Chapter 42

The bodies lay neatly in one place, as if they had been stacked like cargo. Jin Jian's face visibly hardened. The dead numbered more than a dozen at a glance.

Zhang Jian dismounted from his horse and examined the bodies. He couldn't help but marvel slightly.

"Most of them were finished off in one move. Their necks were broken or their heads crushed."

As he inspected the bodies, he began to scan the surrounding area for clues.

"It seems he noticed the enemy pursuit team had split into three and launched a preemptive strike. He hid his horse in a slightly sheltered spot and waited, then attacked here. After taking out over a dozen, he fled before being surrounded."

He squatted down and lifted the cloth covering one of the faces.

"These men didn't seem to have the intention to follow immediately. They must have collected and organized the bodies before leaving. They probably planned to retrieve the bodies on their way back."

Jin Jian asked solemnly.

"Does it look like there was no hesitation in Zhen Zhao's actions?"

"Come and see for yourself. Since you learned martial arts from that side, you might understand better."

In response to Zhang Jian's words, Jin Jian shook his head.

"I have never learned how to deduce martial arts from the traces left by the dead. Our temple is not a place that teaches methods for investigating murders."

Slightly irritated by Jin Jian's response, Zhang Jian shrugged.

"At least it seems he had no intention of sparing them."

At this, Jin Jian gripped the reins tightly and closed his eyes.

"How could he forget the great compassion he learned at the temple and commit such slaughter? Shaolin martial arts are not for killing and destruction..."

Zhang Jian watched Jin Jian mutter to himself with a calm gaze, then stood up and remounted his horse.

"It doesn't seem like the distance has widened much. Zhen Yuan seems to be counterattacking in this vast plain."

"Counterattacking is not the right word. Jian Long Men was the one who attacked first, and Zhen Zhao is just struggling with his own inner turmoil."

Zhang Jian chuckled at Jin Jian's words.

"Well, it doesn't matter now who was in the wrong first."

With that, he spurred his horse forward. Jin Jian watched him with a serious look, then turned his gaze to the dead.

"Nam Myeong Bul. May you find peace in the Pure Land."

He clasped his hands in prayer and then spurred his horse to follow Zhang Jian. The cold wind from the distant Salt Lake stirred the clothes of the dead, but they remained motionless.

Jin Jian increased his horse's speed to stay close to Zhang Jian. Despite the risk of biting his tongue, he shouted while riding.

"When will we catch up with the pursuit team or Zhen Zhao!"

Zhang Jian glanced at Jin Jian and then turned his gaze forward.

"If Zhen Yuan isn't just running blindly, he shouldn't be too far! It's likely that the split pursuit teams and he are chasing each other around this area!"

As he said, it turned out to be true. Zhang Jian and Jin Jian soon found more bodies. These were less orderly, and several horses were also dead. Zhen Yuan's trail had become more violent.

Some bodies had their heads completely crushed, making them unrecognizable, and others had their necks broken and chests caved in. Jin Jian's expression grew increasingly serious.

"Amitabha..."

Zhang Jian, who had dismounted to inspect the scene, also frowned in confusion. Clearly, Zhen Yuan was being pursued by over a hundred men with serious injuries, but the immediate evidence suggested he was far from a tired and wounded fugitive. Instead, he seemed to be regaining his strength.

"Warrior Zhang, we must follow the next trail quickly. Before Zhen Zhao crosses a point of no return."

"Hmm."

Zhang Jian's expression also grew serious. While he was worried that Zhen Yuan might kill all the Jian Long Men pursuers, the main reason for his concern was the approaching darkness. It would be difficult to track the trail at night, but they couldn't afford to stop.

Zhang Jian subtly observed Jin Jian's expression. He and Zaozao were used to traveling day and night, so night travel was not a problem for them. But would the Shaolin monk be the same? If Jin Jian's horse broke a leg, it would be quite troublesome.

However, Jin Jian's determined expression suggested he wouldn't agree to stop for the night. After a moment's thought, Zhang Jian shrugged and remounted Zaozao. He then began to follow the remaining trail, and Jin Jian, who had been chanting prayers for the dead, quickly followed.

The landscape ahead became increasingly flat, with fewer hills. The sparse grass and small trees gradually thinned out. The ground felt slightly damp, but the vegetation was decreasing, creating a strange sensation. The sun was setting, and the vast, flat land stretched out, making it hard to gauge the distance to the horizon and the mountains in the distance.

Then, Zhang Jian spotted more bodies in the distance. This time, the scene was different. The bodies were scattered, with broken heads, shattered limbs, and blood pooling around them. Zhang Jian estimated that one of the split pursuit teams had been completely wiped out here.

