Chapter 16

A hawk was flying in the clear, cold sky. Soaring high, it scanned the dense forests, rivers, and valleys below, searching for prey. It preferred small game like mice and snakes, but today it hoped to find a large animal's carcass. It was much more comfortable to simply perch and tear at the meat rather than hunt with effort.

The hawk's eyes caught something lying by the river. It circled a corner of the sky to get a better look. A human figure lay face down by the river, and a horse grazed nearby. The scene was confusing to the hawk.

However, it was hard to pass up an opportunity to eat without much effort. So, it slowly glided down, not landing directly on the fallen person but on a nearby tree to observe more closely.

The hawk could see the upper body of the fallen person. The right shoulder was stained red, indicating a severe wound. Perhaps the person had come to the river to wash the wound and died there.

What about the horse grazing nearby? The hawk thought it didn't matter. In its experience, horses with people were always stupid and docile. Approaching to tear at the corpse would elicit no reaction.

The hawk spread its wings to fly toward the person, but then someone appeared on the other side of the river. The hawk quickly folded its wings and observed the situation.

The person who appeared was a girl carrying a basket. The hawk could tell from her clothes and brown skin that she was one of the humans living upstream. The hawk hoped she would leave the corpse alone and disappear. Humans strangely liked to bury or cover their dead.

However, contrary to the hawk's hopes, the girl began to cautiously approach the fallen body—what the hawk hoped was a corpse. The hawk was startled by the horse standing in front of the girl.

The brown horse, which had been grazing leisurely, now snorted at the approaching girl, as if protecting its owner. But the girl carefully approached, raised her hands, and stroked the horse's neck to calm it down.

"It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you. You're a loyal and smart one."

The brown horse, which had been growling like a dog, seemed to cheer up with the girl's touch and praise, neighing and leading her to the body.

The girl gently pulled the body away from the river and began to examine it. To the hawk, who was watching, she started the worst possible action. She grunted as she lifted the body and placed it on the horse's saddle, then led the horse upstream.

The hawk considered flying down to chase the girl away but decided it would be a waste of energy and effort. It was better to find another target.

The girl, leading the horse, turned to look at the hawk flying away into the distant sky. A dark dot moved away among the blue sky and flowing clouds.

After a moment, the girl turned back and continued leading the horse. The brown horse, Jojo, seemed to enjoy the girl's stroking and followed her obediently.

* * *

"Name, Zhang Jian. Age, appears to be in his late twenties. Martial arts level, at least on par with a high-ranking patrolman of the Martial Arts Alliance... Is that all?"

Jiexi looked at the other person with dissatisfaction. In the dark room of the inn, the person facing her was completely covered by a large straw hat and a black veil.

He was the secret informant of the local Martial Arts Alliance, whom Jiexi had pried information from with great effort. She had seen traces of Zhang Jian's fist technique and felt the need to investigate him, along with other matters. However, the information provided by the informant was poor.

"What else could there be? He's not a famous figure from the Central Plains or a warrior from a noble family. There are countless wandering martial artists in the wilderness. At least his name is on the register because he has claimed a few bounties."

"But if he's from the Central Plains, wouldn't he have some connection to a certain region or family?"

Jiexi's companion, Shanhu, interjected, but the informant's attitude did not change.

"If you want to know his background before he crossed the sea, you should look for an information network in the Central Plains. I have a headache just thinking about the monthly report I have to submit to the Alliance. Asking about a martial artist with a unique fist technique but who primarily uses a sword, and is not an important figure, is beyond my capacity."

"But, that's true... Even so, as a secret informant, shouldn't you be able to provide something more?"

"The only thing I can add is that the fist technique he used is not the True Heaven Fist. The dead bandit's skin was intact, right?"

Shanhu leaned forward, thinking this was finally some useful information.

"Yes, but his internal organs were minced."

"Hmm. The True Heaven Fist, contrary to popular belief, is not a clean technique. The internal organs being mashed is similar to the technique used by the warrior, but the True Heaven Fist is even more terrifying. One hit can tear apart the body's qi and blood, causing horrific bruises all over the body. The amount of internal energy required is so immense that only the oldest and most monstrous warriors in the Imperial Army can use it."

Shanhu nodded, as if listening to an interesting story, but Jiexi's expression remained stern as she asked:

"Could it be a new fist technique developed from the True Heaven Fist?"

A chuckle came from under the straw hat and veil.

"Let me repeat: the True Heaven Fist consumes too much internal energy and is almost obsolete within the Imperial Army. It's considered a Class A martial art due to its power and is kept under strict security. The Imperial Army ignores it for efficiency, and martial arts sects and noble families have never even seen it. How could it have developed?"

The informant leaned back in his chair and continued.

"I understand why you suspect him of being a high-ranking Imperial Army warrior. But a young, highly skilled warrior with an unknown origin is not necessarily a secret Imperial Army agent. He could just be naturally talented. Besides, given his enjoyment of claiming bounties, he could be helpful to the Martial Arts Alliance and not a threat."

After a moment of thought, Jiexi sighed and stood up, extending her hand. The informant, initially confused, realized the meaning and handed over the prepared documents.

On the first floor of the inn, six children who had been kidnapped by the Red Silk Gang were eating with a combative attitude. The real information Jiexi had wanted from the informant was about the children's return and the human trafficking organization. The information about Zhang Jian was just an additional request.

With the documents in hand, Jiexi and Shanhu lightly saluted the informant and left the room. They would return the children home and then dismantle the human trafficking organization using the information provided. That was their job.

