Chapter 33

Xu Weiliang did not answer Zhang Jian's question. He rolled the pipe in his mouth around and then, with a glare, asked Zhang Jian, "Are you alone?"

"I am alone."

Even with Zhang Jian's calm answer, Xu Weiliang did not retract his suspicious gaze. He subtly signaled to his subordinates. Two warriors immediately ran out to check the surroundings. But there was no one else.

Seeing his subordinates shake their heads, indicating no one was around, Xu Weiliang's eyes turned puzzled.

"Zhang Jian, right? What are you?"

"…What kind of question is that?"

Xu Weiliang looked at Zhang Jian as if he couldn't understand why he had come alone. Then he waved his hand at the subordinates standing behind him.

Two men, beaten and bloody, were dragged out from inside the building. Zhang Jian recognized them.

"I caught these guys trying to leave last night. So I know why you attacked my carriage. It was for the money, right?"

Zhang Jian did not answer. He looked at the man whose face was completely distorted and bleeding. The man also looked at Zhang Jian through his swollen eyes. Zhang Jian knew his name was Gong Ping.

"I also found out that the thief Yang Hong tricked my subordinates into making the plan. Thanks to that, my plan was ruined. I intended to use the fake transport carriage to eliminate the bandits who were destroying the ranch."

If the man bleeding on the ground was Gong Ping, then the one lying face down, dragged in, must be his brother, Gong Lang. Unlike Gong Ping, who seemed to have some consciousness, Gong Lang showed no movement at all.

"But the part I understand the least is you. My son trained for ten years at the Lian Clan Manor from a young age. To be honest, his martial arts were quite good. But he was killed by you. What about Wu Zhongxu? He wasn't trained in martial arts by any clan or sect, but he was one of the best swordsmen in Gan Mountain."

Xu Weiliang took the pipe out of his mouth for a moment and spat out a thick saliva.

"…He also died at your hands last night. And you finished off ten, no, nine of my subordinates in one go? That means you're not just a skilled martial artist, but perhaps on par with the elite of the Wulin Alliance or even the Imperial Guard. But no matter how much I interrogated them, they couldn't tell me your identity. So, let me ask you. Who are you? Are you from the Wulin Alliance patrol or the undercover Imperial Guard?"

Zhang Jian still did not answer. He met Gong Ping's eyes for a moment, then slowly dismounted from his horse. The horse, after Zhang Jian dismounted, turned around and trotted out of the courtyard. The horsemen, seeing this, thought the horse was well-trained. Of course, Zhang Jian had never trained it.

After sending the horse away, Zhang Jian stood still and said, holding the scabbard with his left hand, "If I were from the Wulin Alliance or the undercover Imperial Guard, would that change anything?"

"…What would change?"

Zhang Jian looked at him with eyes half-hidden by his hat.

"I fought your son, and I won. I didn't stab him in the heart, but I killed him. If you want revenge, come at me. It's a father's right to avenge his son."

As the talk of revenge began, Xu Weiliang's eyes started to gleam. The other swordsmen, following his lead, quietly built up their killing intent.

"…Is my revenge justified? Are you saying you'll just die at my hands?"

"No. It's just that who I am and what crimes you've committed here are no longer important."

Xu Weiliang was silent for a moment, then smiled and threw the small pipe he was holding to the side.

"Right, you're correct. Identity is meaningless now. I want to kill you, and you don't want to die. That's all there is between us. You're a good man. If we met under different circumstances, we might have become friends."

He said this, shook his head, and then waved his hand.

"Attack."

At Xu Weiliang's short command, the swordsmen who had been glaring at him immediately shouted and drew their swords, rushing forward. They were quick, but their movements were not those of well-trained martial artists. They were the most common type of martial artists in this wilderness, and they were also the most common type of people to die.

The first one to rush forward didn't even get to swing his sword before his arms and neck were cut off.

Zhang Jian drew his sword and killed the man, then dodged the falling body and swung his sword. The two swords aimed at him were deflected with a clear metallic sound. The two swordsmen, despite only lightly colliding, were pushed back and startled, trying to regain their stance, but were beheaded by Zhang Jian's sword.

