87. Li Sushang
"Young lady, aren't you afraid your family will worry about you coming to such a dangerous place all by yourself?"
Yun Ling looked at the girl in front of him and the several bandits who had already fallen, and couldn't help but become a little interested.
The girl was quite skilled and could easily defeat the four bandits who were attacking her.
"Hehe, they are my targets for testing my sword skills. I came here specifically to kill their leader!" The girl replied enthusiastically.
She carefully observed Yun Ling. Although he had white hair, his face did not look old. On the contrary, he was exceptionally handsome, and his deep black eyes gave people a sense of the vicissitudes of life.
Behind him was a young girl on his back, and this strange combination made Li Sushang take a second look at him.
"Then it seems we have the same goal. Little girl, who is your teacher?" Yun Ling nodded.
"I am Li Sushang, the eldest disciple of the Supreme Freedom Sect. May I ask who you are, senior...?"
Li Sushang became even more curious about Yun Ling, not expecting that he had also come to wipe out the Golden Sands Gang.
"My sect has long been destroyed, so let's not talk about it. Just call me Yun Ling." Yun Ling shook his head.
"Yun Ling…that name sounds familiar…" Li Sushang frowned, trying to remember where she had heard this name before.
She felt the name was almost on her lips, but she couldn't quite place it; she seemed to recall hearing a storyteller mention it before...
Unfortunately, her little brain might not be able to process it all, and after thinking for a long time, she still couldn't figure it out, so she gave up on trying.
"I wonder what Miss Li found out about these bandits?" Yun Ling asked, noticing Li Sushang's somewhat dim-witted appearance.
"Nothing much yet, they're keeping their mouths shut. Also, don't call me Miss Li, just call me Sushang. Miss Li sounds weird." Li Sushang shook her head.
"Alright, Miss Sushang, I have some knowledge of torture. Why don't you leave it to me?" Yun Ling suggested.
"Okay!" Li Sushang nodded without hesitation.
One reason why she agrees to it so readily is her confidence in her own strength, and the other is that Yun Ling's skin is very fair, unlike someone who usually lives in this desert, so he is most likely not a member of the Golden Sands Gang.
Yun Ling put Ahua down and randomly grabbed a bandit to begin questioning.
Not far away, a shrill scream sent a chill down Li Sushang's spine and made the remaining three bandits tremble.
"Did you find out anything?" Li Sushang asked when she saw Yun Ling return.
"Don't rush." Yun Ling captured another bandit for interrogation.
When the information obtained from asking matches what another person says, it's basically confirmed.
"Hmm, that's about it. Their leader, 'Eagle,' is currently robbing a road a hundred miles away near the trade route. He probably won't be back until tonight." Yun Ling wiped the bloodstains from his hands with a silk cloth.
"So that's how it is... Then I'll wait for him to come back here, and then kill him, and I can complete my sword test!" Li Sushang said her plan beautifully.
"Since your master has asked you to come down the mountain to test your sword skills, then you should kill these bandits." Yun Ling generously offered her the bandit's head.
"Huh?" Li Sushang's small mouth opened slightly, and she murmured a few words, but it was unclear what she was saying.
"As expected... I observe that their injuries are mostly external wounds. I suppose you held back, Miss Sushang?" Yun Ling stated his guess.
Li Sushang tilted her head back somewhat awkwardly; she wasn't ready to commit murder yet.
"These people are almost certainly responsible for dozens of deaths each. If we don't kill them, other innocent people will suffer," Yun Ling warned.
But Li Sushang hesitated for a long time and still didn't dare to make a move.
"Fine, I'll do it then." Yun Ling casually unleashed a few sword strikes, killing the four bandits.
Li Sushang was shocked. She hadn't expected this person's cultivation to be so profound that he could casually unleash such terrifying sword energy.
Li Sushang believed she could do it too, but she could never be as nonchalant as him.
Yun Ling's appearance instantly shattered her slightly arrogant thoughts.
The pungent smell of blood assaulted Li Sushang's brain, making her feel somewhat oxygen-deprived.
"Vomit~"
Li Sushang gagged.
"Speaking of which, with such poor mental fortitude, isn't your master worried that you'll die out there?" Yun Ling couldn't help but complain as he looked at Li Sushang's appearance.
To test the sword like this is practically suicide.
"I'm very strong! A mere leader of the Golden Sands Gang is no match for me!" Li Sushang said confidently.
"Battles aren't just about fighting strength; they also involve mindset, timing, and... strategy," Yun Ling said to Li Sushang in a lecturing tone.
"Of course, if your strength can overwhelm all opponents, then these things are unimportant."
"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Li Sushang immediately beamed with joy.
"Ahua, is it hot? Let's sit inside." Yun Ling pointed to the Golden Sands Gang's stronghold in front of them.
"Yes!" Ahua nodded without hesitation; she had been wanting to find a place to shade herself from the sun for a long time.
"By the way, is this your family member? You came to apprehend a thief and brought your family along?" Li Sushang looked at the hopping Ahua, who looked just like an ordinary young girl!
"Ahua insisted on coming along, so there was nothing we could do. But Ahua is very strong, so don't underestimate her." Yun Ling followed behind Ahua into the village.
"Strange person." Li Sushang shook her head and walked inside as well.
There wasn't much in the village; the looted items were probably hidden somewhere. This was just a safe place to stay.
After exploring the entire village, seeing that it was still early, Li Sushang, feeling bored, sat down to meditate, silently reciting the "Sword Heart Technique," hoping to break through to the "Great Void" level as soon as possible.
Yun Ling, who was playfully fighting with Ahua, suddenly looked at her, and then at the long sword wrapped in cloth behind her.
At first, he thought it was just a coincidence, but he never expected it to actually be...
"The Gate of Supreme Freedom..."
Over the years, he has paid almost no attention to what is happening in the martial arts world and knows nothing about this sect.
But now it seems that this was probably the sect established by the remaining three people.
"What's wrong, Ling?" Ahua looked at Yun Ling with some concern.
"I'm fine." Yun Ling smiled and reassured her a little.
Since it's all in the past, why dwell on it?
The reason he didn't kill Lin Chaoyu and Qin Suying back then was because Jingwei didn't have any wounds on her body caused by their swords.
He didn't kill Cheng Lingshuang because the fault lay with him, allowing Su Mei to take advantage of the situation.
Now that Jingwei has transformed into A Hua, once she recovers, how she deals with those three is entirely up to her.
"I remember now!"
Li Sushang suddenly shouted.
"You...you...you...you are Yun Ling, the first disciple of the legendary 'True Immortal' Jingwei Zhenren(T/N: True Person)?!"
...