Chapter 7, The Man in Black

The red sun resembled fire, and in that moment, Liu Jing, with her pupils dilated from intense fear and despair, exhibited a remarkable beauty.

As soon as the sound emerged and the expression was made, a surge of malevolence arose. Liu Jing was initially terrified to the extreme; uttering those words had taken all her courage. When this person fixed their gaze upon her, she was so frightened that she tightly shut her eyes, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Yet, at the foot of the hill, there stood a dozen or so figures clad in black and masked, their swords still dripping with blood. The last masked figure had just pulled the blood-soaked longsword from the chest of a middle-aged man dressed as a noble, causing a spray of blood to erupt three feet high, as the middle-aged man fell to the ground, his eyes wide open, unable to close them in death

Liu Jing was also very afraid, her face pale and ashen, a pair of beautiful eyes looking desperately at the person before her. As she watched the bloody sword slowly point towards herself, with the blade drawing ever closer, she widened her eyes in despair.

Liu Jing also regained consciousness. She straightened her back, took a few bold steps forward, and positioned herself in front of Uncle Lu, directly confronting the elegantly dangerous and terrifying figure of the black-clad leader who approached slowly.

"Salt?" the leader in black murmured softly, continuing to ask gently, "Where is the salt?"

The masked figure in black fixed his gaze upon her, seemingly with a hint of scrutiny. He raised his wrist, slowly, as the sharp edge of the sword pressed against Liu Jing's throat. Just a slight nudge of this sword, and this youth, whose beauty was stunningly enhanced by despair, would close his enchanting eyes for the night.

In this world, there is perhaps nothing more terrifying than waiting for death. Liu Jing's face was as white as snow, and she looked at that person in despair, large beads of sweat rolling down her forehead.

Just kill them all

After hiding the cargo ship, several individuals cut down a few branches to make a simple raft and began to paddle through the jungle towards the shore

Everyone has just managed to stand firm

They are watching their leader, waiting for him to give the order

Such a secret matter, such an unspeakable affair, has now been unexpectedly discovered by Liu Jing and her companions!

The leader in black seemed to smile again, turning the longevity lock in his hand, gently stroking the patterns on it with his index finger, and softly said, "Is your surname Liu?" Strangely, although this was a question, it felt more like a confirmation, and vaguely, it seemed to contain some kind of inexplicable resentment.

Liu Jingying's lips trembled slightly in a pale pink, "Yes."

At this moment, the sword of the leader in black descended once more, slowly moving down to Liu Jing's throat. With a gentle downward slash, a sound of "zi" echoed as the fabric tore apart again, and Liu Jing's inner garment was also cut, revealing her snow-white neck!

Suddenly! They all froze, and Liu Jing, who had originally slumped onto the grass, stiffened her body even more. The shouting servant also gaped, his whole being as if gripped by an invisible hand around his throat, gasping for breath, his eyes wide open, yet unable to utter a single word!

In a moment of silent stillness, the sword of the leader in black was once again gently flicked, and this time, with a sound of tearing, it was Liu Jing's undergarment that was split in two.

The sword tip lightly pricked at the collar, and then, with a gentle flick of his wrist, the tightly fastened collar emitted a soft sound of fabric tearing: "Zī—" With that, a four-inch long slit was cut into Liu Jing's thick outer robe

Feeling the sword's edge slowly caressing her neck, Liu Jing's lips moved slightly. In the depths of her extreme fear, she vaguely thought of something, but that thought eluded her due to the chaos in her mind, making it impossible to grasp or articulate.

The longevity lock she wore seemed to pique the interest of the leader in black. After admiring it for a while, he gently inquired, "Why have you come to this place instead of staying at home?"

The figure in black, with a masked face, glanced at Liu Jing who stood in front of him. With a swift motion of the bloodied sword in his hand, he spoke in a voice that was exceptionally beautiful and melodious,淡淡的,轻柔地, saying: "Alright, stop standing there foolishly, just kill them all!"

In an instant, Liu Jing's face turned as white as snow

Now, Liu Jing's outer robe and inner garment have been torn, leaving only the layer of snow gauze inner garment closely wrapped around her skin, which is as translucent as jade

He said, just kill them all

In their gaze, the figure in black, with a bloodied longsword in his right hand, approached them with a graceful and measured stride, resembling a leopard stalking its prey

The sword's edge, icy cold, dripped with blood as it slowly traced her nape, then gradually glided towards the tightly fastened collar...

On the cargo ship, there are currently only about three to four thousand jin of salt loaded, and with the seven of them aboard, it is not heavily laden. Although the reed marsh is shallow, it is still navigable. After traveling for a while, a vast expanse of dense forest submerged in water suddenly appeared ahead. The roots of the forest were completely submerged, leaving only the tops of trees with sparse foliage. After navigating through this area for a while, they saw another large area of forest, which remained lush even in winter, and within that forest, there was a small hill!

Oh? The leader in black asked with great interest, "So how do you make money?"

