That's right"... a man said, nodding his head in agreement.
"How did he die?" the second person asked, leaning forward with curiosity.
"I heard he died of poison"...a voice from the crowd said.
"Who poisoned him?" another person questioned, their eyes scanning the faces around them.
"Maybe he got poisoned after fighting The Poison Demon.
"That really makes sense," another voice chimed in.
Whispers broke out among the crowd, and they began to question each other.
No one actually knew what happened to Wang Xiaoyu 15 years ago, and a lot of stories had been flying all around. Many said he was poisoned by the Poison Demon, some said he killed his father to take over his position and later fell off a cliff and died when being pursued by the Baishu Sect. A lot of different stories about him had been flying around for 15 years.
Two figures could be seen struggling to come out of the buzzing crowd. They pushed their way through the crowd and finally managed to make it out.
"Aiiii!! Finally, we made it out alive"....one of them said with a tired sigh.
"Seriously... they almost stomped me to death," the other responded.
These two were twin brothers, Xu Min and Xu Feng. "Wang Xiaoyu is really a genius," Xu Min said in admiration.
"I wish he was still alive. I would have taken him as my master, but no matter what, he will always be my idol," Xu Feng said with enthusiasm in his voice while clinching his fist.
"I would have challenged him if he was still alive, to see who is stronger"... Xu Min said playfully as he went into a fighting stance, forming a loose fist with his hands.
"Hahaha... hahaha..." Xu Min let out a heartfelt laughter, "In your dreams... you are not even worthy to clean his boots, not to mention fighting him," Xu Feng said, and both of them burst into laughter.
The twin brothers had always admired Wang Xiaoyu ever since their childhood. They would always go out to visit shops, taverns, and roadside storytellers just to hear more about him. And they were just coming back from a roadside storyteller, where they went to hear more about Wang Xiaoyu. They admired him so much that they had his portrait hanging in their rooms, and they always compared their master to him.
It turned dark pretty soon, but one carriage still rolled in the middle of the night with four lanterns dangling on the four edges of the carriage as the horse pulled it.
This carriage was made with well-polished wood, and golden-colored silk was attached on either side. It seemed the person boarding the carriage wasn't an ordinary one.
Four bodyguards were seen walking beside the carriage, with each of them taking their position while guiding the carriage with vigilant eyes. Their hands rested on the hilts of their swords as they matched in unison.
And suddenly, the coachman pulled the horse's rope back, and the horse neighed before coming to a halt. The lanterns swayed gently.
The four guards instantly pulled out their swords as they rushed forward to guard the front of the carriage.
"What is it?" a man's voice came from within the carriage, sounding annoyed.
"My lord, someone is blocking the road," one of the guards responded.
Four figures stood in the middle of the road ahead of them. They wore similar black and red clothes with masks covering their faces.
One was calmly sitting on a chair, who was presumed to be their leader. He wore a plain white mask that covered all his facial features, while two other guys stood on either side of him, wearing similar gold-colored masks that covered half of their faces. The last person was a young woman standing behind their leader, she was wearing a black veil that covered her nose all the way down to her chin, leaving her eyes and forehead visible.
"Who dares to block my path, and what do you want?" a voice rang out from the carriage.
"Lord Zhang Qian, you have committed a lot of atrocities. You use your position as the chief magistrate to favor the rich and oppress the poor," the leader said as he stretched out his hand Calmly. The young lady behind him handed over a plain paper to him, the one standing by his right handed him a brush, while the one standing by his left pulled out an inkstone from his robe.
He calmly dipped the brush in the ink and began to write on the sheet of paper in his hand as he continued to talk. "You have killed a lot of people for your own personal gain and have embezzled public funds... Lord Zhang, do you plead guilty and are you ready to repent?" he said calmly.
"Nonsense! Is this a prank or what? How dare you lay such allegations on me?
Hummph!!!
you are really foolish. How much did they pay you to risk your life here?" Zhang Qian asked with a grin on his face.
"I don't need money to kill people like you," the leader of the masked group replied calmly, without any slight of emotion.
"It's like you are tired of living," Zhang Qian said in anger.
"Oh... then it's settled," the leader of the masked group said as he quickened his writing pace. His hand moved swiftly across the paper. He suddenly stopped and sent the paper flying. The paper flew straight inside the carriage. Zhang Qian caught it with his fingers.
