Chapter 17

17. Take good care of the elders.

At that moment, a glint flashed in Yan Jieha's eyes.

From the suddenly revealed murky eyes of his opponent, a deep murderous intent could be felt.

'Hmph! That's right, this is it.'

Yan Jieha's saber was freed from its scabbard.

Despite being a beat slower than Huang Yaoming, Yan Jieha's saber was faster.

With a sound like ice splitting, Huang Yaoming's saber was cut in half.

Huang Yaoming looked at Yan Jieha with a dazed expression.

He had clearly swung his saber to the end, so why was Yan Jieha still standing there unharmed?

"Ah!"

Realizing his shortened saber, Huang Yaoming hastily retreated.

"Alright, that's enough. I admit defeat."

As he spoke, Huang Yaoming quickly threw away his saber, fearing that Yan Jieha might press the issue.

Yan Jieha looked at Huang Yaoming with a blank expression and muttered,

"Uncle, you're really holding back."

"…?"

Confused by what he meant, Huang Yaoming turned his gaze to Gumi Fubian Jian Shenyangjue and Wuying Shentou Baijiao, whom he had considered allies.

Shenyangjue pointed to his left arm with a strange look on his face.

Huang Yaoming inadvertently turned his gaze to his own left arm.

"Ah!"

His elbow was nearly cut in half and was dangling.

Huang Yaoming clutched his half-severed left arm with his right hand and ran down the mountain like a madman, apparently heading for the village doctor in nearby Hajiavillage.

A moment later, people's gazes turned to Shenyangjue and Baijiao.

No thief was unaware that these two were the ones behind this incident.

Shenyangjue and Baijiao exchanged glances.

They were having their final mental battle over who would step forward first.

In fact, Shenyangjue and Baijiao were a bit intimidated by Yan Jieha's technique they had just witnessed.

Yan Jieha had clearly moved his saber only once, from bottom to top.

Both of them had seen Yan Jieha's saber cut through Huang Yaoming's saber.

The problem was that they didn't understand why Huang Yaoming's elbow was cut off.

Shenyangjue frowned.

Could it be that he poured two kinds of energy into one strike?

To do that, one would need to be at a level where they could freely manipulate Dao energy.

But even he, who had been practicing the saber for over a decade, couldn't do it.

'Could that kid have reached such a level? Impossible.'

Perhaps the elders of the Seven Bandit Sect could, but a young thief from Wufeng Mountain reaching the level of Dao energy manifestation? It was laughable.

In the end, it seemed he had used some unknown means, which was unsettling.

'If it were a high-level expert like Wuying Shentou, they could make the opponent reveal their true strength…'

Shenyangjue hoped Baijiao would step forward first.

But Baijiao didn't budge.

Baijiao wasn't a fool. Having been through the mill in the martial world, he had no intention of fighting for Shenyangjue.

Watching the two old demons' silent battle, Yan Jieha said indifferently,

"Seems like you're having trouble deciding the order. Shall I choose?"

Shenyangjue, who had been pondering, nodded.

He didn't want to exhaust himself against Baijiao before fighting Yan Jieha.

Realizing Shenyangjue's intentions, Baijiao laughed heartily and replied,

"Hehehe! Brother Yan, let's do it that way. In fact, it's hard to tell who's better between the two of us…"

Yan Jieha cut Baijiao off.

"Enough. You first."

A forced smile appeared on Baijiao's face.

He regretted making a long speech instead of just nodding like Shenyangjue, which might have drawn less attention.

However, Baijiao quickly shook off his thoughts and walked forward to Yan Jieha.

"Hehe, we're all family, so let's try not to hurt each other."

Baijiao had never said such words in his life.

In fact, if Shenyangjue hadn't been there, he might have bowed and retreated. He didn't want to risk losing a limb over a ranking issue.

"I'd like to, but I'm not confident with my saber skills. I've never fought before coming to the mountain."

Baijiao's eyes darted around.

He could sense that Yan Jieha lacked fighting experience.

That young man seemed far from being evil or ruthless. Born villains have a sinister look in their eyes, regardless of age.

In contrast, Yan Jieha's eyes were as clear as those of a righteous hero. If it weren't for his impudent tone, he could easily be mistaken for the son of a noble family.

"Hmm, hmm, so you won't use a saber. It's too dangerous."

As he spoke, Baijiao pulled out a black steel fan from his waist.

Shenyangjue, who had been listening from a distance, shook his head.

'What a shameless old man.'

Baijiao was famous as a thief, known by the nickname Wuying Shentou.

Another nickname was Liangshang Junzi, because he used a fan as his main weapon, like the young masters of the Liang family. However, his steel fan was a dangerous weapon that could cut down a large tree in one stroke.

'So he's going to prevent the young man from using a saber by taking advantage of his lack of experience?'

Sure enough,

Yan Jieha threw his saber behind him as soon as he saw Baijiao's black fan.

A sardonic smile appeared on Baijiao's lips.

He then unfolded his steel fan and approached Yan Jieha.

Swoosh. Swoosh.

A strange tearing sound echoed with each movement of the steel fan.

As Baijiao's technique, Guangfeng Xianfa, unfolded, Yan Jieha's surroundings were filled with the shadows of fans.

Several of them fell towards Yan Jieha's face.

Yan Jieha quickly slapped the fans flying towards his face with his palms.

