Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

SHHFFK!

With another soft hiss, Jiang Ran severed his only remaining arm.

The blade of the Shattered Gold Saber remained unstained by blood.

Even after all those strikes, it remained perfectly clean.

With both his arms severed, Wu Zhong’s arrogance finally evaporated.

When Jiang Ran finally pressed the Shattered Gold Saber to his neck, Wu Zhong collapsed to his knees with a thud.

"Don’t... don’t kill me! This servant was wrong!!"

Jiang Ran paid him no mind. Holding the saber steady, he casually pulled a small booklet from his robes.

He then began to flip through it right in front of Wu Zhong.

A moment later, he found what he was looking for.

"Wu Zhong, real name Wu Zhong, a wanted fugitive of the Court. Bounty: thirty-nine thousand taels!

"A big fish! I’ve finally hooked another big one."

Jiang Ran nodded in satisfaction.

Wu Zhong hurriedly added,

"That’s right, that’s right! This servant is a big fish! You’ll be greatly rewarded for turning this servant over to the Court."

"Hm, there’s some truth to that. In that case, hand over the antidote for the Biluo Poison first."

"Yes, yes, of course."

Wu Zhong nodded eagerly, but with both his arms gone, he had no way of retrieving it.

He told Jiang Ran,

"It’s a purple vial, inside this servant’s robes."

Jiang Ran considered for a moment, then put the booklet away. He took a deerskin glove from his waist, pulled it on, and frisked Wu Zhong. After a moment, he retrieved a vial.

"This?"

"Yes, that’s the antidote for the Biluo Poison."

"Good."

The words had barely left his mouth when Jiang Ran swept the Shattered Gold Saber sideways. A head flew high into the air!

He casually sheathed his saber and caught the head.

He glanced at the expression on its face, a mixture of the relief of having escaped death and the utter shock of its final moment.

Jiang Ran chuckled.

"’Turning you over to the Court doesn’t mean I have to do it while you’re alive. A head is more than enough.’"

In truth, Wu Zhong’s martial arts were far inferior to Shi Pingzhang’s.

The reason for the disparity in their bounties, with Wu Zhong’s being the higher one, was due to a combination of factors.

No matter how formidable Shi Pingzhang was, his past crimes had been committed in Li Country, not Golden Cicada.

Therefore, the Court’s bounty on Shi Pingzhang was merely a token gesture.

But as for Wu Zhong...

Based on what Ruan Yuqing had said, and Wu Zhong’s behavior moments ago...

The man was likely a eunuch from the Imperial Palace. Because he had secretly cultivated martial arts, the late emperor had grown wary of him and ordered him beaten to death.

But he had used his superior martial skills to kill many experts of the Great Within and escape, eventually ending up in the martial underworld.

That made his case entirely different.

Although Jiang Ran didn’t know why Wu Zhong had been allowed to remain at large all these years...

...the Court’s hatred for him was on a completely different level than its hatred for Shi Pingzhang.

Naturally, his bounty was higher as a result.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Jiang Ran glanced back and saw a portly figure carefully retreating into the distance.

He smiled faintly, paid it no mind, and returned to Ruan Yuqing and the others, head in hand.

At that moment, Fang Yinuo and his men approached.

He cupped his fist toward Jiang Ran and said,

"Greetings, Young Hero Jiang."

"Gang Leader Fang, there’s no need for such formalities."

Jiang Ran smiled. "I have long heard that the leader of the Three Rivers Gang is a generous and heroic man, a truly benevolent knight. Having met you today, I see your reputation is well-deserved. I’m truly impressed."

Fang Li and the others were also heading over.

Hearing Jiang Ran’s words, both Chang Sheng and Fang Li felt a little awkward.

’That’s not what this guy was saying earlier.’

’One moment he was poisoning Fang Li, the next he was using the son’s life to threaten Fang Yinuo into handing over Ruan Yuqing.’

’And now suddenly his ’reputation is well-deserved’?’

Hearing this, Fang Yinuo roared with laughter.

"Young Hero Jiang, this is no place to talk. Please, come inside."

As he spoke, he glanced over at Fang Li and the people with him, pausing in surprise.

"Li’Er, when did you get back?"

For a moment, Fang Li was at a loss for words.

Jiang Ran stepped in with a smile.

"To be honest, I met your esteemed son at the Golden Goblet Tower. We hit it off immediately, so he invited me to the island as a guest.

"I took the liberty of coming without informing you, Gang Leader Fang. I hope you won’t hold it against me."

"How could I?"

Fang Yinuo laughed heartily.

"A man of your caliber, Young Hero Jiang, is someone we could not hope to invite on an ordinary day.

"Your presence here today graces our humble establishment, making our Three Rivers Gang shine. This son of mine, who usually does nothing but cause trouble, has finally done something right for once.

"Come, Young Hero Jiang, Female Knight Ruan, please!"

Jiang Ran glanced at Ruan Yuqing and saw her expression was still grave. He smiled.

"Let’s go."

"Aren’t you worried at all?"

Ruan Yuqing’s brow was tightly furrowed.

Jiang Ran had publicly admitted to possessing the Jiaowei Zither. It was a matter of enormous gravity, yet he looked as if he didn’t have a care in the world.

"There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll just deal with problems as they come."

"...That’s easy for you to say."

Ruan Yuqing sighed and looked around. "Where’s Ye Jingshuang?"

"She had some business to attend to, so she headed back to the Liuyun Sword Sect."

"I see."

Ruan Yuqing snorted.

"It’s a shame she’s not here. At least she might be able to talk some sense into you."

As they spoke, Fang Yinuo led the group into the main hall of the Three Rivers Gang.

After the host and guests had taken their seats, a man approached Fang Yinuo and whispered something in his ear.

Fang Yinuo nodded slightly and said to Jiang Ran,

"Rest assured, Young Hero Jiang. I’ve just given orders. My Three Rivers Gang disciples will be absolutely tight-lipped about the Jiaowei Zither being in your possession. They won’t breathe a single word."

Jiang Ran smiled at his words.

"Thank you, Gang Leader Fang. But... I have no intention of hiding it."

"This..."

Fang Yinuo’s brow furrowed slightly.