The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 60 Riding a Fast Horse to Save People

Chapter 60: Chapter 60 Riding a Fast Horse to Save People

"No rush, get up and tell us what happened."

Manager Wan’s face was grave as he ordered someone to help the man up.

Li Yan recognized this person, a craftsman who worked in the village. Seeing that something had happened, he didn’t feel it was appropriate to leave and instead stood by to watch.

After the man was helped up, his legs remained weak, his face pale, and he didn’t even bother with the blood trickling down his forehead as he trembled and said,

"Zhuzi led a few kids to cut grass at the village entrance, and a child who ran back said that a peddler came from the official road, scattering candies and asking the children their names."

"After the children ate the candies, they fell unconscious. It was a passing villager who woke them up, but by then, Zhuzi had already been taken away."

"Uncle Wan, my family only has this one child. If lost, how could we face our ancestors?"

With that, he burst into tears.

The carpenters around him immediately became furious upon hearing this.

"The damn coward, daring to kidnap people from the village!"

"Let’s go, he can’t have gotten far; we’ll search for him!"

"Once we find him, we’ll skin him alive!"

The crowd, filled with anger, was about to head out in search.

"Why are you all panicking?!"

An older carpenter rebuked, "Uncle Wan hasn’t spoken yet. Even if they’re brokers from Xianyang City, with just a word from Uncle Wan, they would obediently bring the person back!"

The crowd was reminded of Manager Wan’s status.

Manager Wan nodded, "Er Shun, Shuanzi, you both take some gifts and my visiting card, and go separately to the city’s broker and the beggars’ nest in the west to ask them to find the kid."

"Speak politely, follow the rules of the pugilistic world."

"Yes, Master!"

Immediately, two carpenters stepped out, ready to leave.

"Doing it this way might not get the boy back."

Suddenly, a voice came from the crowd.

Everyone turned their heads; it was Sha Lifei.

Sha Lifei chuckled, scratched his bald head, and cupped his hands, "Manager Wan, your kindness compels me to speak honestly. If I say something wrong, please forgive me."

Manager Wan nodded, "Speak."

Sha Lifei looked at everyone, "I’ve been in the pugilistic world for quite a while and have seen many crooked paths."

"There are child kidnappers everywhere, but they usually target the smart, young ones, easy to sell at a good price."

"Yet this peddler asked for names first, clearly prepared."

"Moreover, anyone hanging around Xianyang Road wouldn’t be unaware of Shangyi Village’s reputation, so it’s most likely a vendetta. Looking for brokers and beggars is useless!"

"Brother Sha has a point!"

Manager Wan furrowed his brows, suddenly stood up, glanced around, and unexpectedly saw Li Yan nearby. He was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands, "I almost forgot about Brother Li’s divine skills. This matter will trouble you."

Li Yan cupped his hands, "No problem, I’ll need a fast horse and something the child carried."

"Quick, get a horse!"

"Shuanzi, fetch the items."

Soon, someone brought a chestnut horse and handed him a small wooden sword.

Without wasting time, he grabbed the blade and small wooden sword, mounted the horse.

"Hyah!"

With a shake of the reins, the chestnut horse dashed out of the courtyard.

The sound of hooves accompanied by dust quickly disappeared from everyone’s sight...

...

Within a few breaths, Li Yan reached the village entrance, performed a Yang Jue maneuver, immediately turning the horse around and galloping down the official road.

The scent left by the child was faint, perhaps already put into a sack.

But this couldn’t deceive his divine nostrils.

Following that faint scent, Li Yan spurred his horse into a wild gallop, and before long, he saw Xianyang City in the distance.

He gritted his teeth and sped up even more.

The current Xianyang City was very dangerous for him, but some things had to be done.

Manager Wan treated with sincerity, and he was never afraid of killing with his blade!

However, when he reached the crossroad leading to Xianyang City, the scent suddenly veered off in another direction.

Li Yan turned the horse around, a hint of doubt crossing his brow.

This direction led to Menggu Village.

That place was quite famous, not for scenic mountains or rivers, but because it participated in the Maitreya Sect uprising and was razed by the court’s army.

Several such villages existed in Guanzhong.

A decade’s time did not heal the wounds, and various ghostly stories of resentment from those villages still circulated. No common folk dared to move into the village.

Could it be that human traffickers have occupied it?

Curiosity piqued Li Yan, and he urged his horse on faster.

Along the way, the scent once again changed direction, leaving the road and entering wild grasslands.

Li Yan turned the horse and charged into the grass. Before long, he encountered a small river.

The river wasn’t deep; he crossed it on horseback, and the scent completely vanished.

Li Yan frowned, activated Yang Jue, and took a deep breath.

"Damn it, clever beast!"

He cursed, turned the horse around, and galloped again.

It seemed the trafficker walked in the river for a while, then emerged on the other side and continued towards that deserted village.

Ordinary tracking methods would have been fooled by this little trick, but it was useless against the Mystical Sect’s divine skills.

Sure enough, after advancing another several hundred meters and crossing a loess slope, two figures appeared on the road ahead.

