When he opened his eyes, he only saw his elder brother’s body collapsing. His lips were still trembling, and his eyes were wide like copper bells.
Under extreme terror, Wen Erqiang almost lost his voice, yet his throat still forced out a shout:
“Big Brother! Big…”
Before he could finish speaking, a waist blade flashed under the moonlight. Crimson blood sprayed into the air, tracing a beautiful arc.
Li Mai glanced at the waist blade in her hand. Only the edge still bore traces of blood. She could not help but praise it:
“What a fine blade. It’s mine now.”
In the next second, a pungent smell of urine spread through the air.
Li Mai frowned in displeasure and looked toward the trembling man opposite her. Her eyes, devoid of warmth, shot straight at him.
It nearly scared Wen Erqiang to death. He had no time to mourn his already dead elder brother before he began worrying about his own life.
Feeling the blood continuously seeping from his neck, he struggled to control his body, careful not to let his neck come any closer to the blade.
Just as he cautiously stepped backward, Li Mai spoke.
“Where is the salt?”
Her cold voice made Wen Erqiang’s body stiffen. Without thinking, he replied:
“The most common salt is the official salt sold by the authorities, but recently the authorities have restricted its sale. I heard it has already been secretly transported away. What remains now is only private salt. In our county, the private salt is controlled by a group led by Wang Mang. I heard they are preparing to flee tonight.”
“Where is the location?”
“Immortal… Immortal Lady, if I tell you… can you spare my life?”
“Mm~”
Li Mai applied slight pressure with the blade in her hand, instantly deepening the wound on Wen Erqiang’s neck. Blood burst out from the vessel at once.
With death closing in, Wen Erqiang no longer dared to hesitate and hurriedly answered:
“It’s… it’s at the end of the street across from here, a three-courtyard residence. All the private salt flows out from there. Immortal Lady, I have answered your question, please spare my…”
“Puchi!”
The familiar smell of blood steadied Li Mai’s mind. She casually dragged the blade across the two corpses on the ground, wiping the blood clean.
She picked up the belongings she had already searched from the two men, stuffed them into her pack, and headed toward the private salt distribution point.
“Clink, clank.”
As soon as she approached the mentioned house, the sound of objects colliding reached her ears.
At the same time, a stern male voice rang out:
“Be careful, understand? These are all our money. If even a tiny bit spills, you will pay for it with your life!”
“Yes, yes, Sixth Brother, I will tie it tighter.”
“And you all, be more careful. Your lives are not worth as much as a sack of salt.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the group hurriedly checked the sacks in their hands, tightening the openings and securing the ropes on those already loaded onto carts.
Flatbed carts used to transport private salt were lined up at the entrance, making it convenient to move goods in and out.
Li Erniu was tying down the first cart of salt. He carefully bent his head to inspect the rope threaded under the cart. Just as he lifted his head, he saw a dark shadow at the entrance growing larger and closer, almost engulfing the entire cart of salt.
He was instantly startled and shouted in fear:
“Who is it!”
As a gang controlling the private salt of an entire county, they naturally had many enemies.
Seeing the sudden shadow, Li Erniu immediately assumed it was an enemy taking advantage of their hurried escape to cause trouble.
The others also heard his shout and instantly turned their gaze toward the entrance.
At first glance, they too were frightened by the slowly approaching shadow. They immediately drew the blades at their waists and held them in front, ready to face an enemy.
However, when Li Mai’s figure emerged from the darkness, the group was astonished to discover that the intruder was actually a young girl.
A very thin young girl, yet she carried a bundle twice her size on her back.
The group was stunned, but they still lowered their blades.
In their view, no matter how strong she was, she could not be their match. There was no need to take her seriously. Someone would deal with her.
Wang Liu, as the second-in-command, still preferred to keep things quiet. On their final night, he did not wish for bloodshed.
Thus, after Li Mai set down the bundle on her back, he crossed his arms over his chest and said disdainfully:
“Little girl, this is not a place you should come to.”
Li Mai acted as if she had not heard him. She stretched her neck forward, slowed her breathing, and probed what exactly was being transported inside.
“Are you moving salt?”
The moment these words were spoken, everyone inside changed expression. They tightened their grip on their blades and glared at her with hostility.
“Little girl, that is not something you should be asking.”
Wang Liu almost squeezed those words out through clenched teeth.
But seeing that Li Mai showed no reaction and even intended to move closer, he immediately gave a signal to his subordinates inside.
Without hesitation, Li Erniu drew a waist blade from the cart and, filled with anger, strode toward Li Mai.
As soon as he entered striking distance, he raised the blade high, preparing to bring it down with force.
The others seemed to have already imagined the bloody scene of Li Mai being split in two. Unable to bear the sight, they turned their heads away.
Yet what no one expected was that before Li Erniu’s blade could fall, another blade streaked across the sky. Blood dyed the moonlight red, heralding the unrest of the night.
“Clang!” The sound of a blade hitting the ground rang out.
The unexpected noise immediately drew everyone’s attention, and they all turned back toward the entrance.
They saw Li Mai standing there like a killing god from hell, still in the same posture as before. Only now, a waist blade hung naturally at her side in her right hand.
Blood continuously dripped from the blade, as if proving what had just occurred.
