Chapter 445 - 206: Saving People (3)

Fledglings under the shelter of wings naturally have the right to be foolish.

Ye Jingshuang was once like that, naive and unworldly.

But tragedy struck her family. After witnessing her parents’ brutal deaths, she was forced to grow up far faster than anyone else.

It was a forced, unnatural growth—a gruesome coming-of-age where her bones were pried apart by the cruelest of means.

Jiang Ran let out a breath and subconsciously touched the Jade Pendant hanging at his waist. With a tap of his feet, he sped toward the depths of Wanshui Manor.

In fact, he was already deep within the manor’s grounds.

Jiang Ran had already gotten a rough idea of the location of the manor’s master and the others.

But from the sounds of their fighting earlier, he knew a victor wouldn’t be decided anytime soon.

So, he wasn’t in a rush to intervene. Saving people came first.

Now that someone else could hold the line, Jiang Ran decided to pay a visit to the most critical location in all of Wanshui Manor.

This location was a small courtyard.

Within the courtyard, several middle-aged men and women were scattered about. Some sat on the ground under the eaves, while others lay motionless.

A few were circulating their energy to heal.

At that very moment, two people were clashing in the center of the yard.

One was a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and a meticulously groomed beard.

His opponent, naturally, was a man clad in black.

But he was different from the other Black-clad men.

This man’s eyes glinted with an indescribable viciousness.

His techniques were exceptionally sharp, alternating between jabs and grapples. His five fingers were pitch-black, and he employed a martial art never seen before.

Every time the middle-aged man exchanged blows with him, it was as if he were struck by lightning.

The young man spoke:

"The Hu family of Wanshui Manor has quite a reputation in this small corner of the world.

"So why are your martial arts so pathetically weak?

"I heard the Hu family excels at palm techniques. Why haven’t you dared to meet my palm with your own?

"Come on, face my palm!!"

As his voice fell, he threw a palm strike, the Gang Qi within it faintly black.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man’s face turned pale.

Without a second thought, he repeatedly changed his Body Technique to evade the strike’s range.

But the Black-clad man just laughed aloud.

"If you’re going to run, why not use ’Lazy Donkey Rolls in the Dirt’?"

"Don’t waste your breath on him. Focus on dismantling his techniques."

"The Hu family’s fist and palm styles are commendable. You will surely benefit from studying them."

A voice drifted out from a pavilion in the courtyard.

It was the leader of the Black-clad men from before. He was seated inside, admiring the starlight under the moon while watching the battle out of the corner of his eye. He spoke softly:

"A divine art is powerful, but you can’t rely on it to bully everyone you meet.

"You must understand, what will you do if someone isn’t afraid of this art, or can dismantle it with their own techniques?

"You can’t just surrender without a fight, can you?

"Recently, I’ve led you to wipe out thirteen groups of mountain bandits. Tonight, we use Wanshui Manor as a sacrifice. You must seize this opportunity to hone your martial arts. Do not become arrogant and conceited.

"You must remember, there is always a higher mountain."

"Yes! Your son understands!!"

So the Black-clad man was the leader’s son.

Hearing this, Jiang Ran’s brow furrowed slightly. ’A father and son fighting side-by-side, indeed,’ he thought.

Just as he thought this, the Black-clad man’s technique changed. He parried the middle-aged man’s palm strike and, with a backhand motion, jabbed a finger toward the man’s heart.

Jiang Ran’s gaze hardened. Reaching out, he plucked a pebble from the ground with his will and flicked it with his finger.

Just as the Black-clad man put force into his attack, the pebble struck the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man was knocked staggering backward. The Black-clad man, however, froze, feeling as if his finger strike hadn’t fully landed...

But in his youthful arrogance, he paid it no mind.

He laughed heartily.

"Father, I see the Hu family’s skills are nothing special after all."

The middle-aged man staggered and collapsed into a sitting position, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. He gritted his teeth and said:

"Who... Who in the world are you?"

"Father, he’s about to die. Should we let him die knowing the truth?"

The Black-clad man looked back at his father, eager and expectant.

"Then let him die knowing."

The leader spoke softly.

The Black-clad man’s eyes filled with glee. "Alright! Since my father has spoken, I’ll tell you. We are the Setting Sun Sect!!"

"The Setting Sun Sect?"

The middle-aged man was stunned. "The Setting Sun Sect... Don’t you ’enforce justice on behalf of Heaven’? You... you people slaughter in the dead of night, wiping out my Wanshui Manor... How is this ’enforcing justice’?"

"Of course it’s enforcing justice on behalf of Heaven!!"

The Black-clad man roared with laughter.

"You... Hu Wanshan! In your youth, you were a lecherous fiend who preyed on women!

"Countless innocent women died at your hands.

"What’s more, you were bosom buddies with the master of the Little Silver Dragon, Bai Xichao! Even to this day, you and Bai Xichao still correspond regularly by letter!"

Hu Wanshan was already coughing up blood. Hearing this, he coughed even more violently and roared in fury:

"You... You’re spouting absolute nonsense!!!"

"Nonsense?"

The Black-clad man took out several letters from his robes and tossed them to Hu Wanshan. "See for yourself if this is nonsense."

Hu Wanshan hastily tore them open. After just a few glances, his vision swam with stars. He was so dizzy with rage that he couldn’t stop himself from cursing:

"Outrageous! This is outrageous! You are shameless to the extreme! Utterly shameless!!

"I didn’t write these letters!

"You actually forged letters and framed my entire Hu family as a den of debauchery... Truly, truly outrageous!!!

"No one will believe this! Absolutely no one will believe this!"

"Whether they believe it or not has nothing to do with you anymore."

The Black-clad man sneered, "You’re going to die tonight, and the Hu family will be consumed in a sea of fire. Although I don’t know why the Sect Leader is in such a hurry to deal with you, the opportunity for my Setting Sun Sect to rise is right before us! A pity you won’t be around to see it!"

"Sect Leader?"

A voice cut in at that moment. "So, your father isn’t the Sect Leader of the Setting Sun Sect?"

Everyone turned toward the sound and saw a young man emerge from over the wall.

A wine gourd hung from one side of his waist, a saber from the other.

He rested one hand on his saber, a hint of displeasure in his eyes.