A woman was driving a donkey cart, piled high with hay.

Another was a peddler carrying a wooden box, filled with sections holding kites, sugar-coated haws, clay figures, and other trinkets.

The peddler held a rattle drum and whispered quietly with the woman.

Upon hearing the sound of hooves, they turned their heads instantly, their eyes full of alertness.

Li Yan felt his heart flutter, cupped his hands, and shouted, "Please wait, I’d like to ask for directions."

As he spoke, he secretly squeezed his horse’s abdomen, maintaining speed.

"Sure thing, where would you like to go, sir?"

The peddler stopped and turned around, a young man with a kind face.

Though full of flattery, his right hand reached for his waist, suddenly twisted, and flung his arm, sending a half-foot iron arrow whistling towards Li Yan’s brow.

A flick arrow!

The distance between the two was already very near, less than ten meters.

The peddler’s hidden weapon held significant power; an average person would likely be hit.

However, Li Yan, possessing divine skills, had already detected the iron scent. At the moment of the arrow’s release, he turned to the side, toppling off the horse.

Seemingly losing his footing, he flipped in the air like a cat, landing firmly on the ground, ducked down low, and charged forward behind the horse, brandishing his blade.

In his eyes, Li Yan suddenly disappeared, with the chestnut horse galloping toward him.

The frightened horse, with the momentum of a thousand-pound force, forced the peddler to dodge to the side.

But as soon as the horse passed, a blade’s gleam whistled before him.

Darn it!

Alarmed, the peddler quickly retreated.

However, the blade glared closer to his neck with every move.

"Take this!"

Just as the peddler despaired, suddenly the woman on the donkey cart leapt up, spinning her Meteor Cone, her left leg pressing down, and thrusting the sharp cone towards Li Yan with a whistle.

Li Yan dodged aside while swinging Guan Mountain Blade to intercept, causing the Meteor Cone to veer off course, swirling around the blade.

"Come here!"

Li Yan mustered strength, pulled back in turn.

The woman, still airborne, lost balance, crashing to the ground, covered in dust, and her hold on the Meteor Cone loosened.

Meanwhile, the peddler, dodging the Chasing Life Blade, rolled aside, rising with several flick arrows in hand, waving both hands as the iron arrows flew with a whistle.

Normally, evading these hidden weapons is tricky since the body struggles to keep pace with the eyes.

Skilled masters can discern position by sound and integrate heart and hand movements, blocking with weapons or catching and returning them.

But Li Yan, with his keen sense of smell, detected any movement within a hundred meters effortlessly, evading without even looking.

Cling, clang!

His Guan Mountain Blade blocked the flick arrows left and right, dispersing them all, not slowing down as he charged at the peddler.

Seeing Li Yan relentless like an evil ghost, the peddler felt his scalp tingle, knowing he faced a tough opponent, pulled out two daggers from his back, and screamed, "He’s tough, back me up!"

Then he rolled forward, legs bent, and lunged, daggers stabbing towards Li Yan’s abdomen.

Meanwhile, the woman pulled a Pear Blossom Spear from the haystack, twirling it with both hands, aimed at Li Yan’s head with blossoming flowers.

Ground knife technique, Pear Blossom Spear!

Li Yan immediately recognized their approach.

Although neither had mastered Hidden Energy, their cooperation was seamless and treacherous, clearly not ordinary traffickers. They must be doing individual gigs, "eating Ge Nian."

Simply put, part of the Dark Eight Sects, Ge Sect, one of "Flower, Lan, Rong, Ge."

No matter the pugilistic world assassins, fighters, lone thieves, flower bandits, or their bladesman—anyone using skills for illegal deeds belonged to the Ge Sect.

These two obviously realized Li Yan was hard to handle, attacking ruthlessly.

The peddler twisted and rolled on the ground, his movement technique cunning and nimble, dog bites dumpling, backhand sickle, leaping back shear, each move faster than the last, daggers paired with leg techniques like a whirlwind spinning up dust.

The woman, slightly less skilled, used her Pear Blossom Spear, twirling to shatter with mostly feint strikes, but when striking true, always coordinated with a killing move from the peddler.

Li Yan blocked and dodged, seemingly retreating, but his eyes grew colder, suppressing his beast-like momentum.

Finally, their cooperation showed a slight flaw.

The woman’s spear moved a step too quick.

Li Yan pivoted, switched shoulders, while raising the blade upward and leaping back.

Clash!

The blade severed the woman’s Pear Blossom Spear.

Meanwhile, the peddler rolled sideways, daggers crossing to slice upward with a horse-slashing move.

Li Yan stepped back, narrowly avoiding it, then powered his left leg, Hidden Energy bursting forth, delivering a front kick.

"Damn you!"

Crunch!

The peddler’s head snapped backward, then back over his shoulder, leaving him silent, lifeless on the ground.

Smack!

The woman, upon seeing this, turned pale and just as she was about to plead for mercy, was slapped by Li Yan, sending her tumbling, eyes going black as she fainted.

Li Yan stepped forward and pulled apart the haystack.

Inside, three children lay with flushed faces, sound asleep...