Chapter 94: Battle of Wits and Courage

Yan Liqiang tightly gripped the hook in his hand as he panted violently while watching the three bodies on the ground .

He hadn't eaten anything since noon . A run of more than ten kilometers with three people chasing behind him and an intensive workout within a short period of time on top of that — killing three people in a row was indeed extremely exhausting for a youth who wasn't even a Martial Warrior yet .

The commotion from the cold and violent killing earlier seemed to have frightened the bugs in the forest . The buzzing noises around Yan Liqiang faded instantly in just a short amount of time . A few birds that were perched on the tree were also startled and had flown away . The forest was in complete silence .

The moment Yan Liqiang picked up the hook he had conveniently stolen from the roasted meat stall in the marketplace, he had already chosen this place as the location to send his pursuers to hell .

He saw this forest by the roadside on his way here a few hours ago when he was riding on a horse carriage . It was the most suitable place for killing people . There was also a rapid river nearby which was an ideal place for dumping corpses .

If Wu Tao and the rest didn't chase him all the way here, he wouldn't have murdered them so violently . Yet the three of them did that, so there wasn't much room left for negotiation anymore . It didn't take a genius to figure out the consequences of falling into the hands of a group of people who leeched off the flesh of male escorts . Therefore, the moment this chase began, Yan Liqiang clearly understood that either he or these guys would have to die .

Perhaps even Yan Liqiang himself didn't realize the fact that he had become even more apathetic and skillful in scheming after his reincarnation this time .

After panting for two minutes, Yan Liqiang's breathing finally evened out .

He flipped Wu Tao's body over and started searching .

Wu Tao wore a golden ring on his finger . Yan Liqiang took a single glance and didn't touch it . A ring was too much of a personal item . Whether he kept it with him or pawned it off, it would leave some sort of trail pointing back to him as others would be able to recognize the ring . Yan Liqiang didn't wish for himself to end up like King Cobra .

The next thing Yan Liqiang found was the dagger hanging from Wu Tao's waist . Wu Tao didn't even manage to take it out just now, or perhaps he thought there was no need for him to do that . Yan Liqiang took a look at it and then left it on Wu Tao's body . This item wasn't useful to Yan Liqiang right now . What he needed the most now was money .

Finally, Yan Liqiang discovered a money pouch on Wu Tao . He opened it and found seven or eight taels of silver along with a few dozen copper coins .

There weren't any seals on the silver and copper coins so Yan Liqiang emptied the money pouch, took all the money, and shoved the empty money pouch back on Wu Tao .

He felt around again . Upon discovering there was nothing else on Wu Tao, Yan Liqiang shifted his gaze towards the other two men dressed in black .

Perhaps there were a few men who would forget to bring their brains along with them, but reality had proven that when men were away from home, hardly any of them would forget to bring their money pouches . The other two men in black were probably some sort of hired thugs at the Rising Moon Tower, but they also carried money pouches on them .

They didn't carry a lot of money on them . Each of them only had two or three taels of silver and a few dozen copper coins . Needless to say, Yan Liqiang wasn't hesitant to take all the money .

When Yan Liqiang was done taking his spoils of war, he picked up his hook and hooked it on the back one of the men in black . He dragged him like a dead dog to the riverside, then turned around to drag Wu Tao and the other man in black with the same hook in a similar fashion .

The river before him was very wide, more than fifty meters in width, which was situated at the edge of this forest . The river water flowed rapidly and the sounds of rushing water could be heard . When he passed by this place during his journey earlier today, the coachman told him that the name of this river was the White Waves River . It was connected to Yilong Lake and was one of its tributaries . The water of this river surged between the mountains for more than two hundred kilometers before it entered Yilong Lake . Hu Province[1] was named this way because of Yilong Lake as it was one of the largest lakes in the Great Han Empire . . .

There were rocks by the riverbank . Yan Liqiang picked one that was about the size of a dog's head and then ruthlessly smashed the three corpses' faces on it . After disfiguring all their faces to an unrecognizable extent, he proceeded to throw them into the White Waves River one by one .

The three corpses bobbed up and down in the rapid stream a few times before they completely vanished . The fate that awaited them from now on was either to become food for the fish and prawn in the river or be discovered . Even if they were discovered, it would probably be many days later . Based on the efficiency of information dissemination in this era, it was practically impossible to verify the identity of these three people . Attempting to solve this murder case would be nothing more than just a joke . . .

When he was done with all that, Yan Liqiang tossed the hook into the river too . He then moved to the shallow parts of the river and washed the blood off his hands and face . Next, he messed up his hair so that it covered his face . Then he gathered some dirt from the riverbank and smeared it all over his face and clothes . He ripped open some parts of his clothes too so that he would appear to be dressed in tatters . In just a flash, Yan Liqiang had turned himself into a remarkably convincing beggar .

Soon after that, he broke a wooden branch of about a meter long in the forest and held it in his hands as though it were a stick used to defend himself from dogs . He then exited the forest, returned to the main road, and he unhurriedly made his way back to Hu Provincial City .

. . .

A short moment after Yan Liqiang left the forest, the natural light in the forest dimmed and a figure silently emerged at the place where he had killed Wu Tao and the other two earlier as if he had just materialized from thin air .

This person was the old man in blue who had paid for Yan Liqiang's meal at the restaurant today when he dined and dashed .

The elderly man in blue observed the surroundings and broke into a strange smile . "How decisive and merciless . You really killed three people without even blinking . When I saw you steal a meat hook at the marketplace earlier, I didn't expect you to use it like this . Are all the youths this fierce nowadays? How interesting…" He murmured to himself .

At the change of natural light in the forest, the elderly man in blue disappeared without a trace in a flash, as if he had never appeared in the first place .

. . .

Yan Liqiang didn't head directly to Hu Provincial City again upon leaving the forest . After traveling about five or six kilometers, he spotted a small town not too far away and immediately made his way there . He spent a few copper coins at a steamed bun shop for a couple of steamed buns . After he ate the buns, he didn't pay for a room either . Instead, he found shelter that could shield him from the wind right behind a storehouse of an inn which stored firewood . He spent a night huddled in a corner like a beggar . . .

. . .

Yan Liqiang had made a right decision . It hadn't been an hour since he arrived in the small town and three rhinodrake steeds had barged into the town . The burly men who were riding the steeds carried swords and inquired every person they came across if they'd seen a handsome youth and three men passing by here . Upon getting a negative answer, the three of them left the town and returned to the road outside .

Five other fierce-looking burly men were waiting on their rhinodrake steeds there .

"Big Brother, Wu Tao and the rest didn't stop by this town…"

"Then they must've gone ahead . Let's go!" One of the men who sported a scar on his forehead snorted coldly . He raised his horsewhip and led the group forward .