"Assassin!"
The chilling light pierced the air. The other personal guards finally reacted, but it was a little too late. The arrow in the darkness almost shot Li Yuan in the face.
Clang! The sparks flew. Junior Leopard hammered the flying arrow when it was three inches from Li Yuan's face. He felt a tremor in his hand and it was rebounding off the arrow. The arrow was hammered down, but his hand was bounced back. Two more arrows targeted them without a sound.
The two arrows were flying faster than the speed of sound, one following the other. Junior Leopard's hand had been shaken, making it impossible for him to hammer the arrows again.
However, he had bought Li Yuan some time. Almost at the moment when the arrow was hammered down, Li Yuan shouted and rolled over to the ground from his horse without jumping.
Everything happened so quickly from Junior Leopard hammering down the first arrow, Li Yuan rolling over on the ground from his horse, to the horse getting shot down.
After the three arrows, everything returned to tranquility.
There was a moment of silence before the uproar began.
They had automatically split into three teams. One team searched along the direction of the arrow, one cordoned off the street, and the last one, Junior Leopard's team, surrounded Li Yuan to protect him.
"Junior Leopard, well done!" Li Yuan was pale and shocked after dodging the three arrows, but he still smiled. He patted Junior Leopard on the shoulder and said affectionately, "Thanks to you, I didn't die here today!"
"It's my duty!" Junior Leopard said respectfully without any arrogance or complacency for his great credit.
"Good, very good! Very good!" Li Yuan said with satisfaction, turning over to Qi Fei. "Tell them to come back. The archer is gone because he only has the power to shoot three times. The three arrows didn't succeed, so he can only escape!"
After answering him, Qi Fei left.
"General, did you know who was it?" Junior Leopard asked curiously.
"It's an old friend!" Li Yuan forced a smile and waved at the personal guards. "You can disperse. It's fine now. Let them go after him. We'll head to the drill ground now!"
"We're still going?"
"Why not? We've already decided on it. If I return to Admiral Manor just because of these arrows, then wouldn't I lose face?" In a few words, Li Yuan had returned to normal. His horse had been shot dead, but there were many horses around. He pulled on a horse and climbed on it. "Come on, guys. Let's go to the drill ground!"
"Yes!" Once again, the group of people rushed to the drill ground in the east of the city, yet they were much faster this time.
Junior Leopard gradually realized Li Yuan did not continue the arms drill because he found it important, but rather to preserve his ego. He knew this because Li Yuan was absent-minded during the entire arms drill. Halfway through, Wang Lei returned with the team that went after the enemy without any findings. Wang Lei looked a little depressed and asked for Li Yuan's pardon as soon as he arrived at the drill ground. Li Yuan did not make things difficult for him and even encouraged him. Thus ended the arms drill.
Junior Leopard's status in the personal guard camp seemed to rise a few notches after this incident. Never mind other reasons, him hammering down the arrow and saving Li Yuan alone were equivalent to saving the lives of all the guards in the camp. As guards, they enjoyed higher status and better treatment than ordinary soldiers. At the same time, they also bore heavier responsibilities. If Li Yuan was assassinated, the blame was on them. Even if they did not have to kill themselves as an apology, they would not be able to stay in the army anymore, leaving a bleak future ahead of them.
For these personal guards with promising futures, the fate might even worse than death. Junior Leopard not only saved Li Yuan but also brought their futures back. How could they not be grateful?
Of course, Junior Leopard did not refuse their many shows of kindness. As a former honorable civil servant, he knew what it meant to get along well with people around him. Of course, there was no difficulty in dealing with these guards.
Therefore, Junior Leopard's life was getting better and better in the personal guard camp.
As for the assassin who appeared and disappeared out of nowhere, putting the personal guard camp into big trouble, Junior Leopard gradually found out his identity.
Clear Breeze Stronghold, in Mount Wuyang.
Yun Luo, the Third Valley Chief.
