Chapter 93

The village was surrounded by hundreds of armored soldiers, their sharp arrows aimed at the more than a hundred people, including Xiaohua, who were pale and terrified.

Three bodies lay on the ground, arrows piercing their bodies, their blood staining the earth beneath their feet.

"Tell me, have you seen this person?"

A middle-aged man in golden armor held a portrait in his hand and shouted coldly.

On the white paper was a drawing of a handsome young man with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes—none other than Longchen.

"We've already told you, there's no one named Longchen here. We don't know what you're talking about. Your group is so barbaric, why are you killing people randomly?" Xiaohua's face was pale, filled with shock and anger.

Suddenly, a group of people appeared and instantly surrounded the village. Three hunters who had just run out were shot dead.

This made them both shocked and angry, but facing hundreds of longbows, they didn't dare to move. Some people gritted their teeth, wishing they could charge and fight to the death.

"Hmph, it seems you won't shed a tear until you see a coffin. Kill those children first, and see if they will tell the truth," the middle-aged man sneered, giving a signal to a few of his men, who immediately aimed their bows at the dozen or so children.

"Animals, how dare you?"

The village chief roared, shielding the children with his body, shouting at the middle-aged man.

"Kill"

The middle-aged man's face was cold, not even glancing at the old man. In his eyes, these villagers were nothing but grass.

"Kill, we're not afraid. Brother Longchen will definitely kill you all to avenge us."

A child suddenly broke free from the adults' protection, pointing at the middle-aged man, his face filled with anger.

"Xiaohu, what are you saying?"

The old village chief was shocked and quickly shouted to stop him, but it was too late.

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up, a cold smile appearing on his face: "Indeed, Longchen has been here. Kill them all, and we'll continue searching. He can't have gone far."

Following the order, the soldiers aimed their bows at the terrified villagers and released their arrows mercilessly, like a rainstorm.

"Looking for death"

Suddenly, a fierce shout echoed, making everyone's eardrums ring. A figure rushed to Xiaohua and the others, a long sword in hand, releasing a terrifying sword aura that slashed down.

"Bang"

Most of the arrows were deflected by Longchen's sword, but a dozen or so still hit the crowd, causing screams and the cries of children.

Seeing Longchen descend from the sky, the soldiers were stunned, even the middle-aged man was shocked.

"Zhou Weiqing, you bastard, you all will die for me"

Longchen's killing intent boiled. He recognized the man in front of him—it was none other than the Marquis of the Wilderness, Zhou Weiqing.

This scoundrel had actually attacked defenseless women and children, worse than a beast, let alone that they were his saviors.

"Wind Cutting Slash"

Longchen roared, his broadsword slicing horizontally, releasing an invisible sword aura like a transparent crescent moon, cutting through the stunned soldiers.

"Thud, thud, thud, thud..."

The violent sword aura swept through, and before the soldiers could react, they were cut into pieces, blood splattering everywhere.

Hundreds of soldiers were killed by Longchen's single strike. At that moment, Longchen seemed like a god of death, his killing intent undiminished.

Only the Marquis of the Wilderness, Zhou Weiqing, escaped. When he saw the unharmed Longchen, he knew something was wrong.

According to the intelligence, Longchen was on the verge of death, and even if he had escaped, he would be severely injured and could collapse at any moment.

But the Fourth Prince had insisted, demanding to see Longchen alive or dead, otherwise, he couldn't rest easy. He sent a skilled tracker with hunting dogs, and after more than half a month of pursuit, they found the village.

They knew Longchen had either been to the village or was hiding there to recover, so the Marquis of the Wilderness decided to kill the villagers to force Longchen to show himself.

He guessed right, Longchen did appear, but he only guessed the beginning, not the end. The appearance of an unharmed Longchen scared him to death.

When Longchen and Huang Shang fought, his name shook Fengming. The Marquis of the Wilderness was only at the initial Blood Condensation stage, how could he be Longchen's match?

He thought he was catching a dying tiger, but everything went wrong. Seeing Longchen's strike, he didn't think twice, retreating quickly and pulling out a shield to protect himself.

When Longchen's sword aura arrived, he had already retreated to the edge of the attack. Even so, his shield exploded, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

But the Marquis of the Wilderness was indeed a skilled warrior, a true veteran. He endured the pain in his chest, using the recoil to drift into the forest, fleeing into the distance.

"Want to run?"

A cruel smile appeared on Longchen's face. He hooked his foot, making an arrow bounce up, caught it, and threw it.

"Whistling"

The arrow shot through the air like lightning, flying towards the fleeing Marquis of the Wilderness, who was unaware of the deadly arrow behind him.

"Thud"

The arrow pierced the shoulder armor of the Marquis of the Wilderness, the terrifying force making his golden armor useless.

The Marquis of the Wilderness was suddenly jolted, thrown by the force, flying dozens of feet and being pinned to a tree.

Blood spurted out, the force on Longchen's arrow having shattered his internal organs.

"Xiaoxue, don't kill him"

Longchen suddenly saw a white light rushing towards the Marquis of the Wilderness and quickly shouted. He needed the Marquis of the Wilderness alive, and didn't want Xiaoxue to finish him off.

