As the largest and only city in the entire Baiqu Territory, Baiqu City’s area and scale were truly not small; it could be perfectly described as having crisscrossing streets and alleys, with buildings stretching endlessly.
However, due to its overly antique (and rustic) appearance, both inside and out, and the exclusive use of yellowish-brown sandstone for construction, it looked bland and uninteresting, much like the buildings in “A Chinese Odyssey” at first glance.
Therefore, it failed to attract Li Hai to stop and admire it.
Even after entering the city, Li Hai had paid no attention to the surrounding buildings and scenery.
He merely kept observing the bustling crowds coming and going, solely to find someone whose image and temperament seemed to fit the persona of a great bandit or pirate.
After wandering and observing thousands of people, Li Hai finally settled on a candidate.
It was a burly giant of a man, with a thick waist and a body full of rough muscle, almost like a black bear spirit, his face evil and his beard like an iron brush, seemingly alive, draped in a thick robe and carrying a large saber on his shoulder.
Behind this giant, there were dozens of other robust, vicious-looking men carrying knives and axes.
When this group of people swaggered through the streets, the surrounding crowd would automatically clear a path, allowing them to pass unhindered, as if afraid to incur their displeasure.
So, if such a person wasn't a bandit leader, who else could he be?
Thus, Li Hai walked straight over, slapped the giant in the face, and then asked directly:
“Hey, you’re so fierce and ugly, and you have so many subordinates, and your Qi Realm is also at Acquired Perfection. You must be a bandit leader, right? Quickly take me to Knife Soul Valley.”
Because the incident happened too suddenly, the ugly man was immediately stunned and bewildered by the slap and the question.
His dozens of subordinates behind him were also momentarily stunned, but then they quickly grabbed their knives and axes and surrounded Li Hai, shouting and yelling:
“You hairy ghost, how dare you!”
“You damn well want to die, don’t you!”
“You dare to hit Master Hu, don’t you want to live anymore!”
“Master Hu, how do you want to deal with him? Break a leg or an arm!”
“Just slit his throat, chop him into pieces and feed him to the dogs.”
The ferocious shouts of dozens of people naturally attracted the attention of the pedestrians in the surrounding market.
So they flocked over, unafraid of death, wanting to see what was happening.
As a result, this originally unobstructed long street was quickly blocked completely by numerous onlookers, three layers deep inside and three layers deep outside, making it impassable.
And the giant in the center of the crowd, named Master Hu, while listening to his subordinates’ clamor, his face darkened, and he was about to draw his saber and hack at Li Hai.
But just then, streaks of scorching red whip shadows flashed erratically around Li Hai, appearing out of nowhere.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Following a series of explosions, the dozens of brawny men who had been clamoring around Li Hai, one by one, had their heads explode, red and white matter gushing out, and then all of them collapsed limply to the ground.
This terrifying sight of instantly killing over a dozen people in the blink of an eye immediately stunned all the onlookers present, including the giant who was about to draw his saber.
Because he knew the true power of these few whip strikes.
“All that chattering is annoying me to death. Was I talking to you?!”
After striking down these brawny men, Li Hai flicked the blood off his steel whip and then looked at the giant, who was now as silent as a cicada in winter, and coldly shouted:
“Hey, you know how to get to Knife Soul Valley, don’t you? Hurry up and take me there.”
In reality, Li Hai had guessed correctly; this Master Hu was indeed a Disciple of Knife Soul Valley, and therefore he truly knew Knife Soul Valley.
But to say it so obediently in front of everyone would make him seem too cowardly.
So, after a series of facial expressions, Master Hu raised his big head and sneered with a curled lip:
“Hmph, why the hell should I lead the way for you?!”
The surrounding onlookers, seeing Master Hu’s defiance, immediately applauded and cheered:
“Speaking his mind, cool!”
“Awesome! So brave!”
“He’s a man who’s been through fire and steel, didn’t lose face!”
“Very good! Very spirited!”
“Good, well done!”
“It should be this strong!”
“Don’t rush, let’s see what he says next.”
“Hmm?”
Amidst the crowd’s clamor, Li Hai was first startled, then he immediately said, “Because I could tell at a glance that you’re a bandit leader. As a big bandit, isn’t it only natural to know where Knife Soul Valley is? Hurry up and lead the way, don’t dawdle.”
He didn’t even consider the possibility that “the other party was pretending,” so his reply was very straightforward.
But then the giant sneered again and said, “You’re really good at judging people. I am indeed a bandit, and a big one at that, but still, why the hell should I lead the way for you? What the hell are you to me?!”
When he said this, Li Hai finally understood and was surprised, then he chuckled:
“Hahaha, I forgot. People in this Martial World cannot be judged by common sense, but I still want to praise you:
Good, you’re really something, you bastard!”
Laughing and cursing, Li Hai used both hands, his left hand pressing down on the giant’s shoulder, his right hand gripping the top of the giant’s head, and then he let out a low shout:
“Rise!”
Puff!!!
“Ah ah ah ah ah ah!!!”
Accompanied by the gushing sound of a large amount of blood and an extremely shrill scream, the giant’s big head was actually pulled out of his neck by Li Hai with one hand, along with the entire bloody spinal column, forcibly torn out segment by segment with a crunching sound.
The scene was so bloody that even the well-traveled onlookers around them were stunned into silence, frozen in place.
But when Li Hai casually threw the giant’s head, still attached to a spinal column, onto the ground, the surrounding circle of onlookers, who had finally reacted, immediately surged forward, cheering in unison and even applauding:
“Good, so cool!”
“Explosively cool!”
“Damn, well done!”
“It’s you! The Evil Bandit Spine Sword!”
“Heh! So thrilling, it’s so thrilling I’m about to shit myself!”
Looking at the bizarre reactions of the surrounding crowd, Li Hai couldn’t help but retort, “Damn, a bunch of lunatics.”
“Great hero~”
Just then, a beggar, who had somehow sneaked to Li Hai’s feet, squatted on the ground and cautiously looked up, asking, “Great hero, do you still want this body?”
“No, no, I don’t,” Li Hai waved his hand in disgust, “It’s all bloody and messy, take it all away.”
“Heh, thank you, great hero.”
Upon hearing this, the beggar squatting on the ground quickly bowed and kowtowed to Li Hai, “May you be prosperous and all your wishes come true! May you be prosperous and all your wishes come true!”
After a few kowtows, the beggar immediately whistled towards the roadside.
Then, a dozen or two dozen beggars swiftly crawled from all directions like wild dogs, beginning to quickly move the bodies from the street.
And the many pedestrians in this market were not at all surprised by this; after they had seen enough of the excitement, they scattered and went home.
Thus, in an instant, the crowd that had originally been surrounding Li Hai, as well as the dozens of bodies lying on the ground, vanished without a trace.