Chapter 6: Savage Blade

The rustling sound coming from the grass behind them made Sara freeze in fright.

She quickly turned around, her hands and feet trembling slightly with fear.

Li Xian also turned his gaze toward the noise, narrowing his eyes.

Judging by the sound, it didn’t seem like a magical beast… more like a person?

“You little brat, I finally found you!”

The voice came loud and clear from behind.

Whoever it was had no intention of hiding—he stepped forward confidently, followed by another man.

Li Xian’s pupils shrank in alarm.

The man walking at the front was none other than Morey, the Gold-ranked adventurer he had seen earlier in the Adventurers’ Guild.

At this moment, Morey was glaring at him with obvious hostility.

The man behind him seemed to be his companion.

Seeing the way they approached, Li Xian frowned.

‘Don’t tell me… they’re here to steal my quest?’

A surge of anger rose in Li Xian’s chest.

No way—he wasn’t about to let this slide.

He could tolerate a lot, but not this.

Not when ten thousand gold coins were on the line.

He had to complete this quest.

He instinctively stepped in front of the girl to shield her, and then noticed something—at some point, Sara had grabbed tightly onto the hem of his shirt.

Her body was trembling.

Li Xian frowned and turned back to her.

Terror was written all over her face.

He followed her gaze.

She was staring directly at the masked, slender man standing behind Morey.

“What’s wrong? Do you know him?” Li Xian asked.

Something about this didn’t feel right.

“So you really don’t know,” the masked man said with a smile.

“But unfortunately for you, you’re still going to die today. If you want to blame someone, blame the girl behind you.”

Li Xian glanced at Sara, whose expression was now filled with horror and guilt.

‘As I thought… this quest isn’t as simple as it seemed.’

“Xian, what are you…” Morey suddenly spoke, confusion written all over his face as he looked at his supposed companion.

He felt something was off.

Now that he thought about it—too distracted earlier by Li Xian—he remembered that Xian never wore a mask.

The man chuckled softly.

Then, he slowly removed the mask from his face.

Beneath it was a wrinkled face, marked by a long scar stretching diagonally from his temple down to the corner of his mouth.

It was deeply unsettling to look at.

“You’re not Xian. You’re—”

Morey’s voice stopped abruptly.

A blade had already pierced through his throat.

The next moment, his entire head was sliced off and flung into the air.

Blood sprayed out violently, soaking the earth in crimson.

His headless body collapsed to the ground with a sickening thud.

The gruesome sight drained the color from Sara’s face.

She clung even tighter to Li Xian’s clothes, her knuckles turning white.

Even without any real defenses, the fact that Morey could instantly kill a seasoned veteran warrior who had been famous for years left no doubt—this scar-faced freak in front of them was an extraordinary-level master.

Li Xian watched the scene unfold without much change in his expression.

“Wasn’t he your companion? Why did you kill him?” he asked, clearly puzzled, despite his calm tone.

He had initially assumed the two had come to steal the mission.

But now it seemed the situation was far more complicated than he had expected.

And the girl behind him clearly knew something.

“Why did I kill him?” the thin man licked the blood dripping down his hand from the edge of his sword as he spoke.

The strong metallic scent filled his nose, and his eyes turned a disturbing shade of red.

“There’s no real reason. I just felt like killing him. I kill whoever I want. That’s all. And you’re no different.”

He grinned with a twisted sense of delight, clearly expecting to see fear or rage on Li Xian’s face.

But he was destined to be disappointed.

Li Xian merely glanced at the girl behind him, who was biting her lip and trying hard not to cry.

“Your target… seems to be her?” he said.

“Target?” The thin man gave a cruel laugh.

“Of course. After all… I was once well ‘taken care of’ by her parents.”

His face darkened, and his shadowed eyes locked onto Sara with venomous intensity.

He slowly reached up and touched the scar that ran from his temple to the corner of his mouth.

“Remember this scar? You were there, weren’t you? That sword strike from your father… it was brutal. As the Bloodblade, I had never suffered such humiliation in my life.”

“All these years, I’ve been waiting for the chance to take revenge. Finally… your meddlesome parents got involved in something they shouldn’t have. Learned something they shouldn’t know. It’s a shame I didn’t get to kill them myself, but watching their daughter die in misery will be a more than satisfying revenge…”

He grinned maniacally, eyes bloodshot and full of madness, fixed on Sara who was hiding behind Li Xian.

“Accept your fate quietly. All of this… is thanks to your kind-hearted, do-gooder parents. The famous Platinum-ranked adventurer couple—so generous, so righteous, admired by all… hah.”

He laughed coldly, lifting the blood-dripping sword once more.

“Everyone connected to this matter must die. Including you—”

He pointed the blade at Li Xian, his expression dripping with scorn.

“You naive fool, dreaming of playing the hero. Go to hell and face the truth. Repent for your ignorance!”

***

As the blade aimed directly at him, Li Xian’s lips slowly curled into a smile.

A smile of pity—for the man’s ignorance.

[He’s already written his own ending.]