Chapter 9: A Good Day to Kill in the Blizzard

Snowflakes drifted down, and the cold wind cut sharply.

In the silver-clad forest, a sudden air of killing intent emerged.

"We'll have to make a move on those siblings sooner or later; taking action sooner is better than later. After all, in these woods, it's common for wolves, insects, and leopards to cause a death. A snowstorm is the perfect cover for murder."

The snowflakes landed on Chen An's expressionless face, and his icy stare was intimidating.

After hearing Chen An's words, Chen Tai remained calm but started weighing the pros and cons in his mind.

As the elder brother said, if the eldest sister of the Shen Family knew what was best, selling herself into lowly status would indeed be more stable.

Their Chen Family dominated Hongshan Village, and killing someone was nothing to them, but the Taiping County's government office still possessed some authority. Forcing someone into prostitution was no small matter.

It was best to avoid it if possible.

After careful consideration, Chen Tai's expression turned ruthless, and he nodded heavily, saying, "Third Brother has a point, a snowstorm is perfect for killing!"

Seeing Chen Tai agree, Chen An's face relaxed, revealing a hint of a smile, and he said, "Then you, Second Brother, go that way, while I'll go this way to surround him, don't let him escape."

"All right."

The two brothers immediately split up.

In their eyes, Shen Qing in the snow forest had already become their prey.

Shen Qing, who was binding a wild roe deer, frowned slightly and looked toward the forest not far away.

Seeing nothing, he withdrew his gaze and continued securing the wild roe deer on his shoulder.

At that moment, he removed all the arrows from the wild roe deer.

Since the arrow quiver was used to carry roe deer blood, the arrows had been taken out and were now tucked into his belt, while he held the bow in his hand.

After roughly confirming the direction, Shen Qing began to head back along the path he had come from.

As the Chen brothers crawled in the snow, they exchanged a look.

He was indeed very sharp.

They had almost been discovered just now.

Chen An made a hand gesture, and he and Chen Tai silently advanced in different directions.

They watched as Shen Qing carried the wild roe deer, with one foot sinking deep and the other shallow in the snow.

Behind them, the dirty blood from the wild roe deer dripped, forming a crooked red line in the snowy forest, starkly visible.

Moments later, Chen Tai, who was following behind, found the direction Shen Qing was going in slightly surprising.

It seemed that wasn't the way back to the village.

At that moment, the mountain path was covered with snow, making it impossible to discern the original route.

It seemed Shen Qing had lost his way.

It suited their intentions perfectly.

Chen Tai held his breath, cautiously pursuing with his hunting bow.

Gradually, the forest ahead became denser.

Thick snow clung to the branches.

A gust of cold wind arose, swirling tiny snowflakes around, causing their vision to blur.

After the wind passed, Chen Tai was surprised to find that Shen Qing had vanished from his sight.

Chen Tai narrowed his eyes, staring at the red line of roe deer blood on the ground extending into the depths of the forest, and he signaled to Chen An from a distance to flank from the sides.

Seeing Chen Tai's signal, Chen An knew it was time to act and couldn't help but lick his lips.

"Once we sell the eldest sister of the Shen Family and gain some money, my chances of joining the Martial Arts Hall will greatly increase. By then, I might even have the chance to join the ranks of the county city's elites."

In the midst of his excitement, he suddenly realized that the bright red trail of blood had disappeared in the mountain forest.

And Shen Qing was nowhere to be seen either.

"What's going on?"

Chen An couldn't contain himself and rushed forward, searching everywhere.

Hot on his heels, Chen Tai also darted out.

"Where is he?"

They both spoke in unison.

Chen Tai was the first to regain his composure and dashed along the previous blood trail, only to find the wild roe deer hung high in a tree.

And the blood trail stopped there.

Chen An exclaimed in frustration, "Damn it, that kid is really cunning, he actually managed to escape."

No sooner had he spoken than he saw Shen Qing, holding a bow and arrow, pointed at them from behind a large tree several dozen steps away.

The Chen brothers were caught off guard, a hint of panic showing on their faces.

Shen Qing immediately understood that they harbored malicious intentions.

Instinctively, Chen An shouted, "Take action!"

Whoosh!

Shen Qing tightened his expression, swiftly letting go before them.

The deer tendon bowstring vibrated gently, accompanied by a low and resonant hum as the arrow dashed out with astonishing speed.

The arrow whistled through the air, leaving a silver streak.

Thud.

The arrow struck Chen An squarely in the chest.

At a mere dozen steps' distance, the combined power of the Elm Wood Bow and the deer tendon string was enough to pierce through Chen An's chest.

Chen An looked down, eyes fixed on the arrow shot by Shen Qing. The pain, along with the cold arrow shaft, made him feel dizzy.

His eyes widened in disbelief, his face filled with shock and confusion.

Chen An hadn't expected Shen Qing to be so decisive and faster than he was.

"Third Brother!" Chen Tai saw this and was horrified.

Chen An broke the arrow in his chest and yelled furiously, "Second Brother, kill him!"

Though the arrow had pierced the center of his chest, it wasn't where his heart was, so it wasn't immediately fatal.

Struggling to breathe, Chen An was still conscious; he knew there was still a glimmer of hope for him.

But just as he finished speaking, Shen Qing had already swiftly shot another arrow.

Shen Qing's hand moved so quickly that a black arrow silhouette shot toward Chen Tai. In a life-and-death moment, Chen Tai, to everyone's surprise, disregarded brotherhood and used Chen An as a human shield.

"Thud."

Chen An's body paused, looking down to see blood oozing from his chest, the arrow shaft quivering.

He covered the wound, but crimson blood continued to seep through his fingers, staining his hands red.

In an instant, his face turned pale, his breathing became rapid, and his eyes flickered with a mix of shock and pain as he fell headfirst onto the snow.

Chen Tai hadn't expected Shen Qing's Bow Technique to be so precise, another arrow directly hitting the heart. If not for his quick reaction, he would've been the one lying there.

"Damn it!"

Realizing something was off with Shen Qing, Chen Tai didn't hesitate and hid behind a tree for cover, drawing his bow to retaliate.

But in his haste, the arrows he shot lacked accuracy, hitting a tree beside Shen Qing.

The snow on the tree rustled and fell.

Seeing his chance disappear, Shen Qing didn't linger; he moved laterally, not intending to let Chen Tai off the hook.

The cold wind howled.

Snowflakes swirled in the forest.

Shen Qing, gripping his longbow tightly, moved through the forest like a swift snow leopard, his movements elusive.

Chen Tai shot two consecutive arrows, both missing their mark.

In contrast, the arrows Shen Qing returned were remarkably accurate.

Each time an arrow from Shen Qing flew past him, Chen Tai felt a chill of fear.

Chen Tai found it hard to believe that someone almost unknown in the village, barely able to scrape by, possessed such Bow Technique and hunting skills.

Such experience was unexpected.

In this snow forest, he suddenly felt like he was the prey.

Being suppressed by such a small figure, Chen Tai felt deeply humiliated at that moment.

In the forest, Shen Qing's sharp gaze noticed the change in Chen Tai's expression, knowing he was reaching his limit.

He once again drew his longbow fully, aiming at the figure.

Suddenly, a cold arrow shot from Chen Tai's direction, Shen Qing nimbly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding it.

He quickly stood up, his eyes even colder, and without hesitation, released another arrow, then reached for his waist.

Shen Qing's expression froze.

His hand came up empty; all the arrows he had brought had been spent!