Chapter 4: Killing

"Brother, don't be impulsive..."

Gu Chudong was greatly alarmed. She had never imagined that Gu Mo would have such a plan; more precisely, all of Gu Mo's recent actions were entirely beyond her expectations.

She knew that Gu Mo's martial arts had always been much stronger than hers, and his internal energy had even improved last night. However, Gu Mo was blind, and even if his internal energy improved several more times, it would be useless.

But it was too late for her to stop him. Gu Mo had already drawn his saber and engaged in battle.

Gu Mo held a very long Tang saber. However, due to his blindness and impaired mobility, he had been using it merely as a walking stick to feel his way.

As Gu Chudong panicked, Gu Mo unleashed a single strike, immediately cutting down a swordsman.

The saber technique he used was a family legacy, named "Profound Illusion Saber Technique," passed down from his adoptive father in this life. His parents were both martial artists, and they had taught martial arts to him and his sister since childhood. This saber technique was exceptionally refined; its quality was not low in the martial arts world. It comprised seventy-two forms, and the original Gu Mo had only mastered forty-eight forms, becoming a rising star in the Linjiang County area. He had never been able to learn the final and most intricate twenty-four forms.

However, last night, after achieving mastery of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, Gu Mo's martial arts realm reached a near-Dao level. Utilizing the characteristics of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he directly mastered the Profound Illusion Saber Technique to its ultimate perfection, with all seventy-two forms now clear in his mind.

Furthermore, the last twenty-four forms of this Profound Illusion Saber Technique, which he had never learned over the years, were the most difficult and the most refined.

The Profound Illusion Saber Technique, as its name suggests, emphasizes two concepts: "profound" and "illusory." "Profound" implies something abstruse and unfathomable, while "illusory" means elusive and difficult to distinguish between reality and deception. Combined, these concepts create an unpredictable interplay of truth and falsehood, making it impossible for enemies to grasp or defend against.

Inside the inn, the group of saber-wielders from the Great Saber Gang surged forward like hungry wolves. Blades flashed and intersected, and their battle cries made the inn's windowpanes hum.

Gu Mo, however, remained unhurried. Though blindfolded, he accurately determined his enemies' positions based solely on the subtle sounds of wind and footsteps. His body suddenly spun, his long saber like a dragon emerging from the sea. A cold flash, blood splattered on the spot, and the first person to charge forward clutched his throat and fell.

His saber did not stop; he continued to fight.

"This is the Fiftieth Form: Fading Meteor...""This is the Sixty-Third Form: Blossom Reveals Buddha...""This is the Fifty-Seventh Form: River Dream Butterfly...""..."

Gu Mo's saber moved among his enemies, blood spraying and wails echoing, yet he continued to demonstrate the Profound Illusion Saber Technique to Gu Chudong. The long saber danced in his hand, forming a silvery-white halo. Each swing raised a mist of blood, and in an instant, several bodies lay sprawled on the ground, blood coiling across the floor.

"Spread out! Spread out!"

Zhang Xiong was drenched in sweat. He had assumed that dealing with a blind man like Gu Mo would be effortless, but he never expected the blind man to be so formidable. In his mind, he was cursing the Long Wind Escort Agency's ancestors. He had dared to openly rob Gu Mo precisely because he knew Gu Mo's background: a former escort expelled by the Long Wind Escort Agency, now protected only by his sister, Gu Chudong, whose martial arts skills weren't even good enough to qualify her as an escort.

A young girl with martial arts skills barely above that of a common caravan guard, accompanying a blind man who was supposedly incapacitated — it seemed like an easy target.

"Damn it, he's so strong! Even a blind man like him qualifies as an escort. Is the Long Wind Escort Agency crazy?" Zhang Xiong cursed inwardly, but there was no time for further thought. He motioned for his men to spread out, roaring, "He's blind! Everyone scatter and throw things everywhere!"

With Zhang Xiong's roar, the other swordsmen reacted. Since Gu Mo was blind, he could only rely on his hearing to determine enemy positions. If they threw objects everywhere to disrupt his hearing, even his formidable martial arts would be largely crippled.

Immediately, the swordsmen began picking up stools, bowls, and wine bottles from the ground, hurling them at Gu Mo, while others simply tossed objects around randomly.

