The Blade-Wielding Legend

"What do you mean by that!"

Li Yan rarely mentioned the death of his father, Li Hu, merely because it was somewhat dishonorable.

His nickname, the Sick Tiger of Guanzhong, was also known as a philanderer.

In this life, his mother was an ordinary farm woman, previously under the control of his grandfather, his father was still relatively stable, aside from practicing martial arts, he led a life where the men plow and the women weave.

Until he was born the following year.

Guanzhong experienced a severe drought, locusts plagued the area, and epidemics broke out.

In that same year, the Maitreya Sect also created havoc.

His mother died of illness, the family couldn't even put food on the table, so his father picked up his knife and went out into the pugilistic world to earn a living, gradually making a name for himself.

But with that, he became like a tiger released from its cage, uncontrollable.

He not only killed people indiscriminately but also racked up a pile of debts from his love affairs.

When Li Yan was young, he saw several beautiful aunties, raging and crying at his door, fighting at the doorstep, upsetting his grandfather so much that he couldn't eat for days.

The winter he died was also in a brothel in Chang'an City.

According to the constable and the head teapot of the brothel, he had suffered from apoplexy, and the coroner and his grandfather's examination of the body confirmed this.

Since then, his grandfather rarely spoke of his father and became increasingly aged.

If before, Li Yan would have assumed Sha Lifei was lying.

But since learning about the curse, he felt the matter was not so simple.

Seeing the murderous intent rising in Li Yan's eyes, Sha Lifei grew fearful and quickly offered an ingratiating smile, "I heard… well, I just heard that a few months after the incident, something happened at that brothel."

"What happened?"

"People died, several courtesans!"

"What does that have to do with my father?"

"I just like to pry into things, those who died, just so happens I know, were all your father's old flames..."

"Continue!"

"Such the death of a few courtesans wasn't usually a big concern officially, but back then it seemed quite serious, Zhou Pan even actively cooperated, leading a group of disciples to Chang'an City, searching everywhere in a frenzy."

"You know what kind of person that old monkey, Zhou Pan, is: he seizes any advantage and shuns trouble, so acting with such zeal, there must be something fishy!"

"Moreover, your father's demise, he was the one who benefited the most."

While he spoke, Sha Lifei observed Li Yan's expression.

Suddenly feeling a sense of relief, he looked down and realized that the short knife in Li Yan's hand had silently retracted into his sleeve, unnoticed.

Sleeve knife!

Sha Lifei suddenly remembered what that was.

While Li Hu was alive, there was a pugilistic tale that he was not only skilled with the Guanzhong quick knife but had also created his own technique by incorporating the kasaya skill and the sleeve technique, developing the sleeve knife.

A knife hidden in the sleeve, used to describe someone who is affable on the outside but harbors malice within.

Such was the technique of the sleeve knife, silently capable of taking a life.

Li Hu had made quite a name for himself with these twin blades, and now, it appeared he had passed this skill to his own son.

This kid was even better suited for the sleeve knife than his father.

Although Li Yan had sheathed the knife, his eyes remained icy cold, "Uncle Sha, let's not beat around the bush. If there is indeed a problem with my father's death, I'll owe you a favor."

"But let's get this straight, why are you scheming against me?"

"If you don't clarify, this isn't the end of it today!"

There was a reason Li Yan in the village was known as a tough nut to crack.

He had seen through many things in his two lives, caring little for propriety, rules, or systems, and had no interest in any cover-ups or pretenses.

What was Sha Lifei's plan?

He would get to the bottom of it today, even if he had to pull the truth out by the teeth!

Looking into Li Yan's eyes, Sha Lifei only felt his scalp tingle, awkwardly rubbing his bald head, he started, "Brother Yan, don't be angry, you must not know, I'm famously loyal..."

He swallowed the rest of his boastful words and said helplessly, "Actually, it's nothing big, I recently offended one of Zhou Pan's disciples by accident, and I had no choice but to come to Xianyang City."

"I thought your family had a grudge with him as well, and I could use a helping hand..."

"Oh, I see."

Li Yan suddenly realized and nodded slightly, "Uncle Sha, you could have been upfront with me. Look at this, we nearly had an incident. No hard feelings, right."

Sha Lifei nodded quickly, "Not at all, not at all, we're on the same side. Also, that matter with Master Wang, I'll take care of it tomorrow. But as we enter the city, we need to keep a low profile."

"Of course."

Li Yan smiled in agreement, as if the near altercation with the knife never happened, and casually walked away.

Sha Lifei exhaled a sigh of relief, feeling his back covered in cold sweat, cursing silently: Damn it, this kid flips like a dog's face, so unpredictable.

Once this is over, it's best to keep a distance from him in the future...

...…

Returning near his shanty, Li Yan simply found a secluded spot, leaned against a big tree, clutching his knife, and prepared to sleep.

It was summer, and the nights were not cold, so he hadn't brought any bedding when he left home, and he would just make do for the night, planning to leave after finding Wang Daoxuan.

He took seriously what Sha Lifei had said.

His father's death, it seemed, was not merely due to misfortune brought on by the suppression technique, but there was another hidden story.

Whether it was related to Zhou Pan was yet uncertain.

But some instinct told him that this matter was connected to the pugilistic magicians!

No matter what he would do in the future, he first needed to step onto their path.

Just then, footsteps approached from behind.

Li Yan opened his eyes to see Hei Dan.

The boy held a water bladder, timorous, not daring to come closer.

With an easy smile, Li Yan teased, "What's wrong? Have I grown horns?"

