Chapter 4: Slaying the Bandits at Dawn

Bai Liusu exclaimed, "Elder brother, quickly let—" With a flick of her left hand, a flying knife shot towards Watanabe's heart, and she lunged forward.

Shen Jian and Bai Liusu reacted swiftly, drawing their weapons in a flash, and positioned themselves on either side of the window with remarkable coordination. They were accustomed to entering and exiting through the window, naturally considering it the sole point of entry and exit, yet they had guarded the wrong place. It was only with the sound of "tick-tock" that they entered the main room, realizing that the other party might break in through the door. With a clang, the door lock was severed, followed by a loud bang as the door was kicked open.

Is that so? Then you are already prepared to die in battle today?" Shen Jian said, suddenly pushing Bai Liusu with his hand and shouting, "Go!" He then charged towards Duwang.

Shen Jian immediately stood still, then raised his eyebrows and said sternly: "It is the Japanese!"

Ouyang Yun's steel needle is far more formidable than Bai Liusu's flying daggers or a ninja's shuriken—measuring 10 centimeters in length, hollow, coated with anesthetic, and sealed at the rear with a rubber stopper. If he wishes to kill, he merely needs to remove the stopper. Once the prey is anesthetized, they will bleed to death

Shen Jian instinctively pulled with his right hand and pushed urgently with his left, but it was still too late. Watanabe's seppuku was executed with great force, instantly piercing through himself and stabbing into Shen Jian's abdomen. Then, a gash opened on his neck, blood gushing out as his body lunged forward. With a "puchi" sound, he blocked several shurikens aimed at Bai Liusu, trembled twice, fell to the ground, and immediately died completely.

As a warrior, dying in a duel is the best outcome; you should feel fortunate for them

Bai Liusu lowered her head and said timidly, "Elder brother, I am sorry, I did not expect that"

Ah, so that person has been in this room. Quickly, check if anything is missing

Suddenly, the nearby chirping of insects came to an abrupt halt, and Ouyang Yun's eyelids twitched slightly, her right ear quivering—she must have sensed that the "female ghost" had returned, accompanied by a companion

"Northeast Tiger, I didn't expect we would meet again so soon," said the Japanese ronin, who had a tumor on his left cheek. He glanced at the burlap sack and wooden box, a victorious smile appearing at the corner of his mouth

Two individuals were engaged in close combat, their movements swift, with the glint of blades occasionally sweeping past each other's vital areas, creating an exceptionally thrilling scene. The sound of metal clashing echoed continuously, and aside from the three ninjas, everyone else watched with wide eyes, anxiously focused on the fight. Bai Liusu did not leave; she held a short sword about a foot long in her right hand and a throwing knife in her left, seemingly ready to assist Shen Jian in the fray.

"Slipped away?" another male voice asked

The Northeast Tiger is indeed Shen Jian's code name. He swiftly moved to stand in front of Bai Liusu and coldly said: "Watanabe, you have killed two of my brothers"

The bear responded with a sound and leaped out of the window. Phoenix Bai Liusu approached the wardrobe, opened the wardrobe door, and suddenly, she let out a soft exclamation: "It has been tampered with."

First male voice: "Not at all, aside from that little girl who is studying, the other members of the Chen family have long been frightened out of their wits—Phoenix, I hope your mercy hasn't brought too much trouble!"

The first male voice belonged to Shen Jian, who quickly scanned the room and said: "I don't know who the other party is, but it seems that silencing them is no longer possible—Phoenix, open the cellar; Xiong Xiazi, call the mouse in, we cannot stay here any longer"

The sound of footsteps grew closer to him, and a second male voice said: "Could it be the original owner of this place?"

Upon seeing this, Ouyang Yun naturally would not allow them to succeed. He had originally intended to conserve ammunition and practice his skills, but at that moment, he immediately drew his gun. With two soft sounds of "bang," the two ninjas were shot through the heart by the red line, their bodies bursting apart, dying on the spot

Bai Liusu shook her head and said, "If we are to leave, let us leave together." Her voice was very low, yet her tone was quite resolute

Several burlap sacks were dragged out, followed by wooden boxes. Shen and Tu, along with Bai Liusu, opened them one by one and found that nothing was missing, which surprised them all. Then, Shen Jian suddenly realized and said: "This is not good, he must have called someone, we need to hurry up."