Yun Luo held a deep grudge against Li Yuan. 30 years ago, Yun Luo was nearly killed by Li Yuan and escaped desperately. Li Yuan did not regard Yun Luo seriously, but unexpectedly, 10 years ago, Yun Luo suddenly appeared to assassinate Li Yuan for the first time. Though he failed, Li Yuan was frightened with a cold sweat. Yun Luo owned a powerful Secondary Heavenly Weapon, the Chill Moon Bow. Back then, he had only the power to shoot once and he had just received it. Eager to get his revenge, he did not practice enough before trying to kill Li Yuan. Of course, he failed. Over the next 10 years, Yun Luo continued to look for opportunities to assassinate Li Yuan. He could shoot three arrows now, much more powerful than before. However, Li Yuan had strengthened his defense after the first assassination. He also climbed higher and higher in his career and grew into an Admiral from a humble leader. Therefore, it was even more difficult to assassinate him.
"In other words, Yun Luo must be General's nemesis. Why didn't he arrest him?" Junior Leopard asked, confused.
Under the great power of Jin, it was a felony to assassinate an officer of the imperial court. Even if Li Yuan let him go, the law of Jin would not. It had been ten years. How could he live so comfortably and assassinate Li Yuan as he pleased?
"It's easier said than done!" Sitting across from Junior Leopard with a cup of wine, Qi Fei's expression was bitter.
"Yun Luo is the Third Valley Chief of Clear Breeze Stronghold in Mount Wuyang. Clear Breeze Stronghold is one of the biggest bandit groups in Jin. The imperial court has sent armies to destroy it numerous times, but they all failed. Let alone us!"
The three biggest bandit groups?
Hearing this, Junior Leopard burst out laughing. The three biggest bandit groups each occupied one place, like the Liangshan Moor. The court was very much troubled by them, but was incapable of destroying them. They could only try every effort to suppress those bandits. Clear Breeze Stronghold in Mount Wuyang was one of them. Therefore, Li Yuan must be very confused and depressed.
"Alright, Camp Supervisor Qi. Forget about it. It's the personal enmity between General and Yun Luo. We just need to ensure General's safety!"
"You're right. Though Yun Luo was skilled, he had never succeeded and was almost caught two times in 10 years. This time was the most suspenseful one. But fortunately you were there to hammer down his arrow. Now the whole camp is grateful to you!"
"We're all brothers in the same camp. There's no need to say this!" Junior Leopard laughed. "Come on, Brother Qi! Drink up!"
"Okay! Cheers!"
Time passed and before anyone realized, another month had passed. After the assassination in the street, the personal guards did not encounter anything similar. So their lives become more leisurely. But Junior Leopard had been busier and busier. Except his daily practice, he had no time to sit down and relax.
That was because the people of Wu Family's ironware shop was already in place.
Wu Yuntian had not only died, he also went with a dreadful reputation. Yet that did not mean the influence of Wu Family in Zhonghe City was gone. Wu Yuntian was arrogant and domineering, but he was simply a local supervisor of the family. Being a descendant of Wu Family, he became more arrogant than the other supervisors. Now that he was dead, the Wu Family theoretically only needed to replace him with another supervisor.
It was just that the selection of the supervisor gave the whole Wu Family a headache.
That was because Zhonghe Prefecture was now a crucial area to the Wu Family, with the existence of an underground fire vein.
It was precisely due to the unground fire vein that Zhonghe City, on the edge of the Wu Family's power, now became a delicious slice of cake. However, it was also something troublesome. If you took over and managed it well, your status in the Wu Family would improve dramatically and the benefits you would receive would be endless. But if you did poorly, you would become a sinner and your status in the family would plummet. Therefore, everyone was very cautious with this chance. After going through a bloody battle unprecedented within the Wu Family, they finally decided the supervisor and the Great Master. Of course, they did not forget Junior Leopard, the key figure for them to get the benefit from the underground fire vein. So, they gave him a foreign affairs supervisor position to handle the affairs between Wu Residence and Admiral Manor in Zhonghe prefecture.