He gave it a look; his face turned ugly instantly.
"You have been found guilty, and you have been sentenced to death".... the leader of the group said and struck the armrest of his seat.
Bang!!!
"Yo... You... lunatic!" Zhang Qian sputtered, his face contorted with rage.
"What are you still waiting for? Kill those bastards!" Zhang Qian roared in anger as he crushed the paper with his hand and slammed it on the wooden floor of the carriage In anger.
His bodyguards sprang into action and charged towards the four masked figures with their swords drawn out.
Their leader tapped his feet on the ground and flew backward, landing calmly on a rooftop.
The two young men wearing gold-colored masks shot forward like a spear as they spun their bodies in mid-air. Dozens of hidden weapons shot out of their bodies: short knives, short arrows, darts, daggers, and several more flew towards their opponents.
The magistrate's guards halted their advances as they began to avoid the attack. They ducked and weaved, trying to deflect the incoming weapons.
Bang!!!
Suddenly, the carriage burst apart, and a figure flew out of it like a loosed cannon with a sword in his Zhang Qian shot straight towards the figure standing on the rooftop, aiming straight at his chest.
The leader of the group slid himself backward, and the blade of the sword aimed at him whistled over his face, and he managed to avoid the attack. His eyes narrowed as the blade passed a few inches over his face.
He spun his body in the air and landed on his feet. His moves were agile and swift.
Zhang Qian tapped his feet on the nearby roof, turning around to face the leader of the masked group.
Zhang Qian slashed his sword diagonally, and sword energy shot out from his sword and sliced through the air.
The leader of the masked group bent forward, his feet leaving the roof as the sword energy blasted a hole in the spot he had been standing a while ago. Dust and debris scattered all around.
He tapped his feet on the broken tires flying around in the air from the impact and flew towards another building as He moved swiftly across the rooftops.
Zhang Qian chased after him and continued to slash his sword at him. More waves of sword energy followed in pursuit.
:::::::::::::::::::::::
Whoosh!
A sword sliced towards one of the guys wearing a golden colored mask. He ducked backward, and the sword missed his throat by a hair's breadth. Taking the chance, he punched the hand that was holding the sword in front of him, and the grip on the sword loosened, and the sword fell from the man's hand. He spun his body in the air as he delivered a devastating roundhouse kick.
Bang!!!
The guard was sent flying into a nearby building.
Crash!
He broke through the wooden wall and vanished into the house.
The young lady wearing a veil stomped her foot on the ground as she shot up in the air and suddenly descended with terrifying speed with a sword in her hand. As her feet were about to touch the ground, she sliced her sword in a sweeping motion.
Bang!!!
Energy shot out of her sword, and the two remaining guards were sent flying into the distance like broken kites.
The leader of the group and Zhang Qian were still engaged in a run-and-chase game as They continue to leaped across rooftops.
"Boss, take this!" one of the guys wearing a golden colored mask shouted and threw a sword towards their leader. The sword flew through the air
Seeing the sword, he pulled his brakes and spun his body in the air. His movements were incredibly fast.
Clang!!!
He kicked the hilt of the sword, and the sword flew with intense speed and zoomed past Zhang Qian. And a metallic sound whistled across the place.
Zhang Qian suddenly froze, and his body tilted to the side, and he fell from the rooftop and landed on the ground with a thud! Blood continued to spill out of his throat. and the ground below him slowly began to turn red.
Their leader landed in front of them from the rooftop in a calm motion.
"Boss, that move was really cool," one of the guys wearing a golden mask said in admiration.
"That's right, he just kicked the sword like this... Whoosh!" his second chimed in, mimicking the motion with his leg raised in the air.
Puff!
The young lady wearing a black veil held herself from laughing out loud, and her shoulders tremble slightly.
Their leader shook his head at the crazy two in front of him.
Their leader suddenly unhooked his mask from his face and slowly revealed his face and the moonlight shorn through his features.
This was Wang Xiaoyu, the leader of the Mask Pavilion.
The three behind him followed suit and removed their masks. Their faces were now visible.
The two guys earlier were surprisingly the two twin brothers, Xu Min and Xu Feng. The young lady wearing a black veil turned out to be the young miss of the Su family: Su Yuling.