Chapter 43

At the great rumbling that shook the Salt Plains, Jin Yuanshang, who was just about to smash the head of a Jianlong Sect warrior he had grabbed, suddenly turned his head. His bloodshot eyes and demon-like twisted face made him seem nothing like the Jin Yuanshang that Zhang Jian had met in the past. A large, dark red scab was stuck to his chest.

"Scoundrel! Jin Zao!"

Jin Jian shouted again and ran towards Jin Yuanshang. Despite clearly seeing Jin Jian running towards him, Jin Yuanshang instead glared at him and twisted the neck of the Jianlong Sect warrior he was holding. The captured warrior, unable to put up any resistance, fell with his head spinning a couple of times.

"Jin Zao, you...!"

Seeing this, Jin Jian was momentarily stunned, but then he ran even faster with a stern face. He charged straight at Jin Yuanshang. The warriors of Jianlong Sect, who were about to die at Jin Yuanshang's hands, turned their attention to the approaching monk and quickly tried to retreat.

However, Jin Yuanshang did not let them escape.

"Ah! Don't come any closer!"

"S-Save me!"

Jin Yuanshang's fist struck the head of a Jianlong Sect warrior trying to escape. His punch was as direct and fast as Jin Jian's charge, and at the same time, it was powerful. The warrior's head shattered, scattering blood, broken bones, and torn flesh.

Jin Yuanshang moved quickly, as if determined to kill as many Jianlong Sect warriors as possible before Jin Jian arrived. Just as the number of headless corpses reached two, Jin Jian leaped from the salt ground.

"You scoundrel!"

Jin Jian shouted with a hoarse voice and plunged his fist. However, even as the attack came, Jin Yuanshang managed to kill another Jianlong Sect warrior and quickly countered with a punch. The rock-hard fists of the two Shaolin monks collided.

The clash of their inner energies produced a loud, drum-like sound. At the same time, the ground Jin Yuanshang stood on trembled, and white salt and sand rose like dust. Jin Jian, still in the position of the collision, grimaced and shouted as if vomiting.

"Scoundrel, Jin Zao! How can a disciple who practices the teachings of the Buddha commit such a heinous act!"

Jin Yuanshang did not answer with words. He only roared like a beast and exerted all his strength into the punch. Jin Jian, unable to resist the force, was pushed back, spinning in the air before landing on the ground.

"Jin Zao! Can't you even recognize your senior brother!"

Jin Jian's face, as he landed, was a mix of anger and sorrow. But Jin Yuanshang, baring his teeth and with a twisted face, replied.

"Of course I recognize you, Senior Brother Jin Jian. I didn't expect you to find me so quickly. Ah, perhaps it was inevitable. After all, you were the only one I told about my correspondence with Xiaoxiao."

The calm tone was that of the Shaolin monk Zhang Jian had met before. However, the voice that spoke these words was hoarse and rough, like that of a wild beast. Jin Jian was shocked that he could speak so calmly.

"How...?"

"Why, Senior Brother Jin Jian? Are you surprised that I can still speak coherently even after being possessed by demonic influence?"

Jin Jian's expression changed from shock to confusion.

"...Do you even realize that you are possessed by demonic influence?"

Jin Yuanshang relaxed his twisted face and chuckled. Despite this, he still looked deranged with blood covering his hands, clothes, and face.

"Yes, of course. How could I not know that my inner energy is reversing and my qi and blood are twisted, and that a more powerful inner energy is surging, stronger than my original martial arts? Moreover, the taste of human blood is sweet, and my mind is constantly filled with rage and hatred. If this isn't demonic possession, what is?"

"You, you...! Scoundrel Jin Zao...! How can you know your condition so well...!"

"What does it matter if I'm possessed by demonic influence? Thanks to it, I can hold these scoundrels accountable for what happened to Xiaoxiao."

Jin Yuanshang said this while kicking the corpse of a Jianlong Sect warrior on the ground as if it were trash. Jin Jian, seeing this, shouted in anger.