1,4500 taels of gold

On the grass lay eight or nine corpses, sprawled in disarray. Each of these corpses was adorned in splendid attire, and every ornament was exquisite, clearly indicating that they were individuals of high status

I, I intercepted a ship of salt

As Liu Jing and others stood there with pale faces, trembling in fear, the group of men in black simultaneously turned their heads to look at a masked figure in black standing in the center

Drop by drop, sweat trickled down her forehead and flowed from the corners of her eyes, occasionally splattering onto the blade, causing the blood on the sword's surface to ripple.

In an instant, the sounds of kneeling and sobbing behind Liu Jing became a chorus.

Her lips trembled for a moment, and she stammered, "Yes, it is a longevity lock."

This is clearly a massacre, an assassination that must not be known to outsiders! The victims have significant backgrounds, and the reason the killers are masked is evidently to prevent anyone from knowing that it was they who committed this act

The crowd steered the boat towards the reed marshes

The leader in black stared at Liu Jing, his eyes beneath the mask darkening slightly once more, as if he let out a low chuckle.

Seeing him approach, Uncle Lu regained consciousness and staggered towards Liu Jing, pulling her roughly and positioning himself in front of her. However, it seemed that all his strength had vanished completely at the moment he made this move. Thus, when he stood before Liu Jing, his entire body was trembling, and the sound of his teeth chattering could be heard from a considerable distance.

Just as they reached the hillside, a servant pointed into the distance and exclaimed, "Young Master, that appears to be an official road."

"It is ... ... " The sound of Liu Jing's response was accompanied by the clattering of her teeth.

As the leader in black picked up her personal ornament, he drew so close to her that his breath, the faint scent of masculinity that escaped as he spoke, enveloped Liu Jing's neck

They hid the cargo ship well, and Liu Jing and the others all breathed a sigh of relief. In fact, over the past few days, they had been sailing this ship with great fanfare, yet they felt quite uneasy. Especially since the two servants from the Liu family had just learned to operate the ship from a wayward son and were not very skilled; they could not increase the speed of the ship at all. Along the way, everyone was always worried that someone might catch up to them

The leader in black shifted his gaze downward, and after staring for a moment, he suddenly asked softly, "What is this?" On his long, slender fingers, he had coiled a gold chain, beneath which lay a longevity lock... This was something Liu Jing had worn since childhood and had never parted with.

The shore soon arrived. The riverbank here is somewhat unique; after crossing a stretch of beach less than twenty paces long, there is a steeply inclined hillside. The slope is quite steep, rising approximately twenty to thirty feet from the riverbank to the top of the hill. Everyone was exhausted from chopping down trees to clear the way and constructing rafts, and by the time they reached the hillside, they could barely stand.

And now, these individuals of high status have become corpses lying on the ground, standing beside these dead bodies are men in black cloaks with their faces covered, exuding a murderous aura

Silence enveloped the surroundings, an unparalleled stillness, broken only by the gusts of wind sweeping through the jungle, carrying with them a damp chill that assailed everyone. The overwhelming stench of blood and the countless corpses littering the ground filled the breaths of Liu Jing and the others, staining their vision in crimson

As tears streamed down Liu Jing's cheeks, the leader in black slightly retracted his smile. He coldly stared at her and let out a soft snort from his nose, "Hmm?"

His voice has just fallen silent

The man in black smiled gently, as the sword, exuding a strong smell of blood, slowly slid down from Liu Jing's Adam's apple amidst her stiff and trembling state

This is truly a waste of precious resources

She could only watch helplessly as the man in black awaited his death sentence for her

How much is owed

The black-clad men surrounding Liu Jing paused involuntarily upon hearing the sound of tearing silk. They turned to look at their leader and saw his eyes, slightly squinted beneath the veil, seemingly smiling. They observed his elegant gesture as he pointed his sword, and they noticed the handsome young man, who was being threatened by his cold blade, filled with extreme fear, passively tilting his head back, his eyes wide open in despair as he awaited the final moment. One by one, they let their swords droop in their hands, simultaneously thinking: How strange, the boss seems to be in good spirits. Since the boss wants to toy with this pretty boy, then these servants need not rush to kill him.

At this moment, the bloody blade in his hand occasionally grazed Liu Jing's ear and swayed past her beautiful hair. Liu Jing, pale-faced, cast a glance at the blade, and in her utmost terror, she could only think of escaping with her life from this person, with no regard for any wealth. Trembling, she said: "My father is in prison due to debts, and I need to get some money to repay them"

As soon as he spoke, Liu Jing seemed to gather herself a little. With a pale face and biting her lip, she mustered the courage to ask, "If I tell you where the salt is, will you let us go?" She choked out, "We didn't see anything, and we won't say anything!"

As Uncle Lu excitedly directed, the cargo ship sailed behind the hill, where there was just enough open space, surrounded on three sides by lush trees. By cutting down some branches to block the entrance and exit path, they successfully concealed the cargo ship.

The leader in black does not seem to be in a hurry to kill her; he leisurely glides the blood-stained blade along her delicate neck and chin. Wherever the icy blade touches, the almost poreless, fine white skin of Liu Jing under the sunlight raises a series of goosebumps.

"Longevity lock," the voice of the leader in black was particularly gentle as he softly said, "Very exquisite. Have you worn it since childhood?"