A person’s name was Pu Cao. By common folk wisdom, naming a child something humble and lowly was supposed to make the child hardier — easier to raise.

In Gubang County, over eighty percent of the population bore the surname Pu. Yet there was only one Pu Cao.

Though the people who lived here were all of the Yan clan, they had been living in the Central Plains for so many generations that most of their customs had already blended with those of the Central Plains.

The one thing they had retained was the tradition of wearing black robes. Even their dietary customs had not survived intact.

Many aspects of life had shifted to follow Central Plains ways — including, as just mentioned, the practice of giving children humble names to ensure their survival: a distinctly Central Plains habit.

The refined man walked toward the inner room, speaking as he went. “Move quickly and cleanly — and don’t make it look terrible. We still need to get to the peach grove.”

He seemed to dislike watching people die, and stepped inside to wait.

Two men in black stepped forward, each producing a length of rope. They moved toward Pu Cao’s parents — strangling was considered neater than cutting, less bloody.

Two more men in black pinned Pu Cao’s shoulders from behind, while another also drew a length of rope. It appeared they all preferred the same method.

But no — one was different.

A man in black gripped the little girl by the throat, lifted her with one arm, and within moments she began to kick and struggle. No sound escaped her. The little face — so beautiful — quickly began to turn purple.

Pu Cao, too, could make no sound, for his own throat was being constricted.

Just then, a white figure came flying over the courtyard wall. With a lift of the hand, several streaks of light flew outward — it was impossible to tell what they were, only that they moved with astonishing speed.

In the span of a breath, those streaks of light struck several of the men in black, with a precision that was frightening.

Several men in black fell in quick succession — including the two behind Pu Cao’s parents, and the one who had been throttling Pu Cao’s little sister.

Yet even the strongest person has limits, and no one can save everyone at once. To send out flying projectiles in an instant and save three people while killing six or seven men in black — that level of ability was already terrifying enough.

In the same moment he released all those projectiles, he had already launched himself toward Pu Cao — for that was the only way to save everyone.

Those men in black could not stop him, no matter how many of them there were.

The white figure closed the distance in a single blur, extended two fingers, and tapped the foreheads of two men in black — puncturing clean through.

An instant later, he reached out and pulled Pu Cao aside, his right hand extending at the same time — catching perfectly the little girl as she dropped.

Half a breath more and she would have hit the ground.

In the moment the little girl had been hoisted into the air, Mr. Li had struck from outside the courtyard — sending flying stones to kill six or seven men in black, freeing Pu Cao’s parents and the little girl. Then he moved in to close quarters and killed two more to free Pu Cao.

All of this accomplished — the little girl had only just begun to fall, less than an inch above the ground, and Mr. Li caught her.

“Well then…”

The refined man strolled out of the inner room, speaking as he walked. “Just as I thought — deceiving people is never so simple.”

Mr. Li looked at this man, and could not help a flicker of genuine surprise. “You can actually move that fast too?”

This man was the same person he had encountered in the Western Regions.

The refined man seemed almost resigned as he said, “Why the word ‘too’? I’m far faster than you. I’ve never seen anyone carry a message at quite such a leisurely pace.”

Mr. Li smiled. “So you even knew I’d gone to give warning.”

The refined man said, “Your faked death in the Western Regions was fairly clever, all told. A charred corpse is difficult to identify — even after we dissected it, we could only confirm that it was likewise an experienced martial practitioner.”

Mr. Li said, “Dissected. An interesting word choice.”

The refined man said, “There’s no need to hide anything in front of you. You know how things stand with us. We know how things stand with you.”

Mr. Li: “Speaking of which — aren’t you going to try to persuade me?”

The refined man: “Persuade you of what?”

Mr. Li: “Persuade me to spare you all.”

The refined man shook his head. “I ought to have been afraid of you. And I was, before. But having now met you in person, I find I no longer am.”

Mr. Li: “Why?”

The refined man: “Because you faked your death.”

Mr. Li understood.

Those people had feared him because they believed he had the power to eliminate all of them. There was no other explanation for why they would have gone so completely underground.

They must have been firmly convinced that Mr. Li could dispose of them with ease — otherwise, nothing made sense.

But Mr. Li’s faked death had made it clear to them: *he’s also afraid of dying.*

And so Mr. Li sighed. “It’s somewhat embarrassing, I suppose. Old habits.”

The refined man said, “Your faked death in the Western Regions confirmed two things for me. First — you don’t know who you are, what you’re meant to do, or what you’re capable of. Second — if you had absolute, overwhelming power, you would not have needed to fake your death.”

He paused, then continued, “And now there’s a third. Third — after faking your death so cleverly in the Western Regions, you turned around and drove back in a camel carriage in broad daylight, which suggests you may be a little dim.”

Mr. Li said, “The first point is correct. The second is not — I am quite formidable. I could take on ten opponents at once. As for the third… how do you know I didn’t do that deliberately?”

The refined man glanced around. From every direction, more and more men in black were converging, some through the courtyard gate, some over the wall — a dense, overwhelming swarm.

He asked with a smile, “How many people under heaven could understand the reference you just made? I can. But I’d like to ask — can you take on several hundred?”

Mr. Li said, “You know this is cheating, don’t you?”

The refined man: “Let’s drop the jokes. If our positions were reversed, would you bring this many people to kill me?”

Mr. Li: “I’d bring more. A thousand.”

