Chapter 35: The Library!

All three bands of bounty hunters wore masks over their faces.

The most formidable among them was a massive, bald brute, flanked by two others: a swordsman clad in green to his left, and a lean, wire-muscle man to his right.

The green-robed swordsman and the lean man seemed to be old acquaintances.

At this moment, they were joining forces against the bald giant, pressing him for a larger share of the spoils.

After all, Li Chang'an possessed but a single head upon his shoulders, and dividing the plunder among three parties was bound to breed conflict.

Yet now, upon hearing Li Chang'an's voice, the three quarreling men stopped short and turned their heads in unison, their countenances filled with utter disbelief.

The boy was facing imminent death, yet instead of fleeing for his life, he actually dared to step forward and openly provoke them.

Among the three factions, the bald bladesman—the strongest of the lot—let out a savage laugh and said, "Fine lad! You've got guts. Since you're in such a hurry, we'll take your head first and send you ferrying across the River of the Dead!"

Noticing Li Chang'an's indifferent demeanor, the green-robed swordsman sensed that something was amiss; he checked his agitated companions and took two steps back, falling silent.

Seeing the other two retreat simultaneously, the bald giant assumed they were simply yielding to his dominance, and his mood brightened considerably as he roared with laughter, "That's more like it! Don't blame Hu Han_san for hogging the lion's share. Let me first cleave this head worth ten thousand taels to claim the bounty, and then I'll give each of you two thousand!"

With that, the bald brute gave a light, jaunty whistle, and under the watchful gaze of the green-robed swordsman and the lean man, he lunged forward into the attack.

And likewise, under the very same watchful gaze of the green-robed swordsman and the lean man, he instantly met his demise.

Li Chang'an used the bald bladesman’s tunic to wipe the fresh blood from his longsword, his gaze drifting toward the stunned duo standing a short distance away, before he spoke with cool composure, "He has made his choice. What about you two? Will you leave behind your martial manuals, or your lives?"

Hearing his lukewarm, casual tone, the hand holding the green-robed swordsman’s blade began to tremble slightly.

At this precise moment, he knew not how to describe the sheer terror gripping his heart.

Before becoming a bounty hunter, Hu Han_san the bald bladesman was a famously skilled master of the saber in the martial world, his blade as swift and thunderous as lightning, his prowess having long reached the realm of a Martial Master.

Yet, a master of such renown had not even managed to fully unsheath his weapon before he was cut down like a common weed before this youth...

What kind of terrifying reality was this?

Though he himself was a swordsman, the way of the saber and the sword shared the same origin, with many techniques and realms intertwining; yet just now, he had not even been able to discern when Li Chang'an had drawn his blade.

There was only a blur before his eyes, and Hu Han_san’s head was already flying through the air.

Fast!

It was simply too fast!

The green-robed swordsman wiped away the cold sweat that had unknowingly beaded on his brow, and after a long silence, his throat suddenly grew parched as he rasped, "Does the young master desire the martial manuals we practice?"

Though he knew not why a youth of Li Chang'an's age possessed such consummate blademanship, after witnessing Hu Han_san’s head roll in the blink of an eye, he very wisely chose the path of compliance.

Li Chang'an nodded.

Lately, he had been devouring books at a frantic pace, utilizing his heaven-defying comprehension to dissect various secret manuals in an attempt to compile a martial arts text suitable for commoners to cultivate.

Yet the demonic Qing court was truly devoid of humanity; in a domain as vast as Sanhuang County, even after scraping the earth three feet deep, the complete manuals Li Chang'an managed to unearth numbered fewer than three volumes!

Furthermore, many sections within these three volumes were fabricated nonsense, designed solely to mislead practitioners and cause them to waste their years in vain.

Were it not for this, Li Chang'an would not have resorted to demanding manuals from a band of assassins who had come to take his life.

The green-robed swordsman and the lean man exchanged a quick glance, and then nodded, saying, "My friend and I are willing to surrender the techniques we have learned. We only ask if the elder brother might grant us a path to survival?"

A miserable life was still better than a good death.

Before Li Chang'an, neither the green-robed swordsman nor the lean man possessed the slightest confidence that they could withstand even a single strike.

Thus, even though Li Chang'an appeared to be only in his teens, the green-robed swordsman shamelessly addressed him as an elder brother.

Li Chang'an cared little for their survival, even if they had come to slay him, and promptly replied, "Leave the manuals, and you may depart."

The green-robed swordsman nodded, unbuckled his scabbard, and spoke up, "We pray the elder brother might provide us with paper, ink, and brush. The techniques we have learned are stored entirely within our minds; we do not carry them on our persons."

Li Chang'an remained silent, quietly producing the brush, ink, and paper from his side.

The green-robed swordsman and the lean man were surprisingly obedient; after each took a sheet of paper, they began writing and drawing upon it, and before long, they handed two martial manuals over to Li Chang'an.

Li Chang'an took the manuals and glanced through them; once satisfied that there were no trickeries, he waved them off, saying, "Go."

Upon hearing this, the green-robed swordsman did not leave, but instead plucked up his courage to ask, "Could it be that the Senior is attempting to reconstruct a complete martial manual?"

Seeing these two repeatedly calling him Senior as if they hadn't just arrived to assassinate him for a bounty, Li Chang'an couldn't help but sneer, "Are you not afraid I might change my mind and cleave you in two?"

The green-robed swordsman's face turned a shade paler, yet he still forced himself to speak bravely, "Senior is benevolent. If Senior truly harbored a murderous intent, our heads would have been severed from our shoulders long ago."

Saying this, his voice paused for a moment; seeing that Li Chang'an neither refuted nor grew angry, he immediately pressed on, "We are but nobodies, and the manuals we practice possess nothing extraordinary. Senior's cultivation reaches to the very heavens, so reasonably speaking, you should not covet our paltry techniques. If you do so, it must be because that wretched, dog-born demonic Qing court has severed the path forward for our Central Plains martial arts..."

Li Chang'an knew not what grand narrative the green-robed swordsman was spinning in his own mind, but the man was not wrong on that point. Thus, he did not dispute it, but merely asked coldly, "So, what is it you wish to tell me?"

Seeing this, the green-robed swordsman dared not beat around the bush any longer and spoke, "If Senior desires martial manuals, we happen to know of a place that might be of some assistance to your cultivation."

Li Chang'an's interest was instantly piqued, and he gestured for them to elaborate.

The green-robed swordsman immediately continued, "Three hundred years ago, when the Yongzheng Emperor of the demonic Qing purged our Central Plains martial arts, there was a rumor that the premier sect of the martial world, the Qingxiao Pavilion, had secretly hidden a cache of manuals to the east of Lake Tai."

"Originally, this was nothing more than hearsay in the martial world, not to be taken seriously. However, my brother and I were fortunate enough a few years ago to discover the location of this hidden library within an ancient text, and we even conducted an on-site investigation!"

"Regrettably, three hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. The original site of the hidden manuals has long since been submerged by Lake Tai. Our abilities were limited, and we failed to find the surviving manuals, only managing to narrow down a general area..."

Hearing this, Li Chang'an's heart stirred.

This piece of information was not entirely without foundation, for he too had encountered mention of it in a certain ancient record, though he had dismissed it as myth at the time.

He had never imagined that these two brothers had actually gone so far as to map out the general vicinity.

He pondered for a moment, and then voiced the suspicion lingering in his mind, asking, "Even if this is true, why would you give this information to me for nothing in return?"

...