Both Zhang Jian and Jin Jian dismounted to inspect the bodies.

"Amitabha... Zhen Zhao... How could you..."

The Jian Long Men warriors' bodies were all headless. In the previous battles, Zhen Yuan had used minimal force on each person, but this time, he seemed to have poured excessive power into most of the warriors. There were even bodies of warriors and horses that appeared to have died while fleeing.

Zhang Jian stopped in front of one of the bodies. The man was lying on his back with a long wooden stake impaled through his chest, pinning him to the ground.

"Ugh..."

The body was horrifically mutilated. The eyes were gouged out, the nose torn off, and the mouth was wide open, with the tongue missing. The limbs were twisted several times, resembling a writhing invertebrate, and the intestines were scattered around the split abdomen. Although Zhang Jian hadn't known Zhen Yuan for long, he had never expected such a gruesome act, and he let out a low groan.

Jin Jian, who had been inspecting another area, approached upon hearing the groan and, upon seeing the body, let out a sigh of despair and looked up at the sky.

"Ah... Zhen Zhao... You have fallen into demonic possession. Unable to shake off your inner turmoil, you have embraced it..."

"What happened? He doesn't seem like someone who would do this."

Jin Jian's eyes were filled with sorrow and regret.

"Posession by demonic influence. After losing his beloved and killing many in his rage, it's perhaps inevitable. His inner turmoil and demons are distorting him, turning him into a monster. If we don't stop him soon, he will truly become a demon... We must follow the trail quickly."

At this, Zhang Jian, who had been groaning, suddenly turned his head. In the distance, he saw people riding towards them.

"Another problem has arrived. It's the pursuit team. What should we do?"

The distance was still considerable, and they could avoid them if they wished. However, Jin Jian, upon seeing them, spoke in a firm tone.

"Their pursuit is meaningless now. Meeting Zhen Zhao will only lead to more unnecessary deaths. We must stop them."

"Will they listen to us so easily?"

Jin Jian raised his fist, which was as solid as a rock.

"If necessary, I will guide them."

With that, he stepped forward to wait for them. Zhang Jian, deciding to observe what he would do, crossed his arms and stood behind him.

Soon, about thirty Jian Long Men warriors rode up and stopped at a distance. They looked at Jin Jian and Zhang Jian with puzzled expressions, then their faces hardened when they saw their dead comrades behind them.

One of the middle-aged men stepped forward, drawing his sword and leading his horse.

"From your attire, you seem to be a monk. What are you doing here? And those bodies behind you look like Jian Long Men disciples!"

Jin Jian, with a serious face, clasped his hands in prayer and spoke.

"I am Jin Jian of Shaolin. I implore you to calm down and listen to me."

His deep, resonant voice echoed across the plain and reached the ears of the Jian Long Men warriors. Zhang Jian sensed the power of his inner energy and the calming influence in his voice, realizing it was a form of the Lion's Roar. Having experienced the energy of the Great Circulation Pill and the Shaolin Lion's Roar, Zhang Jian felt he could now produce a real Lion's Roar himself.

"The one you are pursuing is on the brink of demonic possession. He is in a state that ordinary martial artists cannot handle. The bodies behind you show the power and abilities he now possesses. The injuries he once received from Jian Long Men are no longer a hindrance to him."

The middle-aged warrior swallowed hard at Jin Jian's resonant voice.

"Shaolin... How did a monk from Shaolin end up here..."

"Though it is embarrassing, it is because the one you are pursuing is a disciple of Shaolin. I will intercept him and escort him back to Shaolin, and I will personally return to Jian Long Men with an apology."

The Jian Long Men warriors murmured among themselves.

"That madman was a Shaolin monk?"

"No wonder he was so strong and had a shaved head..."

The middle-aged warrior, who had stepped forward with a dazed expression, regained his composure at their murmurs. He asked in a slightly puzzled tone.

"So, what do you want? To help us catch the assassin?"

"No. I ask that you collect the bodies and return. If possible, join forces with the other pursuit teams. I will escort Zhen Zhao to Shaolin."

The middle-aged warrior was momentarily stunned, then his face contorted as he pointed his sword at Jin Jian and shouted.

"Are you serious? He assassinated our sect leader! And you're telling us to back off because we can't handle him? That's ridiculous! Do you think you can do what a hundred pursuit team members couldn't? Even if you're from Shaolin, that's arrogant-"

At that moment, a whistling sound was heard, followed by a metallic clang. The middle-aged warrior's sword, which he had pointed forward, broke in half. He stared at the broken sword, then slowly turned his gaze to the source of the light he had seen.