The refined man: “You guessed correctly. That’s exactly how many I brought. One thousand.”

Mr. Li: “…”

For the first time in his life, he felt danger press this close. Though he had always been hiding, always keeping his head low, he had never once encountered anything that truly threatened his life — never encountered anyone who could truly threaten it.

“You look rather confident. In moments like this, the usual custom is for me to ask why — and for you to answer sincerely.”

Mr. Li said, “That’s the formula, isn’t it?”

The refined man nodded. “Exactly that formula. The villain dies from talking too much.”

He pointed at Mr. Li. “Move.”

All the men in black began to press forward. Rather than rushing in close, they raised crossbows and longbows — and in this situation they were still this cautious, which meant they were clearly no ordinary antagonists.

The instant the man said *move*, Mr. Li also moved.

He seized Pu Cao with one hand, snatched up the little girl with the other, and launched himself like a bolt of lightning toward the courtyard gate.

Yes, they had numbers. Yes, they had bows and crossbows. But Mr. Li was fast enough.

Just how fast was Mr. Li?

Even Yu Jiuling’s speed was beneath his notice.

So those bows and crossbows, for all their fearsome reputation, still had to be able to keep up with him.

The moment Mr. Li plunged into the crowd, those ranged weapons lost more than half their effectiveness.

*Bang.*

Mr. Li landed heavily — far too heavily, with none of the light, ethereal grace one would expect of him.

He landed, then spun and threw a palm strike behind him — hitting nothing but air.

There was sharp agony at his lower back. Mr. Li turned to look at the spot — a hole in his robe. A dagger had pierced through.

The one who had struck him was Pu Cao.

After Mr. Li landed, the men in black around them released their arrows — without a moment’s hesitation.

Mr. Li turned and curled his body over the little girl, kneeling there, using himself to shield her completely.

Arrows struck Mr. Li too many times to count, yet not a single one pierced into his flesh.

In the brief pause between volleys, Mr. Li exploded upward from the ground, cradling the little girl as he swept over the heads of the crowd. Then — like a figure with enormous springs beneath his feet — he touched down and launched himself skyward again.

In the courtyard, Pu Cao stood looking at the dagger in his own hand, his brow knitted deeply.

The refined man walked over and also looked down at the blade. His expression was not pleasant.

He muttered to himself, “All my careful calculations, such a fine plan — and still I failed to account for just how afraid of dying he truly is. I already *knew* he was afraid of dying. I just never expected he’d be afraid to *this* degree.”

Pu Cao exhaled quietly. “What kind of armor was that? What could possibly stop a blow like mine?”

The refined man stepped forward. “Fall down once, learn once. Remember in future — aim for the neck. Only, the next time an opportunity this good presents itself… I’m afraid it will be a long time coming.”

As he walked on, the mass of men in black had already poured out in pursuit.

But Mr. Li’s speed was simply too great. As the men in black flooded out of the courtyard, by the time they reached the street, they could only catch a flash of a white figure disappearing around a corner.

By the time they rounded that corner, another flash appeared at the intersection further ahead.

The refined man walked on, speaking as he went. “The net has been cast across heaven and earth. Escaping from that courtyard only means slipping out of a small cage — as long as a single eye in Gubang County spots them, they will not get away.”

In the courtyard, Pu Cao tossed the dagger aside, then looked back at the bound man and woman. “Kill them both.”

These were a real husband and wife — only they were the little girl’s parents, not his.

And so that was why this couple had been gagged, kept utterly silent.

By the time the men in black rushed onto the street, the white figure had vanished entirely. They began to fan out, asking everyone on the street for any sightings.

On the city walls, many watchers stood at vantage points scanning ahead. They searched carefully.

Gubang County was not large. There were only two gates — one in the south, one in the north.

Both gates had men in black stationed at height, keeping watch. The net was well and truly spread.

Before long, the watchers on the south gate spotted a flash of white. They shouted immediately.

The gate began to close rapidly. Many of them poured into the gateway passage itself, forming layer after layer of human walls.

Mr. Li came flying toward them with the little girl in his arms. He saw the gate closing — but showed not the slightest hesitation, barreling toward it without pause.

Many men in black raised bows and drew aim, but Mr. Li was not only blindingly fast — his movements were erratic, darting left and right with tremendous quickness, and most of their arrows sailed wide.

Gubang County’s city walls were not tall — less than three zhang — but no martial practitioner in the world could leap nearly three zhang straight upward.

Neither could Mr. Li.

Unless there was a miracle.

Just as the men in black on the walls were loosing arrows, Yu Jiuling dropped down from the top of the gatehouse, striking from behind.

Slashing with his blade and kicking with his feet, he caught them completely off guard and sent six or seven people crashing to the ground.

Then he pulled the coil of rope looped over his shoulder and flung it forward. Down below the wall, Mr. Li grabbed hold with both hands.

Yu Jiuling spun and ran, leaping off the far side of the wall.

His body went down; Mr. Li went up.

A perfect coordination — using the force of Yu Jiuling’s descent to haul Mr. Li up the wall.

Mr. Li cradled the little girl and vaulted clear over the wall in one soaring arc. As he came down on the far side, Yu Jiuling sprang upward with both hands raised. Mr. Li’s feet touched Yu Jiuling’s palms, used them as a launching pad, flipped, and landed further out. Yu Jiuling hit the ground running and accelerated to catch up.

The two of them moved like phantoms, vanishing within moments.

—