Martial Cultivator

The sound of hooves rang out in succession, breaking this rare moment of peace almost instantly.

The middle-aged man was the first to react. With his hand gripping the hilt of his saber, he had already stood up, looking toward the official road. A group of riders was hurrying this way, travel-worn and dusty.

At the front of the group was a burly man holding a long spear that was uncommon even within the military.

Among military generals, the most common weapons were halberds and long spears. But precisely because those two weapons were so common, it was hard to stand out. Even so, many still would not take the unconventional route of training with other weapons.

Weapons like long spears and halberds were even rarer and much harder to master.

Therefore, encountering someone wielding such a weapon, if in the military, even at worst, they would be considered a warrior capable of taking on a hundred men alone. The man before them was burly and carried a murderous air; if clad in armor, no one would doubt he came from the army.

The group rode to the side of the official road and, only upon seeing the grassy field ahead, reined in their horses. The tall man in front said nothing, simply pressing his heels to the horse’s belly and slowly approaching.

The middle-aged man had already drawn his saber and stared at the tall man ahead, asking, “Halt! Who are you?”

The tall man did not even glance at the middle-aged man, instead, his gaze landed on the woman in the distance, his eyes slightly burning.

“Liu Tong, you’re just a servant, yet your courage isn’t small!”

A man on horseback behind the tall man urged his horse forward. Sitting tall in the saddle, he looked at the middle-aged man with slanted eyes and sneered, “But in the end, you’re just a servant. Have your mistress come out, who the hell do you think you are?!”

A hint of anger flashed across Liu Tong’s eyes, and he abruptly refused, “Don’t even think about it, Yan Fadu! As long as I, Liu Tong, still draw breath, I’ll never allow you to do anything!”

The frail man named Yan Fadu gave a cold laugh and could not be bothered to deal with the middle-aged man. Instead, he looked into the distance and spoke with a smile, “Madam Gu, you were doing just fine in Xinliu Prefecture. Why have you decided to move your entire household south?”

The woman had already noticed the approaching group long ago but had said nothing. She was uncomfortable, perhaps because of the tall man’s gaze, which she found repulsive.

“I have not broken any law of Great Liang. Whether I relocate or not, I don’t believe I need to inform anyone.”

The woman spoke calmly, her tone inherently distant.

Yan Fadu smiled, “Madam Gu is overstating it. Your legs are your own, naturally, you may go wherever you wish. But the Gu and Yan families have long been family friends. For Madam Gu to leave without saying goodbye, isn’t that a bit improper?”

The woman’s face remained cold, saying nothing.

“What’s more, Brother Gu and I were close friends in life. How could I just stand by and watch Madam Gu shoulder the burdens of the household alone and suffer? I had planned to find Madam a suitable new husband, but before I even had the chance to speak, you up and relocated the entire household.”

Yan Fadu narrowed his eyes. The Yan and Gu families were both wealthy houses in Xinliu Prefecture and had been close for generations, both families dealt in business. But in this generation, while the Yan family continued their trade, the sons of the Gu family had all gone to the Northern Frontier Great Wall, and all of them had died there. That left no heirs for the Gu family, and the Yan family began coveting their estate. Their original plan was to use some tricks to get Madam Gu to remarry into another household, and then slowly plot to seize the Gu estate. They had not expected Madam Gu to be so alert and to decisively decide to move the entire family south. But now that the Yan family had set their sights on the Gu estate, how could they possibly let her go so easily?

“I have already resolved to remain faithful to my late husband. You’d best give up.”

The woman spoke with great calm.

“Why so stubborn, Madam? Brother Gu may have been great, but he’s still dead. But you still have many years to live. Once night falls, with no one by your side, won’t you feel lonely?”

Yan Fadu’s eyes swept constantly over the woman. He had long known she was a rare beauty of the northern regions, what a pity she had married into the Gu family. Otherwise...

Yan Fadu shook his head. She should have been a beauty lying in his bed.

“Yan Fadu! My husband died for the country, you’re not allowed to utter nonsense here!”

The woman had originally resolved not to respond to Yan Fadu at all, but she had not expected him to speak of her deceased husband. That, she could no longer tolerate.

“Forget it, at this point, I won’t waste more words with you. If you had stayed in the prefecture, taking the Gu estate would’ve taken some effort. But now that you’ve sold your family’s lands and plan to head south with all your possessions, it becomes simple. If you die in these desolate hills, who would know how you died? They’d probably just assume you were killed by demons.”

Yan Fadu narrowed his eyes. “But before you die, I suppose you can still...”

At that, he glanced at the tall man beside him and smiled, “Captain Li is in for some luck.”

The tall man responded calmly, “It’s only an hour, what luck is there to speak of?”

Yan Fadu froze. Though his expression did not change, inwardly he cursed.

An hour?

Why the hell don’t you just say a full two hours?

“In that case, Captain Li, take action. Once they’re dead, we can discuss the rest.”

Yan Fadu stepped aside. This Captain Li before them was someone who had truly seen battle. Who knew how many lives had ended on the tip of that long spear? Faced with this group of guards, Captain Li did not even consider them a threat.

He gestured slightly, and the men behind him dismounted and drew the sharp sabers at their waists, closing in on the crowd.

Led by Liu Tong, the household guards had already positioned themselves in front of the woman and the young girl. Liu Tong spoke in a low voice, “Madam, hurry up and leave! We will cover your escape!”

The woman frowned and was about to speak, but Liu Tong spoke again, “Even if Madam refuses to live dishonorably, you must think of the young miss. She’s still so young, she must not die here!”

These words made the woman hesitate.

She looked at the young girl standing beside her, eyes full of confusion. Of course she could die here. But that girl, her daughter, was her husband’s only bloodline. If she died here, then her husband’s bloodline would be severed forever. That, she could not bring herself to do.

She hardened her heart and was just about to pull her daughter to leave, when her daughter looked at her with disbelief, “Mother, are you really going to abandon Mister Liu and the others?!”

The woman stared into her daughter’s wide, questioning eyes and could not say a single word.

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