This time, the supervisor sent to Zhonghe Prefecture was an Elder, Xu Andong. He had once visited with Xu Yong and had a good relationship with Xu Yong. Most of all, he was a free Elder and had no basis in Wu Family. He became an Elder only due to his Level Four cultivation. Before becoming an Elder, he was just a common inner core disciple, not a core disciple. That was why he did not inherit the position of a certain vein in the Wu Family like Xu Yong.
His position was not very high among the Elders of the family. Yet he was very detached and this fitted the interests of every veins of Wu Family. So he was sent here as a supervisor. On the first day he arrived in Zhonghe Prefecture, he invited Junior Leopard to discuss the underground fire vein.
Thus he disturbed Junior Leopard a fair bit these few days.
But the underground fire vein was of great importance. Even the imperial court of Jin dared not neglect it, let alone the Wu Family. The court had begun to build a smelting chamber in the underground fire vein and the management right was in the hand of Li Yuan, the mayor and admiral of Zhonghe Prefecture. At the same time, negotiation and interest distribution at higher levels had begun. However, in Zhonghe City, when it came to operation, the Wu Family had a big advantage because of Junior Leopard.
For example, the day before yesterday, Junior Leopard took a bunch of soldiers to block the craftsmen of Jian Family for four hours. The old man, the head of the Jian Family, almost tried to kill them with saber.
"This Zhou Bao is too much! He even dares to do everything relying on a little bit of credit! Our Jian Family has spent many efforts on fighting for the right to use the underground fire vein. He, just a personal guard, dared to keep us out!"
In Jian Residence, Zhonghe Prefecture, Jian Ruyun was throwing a tantrum and shouting. He was the supervisor of the Jian Family in Zhonghe Prefecture. The prefecture had also been the Jian's traditional sphere of influence. With the discovery of the underground fire vein, they should be the ones to reap the most benefit by right. They did not expect the appearance of Junior Leopard. Not only did he made the Jian Family lose their advantages in Zhonghe Prefecture, but he even got in the way. Even though Jian Ruyun was always even-tempered, he could not help being furious with Junior Leopard's atrocious methods.
"Teacher, Zhou Bao is Li Yuan's golden boy now. He saved Li Yuan's life a month ago and the entire personal guard camp was grateful to him. As long as he doesn't exceed the bottom line of the officials, they wouldn't stop him."
"Then, what do you suggest?" This disciple of his had always been resourceful, so that was why Jian Ruyun asked as such.
"Endure and bid for time," Yu Dong said lightly. "Zhou Bao is now borrowing the authority of the officials and he has Snake King backing him. We don't know what he has to do with Snake King. It is impossible to win to confront him directly. We're better off waiting and seeing what will happen. Teacher, don't forget the Pei Family and the Luo Family have also been eyeing up the underground fire vein like us. Let's see if Zhou Bao only stops us or if he'll even stop the other two. If he also stops them, then we don't have to worry about him anymore."
"What if he doesn't stop them?"
"Then that would be a problem!" Yu Dong said, frowning.
"I'm going crazy! There are four biggest smelting families, and you ask me to stop three of them?" In Wu Residence, Zhonghe City, Junior Leopard was looking at Xu Andong without flinching, as if he was looking an idiot. "It's bad enough to make enemy out of one family, but you want me to bother the other three! I'm still not mad!"
"Isn't it because I can't think of a better idea?" Xu Andong looked at Junior Leopard in a troubled face. Young as Junior Leopard was, his position was not beneath than Xu Andong, so he could only speak with patience. "The family heads are talking about this, but they're locked in a stalemate. We need to give them more bargaining chips!"
"I don't care, and it's not up to me to care!" Junior Leopard shook his head. "General has spoken to me about this yesterday. The Jian Family had already gone to him and he didn't want the Pei Family and the Luo Family to go to him as well!"
