Chapter 1930 Cao Chengli's Shock

He had thought that hiring the bandits this time would be a sure thing—easily killing a down-and-out nobody and effortlessly avenging the humiliation he had suffered.

Unexpectedly, all his men were dead, and the leader seemed to have gone mad...

"The one who killed me is a horse! And a carriage..."

"Why don't you say a knight, a cannon, or an elephant?"

"Speak properly, are you playing chess with me?"

"I'm asking you who killed your men!" Unable to hold back any longer, Xue Chen demanded.

"Didn't I say? It was a horse... and a carriage!" The leader's stomach felt like it was about to burst.

"A horse?"

"A carriage?"

Xue Chen and Xue Qin were even more bewildered.

"Shan Xiaotian's carriage—the horse had the strength of a Great Sage first level and easily killed my men; the carriage was also formidable—none of our arrows could get close..."

Knowing it sounded absurd, the leader still explained in detail what had just happened.

"A horse that knows martial arts? A carriage that knows martial techniques?"

His face ashen, Xue Chen felt his intelligence was being trampled: "Even if you don't want to kill him, at least come up with a reasonable excuse!"

"You... you think I'm lying to you?"

The leader was going mad.

Why, when he told the truth, did no one believe him?

"Alright, here's a Divine Communication Card with five hundred Divine Communication Coins—enough to cover your losses..." Too lazy to waste more words on this already deranged man, Xue Chen casually tossed out a card.

The other party just wanted money anyway; he'd give it to him!

"I lost over thirty brothers, and you only give five hundred?"

His face twitching, the leader was about to explode with rage.

That amount wasn't even enough to buy the arrows and bows.

"You didn't complete the mission; five hundred is already generous. Get lost now, or you won't get a single coin!"

Xue Chen's eyes narrowed.

"You..."

Seeing the murderous intent boiling over and knowing that he might actually strike, the leader understood that a wise man knows when to retreat. Grabbing the card, he turned and left, disappearing into the night before long.

"Teacher, what if this guy doesn't kill him?"

Xue Qin looked over.

"A bunch of useless trash! I only used them to avoid trouble!" Xue Chen snorted: "Let's go back first; I'll find a way. Rest assured, Miss Two, this guy will never be a stumbling block for you! If things go well, he might even boost your fame and make you soar!"

...

The more the leader thought about it, the angrier he became, feeling like he was about to explode.

If not for a moment of greed, he wouldn't have lost his entire force, now left alone.

Racing along at top speed, before he even reached the stronghold, he heard a faint voice not far away.

"After losing so many brothers, you're dismissed with just five hundred Divine Communication Coins?"

"Who's there?"

Gripping his long blade, he quickly turned around. The leader spun in a full circle but saw no one.

"Who's playing tricks here? If you're a man, come out! I, Cao Chengli, won't even frown—I've been a chief for years!"

"No need to look; I'm on the tree branch right in front of you!"

The faint voice continued.

Leader Cao Chengli quickly looked up. In the moonlight, he saw a book standing upright on a nearby branch, wriggling its body as if it had come to life.

The voice just now came from it.

"You... you... talking to me?"

His teeth chattering, Cao Chengli's lips trembled.

He couldn't help trembling—tonight he had seen arrows that could turn, a horse that could kill, a carriage that knew martial arts, and now a talking book. It was already a nightmare.

"It's me!" The book hopped.

"I'll kill you..."

With a roar, Cao Chengli hurled his long blade and instinctively fled in the opposite direction.

He couldn't care about anything now; escape was the only priority.

Bang!

Before he could leave the spot, he stumbled and fell flat on his face. Then he saw the book that had been on the branch was now right in front of him, hovering silently in the air.

"If you want to die faster, run!"

With the faint words, a heavy pressure crushed down from the book. Cao Chengli's expression froze, as if plunged into an ice cellar, trembling involuntarily: "I wouldn't dare..."

Under that pressure, he realized the book's strength had definitely reached the Ancient Sage level, perhaps even the peak—Shattering the Void!

A book that could shatter the void?

He had thought of fleeing before, but now he understood that no matter what he did, escape was impossible.

"Good that you wouldn't dare!"

The book swayed: "Those people deliberately withheld information and sent you to kill Shan Xiaotian, causing you to lose so many men for nothing. Don't you want revenge?"

"I do... I want to tear them limb from limb!"

Cao Chengli's face twisted.

"If you want to kill someone, you need to know their identity, don't you? Do you know who they are?" the book asked.

"I..." Cao Chengli was stunned.

He only knew that the other party was introduced by an acquaintance, and there was money to be made; he didn't know their specific identities.

"They shouldn't have gone far. Follow them..." The book chuckled. "As a bandit leader, tracking and recording such things shouldn't be difficult, right!"

"I understand..."