I will fight you to the end! Bai Liusu leaped to evade the remaining shurikens, roaring in mid-air, and with a flick of her right hand, the short sword flew towards the murderer who killed Shen Jian

This is a woman's voice, soft and resonant, sounding quite special. Ouyang Yun smiled and thought: You were originally a beautiful person, yet you have become a ghost. With such a voice, wouldn't it be more promising to become a singer?

As the Japanese entered the hall, Ouyang Yun took the opportunity to make a small hole in the floorboard with a military dagger. Just as he finished making the hole, the Japanese swaggered in. The first two were dressed in kimonos, each holding a katana, with a short sword tucked at their waist, and wooden clogs on their feet, embodying the so-called Japanese ronin. The three behind them were clad in black, their heads and faces covered, revealing only a pair of piercing eyes that glimmered intensely, resembling the legendary ninjas.

His move was ruthless enough; Ouyang Yun intended to remind him, but it was already too late. He could only sigh and curse under his breath: "Damn the way of the warrior!" With a forceful shake of his left hand, he grasped a steel needle, bent his legs and pushed hard, using his head as a hammer to crash against the edge of the bed

Watanabe's knife is long and thin, and he fears it may break. With a twist of his wrist, he meets the blade with its edge.

Seeing the bloodstains on both swords, Shen Jian knew that the bear and the mouse were certainly in grave danger, causing his heart to ache and his eyes to instinctively retract.

Ouyang Yun peered through the gap between the bed and the floor, catching sight of two pairs of wide-headed men's cloth shoes and a pair of embroidered shoes. The one wearing the embroidered shoes was evidently a phoenix. Remembering her head full of white hair, he couldn't help but smile, his mouth slightly curling up, thinking to himself that he would call her "White-Haired Phoenix Woman Ghost" from now on. With a flick of his right hand, a steel needle slipped from the needle pouch at the bend of his arm. He pinched it between his middle and index fingers, quietly preparing for an attack.

Shen Jian moved, and the three ninjas behind Watanabe simultaneously raised their right hands, each holding a gleaming kunai, which is a unique concealed weapon of ninjas. Watanabe waved his hand to stop them and coldly snorted, "He is mine!" As he spoke, he stepped forward, raising his blades with both hands, and slashed diagonally at Shen Jian's right shoulder.

Forget it, now is not the time to assign blame

The voices of the three individuals began at a low volume, gradually rising, clearly surprised to find that there were still people hidden in Phoenix's room. They opened the window, one by one jumped into the room, and turned on the lights

The night gradually deepened, and there is a moon tonight, a half-moon quietly reflecting the sun's brilliance. The surroundings slowly fell into silence, and shortly after, the sound of insects began to rise, tentatively at first, before starting to sing unabashedly.

Shen Jianchong moved swiftly, retracted just as quickly, and his hand movements were even faster. His weapon was a curved blade measuring one foot in length. While the opponent was preparing to strike downward with a Watanabe knife, his blade had already struck against the opponent's weapon.

The Japanese man had looked over and turned his gaze towards his compatriots. Both were dressed in short attire, wearing blue clothes and blue pants. The man appeared to be around thirty years old, with prominent cheekbones and a cold expression in his eyes; the woman had white hair, fair skin, large eyes, cherry lips, and a well-defined nose, undoubtedly possessing the foundation of a beauty. Unfortunately, a conspicuous scar ran from the corner of her eyebrow to the side of her mouth, akin to a splash of ink on a painting, which was truly a blemish on her appearance. He couldn't help but sigh, thinking that it seemed inappropriate to refer to her as the 'White-haired Phoenix Girl Ghost,' as it would be too hurtful to her self-esteem.

The gap in martial arts skills between Shen Jian and Watanabe is not significant, but due to the confined space indoors, the principle of "an inch longer is stronger, an inch shorter is more dangerous" comes into play. Watanabe's katana cannot be swung freely, lacking sufficient space to build momentum for powerful strikes, thus failing to leverage the advantages of a long weapon. He is gradually forced into a flustered state by Shen Jian's close-range attacks with his curved blade, which include thrusts, slashes, sweeps, and jabs. Realizing the issue, Watanabe attempts several times to switch to the short knife at his side, but his intentions are seen through by Shen Jian, and he has not succeeded.

