I am dying of old age, and I have awakened to the character of longevity.

The lively banquet was suddenly doused with icy rain, instantly dropping the atmosphere to freezing point.

Liang Zhi, who was guarding the gate behind the courtyard door, was frightened.

Wang Xiang, who was holding the white horse, was also frightened.

Zhang Lin, sitting to謝安's left, was even more terrified, his face pale, his whole body as if struck by lightning, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

He thought he was seeing things.

But the chopstick piercing Zhu Hu was close at hand, he could hear the sound of blood dripping to the ground, and he could clearly smell the blood.

This was Zhu Hu...

Fang Baiyu's confidant!

He originally thought that Xie An's banquet today to welcome Zhu Hu was to soften his stance, resolve conflicts, and curry favor for everyone's future survival in the Blood Ridge Black Market...

He never expected it.

This old brother was so fierce and unyielding!

The twelve men who came with Zhu Hu also stared wide-eyed, looking at Xie An in disbelief. Their minds couldn't process what had happened.

Some of the men were still drinking, but couldn't hold their bowls, letting them fall to the ground, spilling fine wine.

Some of the men were eating lamb chops, but couldn't hold the bones in their mouths, so that the lamb chops fell on their clothes without them even realizing it.

They couldn't believe all this...

The dignified Zhu Hu was killed just like that?

The only one who wasn't surprised was Xie An.

Only Xie An knew from the beginning what would happen next.

After all, it was a banquet, and everyone was in the courtyard of the Black Market, so no one brought broadswords or weapons. Naturally, Xie An didn't bring a knife with him either.

The moment he picked up vegetables for Zhu Hu was the best opportunity to strike.

And Xie An knew that the person he wanted to kill was far more than just Zhu Hu.

You have to eliminate the roots when you pull up the weeds.

In the blink of an eye, all these reactions happened in an instant.

Puchi!

Xie An suddenly pulled out the chopstick inserted into Zhu Hu's forehead, bringing out a streak of scarlet blood. Before the others could react, Xie An, with chopsticks in his left and right hands, inserted them into the skulls of two other men beside him.

One man was pierced through both temples by the chopstick, and the other man was pierced through his pupil to the back of his head.

These two men didn't even understand what was happening, and before they could even shout, they were already dead.

Xie An killed three people in an instant with two strikes.

And these three were the strongest. After all, Zhu Hu paid attention to pomp, and the seating arrangement had unwritten rules. The more powerful subordinates were seated closer to Zhu Hu.

Xie An, with his keen senses, naturally noticed this. That's why he solved the three most difficult ones first.

At this time, the remaining ten men finally came to their senses, scattered as if fleeing, and looked for handy objects to resist.

"Murder!"

"He killed Steward Zhu Hu!"

"This is disrespect to the hall master, he's rebelling!"

Bang!

Obviously, they were all scared out of their wits.

But the instinct for survival was still there, and it should not be underestimated, as it could unleash a powerful resistance.

Xie An picked up a bench, jumped forward two steps, and slammed it down on the back of a man's head. Suddenly, there was a "bang", a section of the bench broke, and the man's brains were smashed out.

The fifth man, dead!

Xie An didn't stop, holding the half of the bench and chasing forward, while shouting:

"Wang Xiang, Liang Zhi, Zhang Lin, kill them all, don't let one go!"

The three men named by Xie An were all Copper Skin Realm martial artists. With Zhu Hu dead, the other men were no match for the three of them. As long as they were not surrounded, there would be no danger to their lives.

The three of them then recovered from their shock. Although the three of them subconsciously knew that this matter was too big and the consequences might be unbearable, they had been bullied by Zhu Hu and his gang for far too long.

At this moment, Xie An ignited their emotions, how could they remain calm?

"F*ck your mother, I couldn't stand it anymore!" Wang Xiang's eyes were bloodshot, he raised the horse's rein in his hand and lassoed a man's head, then slapped the horse's butt hard.

The horse was immediately frightened and rushed forward. The man was directly dragged off balance, fell to the ground and was dragged along, his skin and face were rubbed with blood. He let out a miserable scream: "Ahhhhh."

Wang Xiang was quick-witted, ran to the side and picked up a wood-splitting axe, and chopped it down hard on the man's head.

"I'll let you slap my face, go to hell!"

With the brains splattering, the man died instantly, and his body was still being dragged by the horse.

The sixth man, dead.

Wang Xiang didn't stop, he raised his axe and rushed towards Liang Zhi's direction, "Brother Liang, I'll help you."

At this moment, Liang Zhi was indeed in a bad situation.

Because Liang Zhi was responsible for bolting the door, preventing everyone from rushing out of the gate. He was under a frenzied siege by six men. Although Liang Zhi was a Copper Skin Realm Great Accomplishment martial artist, he had no weapons in his hand.

As the saying goes, two fists are no match for four hands, and after being besieged, it was difficult for him to escape for a while.

However, with Wang Xiang arriving with the axe, directly hacking two men to death, Liang Zhi's pressure was greatly reduced. And at this time, Zhang Lin, limping, also dragged a bench over and smashed a man's head.

"F*ck, I've endured you for a long time!"

With that, only the last three bruised and swollen-faced men remained. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, they dared not resist any longer and knelt on the ground, desperately begging for mercy.

“Overseer Xie, we were wrong.”

“It was all Zhu Hu’s idea. We were just followers. We had no malicious intentions towards you. Spare us.”