A man thrust a straight sword at Zhang Jian from the front, while another, unusually, swung an axe from behind.

Zhang Jian turned to the left, letting the thrust pass by, and then struck upward, severing the axe handle. At the same time, his back kick hit the chest of the man with the sword, caving it in.

The man who was kicked in the chest spat out blood and died. The man with the severed axe handle, now in a daze, was cut in half at the waist by Zhang Jian's sword.

Five men fell in an instant, and the rest were startled. They had never fought a real expert before. Xu Weiliang, Xu Shangzheng, and Wu Zhongxu were better than them, but they didn't fight as fast and ruthlessly.

Unable to advance, they hesitated, and this time, Zhang Jian came at them.

The swordsmen, startled by his ghost-like movement, reflexively swung their weapons forward. But their movements were too slow to even touch Zhang Jian's clothes.

Their necks were cut, their waists severed, and their limbs separated from their bodies, rolling on the ground. Some managed to focus and strike at Zhang Jian, but his sword always reached them first.

The courtyard, once dry, was now soaked in blood. The blood from the dead men mixed with the dust on the ground, turning it into a thick, muddy mess under the trampling feet.

As Xu Weiliang's subordinates, about twenty in number, died one by one, they were frightened and slowly retreated to Xu Weiliang's side. But it was too late. When Zhang Jian stopped and shook his sword, only three swordsmen, staring at him in fear, remained behind Xu Weiliang.

Despite most of his subordinates being wiped out, Xu Weiliang still sat in his chair, glaring at Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian, seeing this, asked, "Did you know your subordinates would die, and yet you sent them forward? Why?"

"I wanted to see your skills."

Zhang Jian smiled.

"Did you see them well?"

Xu Weiliang nodded heavily.

"I saw them well. Now I understand why Shangzheng and Wu Zhongxu lost. You seem to have a nickname, don't you? Can I ask what it is?"

"What nickname could a wanderer have?"

"That's a pity. If you had lived longer, you would have surely earned one."

Zhang Jian chuckled, understanding that he would die here today and thus wouldn't have a nickname.

Xu Weiliang, seeing his smile, also smiled and slowly stood up from his chair. He signaled to one of the subordinates hiding behind him.

"Yes, yes, sir. I'm sorry, but he's too fast..."

"Come closer."

The subordinate, trembling and making excuses, approached Xu Weiliang with a puzzled look. Before anyone could react, Xu Weiliang's hand plunged into the man's chest.

"Wh-What? Why?"

"Don't be too sad. I'll pay for your parents' funeral."

When his hand, which had plunged into the man's chest, came out, it held a beating heart.

"Mother..."

While the other subordinates and Zhang Jian's faces hardened, and the man with his heart pulled out took his last breath, Xu Weiliang looked at the freshly pulled heart as if it were delicious and swallowed it. Despite its size, he gulped it down as if it were honey.

"Ugh, what, what is this?"

"Sir?"

The two remaining subordinates, shocked by the sight of a man's heart being pulled out and eaten, took a step back. Zhang Jian, seeing Xu Weiliang, who was trembling with ecstasy as if he had taken a drug, muttered a curse.

"Damn... What the hell is this?"

After trembling like a madman for a moment, Xu Weiliang regained his composure, exhaled a hot breath, and glared at Zhang Jian. His eyes glowed a deep red.

"…When I first obtained this martial art, Xue Xin Kuang Huo Gong (Blood Heart Mad Fire Art), I never thought I would use it. So I didn't teach it to Shangzheng. Why learn a demonic art and risk being caught by the Wulin Alliance or the Imperial Guard? It could have been discovered by the Lian Clan Manor where I trained. But holding my son's body, I thought, what's the point of all this? First, I have to survive to do anything."

Xu Weiliang, despite having just eaten a human heart, seemed quite calm. Of course, his mouth, hands, and chest were covered in blood, making him look terrifying.

Zhang Jian met his gaze with deep, calm eyes. Xu Weiliang, seemingly displeased with Zhang Jian's calmness, growled.

