Chapter 56 A Little Red on the Sandbank

August 7th.

By the Yang River, in a forest on a wild slope, the "azure nether blade demon" Yan Chu killed the Gao Family's Fifth Realm Enshrined Expert "Autumn Water Sword" Guo Ling and seventeen Gao Family experts, including the Gao Family's eldest son Gao Yu, who possessed Fourth Realm Peak cultivation.

Once the news broke, the entire Longhua Prefecture was shaken!

Some didn't believe it at first, but after verification from multiple sources, it was quickly confirmed to be true.

Because someone had specifically gone to the scene and confirmed that Yan Chu was the one who acted.

Furthermore, on the same day, someone heard a thunderous roar of rage outside the Gao Family residence.

The next day, white silk began to hang from the Gao residence...

...

In Longhua Prefecture, at the Five Flavors Studio.

It was still bustling with people, filled with Jianghu travelers from all over.

"Good heavens! Yan Chu is too bold, daring to kill a direct descendant of the Gao Family. Now the Gao Family will definitely fight him to the death!"

"What's there to fear? Does Yan Chu have few enemies? If you ask me, when you have too many lice, they don't itch anymore. He probably doesn't care about the Gao Family's bounty at all!"

"Hey, do you guys think Yan Chu has actually reached the Fifth Realm?"

"He must have! Otherwise, how could he kill the Autumn Water Sword Guo Ling?"

"But I saw it with my own eyes not long ago. During his fight with Lin Yingzhuo of the Raging Flood Dragon Gang, his cultivation was clearly in the Fourth Realm!"

"Heh! You guys don't know shit! You can't even gossip correctly!"

"You know? Then tell us!"

"It's already spread everywhere! They say Yan Chu cuckolded the Eldest Master of the Gao Family. The Eldest Master's wife stole the Gao Family's precious medicine, and Yan Chu reached a Breakthrough to the Fifth Realm after consuming it."

"Is that true?"

"Of course it's true! Otherwise, why would they appear on the banks of the Yang River so late? It was Gao Yu who caught them in the act of adultery, so Yan Chu simply killed everyone in the Gao Family to finish the job!"

"I have a cousin who was fishing by the river at the time; he saw it with his own eyes!"

The speaker spoke with such conviction that others couldn't help but believe him.

"Tsk tsk... how ruthless..."

Clatter, clatter, clatter!

A series of hurried footsteps approached, and an elderly man in his fifties, wearing a square headscarf and brocade clothes, appeared on the second floor of the Five Flavors Studio.

The crowd, who were discussing heatedly, immediately shut their mouths sensibly upon seeing the old man.

They all knew this person; he was the Lian Family's Head Butler, Lian Rong.

His status in the Lian Family was second only to the Family Head and several Fifth Realm experts.

Everyone knew that the hatred between the Lian Family and Yan Chu was even deeper than that of the Gao Family. No one dared to mention that name in front of the Lian Family.

Ignoring the noisy crowd, Lian Rong looked around the second floor of the Five Flavors Studio and locked his gaze on a scrawny middle-aged man in a corner.

The man had four small dishes and a jar of fine wine in front of him, drinking alone.

Lian Rong sat opposite him, took out a silver note from his sleeve, handed it over, and said:

"This is ten thousand taels. The other half will be paid after the job is done!"

The middle-aged man shook his head: "My rule has always been full payment upfront, not a penny less!"

Lian Rong frowned: "But what if you can't kill him? Wouldn't our money be wasted?"

"I don't care about that! I recognize money, not people! As long as you seek me out, you have to pay whether it's done or not!"

Lian Rong felt a surge of anger. He sneered and took out another ten-thousand-tael silver note, saying:

"Fine! I'll give you all the money. But if you can't kill Yan Chu, don't blame my Lian Family for being unkind!"

"The Lian Family's money isn't so easy to take!"

After saying that, he stood up and left without even taking a sip of wine.

The middle-aged man didn't even look up from beginning to end.

He finished the wine in his cup, tucked the silver notes into his robe at a leisurely pace, and walked downstairs slowly.

"Who was that man? He looks so familiar!"

After the two left, the Jianghu travelers in the Five Flavors Studio began to gossip again.

