Chapter 52: It’s All a Misunderstanding

After Su Hao stabbed through the assassin's chest, he turned and quickly chased down the remaining four. No matter how they tried to hide in the bushes, Su Hao easily located them, swiftly cutting them down with the help of his «Shadow Step».

In less than thirty seconds, the once vibrant lives of the four assassins ended under Su Hao's blade.

"Two more to go!" Su Hao flicked the blood off his blade.

By now, Dan Liqin and his son had already fled far beyond the 200-meter range, disappearing from his [Radar].

Su Hao immediately channeled his Blood Qi, fully activating the beast vein pathways to enhance his [Radar]. The search range instantly expanded to a kilometer.

He found them—Dan Liqin and his son were now several hundred meters away.

"Running pretty fast, even with dead weight!" Su Hao gave chase at full speed, closing the gap rapidly. Within moments, he spotted the father and son duo.

Dan Liqin was dragging his son Dan Sui by the collar, running with all his might, kicking up a trail of dust. He kept glancing back to see if Su Hao was closing in.

When Su Hao saw him, Dan Liqin saw Su Hao as well, and his face turned deathly pale.

Seeing that Su Hao was about to catch up, Dan Liqin shouted, "Wait! Let's talk! It's all a misunderstanding! My son acted foolishly before. Tell me how much compensation you need, and I'll make it happen!"

Even as he spoke, he continued to run as fast as he could, not daring to slow down for a second.

Dan Sui, half-lifted in the air, was crying hysterically, his spiky hair drooping pitifully. He screamed, "Dad, run! He's catching up! We're dead if he catches us!"

"Shut up!" Dan Liqin was nearly driven to madness by his useless son. If not for the current situation, he would've beaten the boy's mouth shut right then and there. 'How did I raise such a good-for-nothing?' He fumed internally.

Seeing Su Hao remain silent, Dan Liqin panicked and said, "We're here to apologize, that's all! I brought my foolish son to make amends personally. It's all a misunderstanding!"

Bringing a group of assassins to apologize? Who did he think Su Hao was, an idiot? Without a word, Su Hao sped up, and in a few seconds, he'd be close enough to end it with one strike.

In desperation, Dan Liqin shouted, "I have beast vein scriptures! Spare my life, and they're yours!"

Su Hao finally spoke, "I want the beast vein scriptures, but I have no intention of sparing you. Rest in peace, and maybe we'll meet again in another life!"

As Su Hao closed in, he raised his blade and swung it fiercely.

In a desperate move, Dan Liqin tossed Dan Sui backward.

"Slash∼!"

"Ahhh∼!"

A scream of agony followed as Dan Sui cried out in pain. His chest to his abdomen was sliced open by Su Hao's strike. He fell to the ground, still alive but writhing in terror, desperately trying to hold his gaping wound closed.

Without saying a word, Su Hao continued his pursuit.

Realizing escape was impossible, Dan Liqin's expression turned vicious. He suddenly turned and launched a ferocious attack at Su Hao.

"«Wind Slash!»" Dan Liqin roared, his face twisted with fury. His long blade, like a bolt of lightning, slashed horizontally toward Su Hao.

«Shadow Step» Su Hao pivoted, slipping past Dan Liqin's side. His own blade flashed momentarily.

Dan Liqin's head flew high into the air. His headless body stumbled forward two steps before collapsing in front of his son, Dan Sui, spraying blood that drenched Dan Sui's face.

Dan Sui stared blankly at his father's severed head rolling away. He couldn't believe that his powerful father had died so easily, or perhaps he couldn't believe his father had thrown him in harm's way to save himself.

He stopped screaming, and moments later, the light in his eyes dimmed.

Within Su Hao's [Radar], only Wu Yuntian and the others remained, quickly approaching.

Su Hao let out a sigh of relief.

His right hand, holding the blood-stained blade, trembled slightly, betraying his inner turmoil that wasn't as calm as it appeared on the surface.

Squatting down, Su Hao wiped the blood off his blade on the corpses, then sheathed it.

When Wu Yuntian and the other four arrived at the scene, no one spoke at first, stunned by the sight before them.

Little Fatty and He Qingqing had seen dead bodies before; every year, a few warriors from Chashan Outpost would be killed by wild beasts. But this gruesome scene made them uncomfortable, they hid in the back, feeling a bit queasy.

….

After Su Hao explained the entire sequence of events, including Wu Yuntian, everyone looked at Su Hao with strange expressions.

He Jianrong glanced at He Qingqing, then confirmed with Su Hao, "So, you're saying that Dan Sui bullied Qingqing, and you kicked his balls to pieces and then took down all the third-year students?"

Su Hao nodded. "That's right. I was already a high-level elite warrior at the time. Dealing with those kids was no big deal."

He Jianyong exchanged a speechless glance with Old Li.

Old Li pointed at the bodies on the ground. "These guys were all high-level elite warriors, weren't they? Does that mean you've really advanced to the Master level?"

Su Hao nodded again. "I just advanced recently. It was a stroke of luck."

He Jianyong and Old Li shared another silent look.

Old Li turned to Wu Yuntian and said, "Old Third, you taught your son well! How about I have my boy apprentice under you? Just teach him a couple of moves."

Wu Yuntian waved his hand. "No need. I'm not good at teaching. Xiangwu worked hard on his own; it has little to do with me."

Old Li patted Little Fatty on the head and lamented, "Cunzhi, your fate hasn't arrived yet!"

He Jianrong then said, "This isn't the place to talk. Let's head back to the outpost. Also, today's events stay between us. Don't mention this to anyone; not a word."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

He Jianrong added, "Let's clean up the traces and the bodies."

The three adults were experienced at handling such tasks. Su Hao and the two younger ones didn't need to help. In no time, the bodies were buried with no trace left behind.

"We found some money, a total of forty-three silver shillings," Old Li said, holding up a few pouches.

He Jianrong immediately said, "Give it to Xiangwu. It's his."

Without hesitation, Old Li handed the pouches to Su Hao. "Take it!"

Su Hao accepted without any reservations.

He even searched Dan Liqin's body, hoping to find the beast vein's scriptures, but found nothing.

As expected, no one would carry such valuable items on them.

Su Hao wasn't disappointed; he knew there would be plenty of opportunities to obtain [Runes] in the future.

After tidying up, the group resumed their journey, moving much faster. After the recent events, none of them felt like strolling leisurely; they just wanted to get home and digest the news of "Wu Xiangwu's breakthrough to Master-level."

During the journey, Little Fatty and He Qingqing sneaked up to Su Hao. Little Fatty tugged on Su Hao's sleeve and asked, "Xiangwu, how did you become a Master? Does that mean you're even stronger than my dad and the others now?"

Su Hao replied casually, "It's not a big deal. We're about the same."

He Qingqing wrinkled her nose and said, "You're trying to fool us again. Do you still think we're kids?"

Su Hao almost blurted out "Yes," but swallowed it back and said, "It's just luck. Don't worry, if you study hard, you'll surpass me in no time!"

Little Fatty then asked, "Xiangwu, just how strong are you now?"

Su Hao smiled and said, "I'm not sure, but I could probably beat the two of you with one hand."

Little Fatty nodded seriously, "That's pretty impressive!"

"Hmph!" He Qingqing glared at Su Hao, as if saying, "You're still trying to treat us like kids!"