As expected, Gu Mo's judgment was interfered with. Facing the encirclement, he was no longer as sharp as before. However, with Gu Chudong providing timely warnings, although disturbed, Gu Mo was still able to cope.

Seeing this, Zhang Xiong shouted, "Stop that damn woman!" Immediately, several swordsmen charged towards Gu Chudong, besieging her.

Without Gu Chudong's warnings, Gu Mo's situation instantly worsened, becoming perilous.

Zhang Xiong seized an opportunity and launched a surprise attack from behind, bringing his large saber down towards Gu Mo's back. His heart filled with excitement. With this strike, Gu Mo would either die or be severely wounded.

However, in the next instant, Zhang Xiong's face froze. Gu Mo had avoided the attack, and done so with remarkable ease. At the same time, he counterattacked, gripping his saber hilt with both hands and executing a diagonal slash that directly severed Zhang Xiong's arm.

"Argh!" Zhang Xiong let out a bloodcurdling scream as his arm and saber fell to the ground. He roared, "You... you can see! You were pretending to be blind?"

Gu Mo scoffed, wasting no words. With a backhand slash, Zhang Xiong's head instantly flew into the air, his eyes wide in death.

He wasn't pretending to be blind, but rather pretending to be interfered with. Undeniably, Zhang Xiong's plan was sound, but he underestimated Gu Mo's internal energy. The inn was only so large, and with Gu Mo's perceptive abilities, he could easily sense anyone's position anywhere in the inn. Therefore, the interference plan was utterly useless against Gu Mo. He merely feigned being disturbed to lure Zhang Xiong into lowering his guard. Zhang Xiong had constantly sent his subordinates to their deaths while he himself hid in the back, waiting for an opportunity. Even when he did strike, he would retreat from the fight if his blow missed, preventing Gu Mo from finding a chance to kill him. That was why Gu Mo had put on a small act.

With Zhang Xiong's death, his remaining swordsmen lost all will to fight. Terrified, they scattered and fled outside.

Gu Mo sheathed his saber and stood. Not a single drop of blood stained his dark clothes. His face was devoid of expression as blood slowly dripped from the Tang saber. Calmly, he said, "To my friends observing outside, the money is right here with me. Would any of you like to try taking it?"

"There are still people?" Gu Chudong leaned closer to Gu Mo, asking nervously.

Gu Mo nodded slightly. After a moment, he said, "No, they're gone. It seems they believe I'm worthy of keeping these three hundred taels of silver."

"They all left?""Yes, they did.""That's great!"

Gu Chudong immediately began searching the bodies, finding over forty taels of silver in total.

At this moment, the inn was quiet. When the battle had erupted, all the guests had fled in a panic. Now, only two people remained in the main hall, hiding behind the counter.

Gu Mo couldn't distinguish who was the innkeeper, so he simply addressed the direction of the counter, saying, "Innkeeper, I'm truly sorry for breaking so many of your things. I'll give you twenty taels of silver as compensation..."

The innkeeper stammered, "G-great hero... compensation, compensation... I don't need it. I only beg you to show mercy and allow my humble establishment to close early today. Is that... alright?"

Gu Mo naturally understood what the innkeeper meant: he was asking Gu Mo to leave and not remain in his inn. Since Gu Mo had killed the Great Saber Gang's hall master, the gang would not let it go. If Gu Mo continued to stay in his inn, the inn would be in great trouble.

"Little sister, give the innkeeper twenty taels of silver. We're leaving!"

Gu Chudong obediently placed two large ten-tael silver ingots on the counter, then helped Gu Mo walk out of the inn.

Inside the inn, the innkeeper and the waiter both breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Gu Mo and his sister leave.

"Innkeeper, what should we do now?"

"Go report it to the authorities! What else can we do? How the yamen and the Great Saber Gang deal with it is none of our business. We'll close for a few days first!"

The waiter grumbled, "What kind of mess is this? These people are truly..."

"Don't complain," the innkeeper said. "We're lucky. That Great Hero Gu is honorable; he deliberately waited for all the guests to flee the inn before taking action, and he even gave us compensation afterward. If we had encountered unreasonable people, who knows, we might have lost our lives. Alas, great heroes of the martial world... which one hasn't left a trail of innocent commoners unfairly dead on their path to fame?"