The Smiling, Proud Wanderer, becoming a disciple of Yue Buqun

Page 203

Jiang Ning dodged with a graceful movement.

when!

As the charcoal flew towards them at the last moment, Li Yuan arrived in the blink of an eye, delivering a powerful slash to their head.

Jiang Ning dodged to the side, and Li Yuan slashed his wrist towards Jiang Ning's waist.

Jiang Ning braced himself with one hand and unleashed a series of half-moon kicks, his feet soaring into the air in a crescent shape. One kick struck Li Yuan's wrist, halting the horizontal slash, while the other struck Li Yuan's elbow, disarming him.

Li Yuan was attacked twice in succession on his wrist and elbow. His long sword flew out of his hand, spun continuously in mid-air, and then fell to the ground, the blade trembling violently.

After kicking twice, Jiang Ning twisted his waist and used his strength to leap into the air, flipping his body before delivering another flying kick.

Li Yuan dropped his longsword and quickly crossed his arms to protect his chest. With a thud, Li Yuan's face turned red, and he staggered back several steps before regaining his balance.

At this moment, his arms trembled uncontrollably, a tearing pain shooting through him, and his arms were covered in an abnormal crimson color.

"Ho...ho..."

Li Yuan was panting, her arms hanging naturally at her sides, staring intently at Jiang Ning not far away, a hint of fear in her eyes.

Jiang Ning's seemingly ordinary kick just now actually tore his muscles apart.

This was hard for Li Yuan to believe.

He had been blacksmithing for many years, and his arm muscles were extremely developed. Most people would find it difficult to withstand a blow from him. However, the muscles in his arms were torn apart by a simple kick from the boy in front of him. This was so outrageous that he didn't know what to say.

Jiang Ning's expression remained calm, but there was a slight hint of surprise in his eyes. He wasn't surprised that he could kick Li Yuan and tear his muscles, but rather that he was surprised that his kick hadn't broken Li Yuan's arm.

When Jiang Ning kicked Li Yuan, he used his internal energy in addition to his own strength. His body had already been enhanced by the innate skill, and his physical fitness was far superior to that of ordinary people. With the help of his internal energy, it was unexpected that the kick did not break Li Yuan's bones.

However, Jiang Ning did not react much. He lightly touched the ground with his feet, and his figure floated up and landed in front of Li Yuan.

With his weapon out of his hand and no tools available to borrow nearby, Li Yuan gritted his teeth and fought Jiang Ning with a ferocious expression as Jiang Ning charged towards him.

Bang!Bang!Bang!

Jiang Ning and Li Yuan exchanged blows more than a dozen times in just a few seconds, and the sound of their arms colliding was very clear in the shop.

Li Yuan's face grew paler and paler as he was hit. At this point, his arm was no longer a bright red color; blood had begun to seep from its surface.

call out!

Li Yuan suddenly threw a punch, but Jiang Ning raised his hand and grabbed it, squeezing hard. A cracking sound rang out from his palm, and Li Yuan groaned as veins bulged on his forehead.

But that wasn't the end of it. Jiang Ning released his grip, channeled his inner strength, and struck the wrist with a palm.

With a tearing sound, Li Yuan's arm bent, and a piece of white bone protruded from his elbow joint, with a few drops of blood splattering out.

"what!!!"

The intense pain in his arm made Li Yuan scream in agony. His eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Jiang Ning and swung his other arm at him.

Jiang Ning dodged to the side, grabbed Li Yuan's wrist with one hand, and raised the other hand to strike his elbow joint. With another crack, Li Yuan's arm bent abnormally.

With his hands crippled, Li Yuan couldn't help but scream in agony.

Jiang Ning reached out and grabbed the back of Li Yuan's neck, pulling him forward and then kneeing him in the chest. He then released Li Yuan and kicked him, sending him flying backward and crashing heavily into the wall before landing on the ground.

"Cough...cough cough."

Li Yuan coughed up a lot of blood and struggled to get up, but he was powerless. He could only lift his head and look at Jiang Ning with difficulty.

"Ning Yanwang... lives up to his name, I admire him."

Li Yuan kept spitting out blood as he spoke intermittently.

"It's not unjust for me to die at your hands."

After uttering his last words, Li Yuan's eyes gradually lost their luster, his head fell backward, and he no longer made a sound.

Beside Li Yuan, there was a knife stuck in the ground; it was his personal sword.

Seeing Li Yuan, who had become a corpse, Jiang Ning turned around, went to the shop door, opened the door, and let the light into the house again.

After killing Li Yuan, Jiang Ning did not rush to leave. He first dealt with the scattered charcoal to prevent a fire, and then searched the house to see if there were any pens or similar items.

Jiang Ning walked to a table and saw a pen on it. He then took out a list from his pocket, spread it out on the table, picked up the pen, and put a checkmark next to Li Yuan's name.

At this point, Jiang Ning had already checked the names of two people on the list.

"one two three four……"

Jiang Ning checked the remaining names on the list.

There are twelve left.

After finishing all this, Jiang Ning put away the paper, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the store.

This blacksmith shop was in a very remote place, and few people passed by on the road. After leaving Jiangning, there was no one on the street either.

