After hiding away this unexpected fortune, Evelyn Spencer walked back to the inn, biting his teeth against the cold while feeling a bit excited: “With this money, when spring comes next year, I’ll head south to find a good livelihood. I won’t have to suffer here anymore. If I can find a master and learn some martial arts, that would be even better.”

He was just imagining his future when he saw a young man in coarse cotton clothes and a thick felt hat sitting on a chair in the main hall, resting his chin on one hand, with a half-smile on his face. Evelyn Spencer instantly felt as if he’d fallen into an ice cave, his whole body frozen.

The youth said slowly, “You’re quite the schemer!”

A murderous aura radiated from the youth, making Evelyn Spencer shiver. Without thinking, he dropped to his knees and cried out, “Disciple Evelyn Spencer begs Master to take me in.”

The youth looked utterly surprised, then after a moment burst out laughing, “You actually want to take me as your master?”

Evelyn Spencer replied, “I come from humble origins. Without the help of someone like you, Master, I’d be nothing more than a servant in a big inn all my life, dying alone and turning to dust. That would be far too dull a life.”

The youth stared at Evelyn Spencer for a while, then the murderous air suddenly dissipated. He smiled and said, “Do something for me first. If you do it well, I’ll take you as my disciple.”

Evelyn Spencer was just about to ask what it was when the youth suddenly made a listening gesture and said urgently, “Act as usual, don’t look at me!” With that, he leapt up onto the beam and lay flat.

The youth was small and thin, and the beams in this big inn were thick and sturdy, so he managed to hide himself completely.

Evelyn Spencer had a sudden idea, dashed outside, and with all his strength dragged a corpse back in. He took a single saber from the corpse, tossed it up to the beam, and the youth reached out to grab it before shrinking back out of sight.

A wild wind howled, snow swirling, as seven or eight burly men burst in. They saw Evelyn Spencer reaching out to feel under a companion’s nose. A scar-faced man barked, “Hey, you! What are you doing?”

Evelyn Spencer replied timidly, “I just saw this gentleman move a little. I thought he might not be dead yet, and I was afraid he’d freeze outside, so I brought him in to check if he’s still breathing—maybe he can be saved!”

The burly man’s face lit up and he was about to check, when a steady voice shouted, “Step aside!” Mr. Henry had appeared in the inn’s main hall at some point, striding over and pushing Evelyn Spencer aside. He bent down to examine the body.

At that moment, a cold flash streaked by—a single saber dropped from the beam like lightning, piercing straight through Mr. Henry’s back.

Mr. Henry, struck by the sudden attack, roared and leapt high, slamming his palm into the beam. The blow was like thunder, snapping the thick beam in two. The whole hall shook, and half the roof came crashing down.

After striking, Mr. Henry fell from midair, gasping and writhing on the ground. He tried several times to pull out the saber but failed. Suddenly, his body convulsed, blood gushed from his wound, and he moved no more.

The youth had ambushed and killed Mr. Henry in one strike. He landed lightly, smiling, completely unconcerned about the collapsing roof. Looking at Mr. Henry’s lifeless body, he said, “Frank Henry is dead. Is there anyone left who can face me?” The remaining seven or eight men looked terrified, shouted wildly, and fled into the wind and snow, not daring to look back.

Evelyn Spencer thought the youth would chase after them and kill them all, but instead, the youth collapsed to the ground with a thud, coughing up blood. That palm strike from Mr. Henry had been so powerful that even through the beam, it had seriously injured him.

Startled, Evelyn Spencer quickly asked, “Master, where are you hurt? Is there anything I can do?”

The youth glanced at him sideways, then suddenly smiled, “Little fellow! You really are lucky. If I weren’t injured, I’d have left already. Now I need you to take care of me.”

The youth hadn’t expected to succeed in ambushing Mr. Henry. That man’s martial arts were far superior. He’d only planned to kill a few of his men to vent his anger at being hunted. But thanks to Evelyn Spencer’s boldness and quick thinking, who set a crude trap, not only did he get a weapon, but he also lured Frank Henry close and exposed a huge weakness. The youth struck and actually managed to kill his great enemy.

He glanced at Frank Henry’s corpse, feeling a bit proud, and couldn’t help but smile again, which aggravated his injury and made him spit up more blood. He didn’t care, though, and said, “Help me outside to pick two horses. We have to leave now. If Frank Henry’s men come back, the two of us will be dead for sure.”

Chapter 3: The Demon-Slaying Sword

Evelyn Spencer’s body was only eleven or twelve years old, not very strong. He struggled to help the youth up, feeling the weight on his shoulder and grimacing in pain, but forced himself to keep going. As they passed the corpse of the slain Mr. Henry, he regretted not being able to search the body, but his eyes caught sight of Mr. Henry’s long sword. The blade was ornate, the ebony scabbard inlaid with gold and silver threads. He thought, “This sword must be worth a lot.” He hooked it with his foot and picked it up.

Turning his head, Evelyn Spencer saw the youth’s strange smile and couldn’t help but explain, “I’m carrying a weapon for Master, just in case we run into enemies and need to use it.”

The youth said leisurely, “I don’t use swords.”