escort Agency even without using their brains.

From a distance, holding Yang Zhaoniang in his arms, Yang Yanguang said, "This disciple of mine, capable of bearing great responsibilities, has finally drawn his first sword against his opponents."

Yang Zhaoniang declared fiercely, "Beat them to death! Who asked them to almost kill Brother Mingyu... and... Grandpa!"

Yang Yanguang affectionately flicked the bridge of Yang Zhaoniang's nose. "Grandpa was only added as an afterthought, weren't you?"

"That's not true! Grandpa and Brother Mingyu are equally important in Zhaoniang's heart!" Yang Zhaoniang replied slyly.

The Four Seas Inn was one of the properties under the banner of the Majestic Escort Agency. It was already late in the night, and as the inn was preparing to close its doors, dozens of heavily armed men suddenly rushed inside. Every man drew a repeating crossbow, standing ready in strict formation. The leader commanded, "Get everyone in the inn out here right now, or no quarter will be given today!"

The innkeeper and the waiters looked at each other in dismay. Judging by this imposing aura, they knew the intruders were not joking around. Although there were a few martial artists from the escort agency stationed in the establishment to keep order, those two worthless fellows had already been scared to the point of pissing their pants by the openly brandished blades and weapons.

With no other choice, the innkeeper had no option but to drive out all the overnight guests.

In the end, even the innkeeper himself was chased outside. The group of men swarmed toward the counter, looting all the silver from the account books and stripping the place of all gold and valuables. Before leaving, they even led away the two horses tied at the entrance of the inn.

Naturally, this group set a fire inside the establishment before leaving. The inn burned amid billowing flames, collapsed, and was reduced to ashes.

Inside a gambling den, Wang Aiqing chased away the gamblers whose eyes had turned red from betting. A few who refused to comply were beaten until they were too terrified to utter a single sound.

Finally, dozens of escort guards stationed here by the Majestic Escort Agency rushed forward, and a brief and intense brawl broke out between the two sides.

It ultimately ended with the complete annihilation of the Majestic Escort Agency's men and zero casualties for Wang Aiqing's subordinates. Throwing the corpses into the fiercely burning gambling den, the team members took advantage of the chaos and departed.

It is worth mentioning that Wang Aiqing had looted the money from the gambling den using the exact same method, so when they left, every brother had a bulging chest.

The unluckiest of all was Luo Hou. After chasing away the revelling patrons, a flock of fluttering beauties swarmed him, demanding to enter the bridal chamber with him. To find out how Luo Hou handled this situation, please listen to the author tell the tale in the next chapter.

PS: To share a piece of unfortunate news with everyone, this humble official was decisively stabbed in the chrysanthemum, but fortunately, the gap remains very small. Flowers are free gifts and are given every day. You only need to cast the flowers in your hands, and this humble official can return to the top three. Brothers, smash down those flowers and let us stab them back just once!