Martial Arts World Assassin

Chapter 1 Assassination
Liaodong.

The eleventh year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty.

It was already March, and Huang Sixi was wearing a sheepskin coat, wrapping himself tightly, but he still felt the biting cold.

Liaodong is different from Jiangnan. Now it is spring and flowers are blooming in Jiangnan, but it is freezing cold in Liaodong. The snow has not melted long ago. Even if the sun is high in the sky, there is no warmth when the sunlight shines on your body.

Huang Sixi was lying in the grass wearing a tree-branch hat, holding an ox-horn bow, waiting for his prey to come.

A hundred steps away from him was a path between two mountains, leading directly to a town outside the mountains.

Because the town is blocked by a river, pedestrians who do not want to take a detour will choose to take a shortcut through the mountains.

Huang Sixi valued the dangerous terrain here, so he hid in the woods on both sides of the mountain road and set an ambush in secret.

After waiting for about half a day, he saw a Tatar cavalryman with a rat-tail braid, escorting three disheveled prisoners, slowly walking along the mountain road.

The three prisoners' clothes were all tattered and they were shivering from the cold. Their hands were tied behind their backs with ropes, so they naturally walked slowly.

The Tartar cavalryman looked up at the sky. It was almost dusk and he was worried that if he continued to delay, he would not be able to find a place to stay when dark came.

He suddenly became furious, lashed the prisoners with his horsewhip, and began to drive them away by force.

The prisoner seemed to be used to being beaten. He did not shout, but gritted his teeth and quickened his pace.

The Tartar cavalryman could not help showing a smug look when he saw the prisoners submit, and he whipped them faster and harder.

Huang Sixi watched this scene from afar. He saw that the Tartar cavalry were focused on torturing the prisoners and were completely unaware of their surroundings, so he decisively drew his bow.

With a whoosh, a feather arrow shot out from the forest, making a low humming sound, breaking through the air and hitting the Tatar cavalryman in the neck. He fell off his horse with a groan.

After Huang Sixi shot his arrow, he immediately took out his quiver and prepared to shoot a second arrow.

Unexpectedly, the three prisoners heard the noise, stopped and looked back, and found that the cavalry was hit by an arrow. They were stunned at first, then turned in the direction of Huang Sixi and fled frantically.

This escape happened to block the fallen Tatar cavalry, making it impossible for Huang Sixi to aim at his target.

The three prisoners were tied together with ropes, making it difficult for them to move. In their panic, they inevitably stumbled. One of them fell, and the remaining two were dragged to the ground.

When they struggled to get up again, they were horrified to see that the Tartar cavalry had also stood up.

The cavalryman's neck had been pierced by a feather arrow, and blood was gushing out. However, he endured the pain, took a deep breath, and quickly drew out his sword.

He first scanned the terrain, but because his vision was blocked by three prisoners, he did not see Huang Sixi who was shooting an arrow in the front.

But he knew that his neck wound was fatal and he would not live long, so with a fierce look in his eyes, he swung his knife at the three prisoners.

The three men were frightened by the ferocity of the Tartar cavalry. They did not untie their hands and feet, dared not fight back, and just tried to dodge. As a result, they were hit directly and each of them was hit by a knife.

The Tatar cavalry was seeking revenge as they were on the verge of death. They attacked only to vent their anger and left no room for mercy. The two prisoners were hacked to death on the spot.

Another prisoner raised his right arm across his chest in an attempt to block the knife. His arm was cut off, and the blade cut into his shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

Seeing that he was not dead yet, the Tatar cavalry wanted to kill him.

However, at this time Huang Sixi had already aimed at the Tatar cavalry again and shot an arrow into his heart. He was already almost exhausted, and was killed instantly by the arrow.

He fell down unwillingly, and before he died he held his head stubbornly high, his eyes wide open, glaring at Huang Sixi fiercely.

Huang Sixi walked over, kicked with one foot, grabbed the knife, and cut off the head of the Tartar cavalryman with one blow.

As the smell of blood spread, the battlefield returned to calm.

Huang Sixi took off the branch hat on his head and began to clean up the bodies.

The prisoner with a broken arm next to him was seriously injured and collapsed on the ground, unable to move, but he was still not dead. He stubbornly raised his head and looked at Huang Sixi's immature face.

The prisoners discovered that Huang Sixi had not shaved his head, but kept his familiar Han Chinese bun.

He was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes. He raised his left hand with great effort and called out to Huang Sixi, "Little brother, little brother..."

Huang Sixi heard the shouting, walked to the prisoner, lowered his head to look at him, squatted down, and held his frozen hand.

The prisoner felt a warmth spreading up his arms, making his entire body feel warm.

