My Journey to Immortality Begins with Hunting-Chapter 062 – Not Out of the Woods Yet

Li Yuan spent two full days in Little Ink Village. On the third day, he finally pieced together what had happened in Silver Creek.

On the very day Li Yuan faced Zhao Zimu in their duel, the Blood Blade Sect launched a surprise attack on the main Wei Family estate.

The Wei family head himself was a seventh rank martial artist. Although he resisted fiercely, he was ultimately beheaded. Once the Wei Family understood what was happening, their counterattack proved vicious.

In a fit of desperation, they unleashed two seventh rank demonic beasts—a pair of flame blaze leopards they had kept captive, one male and one female.

Originally, the Wei Family had intended to breed and tame the demonic beasts, but now they’d thrown caution to the wind, setting them loose in a suicidal attack.

Meanwhile, Wei Family spies scattered throughout the three townships under the Blood Blade Sect’s control also sprang into action, sowing chaos.

But at last, the dust began to settle. The Blood Blade Sect lured the two demonic beasts outside the county and let them loose in the wilderness, while systematically rooting out each spy. Order was gradually restored to Silver Creek.

Having learned what happened, Li Yuan decided it was time to return. The most dangerous days had passed, and as a disciple of the Blood Blade Sect, he ought to show his face.

Together with Yan Yu, the proprietress, and her two bodyguards, Li Yuan said farewell to the Qian brothers at daybreak and rushed back to Silver Creek.

Armed with his longbow over his shoulder and a long blade in hand, Li Yuan led Yan Yu straight toward their old neighborhood of rickety shacks.

The mood there was grim. People wandered about, faces pale and downcast. Blackened ruins marked places where houses once stood, and on open ground, one could glimpse bodies lying under thin mats of straw—sad evidence of the many casualties.

Yan Yu clung anxiously to Li Yuan’s arm. “I hope Auntie Wang’s all right,” she murmured, trembling at the sight of so much destruction.

Li Yuan nodded somberly. “She should be fine if she stayed inside her house.”

Before long, they arrived at their own front door. Li Yuan was just about to push it open when a sudden sense of danger prickled at the back of his neck. In a lightning move, he yanked Yan Yu to the side.

THWACK! An arrow thudded into the spot where they had just been standing, sinking deep into the wood.

The force behind that shot was terrifying. If Li Yuan had been a moment slower, he would have taken it right in the chest.

He stared at the arrow, heart pounding. Someone was trying to kill him—and Yan Yu was right next to him. If he died, her fate would be unimaginable.

A surge of tension, anger, and fear seized him. But he clamped down on his emotions, whipping his head around for a glimpse of the attacker. He saw no one.

“Don’t panic. Let’s go!”

Forcing himself to stay calm, he grabbed the near-paralyzed Yan Yu and dashed away from the house.

Before the two reached the end of the alley, a figure stepped out in front of them. Floating above his head was the faint number 39~40.

Arms folded, the man wore a smug, mocking expression, as though he had everything under control. He opened his mouth, likely to say something, but never got the chance.

Li Yuan’s heart hammered in his chest. Without a word, he drew upon his shadow blood, fusing its power with another blood-based energy, and in an instant, his face went crimson as though aflame. His dark hair whipped around wildly, and the long blade in his hand hummed ominously.

Letting go of Yan Yu’s arm, he gripped the blade’s hilt with both hands. A fierce, thunderous slash tore through the air, crackling as it descended with terrible force.

The man froze, never expecting such a merciless, wordless strike. He reacted quickly enough to draw his sword in defense, but Li Yuan’s blade fell too fast, too hard.

KLANG! The man’s sword went spinning away.

SLASH! The blade cut all the way through his body. He stood there, paralyzed in disbelief, until a horrifying red line split his face like a centipede of blood. Then, he fell apart in two.

Yan Yu screamed and hastily covered her mouth, but there was no time for more than that.

Footsteps sounded behind them. Li Yuan nudged Yan Yu into a small recess off to the side, then rushed toward the source of the noise, every muscle braced.

His stealth technique was exceptional; in the cramped alley, he slipped along in near-silence.

Around the corner, another man, sword in hand, crept forward with a cruel sneer. It was clear he intended to trap Li Yuan from behind.

