Martial Saint with Passives

Jiang Che ran his finger along the blade and smiled at Ma Chuan.

"This blade is so sharp. How do you get it like this? Teach me."

Ma Chuan hurriedly pleaded, "Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I’ll go back and get another five thousand taels for you!"

"Five thousand taels? Are you trying to shoo away a beggar? Not enough," Jiang Che said with a smile.

"Eight thousand taels... That’s all I have," Ma Chuan said, his voice trembling.

"Maybe I should just kill him. We can say the Corpse Field Double Farmers did it. After all, dead men tell no tales. What do you all think?" Jiang Che said, smiling at the others.

"Right!"

"Just kill the bastard!"

"That traitor deserves to die!"

The crowd roared in agreement.

"Ten thousand taels! No... Twenty thousand! I’ll sell my house and all my Secret Manuals. I can get twenty thousand taels. Just don’t kill me!" Ma Chuan begged frantically.

Jiang Che nudged Zhang Xiong and chuckled. "How about it? Is twenty thousand taels enough?"

Zhang Xiong was stunned by Jiang Che’s methods.

Just a moment ago, he had the feeling that Jiang Che genuinely intended to kill Ma Chuan, not just threaten him.

Moreover, he couldn’t fathom how Jiang Che, who was only in the Stone Skin Realm, possessed such immense combat power.

He suddenly recalled the time they were hunting a flower thief, and another time when they were pursuing a mysterious killer who preyed on Martial Artists.

Everyone had chalked it up to luck, but now it was obvious he had been hiding his true strength all along!

He couldn’t help but look at Jiang Che, realizing he had never truly seen his Junior Brother for who he was.

"Senior Brother Zhang?" Jiang Che asked again when Zhang Xiong didn’t respond.

"Ah! Right, twenty thousand taels it is!" Zhang Xiong snapped out of it and nodded quickly.

"Don’t even think about pulling any tricks. Otherwise, I wouldn’t sleep too soundly if I were you." Jiang Che leaned in and whispered in Ma Chuan’s ear.

"No tricks, I won’t pull any tricks! Hero Jiang, Lord Jiang! Spare me, I beg you, please spare me!" Ma Chuan pleaded again and again.

"All right, that settles it," Jiang Che said with a smile.

Next, he looked at the corpses of the Corpse Field Double Farmers. ’I’d better deal with these,’ he thought.

He first rifled through their clothes, taking out everything of value and stuffing it into his pockets.

Then, he mangled their wounds until the Saber Technique was unrecognizable, tossed the bodies to the side of the road, and covered them with leaves.

Witnessing Jiang Che’s practiced skill at destroying corpses and erasing evidence, the others were secretly terrified. ’He must have killed a lot of people!’ they thought.

Zhang Xiong suddenly had a thought and said to Jiang Che:

"Junior Brother Jiang, I don’t know who hired the Corpse Field Double Farmers, but whoever it is must be a formidable figure. I don’t want to drag you into this, so I’m going to erase any trace of your involvement in this escort. What do you think?"

Jiang Che suddenly realized he had acted too hastily. ’I killed them too quickly,’ he thought. ’I forgot to ask who sent them.’

He felt a pang of embarrassment and nodded. "Thank you for that. But what will you all do?"

Zhang Xiong shook his head. "I don’t know either. I’ll have to go back and discuss it with my father before deciding."

He then turned to the other guards. "I need you all to keep Junior Brother Jiang’s involvement a secret. Do not tell anyone he was part of today’s escort! If I find anyone gossiping and dragging Junior Brother Jiang into this, I promise you, I won’t be so forgiving!"

"Don’t worry, Young Master! We absolutely won’t say a word!"

"That’s right, we’re not the kind of people who repay kindness with betrayal!"

"Exactly! Hero Jiang saved our lives. We’re eternally grateful. Why would we ever do anything to harm him?"

The guards all chimed in.

Hearing their assurances, Zhang Xiong breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good. Let’s get back on the road!"

...

...

...

「At the city gate.」

Zhang Xu and Elder Zhou craned their necks, looking anxiously out from the city gate, their faces etched with worry.

"Master, they’re not here yet. Do you think something happened?" Elder Zhou asked, worried.

"Nothing should have happened," Zhang Xu said. "That Hero Ma, Ma Chuan, is a master in the Mid Stage of the Iron Skin Realm! How could common bandits possibly be a match for him?"

Despite his words, he continued to stare out beyond the gates, unable to calm his anxious heart.

Suddenly, a man dressed as a porter walked past Zhang Xu and discreetly slipped a note into his hand.

Zhang Xu, without changing his expression, tucked it into his sleeve.

This was a piece of information he had paid a hefty sum for from the Four Seas Tower.

The Four Seas Tower was a clandestine organization that operated throughout Cangzhou and its territories, specializing in the sale of information.

They claimed absolute neutrality, had informants everywhere, and could procure nearly any piece of information.

Of course, their prices were far beyond what an ordinary person could afford.

But with Hundred Herbs Hall’s recent shipments being repeatedly hijacked, Zhang Xu felt a powerful force was targeting them from the shadows.

Yet, he had no idea who it was or what they were planning to do.

So, through a business associate, Zhang Xu had contacted the Four Seas Tower, hoping to uncover some leads.

Zhang Xu discreetly opened the note. His face instantly turned pale.

"Master, what is it?" Elder Zhou asked hastily upon seeing his reaction.

The hand Zhang Xu held the note with was trembling. He said in a quavering voice:

"It says the force targeting us hired the Corpse Field Double Farmers to kill our people and seize the goods!"

"The Corpse Field Double Farmers! Then... what can be done?" Elder Zhou cried out in alarm.

As a member of the older generation, he had certainly heard of the infamous reputation of this pair of bloodthirsty killers.

"Master, shouldn’t we report this to the Government Office?"

"What’s the use of reporting it?" Zhang Xu said, agitated. "If something really happened, all the Government Office would do is go collect the bodies! What do you think those officials are capable of?"

"But..." Elder Zhou didn’t know what to say.

Zhang Xu paced back and forth before suddenly stopping.

"However, the Corpse Field Double Farmers haven’t been seen in ten years. Their Power might have waned! And Hero Ma Chuan is in his prime. With him and the other Stone Skin Realm guards, they might not necessarily lose!"