Volume 1, Chapter 55: Tang Wanshu of the Tang Clan

"This..."

The blade-wielding assassin was utterly in disbelief.

He stared at his chest, already stained red with blood, as his consciousness began to fade rapidly.

The next moment, he dropped dead on the spot.

This scene shocked everyone present.

That formidable warrior with the blade was a gold-medal assassin of the Blood Sacrificial Pavilion, a master of the Profound Realm! How could such an expert be killed with a single move?

The other assassin, who wielded a chain, also changed his expression drastically. He glanced toward Li Hanzhou's carriage, cupped his fists, and said, "Senior, this matter is strictly between our Blood Sacrificial Pavilion and this married couple. We hope Senior will not interfere and bring unnecessary trouble upon yourself."

"I'll give you three breaths. Get lost."

"Otherwise, you die too."

Li Hanzhou's voice drifted over.

"Has Senior thought this through?" the chain-wielding assassin asked warily.

"Three."

Li Hanzhou slowly spat out a single word.

"What the hell!"

The assassin's face drained of color on the spot. Li Hanzhou played by no rules!

They agreed on three breaths, yet he started straight with three!

Just as he turned to run, a wave of biting cold rushed toward him—a bone-chilling frost that made it feel as though his very marrow was freezing!

His legs refused to obey him.

"Break!"

With a sweep of the chain in his hand, he ruthlessly chopped off his own right leg, then leaped off the cliff, plunging into the torrential river below.

"Such ruthlessness," Li Hanzhou muttered, somewhat surprised.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives." At this moment, the couple walked up to the front of the carriage and bowed respectfully to Li Hanzhou.

"It's cold outside, and your wife is pregnant. Come into the carriage." Li Hanzhou wouldn't dare let an expectant mother stand outside in the rain.

"Thank you, Senior."

Overjoyed, the two of them boarded the carriage.

Yet once inside, they were even more astonished.

They had imagined that someone as powerful as Li Hanzhou would surely have a face full of beard, an elderly senior.

To their disbelief, upon looking at Li Hanzhou, he appeared to be merely a man in his thirties. This left them utterly baffled: since when did the Eastern Yan Prefecture boast such a young supreme expert?

To kill one Profound Realm expert and injure another with a mere wave of his hand—his cultivation must surely be at least at the Heavenly, Gang Realm.

Yet they had no recollection of any such figure.

"Thank you, Senior, for saving our lives," the man said, cupping his fists. "I am Tang Wanshu of the Tang Sect, and this is my wife, Lang Xiaoyun."

"People from the Tang Sect?"

Slightly surprised, Li Hanzhou gestured for the two to sit down.

"I am no senior; I am merely a fortune teller," Li Hanzhou said, pointing to the divination banner beside him.

"A fortune teller?"

The couple cast surprised glances at Li Hanzhou's banner. They had assumed he was a heavyweight from some grand sect, not a fortune teller.

To think the Eastern Yan Prefecture possessed such a terrifyingly powerful fortune teller.

"Sir, I have an unchaperoned request, and I truly hope you might grant it." Suddenly, Tang Wanshu looked at Li Hanzhou with utmost solemnity.

"Speak," Li Hanzhou said, roughly guessing what it was about.

"Since you saved our lives today, sir, I will hide nothing from you. Although I belong to the Tang Sect, I am also an agent of the imperial court. Years ago, I was dispatched by the Ninth Prince to infiltrate the Great Zhou Kingdom. Recently, I managed to unearth a piece of intelligence of paramount importance, but unfortunately, I was discovered by the people of Great Zhou. My wife and I fought our way out all the way back, only to find that Great Zhou had hired the Blood Sacrificial Pavilion to hunt us down."

"Might I ask if Senior would be willing to escort us for a stretch of the journey? This intelligence is of the utmost importance to the Divine阙!" With that, Tang Wanshu fell directly to his knees before Li Hanzhou.

"I beg you, sir, please help us," Lang Xiaoyun pleaded, dropping to her knees as well.

"Get up." Li Hanzhou could not bear to watch a pregnant woman kneel before him. With a slight lift of his palm, a gentle wave of energy hoisted them both back to their feet.

"You are people of the Ninth Prince?" Li Hanzhou asked.

"Yes," the two nodded.

"Ninth Prince Yu Qingyang? We crossed paths once before. What a coincidence—the last time, Yu Qingyang was being hunted by assassins from the Blood Sacrificial Pavilion and I saved him. Now the two of you have been rescued by me from those same assassins. I suppose this is fate." Li Hanzhou found destiny rather amusing at times.

"Senior has saved the Ninth Highness?" The couple froze in surprise.

"Mn, a small matter," Li Hanzhou nodded.

"Escorting you for a portion of the way is doable, but I have matters of my own to attend to. I am heading to Lingyan City and onward to Great Zhou, so I can only accompany you for this leg of the journey," Li Hanzhou told Tang Wanshu.

"Splendid! Once we reach Tianxia Pass, there is a stronghold of our Tang Sect, and our sect's experts will escort us safely back," Tang Wanshu nodded repeatedly.

"Shiming, let's move," Li Hanzhou called out to Shiming outside.

"Understood."

Shiming whipped the horses into motion.

"Sir, I have nothing of equal value to repay your kindness, but this is the Tang Sect's *Classic of Poisons*. Please accept it for your study," Tang Wanshu said, retrieving a book from his storage pouch and handing it to Li Hanzhou.

"This belongs to your Tang Sect. Is this truly alright?" Li Hanzhou could not help asking.

"Rest assured, Senior, there is no issue at all," Tang Wanshu shook his head.

"Then I thank you." As Li Hanzhou looked at the poison classic, he mused that the Tang Sect's Thousand-Life Ghost Lotus was still in his possession.

Initially, Li Hanzhou had hesitated over whether to return the item to the Tang Sect.

After all, it was their sect's treasured heirloom.

Yet on second thought, returning it was fine, but how was he to explain its provenance?

If they suspected him of stealing it in the first place, he would never hear the end of it.

As for the Azure Dragon Hundred Flames he had returned to Sun Yaoxian, Li Hanzhou reckoned Sun must have discovered the truth upon returning, and was likely cursing him to high heaven behind his back.

The matter of the Thousand-Life Ghost Lotus could wait for another day.

Li Hanzhou remained deeply interested in the Tang Sect's hidden weapons, and throughout the journey, he conversed endlessly with Tang Wanshu, gaining deep insight into various Tang Sect mechanisms.

As dusk approached.

Everyone began to feel hungry. With the rain having finally ceased, they stepped out of the carriage to find a clean spot. Li Hanzhou took out ingredients and instructed Shiming to prepare dinner.

Shiming's culinary skills had reached an impressive level, having thoroughly inherited Li Hanzhou's teachings.

Tang Wanshu and his wife had been chatting with Li Hanzhou, but before long, a rich, intoxicating aroma drifted over.

The fragrance seemed to drill straight into their noses.

The couple had been fleeing for their lives recently and had barely eaten a proper meal. Lang Xiaoyun, in particular, was pregnant and naturally grew hungry far quicker than usual; catching a whiff of this scent proved entirely irresistible.

"What is that smell? So fragrant!"

Following the direction of the aroma, they spotted Shiming roasting skewers of mutton.

Li Hanzhou had prepared the mutton skewers before setting out, complete with cumin, chili powder, and other seasonings.

Thus, at this moment, the scent was simply soul-stirring!

The glistening mutton was roasted to a crisp exterior while remaining tender inside. The moment the cumin and chili touched the meat, the aroma spread for miles.

No Sword Immortal could possibly resist this!