"Jin Zao! Show respect to the dead! And how can you say they are responsible for Yang Xiaoxiao's death! She was poisoned by her husband and paid the price for her crime! Although the punishment was harsh, it doesn't justify assassinating the leader of Jianlong Sect and massacring the disciples! How can you, after practicing the Buddha's teachings for over ten years—"

"What more reason do I need—!"

Jin Jian was startled by the sudden, tearing scream and stopped speaking. Jin Yuanshang was staring directly at him.

"Xiaoxiao is dead, Senior Brother! She suffered abuse from a dog for ten years, and when that dog tried to touch her daughter, she couldn't bear it anymore! They hanged her because it harmed their interests! Where is the compassion and justice I learned and practiced for ten years? Where is the Buddha's compassion, and where is the law of cause and effect—!"

As he screamed, tears of blood began to stream down his bloodshot eyes.

"...Senior Brother Jin Jian. I am truly grateful for how you treated me like family. I know you considered Shaolin a home, and my fellow disciples and master as true family. That's why you opened the path of practice for someone like me and helped me. But to be honest, I never forgot my worries for the past ten years. I never forgot Xiaoxiao."

Jin Yuanshang, having calmed down a bit, spoke in a more composed tone.

"Even though I became a monk in the temple and she got married, her occasional letters kept me going. Even when I couldn't sleep at night due to my past cowardice and regrets, her letters gave me hope, and the fact that she was living happily kept me from throwing myself off a cliff again."

Listening to his story, Jin Jian closed his eyes tightly and softly recited a Buddhist chant.

"But what is this? Who should I hold accountable? The man who tormented her for a long time is already dead. Shouldn't I hold accountable those who stood by and did nothing for so long? These scoundrels and their leaders have only paid the price they deserved."

"...Amitabha..."

Jin Jian, unable to respond, kept his eyes closed and raised his head to the sky.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jian, who had been listening to their conversation a step back, took in the scene. The blood-stained renegade monk and the Shaolin monk facing him, the dead bodies and the wounded Jianlong Sect warriors trembling in fear, and the pristine white ground they stood on. But ultimately, the two monks facing each other were just a man in sorrow and a brother concerned for his family.

At that moment, Jin Yuanshang's bloodshot eyes turned to him.

"Zhang Jian. Senior Brother Jin Jian found his way in this wilderness thanks to you. How is your body?"

"...I'm fine. Is that all you're curious about?"

Jin Yuanshang chuckled.

"Then what else is there?"

Zhang Jian, looking at Jin Yuanshang with a deep, calm gaze, spoke again.

"Aren't you curious about the child?"

"...The child? Ah, the child. What happened? Was the illness cured?"

Zhang Jian nodded in response.

"The medicine worked well. If he learns martial arts later, he will become a great master."

"Is that so? Then please step aside. I have business with the ones behind you."

Behind Zhang Jian were the Jianlong Sect warriors who had retreated during the confrontation between Jin Jian and Jin Yuanshang. Most were injured, as if torn by some kind of hook, or had broken limbs. Glancing at them, Zhang Jian asked again.

"Is that all? Aren't you curious about the child?"

"What more should I be curious about? Saving his life with the Great Revitalizing Pill is enough."

At this, Jin Jian's eyes widened.

"That child is the daughter of Yang Xiaoxiao, whom you loved so much! How can you—"

"And the daughter of that scoundrel. Saving her life with the Great Revitalizing Pill seems to fulfill my duty to Xiaoxiao."

As he spoke, dark energy mixed with blood tears streamed from Jin Yuanshang's eyes. His voice was calm, but the aura in his eyes and the raspy tone of his voice showed that he was no longer the monk Jin Zao, no longer in his right mind. At the same time, the scab on his chest cracked a little, and blood trickled down.