"I will kill you, the scum of Qing Shui Village, and the bandits. I will kill them all and burn everything. I won't leave anyone who is involved in my son's death alive."

"And then?"

"What?"

Zhang Jian slowly untied the string of his hat and threw it to the side. The hat flew and landed in a corner.

"After you kill everyone, what will you do next?"

"What do you care? You'll be dead anyway."

Despite Xu Weiliang's harsh words, Zhang Jian shrugged.

"You might be curious."

Xu Weiliang, finding Zhang Jian's attitude absurd, let out a bitter laugh. The laugh grew louder, echoing through the manor and the entire ranch. Unlike Zhang Jian, who remained motionless, the two subordinates closest to him clutched their ears and groaned.

"Aah... Stop...!"

"Sir... Please!"

As the two men trembled and stiffened, Xu Weiliang suddenly stopped laughing and plunged his hands into their chests. They each let out a single scream as their hearts were pulled out. Xu Weiliang immediately stuffed the hearts into his mouth.

After swallowing two more hearts, Xu Weiliang opened his mouth wide, looked up at the sky, and then turned back to Zhang Jian.

"What will I do? You asked what I'll do after killing everyone?"

"Yes. The Wulin Alliance will send a pursuit team after such actions."

Xu Weiliang, now with eyes completely red, licked his blood-stained lips and smiled.

"Then I'll kill the pursuit team and go to the palace! This martial art was given to me by the palace! I might be important enough to get a significant position there. The Black Snake is too insignificant, but perhaps I could be the Red Snake or the White Snake! Hahaha! Maybe even a general! What a joy! To be above Song Guang, who I used to grovel under!"

Xu Weiliang, shouting to himself, seemed to have transformed from a calm leader to a madman in that moment. He laughed and rambled, incomprehensible to Zhang Jian. The only clear thing was the fire that began to flicker on his hands and arms, looking very dangerous.

But Zhang Jian, seeing this, just smiled bitterly, as if tired.

"Should I perform a ritual? Why do I keep meeting crazy people lately?"

"Hahaha! Thank you, Zhang Jian! Thanks to you, I will be a general! I am a general!"

"Madman."

With that, Xu Weiliang suddenly lunged like a beast. A slight bending motion was visible, and then his burning palms were aimed at Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian had to move quickly.

But Xu Weiliang's palms, which seemed about to hit, missed. Zhang Jian was already standing far behind him, sword extended. Only after Zhang Jian shook his sword did Xu Weiliang's side split open.

"Ah..."

Gong Ping, who had been lying on the ground watching the fight, let out a sigh of admiration with his battered face. Zhang Jian, despite moving a step late, had dodged Xu Weiliang's attack and landed a strike.

But Zhang Jian did not sheathe his sword. Instead, he held it, his expression serious, and glared at Xu Weiliang.

His caution was not excessive. Xu Weiliang, with his side split open, slowly turned around. His face, twisted like a monster, showed no clear expression of pain or anger. His eyes, now completely red, made it impossible to distinguish the whites from the pupils.

With a twisted face, he opened his mouth wide and let out a roar, then charged at Zhang Jian again. The split in his side had already closed.

Zhang Jian took a few light steps back, dodging Xu Weiliang's wildly swinging hands. As Zhang Jian retreated, Xu Weiliang followed, swinging his hands. Most of the martial artists Zhang Jian had met in this land used swords, spears, or other weapons, but this was the first time he faced someone attacking with bare hands.

What surprised Zhang Jian was not the crude palm technique but the fire and heat radiating from Xu Weiliang's hands and arms. Each time they brushed past, the heat and pressure made his face feel hot. A martial art he had never seen in the Central Plains, something he had only imagined. The Heat Palm Technique.

At that moment, Zhang Jian's back hit the wall of the manor.

"Raaah!"

Xu Weiliang roared and extended his palms. The heat inside them surged forward. But Zhang Jian lightly kicked the ground and the wall, leaping over Xu Weiliang. Xu Weiliang's palms struck the manor wall instead.

With a loud thud, two round holes appeared, and the surrounding area caught fire. But Xu Weiliang, seemingly unconcerned about the fire in his