"He looks a bit like... hiss... no way, right?"

"What 'no way'? Do you know that skinny guy? Tell us quickly!"

"Have you ever heard of Red Dot on Smooth Sand?"

"What? He's the Red Dot on Smooth Sand Xue Feng, who moves like a swift wind and seals the throat with a single sword? But isn't it rumored that he's already dead?"

"It seems the rumors were wrong. Red Dot on Smooth Sand was once the top swordsman of the Four Seas Pavilion. Although he later left, his swordsmanship was recognized by the Master of the Four Seas Pavilion, so he wouldn't die that easily."

"The Lian Family's butler came to see Red Dot on Smooth Sand. Could it be..."

"Exactly. They must want to hire him to kill Yan Chu!"

"In the past, he was expelled from the Four Seas Pavilion because he accepted assassination missions indiscriminately, regardless of good or evil. Now he's just going back to his old trade!"

"Tsk tsk, it seems the Lian Family knows about Yan Chu's battle record and is a bit wary. They'd rather spend money than do it themselves!"

"Indeed! In this regard, the Gao Family is more formidable. It's said they bought information on Yan Chu from the Wind Listening Pavilion. Gao Shize has already set out from Linshui Prefecture with his men, swearing to cut Yan Chu into a thousand pieces..."

...

On the other side, Yan Chu finally left the small boat with Su Zhirou.

After going ashore, they bought a white horse and rode together, traveling slowly.

Su Zhirou, held in Yan Chu's arms, asked sweetly:

"Where are we going now?"

"Waiting for someone!"

"Waiting for someone? Waiting for who?"

"The people from the Raging Flood Dragon Gang!"

"The Raging Flood Dragon Gang?"

Su Zhirou's eyes were filled with confusion: "What are we waiting for them for?"

"Of course, waiting for them to come and die!"

For the past few days on the Yang River, he had been passing through the Raging Flood Dragon Gang's waters. After going ashore so openly, the news had probably already reached the ears of Gang Leader Qi Yong.

Not long ago, he had killed Lin Yingzhuo, the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall of the Raging Flood Dragon Gang, so their feud was already established.

Of course, a more important reason was that they wanted to curry favor with the Gao Family, so they would target him.

Yan Chu appearing in their territory now was the best opportunity. He didn't believe these people wouldn't be tempted.

Su Zhirou didn't know Yan Chu's thoughts. Although she was a bit worried, seeing that he didn't want to say more, she sensibly stopped asking and simply shifted to a more comfortable position in his arms.

Half an hour later, the sky turned gloomy without warning.

Rumble!

Thunder seemed to be brewing on the horizon, and a torrential rain was about to fall.

"Husband Yan! It's thundering! Let's find a place to take shelter from the rain first!"

Yan Chu shook his head. "Listen carefully again. Was that really the sound of thunder just now?"

"Wasn't it?"

Su Zhirou tilted her head and listened carefully for a moment, her fair face suddenly tensing up.

At this time, the sound was getting closer and closer.

Rumble, rumble!

A black wave surged from the distance as dozens of tall horses galloped together, kicking up a wall of dust several meters high. In the blink of an eye, they appeared before the two of them.

The sound was clearly the sound of a herd of horses galloping.

"Whoa..."

Neigh!

Dozens of riders pulled their horses to a stop, forming a circle around Yan Chu and surrounding him completely, everyone looking grim and murderous.

"It's the Raging Flood Dragon Gang's Left and Right Protectors, 'Iron Fan' Deng Hua and 'Primal Chaos Thunderbolt Palm' Wei Zhong, as well as Grand Elder Li Mingzhe; they are all Fifth Realm Martial Artists!"

Su Zhirou's breath hitched, her face turning slightly pale.

Was this what Yan Chu meant by coming to die?

Her understanding of the Longhua Prefecture Jianghu was far greater than Yan Chu's. These three were all figures who had shaken Longhua Prefecture for many years, second only to Gang Leader Qi Yong.

This time, they had almost come out in full force, seemingly all for Yan Chu.

Even if she had more confidence in Yan Chu, she couldn't help but feel deeply worried at this moment.