The cloaked man removed his hood, revealing a face as pale as paper.
He looked at the seven men before him and said calmly, "Lin Tan, your brother deserved to die back then. As for the reason, you should know it very well yourself.
"However, you are not like your brother; you have committed no evil. If you leave right now, I will not pursue the matter!"
This cloaked man was indeed none other than the "Barbarian-Slaying Saber," Long Fei!
At the sight of him, Lin Tan and his six companions actually shrank back, not daring to step forward. This alone showed just how formidable Long Fei's reputation was.
Lin Tan's expression darkened, his gaze falling upon Long Fei's right hand. Then he sneered, "Long Fei, there is no need for your bluff. If I'm not mistaken, your right hand is injured. You can hardly even hold a saber right now, with barely a fraction of your strength left.
"Do you still think you're the man you used to be?"
As Lin Tan spoke, everyone turned their eyes toward Long Fei's right hand.
Sure enough, from beginning to end, Long Fei's right arm had remained hanging limp at his side, without the slightest movement.
Even in such a perilous situation, Long Fei had not gripped his saber with his right hand—that alone spoke volumes.
"My right hand is indeed injured.
"However, even wielding a saber with my left hand, I can still kill!
"I will say it one last time: if you don't leave now, you won't be able to leave at all!"
Long Fei's expression remained utterly calm, showing not the slightest hint of worry.
Lin Tan's face shifted erratically.
After a long pause, he gritted his teeth, a glint of ferocity flashing in his eyes as he roared, "Slaughter him!"
Lin Tan and the men behind him lunged toward Long Fei with sabers drawn.
Long Fei shook his head, his eyes narrowing slightly as he murmured softly, "Heaven's wrongs may be forgiven, but self-wrought sins leave no escape!"
Whoosh!
In the next instant, Long Fei's left hand snapped out, seizing the saber from the table.
A dazzling arc of saber light soared upward in a flash.
Brilliant as the light was, it was permeated with a terrifying, baleful aura.
The murderous intent rolled outward. Lin Tan and the other six widened their eyes, their bodies trembling. Under this dazzling blade light and battered by the vicious aura, they felt as though they were directly confronting a horrifying edge.
Clack.
In the next breath, Long Fei slammed the saber back down.
His chest heaved violently, cold sweat beading on his forehead, and threads of blood had even seeped through the fabric of his sleeve.
It was clear that this single slash had taken everything out of him, nearly exhausting his physical strength.
Yet before Long Fei, the front four figures, Lin Tan included, stood with eyes wide, the light in their pupils slowly fading.
Thud!
The four men collapsed to the ground.
Across their chests ran a deep, savage blade mark.
Dead!
Four men slain with a single slash!
Such was the "Barbarian-Slaying Saber," Long Fei. Even gravely injured, even wielding his saber with his left hand, his might was still terrifying.
The remaining three shuddered from head to toe, stark terror visible in their eyes.
"Run!"
With Lin Tan dead, the three no longer dared to challenge Long Fei, turning on their heels to flee.
Yet the moment they bolted out of the inn...
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three figures were blasted flying backward into the room.
Their chests were caved in, and they slammed heavily to the floor, clearly beyond saving.
Instantly, every gaze turned toward the outside of the inn.
Several martial artists strolled slowly inside.
Leading them was a man dressed in white, trailed by several beautiful women.
The white-robed man glanced at the corpses on the floor, wiped his hands delicately with a handkerchief, and remarked offhandedly, "A few fools. Quitting halfway is a cardinal sin—they deserved to die!"
Long Fei's eyes narrowed slightly upon seeing the man in white. With a grim, solemn expression, he said word by word, "'White-Robed Scholar' Shen Lun! Were you the one who instigated Lin Tan and his men to track me here?"
Shen Lun's gaze settled on Long Fei, followed by a faint smile. "I didn't instigate anything. Lin Tan was hell-bent on vengeance; I merely provided him with a little information on Hero Long.
"Besides, I didn't deceive them. Hero Long really is injured—and by the looks of it, quite severely!
"Though these fools were pathetic in skill, they at least served some small purpose."
Long Fei's eyes turned icy. He understood everything now.
Lin Tan and the others had merely been used by Shen Lun.
Shen Lun had not dared to confront Long Fei directly, so he sent Lin Tan and his men as probes to confirm Long Fei's injury before showing himself.
"Lin Tan wanted to kill me because I killed his brother.
"Shen Lun, as far as I recall, I have no grievance with you. Why have you plotted so meticulously to take my life?"
Long Fei looked Shen Lun straight in the eye.
Shen Lun reached out and took a longsword from the maidservant behind him. Stroking the blade with a faint smile, he said slowly, "Indeed, Hero Long and I have never crossed paths before.
"However, Hero Long must have forgotten: seven years ago, you killed a woman named Shen Zhi. She was my sister."
Long Fei frowned, searching his memory.
"Shen Zhi, your sister? Seven years ago...
"Ah, that's right. The venomous woman who poisoned a hundred and eighty-six people at Lu Family Manor? Hmph. To poison over a hundred lives over trivial bickering—such a venomous viper deserved death!"
Long Fei finally remembered.
Shen Lun's gaze, however, grew colder and colder, until it was as frigid as ice. He said chillingly, "No matter what Shen Zhi did, she was my sister! My only kin in this world!
"With my sister dead, I have no family left in this world. Long Fei, tell me, should I kill you or not?
"Rest assured, though—I won't give you a quick death. I hear you have a wife and a daughter? I will break all four of your limbs, cripple your martial arts, and make you watch with your own eyes as your wife and daughter die before you! Hahaha..."
Long Fei did not reply. He merely tightened his left hand's grip on the saber.
Bang!
Suddenly, the martial artists in the inn who had previously been discussing "Long Fei" slammed the table and drew their blades, burning with righteous indignation.
"Scoundrel! One's feud should never touch a man's wife and children!"
"In the vendettas of the jianghu, if you want to kill someone, kill him! What kind of man targets a wife and daughter?"
"Besides, Hero Long has loathed evil like poison his entire life! Anyone slain by Hero Long must have been utterly wicked and heinous to the core—they were killed justly!"
"Taking advantage of an injured man is shameless enough! Hero Long, we will lend you our aid—we will never allow a vile, contemptible villain like him to harm you in the slightest!"
The martial artists had barely finished speaking, before they could even make a move—
Swish, swish, swish!
Shen Lun raised his hand and thrust his sword several times in quick succession.
Gleaming sword light flashed, and the razor-sharp edge slit their throats in an instant.
Thud!
Several heads rolled onto the floor.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The headless corpses of the martial artists collapsed one after another, filling the air with the thick, coppery stench of blood.
These hot-blooded, righteous men had been decapitated without managing to parry even a single strike.
For a moment, everyone in the inn fell dead silent, terrified as cicadas in winter, their eyes filled with dread.
Shen Lun sheathed his sword, his expression unchanged. Glancing across the other patrons in the inn, he sneered, "Noisy.
"A few fools with barely a scrap of skill, yet they dare play the righteous vigilante?
"Who else wants to stand up for Long Fei? Why not step forward and see if your great Hero Long can save you?"
Thud!
Long Fei slammed his saber into the ground and roared, "Enough!
"Shen Lun, the one you want to kill is me! This has nothing to do with anyone else—stop harming the innocent!
"My head is right here. If you want it, come take it yourself!"
Shen Lun's gaze locked with Long Fei's.
For a time, the entire inn plunged into dead silence.
Chapter 31