Chapter 34

After sending Xue Weiliang flying, Zhang Jian took a moment to catch his breath before pulling out a small piece of paper from his robe and rolling a cigarette. He put it in his mouth, lit it with his index finger, and flicked his fingers while thinking.

He believed that to create the Heat Yang Skill, he needed to use the Three Purest Flames (三昧眞火) he had just ignited. He had realized that when his internal energy reached a certain level of strength, it could enhance the power of the twelve meridians, gather the yang energy of the five organs into a single point, and manifest it externally. He guessed this would be the key to the Heat Yang Skill.

However, after just now tearing apart the qi meridians of that man by pressing his hand against him, he felt that while this wasn't entirely wrong, it wasn't entirely right either. The Three Purest Flames were something more than just the Heat Yang Skill. If he wanted to set fire to his hands and swing them around like Xue Weiliang, he should focus on maximizing the use of yang energy, not on studying the Three Purest Flames.

Of course, an ordinary person couldn't handle the yang energy that had transformed into a stream of fire flowing through the qi meridians. To do so, one would have to become a monster by eating a human heart, like Xue Weiliang.

Zhang Jian exhaled a puff of smoke, placed his left hand on his waist, and inserted the cigarette into his right hand as he slowly approached the fallen Xue Weiliang. Xue Weiliang was lying on his back, coughing.

Staring blankly at the sky, he sensed Zhang Jian's approach and opened his mouth.

"…What, what kind of, martial technique was that…?"

"For now, I'll call it the Entangling Silk Skill (纏絲勁)."

"Entangling… Silk… Skill…?"

Zhang Jian took another puff of smoke and exhaled it as he spoke.

"It involves generating internal energy from the soles of the feet, obtaining rotational force from all the joints of the body, and pouring it into the palms. Just now, I started from the waist up because it was a bit urgent."

"Who, who taught you, such a thing…?"

Zhang Jian, who was about to bring the cigarette to his mouth, chuckled.

"I wonder. Was it the Tai Chi Fist where the Entangling Silk Skill appeared? Then it must have been Zhang Sanfeng."

"Zhang… Sanfeng…?"

Zhang Jian held the cigarette in his lips and continued.

"He's a legendary figure whom the seniors breathed life into. They say he became an immortal in his later years."

"An immortal… an immortal… Where do such things exist? If you don't want to say… just forget it…"

Muttering to himself and staring blankly at the sky, Xue Weiliang's eyes suddenly regained a glint of life.

"…It would be better for you to run far away, Zhang Jian. If the palace learns that I used a demonic skill and died, they will come after you."

"The palace. You mean the imperial palace?"

Zhang Jian, noticing that the glint in his eyes was the last spark before death, asked. Xue Weiliang chuckled at the question.

"The imperial palace? Do you mean the Yu family? No. The palace I'm talking about is the real palace of the true emperor. Not the thief who stole the world by taking advantage of the chaos. The true masters of the Central Plains, who have been oppressed, massacred, and chased for a thousand years, are gathering under his shadow and consolidating their strength. I stayed outside to prove my loyalty, but the real forces of the palace would consider someone like me just a snack…"

"Is the palace the one that spread the demonic skill to the new continent?"

But Zhang Jian's question quickly dimmed Xue Weiliang's eyes.

"…Damn. I should have given Sun Guang a good scolding… Shangzheng, ah, Shangzheng. You should go to the Central Plains and make a name for yourself… Yes, dear wife. I will soon join Shangzheng…"

After a moment of rambling, Xue Weiliang's breathing stopped, and he slumped over. Zhang Jian, holding the smoking cigarette in his mouth, quietly observed him. In the end, both his son and father had died by his hand. He knew that the life of a martial artist, living on the edge of a blade, was often like this, and that they were all people who had caused all sorts of trouble, but he couldn't help feeling a bitter taste in his mouth.

As he looked at the dead Xue Weiliang, Zhang Jian realized something was crackling and turned his head. The fire was spreading in Xue Weiliang's mansion, probably due to the flames that had caught when he had smashed the wall just now.

"…A secret organization of rebellious martial artists. I don't want to get involved in such things."

Zhang Jian muttered calmly as he watched the growing flames, showing no intention of putting out the fire. Looking at the spreading flames, Zhang Jian turned his gaze to Gong Ping, who had already freed himself and was kneeling, hugging his brother. Gong Ping was staring blankly at his brother's face.

