Chapter 9: Murder and Heartbreak_2

He didn't know that this was the effect of the "Protective Armor" of the Sun family—the armor not only rendered bladed and blunt weapons ineffective, but also could dissipate the force of blows to a certain extent, and the chubbier the wearer, the better the defensive performance.

Of course... Sun Yixie, at seventeen, wasn't chubby, so that blow still took its toll on him, causing him to grimace in pain.

But pain aside, anyone who had mixed in the fish market of Hangzhou knew that when Sun Yixie took a hit, he never let it go without payback...

The moment Ma Si struck him, Sun Yixie seized the opportunity of his attacker's slight relaxation after the strike and jabbed the trident fiercely at Ma Si's ankle.

This took Ma Si completely by surprise, because Sun Yixie's weapon was unusual and he didn't attack in the pre-arranged patterns of a martial arts expert, which made him extremely difficult to guard against.

As a result, Sun Yixie was hardly injured from this exchange, while Ma Si's ankle was pierced by the trident.

"Ha ha! How does it feel down there, nice and cool, huh?" Sun Yixie saw his underhanded move succeed, immediately rolled and leaped away, then taunted him.

Ma Si really wanted to chase after him to chop him to death, but Huang Donglai timely threw two hidden weapons his way. With an injury on his foot, Ma Si didn't dare to be careless and had to turn back to face Huang Donglai and block the attack.

"Good! Slowly kite him!" Sun Yixie said immediately. While speaking, he had already picked up a stone from the ground and threw it at the horse Ma Si had ridden, which startled it into running away.

Only then did Ma Si belatedly realize that things were going sour... He had injured a foot, standing on a forest path with bodies strewn about, the horse had fled, and his weapon was a large saber; his opponents, not counting the villagers, included one with a long weapon and another skilled in qinggong and with hidden weapons. If they spread out and coordinated their attacks, it could mean death for him.

However... it's often said that what you fear the most is what comes upon you.

"Good!" Huang Donglai and Sun Yixie, in perfect accord, knew instantly what was meant by that. Huang Donglai simply stopped using hidden weapons and switched to attacking with small pebbles instead. For someone trained with hidden weapons like him, pebbles could inflict damage too, and there was no need to waste precious ammo during a war of attrition.

Sun Yixie, on the other hand, picked up the trident and maintained distance, using the advantage of the long weapon to provoke Ma Si, "What are you staring at? Have guts to come over here~" After saying this, he raised his voice and called out, "Folks, Ma Si can't move! Let's all throw stones to stone him to death!"

Even Ma Si had to marvel at a plan so cruel and shameless; he was so angry that blood rushed to his eyes, thinking: "This kid really wants to force me into a dead end!"

But his anger was futile, as he soon was swamped by a hail of stones, clumsily protecting his head and vital areas with his saber.

The villagers' stones weren't deadly, but a forceful hit could still inflict pain and even injury, not to mention the overwhelming numbers and the more powerful attacks from Huang Donglai blended in between.

Ma Si knew that things were looking grim for him, and in desperation cried out, "Stop! Sun Yixie! Huang Donglai! Aren't you ashamed to employ such tactics as part of the martial arts community? If you are brave, come and settle this with kung fu! Hiding behind a bunch of villagers throwing stones is no act of a hero or a real man!"

His words actually worked, and the villagers gradually stopped throwing stones and turned to look at Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai.

Over a distance, the two exchanged glances, then Sun Yixie stepped forward, "Alright! I'll give you a chance. Throw away your saber, and I'll put aside the trident. I'll come over and fight you unarmed. If you win, we'll let you go today."

"Is that a promise?" Ma Si asked eagerly, like he had found a lifeline.

Actually... To such a naive question, Huang Donglai would never even ask, because Huang Donglai knew Sun Yixie too well—those words were absolutely false.

"Heh... With our dominant position, do I need to lie to you?" Sun Yixie said.

"Fine! Come on." Ma Si casually threw away his saber and wiped the blood from his forehead, ready to fight with great vigor.

Watching this, Sun Yixie left the trident where it was and walked empty-handed towards Ma Si.

Ma Si thought to himself: "This kid underestimates me. Even if I can only use one leg, one hand, I couldn't possibly lose to someone who hardly knows any kung fu."

While he was thinking this, Sun Yixie was already within a meter of him. Just as Ma Si was about to strike a pose, unexpectedly... a handful of lime powder was firmly thrown into his face.

He had not been prepared for this at all.

Ma Si had never imagined that those who walked the path of righteousness would play dirtier than they, the robbers and murderers.

The second after he lost his sight, two poisoned hidden weapons quietly struck his back. Before his body was completely paralyzed by the toxins, Sun Yixie kicked him squarely in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Damn it, a bandit like you who robs men, bullies women, and oppresses the common folk talks to me about shame? Killing you makes me a hero! Who cares how I do it?" Sun Yixie cursed righteously and then added, "Folks! The leader of Zouma Village is right here! Whoever has grievances, it's time to take revenge!"

In fact, without his prompting, the villagers were already on the verge of taking action.

Over the years, not to mention the money and food looted by the bandits, how many innocent men and women from Nanyuan Village had been killed by the people of Zouma Village? How many women had been taken away, violated, and never returned, not even their corpses? They had even spared not the children... For these villains, the villagers wished they could devour their flesh raw, and now that Ma Si had fallen into their hands, could there be any good outcome for him?

Before Sun Yixie had even finished speaking, the villagers surged forward, grabbed their hoes, pitchforks, and clubs, and gave Ma Si, who was already lying on the ground covered in lime and with injuries all over, a greeting.

"Ahh—" In his final moments, Ma Si let out an anguished roar filled with rage and fear, but that obviously helped nothing.

...

As dusk fell, the once noisy Baiji Ridge had once again returned to calm.

The men, women, and children of Nanyuan Village were busy moving the money and grain taken out by the bandits back into their homes, while Sun Yixie and Huang Donglai casually picked out a couple of the bandits' horses, refused the villagers' pleas to stay, and continued on their way.

At the same time, a figure appeared at the now deserted Zouma Village.

This person was around forty years old, dressed like a Taoist, with a long sword on his back and a horsetail whisk in hand.

Although the Daoist didn't have the look of someone with an ethereal and lofty character, he exuded an air of chivalry and righteousness, seemingly a "worldly" Daoist.

"This..." He arrived at the village, observed the bodies on the ground and the extinguished campfire, stroked his beard, frowned, and muttered thoughtfully, "How coincidental... Someone has come before me and razed this village?"

He paced a few steps, examined the corpses closely: "Strange... These men don't seem to have died by the hand of a martial arts expert, but rather like they were beaten to death by ordinary people, and... Ma Si, that evil villain, is not among them."

Out of caution, the Daoist searched Zouma Village again for hidden chambers and secret passages, and after confirming that it truly was uninhabited, he stepped out of the village gate, ready to visit the nearby villages for some inquiries.