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This lad is the only one in the village who gets along well with me, and he's also known for his loyalty; therefore, when he first offered his help, he didn't hesitate to lend a hand.

Hei Dan scratched his head, revealing a simple and honest smile, as he handed over a water bladder, "Brother Yan, have a drink. You were really impressive today!"

"It wasn't that I was impressive, but rather that he underestimated the enemy."

Li Yan's expression turned serious, and he recounted the details of the earlier duel.

The face-off against Meng Haicheng seemed to be a one-move victory, but it was far from simple.

First, he knew that Meng Haicheng was skilled in Monkey Fist, and by being younger, he made him let his guard down. He egged him on with words, thus creating the most favorable conditions.

After all, Meng Haicheng was older with extensive experience in the pugilistic world. If he had been more cautious in fighting, it would have probably taken more effort to take him down.

Since the two had a close relationship, Li Yan taught Hei Dan every detail without keeping any secrets, so that Hei Dan could be prepared if he ever encountered such a situation.

Hei Dan listened, eyes wide and mouth agape, "Is it really so complex?"

Li Yan smiled, "The hearts of Jianghu people are complex. Might is only used when things come to blows—hidden knives are far deadlier. Without being more vigilant, how could one manage?"

Of course, he didn't say everything.

Bringing down Meng Haicheng with one move wasn't just to show off.

From the moment he heard Sha Lifei stir the pot, he knew the man had no good intentions. It was only by exploiting the prestige of defeating his enemy that he could force this old slicker to spit out the truth.

And these sighs came from the heart.

Clashing swords was just the tip of the iceberg—the oddities of the Mystical Sect, if not understood and guarded against, could kill you in ways you wouldn't even comprehend.

Dumbfounded for a while, Hei Dan eventually said with a gloomy look, "No wonder my dad taught me techniques but told me to dig for food in the fields... This pugilistic world really isn't for me."

Speaking, his emotions clearly became agitated, "But Brother Yan, I'm not content with that! I don't want to stay cooped up in the village forever. Teach me what to do."

Li Yan pondered for a moment, "Start by learning a skill. If you want to venture out, you need a way to feed yourself; otherwise, the only option is to gamble with your life, swords drawn, like I do."

"Learn a skill..."

Hei Dan thought it over and then nodded earnestly, "Brother Yan, I'll listen to you. I have an uncle in Chang'an City who's a leatherworker. If I say I want to learn a trade from him, I don't think my dad would stop me."

Saying this, a spark of hope lit up in his eyes, and he hurriedly left.

Li Yan couldn't help but chuckle and then closed his eyes, cradling his blade.

In his past life, he barely managed to scrape by with the skill of repairing vehicles.

In this life, however, he felt the sword in his hand was far more useful...

...

Unknowingly, the night quieted down.

It was the time of the waning moon, and all around was dim without any light.

In a hut at the edge of the wheat field, snores mixed with the sound of chirping insects filled the air.

The wheat harvesters, after traveling for many days, would need to start work before dawn the next day, hence they all went to bed early to be well-rested.

Far away, the large estate of Landlord Lu was similarly quiet.

But in several key areas, bodyguards were patrolling.

Zhao Jiu yawned and rubbed his face, feeling somewhat bored.

Just as Li Yan had predicted, they were all disciples of the Zhao Family boxing style.

Originally in Jinzhou, they escorted goods for wealthy merchants, facing risks but never worrying about food or shelter—a livelihood passed down through generations.

However, on one trip they ran into trouble and not only lost the cargo but the school suffered the loss of several mainstays, and its power declined, even their business got snatched away.

It should have been the end for them but unexpectedly, someone connected them, and they became Protectors, following Landlord Lu to Guanzhong.

Compared to those days of rambling everywhere, they now had much more stability.

But it was a stability that made them itch for action; they hadn't even seen a thief.

At that moment, Zhao Jiu glanced around carelessly, then suddenly his eyes widened.

He felt that there was a faint figure in the distance.

"Who's there?!"

Zhao Jiu wasn't afraid, and he quickly chased after him with a cold sneer.

They, as Protectors, had their own set of secret signals, which allowed them to identify their own men no matter how dark it was.

Besides, if it were a renowned thief from the Jianghu, they would follow the rules of testing the waters with a rock and negotiating before they resorted to a fight to the death.

If the figure didn't respond, it was most likely an amateur thief.

He didn't draw the knife from his waist but instead picked up a rattan stick.

The rattan sticks were extremely flexible and painfully effective when used on people. If it turned out to be just some desperate thief trying to break into homes, he thought it better to beat them than take their life.

But when he reached a corner, he found nothing.

Could it have been a trick of the eyes?

As Zhao Jiu wondered, a sudden chill crept up his spine.

He swung around immediately, turning pale with a prickling fear all over his body.

He saw a vague figure standing there, with a hunched and small stature, and an abundance of wrinkles—clearly an old woman.

But this old woman's face was green, her feet off the ground, floating in mid-air...

"Ah—!"

Terror-filled screams shattered the silence of Landlord Lu's estate...

...

Under the big tree by the wheat field, Li Yan suddenly opened his eyes.

He sniffed, looking towards the distance with some confusion.

He smelled a strange and distinct scent.

It didn't seem like the Rampaging Soldier's icy bloodlust, nor did it have the Land God Temple's peaceful incense. It was warm and sweet, much like delicious pastries.

Pastries?

Li Yan didn't understand why such a thought came to mind.

But soon, he would learn why.

Inside his Dantian, the Substitute Divine Statue seemed eager and ready to pounce, like a hungry cat that had spotted a fish...

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