Hearing Longchen's shout, Xiaoxue stopped, approaching the tree where the Marquis of the Wilderness was pinned, motionless.

Seeing the Marquis of the Wilderness restrained, Longchen hurried to the others, checking their arrow wounds. Three people had been hit in vital areas and died instantly, including a seven or eight-year-old child.

This made Longchen's heart ache. It was all his fault. He was filled with hatred, but he didn't know whether to hate the Marquis of the Wilderness, the Fourth Prince, or himself.

He quickly gave the severely injured people medicinal pills. As long as they hadn't died on the spot, Longchen's pills would ensure they were fine.

Others also came to help, gathering the bodies of the dead, and the entire village fell into a state of sorrow.

"Village Chief, I'm sorry"

Longchen looked at the old man with tears streaming down his face, feeling guilty. It was all his fault.

"Child, it's not your fault. Don't blame yourself," the old man shook his head.

The more he said this, the more Longchen felt guilty. If it weren't for him, the village would never have faced such a disaster.

"Longchen, we understand your feelings. We are all one family. Don't be like this," Xiaohua comforted him softly.

Longchen took a deep breath and said to Xiaohua, "Xiaohua, I have to leave."

Xiaohua's body trembled, her eyes filled with shock, "You... you're leaving us?"

Seeing Xiaohua's disappointed face and uncontrollable tears, Longchen said softly, "I'm sorry, I have to leave. You've seen, I carry a grudge. If I don't leave, it will bring more misfortune to the village."

He gently brushed the hair from Xiaohua's temple and said softly, "The village has done too much for me. I can't drag you down anymore. I hope... you can forgive me."

"Slap"

Xiaohua pushed away Longchen's hand, her face filled with sorrow, "You bastard, you liar, I hate you."

She covered her mouth and ran into her room, slamming the door shut.

Longchen sighed, looking at the closed door, unable to say a word. He remembered when he first woke up, Xiaohua had said she was his woman, her face filled with a sweet and content smile.

"Child, you don't have to be so troubled. If you want to leave, go. Remember, if you find it hard outside, you can always come back. This is your home too," the old man patted Longchen's shoulder, speaking earnestly.

"Thank you, Village Chief." The old man's words made Longchen feel a bit better.

"As for Xiaohua, I'll talk to her. Don't worry, Xiaohua is a sensible girl. She'll understand eventually."

Longchen nodded, taking out some medicinal pills from his spatial ring. These pills were of varying quality, but even the worst were like elixirs to the hunters.

With the Forest God gone, the village had lost its support. In the future, they would have to rely on themselves. Longchen left a large batch of healing pills and some formulas for healing liquids, which they could make themselves in the future.

Although the village had some formulas, they couldn't compare to Longchen's. Besides the pills, Longchen also wrote down some cultivation insights for the Qi Gathering stage, as well as the Wind Cutting Fist and Wind Chasing Step techniques he had learned, leaving them behind.

This was to help the village cultivate some strong warriors in the future. If the village had a few Blood Condensation stage warriors, their safety would be greatly improved.

He also left dozens of Blood Breaking Pills. If someone reached the ninth level of Qi Gathering, they could take a Blood Breaking Pill to advance to the Blood Condensation stage.

However, breaking through with pills would leave some flaws in their cultivation, but for the villagers, it wasn't a concern. Without Longchen's help, they had little hope of reaching the Blood Condensation stage.

It took several hours to arrange everything. Longchen believed that from today, the village would become stronger.

With pills, techniques, and weapons, they could survive well even without the Forest God.

At the village entrance, everyone came out, looking at Longchen with reluctance. Some children clung to his legs, not letting him go.

This scene made Longchen's heart ache, but he had to leave. The only regret was that Xiaohua's door remained closed, showing that she was still angry with him.

After saying goodbye to everyone, Longchen was about to leave.

"Wait"

Longchen paused, slowly turning his head. Xiaohua's door opened, and she ran out, coming to Longchen.

Her clear, bright eyes were now red from crying, making her look pitiful.

"Longchen, I know I can't keep you. This is something I just made. I hope you can keep it with you."

She held out a necklace made of colorful stones.

"Hehe, such a poor gift, I don't know if it will be laughed at," Xiaohua laughed, but tears streamed down her face.

"I'll keep it well. Why don't you come with me?" Longchen looked at Xiaohua, his heart aching.

Xiaohua's eyes brightened slightly but quickly dimmed. She shook her head, "We are from different worlds. I can't leave my family. I just hope that when you see this necklace in the future, you'll remember a girl who... wanted to hunt and have children with you."

Her voice choked up, and she finally collapsed into Longchen's arms, sobbing.

Longchen didn't know how he left. He felt his heart break. He experienced a helplessness that even high cultivation couldn't solve.

Holding the half-dead Marquis of the Wilderness, Longchen disappeared into the depths of the forest.

Xiaohua watched as Longchen's figure disappeared from her sight, tears blurring her vision. A gentle breeze blew, stirring the falling leaves. Autumn was cold.