Chapter 119: Robbery

The night grew darker, and some shadows moved swiftly in the darkness. During the day, Xu Ziyan and the others changed their clothes. Most importantly, they hid their cultivation level, and they entered the city in groups of three. Xu Ziyan even entered alone, so no one suspected these people with low strength. Besides, no one would have thought that Xu Ziyan and the others would come in this direction. So, Xu Ziyan’s group passed through Tiemu City without any suspicion and then rushed toward Xiangyang Town.

After arriving at Xiangyang Town, Xu Ziyan and the others did not approach the town directly. Instead, they circled around it and headed straight for the ferry dock outside Xiangyang Town.

Xu Tianlang’s second team went first, followed closely by Xu Lin’s first team, then Xu Ziyan, and finally Xu Qi’s third team. Each team kept a distance of five meters from the others as they quietly moved toward the ferry dock.

This was the first time Xu Ziyan and the other nine had planned to do something together. It was also their first action since Xu Ziyan became the team leader and divided them into groups. Xu Ziyan took this action very seriously. In her mind, this action could only succeed; it could not fail. Success would build everyone’s confidence. If it failed, even if there were no injuries, everyone’s confidence would probably collapse.

However, when Xu Ziyan’s eyes swept over everyone’s faces in the moonlight, she could not help but feel a bitter smile inside. At this moment, Xu Qi, Xu Lin, and the others, including the fierce Xu Tianlang and the timid Xu Lan, all seemed to have forgotten about the clan’s affairs and that they were currently on the run. Their faces were full of excitement, and their eyes shone brightly in the night.

Ever since Xu Ziyan announced that they would rob a boat at the ferry dock, these young teenagers had forgotten their situation and became as excited as if they had been given a shot of adrenaline. Xu Ziyan did not scold them because she knew it would be useless. At most, they might try hard to hide their excitement on their faces, but the thrill of their first robbery would not fade from their hearts.

Xu Ziyan understood them very well. They were a group of teenagers who usually only knew cultivation. They rarely left Zhongdu City, let alone their clan. For such a group of teenagers who only knew cultivation but had never done something like robbery before, hearing that they were going to do such an exciting thing, how could they not be eager and ready to go? In their hearts, they even thought about how they would boast about this to their fellow clan members when they returned. This made Xu Ziyan not know whether to laugh or cry.

“Senior Brother Tianhai, are you sure there will be a boat at the ferry dock?” Xu Ziyan asked quietly.

“There will definitely be one! There are boats here every day, carrying goods downstream. It’s both convenient and fast, so many merchants choose this route. Even in winter, there is at least one merchant ship every day!” Xu Tianhai lowered his voice.

“I see it!”

Xu Ziyan suddenly whispered, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes. The outline of a ship vaguely appeared at the ferry dock not far away.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the ten of them were hiding about fifty meters from the ship. Xu Ziyan carefully observed the surrounding situation and said softly,

“Everyone, follow the plan! Be fast! Be ruthless! Does anyone have any objections?”

“No!” Xu Qi, Xu Lin, Xu Tianlang, and the other teenagers whispered in reply, their eyes gleaming sharply.

Xu Mei and Xu Meiruo, along with Xu Lan, showed a bit of hesitation on their faces. Xu Lan timidly asked,

“Sister Ziyan, do we have to kill people? They are just merchants, innocent people!”

A complex look flashed in Xu Ziyan’s clear eyes, but she still bit her lip lightly and said firmly,

“If there are too many people on the ship and we can’t kill them all, and since none of us know how to sail a boat, we must leave some people as sailors. So we need to control them quickly, but we must not let anyone else discover us and raise an alarm. For those who dare to resist, we must kill them without hesitation. If someone hesitates and exposes our whereabouts, which then affects the safety of our entire team, then please leave on your own. We don’t need someone who might bring danger to everyone at any time!”

Xu Lan lowered her head, biting her lip tightly, tears glistening in her eyes. But behind the tears, there was a little less hesitation. Xu Mei and Xu Meiruo’s eyes also showed determination. Xu Ziyan blinked her eyes, glanced toward the ship once more, and waved her hand gently. The ten figures silently disappeared into the quiet night.