Cao Chengli nodded.

He was a smart man; how could he not understand?

This book, like that horse and that carriage, should belong to Shan Xiaotian. The reason he wasn't killed was surely because he was still useful.

"Go!"

The book swayed.

Cao Chengli gritted his teeth, turned around, and flew toward the spot where the bonfire had been.

Although his cultivation was far inferior to Xue Chen and the others, he had done many bad deeds and knew stealth and tracking methods. Following the footprints, before long, he arrived in front of a huge mansion.

"The City Lord's Mansion? It's the City Lord's Mansion that hired me to kill?"

Eyes wide, Cao Chengli couldn't believe it.

City Lord Xue Yan had an excellent reputation and was always fair in his dealings. How could he... hire assassins to kill?

With a flicker, he landed on the wall. Just as he was about to enter, he saw a large group of people standing neatly inside the courtyard. The two who had met with him earlier were standing before the crowd.

Lowering his breath, Cao Chengli used the night to perfectly conceal himself.

Standing at the front were a group of soldiers in armor, clearly the elite troops of the City Lord's Mansion.

"Change into these clothes, and follow orders to kill!"

A low voice sounded from the middle-aged man, and then a soldier came over carrying a pile of clothes.

"Yes!" The soldiers took the clothes and changed into them one by one. Seeing what the clothes looked like, Cao Chengli nearly fell off the wall.

They were exactly the attire of his bandits!

The elite soldiers of the City Lord's Mansion were actually impersonating his bandits to kill!

If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it!

"The one who hired me to kill is actually the City Lord's Mansion..."

Body stiff, Cao Chengli dared not even breathe. He used a recording crystal to record everything before his eyes.

Soon, the soldiers of the City Lord's Mansion, disguised as bandits, quietly left the courtyard and rushed toward the Shan residence.

They quickly arrived outside the Shan family wall.

"Charge in, leave no one alive!"

The soldier leader said in a low voice.

"Yes!"

Everyone jumped into the courtyard in unison.

Cao Chengli followed closely, climbed a large tree, and looked inside by the moonlight. Then he saw a scene he would never forget.

A young man stood in the courtyard, holding a long sword. With a flick, a head fell to the ground. The whole courtyard was filled with the sound of wind and sword aura.

In less than three minutes, all fifty elites who had broken into the courtyard were easily killed by one man and one sword.

"Is he Shan Xiaotian? He has no cultivation?"

Face pale, Cao Chengli felt his chest churn, as if he might vomit at any moment. "People from the City Lord's Mansion, I'll fuck your ancestors..."

Fortunately, earlier only the other's horse and carriage had acted; otherwise, if this Shan Xiaotian had struck, he wouldn't even know how he died.

His head might have been separated from his body in an instant.

The other's swordsmanship simplified complexity, profound and unfathomable. He had never seen anything so terrifying in his life!

"Teacher..."

After killing everyone, the young man Shan Xiaotian walked to the house with disbelief. Only then did Cao Chengli notice that a young man had been sitting in front of the room all along, and he hadn't even detected him!

The young man appeared to be in his twenties. Seeing the youth approach, he put down his teacup and frowned. "Just these few people, and it took you over two minutes to kill them, averaging one every three breaths. With such comprehension, how can I teach you higher swordsmanship? As punishment, you will practice swords all night and are not allowed to sleep!"

"Yes!" The youth lowered his head, looking ashamed.

"Killing one person every three breaths, and still being punished?" Cao Chengli trembled.

He had seen many young geniuses, but Shan Xiaotian was definitely among the best, yet he was still punished and scolded... This teacher was too strict!

While still in shock, he saw the horse that had routed his subordinates earlier trot over with a 'clop clop,' smiling as it poured tea for the young teacher... and even raised its front hooves to help massage his back...

Teeth chattering, Cao Chengli felt his worldview crumbling.

What the hell... is that a horse?

Can a horse do that?

"I must never come to the Shan family again, no matter how good the offer..."

Having made a decision in his heart, he was about to sneak away when he heard a faint voice in his ear.

"You know what to say and what to do, right?"

The voice was very gentle, but hearing it made his hair stand on end. He quickly looked up and saw the young man sitting in front of the room, drinking tea, smiling as he looked over. His gaze seemed to pierce through the night and concealment, clearly finding his hiding spot.

"I, I..."

Cao Chengli couldn't speak.

"No need to be nervous. You've seen everything that happened today. You should understand how to speak of it..." The young man's lips didn't move, but his voice was clear in Cao Chengli's ear.

"I know..." Cao Chengli trembled.

"Go! You were also entrusted by others, loyal to their task, so I won't kill you... But from today on, if I learn that you are doing evil again, be careful you don't lose your life..." The young man's voice continued.

"Yes!" Cao Chengli dared not say more, turned around, and fled.