"Something like this happened?!"
Instead of answering him, Junior Leopard said, "Elder Xu, that's all I can do now. I'll be leaving the rest to you!"
"But...!" Xu Andong wanted to say something more, but Junior Leopard had already left, without giving him any time to talk.
"This brat!" Xu Andong scolded helplessly. But he had no other methods. As for Junior Leopard's words, he was not stupid to go to Li Yuan to verify the truth. "Fine, fine. It's good enough to make trouble for the Jian Family. They're the most powerful family in Zonghe Prefecture. We'll gain a lot by suppressing them. There's no need to demand so much!"
Having refused Xu Andong's request, Junior Leopard was still unhappy. He only wanted to practice peacefully in Zhonghe City without getting involved in so many things. But he was now stuck in it, unable to extricate himself.
"Sh*t, no way. There are only three months before I'm leaving for Qinlingjun City. If I get involved again, I won't have time to practice!" Junior Leopard was distressed himself. "I must solve it. The damned underground fire vein is just trouble for me!"
Walking on the street of Zhonghe City, Junior Leopard looked somewhat seedy. He turned a few curves and came to a marketplace.
It had been months since Jin recaptured Zhonghe City. The new mayor was also a rare capable official. Under his ruling, Zhonghe Prefecture began to flourish from the former dilapidation in a few short months.
This was the largest marketplace in Zhonghe City, similar to the petty commodity markets in Junior Leopard's previous life, stocked with all kinds of goods.
As soon as he turned into the street, he saw a crowd of people. The sound of selling, bargaining, quarreling, crying, and whining were mixed up into an unending loud noise.
Unconcerned, Junior Leopard walked slowly into the depths of the street. Most of the merchants on this street sold things by the roadside. He looked around as he moved forward, as if he was searching for something. After a while, he finally stopped in front of a small stall.
"What can I do for you, laddie?"
Junior Leopard had just come out of Wu Residence in a casual outfit, so it was normal for the street peddler not to recognize him. He was also young, so it was appropriate to be called a laddie.
"What are your masks made of?" Junior Leopard crouched down and picked up a mask, knocking on it. "Wood?"
"Oh, most of them are made of vellum and wood. How about it, laddie? Will you get one?"
Putting down the mask, he looked over masks on the ground and pointed to one of them. "Show me that one!"
Looking at the mask Junior Leopard pointed, the peddler immediately smiled and handed the mask over. "Laddie, the mask is good and breathable. You can wear it for a long time!"
Junior Leopard looked at the mask over and over and tried it on. He then placed it down and said, "Can you customize a mask for me?"
"Customize?" The peddler raised his head with puzzlement to look at Junior Leopard. He had been doing this for years, but no one had ever asked this of him.
Without another word, Junior Leopard took a piece of cloth from his pocket. The cloth was painted with an odd face and marked the color of each pattern. "Can you make a mask according to this pattern? I need it to have good breathability. Is there any problem?"
"No problem!" Glancing at the mask, the peddler laughed. "This face is really good. But laddie, if you want to customize it, the price may...!"
"Money isn't an issue. I'll pick it up the day after tomorrow, is that fine?" He took out ten wen and handed them to the peddler. The peddler grinned because the most expensive mask was only five wen.
He simply wanted to raise the price, but not more than eight wen. It was a small business and he did not expect Junior Leopard would give him ten wen.
"This is only half of it. I'll give you 10 more after I get it. Is that enough?"
"Enough! Enough!" The peddler nodded quickly. "Don't worry. I assure you'll be satisfied with the mask when you get it the day after tomorrow, lad!"
"Good!" Junior Leopard nodded, stood up, and left the stall. He strolled along the street for another hour and went home after buying a large bag of stuff like sugar men, perfume and cosmetics, and gadgets.
These were for Zhou Hua'er and her children. After all, he was an uncle to the little ones.