Watanabe smiled and said, "The Northeast Tiger, I never expected it to be inferior to you." As he grinned, his smile suddenly turned cruel, and with a twist of his hands, he plunged the katana forcefully into his own abdomen

He glanced at the watch; it was 2:30 in the morning. He thought to himself, these Japanese people are not afraid of falling while walking in wooden clogs at night—being cool means not fearing a fall, how admirable!

The sound of a heavy object falling to the ground was soft; the footsteps were even lighter, mingling with other faint sounds as they moved in the yard, gradually coming to a stop outside his room. After a moment of silence, the sound of a door opening was heard, followed by a man saying: "Is anyone there?"

Shen Jian actually had several opportunities to directly eliminate the opponent, and Ouyang Yun now understands that he intends to take the opponent hostage. "Put down all weapons!" Shen Jian coldly shouted at the remaining Japanese, then looked at Bai Liusu and growled, "Aren't you leaving soon?!"

Ouyang Yun's sudden appearance took the remaining two ninjas by surprise, but they did not panic. After exchanging glances, they immediately coordinated their actions with great understanding. One threw a handful of shuriken for cover, while the other quickly made a getaway, clearly intending to relay the information back.

The four Japanese individuals were looking at Watanabe, seemingly waiting for his instructions, yet their faces displayed no expression whatsoever

Please advance to my room

As she moved, the remaining four Japanese also sprang into action, launching dozens of shurikens, all aimed at Bai Liusu. Another Japanese ronin let out a furious roar: "Hachige!" as he thrust his sword towards Shen Jian, targeting the exposed shoulder of Watanabe.

The Japanese ronin had just intended to evade when he suddenly felt a numbness in his waist, followed by his entire body becoming rigid. He could only manage to cast his gaze towards the source of the strange sound before being pierced in the center of his chest by a short sword, leading to his untimely demise

The two individuals realized the seriousness of the situation and were in the process of retying the sacks when suddenly, Bai Liusu stopped her actions and said, "This is not right"

When Bai Liusu sensed that something was amiss, Ouyang Yun also heard it. A faint scream echoed in the courtyard, followed by the increasingly loud sound of "tick-tock, tick-tock." It was said that the visitors were Japanese, and he understood what the "tick-tock" sound was; it must be the sound of wooden clogs worn by the Japanese.

From an emotional standpoint, Ouyang Yun naturally hopes for a victory for the Chinese team. During his time as a special forces soldier, he had experienced several fights, but they were all one-sided and not nearly as thrilling or intense as depicted on television. This level of life-and-death combat was something he had never witnessed before; he began to feel as if he were in the midst of it all, constantly pondering how he would respond to the previous move if he were one of the participants. Gradually, he started to discern the underlying principles.

If it were not for the certainty that she had indeed traveled through time, Ouyang Yun would almost doubt whether she was on the set of a television drama.

After a dozen exchanges, the two individuals drew closer, and Shen Jian's advantage became increasingly apparent. The Japanese were indeed trustworthy, or perhaps Watanabe was their leader, accustomed to arrogance, and without his command, the others dared not intervene. The onlooking Japanese stood there until Shen Jian suddenly deflected Watanabe's blade, turned around, pressed his back against him, delivered an elbow strike to his abdomen, and then swiftly moved behind him. With his left hand, he seized the opponent's belt and positioned the short knife against his neck. The onlooking Japanese stood there until Shen Jian suddenly deflected Watanabe's blade, turned around, pressed his back against him, delivered an elbow strike to his abdomen, and then swiftly moved behind him. With his left hand, he seized the opponent's belt and positioned the short knife against his neck.

Ouyang Yun moved. He broke through the bed directly, with wood chips flying around him. He flung a steel needle from his right hand towards the short rogue and another steel needle from his left hand towards the ninja closest to him. He had originally hoped to save Shen Jian's life, but he was still a step too late. That damned bed was made of some unknown wood, which caused him to feel a bit dizzy.

Watanabe's strike inflicted great harm on Shen Jian. Although the stab was not deep, the withdrawal of the knife created a gash in Shen Jian's abdomen, and this wound was fatal. A wave of excruciating pain surged through him, and he felt his vision darken, his senses momentarily blurring. He was unable to evade the knife aimed at his head, and amidst Bai Liusu's anguished cries, the blade plunged directly into his skull, leaving him with no hope of survival.