"After them! They won't get away!" A man with a large broadsword belted to those behind him, in a flustered and exasperated tone. His friends were equally on fire.
Everyone from the Central Plain but the three conspirators framing Night Fortress' master put up a united front against the three groups.
"You have no shame!"
"Exactly! We were supposed to show our friendship to Master Ming today. What if he misunderstands our kind intentions now?"
"Given Tea Lake Manor's influence and wealth, maybe they're planning a coup to overthrow Night Fortress!"
"Let's teach the ignorant fools a lesson with our blades!"
The sky was seemingly painted with scarlet dots as the fight ensued. Howbeit, it wasn't violent enough. There was shouting and burning urges to fight, but there was no stench of blood or sharp objects capable of puncturing a heart.
"They ran into the alley! After them!"
Patriarch Chen, patriarch of Big Broadsword Clan, suddenly stopped and widened his eyes at the sight of a child bolting out from the alley from an angle: "Where did the kid come from?"
The patriarch stopped, and let his brothers go ahead, while he went to the child: "Come here! I'll take you home. It's dangerous to be on the streets right now."
The kid somehow ran faster and faster, forcing the patriarch to sprint full-pelt to catch the kid. When he caught the kid, he noticed himself panting. As a result, he suspected his martial prowess was regressing.
"Don't run around. It's not safe out here. Tell me where your parents are. I'll take you home."
Minding children's safety in the pugilistic world was applauded. To Patriarch Chen's surprise, however, the child responded, "Indeed, it's not safe."
The kid's deep, husky voice and the contents he spilt startled Patriarch Chen. That wasn't the voice of a child; heck, it didn't even sound human. Patriarch Chen couldn't name what the voice resembled in the spur of the moment.
When Patriarch Chen put all the feats the child demonstrated together, the former realised he had fallen for a trap. He tried to pull his hand back fast, but, as he was drawing it back, he saw a spurt of red liquid spray out. By the time he noticed, his wrist and arm had been amputated in an upward motion starting from his wrist.
Aware he was in danger of meeting his demise, Patriarch Chen mustered every ounce of strength remaining in the tank to draw his big broadsword from his back with his left arm. The first taolu students of Big Broadsword Sect had to learn was the broadsword draw. As a man who had practiced it countless times, his draw was extremely fast, cutting off the kid before the latter could strike again.
Once he put distance between them, Patriarch Chen questioned, "Who exactly are y-"
Patriarch Chen went to adopt a stance that would allow him to react as fast as possible, compressing the springs in his knees. Strangely, his hips seemingly refused to move no matter how he tried. Suddenly, everything was a blur as he fell backward. After landing, he saw a familiar pair of legs, clothing and exclusive secret weapon pouch. Excruciating pain shot from his lower body to his brain. There was no mistake he was looking at his lower body. His torso and lower body were in two separate places.
Slashing someone in half without killing them instantly, yet taking enough energy out of them so that they couldn't cry out was the hallmark of an adept.
The kid's raspy voice akin to venom violated Patriarch Chen's ears. His mind and body quickly shut down.
"This is the last moment of your life. What have you recalled?"
"My son… Nong'er… My Son… My…"
"Perfect. I'll remember your wish. Nong'er, was it? I'll kill him next, then."
"… You… Son of a b-"
Patriarch Chen couldn't finish for the kid separated his head from his shoulders. The kid then picked up Patriarch Chen's head and chased after the crowd. When he spotted the patriarch's clansmen, he hurled the head into the crowd. Big Broadsword Sect's members howled the sky down.
He did it. He finally incited the desire to kill. How could chaos be chaos without slaughter?
I cheerfully and leisurely strolled to find my next target after I heard Big Broadsword Sect begin tearing into Tea Lake Manor's members. Oh, I apologise. I forgot to introduce myself. The kid who ended Patriarch Chen was me. Due to occupational reasons, my temporary surname is Wang.
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