There, Zhang Jian stood, his left hand resting on his scabbard and his right hand casually rolling something. To the middle-aged warrior, it looked like a coin.

Zhang Jian, looking at him, said.

"Not alone. There are two of us."

The murmuring Jian Long Men warriors fell silent. The middle-aged warrior was the senior member of the Jian Long Men strike team, the most senior and the strongest among the split pursuit teams. A coin had broken his sword, a feat that was terrifying even to them. Were the martial artists of the martial arts alliance's strike team or patrol team at this level? No, it was rare for anyone to master projectile techniques, and even rarer to have such speed. He couldn't even imagine how fast Zhang Jian would be with a sword.

The middle-aged warrior, trembling, looked back and forth between Jin Jian and Zhang Jian. The Jian Long Men, a formal member of the martial arts alliance, were responsible for maintaining order in this region, and their warriors were proud and skilled.

But a master who could break a sword with a coin was a level of expertise that even they feared. The martial arts alliance's strike team or patrol team might be at this level, but projectile techniques were extremely rare. He couldn't even guess how fast Zhang Jian would be with a sword.

The middle-aged warrior, trembling, finally slipped the broken sword back into its scabbard. Seeing his lack of fighting spirit and the quiet warriors, Jin Jian, still in prayer, slowly bowed.

"Thank you for stepping back. After escorting Zhen Zhao, I will return with an apology and appropriate compensation."

The Jian Long Men warriors exchanged glances, unable to speak. But Jin Jian didn't wait for their response. He turned and mounted his horse, looking at Zhang Jian. Zhang Jian, who had been rolling a coin in his hand, chuckled and mounted Zaozao. He then looked at the hesitant Jian Long Men warriors and followed the trail leading east. Jin Jian quickly followed.

Zhang Jian glanced back and saw the Jian Long Men warriors slowly approaching the bodies to collect them.

"Your skills are impressive. You know projectile techniques?"

Jin Jian, riding beside him, asked. Zhang Jian turned his head forward and replied.

"No, I just watched someone use it over their shoulder."

"Over their shoulder, and you learned that much?"

Zhang Jian smiled faintly but didn't answer. Jin Jian didn't press further. The two rode into the darkening plain.

* * *

"Nam Myeong Bul."

Jin Jian, with slightly tired eyes, looked amazed.

The new continent is... an amazing place."

Jin Jian, who was chasing his disciple, couldn't help but marvel at the scenery before him. Zhang Jian, who had never seen such a salt plain, fixed his gaze and didn't respond. The endless white salt and sand made it feel like they had entered another world. Some might find the endless white plain beautiful, while others might find it terrifying.

Then, Jin Jian's horse let out a tired whinny and stopped. It seemed unable to continue after a night of walking and running. Seeing this, Zaozao also pretended to be too tired and collapsed. Jin Jian dismounted with a serious face.

"Nam Myeong Bul... It's hard to continue riding, but we haven't found my disciple yet..."

Seeing Zaoao's quick collapse, Zhang Jian chuckled and patted the horse's rump.

"Come on, just stand up for a moment. I won't touch you after that."

The horse, still skeptical, slowly stood up. Zhang Jian patted its neck and stepped onto the stirrup, standing up. He then shaded his eyes with his hands and looked around the salt plain.

"Even in a plain, it's hard to see..."

"I found it. We're almost there."

After scanning the plain, Zhang Jian said and lightly jumped off Zaozao's saddle. Stepping on the salt ground, he adjusted the sword at his waist and said.

"It seems the last pursuit team and he are fighting now. The horses are too tired to run. We'll have to run from here."

Jin Jian, hearing this, opened his eyes wide and asked.

"Which direction?"

"Over there."

He immediately looked in the direction Zhang Jian indicated. He could see something small moving in the distance. Confirming this, he immediately took off.

Zhang Jian, who had tied his hood to Zaozao's saddle, watched him. His running style was rough but similar to the lightness technique he used. It seemed that a history of a few hundred years did have its merits.

After tying the hood, Zhang Jian patted Zaozao's cheek and said.

"Take care of your friend."

Zaozao, seeing Jin Jian's horse collapse beside him, snorted, as if wondering why it was his friend. Zhang Jian chuckled and followed Jin Jian. Jin Jian, who had started earlier, quickly caught up.

The two men ran across the pristine white plain, with no obstacles or landmarks. The hard salt and sand crumbled under their feet, sending up a faint dust.

As they ran, Jin Jian, who had been running for a while, took a deep breath. He could now distinguish Zhen Yuan and the pursuit team being slaughtered by him.

A long, deep voice, like a large bell ringing, echoed across the plain.

"Zhen Zhao!"