Coming home with a bag of things led to a lot of grumbling. Zhou Hua'er told Junior Leopard not to waste money and to put it towards his savings or something. It gave him a headache. She had become a landlady, but she still did not allow others to waste money as she had done in the mountain village in the past.
Another nagging came. This time it was about the External Elixir hanging in Junior Leopard's ear. Of course, Zhou Hua'er did not know it was an External Elixir, so she disliked the thing that resembled an earring. Once again, Junior Leopard ran away.
"God, it's my External Elixir. I'll rely on it to survive in a few months. How can I live without it!" Junior Leopard muttered to himself when he was back in his room.
It was his house, so his room was the largest one situated in a small, separate courtyard.
Entering the yard, Junior Leopard stopped after a few steps.
Looking around with vigilance and shifting his facial expression, he opened his spiritual mind completely. After three breaths, the corner of his mouth twitched and he locked his eyes on the front of the stone table ahead.
"I don't know which method you're using to turn yourself invisible to me, but you'd better come out yourself or I'll hit you with a hammer!"
"Good spiritual mind! You're much better than I thought!"
Knowing that he was discovered, the man slowly emerged from hiding without hesitation.
At this point, Junior Leopard realized the person's appearance was like a chameleon that could merge with his surroundings. Even his spirit was consistent with the nature around him. This was why Junior Leopard did not immediately discover him when he entered the yard, but felt something was off. He did not find the man's trail until he used his spiritual mind.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" asked Junior Leopard.
The man before him was not old. To be precise, he was very young. He looked about 14 years old, like Junior Leopard. He was handsome and boyish, but there was a hint of pride in his boyishness. His pride did not contain hubris, but rather was a kind of extreme confidence coming from the bottom of his heart. From Junior Leopard's experience in his two lives, this young man should come from a very good family and have considerable strength.
So that was why Junior Leopard was so confused why such a youngster would come to his house.
"I'm Li Xiu from Pingzhou. I came here to see your hammering skill!"
"Pingzhou, Li...?" Junior Leopard frowned. "You're here to see my hammering skill? But I don't think I know you."
"Uncle Yuan praised you to be one of the best among the young generation. I was curious to see how good you'd be to receive Uncle Yuan's compliment, so I ventured here. Please don't be alarmed."
"Sh*t!" Junior Leopard cursed mentally, seemingly understanding what was going on. This youngster was here to challenge him. In the past six months, Junior Leopard had done a lot of things, and any one of those things was enough to propel him to fame in martial arts world. This was his way to be famous. In martial arts world, many people wanted to be famous. The best way to achieve fame was defeating celebrities. Junior Leopard was now a celebrity. It was just that he was too young and seemed to be a hard nut to crack with a good background, so no one came to bother him.
There was no one before, but there was one now.
This youngster was evidently unsatisfied that Junior Leopard was famous at his young age. What gave Junior Leopard the most trouble was that Li Xiu seemed to come from a prominent family. Li family in Pingzhou was a very famous family with power and influence in the world. Junior Leopard's immediate superior, Li Yuan, the Admiral of Zhonghe Prefecture, came from a branch of Li family. The youngster addressed Li Yuan as Uncle Yuan. Evidently, he had a deep relationship with Li Yuan. There were scruples in Junior Leopard's mind. Even if they competed, he would not dare to go all out.
Hence, Junior Leopard had a headache hearing Li Xiu's words.
"You said you're going to hit me with a hammer. But you don't have it on you!" It was clear that Li Xiu was not as complicated as Junior Leopard thought and he just looked at Junior Leopard. "I didn't expect you would go around without your weapon on you at all times!"
As he talked, he held his sword on his waist tighter, as if he was afraid his sword would disappear. Almost at the same time, a sharp Qi force emanated from his body.
