Enlightenment: Beginning as a Disposable Warrior-Chapter 31 - 30: Eliminating Evil for the People, the Mountain Monarch Manifests!

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Eliminating Evil for the People, the Mountain Monarch Manifests!

Wu Heng stared blankly at the masked person just a step away, a dazed expression on his face.

This was not their first encounter today.

From the beginning to the end, Wu Heng never regarded Su Mu as important, or rather, he never considered anyone from Li’s Iron Shop worth acknowledging; weaklings were no more than ants.

At this carousel moment, Wu Heng recalled that their first meeting could be traced back to the death of Sun Li.

Wu Heng’s eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the masked person in front of him, the image of the young man who had supported Zhou Mountain in his memory completely overlapping with the person before him.

"So it’s you... you are Su..."

Wu Heng suddenly came to his senses, blurting out a name, but before he could finish, the long saber that had pierced his heart twisted violently, and the power burst forth, shattering his internal organs, making blood gush from his mouth and nose.

This second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang looked down at the saber implanted in his heart, his face filled with intense regret and unwillingness.

No one could have thought that Wu Heng would meet his end at the hands of a young nobody from a blacksmith shop, hidden so deeply within such a small shop.

There was indeed a ’Bone Forger’ realm youth concealed.

Squelch!

The young man exerted force with his wrist and abruptly withdrew the saber, blood spattering in a five-step radius, and Wu Heng’s corpse crashed forward as if kneeling at the young man’s feet. Su Mu, who had killed Wu Heng, turned to look at the remaining two Black Tiger Gang members.

Tonight, every Black Tiger Gang member here must die.

"Master Wu... is dead?"

The two Black Tiger Gang members were utterly terrified, having just witnessed Wu Heng’s death with their own eyes. Where could they find any will to fight? After snapping out of an unprecedented fear, only one thought remained.

"Run... run quickly!" 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

One person exclaimed, but in the next moment, he let out a muffled groan as Su Mu stepped forward, covering a distance of several meters, and swung his saber.

The sudden appearance of blood.

This member of the Black Tiger Gang didn’t even have time to let out a scream before his body convulsed and he collapsed into a pool of blood.

Ah!

The last person on the scene screamed in terror as if insane, turning to flee. Su Mu pursued with his Startled Sparrow Step, raising his hand, and the saber descended, sending a severed head flying.

Thus, all the Black Tiger Gang members at Wu Heng’s residence, including Wu Heng himself, were annihilated. Su Mu casually wiped the blood off his saber on one of the bodies and with a clang, sheathed the saber.

"Quickly scour the area, then leave."

Su Mu quickly searched the four bodies, furrowing his brows as he only found around twenty to thirty taels of broken silver. He then strode into the study.

Hmm?

Su Mu’s nose twitched. With heightened senses, he detected a medicinal fragrance upon entering the study. Following the scent, Su Mu soon found an open redwood box on a shelf, containing an ointment and several small porcelain bottles.

"Take them first."

Whatever Wu Heng had stored in the cabinet was surely extraordinary. Su Mu stuffed the redwood box into his clothes, then found some other valuable items in the study’s cabinets.

A small bundle of silver notes of varying amounts, totaling around two hundred taels, along with a martial arts secret manual with curled pages.

"Gale Fist?"

Su Mu’s eyes shone, this was likely the fist technique Wu Heng had just used. The technique had caused Su Mu some trouble during their showdown; it was a decent technique.

Having searched thoroughly afterward without finding the Thirty-Refined Long Saber, he didn’t dwell on it. Su Mu, having forged a Thirty-Refined Weapon once, could certainly forge another.

Moreover, as Li Tie, the shop owner thought, the Thirty-Refined was not the limit of Su Mu’s forging art; it was only limited by the materials.

"Let’s go."

After confirming all four bodies were lifeless, Su Mu took large strides and left.

Late at night, the Qingshui Town government office arrived belatedly, several constables holding torches stepped into Wu Heng’s residence. Following the bloody scent to the inner courtyard, some people’s faces changed dramatically.

"Wu Heng... is dead?"

The captain was shocked, quickly inspecting the bodies left his heart pounding even more.

"Wu Heng died from a saber piercing his chest, judging by the wound it was a long saber, internal organs shattered... right arm broken, left wrist fractured..."