"…Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not. How can anyone be okay when their brother dies…"

The burnt-out cigarette was close to his lips. Zhang Jian flicked it away and said,

"You should have come a bit earlier."

"No. Lang was unconscious after being beaten up last night. What could you have done? I'm just grateful that you avenged him."

Gong Ping, staring at his dead brother's face, answered, and Zhang Jian, watching him silently, walked to a corner, picked up the straw hat he had thrown there, and dusted it off.

"Go to Qing Shu Village. If you mention my name, I'll help with the funeral. And find Yang Hong to take care of the aftermath here."

Putting on the straw hat and whistling to call Zaozao, Zhang Jian noticed Gong Ping looking up at him with a swollen face.

"…Yang Hong?"

"That guy has some connections in the imperial army. Even if not, the martial arts alliance and the imperial army would shudder at the mention of martial artists, so they'll clean up here. They'll also investigate the relationship between Sun Guang and Xue Weiliang in Jianshan."

"Then what about you, Brother Zhang?"

Zhang Jian, grabbing Zaozao's reins as the horse approached, answered,

"I'm just going on my way."

"…If you report the martial arts alliance or the imperial army about the martial artists, there might be a reward."

"Share it with the people of Qing Shu Village. Tell Jin Shuyan and his gang that Xue Weiliang is gone, so they should stop their thievery."

He mounted Zaozao and continued,

"Do you need help getting to Qing Shu Village?"

Gong Ping shook his head.

"No, I have a horse at this ranch. But, Brother Zhang, are you really just leaving like this? If what I saw just now is true, you are a martial artist who single-handedly defeated Xue Weiliang and his subordinates who used demonic skills. The imperial army might not, but the martial arts alliance might award you a medal, and your name would be famous throughout the new continent…"

Zhang Jian, on Zaozao, smiled without answering. It was a detached smile, as if such things were meaningless. He gently tugged on Zaozao's reins and said,

"I'm sorry about your brother. Farewell."

Bowing his head slightly, Zhang Jian began to leave the ranch, following Zaozao's steady steps.

The bodies on the ground of the ranch he left behind had spilled all their warm blood and were now growing cold, and the fire on the mansion was growing into a raging inferno. Gong Ping, watching Zhang Jian's retreating figure under the sun that was slightly tilting west, turned his gaze to the burning mansion. The red flames seemed determined not to go out until they had consumed the entire mansion.

When Gong Ping looked back at Zhang Jian, he was already a small dot in the distance. And when that dot disappeared over a hill, he could no longer see it.

After sitting there for a while, Gong Ping got up, led a horse from the stable, and left the burning mansion with his brother.

At the ranch where all the people had left, only the cattle remained, standing still as the ash fell on their heads. In their clear eyes, the burning mansion was reflected.

* * *

Dark Dragon Third Tiger, who was once Jian Zhong Chan, leaned against the railing and looked down at the night streets of Jianshan City.

Although it couldn't compare to the thousand-year-old capital of Chang'an, Jianshan City, established by the emperor and counted among the three major cities of the new continent, shone brightly even at midnight, luring and being lured by countless people. Drunkards who forgot day and night, laborers pulling rickshaws busily, nouveau riche walking arrogantly with their bellies out, and prostitutes with heavy makeup hanging onto them. Countless desires flowed, and dreams swam in the sea of the city that never slept.

She stared blankly at the city, fiddling with the cloth tied to her wrist. Unlike Jian Zhong Chan, who wore black martial clothes and had no adornments, she now wore a narrow-waisted, wide-bottomed skirt that was in fashion in Jianshan City, with a jade hairpin and a small hat on her head, and red lips. She wore high-heeled shoes that were popular in the Central Plains and a thick leather belt to emphasize her slim waist. She thought that even Yang Hong wouldn't recognize this transformation.

At that moment, someone appeared behind her.

"Third Tiger, the job is done."

She turned around to see a giant in a black robe with a tiger's mouth mask, holding a severed head.

"Your guess was right. The Ma family (魔家) was behind Sun Guang. It seems to be either the Nan Gong or the Mo family."

"Did they use demonic skills?"

"Sun Guang? No. There was a swordsman protecting Sun Guang. He was quite skilled."

She nodded at the head in the giant's hand.

"Is that it?"

"Yes. Sun Guang was taken away by the Twelfth and Seventeenth Tigers."

