Chapter 9 Commission Completed
The two remaining Iron Horse bandits were the leader and their third brother.
Having escaped disaster, they swapped horses after putting some distance behind them, each riding a fresh steed as they galloped away.
Only after running for more than ten li did they finally slow down.
Ahead lay a deep mountain pool. The bandit leader dismounted, strode over, and scooped up handfuls of water, gulping it down thirstily.
The third brother joined him, doing the same.
When they were done, they washed their faces and wiped away the bloodstains. The leader then picked up his bloodstained axe and rinsed it clean in the pool.
The third brother exhaled a long breath, his face full of relief at having survived.
"Big brother, what were those two women just now?"
"How would I know?"
The leader's mouth twitched.
"No idea where those crazy women came from. They saw us and started shouting, asking if someone was chasing us. I was about to split her with one swing, but she dragged me clean off my horse instead.
"I had no choice but to play along. Later, when you showed up, I gave you a look—thankfully, you understood.
"If we hadn't used those two fools to hold off Chu Fan, we'd be corpses by tomorrow.
"It's just a pity we didn't get the chance to kill that bastard Chu before his junior sister showed up and avenge our brothers."
His expression darkened.
The third brother took a deep breath.
"Big brother, we'll avenge them, that's certain!
"But as they say, a gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. We don't need to rush."
"Mm."
The leader nodded, his brows furrowing.
"But tell me, who do you think this 'Night Emperor' is? Judging by that message on the cloth, our fifth brother was killed by him.
"Have you ever heard of anyone by that name in the martial world?"
The third brother quickly shook his head.
"Never heard of him."
"Humph, another meddler sticking his nose where it doesn't belong. He'll die a miserable death sooner or later."
The leader spat the words with venom.
The third brother asked again, "Big brother, that Chu Fan is the Second Young Master of the Chu Family in Tianwu City, and a prized disciple of Taiyi Sect's Cui Bu Nu. We've made mortal enemies of him now, and all our brothers are dead except us two. Life won't be easy from here on out. What should we do next?"
"Hmm…"
The leader thought for a while before replying,
"We'll go to the Falling Rain Hall."
The third brother nodded slowly after some thought.
"Liu Shijie has taken plenty of favors from us over the years—it's about time he paid us back.
"Besides, the Falling Rain Hall is in Tianwu City. For Chu Fan, that's the perfect blind spot. No matter how hard he thinks, he'd never imagine we're hiding right under his nose.
"Big brother, that's a brilliant move!"
"As they say, the most dangerous place is often the safest."
The leader chuckled, patting the third brother on the shoulder.
"No time to waste. Bring some of the food from your saddlebag. We'll eat, then move out immediately."
"Alright."
The third brother turned to fetch the provisions. The leader sat down on a rock, axe in hand, and began to rest.
His mind turned to future plans. Falling Rain Hall wouldn't be a permanent refuge, but it would do for now.
After that, he'd have to figure out their next move carefully.
He thought through several possibilities but dismissed them all. The more he pondered, the hungrier he felt.
They'd been fighting and running all day—no one, not even an iron man, could endure that without exhaustion.
"Old Third! What's taking so long to get the food? Did you die back there?"
There was no response.
The leader frowned and looked up. The third brother's shadow was still standing behind the horse.
He immediately rose and strode over, reaching out to shove him.
"I'm talking to you—"
Before the bandit leader could finish his words, the third brother suddenly collapsed with a dull thud.
A thin line marked his neck — a sword wound no more than two inches long — and from it, only a single drop of blood trickled down.
The leader's pupils contracted sharply.
To kill without even drawing blood — such swordsmanship was terrifyingly fast.
Instinctively, he spun around.
A flash of light crossed his vision.
No sound, no warning — their figures brushed past one another, and before the leader even saw his attacker's face, the axe in his hand clattered to the ground.
An instant later, he dropped to his knees. His head drooped forward, lifeless on the spot.
Chu Qing slowly sheathed his sword and exhaled lightly.
"Not bad… you two really knew how to run. If it weren't for my Ruo Xu Sutra's lasting breath, I might not have caught up."
That last encounter had gone far differently than he'd expected.
He'd thought he'd have two separate opportunities, but somehow, they'd all converged into one.
Fortunately, those two really had fled — and that was the perfect chance.
After all, it was best if he didn't appear before Chu Fan at all.
Even with his disguise, blood ties were unpredictable things — a single spark of suspicion could grow into something far worse.
This result was better than anything he could've planned.
He had followed their trail all the way here.
When he saw the two planning their next move by the pool, he didn't attack immediately.
After taking a moment to steady his breath, he waited until the third brother went to fetch supplies — and then struck without hesitation.
Why fight two at once when you could kill them one by one?
Efficiency was everything.
Just as he was about to clean up the bodies and scavenge their belongings, a message appeared before his eyes.
[Commission Completed!]
[Successfully assassinated the Iron Horse Seven Bandits. Reward: 1 Random Martial Arts Chest.]
Chu Qing frowned.
"Only one reward for killing three? Should've been at least three, right?"
As always, the system gave no reply.
It never did.
It was a silent system — a mute companion that only issued missions and rewards.
He didn't rush to open the chest, focusing instead on the clean-up.
He couldn't stay here for long.
If Chu Fan managed to explain things to those two women and gave chase, they'd surely meet — and without distractions this time, it would be far too easy for him to notice something off.
Speeding up, Chu Qing searched both corpses.
He found around twenty taels of silver and two handfuls of gold leaves — most of them on the leader.
That alone was enough to buy a small courtyard and live out a quiet, lazy life — in a peaceful world, that is.
But this wasn't such a world.
And with the Mirror of Retribution still hunting him, peace was nothing more than a fantasy.
Among the rest were banknotes, a few medicinal pills, and several wound salves.
He picked out the ones for blood circulation and healing, ignoring anything unfamiliar.
After that, he severed the two heads, wrote the same message as before — "The Iron Horse Seven Bandits, whose crimes filled the land, have been executed. — Night Emperor" — and tied it to their horses.
Once released, the steeds would spread the news on their own.
The system reward was already in hand; there was no need to meet the teahouse keeper again.
Finally, he lit the banknotes with his fire striker, using them to ignite the corpses' clothing.
The flames roared to life, devouring both headless bodies until nothing but blackened ash remained.
Only after confirming they were burned beyond recognition — to the point even the best coroner couldn't tell how they'd died — did Chu Qing turn and leave.
(End of Chapter)