The Death of Ma Lei

The longsword swept away fallen leaves like a whirlwind.

Zhong Xuan's sword was already heavy. Previously, it only had crane bone, which was agile but lacked ferocity. Now, a dragon bone has been added.

The power is incomparable.

His chest heaved like a bellows, his breath was like a dragon's, and his inhalation and exhalation were intertwined with his swordsmanship.

Qi and sword unite!

boom!

Another powerful sword strike came down at Ma Lei.

"Hmm..."

Ma Lei felt his blood churning in his chest and abdomen, and a terrifying force seemed to be about to shatter every bone in his body.

Zhong Xuan's power shocked him.

If things continue like this, he will almost certainly die.

Resentment and anger.

"No!"

Ma Lei's eyes were bleeding, and he looked up to the sky and roared.

He had diligently cultivated his skills for over a decade; how could Zhong Xuan surpass him in just one year?

"It's the breathing technique, it must be because of the breathing technique!"

Ma Lei screamed inwardly.

He blamed the current gap between himself and Zhong Xuan entirely on his breathing technique.

He was convinced that if he also possessed a breathing technique, the situation tonight would be reversed, and he would be the one with the advantage.

In his despair, his body's potential was fully unleashed, and his strength surged. With a roar, he raised his broadsword and deflected Zhong Xuan's sword.

Finally, they got a chance to catch their breath.

Ma Lei stared at Zhong Xuan with bloodshot eyes, but did not rush to make a move.

He flapped his ears, carefully observing his surroundings.

Footsteps!

Clearly, it was the Ma family members living in the courtyard who noticed the commotion and were on their way.

He now clearly understands that he is no match for Zhong Xuan, but this is the Ma family, which has the advantage of location and popular support, so there may still be a chance.

Ma Lei grinned, seeing a glimmer of hope for life.

"I might not die. As long as I live, I'll definitely kill that old bastard surnamed Zhong. That breathing technique must be mine!"

Ma Lei is almost insane.

Zhong Xuan remained calm, took a deep breath, and his internal bones and physiques instantly stirred up all his blood and qi.

The sword pierces through the dragon!

The longsword slashed down at Ma Lei again.

"clang--"

A crisp metallic clang rang out in the room.

Ma Lei's pupils contracted to pinpoints in that instant, and a bright light flashed within them.

The knife... broke?!

The blade of the longsword was severed by Zhong Xuan's sword. The broken half of the sword spun in the air before finally embedding itself in a wooden stake in the roof beam with a thud.

The sword did not stop.

Zhong Xuan unleashed the domineering power of his dragon bones.

The blade touched Ma Lei's scalp like a pebble scraping across a lake, cleaving him in two from top to bottom.

"Hmm..."

Ma Lei's eyes widened in disbelief at what was happening before his eyes.

He couldn't understand until his death why the old, pedantic scholar had become so formidable.

"If I had known, I should have killed you a year ago..."

The thought had barely formed when darkness completely engulfed everything before my eyes.

With a loud thud.

The two halves of the body fell to one side, each gushing crimson blood.

The scene was bloody.

But Zhong Xuan's gaze was surprisingly calm. He expressionlessly and decisively squatted down and cut off Ma Lei's head, then lightly stepped out of the window.

When the Ma family arrived, only a still-bleeding corpse remained in the room.

.......

.......

Outside Xiahe Village, in a cypress grove.

"What's going on with this kid surnamed Ma? He was supposed to give the order at midnight, but we still haven't seen him."

The burly, bearded man from the Sha Gang grumbled in dissatisfaction.

"As expected, a young man with no experience is unreliable."

Another dark-skinned, lean man chimed in.

Ma Lei, through some unknown means, gained the favor of the young gang leader and became the leader of the Sand Gang at a young age, even showing a tendency to surpass the others.

They dared not speak out of fear of the young gang leader's power, but behind his back they were all extremely dissatisfied with Ma Lei, this unruly junior.

"grass!"

"Who threw this at me?"

Just as the bearded man was about to continue complaining, he suddenly felt everything go black.

He was about to continue cursing.

I immediately sensed something was wrong.

The smell of blood, an extremely strong and pungent smell of blood.

He had been engaged in dangerous and risky work for many years, so he was very familiar with this smell.

"This is......"

The other members of the Sha Gang looked at the object that had just hit the bearded man and was now rolling on the ground with expressions of horror.

Ma Lei's head!

To be precise, it's half a head.

"Ma Lei is dead?!"

The bearded man's face turned extremely ugly when he saw what was on the ground.

"Damn, he's a complete piece of trash."

One of the gang's henchmen asked somewhat timidly, "Three leaders, should we still go in?"

"go?"

"Go to hell."

The bearded man slapped his subordinate on the back of the head.

Did a donkey kick your brain?

The matter was something Ma Lei was supposed to handle, but now that Ma Lei himself is dead, what's the point of handling it?

Moreover, although they looked down on Ma Lei, they dared not underestimate his martial arts skills. If that person could kill Ma Lei, he could certainly kill them as well.

Going in now... are you looking for death?

"Get out of here when the wind gets strong."

Without the slightest hesitation, the bearded man turned and disappeared into the depths of the forest.

After the others left.

Zhong Xuan's figure slowly emerged from behind a large tree.

Ever since Zheng Yue enlightened him that day, Zhong Xuan had already made some guesses about Ma Lei.

So he had been secretly following Ma Lei.

Having witnessed Ma Lei enter and exit the cave, although he was unsure who was inside, a 70% chance of being able to kill him was enough for Zhong Xuan to be convinced.

It was not a case of "better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one guilty person go free."

But Zhong Xuan knew very well that being merciful to the enemy was being cruel to himself. Rather than waiting for Ma Lei to come knocking on his door, it was better to strike first.

They also happened to witness Ma Lei's secret plot with the Sha Gang.

If it weren't for meeting Zhong Xuan today, Ma Lei might have actually succeeded.

"If this were a chaotic era, he might very well have become a powerful warlord."

As Zhong Xuan pondered this, his figure vanished into the night once more.

......

......

Bang bang bang.

A rapid knocking sounded on the door.

Zhong Xuan, still half asleep, pushed open the door and saw that the area outside was already bright red. Xu Mao was standing at the door with several young men from Xiaohe Village.

"Uncle Zhong, something terrible has happened! Ma Lei, the eighth son of the Ma family, is dead."

"He was hacked to death in his own home by a thief; he was truly ruthless."

Xu Mao looked heartbroken.

Zhong Xuan noticed Xu Mao's expression.

"A neighborhood chief really needs to be a good actor."

He had a keen eye; he saw tears welling in Xu Mao's eyes, but he could barely suppress the tears from his lips.

With Ma Lei dead, how can the Ma family fight against the Xu family?

It was a stroke of good luck from heaven.

If it weren't for saving face, Xu Mao would have set off firecrackers.

Xu Mao actually thought the same thing, and even planned to get the neighbor's daughter, Tiger Girl, married off as soon as possible.

Funerals should be avoided when they coincide with weddings, so that it's justifiable to set off firecrackers then.

Only he knew how much he had suffered under the pressure of Ma Lei these past few days.

But Xu Mao was also secretly alarmed.

He had already been to the Ma family and witnessed Ma Lei's tragic death.

"Just who is the terrifying person that Ma Lei has offended?"