"Little brother, I am not a prisoner. I was captured by the Tartars and brought to Liaodong. The Tartars forced me to be an Aha. I was unwilling, so I escaped. I am a Han Chinese like you." The prisoner excitedly explained his identity:
“I am Chinese!”

"I know." Huang Sixi tried to use a gentle tone:
"Your arm is cut off. You need to stop the bleeding immediately, or you will die at any moment."

"There's nothing wrong with dying." The prisoner began to sob:
"After I die, little brother, I want to ask you for a favor. Can you please burn my body and send my ashes back to my hometown?"

Huang Sixi was silent for a moment, then asked him, "Where is your hometown?"

The prisoner thought Huang Sixi was willing to agree to his request, so he quickly replied, "In Beizhili, Beizhili Hejianfu..."

Huang Sixi suddenly interrupted him: "You were captured by the Tartars two years ago, right?"

Huang Sixi's guess was correct, and the prisoner nodded.

Huang Sixi added: "I am also from Hejian. Two years ago, the Tartar invaded and looted Hejian Prefecture. Hundreds of thousands of my fellow villagers were taken to Liaodong."

Huang Sixi seemed to have experienced this disaster himself: "Our hometown has long been burned to the ground by the Tartars. Even if we send your ashes back and build a grave for you, you have no relatives who will go to worship you."

When the prisoner heard the news, his eyes, which were originally full of hope, dimmed.

Huang Sixi sympathized with his situation, but did not fulfill his wish: "You have a greater chance of meeting your family members if you become a lonely ghost in Liaodong. Why do you insist on returning to your hometown?"

The prisoners were completely disheartened.

He muttered to himself: "Yes, all my relatives died in Liaodong. What am I going to do back? Forget it."

He gave up the idea of returning to his roots, and his voice was extremely weak: "Little brother, what's your name?"

Huang Sixi said, "My name is Ah Si." The prisoner used his last bit of strength to instruct Huang Sixi:
"Brother Si, if I really become a wandering ghost, I will definitely bless you to return safely to the Central Plains. You must go back, go home, and rebuild our hometown..."

After saying his last words, he slowly closed his eyes and died.

He never showed any hatred until his death, and his words and actions were full of simple and kind emotions. Even as a ghost, he wanted to send his blessings to Huang Sixi, whom he had only met once.

Huang Sixi thought, among the hundreds of thousands of people abducted to Liaodong by the Tartars, which one of them was not a kind-hearted citizen?
But this is a barbaric era. Kindness cannot bring peace, but only the Tartars' increasingly aggressive bullying.

"As long as the Tartars are not destroyed, no matter how many times my hometown is rebuilt, it will be destroyed again."

Huang Sixi put down the prisoner's hand, placed it on his chest, and mourned for him:

"I will stay here for now to kill the Tartars. If you are still alive, please watch over me."

After the mourning, Huang Sixi carried his body on horseback, transported it deep into the mountains and forests, and buried it in the wild.

The bodies of the Tartar cavalry and the other two prisoners were also carried away one after another, and then the traces on the ground were wiped off to prevent anyone from being alerted when the next Tartar appeared.

In fact, he did not have such a deep hatred towards the Tartars. After all, he was not from this era. But the young man he possessed was wanted by the Tartars. If the Tartars wanted to kill him, then he would definitely kill them back.

Speaking of which, he had only traveled to this ancient world for half a month.

The young man he possessed was originally from Hejian Prefecture in Northern Zhili during the Ming Dynasty. His family was relatively wealthy, so he had no worries about food and drink, and he had money to study. However, everything was destroyed by a war.

This war took place the year before last. According to the era of this era, the year before last was the ninth year of Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty and the first year of Chongde in the Qing Dynasty.

The Qing Dynasty was originally called the Later Jin Dynasty, which was founded by the Tartar chieftain Nurhaci during the Wanli period. It had been twenty years since its establishment. Two years ago, the successor Tartar chieftain Huang Taiji changed the name of the Later Jin Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty and changed the reign title to Chongde.

The so-called new country, new atmosphere. In order to promote national prestige and consolidate ruling power, Huang Taiji launched the first import war against the Ming Dynasty.

Huang Taiji sent the Tartar general Ajige to break through the Great Wall pass, invade the territory of the Ming Dynasty, and wreak havoc in northern Zhili.

The young man possessed by Huang Sixi was captured and taken to Liaodong during this battle at the entrance. Because he could read and write, he was taken in as a servant by the local bannermen.

At that time, the boy was only fifteen years old and weak, so he pretended to be submissive for two years and secretly learned the archery and horsemanship of the Bannermen. After he finished learning, he waited for an opportunity to stab the Bannermen to death.