"Hiss!" Junior Leopard was so shocked that all his hair stood up under this morale. He moved slightly and made a small step back. He frowned even more. The youngster was very young, but he had made great achievements in swordsmanship. His cultivation seemed similar to Junior Leopard's, merely the Top of Level Three, but his Qi Power had been condensed into substance. His whole body was like a sword drawn out of its sheath and the sword intent had already taken shape.
The sword intent!
How could Li Xiu pull off such a difficult thing at such a young age? He had cleared sword intent with his Level Three cultivation! How could that be?
Such a thought flashed through his mind. Now, he kind of understood the horrors of the Elders of Jian Family, Pei Family, and Luo Family after watching him condensed fist intent in the underground fire vein that day.
It was because he had already condensed fist intent that he knew the difficulties better than anyone else. He condensed the fist intent because of his magic eyes. He would have never been able to do it without them. But unexpectedly, this boy about his age also condensed his intent. Did he also have the Fiery Eyes?
"What's wrong? Am I not worth your time?"
After explaining his Qi Power, Junior Leopard looked initially shocked with uncertain expression, but there was no sign of the action. This irritated Li Xiu a little.
"No, no. You're the strongest opponent I have ever met!" Junior Leopard shook his head. "But you should know that it's impolite and uneducated to rush into someone's home for a challenge!"
"Well...!" Li Xiu's Qi Power suddenly dissipated.
Li Xiu's Qi Power died after hearing Junior Leopard's words. As a future star from a millennium family, he had been receiving a good education since young. He was burdened with high expectations. His every move represented the Li family in Pingzhou, and all his words and actions should conform to the norms that the children of his family should have. He should not be the one rushing into someone's house and pointed at someone with his sword and forced him to compete. It was rude as per Junior Leopard's words.
He had initially come to Zhonghe City to relieve boredom. He unexpectedly overheard Li Yuan praising Zhou Bao, as if there was no other talent among the younger generation. Angered, he rushed over without even thinking if his behavior would have a bad effect on him or his family.
There would definitely be some bad effects.
As the young master of Li family in Pingzhou, he suddenly came to the house of a rough youngster from a mountain village and pointed at his nose with a sword to ask him to compete. If it were to spread, Li family's and his face would be lost. Whether he won or lost their fight, he had lost.
These thoughts turned around in his mind, and after thinking through them, his expression became unpleasant.
Junior Leopard raised his eyebrows and laughed in heart. He had a lot of experience in the previous life dealing with such a face-saving man from a well-known family. Seeing the change of Li Xiu's expression, he naturally realized that his words had worked. While Li Xiu was distracted, he added, "But if you came here by chance because you weren't familiar with the place and accidentally encountered me, then itched to compete with me, it's innocuous."
Li Xiu's eyes suddenly lit up, "oh, yes! Yes, that's it! I was wandering the streets and accidentally met you. And y-you were graceful w-w-with heroic spirit, so...!"
"That's enough!" Hearing him stammer, Junior Leopard's mind was a little confused and he interrupted him. "It's not that I can't compete with you, but it's a little boring to just compete."
"Then, what do you have in mind?"
"Why don't we bet on something?"
"Stake? What do you want to bet?" Now that Li Xiu had recovered his peace of mind, he calmed down. He was in a panic earlier after Junior Leopard brought up his mistakes. Seeing that Junior Leopard did not make a fuss and seemed willing to compete with him, his mind was naturally clear.
"I need a sword, an upper class Genuine Weapon. If I win, you're need to get me a good sword of Genuine Weapon class and you can't tell anyone. Of course, I won't put you at an disadvantage. If I lose, I'll give you five Spiritual Stones of fire property. You should know they're not worth less than a Genuine Weapon!"
"Deal!" Li Xiu's eyes lit up.
The Spiritual Stones.
Though he was the young master of the Li family in Pingzhou, Spiritual Stones would not multiply because of his precious position. It was hard even for him to encounter a Spiritual Stone. Now there were five of them at stake. They were better than a Genuine Weapon. Therefore, he consented readily.