My Home's Ancient Well Connects to the Martial Arts World

Chapter 52: Chapter 52: A Dark and Windy Night for Murder

The night was dark, the wind fierce.

The sickle moon cast its cold, desolate light.

Under the hazy moonlight, some twenty men in black masks crept toward the mansion ahead.

”Are you sure this fat sheep is an easy mark?”

”Easy as can be! A woman, a young maid, and as for the boy, he might be a First Realm Martial Artist.”

”Mm, that makes it easy. But better safe than sorry. Everyone, stay sharp!”

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The twenty-odd men in black masks quickly leaped onto the surrounding wall, vaulting over it like civet cats, their movements incredibly agile.

One by one, the masked men used the cover of the trees to sneak toward the inner courtyard.

They soon reached the inner courtyard and were about to head for the house. Suddenly, the masked men all froze, their expressions changing slightly.

There, under the moonlight, a young man in green robes stood before the house with a longsword at his waist. He was watching them with a calm, smiling face.

”Heh, gentlemen, visiting so late at night... you must be here for money!” Ye Xing said with a laugh.

”That’s right, we’re here to rob you. If you know what’s good for you, hand over your valuables.” Seeing they had been discovered, the leader of the masked men spoke bluntly. He was confident and unafraid, having brought twenty men to this robbery, each one a skilled fighter from his village.

”Haha, if you’re here to rob me, that’s wonderful.” Ye Xing’s eyes glinted as he smiled. ”Honestly, this Ye Mansion has nothing but money. I’m absolutely delighted that someone has come to rob us.”

After a pause, Ye Xing continued, ”However, I don’t just give my Gold Coins to any random robber. The people I admire most are truly skilled martial heroes. So, how about this? You send one person to fight me one-on-one. Whoever can best this sword of mine, to them I will gladly hand over my fortune!”

The masked men immediately looked at each other, unsure of what Ye Xing was playing at.

”If he just obediently hands over the money, it’ll save a lot of trouble!”

”Are you stupid? Who would just give away their fortune? It can’t be that simple!”

The masked men put their heads together, muttering amongst themselves.

”Boss, he must be stalling for time! He might have already reported this to the authorities. Let’s just kill him,” one of the masked men said in a sharp voice.

Killing intent flashed in the leader’s eyes. The other masked men gripped their gleaming steel blades, their eyes filled with menace, waiting for their boss’s order to kill and plunder.

”Haha, gentlemen, you’re overthinking things. My Ye Mansion is just a small courtyard deep in the mountains, out in the middle of nowhere. White Cloud Mountain is quite a ways from Phoenix Town. Even if I were to report this to the Government Office right now, the round trip would take nearly a shichen. Stalling for a few minutes is pointless. By the time the people from the Government Office arrived, you all would have already finished your business and left.” Ye Xing sneered, his gaze shifting to the masked man who had spoken earlier. ”Hmm, that voice sounds familiar. If I’m not mistaken, you must be Lai Sanpi, right? Everyone in town has been wondering how you suddenly got so rich. So it turns out you’ve taken up a life of robbery.”

”That’s right, it’s me. So what if you recognize me, kid? You think you’ll get the chance to report it?” Lai Sanpi ripped off his black mask, speaking without fear. ”Village Chief, after we kill this brat, you’ve got to leave that little maid in the mansion for me to have some fun with.”

”Fine. You’ve earned it by providing the intel. As long as we get over a thousand Gold Coins from this haul, your request is granted. Alright, move! And make it quick!” With the Village Chief’s command, the twenty-odd masked men raised their steel blades, surging forward with thick killing intent.

”Wait!” A cold glint flashed in Ye Xing’s eyes, though he quickly concealed it. He chuckled deeply and said, ”To tell you the truth, even if you kill me and ransack the entire Ye Mansion, you probably won’t find many Gold Coins. Hmm, maybe thirty or fifty loose coins at most.”

”What do you mean?”

The masked men froze, their gazes flickering with uncertainty.

”I don’t mean anything by it. I’m just reminding you that the only money in this Ye Mansion is some spare change. The real, large-denomination gold Tickets, I’ve hidden them. They’re hidden very well—you’ll never find them. Even if you dig three feet deep, you might not find them, because I might not have even hidden them in the Ye Mansion. You could end up wasting your time for nothing.” Ye Xing shrugged and smiled.

”You’ve got guts, kid!” The leader’s expression was uncertain. After a moment of thought, he said in a low voice, ”You said if we beat you, you’ll hand over the gold Tickets, right? In that case, I’ll spend a little time and play with you!” Seeing how calm and composed Ye Xing was, the masked man believed that the gold Tickets were indeed hidden. He had robbed plenty of houses before; many wealthy masters exchanged their gold, silver, and jewels for sheets of gold Tickets and hid them in secret places.

”You want to cross swords with me? Of course, you can. But you seem to be their leader. Isn’t it a bit beneath you to step up right at the start?” Ye Xing sneered. ”I only just became a Martial Artist a few days ago. You could probably send out any random subordinate, and he’d still beat me easily!”

The leader’s expression stiffened.

”Village Chief, let me handle this brat. I can finish him in twenty moves! It won’t take long.” A short, masked man wielding dual blades stepped forward. This man was exceptionally short, perhaps only around 1.4 or 1.5 meters tall. His eyes were savage, and he looked dangerously capable. It was clear he had taken many lives, as killing intent occasionally leaked from his gaze.

”Mm, Guo the Second’s dual blades will be more than enough for him.” The leader nodded, then shouted harshly at Ye Xing, ”Kid, I hope you’re a man of your word. Hand over your fortune when you lose. Otherwise, we have plenty of ways to make you wish you were dead!” The masked man clearly believed Ye Xing wouldn’t last more than a few moves and would be defeated in a few minutes at most. After all, while his subordinate Guo the Second’s aptitude was only average, he had been at the Martial Arts First Realm for many years. His dual blade technique came from a Yellow-tier Middle-grade Manual and had even reached the Minor Achievement Realm. Dealing with a kid who had just entered the Martial Arts First Realm would be child’s play.

”I am a man of my word. If you beat me, I will naturally tell you where to find my fortune.” A mocking smile touched Ye Xing’s lips as he looked at the dual-wielding masked man and sneered, ”But this subordinate you’ve sent out... he seems a bit pathetic. So short. Are you sure he can beat me? A guy that short... if he jumps, he might just be able to hit my kneecaps! Haha.”

The moment Ye Xing’s words fell, the short masked man exploded in fury. A vicious light flashed in his eyes. He stomped the ground, launching himself into the air. His dual blades, glinting coldly under the moonlight, chopped straight down at Ye Xing’s head.

The wind from the blades howled, the aura terrifying!

Seeing the gleaming steel blades chopping down at him, Ye Xing’s expression instantly became serious. ’Despise the enemy strategically, but respect them tactically.’ His verbal provocations just now were only to anger Guo the Second and disrupt his fighting ability.