6: Only when alive can you be called a swordsman; when dead, you can only be called a dead person!

After a while, Lu Jiuyuan finally said, "You just asked me why I'm not following Huo Xiu. I'll tell you now: a dead man has no value in being followed."

Shangguan Xueer was startled: "What?"

"His days are numbered; he won't live much longer!"

"Can you tell fortunes?"

"No!"

"Then how do you know he won't live much longer?"

"He is a clever man, but unfortunately, his greed is too great, and he views everyone else as too foolish.

He shouldn't have used Lu Xiaofeng. Lu Xiaofeng is trouble, a jinx, and also exceptionally clever."

Shangguan Xueer suddenly stopped, her expression quickly turning grim: "What exactly do you know?"

"I don't know anything."

"You know about our Great Golden Peng King's Treasure Trove."

"You also know about the Treasure Trove being divided into four parts." Shangguan Xueer looked at Lu Jiuyuan: "You even know why my elder sister is looking for Lu Xiaofeng?"

"You even know more than I've seen."

"Lu Xiaojian, how? How do you know so much? The secrets within this matter haven't been leaked in the slightest."

"I don't know." Lu Jiuyuan shook his head, not admitting it, because he couldn't explain how he knew.

Should he tell them he read it in a book?

Since he couldn't explain, it was better not to admit it.

"Big liar, leave!" Shangguan Xueer said, "Go far, far away. You know too much; my elder sister won't let you live."

"Little liar, if I leave, you might be in danger." Lu Jiuyuan said with a smile.

"I'm her biological younger sister; she won't kill me. She'll only let everyone know that I'm a little liar who loves to lie and isn't trustworthy." Shangguan Xueer turned and left.

"They are big liars, I am a small liar. Everyone is a liar, but everyone will believe them and not me."

Shangguan Xueer walked away alone, still pondering why Lu Jiuyuan seemed to know so much.

When I usually chatted with him, I shouldn't have revealed so much, right?

That hateful Xiao Jian actually believes me and not her; he's quite smart.

Lu Jiuyuan did not leave but sat in place, carefully tending to his Guhong Sword and the twelve embroidered needles at his waist.

About half an hour later, Liu Yuhang's figure slowly approached from a distance.

His already twisted face seemed even more ferocious at this moment.

"It's actually Elder Brother Liu who came?" Lu Jiuyuan looked at him and said with a smile, "I thought it would be Xiao Qiuyu, since he's the one who looks down on me the most."

"You shouldn't get so close to the Young Miss." Liu Yuhang's hoarse voice was like sandpaper rubbing together.

"It's not that I want to get close to her, but that I don't like getting too close to dead people; it's bad luck!"

"Dead man... in just half a month, you seem to have learned a lot?"

"Elder Brother Liu knows more than I do." Lu Jiuyuan looked at him: "Since ancient times, too much affection only leads to regret. Ten years ago, you loved the wrong person and ended up in this state.

Ten years later, you've loved the wrong person again."

"You really do know a lot. Seven out of ten of the Young Miss's words are false, yet you found the truth within them. Remarkable, truly remarkable; you are also a clever man.

Unfortunately, clever men often don't live long." Liu Yuhang, with an iron hook in one hand and an iron ball in the other, slowly approached.

"Your strength doesn't match your cleverness; that is why you deserve to die."

"Shangguan Feiyan won't love you; she's merely using you, and even that utilization is done while she's suppressing her disgust.

Your current appearance truly cannot make her look at you directly.

No matter how much you give, you're just a sycophant, and you'll never succeed."

Liu Yuhang's expression remained unchanged: "I know, with my current appearance, I'm not qualified to be loved. To be used means I still have value.

To have a small place in her heart is enough. I have never asked for anything else."

Lu Jiuyuan's fingers gently stroked the hilt of the Guhong Sword, a smile playing on his lips: "Elder Brother Liu, since that's the case, let me witness your prowess."

"I actually have a good impression of you, kid. In your next life, don't be so clever when you lack strength."

Liu Yuhang's iron ball suddenly rose, bringing with it a gust of wind, "Considering you once called me Jade-Faced Gentleman, I'll leave you a complete corpse."

Before he finished speaking, the iron ball, like a meteor, smashed towards Lu Jiuyuan's face!

Triple speed!

The world suddenly slowed down in Lu Jiuyuan's eyes. He clearly saw every scratch on the iron ball, the trembling of Liu Yuhang's muscles, and even the iron hook hidden behind the iron ball, poised to strike.

"Clang!"

The Guhong Sword thrust out like lightning, its tip precisely hitting the side of the iron ball, using its force against itself to deflect the iron ball to one side.

