"I want to see if I can kill you."
Su Mu said, his face completely serious.
The words had barely left his mouth. Before the Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold could react, Su Mu had dropped the severed head and flung something out with a flick of his wrist.
THWACK!
A pellet struck the chieftain right in the forehead.
Grievously wounded, the Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold had no strength to dodge and was struck so hard he saw stars.
His towering frame fell backward uncontrollably.
'He'd survived a pitched battle, only to be knocked over by a rock casually tossed by some snot-nosed kid?'
What a complete and utter humiliation!
The chieftain's heart seethed with rage, but in the next moment, his fury turned to terror.
A cloud of pink had appeared before his eyes.
"Pink Wolf, Du Qian…"
A name flashed through the chieftain's mind. In the next moment, his consciousness grew hazy and blurred before he sank into darkness.
The mountain wind was strong, and the pink smoke was blown away in moments.
Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu blinked. The Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold, whom they had fought desperately but failed to defeat, was now lying on the ground, spread-eagled and completely at their mercy.
Before they could even process what had happened, Su Mu charged forward in two quick strides.
He planted his feet wide, gripped the spear with both hands, and thrust it viciously downward.
PTHUNK!
Blood sprayed.
The Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold's eyes flew open, and a violent burst of power sent Su Mu flying.
He leaped to his feet, hair and beard standing on end, his eyes wide and fierce like a leopard's.
"Second Brother—"
He forced out the two words, his hands gripping the ironwood shaft of the spear in his chest. The tip of the spear protruded from his back.
"ARGH!"
With a great roar, he actually pulled the spear out.
Su Mu had been sent flying several dozen feet by the chieftain's power. He slammed into the trunk of a large tree with a THUD, seeing stars. When he saw what the chieftain was doing, he was nearly scared out of his wits.
Fighting through the pain, he scrambled to his feet, immediately drawing his saber, ready for a life-or-death struggle.
The Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold held the spear, his gaze locked on Su Mu, and took a fierce step forward.
After that one step, the chieftain's body froze in place, blood pouring from his chest like a fountain.
THUMP!
The Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold fell flat on his back.
Su Mu felt the ground shake.
He gripped his saber, his face a mask of vigilance, not daring to relax for an instant.
After several breaths, the chieftain still hadn't moved at all.
Still uneasy, Su Mu cautiously approached. He poked the chieftain twice with the tip of his saber, then quickly leaped back.
After testing a few more times, he confirmed the Chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold was truly dead and finally let out a long sigh of relief.
'To be able to jump up and take a step after having his heart pierced by a spear... what a monster.'
A wave of retrospective fear washed over Su Mu. He now realized just how lucky he had been to kill both the second-in-command and the chieftain of the Black Dragon Stronghold.
Just in case, Su Mu swung his saber and hacked at the chieftain's neck several times, stopping only when the head was nearly severed.
Watching Su Mu's actions, Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu both subconsciously touched their own necks, a chill running down their spines.
"Yang Jin, where are the others?"
Su Mu wiped his saber clean on the chieftain's clothes, then turned to Yang Jin. He had been about to ask where the other constables and Hunters had gone.
But when he saw Yang Jin's appearance, a look of surprise crossed his face. "What happened to you?"
'It's only been half a day since the second-in-command was chasing me. How does Yang Jin look like decades have passed for him?'
Before, Yang Jin looked to be in his thirties, in the prime of his life. But now, he looked at least fifty, his hair completely white and the deep wrinkles on his face jarring to the eye.
"I used a Blood Burning Pill."
Yang Jin said weakly, "It's fine. I'm not dying just yet."
Su Mu didn't know what a Blood Burning Pill was, but he figured it must be some kind of secret medicine that unlocked one's potential. Yang Jin's current state was likely the side effect.
"The second-in-command of the Black Dragon Stronghold is dead?"
Yang Jin glanced at the spear that had killed the chieftain. He recognized it as the weapon of the second-in-command.
Since the second-in-command's weapon was in Su Mu's hands, his fate was easy to imagine.
"It was a stroke of luck."
Su Mu said with genuine sincerity.
"Earlier, Brother Wei and I fought desperately to lure the chieftain away. The others are still fighting the rest of the Black Dragon Stronghold bandits."
Yang Jin's face was pale as he spoke. "If you still have the strength, take the chieftain's head to them. With their leader dead, the rest are just a disorderly mob. Once they see the chieftain's head, their will to fight will crumble."
"What about you two—"
Su Mu looked at Yang Jin, then at Wei Yongfu.
"We can hold on. Just go quickly and come back."
Yang Jin said.
"Alright then."
Su Mu pondered for a moment, then grabbed the heads of the chieftain and the second-in-command and ran toward the sounds of battle.
A few moments later, a loud shout echoed through the mountain forest.
"The chieftain and the second-in-command have been slain! Their heads are here! Surrender and you will not be killed!"
...…
About an hour later, a group of people appeared before Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu, accompanied by the sound of disorderly footsteps.
The two of them had recovered a bit of strength, but they were still far from being able to move freely.
Seeing so many people, they were startled at first, but after getting a clear look at their attire, they both sighed in relief.
"So it is here!"
From the crowd, a middle-aged man in brocade clothes walked over to the chieftain's corpse in a few steps, not even sparing Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu a glance.
"Well done."
The middle-aged man said, "You can all return to the city now. I'll handle the rest of it here."
He waved his hand, and a few people stepped out from the crowd, picked up the chieftain's body, and left.
The middle-aged man didn't linger either. He led the group away, but they headed up the mountain, not down.
The group had come and gone in a flash. By the time Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu realized what was happening, only a dozen or so scattered people were left.
Among them was Su Mu.
"That was—"
Seeing Su Mu, Yang Jin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"The Hu Family's steward, Hu Chang."
Su Mu walked over to Yang Jin's side and said, "He's here to pick the peaches. How are you? Can you walk?"
His expression was calm; he showed none of the anger one would expect from someone who just had their credit stolen.
"The Hu Family?"
Yang Jin repeated the name, a cold sneer on his face. "So greedy. They eat the meat and don't even leave a mouthful of soup for anyone else."
Hu Chang was clearly heading for the Black Dragon Stronghold's camp.
They had fought a battle where they nearly lost their lives, only to be left behind when it was time to raid the stronghold.
"Being alive is what matters."
Su Mu comforted him.
Yang Jin and Wei Yongfu were too heavily injured to even make it down the mountain on their own. Su Mu had to ask the few Hunters who had also been abandoned by Hu Chang to help him weave a simple stretcher to carry the two men back to Wuling City.
The South City Bureau hadn't been completely ruthless, at least. All the wounded were sent to a clinic, and the South City Bureau covered their medical expenses.
Su Mu didn't see Sima Hu Yuxing. He reported in at the Government Office and then returned to his own courtyard.
After closing and bolting his doors and windows, Su Mu took a small, silk-wrapped bundle from his robes.