“We beg you!”

Wang Xiang, Liang Zhi, and Zhang Lin, who had been blinded by rage, finally regained some clarity upon hearing the miserable pleas for help. They stopped attacking and turned to look at Xie An behind them.

Clearly, they were asking for Xie An's instructions.

“There are still three left; you can each take one,” Xie An slowly walked up to the three men. “They ate and drank well together just now, so they should set off on their journey together neatly!”

Hearing this, the three were stunned.

They weren't stupid… They naturally understood from Xie An's words that—it turned out Xie An had people prepare the meal, giving Zhu Hu and the others a welcome reception, and repeatedly letting them eat and drink well at the banquet, all to send them on their way.

A last meal before execution?

In other words, Xie An had planned everything from the beginning.

This level of planning truly made the three of them feel a chill of fear.

But Zhu Hu was a confidant of Fang Baiyu…

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How dare Xie An…

Now that things had come to this, they knew there was no turning back.

“Damn it, go to hell!” Wang Xiang shouted and split a begging man's head open with an axe.

Then, Wang Xiang handed the axe to Liang Zhi, “Brother Liang, do you want to do it yourself, or should I do it for you?”

“I'll do it myself!”

Liang Zhi's blood surged, and he took the axe. He raised it high, and regardless of how the man at his feet begged for mercy, he directly split his head open with the axe.

Immediately, Liang Zhi handed the axe to Zhang Lin, “Overseer Zhang, you suffered the most humiliation; I'll leave the last one to you.”

Zhang Lin took the axe and looked back at Xie An, his eyes somewhat burning.

“I've really had enough!!!”

With a choked sigh, Zhang Lin raised the axe high and chopped down hard.

Puchi.

The man's head was separated from his body.

Then, Zhang Lin dropped the axe and limped to Xie An, bowing deeply. “I, Zhang Lin, only hate my own incompetence, being bullied without daring to say a word. I've even implicated you, old brother, in standing up for me like this. I, Zhang Lin, feel ashamed!”

Xie An quickly helped Zhang Lin up, “Brother Zhang, there's no need to blame yourself. This group of people, meddling in my Blood Ridge Black Market, deserved to die, and what's more, they did such excessive things; it's simply outrageous.”

Zhang Lin was still very remorseful, “But Zhu Hu is Fang Baiyu's confidant. How will we explain this now? Or, should we run away now? I've saved some silver over the years, enough to take the three of you to live in another county.”

In Zhang Lin's opinion, choosing to run away at this moment was undoubtedly the safest option.

Xie An couldn't help but laugh, “There's no need to run away.”

Immediately, Xie An gave instructions in an orderly manner, “Wang Xiang, secretly take these corpses to the foot of the Great Yin Mountain outside Blood Ridge, preferably find a place with tigers and leopards and throw them there.

Liang Zhi, gather all the brothers from the Black Market and say that the Black Market was attacked by bandits from the Great Yin Mountain, and go out to suppress the bandits.”

Just as the three were a little dazed, Xie An continued, “Overseer Zhu Hu was brave and fearless. In order to protect the safety of the Black Market, he led twelve men out to suppress the bandits. Unfortunately, fate was not on their side, and they all died at the hands of the bandits.”

Hiss!

Wang Xiang and the other two were stunned.

“Old brother, I'm afraid this reason is too far-fetched and difficult to deceive Fang Baiyu.”

“It doesn't matter, we just need a plausible reason. It doesn't matter whether Fang Baiyu believes it or not,” Xie An stated calmly. “Don't panic. If something happens, I'll take responsibility. Just do as I say.”

To prevent them from panicking too much and revealing something, Xie An didn't forget to give them a reassurance.

“I'm going out for a walk. If something unexpected happens, come find me on the Blood Ridge mountain to the north.”

Leaving a sentence, Xie An pulled open the latch of the courtyard gate, pushed the door open, and walked out.

The snow was getting heavier and heavier, leaving only a vast expanse of white, and few people could be seen. It was indeed a good weather for killing people and covering up traces.

Xie An faced the blizzard and came alone to the solitary grave on the hilltop, overlooking the Water Lantern Town covered in皑皑 white snow, and his mood suddenly became much brighter.

Strength emboldens people.

After entering the Refined Flesh Realm, Xie An's vision also changed. Those people who he usually felt were untouchable now seemed nothing more than that.

Killing Zhu Hu didn't cause much of a ripple in Xie An's mind.

Instead, he recalled the scene of Wei Dian riding away on horseback here that day…

…

Night fell.

Zhang Lin's courtyard.

Liang Zhi, Wang Xiang, and Zhang Lin were drinking tea here.

The three had completed everything according to Xie An's instructions, but their hearts were very uneasy, fearing that Fang Baiyu would come to their door at any time.

Just then, a burst of rapid footsteps came from outside the door, and without knocking, they directly pushed open the courtyard door and rushed in.

The three were startled and quickly stood up vigilantly, reaching for their weapons.

But they saw that the person who came was Lin Yun.

“I heard that the Blood Ridge Black Market was robbed by bandits from the Great Yin Mountain. What exactly happened? What were the casualties?” Lin Yun was full of worry. “I just came out of seclusion and rushed here as soon as I heard the news.”

The three looked at each other, not knowing how to answer.

Lin Yun was very anxious. He glanced around and didn't see Xie An. “Where's Xie An? Why don't you speak!”