At the same time, he retreated rapidly, avoiding the iron hook that followed closely.

"What a fast sword! This is your true skill." A trace of surprise flashed in Liu Yuhang's single eye, "No wonder you could kill Gongsun Lan."

Lu Jiuyuan did not answer, his sword momentum shifted, aiming directly for Liu Yuhang's throat.

This sword was as swift as a startled Phoenix, yet just as it was about to strike, Liu Yuhang did not dodge or evade at all.

The iron ball also smashed towards Lu Jiuyuan's head. To die together was not an issue for him.

Trading life for life was an even better thing. Because he wasn't afraid of death, he survived battles again and again.

Those who feared death, precisely, all died by his hand.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sword entering flesh and blood rang out. Liu Yuhang looked down at the sword in his throat in disbelief. In front of him, there was no sign of Lu Jiuyuan.

The iron ball missed, the iron hook fell empty.

"You... how could this be... such fast footwork!" Blood spilled from Liu Yuhang's lips.

Lu Jiuyuan stood behind him, his right hand still gripping the sword hilt. The entire sword body had pierced out from the back of his neck, its sharp edge severing his cervical spine.

"What you see is only what I want you to see. When traveling the Jianghu, one must always keep some trump cards, mustn't one?"

Liu Yuhang crashed to the ground, his single eye still staring intently at Lu Jiuyuan.

"For Shangguan Feiyan, you could abandon everything, but what good is it? Even in death, she will only call you useless and will not feel a shred of pity for you."

"Sycophants always have no future. You didn't understand ten years ago, and you still don't understand ten years later!"

Liu Yuhang's corpse lay on the ground, the iron ball rolling to the side with a dull thud. Lu Jiuyuan slowly withdrew the Guhong Sword.

"Since ancient times, too much affection only leads to regret..." Lu Jiuyuan murmured, pulling a piece of coarse cloth from his Pregnant and carefully wiping the sword.

After wiping it, he covered Liu Yuhang's eyes with the cloth. Although they had fallen out, he still needed to collect his wages.

"You killed Liu Yuhang. Just as I imagined, you've been hiding your strength all along! Your strength is even above the three great masters."

Shangguan Xueer's voice betrayed no emotion. She stood three zhang away, her small figure stretched long by the setting sun.

Lu Jiuyuan turned around, looking at the little girl who was full of lies but seemed exceptionally genuine at this moment: "He wanted to kill me."

"I know." Shangguan Xueer approached, knelt beside Liu Yuhang's corpse, and reached out to close his one remaining eye.

"He didn't have to die. It's because of me that my elder sister sent him to kill you!"

"There are many people in this world who die needlessly," Lu Jiuyuan said indifferently, "including your elder cousin, Shangguan Danfeng."

Shangguan Xueer's hand paused. She looked up and stared at Lu Jiuyuan: "You really do believe me, so you know everything."

Lu Jiuyuan did not answer, his gaze cast towards the distant forest.

A gust of wind blew, and the leaves rustled.

"She won't let you go, and the people behind her won't let you go either. This involves too much wealth; no one will allow this secret to be leaked."

Shangguan Xueer stood up, patting away non-existent dust from her skirt: "Lu Xiaojian, you're dead! To fulfill your dying wish, this Young Miss is willing to be merciful and sleep with you once, so you can die a satisfied ghost!"

Lu Jiuyuan's mouth twitched: "Do you know what a washboard, a calm lake, and two grains of rice falling on a table have in common?"

Shangguan Xueer's face couldn't hold. Her face flushed red with anger, her eyes blazing: "Bastard, shameless, vulgar, lecher, stinky egg! I'll bite you to death, you infuriating turtle-bastard!"

As the sun slowly sank behind the mountains, the last ray of light vanished, and Lu Jiuyuan's right hand rested on his sword hilt; "Come out, hiding in the shadows is not the style of a first-rate master like you."

"Dugu Fang!"

A thin figure emerged from the woods, it was Dugu Fang, playing with a short sword in each hand.

"Lu Jiuyuan, I underestimated you." Dugu Fang's voice held surprise: "To be able to kill Liu Yuhang, naturally you can kill Gongsun Lan. Your sword is indeed fast enough, and your act these past half-month was truly convincing, even I was fooled!"

Lu Jiuyuan did not respond, his gaze sweeping past Dugu Fang: "Where is Heartbreak Swordsman Xiao Qiuyu? Let him come out too."

"Why should he come? If I were careless and underestimated you, I might stumble, but if I am cautious, how could you defeat me!" Dugu Fang laughed loudly:

Before he finished speaking, his figure had already darted in front of Lu Jiuyuan. The two swords in his hands thrust continuously, their tips trembling, attacking Lu Jiuyuan's face, throat, and heart respectively.