He hadn’t even stepped fully into view when Li Yuan—face still burning red, hair flying—flashed into sight.

Again, Li Yuan swung without a shred of hesitation, his blade splitting the air with lightning speed.

Thunder roared in Li Yuan’s ears, and the blade’s cold sheen raked across his target. The ambusher instinctively raised his sword, but it was blasted aside like straw under a hammer.

Li Yuan twisted his wrist, turning the downward slash into a lethal spin. In the space of a breath, another head went flying. Blood sprayed in a crimson arc, drenching the dirt road as the severed head rolled away, wide-eyed in terror.

Two kills in the blink of an eye, and silence descended. Li Yuan’s chest heaved, but an unexpected calm settled over him, like a taut bowstring finally released. He’d had his warm-up. If there were more enemies, he was ready.

There had to be at least one more, the archer who had fired that first shot.

His heart pounded. He honed his senses on any sound or movement, every nerve afire with vigilance. Seconds ticked by.

Suddenly he caught a faint tap, perhaps a roof tile shifting.

BOOM! Li Yuan shot forward like a startled lion. Above him, footsteps clattered urgently across the tiles—someone trying to flee.

In a flash, he sprang up, ricocheting off the narrow walls of the alley, and landed on a rooftop. Far ahead, he spotted a figure with the faint number 7~8 hovering above him.

“Huh?” Li Yuan blinked in confusion.

But before he could think more—

WHOOSH! Another arrow sped right at him. Li Yuan slid aside, dodging it easily, then sprang forward in three quick strides. As he closed in, he raised his blade for yet another punishing blow.

The archer tried to nock a second arrow, but never got the chance. One more slash, one more head rolling to the ground.

Li Yuan didn’t waste time rummaging through pockets just yet. He dashed back to the alley, dropping down to check on Yan Yu. She was still there, shaking all over but otherwise unhurt. He exhaled in relief.

She was cold to the touch, almost in shock. When Li Yuan wrapped his arms around her and whispered “It’s all right,” she slumped into him like a rag doll.

He stood with her, pressed into a small corner of the alley, long blade in one hand, the blade stained deep red. Drops of blood trickled off the steel edge, leaving vivid crimson streaks.

They waited about the time it took to burn one stick of incense. No one appeared to claim the bodies strewn at either end of the alley. Finally, Li Yuan tightened his embrace around Yan Yu’s waist and murmured near her ear, “Stay here. I need to have a look around.”

“Be careful...” Her voice wavered close to tears. She could see the gory remains and felt a surge of nausea, but also a flicker of reassurance.

Silver Creek might be dangerous, but apparently her man was even more dangerous. Feeling Li Yuan’s deadly aura was, in its own way, a relief.

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Li Yuan moved carefully, crouched low, sweeping the surrounding area to confirm there were no more assailants. Then he doubled back to the bodies to search them. There was no need for a second strike—one was headless, the other cleaved clean through.

Heart still thudding, Li Yuan discovered only a few coins, some odd ointments, and two worn tokens engraved with the Wei character. No secret manuals, just enough for him to mutter, “Cheap bastards,” under his breath.

He then jumped onto his rooftop for a quick look. Hearing and seeing nothing out of place, he dropped into his courtyard. If someone had been lying in wait inside, they wouldn’t have needed to post assassins in the alley.

Even so, he proceeded cautiously. The house was a shambles. He called out, “Auntie Wang? Niu Niu? Xiao Sheng?” But only echoes replied. No sign of bodies or blood, which was both a relief and a worry.

“Damn the Wei Family...their estate is destroyed, and yet they still send assassins after me? Are they out of their minds?”

Li Yuan clenched his fists in fury and rummaged quickly through the wreckage of his home. He managed to find two hooded cloaks for spring weather and a hidden sleeve dagger he’d bought previously.

He draped one cloak over his shoulders, pulling the hood low, and handed the other to Yan Yu. Then he passed her the sleeve dagger. “For protection,” he said simply.

Yan Yu nodded, gratefully accepting it.

“Let’s go to the Ginger Tavern. The proprietress will have people around, more bodyguards. It’ll be safer.”

“Whatever you think best,” she agreed in a trembling voice.