While the captain’s expression was grave, there was also some skepticism. The person who intruded into Wu Heng’s residence tonight deftly broke Wu Heng’s arms before finally stabbing him with a saber, despite the siege by Wu Heng and several Black Tiger Gang elites.

The terrified expressions on the faces of the Black Tiger Gang elites further filled the captain’s mind with images of Wu Heng and his group being ruthlessly slaughtered.

The perpetrator of tonight’s atrocity was far above Wu Heng in power!

This conclusion left even the captain himself stunned.

Wu Heng was the second-in-command of the Black Tiger Gang and had been renowned in Qingshui Town for a long time. The power of someone who could slaughter a Dark Force Martial Artist like Wu Heng was unimaginable.

"An Eighth-Grade Bone Forger Martial Artist... was it Zhao Xuan? Or did he provoke someone he shouldn’t have?"

That night, the news quickly reached the ears of Black Tiger Gang Leader Zhao Xuan, as a Gang member reported every detail of the incident.

"It’s said there was a sound of a tiger’s roar that rang out..."

Upon hearing the mention of a tiger’s roar, Zhao Xuan’s face changed dramatically, "Wait, you said someone heard a tiger’s roar?"

"Yes, Leader."

Zhao Xuan’s expression fluctuated, finally dismissing his subordinate, "I see, you may leave now."

The candlelight flickered, casting Zhao Xuan’s changing expressions into relief. Over twenty years ago, Zhao Xuan and Wu Heng had jointly killed a monk from the Vajra Temple, leading to their expulsion by the Qingfeng Gang. They had subsequently settled in Qingshui Town with new identities and founded the Black Tiger Gang.

With such ties to the Qingfeng Gang, they had secretly allied with a certain lord in Qingyun County, allowing them to quickly become the largest gang in Qingshui Town through the years.

Over these years, Zhao Xuan had used the silver coins acquired through force and deceit to rise to the Eighth Grade Bone Forging level. However, over half a year ago, the "Tiger Subduing Fist" secret manual was inexplicably stolen from his residence, and the suspect had yet to be found.

"Is it someone from the Vajra Temple?"

"No, if it truly were someone from the Vajra Temple... with their vengeful nature, they would’ve found me tonight..."

"Who indeed did Wu Heng die at the hands of?"

Zhao Xuan did not sleep at all that night.

At the crow of the rooster, a young man wearing a conical hat and draped in a straw coat walked swiftly through the rainy streets and alleys in the early morning.

"Have you all heard? That Wu Heng of the Black Tiger Gang was killed last night."

"Really killed? That’s truly a delightful event, I wonder which passing knight acted righteously!"

"It’s said there was a tiger’s roar from Wu Heng’s residence last night, heard throughout half of Qingshui Town, the sound shook the heavens and the earth... Perhaps Wu Heng, evil as he was, was killed by the manifestation of the Mountain Monarch?"

The region of Qingyun County, full of mountains, was steeped in ancient legends of the Mountain Monarch.

Su Mu walked along, body cold, face slightly pale; the Gu Poison in his body flared up in the rainy weather, though temporarily subdued by his power and Qi blood. Conversations filled the streets and alleys.

The Black Tiger Gang, having committed numerous crimes, had long terrorized the area of Qingshui Town, accumulating much public resentment. Wu Heng’s death was celebrated by all, accompanied by exaggerated tales of the Mountain Monarch’s manifestation, which brought a peculiar expression to Su Mu’s face.

Having heard the same account from different people, Su Mu, if not for being the sole witness last night, might have believed it himself.

Before reaching the iron shop, Su Mu heard from a distance that Zhou Mountain and other masters at the shop were enthusiastically discussing the matter. Upon seeing Su Mu, Li Xiaohu excitedly recounted the rumored ’Mountain Monarch manifestation’ right in front of Su Mu himself.

"Well done, the Mountain Monarch should have manifested long ago to rid the people of harm!"

Hearing this, Su Mu suddenly furrowed his brows as steady, powerful footsteps approached the shop quickly.

As expected, a blacksmith master soon rushed into the backyard, looking alarmed. He swallowed and interrupted everyone’s discussion with a trembling voice.

"Not good, the Black Tiger Gang Leader Zhao Xuan is here... he’s outside asking to see our shop owner."