Triple speed!

The world suddenly slowed down in Lu Jiuyuan's eyes. He clearly saw the trajectory of the two swords.

The Guhong Sword was raised and thrust out like lightning.

"Clang! Clang!" Dugu Fang shifted his swords to block.

Two crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously. Lu Jiuyuan's body remained in motion, his sword edge aimed directly at Dugu Fang's throat.

Dugu Fang tilted his neck, dodging the sword tip, closing the distance, and thrusting his two short swords directly at Lu Jiuyuan.

Lu Jiuyuan could only retreat!

"Clang! Clang!" The clang of metal against metal was particularly jarring in the twilight.

Dugu Fang's twin swords were like venomous snakes flicking their tongues, each move aimed at a vital point.

His swordplay was elusive and varied. The two short swords danced in his hands, sometimes like a torrential downpour, sometimes like a lingering stream.

Lu Jiuyuan's Guhong Sword, however, always had only one move—a thrust!

Simple, direct, deadly.

In triple speed mode, Lu Jiuyuan could clearly see the trajectory of Dugu Fang's every sword move.

He was faster than Dugu Fang, but he couldn't match his rich experience, always able to use various moves to deflect Lu Jiuyuan's sword.

"Your swordplay is very strange." Dugu Fang suddenly withdrew his swords and retreated, a flicker of doubt in his eyes: "I've never seen anyone practice the 'thrust' to such a fast degree."

"If I didn't know your background, and was unprepared, one move would be enough to kill me. But if I know your background, your swordplay is too monotonous; with precautions, it's very difficult for you to stab me!"

"Those who cannot block your sword die; those who can block your sword, you die!"

"Very interesting, but... maintaining such extraordinary speed puts a lot of pressure on your body, doesn't it?" Dugu Fang's lips curled into a cold smile,

"If this is your limit, then you can die."

Before he finished speaking, Dugu Fang's figure came at extreme speed, his killing intent surging, twin swords flying, the Three Absolute Swords of Soul-Chasing and Life- seize.

Lu Jiuyuan — Triple Speed!

The world slowed down again in his eyes. His left hand swept across his waist, a cold glint appeared first, then the sword emerged like a Dragon.

"Pfft!"

The sound of a sword tip piercing flesh and blood rang out. Dugu Fang's true body froze in place.

His short sword was only three inches from Lu Jiuyuan's throat, but it could no longer advance.

One of his eyes had already closed, a line of blood flowing from the corner of his eye. Lu Jiuyuan's sword had pierced him through the heart.

"Sneak attack with hidden weapons, shameless... you... how dare... you call yourself a swordsman..." Dugu Fang looked at Lu Jiuyuan with his single eye in disbelief.

"Only the living are called swordsmen; the dead are called cheap people!" Lu Jiuyuan slowly withdrew his sword.

He fumbled in his bosom and found that he no longer had a coarse cloth handkerchief, so he tore a piece from Dugu Fang's clothes.

After wiping the sword clean, he threw the handkerchief onto Dugu Fang's face, covering his eyes.

"Aren't you going to deal with it? If people knew about that last hidden weapon move, it would lose a lot of its suddenness." Shangguan Xueer walked over slowly and asked at this moment.

She was long accustomed to dead people and didn't care in the slightest.

"No need. If someone can dodge that, I wouldn't be able to defeat them anyway.

If someone can't dodge that, even if I held the flying needle in my hand and let him watch me flick it out, he still wouldn't be able to dodge it." Lu Jiuyuan said,

"I should go. If I stay any longer, Heartbreak Swordsman Xiao Qiuyu will also come. If I kill him too, your elder sister will become a toothless tiger, unable to accomplish anything she wants."

"Oh, and my wages haven't been paid. Do you want to pay them, or should your elder sister?

It's 16 days, 50 taels a day, which is 800 taels.

One mission as a flower boy is 1,000 taels, totaling 1,800 taels."

"Of course I'll pay!" Shangguan Xueer's eyes lit up. She reached her small hand into her unremarkable chest, fumbled around, and pulled out four 50-tael gold ingots.

"Here, 200 taels of gold, equivalent to 2,000 taels of silver. From now on, you're my person.

Those 200 taels of silver are your reward. If I ever need your help in the future, you can't refuse."

Lu Jiuyuan walked away leisurely: "What kind of matter? Some things I can help with, some I cannot."

"Lu Xiaojian, what if I ask you to sleep with me!" Shangguan Xueer shouted loudly:

"Then wait until you can't see your toes when you look down! Hahahahaha..."

"Lu Xiaojian, you big bad guy, you big stinky egg..."