If it were the old him, he definitely wouldn't have gotten involved in this mess.
He wouldn't even have seriously patrolled this area; he would have just slacked off and gone through the motions. Protecting himself was the most important thing.
But now, it was completely different.
The Heaven-Defying functions of the System gave him enough confidence.
It gave him the right to make his voice heard and even change the rules in an era like this.
He glanced at the woman whose eyes were vacant, with two lines of hateful tears streaming down her face.
Li Qinglian took a deep breath, his eyes fixed on Fang Zishan with intense killing intent, his voice strong and clear.
"You all disregard the law, ignore the Empire's laws, wantonly slaughter the innocent, and forcibly abduct women. Your crimes are heinous. Die!"
His gaze was cold. He drew his long saber and charged forward.
Dong Renyi, who had been standing beside Li Qinglian, was stunned. He hadn't expected Li Qinglian to be so brave, daring to kill even the Fang Family Seventh Young Master.
However, there was no time for him to think. He gritted his teeth, drew his long saber, and followed.
Fang Zishan seemed to be intimidated by the Aura emanating from Li Qinglian, and he instinctively took two steps back.
Enraged, he yelled furiously:
"Damn dog! How dare you lay a hand on this Young Master? You're truly rebelling against Heaven! Tiefeng, don't kill him. This Young Master wants to personally flay him, break his limbs, and make him wish for death but be unable to die..."
It seemed that only this way could he recover from his earlier gaffe.
In fact, without Fang Zishan's command, Tiefeng had already attacked. His foot slipped, and the long sword in his arms was unsheathed. The tip of the sword, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue, created several sword flowers, stabbing towards various vital points on Li Qinglian's body.
【Name: Tiefeng】
【Identity: Luoshui County Fang Family Guard】
【Realm: Eighth-Rank Middle Stage】
【Skills: Ninth-grade martial arts — Roaming Dragon Sword Technique (Minor Achievement), Snake Step (Proficient); Eighth-grade Iron Bone Art; Drawing Sword Technique, Basic Sword Technique (Major Achievement)...】
Li Qinglian's eyes narrowed slightly. He saw all of the opponent's general information.
As rumored through unofficial channels, nothing was hidden.
Li Qinglian did not use his full strength, but instead pretended that his Blade Technique was not even a ranked Martial Arts and barely passable.
This also fit the persona and background of a humble constable.
As soon as they clashed, Li Qinglian fell into a disadvantage, appearing very 'distressed,' which made Tiefeng somewhat disdainful.
"With your strength, you don't even have a Ninth-grade martial arts. Yet you dare to try and kill the Seventh Young Master? You're truly tired of living."
Tiefeng sneered, a hint of contempt in his eyes.
He didn't even bother with Dong Renyi beside him.
In his opinion, he was too weak, like a randomly hopping chick that could be killed at any time.
Pfft—
Suddenly, Li Qinglian's Blade Technique changed, erupting with layers of saber light, dense and swift, layer upon layer.
The saber seemed to merge with the wind, drawing a mysterious trajectory.
It directly severed Tiefeng's right arm, and crimson blood spurted out.
"You're actually an Eighth-Rank Martial Artist... and you've mastered a Major Achievement Ninth-grade martial arts..."
Tiefeng's face turned pale at a visible speed, staring at Li Qinglian in utter shock.
He had never heard of any constable in the yamen mastering a Ninth-grade martial arts.
If there really was such a person, he would have been recruited by other forces long ago.
"Can't I master it?"
Li Qinglian took a step forward, his blade turning, and then sliced through the opponent's throat.
"You... you actually dared to kill someone from our Fang Family..."
Fang Zishan was incredibly shocked to see his guard killed.
Feeling the intense killing intent surging from Li Qinglian, he finally became afraid. His throat bobbed, and he continuously retreated, making fierce threats while appearing outwardly strong but inwardly weak.
"You... what are you going to do?"
"I am the Fang Family Seventh Young Master. If you dare to kill me, all your relatives and friends around you won't survive..."
A flash of saber light was his answer.
His head rolled to the ground with a thud, his eyes wide with terror, dying with a look of disbelief.
"Too much nonsense."
Li Qinglian wiped his saber on the opponent's brocade clothes.
Then, he sheathed it.
【Randomly obtained Basic Sword Technique (Major Achievement)】
【Randomly obtained Calligraphy (Proficient)】
"Boss, you actually secretly broke through to Eighth-Rank. So you're the most hidden person in our yamen!"
Dong Renyi said in an exaggerated manner, then began to skillfully search the corpse.
Li Qinglian ignored him and walked towards the woman.
At this moment, seeing her enemy killed, a glimmer of light appeared in her originally lifeless eyes.
"This commoner thanks the lord for avenging me. Please, lord, do it."
She bowed slightly to Li Qinglian.
She lifted her head and closed her eyes.
Exposing her fair neck.
Waiting for death.
She was a smart person and naturally knew that the news of those two men's deaths could not be leaked.
Only dead people can keep secrets.
"You... never mind. Where nearby is convenient for disposing of bodies?"
Seeing her appearance, Li Qinglian dismissed the idea of explaining and asked directly.
"Lord... at the end of our alley, there's an abandoned house with a dry well. It's been abandoned for decades, and there are rumors that it's haunted..."
The woman opened her eyes, paused for a moment, then quickly said.
"I see! About what happened tonight..."
"This commoner understands. Tonight, a group of villains killed this commoner's husband and in-laws, and a great hero just happened to appear and saved this commoner..."
Before Li Qinglian could finish, the woman shivered and quickly said.
"It's good that you know. By the way, what's your name?"
Li Qinglian was a little surprised and asked out of curiosity.
From the woman's speech, demeanor, and temperament, it was clear that she likely came from a scholarly Family.
Such a woman living in such a chaotic place felt a bit out of place.
"This commoner is Zhang Yunniang."
The woman hesitated for a moment but still said her name.
Seeing her reaction, Li Qinglian realized that he had been presumptuous and shouldn't have asked her name.
Immediately, he left a few taels of silver, and with Dong Renyi, he grabbed the two corpses and quickly headed towards the place Zhang Yunniang mentioned.
At the end of the alley, there was indeed an abandoned courtyard, and inside the courtyard was a dry well.
After disposing of the two bodies, he passed by Zhang Yunniang's doorstep and glanced at Zhang Yunniang, who was dealing with her Family's bodies. Li Qinglian did not interfere much.
He sighed in his heart.
This was a true portrayal of the lives of the lower class.
Their lives were too bitter.
Especially those Jianghu Gangs and powerful Families, they simply didn't treat the lower class as human beings.
"Renyi, when you have time, look into her husband's situation."
"Boss, isn't that inappropriate? You just got married to Sister-in-law, and you're already having other thoughts. That Zhang Yunniang is indeed pretty, but..."
"What nonsense are you talking about? I want to know what their relationship with the Fang Family is, and why Fang Zishan targeted Zhang Yunniang. We need to prepare for the worst..."
Li Qinglian reprimanded him, speechless.
"Sorry, Boss, I misunderstood..."
Dong Renyi gave an awkward smile.
The two left the alley and continued their patrol, following various sounds.
A moment later, as they entered the wide main road and passed an old locust tree, Dong Renyi suddenly stopped, turning his head in confusion to look at his right shoulder.
"What is that? Holy crap... a ghost..."
He shrieked, backing away repeatedly, almost falling to the ground, his eyes filled with terror.
Li Qinglian turned his head to look, and his eyes involuntarily narrowed.
