RISE OF THE MARTIAL GOD

Tong Tong went down on her knees and kowtowed before him, tears streaming profusely down her face.

"Thank you, young master, for not abandoning us."

Anthony took a deep breath and looked at the night sky.

"Silly girl," he muttered under his breath.

He looked at her and squatted before her.

"You don't need to do that. I'm not your master." Anthony slowly raised her face with his forefinger, making her look at him.

He wiped away her tears with his thumb.

"Stop crying, I'm here now. Everything will be fine."

His words gave her unprecedented relief, and she believed him. Because he had arrived, everything will be fine from now on. That was the kind of god-like trust she had in him.

"You won't abandon us, right?" She whispered hesitantly, her brown eyes which were shiny with tears, reflecting the moon's radiance gazed upon him.

He pulled her into his arms and sighed.

"It's not possible for me to remain here forever, but I won't leave now your elder sister is in that state. Stop thinking about irrelevant things and go clean up."

She nodded vigorously, her jaw hitting against his shoulder blades.

He pulled away and returned to Xinglan.

Tong Tong quickly packed up their belongings and began to hurl the dead bodies to one side.

"Leave those ones, I will discard the bodies myself." Anthony shouted, his voice echoing in the stillness of the night.

He looked at the shuriken in his hand. His shuriken assassination technique had reached an astounding level, letting him control hundreds of shurikens with just a mere thought.

Even if he doesn't personally pick them up after a battle, they automatically return to him after doing their business. Creating a shuriken spirit has never been heard of, because a warrior needs tens of them to fight. Unlike the sword that's only one, or two in the case of a dual sword practitioner.

Weapons like swords and daggers are companion weapons, so nurturing a weapon spirit happens once in a blue moon with exceptional sword art aptitude.

But his shurikens were acting as if they had a mind of their own. With a sigh, he put them away and stood up.

Just then, sounds of heavy galloping filled the night air, hooves thundering against the brown earth.

Miao Miao immediately rushed to hide behind Anthony, terrified that another set of bandits had shown up. He slapped her hand away and gave her a halting glare.

She made a pitiful face but flatly refused to leave his side. Tong Tong stopped in the process of fastening the cloth bag to her own horse, turning towards the source of the noise.

A magnificent brown horse soon came to view, with a silver crescent moon on its forehead. It stopped before Anthony, neighing, its eyes almost filled with concern.

"My dear Hector, were you worried about my sudden disappearance? Was that why you hastened up to this place within such a short time?" Anthony asked with a smile, caressing the horse's neck.

Hector neighed again, and nuzzled Anthony's arm, almost as if he was asking questions.

"I'm alright, nothing happened to me. It was just that these big babies suddenly ran into trouble. Sorry for making you travel the same space twice in a day. Are you exhausted?"

The horse slightly shook its head, making Anthony smile broadly. This was the difference between spiritual horses and normal thoroughbred horses. Horses with spirit have the ability to communicate with the owner and also understand them. They also have enhanced hearing, speed, endurance and capacity.

Hector could detect danger from miles away and think for itself. Assuming it was carrying a child instead of the grown ass Anthony, the moment danger is detected, it would have taken the child to safety, away from harm.

It also had enhanced hearing, intuition, vision, and sense of smell. That was the reason it was able to find Anthony who was two towns away.

Miao Miao sighed in relief and stepped out from behind Anthony.

"Miao Miao, no…" The slightly terrified whisper made everyone turn to Xinglan who was rambling on while still unconscious.

Anthony smiled wryly and shook his head. He squatted beside her, slowly caressing her face.

"What's so good about that selfish traitor that you even worry about her subconsciously? You should love yourself too, you know."

"Don't touch her, no, let go of her. Miao Miao."

Tong Tong looked at Miao Miao with an accusing glare and she immediately shrank back, avoiding eye contact.

Anthony took her pulse and transferred a stream of energy to her. After a while, she finally quieted down.

"Let's go, the aura of blood is too thick here." He said and carried her up, making his way to his horse.

Tong Tong equally climbed hers, and grabbed the reins.

"What are you both doing? How am I supposed to follow?" Miao Miao screeched, her eyes panicky as she looked at Xinglan's stubborn black horse. She had never controlled such a horse in the past since she was afraid of pain and injury. But her own docile horse was unsuitable for long journeys, making them leave it behind.

Anthony looked at her derisively and hissed.

"If you can't ride the available horse, you can stay behind or follow on foot."

"Ah?" Miao Miao was utterly stupefied not knowing how to reply his disdainful words.

Anthony flicked his fingers and the corpses piled up on top of each other in the middle of the road. He hurled a wooden bamboo tube at the stack of dead bodies and they immediately caught fire.

Tong Tong looked at Anthony who was about to leave, then Miao Miao who was fidgeting on the ground, her brows knitted with confusion.

"Will you ride mine?"

Miao Miao shook her head, pouting.

"It's too spirited."

"What do you want us to do then? We can't leave Xinglan Jie's horse behind."

"Tong Tong, let's go. She can survive on her own. After all, she won't want to be with someone who hired assassins to violate and kill her. Let's go."

Miao Miao blanched as he threw her vicious words right back at her. The moment he finished speaking, he set his horse on a trot, leaving her behind.