After seeing them off, the informant listened to the creaking footsteps descending and threw off the straw hat.

"Phew, damn. I thought I'd suffocate to death."

The man under the straw hat was named Yang Hong. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and took out a piece of paper from his robe. It contained a brief message.

[Zhang Jian. Second son of the Zhang family from Hunan. Known for showing exceptional talent in martial arts from a young age. His merchant father wanted him to join the Imperial Army. However, he later experienced an unknown conflict with his family. After the conflict, he wandered the Central Plains before traveling to the New Continent. Had many martial arts teachers, but none were above Class C.

Security Level: Class D. Information requested by the Black Dragon Seven.

P.S. - Why are you interested in this guy?]

"Damn. Is that all? We need to know what kind of conflict he had with his family. Why is the empire's information network so slow? And a security level of D? He single-handedly wiped out the Red Silk Gang and used a technique similar to the True Heaven Fist, yet he's only D? The imperial court and the Martial Arts Alliance are just big and hollow, hollow."

Yang Hong, a secret informant for the Martial Arts Alliance and a member of the Black Dragon Corps of the New Continent's imperial court, scratched his head in frustration. He pondered how to use this information to extract more funds from both organizations. Perhaps he should find Zhang Jian first.

He was surveying the area and gathering information, which was his job, just like Jiexi. To him, the names of the Martial Arts Alliance and the imperial court were just convenient labels for his work.

* * *

Many people were laughing and chatting. The crowd was so dense that shoulders bumped into each other, but there was no need to apologize. Among the many people, some were riding large rides and cheering, but they all seemed somewhat faded, as if they were not fully there.

He realized his eye level was only at their waist and felt a warm hand holding his right hand.

Turning his head, he saw a woman. For some reason, she was holding his small hand tightly. Her face, though young, showed signs of life's hardships and fatigue. She looked displeased with the crowd. In this somewhat faded world, she was one of the few clear figures. She lowered her head, feeling his gaze, and despite the annoyance from the crowd, she forced a smile for her young son.

He smiled back, knowing it made her happy.

"Huh? This person is smiling?"

"He must be having a good dream."

"Is that so? Huh? I don't think so. He's waking up."

Zhang Jian instinctively gathered his internal energy as his vision cleared. The dormant energy in his dantian responded quickly. He could see two faces clearly in his now clear vision.

"Oh. Now that he's awake, he looks even better. He's the best-looking among the Central Plain people in the lower village."

"So what if he's good-looking? What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing, just saying. There's a saying in the Central Plain that good is good, right?"

The two, a girl and a middle-aged man, with healthy brown skin and mysterious golden eyes, were chattering in front of him.

"Can I have some water?"

The two, who had been chatting, were startled by Zhang Jian's sudden words.

"…You understand our language?"

"…Yes, I learned a few phrases. I don't know the language of the tribes beyond the mountains."

The girl laughed.

"Wow! I've never seen a Central Plain person speak our language so smoothly! Do you understand everything I say?"

"…I get the general meaning."

"Wow… I see, the horse you were with was so smart. It must be because of you…"

At that moment, the girl suddenly froze with a smile and started blushing. She quietly stood up. The middle-aged man asked her:

"Where are you going?"

"…I'll get some water."

She whispered and left the tent. The middle-aged man watched her go, then turned to Zhang Jian and spoke in Central Plain language.

"He seems embarrassed for calling you handsome. She's usually bold but gets shy easily."

Zhang Jian was slightly surprised by the middle-aged man's fluent Central Plain language.

"…I'm Zhang Jian."

"Ah? Aren't you going to ask how I can speak your language so well?"

Zhang Jian tried to sit up and realized he was shirtless, with dried mud on his right shoulder, which had been pierced. The mud had a strong scent, suggesting it was not just mud.

"It's been over a hundred years since our lands last interacted. It's not surprising that you can speak our language, just as we can speak yours."

"…That's true. The Central Plain people I've met were all amazed, so I assumed you would be too."

Zhang Jian carefully moved his right arm. Even for a martial artist, a through-and-through wound like this could lead to permanent disability. The delayed detection of poison had worsened the injury. That's why he had collapsed by the river.

"Hmm. It seems you applied some medicine. Thank you."

As he moved his arm, the pain, though weakened, reminded him of the injury. The middle-aged man suddenly chuckled.

"Well, from what I've observed over the past two days, you would have recovered even without my help. You have an amazing recovery ability, Zhang Jian. It seems your ancestors are protecting you. I'm Jifeng, by the way. Nice to meet you."

Red Wind. Zhang Jian guessed he was a warrior, perhaps even a martial artist. After introducing himself, Jifeng watched Zhang Jian examine his wound and then said:

"My niece will bring water soon, but I have a few questions before that."

Zhang Jian looked up at him. Jifeng's golden eyes seemed to pierce through to the truth.

"Are you being pursued?"

"No."

"Then why were you lying in the valley? What about that wound? I'm sorry to pry, but I need to ensure you're not a threat. If you are, I will do whatever it takes to protect my tribe."

Zhang Jian had to think for a moment. He was too tired to recount the past few days in detail. So, he slowly lay back and said:

"…The people chasing me are all dead. Don't worry."

Jifeng looked stunned for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. Zhang Jian, hearing his robust laughter and seeing the girl quietly return, thought:

They were discovered hundreds of years earlier than in history, and they were clearly not the weak natives he had learned about.

Looking at her golden eyes, he thought.