Actually, this was Xu Ziyan’s first time doing something like this too; she had no similar personal experience. But compared to the other nine, Xu Ziyan had at least watched such movies and read such novels in her previous life. So the entire plan was made by Xu Ziyan alone. When the other nine first heard Xu Ziyan explain the plan step by step, they were all stunned, their eyes filled with nothing but admiration.

Although Xu Ziyan had thought over her plan repeatedly and strived for perfection, she was still very worried about these nine novices who were even less experienced than her. But this step had to be taken. The future escape would surely be full of dangers. Training them from now on, whether successful or not, would give them more chances to survive on the escape road ahead.

Moving through the reeds until they were about twenty meters from the ship, Xu Ziyan and the others clearly saw a person at the sixth level of Houtian keeping watch at both the bow and the stern. Leaning against the ship’s side, their heads nodding up and down, Xu Ziyan even worried that they might fall into the water if they slept too soundly.

Xu Tianlang, who was sneaking at the front, waved his hand lightly. The three members of the second team pushed their cultivation to the limit, their figures sweeping onto the ship like a gentle breeze in the night. Dealing with two people at the sixth level of Houtian naturally did not require Xu Tianlang to act personally. So once he reached the ship, he used sword flight to hover in the air, monitoring the surroundings. Meanwhile, Xu Peng and Xu Meiruo rushed toward the bow and stern respectively.

Each of them used the method Xu Ziyan had just taught them: one hand covered the other’s mouth, while the other hand grabbed the person’s head and twisted it hard. A faint “crack” was heard, and the two watchmen’s bodies went limp.

Xu Peng and Xu Meiruo gently laid the two bodies down. Xu Peng’s heart was very excited at this moment. He never thought there was such a way to kill people. Before, these cultivators always used flying swords, spells, and talismans, creating a lot of noise. But now, he had quietly killed a person using this novel method without making a sound. Xu Peng felt thrilled. He found this way of killing very exciting. On one side, the surroundings were so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat; on the other side, he was calmly killing someone, his whole body breaking out in goosebumps from excitement.

But Xu Meiruo at the stern was different. She had killed people before, but watching someone die silently in her arms and slowly fall onto the deck gave her a creepy feeling that made her very uncomfortable. Her stomach churned, and she quickly covered her mouth tightly with her hand to prevent any sound from escaping.

Xu Tianlang, who was hovering in the air using sword flight, saw that the two watchmen had been silently taken care of. He was deeply shocked by the method Xu Ziyan had taught and could not help but feel a trace of awe toward her.

Xu Tianlang flew silently around the ship twice in the air, making sure no one else on the ship was awake, then signaled to the shore. Seven figures rose into the night sky and silently floated above the ship.

Xu Ziyan gently pointed her thumb downward. Xu Tianlang quietly landed on the deck and, with Xu Peng and Xu Meiruo, moved toward the front cabin. Meanwhile, Xu Lin, with the members of the first group, Xu Liangwei and Xu Mei, quietly landed and approached the rear cabin. Xu Qi, with the third group members Xu Tianhai and Xu Lan, remained in the air using sword flight, vigilantly watching the surroundings. Xu Ziyan kept her eyes shifting between the front and rear cabins, paying close attention to everything happening there.

A brief commotion and two screams came from the cabin, but the screams stopped abruptly as if someone had suddenly cut their throats—which was exactly what happened. Then, Xu Mei came out of the cabin, one hand covering her mouth, the other gesturing to Xu Ziyan and the others in the air.

Xu Ziyan and Xu Qi descended from the air, leaving Xu Lan still using sword flight in the air to monitor the surroundings. Entering the cabin, they saw four corpses lying on the floor, and more than ten people standing there trembling. Xu Lin watched them with a cold, stern face. Footsteps sounded as Xu Meiruo walked in from outside. She glanced at the bodies on the floor and immediately looked away, turning to Xu Ziyan and saying quietly,

“We killed eight people, and there are nineteen left. They are under control now.”

Xu Ziyan’s heart stirred. This Xu Tianlang was truly a ruthless person; while they killed four here, he actually killed eight over there. At this moment, a man who looked like a merchant among the sailors saw Xu Ziyan enter and seemed to be the leader of these people. He could not help but scrutinize Xu Ziyan closely. Seeing that she was such a beautiful and delicate young girl, he felt a bit more at ease. He thought to himself that such a delicate girl should be easy to deal with. So he stepped out from among the sailors and said in a loud voice,

“Miss, what do you want? We are just honest merchants, you…”