"...You may seem to speak rationally, but you are ultimately possessed by demonic influence and killing people recklessly. So, stop now. Let's return to Shaolin. Your master and fellow disciples are waiting for you. Stealing the Great Revitalizing Pill was to save a life, so it can be considered. Let's return together and treat your wounds and demonic possession—"

"No, Senior Brother Jin Jian. I won't return to Shaolin. I will return to Yanhu City. I will kill all the scoundrels who bear the name of Jianlong Sect and hang their bodies on the buildings of Yanhu City. Then, the people living there will learn a lesson."

Saying this, Jin Yuanshang shook off the blood from his arms and continued.

"Let's stop talking, Senior Brother Jin Jian, Zhang Jian. Step aside. Or do you want to die with those scoundrels?"

The surviving Jianlong Sect warriors, already trembling, looked at Zhang Jian and Jin Jian with anxious eyes. Nearly twenty of their comrades were already dead, and most of the rest were injured.

"P-Please..."

"We don't even know who this Yang Xiaoxiao is... Please... Please have mercy..."

They couldn't even speak loudly. They just raised their trembling hands pitifully and looked at Zhang Jian and Jin Jian.

Zhang Jian observed their state. Jianlong Sect had paid a heavy price. With the assassination of the leader and the death of about half of their main force at Jin Yuanshang's hands, the name Jianlong Sect would likely not last long. Should the remaining half be killed as well? Had they all done something so wrong that they deserved to die? No, that wasn't the case.

If they were to be massacred, even those who no longer had the will to fight, it would be unnecessary. These people had maintained order in the area, and without them, Yanhu City would either become a den of evil or not form as a city at all.

Turning his eyes back to Jin Yuanshang, Zhang Jian took a step forward, gripping the scabbard with his left hand. He had no intention of stepping aside or dying with them. The only option left was to fight with all his might.

At that moment, Jin Jian raised his hand to block Zhang Jian's path. When Zhang Jian looked at him in surprise, Jin Jian, with a deeply sunken gaze, looked at Jin Yuanshang and spoke quietly.

"...What belongs to Shaolin should return to Shaolin. Please wait for me to handle this."

Seeing Jin Jian, who looked ten years older in that brief moment, Zhang Jian was silent for a while. After a moment, he released the scabbard he was holding with his left hand, crossed his arms, and stepped back.

"...Thank you, Warrior Zhang."

Jin Jian, after a brief thank you, stepped forward. His tightly pressed lips and deeply furrowed brows showed the weight of his thoughts. However, seeing Jin Jian's expression, Jin Yuanshang chuckled.

"Are you going to fight me for them, Senior Brother Jin Jian? Are these scoundrels more important than the fellow disciples you practiced with for ten years? What a great compassion."

"...Great compassion is not that, Jin Zao. I..."

But Jin Jian couldn't finish his sentence. He closed his eyes tightly once, then opened them again and said,

"No, words won't change anything. Raise your fist, Fellow Disciple Jin Zao. It seems we must decide everything by the law of this new continent."

Saying this, he slowly took his stance. He turned his body to the side, facing Jin Yuanshang, and spread his feet wide, bending his knees into a horse stance. His left arm was extended, pointing at his opponent with a fist, and his right arm was raised and bent, guarding the upper part and also pointing at Jin Yuanshang with a fist.

This was an unfamiliar stance, developed not for quickly killing an opponent but for a more traditional and disciplined approach, and it exuded the grandeur of Shaolin that had been passed down for hundreds of years. Zhang Jian couldn't take his eyes off it.

Jin Yuanshang, seeing this stance, chuckled again. He made his hands into claw-like shapes, crossed them in front of his chest, and extended them, also bending his knees to lower his stance.

Then, silence fell. The salty wind blew gently, but there was no rustling of grass or leaves, and no sound of leaves. The sky was clear, and the sun, now fully risen, illuminated the clear sky and the Salt Plains in a bright white.

In the next moment, as if a signal had been given, Jin Jian and Jin Yuanshang simultaneously charged at each other.