Because the teenager committed a serious crime, he was wanted by the vicious Tartar soldiers. He suffered from hunger and cold, and fainted in the wild mountains and forests half a month ago. When his life was hanging by a thread, Huang Sixi traveled through time and possessed him.

Huang Sixi inherited the memory of his youth and knew the current dynasty and situation, so when the prisoner mentioned that his hometown was in Hejian Prefecture, Huang Sixi immediately concluded that the prisoner was also a victim of the battle at the entrance two years ago.

However, the prisoners only knew how to escape, while Huang Sixi was launching a counterattack.

During the half month he traveled through time, he spent every day fighting with the Tatar cavalry in the mountains and forests.

The Tatar cavalryman whose neck was pierced by his arrow today was the eighth soul killed by his arrow.

After he buried the bodies, he began to count the remaining belongings of the Tatar cavalry.

The sword that the Tatar cavalry had used to kill the prisoners earlier began to mutate after wiping off the blood. A line of flashing words appeared on the blade, which contained the Tatar cavalry's martial arts philosophy.

When Huang Sixi was observing and reading the mind method, the punch and kick techniques that the Tartar cavalry were learning were also recalled in Huang Sixi's mind.

After Huang Sixi finished reading the secret method and recalling the moves, all the lifelong martial arts of the Tatar cavalry were inherited by Huang Sixi.

This method of passing on power seems very magical, and Huang Sixi himself finds it incredible. He guesses that this is a special talent stimulated after the time travel, which is unique because only he can see the words on the relic.

Every time he killed a Tartar, as long as the Tartar had military power, he would be devoured by him.

This kind of devouring is somewhat similar to the "Northern Divine Art" in Master Jin's martial arts novels. It allows him to save the hard practice process and directly reach the level of absorbing people's martial arts in one step.

The difference is that "Northern Divine Art" can only absorb people's internal energy, while Huang Sixi's devouring ability is more precise, and he can inherit every move. Moreover, he does not devour through the corpse, but uses an item left by the corpse as a carrier.

The eight Tatar cavalrymen he had killed in the past each left behind an item that recorded their mental methods. As long as he read the mental methods, he could inherit their moves at the same time and completely absorb their lifelong martial arts knowledge.

However, the internal force absorbed by "Northern Divine Art" can be converted and superimposed. He is not sure whether his absorption ability is effective for internal force.

These days he learned Tatar riding, archery, sword-slashing and shield defence. These were all basic martial arts for fighting on the battlefield, and none of them had internal strength, so Huang Sixi could not verify it.

But for Huang Sixi who had just arrived, even if he had no internal strength, his rudimentary martial arts skills were already invaluable.

Every time he kills a Tartar soldier, he can inherit a set of martial arts. If he kills dozens or hundreds of people, wouldn't he become a king of soldiers who has fought in many battles?
It was precisely because assassination could make Huang Sixi stronger that he was unwilling to return to the Central Plains, but instead hid in the mountain paths to ambush and kill the Tartars.

Today he successfully shot and killed a Tartar cavalryman. It was already dusk, so he planned to stop, have a good rest for the night, and continue the assassination tomorrow.

As it was getting dark, they suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves coming from afar, and they went straight to the mountain road where Huang Sixi ambushed the Tatar cavalry.

Huang Sixi did not want to miss the prey, so he immediately picked up his bow and arrow, hung his sword on his waist, put on a tree-branch hat, and lurked on both sides of the mountain road.

After a while, two figures were seen walking side by side and came into Huang Sixi's sight.

The two men did not have shaved heads nor pigtails, and dressed like Han Chinese. However, Huang Sixi felt that the tone of their speech was very unusual.

One of the young men had a fair face and was talking lazily about the terrain.

He pointed ahead and said, "Going through this mountain road, there is a small town to the north. Let's hurry over there. We will definitely be able to rest in the town before dark, and we won't have to sleep outdoors tonight."

The other one had a beard, was tall and strong, and looked like a martial artist. He was in his middle age and acted cautiously.

He kept looking left and right as he rode: "Although this road is close, it is far from the official road. I'm afraid it's not very peaceful. I hope there are no strong men blocking the road."

The fair-skinned young man asked, "Strong man? Didn't you once serve as the head of the Beggars' Sect? Are you afraid of a mere thief?"

The bearded man ignored the crowd and said calmly, "There's nothing to be afraid of. When we go out, it's always a good idea to be cautious."

The fair-skinned young man did not take it seriously: "Don't worry, the Ming emperor was incompetent and tyrannical, so bandits arose everywhere. We have a wise emperor in the Qing dynasty, and there has never been any banditry in the country!"

When he mentioned the wise emperor, he clasped his hands together and bowed towards the north.

Huang Sixi looked at his servile face and thought he was a traitor.

(End of this chapter)