Wuxia: Starting Off With 60 Years of Inner Strength

”You have ten fingers and twenty-eight joints in total. That gives you twenty-eight chances... But I don’t have the patience to ask you twenty-eight times.

”So, I’m going to start breaking them now. I’ll stop when you tell me the truth.

”If you manage to endure all twenty-eight times, I’ll admire you as a man of grit. I couldn’t bear to see you suffer like that, so I’ll do you the kindness of a quick death.”

Luo Zhenxie’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

’I thought if I endured all twenty-eight times, this whole thing would be over.’

’But instead, he’s going to grant me a ”quick death”?’

’Who the hell needs that from you?!’

But Jiang Ran said no more. He had always been a man of his word.

Before Luo Zhenxie could react, Jiang Ran snapped the second joint of his pinky finger.

A series of sickening CRACKS echoed one after another.

Finally, someone in the crowd couldn’t watch any longer.

”Stop!”

A figure immediately leaped out from the crowd, intending to rescue the man.

But before he even reached the apex of his leap, a saber’s gleam suddenly flashed.

By the time the man landed, he was in two pieces.

Jiang Ran casually slid his saber back into its sheath.

”If we don’t get to the bottom of this today, I won’t be satisfied, and I doubt any of you will be either.

”So, for the sake of uncovering the truth, you should all restrain yourselves for a moment.

”Otherwise, this saber in my hand doesn’t have eyes.”

If his previous act of throwing Mo Tingzhi’s corpse had shocked everyone present, then this single saber strike filled them with dread.

Everyone, including Huang Xuan and even that Junior Martial Uncle Gu.

No one had been able to clearly see how he executed that strike.

All they knew was that a blade flashed, and the body was in two pieces by the time it hit the ground.

Who among them could have dodged that strike?

They searched their hearts but found no answer!

Huang Xuan now truly believed what the Grand Master had said: this man’s saber arts were truly his greatest strength.

In an instant, the scene fell silent.

Only the sickening CRACK of bones and Luo Zhenxie’s incessant screams could be heard.

By the time Jiang Ran had broken both his pinky and ring fingers and was eagerly pressing on the tip of his middle finger, Luo Zhenxie finally broke.

”She is Ye Jingshuang... She IS Ye Jingshuang!!!”

CRACK!

”AHHH!!!”

Tears streamed down Luo Zhenxie’s face.

”I already told you she’s Ye Jingshuang! Why did you still break my finger?”

”My hand slipped.”

Jiang Ran smiled.

”So many are broken already. No sense in getting worked up over just one more.

”I’ll ask you again, why did you claim she wasn’t her before?”

”Because we didn’t want her to enter Red Maple Manor!”

Luo Zhenxie shouted.

”Qi Kai has already emptied Red Maple Manor of all its valuables, and now the Shattered Gold Saber is about to be delivered here.

”If we were to leave now, not only would we miss out on the Shattered Gold Saber, but when Ye Jingshuang finds Red Maple Manor empty... how could she possibly let us off lightly?

”So... even if we had to be unreasonable and cause a scene, we couldn’t let her take a single step into Red Maple Manor!

”The best plan was to obscure her identity and make her back down for the time being.

”Then, we’d spread rumors that someone was impersonating the Ye family’s sole heir, colluding with the Liuyun Sword Sect and the Cyan Pine Sword Sect to seize the Ye family’s ancestral estate...

”By muddying the waters, we’d have a chance to profit from the chaos!”

”Such audacity!”

Huang Xuan’s expression darkened.

’If things had gone according to their plan today, we wouldn’t have been able to prove her identity and would have been stuck in a stalemate. The appearance of Mo Tingzhi might have even allowed them to turn the tables and slander us. Once we were on the back foot, our only choice would have been to retreat, find witnesses and evidence, and then return to drive these people out. But at a critical moment like this, if someone were to smear our names... who knows what other kinds of chaos would have ensued. After all, with the matter of the Shattered Gold Saber, Red Maple Manor is already in a state of turmoil. If someone with ulterior motives used this to make a few moves, even if our lives weren’t in danger, it would have been just as Luo Zhenxie said—the situation would have been thrown into utter chaos. By the time we cleaned up the mess, the people from Qianliu Manor would have been long gone.’

”Not bad, not bad.”

Jiang Ran nodded.

”A decent scheme. Too bad for you. A gentleman can be deceived by appealing to his principles, but I am no gentleman.

”Even if the martial world isn’t all about fighting and killing, but about navigating social complexities... those complexities apply to *human beings*. Beasts like you in human skin don’t count!”

After he finished speaking, he turned to the rabble.

”Are you all planning to stay here at Red Maple Manor as guests? Or will you get the hell off this mountain?

”The choice is yours!”

With Luo Zhenxie’s confession, word of today’s events was bound to spread.

Staying any longer would bring them nothing but trouble, with absolutely no benefit.

Moreover, this Jiang Ran killed without batting an eye and was incredibly ruthless.

Qi Kai of Qianliu Manor had been smashed to death against the spirit screen of Red Maple Manor with Mo Tingzhi’s corpse. Who would dare to stay?

Did they want to end up as a painting on the wall?

Immediately, they all turned to leave.

But then they heard Jiang Ran let out another cold snort.

”Others can go. Everyone from Qianliu Manor stays. Anyone who dares take another step will pay with their life!”

At these words, the others quickened their pace.

Only the people from Qianliu Manor dared not move another inch.

In truth, Jiang Ran couldn’t possibly tell who was actually from Qianliu Manor.

But the bluff was enough to make most of them stay.

Just then, a voice called out from the distance:

”Cheng Tianyang, Chief of the Celestial Yang Escort Agency, has come to pay a visit to Red Maple Manor!!”

At these words, the group that was about to leave suddenly halted.

Then they quickened their pace, rushing toward the source of the voice.

Jiang Ran’s brow furrowed. With a casual squeeze, he crushed the life from the man in his hands.

He tossed the body aside and said to Huang Xuan:

”Brother Huang, I’ll have to trouble the members of the Liuyun Sword Sect to help watch over these people from Qianliu Manor.”

Huang Xuan immediately nodded.

”Don’t worry, leave them to us!”

Jiang Ran then glanced at Ye Jingshuang.

”Let’s go over as well.”

’Now that the Celestial Yang Escort Agency has arrived, this departing group won’t mind starting another fight before they go. Talk about bad timing for Cheng Tianyang’s arrival. Couldn’t he have waited just a little longer? Besides... Cheng Tianyang? What kind of name is that? It’s not the least bit auspicious!’

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