"Indeed. Sun Guang was never a talented person. He left the Sun family in the Central Plains and became a merchant in the new continent for that reason. Perhaps they used him as bait. Well, we'll find out the reason as we dig deeper."

The giant walked over to her and looked down at the night streets of Jianshan City with the fierce eyes of a predator, matching the tiger's mouth on his mask.

"To fall for the tricks of mere losers and ruin his life, despite enjoying such glory under the emperor's grace. Even though he was a distant relative, to be born as a descendant of a great family and make such a choice. I wonder what confidence he had that he wouldn't be found out."

She chuckled at the giant's words.

"I don't really know either. Perhaps Sun Guang just needed a capable martial artist. The competition for the position of the Jianshan Guild is fierce compared to other places."

"Perhaps he just wanted to survive. Still, it was foolish."

The giant turned and walked away, but suddenly stopped and looked back at her.

"On the way here, you met an unusual martial artist."

"…Ah, that? He was using the Sealing Meridian Technique, but there was nothing special about him. The Sealing Meridian Technique is used by some in the martial arts alliance, so I thought he might have learned it there."

"Would you assign the Dark Dragon Seven Tigers and provide support funds for a martial artist who is nothing special?"

The giant's words made her pause for a moment before tilting her head and smiling mysteriously.

"…The authority and methods of the Dark Dragon Corps are our own. Even a military commander cannot arbitrarily inspect them in the new continent under the emperor's decree. Since I don't remember reporting about that martial artist, it seems the commander inspected it on his own… Should I make an issue of this?"

The giant, who had been staring at her for a while, smiled slightly under his mask.

"It's good to see you take pride in your work, Dark Dragon Third Tiger. But remember, that pride is only true when you are under the emperor's will. I'll leave the cleanup to you."

The giant, ignoring the head in his hand, walked away into the building. She sighed in relief only after he was completely gone.

There was no need to defend Zhang Jian. It was enough to report that he was a person with no particular background but outstanding martial arts skills, and that an investigation was necessary. She herself didn't understand why she had caused friction with a military commander to protect such a person. She leaned against the railing, absentmindedly fiddling with the cloth tied to her wrist.

After a while, she shook her head, straightened up, and walked into the building, her high-heeled shoes clicking.

This was one of Sun Guang's high-end brothels, and the five-story building was filled with the pale bodies of Sun Guang's warriors, killed by the military commander, staining the floors with blood. Among them were customers and courtesans who had been caught up in the fight and died. She looked at the bodies with a bitter expression, checking to make sure they were all truly dead and that no one was feigning death.

After confirming, she knocked over the lanterns illuminating the building, starting from the fifth floor, and made her way down. When she reached the first floor and stepped outside, martial artists from the martial arts alliance were blocking the crowd, preventing them from getting too close.

One of the men turned around, sensing her presence. A handsome man with a hero's scarf, wearing clean blue martial clothes. He was the son of the Jianshan branch leader of the martial arts alliance. Despite the martial arts alliance receiving support from the empire, it was clearly a separate organization, yet the Jianshan branch was particularly cautious of the imperial army. Thanks to this, she had completed her task smoothly, but it amused her.

She smiled and said to the approaching man,

"The job is done. Keep the crowd back further."

"Ah, is that so? Then… Yes, keep them back further?"

As she nodded, the crowd's murmurs grew louder. The martial artist looked up to see the flames starting from the top floor of the brothel.

"Th-This… What…"

"I appreciate the martial arts alliance's cooperation. Thanks to you, we were able to capture the evil martial artists and make them pay for their crimes."

"B-But we need to put out the fire…"

She stopped him with her hand.

"Are you daring to investigate the traces of the imperial army's martial arts?"

The martial artist of the martial arts alliance jumped back in surprise.

"No, no, that's not it. I didn't mean to."

"Good. Then make sure the fire doesn't spread to other places. Clean up the area properly to prevent the entire Jianshan from burning down."

The martial artist, hesitating as he watched the growing flames, finally nodded and led his subordinates. They began to clear the area to prevent the fire from spreading, fetching water in advance. The residents and nearby merchants, watching, hurriedly grabbed buckets to help.

While they were working to prevent a major fire, Dark Dragon Third Tiger stood with her arms crossed, watching the spreading flames. Some of the people running around glared at her or cursed, but they didn't dare to touch her, knowing she was from the imperial army.

However, as she watched the flames, she seemed lost in thought, oblivious to the curses.