Thud.

Yan Jieha frowned for the first time.

His palms felt numb, as if he had been hit by a steel rod.

If it weren't for the energy of Jiutian Qi in his body, his bones might have broken.

'This isn't an ordinary fan.'

He realized he had been tricked.

Baijiao's squinted eyes seemed to mock him.

'What! The old man is asking for it. Let's see who's stronger!'

Yan Jieha gathered as much Jiutian Qi as he could in his fists.

He began to strike the fans hovering around him.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang.

Each time his fists hit the steel fans, a metallic clanging sound was heard.

Baijiao was stunned.

When he was pressing Yan Jieha with his bare hands, it seemed like the fight was over.

When Yan Jieha hit the fans with his bare hands, it seemed like a last desperate attempt.

Striking a weapon with bare hands was a dangerous move.

Baijiao was sure of his victory and fought hard against Yan Jieha's fists.

But somehow, the one who got injured was himself.

At some point, he lost sensation in his wrists.

His body and the steel fan were almost one. The impact on the steel fan primarily injured his wrists, and now the pain was spreading to his dantian.

'Guh! Stop hitting me! I'm going to die!'

Baijiao gritted his teeth and endured.

He hoped his body would break before Yan Jieha's fists.

But the heavens did not answer his prayers.

'Ugh!'

A bitter taste rose in his throat.

At that moment, Baijiao realized he had suffered a serious internal injury.

The continuous Guangfeng Xianfa was now interrupted.

Just as he managed to pull the fan back in front of his face, Baijiao hesitated. The strength in his grip was fading, and the fan was about to slip from his hands.

Then his vision blurred.

Bang.

With the steel fan on his face, Baijiao's body flew backward.

Thud.

The thieves on the left side rushed over and lifted Baijiao.

Blood pooled where Baijiao's head had been.

Seeing Baijiao's crushed face among the people, Shenyangjue shuddered.

'That kid is cruel.'

Even as a bandit, to destroy the face of an old man who had shared the same pot of rice?

Baijiao and even Shenyangjue had been deceived by his innocent appearance.

After all, where were the good guys in this line of work?

The opponent was not a lucky novice but a high-level expert of the Green Forest.

Unlike Huang Yaoming, who was merely at the Xian level, Shenyangjue and Baijiao were at the Cheng level, but the extent of the young man's martial prowess was unknown.

'To defeat Wuying Shentou Baijiao in ten seconds…'

Technically, it was only ten seconds, but Yan Jieha had only attacked once.

That one strike was enough to bring down Baijiao.

If Yan Jieha had more experience, he wouldn't have hit the fan nine times.

Shenyangjue realized he couldn't be Yan Jieha's opponent.

He was only slightly above Baijiao or at the same level.

'If I fought Baijiao, it would take a hundred moves to decide the outcome…'

The delicate-looking Yan Jieha had destroyed Baijiao in ten seconds.

His bare-handed technique, Xieshougongquan, was terrifying.

With his extensive experience in the martial world, Shenyangjue could vaguely sense the secret behind Yan Jieha's strength.

'Damn. Now I see, he's an expert in internal energy.'

Otherwise, he couldn't have brought down Baijiao with one strike.

It wasn't something that could happen by chance or luck.

His mouth was dry.

'Why is such a person on Wufeng Mountain?'

'Or, is it even possible at his age?'

'That's not the issue. What do I do now?'

While Shenyangjue was pondering how to deal with Yan Jieha,

Yan Jieha picked up the saber lying on the ground, slung it over his shoulder, and approached Shenyangjue.

"Are you going to use a saber?"

Shenyangjue, startled, waved his hands.

"No, no. I've changed my mind. I don't want to duel with Brother Yan."

"Not going to?"

"Yes. Originally, Baijiao and I were so evenly matched that it was hard to tell who was better. Since Baijiao lost, I don't need to fight to know the outcome. I won't challenge you."

Yan Jieha glanced at the unconscious Baijiao with a blank face.

'End it here?'

He had been annoyed in the morning, but now that the opponent was backing down, he felt deflated.

Feng Yanchao and Zhuo Gao Ming were nodding, as if to say, "That's enough."

Yan Jieha tapped his foot with the saber, a habit he had when deeply thinking.

The twenty or so thieves watched his foot with tense eyes. Despite being the youngest, no one could tell him what to do.

Finally, Yan Jieha spoke.

"Old man."

Shenyangjue stared blankly, unfamiliar with the term.

He had never heard such a title before, to the point of forgetting it referred to him.

"Are you not answering? Do you want to fight?"

Under Yan Jieha's glare, Shenyangjue finally realized "old man" referred to him.

"No, no."

"Then why are you calling me brother?"

"No, no, I'm not."

Despite his wounded pride, Shenyangjue held back.

After all, in this world, respect was earned through strength, not age.

"Take good care of the elders. If I hear any other nonsense, I won't forgive you. Got it?"

The mix of respectful and informal language made Shenyangjue feel strangely uncomfortable.

'What a brat. Either use formal or informal language.'

Wasn't it like saying, "You're older, but I'm stronger, so I'll use informal language"?

"Are you not answering?"

"Yes, I will take good care of them."

Shenyangjue closed his eyes and bowed.

Despite the humiliation in front of the other thieves, he had to endure it for now.