The battle here ended, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the wind and snow almost covered all traces. The bodies were first coated with frost, then became part of the snowy ground, with only the weapons stuck in the earth still telling the tale of the fierce fight.

  Before long, footsteps were heard again.

  Four figures appeared, one leading the way and the others following.

  At the forefront were Lu Chuan and Chun Qiong, both dressed in fur robes.

  "Tsk tsk, no wonder it's worth a hundred thousand gold."

  "Not a single person from the Martial World or the officials survived."

  "Such ruthless methods."

  Lu Chuan's tone was fearless as he turned to the thin man in bck beside him, who carried a single-edged rge bde on his back, and said:

  "Qian Lv, dig out the bodies and see what's going on."

  The thin man responded by drawing the massive single-edged bde with one hand, using it as a shovel, and with a flick of his wrist, he effortlessly unearthed all the bodies buried in the snow.

  Qian Lv's strength was completely disproportionate to his build. Though he appeared frail, he could easily wield the hundred-pound bck iron bde. Once dozens of bodies were id out before him, he turned to Lu Chuan and said:

  "Mr. Lu, all these people were killed with a single strike."

  Lu Chuan shook the snow off his shoulders, his tone becoming more serious:

  "All with one strike?"

  Qian Lv confirmed:

  "One strike."

  "By the same person?"

  "These Wangchuan assassins were killed by the same individual."

  Lu Chuan exchanged a gnce with Chun Qiong and said:

  "This time we've really found a big catch."

  "Wangchuan sent out a total of forty-two people, thirty-five of whom were young assassins from the Huo Banner, seven from the Lin Banner, and the assassin Bai Youyu, who wielded the 'Fishbone Sword,' was a renowned expert, with one foot in the Nether Passage Realm."

  "He was originally from Chen Kingdom, ter gained fame in Qi Kingdom, known for his gambling and womanizing, but his skills were indeed formidable. He had assassinated three Nether Passage Realm warriors, and his 'Fishbone' ranked sixty-sixth on the Tianji Tower's Famous Swords Ranking. Many believed he had a strong chance of advancing to the Feng Banner."

  "Who would have thought that such a person would meet his end in such a hasty manner in a desote pce like Kuhai County."

  As he spoke, he suddenly frowned and asked Qian Lv:

  "Did you find the 'Fishbone'?"

  Qian Lv shook his head.

  "I've searched the area, but it's nowhere to be seen."

  Lu Chuan stroked his chin, his brow furrowed in thought.

  Chun Qiong gnced at the bodies on the ground and said calmly:

  "Qi Kingdom values literature but not martial arts lightly. Even in such a remote pce, there are some well-trained crossbow troops. Ordinary Light Feather Realm warriors in the Martial World would struggle to withstand Qi Kingdom's specially made crossbows at night, yet tonight, fifty or sixty people were deployed, and they couldn't take down that one person. We might need to reassess the opponent's strength."

  "Although I'm now the magistrate of Kuhai County, the officials in the Royal City aren't very concerned about the actual situation here, but if too many people die, it won't be easy for me to expin."

  Lu Chuan chuckled, gently patted his shoulder, and then squeezed it.

  "Rex, County Lord."

  "If she didn't have some issues, she wouldn't have gone to check Liu Jinshi's body. We came here with the same purpose, and I certainly won't harm you."

  "Moreover, although the battle tonight was fierce, we didn't come away empty-handed, did we?"

  "The 'Fishbone' is easy to enter but hard to exit. I doubt that woman left here unscathed."

  Chun Qiong didn't respond to him, turning instead to lead Wu Xie toward the county city.

  "If you're not afraid of dying, go ahead."

  "The snow is heavy, I won't accompany you."

  Watching Chun Qiong's figure disappear into the distance, Lu Chuan's smile remained as he turned to Qian Lv, who was covered in a yer of white, and asked:

  "If it were you tonight, could you kill these forty-two Wangchuan people?"

  Qian Lv stood in the cold wind, his frail figure seemingly ready to be blown away at any moment, and calmly replied:

  "I could."

  Lu Chuan raised an eyebrow:

  "So, that person's strength is about the same as yours?"

  Qian Lv shook his head, slowly sheathing the bck iron bde on his back, and said:

  "Stronger than me."

  "Judging from the wounds on these bodies, the woman in question should be injured, and not lightly. When a warrior is injured, it might not matter much in a one-on-one fight, but in a one-against-many situation, the disadvantage becomes apparent."

  "If I were seriously injured, I might only be able to kill less than half of the people present."

  "And that's assuming Bai Youyu stood by idly."

  "That woman is not only stronger than me but also exceptionally skilled in one-against-many combat, which is something I'm not as good at."

  Lu Chuan gazed into the vast expanse of flying snow, silent for a long time before shaking off the snow on his body and saying to Qian Lv:

  "Let's go, it's so cold, let's go back and have some snake soup. Old Yang has been cooking it for a while; it should be ready."

  Qian Lv nodded slightly and followed Lu Chuan. Not long after they left, the bodies here were completely buried by the falling snow...

  ...

  In the abandoned temple, Wen Chaoshen lit a fire, boiled some hot water, and fed some to the unconscious A Shui, then pinched her philtrum.

  The weak A Shui slowly woke up, her eyes dazed. Wen Chaoshen hesitated for a moment, then patted her cheek. A Shui lightly shook her groggy head and heard Wen Chaoshen say:

  "How should we deal with the sword in your chest?"

  "I don't know medicine, so I don't dare to pull it out recklessly."

  A Shui coughed twice, the sharp pain in her chest making her frown tightly, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

  "The bde on this 'Fishbone' is barbed; it can't be pulled out directly. You need to find a weapon, hook the barb protruding from my back, and let this sword completely pierce through me to survive."

  With a life at stake, Wen Chaoshen couldn't afford to hesitate. He went to the corner of the abandoned temple and picked up a long knife A Shui had previously thrown there. The bde was thicker than the sword, less likely to break. He used the curved back of the knife to hook the barb of the 'Fishbone Sword' and said to A Shui:

  "Just pull it straight back?"

  A Shui breathed lightly:

  "Pull it, I won't die."

  Wen Chaoshen said:

  "Hold on."

  With that, he adjusted the angle and directly pulled the Fishbone Sword out of A Shui's body. She let out a muffled groan, her body went limp, and she fainted again...

  ...

  At noon, a warm, piercing ray of sunlight stung A Shui's eyelids. She frowned and opened her eyes.

  Crack!

  Crack!

  The sound of chopping wood reached her ears. Startled, A Shui immediately sat up and found herself lying on a soft bed.

  Her body had been cleaned, her clothes changed, and the wound on her chest was stitched up, with a surge of dantian energy stabilizing her injury.

  Due to blood loss, her head throbbed with pain with even the slightest movement.

  After adjusting for a while, she groped to get out of bed, but just then, the door opened, and Madam Lü entered with a bowl of prepared medicine, pcing it on the table and saying to her:

  "Awake?"

  A Shui stared at her:

  "Where is this?"

  Madam Lü smiled slightly and said:

  "Go ask the young man chopping wood yourself. He carried you here through the snow st night."

  With that, she turned and headed for the door. As she left, she said:

  "I'm going to buy some groceries. Drink the medicine yourself... Your injuries are too severe. My medical skills are limited, and I can only provide temporary relief."

  "If your injuries fre up in the future, whether you survive will depend on your own fate."

  kant202323