Without lingering there, Jiang Ning left Baishi Town and headed back the way he came. Half an hour later, he arrived at a riverbank where a boat was waiting.

"Oh, young master, you're back so soon?"

The boatman was somewhat surprised to see Jiang Ning.

Jiang Ning had told him to take a detour here because he had something to do. The boatman thought it would take at least half a day, but he didn't expect it to be so quick.

"Ah."

Jiang Ning nodded and boarded the boat.

He was dressed neatly, with his hair cascading down his back, showing no signs of having just been in a battle.

"Let's go."

"okay!"

The boatman gave a shout and started rowing, and the boat slowly moved forward.

Two days later.

"Young master, this is all I can do to get you here."

The boatman moored the boat on the riverbank, opposite Jiangning Road.

"If you want to travel by water to Jinan Prefecture, you will have to cross the mountains ahead and take a boat again from there."

"Thank you."

Jiang Ning nodded.

"Have a safe journey, young master." The boatman waved heartily to Jiang Ning, then happily rowed back the way he came.

After saying goodbye to the boatman, Jiang Ning turned and walked forward.

Two more days passed in a flash. After walking for two days, Jiang Ning saw a village before sunset.

The village houses are neatly arranged, with wisps of smoke rising from the rooftops. Paths crisscross the fields, and some farmers are carrying their farm tools, chatting and laughing as they prepare to go home.

Some children were laughing and playing in the open space in front of the village, while several elderly people were resting comfortably on chairs.

Upon seeing the village, Jiang Ning walked straight ahead, intending to stay overnight and continue his journey the next day.

"Several elderly people."

Jiang Ning arrived at the village entrance and said to the elderly people, "I am passing through this place and see that it is getting late. I would like to ask to stay here for the night before continuing my journey tomorrow. Is that alright?"

One of the elderly men opened his eyes and glanced at Jiang Ning after hearing his voice.

"Young man, where are you from, and where are you going?"

Jiang Ning smiled and said, "I came from Yangzhou and plan to visit Jinan."

As he spoke, Jiang Ning pointed in a direction.

But the old man was startled when he saw the direction he was pointing.

"You want to go that way?"

Seeing his nervous expression, Jiang Ning was a little confused, but still nodded.

"Ah."

The old man looked at him with a strange expression.

"Young man, you should take a detour; you can't go that way."

Chapter 283: Could it be that King Yama of Hell would come all the way to Jiangnan to exterminate us?

"why?"

Jiang Ning was taken aback.

"There are bandits over there."

The old man didn't keep anyone in suspense and said directly.

Jiang Ning suddenly realized.

He thought the old man was warning him about wild animals in the mountains, but it turned out to be bandits blocking his way.

"A few bandits, it's alright."

"Several? There are many!"

The old man looked at Jiang Ning speechlessly: "You think a few is few? Even if there are only a few, if you dare to cross the mountain alone, you'll lose your life!"

Jiang Ning didn't say anything about the old man's doubts, but he became interested when he heard the word "many".

"A lot? How many are there? Where are they located?"

Why are you asking about this? Are you going to visit someone?

Seeing that Jiang Ning still seemed oblivious to his impending doom, the old man spoke again.

Jiang Ning laughed upon hearing this and raised the sword at his waist.

"I'll go and deal with these bandits for you."

"Not very old, but quite arrogant."

The old man rolled his eyes, looked Jiang Ning up and down, and said, "I can tell you're weak and frail, and your clothes don't look like those of an ordinary person. You must come from a relatively wealthy family."

Jiang Ning's appearance not only greatly deceived the enemy, but even others thought he was not good at fighting.

Even the sword at Jiang Ning's waist was seen as mere decoration by the old man.

Hearing the old man say this, Jiang Ning did not offer any explanation.

The old man continued, "You're traveling alone, without any attendants or anything. Going that way is suicide."

"You still want to wipe them out? Don't risk your life. I've already advised five people like you."

Besides Jiang Ning, the old man had encountered many other young masters dressed like Jiang Ning who were out for a stroll. Some listened to advice and took a detour, while others were stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason, knowing full well that there were tigers in the mountains, yet still heading towards them.

The old man was kind-hearted. Even though he had only met Jiang Ning once, and Jiang Ning was a bit stubborn, he earnestly advised him: "You young people get all excited after hearing some stories of chivalrous heroes flying around in the martial world. You even carry swords with you, wanting to learn from those chivalrous stories and uphold justice. But reality is cruel."

"Okay, okay, I won't go."

Listening to the old man's long-winded explanation, Jiang Ning did not continue to argue.

"Ah."

The old man nodded in satisfaction and said, "Don't think I'm making you take a longer route. Although it's a bit longer, at least it's safe and you won't lose your life."

Jiang Ning smiled and nodded without saying anything.

The old man waved his hand and said, "Alright, I think we get along quite well. Why don't you come to my house for the night? I won't charge you."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Ning cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said, "Thank you."

With his hands behind his back, the old man said to the other elderly people, "Old Zhang, Old Wang, Old Liu, I'm going home now."

The other elderly men nodded and waved.

They would wait for their children to finish their farm work before going home together.

Jiang Ning followed the old man into the village.

"May I ask your surname, sir?"

On the way, Jiang Ning brought up the topic.