Su Changkong's cooperation left the three robbers stunned, but a flash of disdain soon crossed their eyes.
"This kid's tall and sturdy, but he's just a coward,"
said the tall, skinny man with scorn.
But that was normal: an ordinary young man encountering three weapon-wielding robbers would first get so scared that his hands and feet would go weak—how could he dare to think otherwise?
Among the three robbers, one with a scar on his face wore a sinister smile, "Kid, you're just unlucky to have run into us! But don't worry, I'll make it quick, so you won't suffer too much!"
If it had been a normal occasion, the robbers would typically only rob for money. However, before Su Changkong arrived, the three robbers had encountered a non-cooperative passerby and had already killed him. Having witnessed them murdering the man, for Su Changkong it was the same if they killed one or two.
For safety's sake, it was better to finish what they started; killing Su Changkong to silence him was the surest way!
"Shoo!"
The scar-faced man slowly stepped in front of Su Changkong, swung his long sword, and with a swoosh aimed a chop at Su Changkong's neck.
But the expected scene of Su Changkong's head falling to the ground didn't happen. Su Changkong's left hand shot out, later to arrive but first to grab the scar-faced man's wrist, stopping the sword from advancing an inch!
"Let... let go!"
The scar-faced man felt excruciating pain in his wrist, as if his bones were about to break, unable to break free from the surprisingly strong grip of Su Changkong, he shouted in anger and shock.
Su Changkong suddenly raised his head, teeth clenched with a grating sound, and a low growl of anger came from his throat, "Why must you force me!"
Su Changkong had no desire to get involved, and he was even willing to pay a ransom to avoid disaster, but these three were after his life!
If that was the case, it was either kill or be killed!
With his left hand grabbing the wrist of the scar-faced man with the sword, Su Changkong's right hand clenched into a fist and he unhesitatingly punched hard at the scar-faced man's face.
"Bang!"
Su Changkong's powerful fist smashed into the scar-faced man's face, a heavy thud accompanied by the sound of breaking bones. The man's nasal bone fractured, his face collapsed, and he was sent flying two to three meters by the punch before crashing to the ground, his body convulsing.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The sudden turn of events sent the other two robbers into a mix of shock and rage, shouting as they called out.
"Shick!"
The two robbers came at him from front and back, swords chopping with sharp edges, aimed to cut flesh and bone!
Su Changkong's attention was focused, his senses keen. In his perception, he could easily see the trajectory of the swords from the front, and hear the whistling sound from behind.
Su Changkong had diligently practiced the Five Animal Frolics, and had already reached the Mastering Stage in the fourth realm. Although the Five Animal Frolics was not a fighting technique but a form of Health-preserving Fist, it still fell under the category of martial arts. The enhancement of his physical condition alone had already transformed Su Changkong!
"Shick!"
With agile movements, Su Changkong sidestepped, and the blade passed by just inches away from his sleeve.
The tall, skinny man's eyelid twitched, as Su Changkong's movements were too swift, like a circling crane. His figure drew an arc, trailing faint afterimages, as he moved to stand behind him, his powerful hands grabbing the man's head.
"No..."
The tall, skinny man cried out urgently, but the cold killing intent in the eyes of Su Changkong behind him was unmistakable. Su Changkong twisted the man's head fiercely with his grasping hand!
"Crack! Crack!"
Like twisting the cap off a bottle, the tall, skinny man's head was twisted 90 degrees, his neck breaking.
"Thump!"
Su Changkong released his hands, and the tall, skinny man's eyes bulged as he fell limply to the ground. Looking up at the last remaining bandit, the murderous intent in Su Changkong's eyes made the man shiver all over.
"Run... run..." Although he was holding a knife, the sight of his two companions being successively killed by Su Changkong had filled the bandit with fear and panic, and, with his courage shattered, he turned and fled.
Whoosh!
But barely two steps into his escape, Su Changkong pounced like a fierce tiger hunting its prey, his right fist clenched tightly, smashing viciously into the back of the bandit's head with all his strength.
"Thump!"
The bandit's body flew forward, the back of his skull concaving, his brain pulsed into a mush, and he collapsed onto the ground, motionless.
"Huff, huff, huff..."
The confrontation between the two was over in an extraordinarily short span of time, but as Su Changkong had knocked down three men consecutively, it felt as if he had undergone an intensely strenuous activity. His heart pounding like a drum, he gasped for breath, feeling utterly exhausted.
It took a while for Su Changkong to regain his senses. He noticed that the scar-faced man he had punched earlier hadn't died and was now struggling to get up, uttering weak, frightened pleas, "Spare... spare my life..."
"Bang, bang, bang, bang!"
With a cold expression, Su Changkong picked up a fist-sized stone from nearby, walked over, and repeatedly smashed it onto the scar-faced man's head until his skull was shattered and there was no more movement before throwing the stone aside.
"These men deserved to die; had I not diligently practiced and trained, I would have been the one to die today!"
Having killed the three bandits, Su Changkong silently thought to himself, understanding all too well the law of the jungle in this world—against an enemy seeking his life, he must ensure their destruction!
Composing himself, Su Changkong didn't delay. He immediately began to search the bodies.
On the three bandits, Su Changkong found a few taels of silver.
However, he had an unexpected windfall from the decapitated man.
"Are these silver notes?"
From the headless corpse's bosom, Su Changkong pulled out several silver notes, each with different denominations, including one tael, as well as ten and twenty taels.
"A total of 103 taels!" Counting them, Su Changkong was somewhat startled.
A hundred-plus taels of silver! This was undoubtedly a hefty sum!
Who the man was, Su Changkong had no way of knowing. Carrying a vast sum of money, it is likely that the man had drawn the attention of the three bandits and met his end in the wilderness.
"Let's get out of here."
Tucking the silver notes into his bosom, Su Changkong realized that what he needed to do now was to leave this place of trouble behind. He did not pay any heed to the bodies on the ground as he quickly left the area and headed back to Black Iron Manor.
In this era, a few deaths were nothing out of the ordinary, especially when those who died were bandits who robbed and murdered, so not many would care or investigate.
Upon returning to Black Iron Manor, Su Changkong took a bath, finally calming down.
"Courage comes from strength. Though I have only practiced the Health-preserving Fist, the Five Animal Frolics, my strength is much greater than that of an ordinary person, capable of barehanded combat against several knife-wielding adults!" Today's events gave Su Changkong a clearer understanding of his own strength.
Having practiced the Five Animal Frolics to his current level, his physical condition had gone beyond the limits of a normal person, allowing him to easily take down several robust men!
What these abilities amounted to amongst martial artists, Su Changkong wasn't sure.
"Not enough... It's not enough. If there had been more bandits today, or if they had been more wary of me, it's uncertain who would have died!"
Su Changkong clenched his fists. Today's encounter had made the world's cruelty clear to him. Without strength, one might simply die a senseless death. He had to become stronger!
"I need to train with a weapon. That's a way to rapidly increase my combat ability."
Su Changkong quickly formed a plan in his mind. Wielding a weapon unquestionably gave one a tremendous edge over barehanded combat. Even a child with a weapon could kill an adult, so mastering a type of weapon was the surest way to enhance combat prowess!