Looking more closely, Li Erniu lay on the ground. His blade had fallen beside him, still faintly trembling from the impact.
At this moment, no one dared to underestimate the girl at the entrance. They all sucked in a cold breath, gripping their blades tightly as they prepared to fight.
“Attack together!”
Wang Liu no longer wanted to waste time. At his command, everyone rushed toward Li Mai.
“Clang, clang, clang…”
Wang Liu felt that he had barely seen anything. In the blink of an eye, under the cover of night, streaks of silver flashed among the crowd.
In the next instant, blood sprayed out, and countless people fell one after another.
When he blinked again, Li Mai was already standing before him. Wang Liu was instantly terrified.
Amid the thick smell of blood, not a single drop had stained Li Mai’s body. Only the blood on her blade continued to drip.
“Drip… drip…”
Wang Liu silently counted the rhythm of the falling drops, as if calculating the countdown of his life.
He swallowed hard, gripped his blade with both hands, his gaze fierce. Without waiting for Li Mai to react, he swung his blade down.
Wang Liu felt his blade descend smoothly, as if cutting through empty air without resistance.
He could not help but curse inwardly at the subordinates who had just been killed, a bunch of useless fools.
But when he looked up, there was no one before him. Only empty space met his eyes.
He cried out in terror, his mouth twisting:
“Ghost… it’s a ghost!”
“Thud!”
Before he could finish speaking, his body had already fallen forward, raising a cloud of dust.
Li Mai pinched her nose in dissatisfaction and shook her head, beginning to consider how to avoid raising dust while killing. It was truly unhygienic and affected her mood.
She casually used her blade to lift the rope of a sack. As it loosened, the private salt hidden inside was instantly revealed.
The pale yellow salt reflected a soft white glow under the bright moonlight, immediately drawing Li Mai’s attention.
Looking at the sacks scattered all over the ground, she felt a rare sense of helplessness. Her face even showed a trace of bitterness.
Just as she felt distressed that she could not take all the salt away, footsteps suddenly came from behind.
Before the person even appeared, Li Mai had already turned to look in that direction.
Wang Mang had never expected that after being gone for only a short while, he would smell the thick scent of blood spreading from the courtyard upon his return.
He quickened his pace and saw the corpses of his subordinates scattered across the ground. The only one still standing was a young girl.
With just one glance, he no longer dared to underestimate her. But asking him to swallow his anger was impossible.
Thus, Wang Mang drew his carefully crafted Tang saber, gripped it tightly with both hands, and held it horizontally before him.
His eyes traced along the blade as he stared at Li Mai, his body assuming a combat stance as he said coldly:
“Let’s have a match. If you win, all the salt in this house is yours.”
Li Mai was not someone who liked wasting words. She also quite enjoyed fulfilling others’ wishes.
Channeling her ability into her legs and arms, she rushed toward her opponent at incredible speed.
The astonishing speed immediately shocked Wang Mang. He could only rely on his battle instincts honed over the years to resist.
“Clang!”
The two blades collided. The waist blade in Li Mai’s hand was actually cut in two by the Tang saber, splitting cleanly with a crisp sound.
For a moment, Li Mai’s expression froze. She had not expected the blade she had just acquired to be so fragile.
Yet her body reacted instantly. She bent backward at the waist, pushed off with her feet, and widened the distance between them by two body lengths.
Seeing the broken blade on the ground, Wang Mang revealed a smug smile.
How could someone without a weapon possibly be his opponent?
Thinking of his fallen subordinates, he could no longer suppress his anger and roared:
“I will kill you to avenge my brothers!”
In the next second, Wang Mang charged toward Li Mai like a madman.
Li Mai curled her lips into a chilling smile and said softly:
“It’s time to end this.”
As soon as her words fell, when Wang Mang closed in, she sprang up and delivered a flying kick. The half blade in her hand was flung out and struck with perfect accuracy.
“Bang!”
Wang Mang did not even have time to speak his last words. His entire body was sent flying out of the courtyard and onto the street outside. A blade lodged into his open mouth, while blood continuously flowed from the back of his head.
Li Mai had no interest in observing the dead. She carefully selected a donkey cart and loaded onto it the bundle she had gathered over the night.
Then, based on the donkey’s carrying capacity and adding the salt from the courtyard, she filled the cart to the brim and headed toward the gate.
As she passed by Wang Mang’s lifeless body, she extended a leg from where she sat on the cart and kicked lightly. The Tang saber lying on the ground flipped into the air, its sharp arcs gleaming brilliantly under the moonlight.
She reached out her right hand and instantly caught the hilt, the corner of her lips lifting slightly as she said with satisfaction:
“It’s mine.”
In the quiet night, the movement of the donkey cart was not subtle, yet no one dared to come out and look.
After all, anyone who dared to travel so boldly at such a time was certainly not someone ordinary.
On the cart, Li Mai used the cloth that wrapped the grain to wipe the blood from the Tang saber until not a single trace remained.
Thinking of the two “teammates” still waiting for her in the distance, she struck the donkey’s rear lightly with the back of the blade and urged:
“Stupid donkey, hurry up!”
Before long, the lone person and the donkey cart gradually disappeared into the inky darkness.