Blade - Unbound

Li Yan's emotions were complicated as he looked over a battered Heidan. Ever since his grandfather's passing, perhaps to escape the place filled with painful memories, he had settled everything at home before slipping away from Li Clan's Fort under the cover of night.

Now, nearly half a year had passed wandering the jianghu. At the end of the day, he had lived at Li Clan’s Fort for many years. To say he didn't miss it would be a lie. Sometimes he still dreamed of his grandfather bellowing Qin operas beneath the setting sun while waiting for his return.

When he woke, his clothes would already be soaked with tears. Among all his childhood companions, Heidan was perhaps the only one in Li Clan's Fort with whom he had truly been close. However, he had left without even saying goodbye.

Never had he imagined that they would meet again here.

"Brother... Brother Yan... Waaaah..."

The poor kid had clearly been frightened out of his wits. It took him quite a while before he recognized Li Yan, and he couldn't even form a complete sentence.

Li Yan said softly, "Don't be afraid. We can talk after this is over."

A trace of killing intent had already risen in Li Yan's eyes.

As he calmed Heidan down, three burly men came furiously charging down the street. Dragons and tigers were tattooed across their chests, and daggers hung from their waists, frightening the nearby pedestrians into scattering.

The man in the lead cursed, "Hey! Where did this worthless bastard come from? Get lost!"

He leaped into the air, lifting his right leg to kick Li Yan square in the lower back. Li Yan pulled Heidan aside before sweeping out with a low kick. He showed no mercy whatsoever, even using hidden force.

Crack!

A miserable scream rang out as the man crashed face-first onto the ground, smashing his face bloody. He didn't even care about that, instead clutching his leg while screaming curses.

"You little son of a bitch...!"

His left shin had snapped clean in two. Bone protruded through his flesh, and blood quickly stained the surrounding snow crimson.

Between his cries in pain, he screamed, "Kill him!"

The remaining men were all hardened desperadoes. Rather than being frightened, they immediately drew their daggers and charged.

They could already tell from Li Yan's move that he was someone from the jianghu. Two rushed from the front, acting as decoys. Just as they neared Li Yan, they simultaneously rolled to either side, reversed their grips on their daggers, and lunged from both flanks.

At the same time, the man behind them removed a cloth pouch from his waist, and scattered its contents with a violent shake. A cloud of white lime powder flew directly toward Li Yan's face.

Their coordination was flawless, and it was obvious they had done their fair share of crimes.

Unfortunately for them, Li Yan had already activated his divine ability and had noticed everything. Turning sideways, he unleashed Silkhand, seizing one attacker's knife wrist before twisting it backward.

This was the Red Fist grappling technique known as Golden Silk Entwines the Wrist. The Red Fist specialized in hooking strikes, and naturally excelled in grappling techniques as well.

Li Yan merely gave a slight twist, and the man's joints erupted with searing pain. Not only did his dagger fall, but he cried out as his body involuntarily fell sideways, placing himself directly in front of Li Yan.

Pfft!

Li Yan had moved far too quickly. The attacker from the other flank had no time to stop his strike and drove his dagger straight into his companion's lower back. Panicking, he had just begun pulling the dagger free when the white lime powder descended, coating both himself and his companion in white.

Meanwhile, Li Yan delivered a Wind-Facing Kick straight at the two who were tangled together. Both of them were sent flying, crashing into the accomplice behind them who had thrown the powder. All three tumbled across the ground, crying out in agony.

Another four or five men came running down the street.

One of the men on the ground yelled, "Be careful! He's tough!"

These men had long grown accustomed to bullying others. Seeing their companions beaten, they cursed furiously and rushed forward, intending to overwhelm Li Yan through sheer numbers.

Just then, a cold shout rang out from behind them. "Everyone, stop!"

The men halted, though their faces remained fierce as they surrounded Li Yan and Heidan with daggers and hatchets in hand.

"Brother Guo! He's a trained fighter!"

"Little Six and the others have been crippled! Brother Guo, kill him!"

The men shouted angrily, causing everyone on the street to flee.

Ever since ancient times, people of the Divine Continent had loved watching a good spectacle. Some would even skip their meals just to enjoy the excitement, let alone something like that.

Thus, within moments, a crowd had gathered around ten zhang away.

"Oho! They're fighting!"

"It's the Fire Bear Gang..."

"Hero! Hurry up and make your move! Killing even one would be worth it!"

Some troublemakers hiding in the crowd couldn't resist egging things on. Li Yan ignored them completely and narrowed his eyes at the group opposite him.

They really were members of the Fire Bear Gang...

He had already suspected as much. Hearing the commotion from the crowd merely confirmed it. The others had practiced a few days of martial arts at most. They were somewhat stronger than the gangs back in Xianyang, but not by much.

He could deal with them with one hand tied behind his back. The only thing was, the tall, lean man standing in the center posed a real threat. No matter how one looked at him, he was nothing like the bulky or stout men surrounding him. In the jianghu, it was precisely such abnormalities that were most dangerous.

Old men, children, and women all appeared weak, yet anyone capable of surviving in the jianghu invariably possessed one or two extraordinary skills.

The man was no exception, with twin blades hung at his waist. He was standing casually, his body remained slightly bent, his stance neither rigid nor soft. His arms were loosely raised, but his palms hovered just above the sword hilts.

It was the posture of an experienced swordsman.

The man bellowed, "Shut up, all of you!"

The silence was instant. A young man behind him hurried forward and whispered, "Brother Guo, that's Li Yan."

Guo Ai narrowed his eyes, murderous intent flashing within them as several words escaped through clenched teeth. "The young hero, huh?"

Normally, when jianghu people encountered such a situation, both sides would first exchange coded underworld phrases, subtly trade threats, and quietly gauge one another.

Unfortunately, Li Yan had no interest in wasting words. Patting Heidan on the shoulder, he asked, "Don't be afraid, Heidan. Which one of them hit you?"

Despite hearing that, Heidan had no mind for revenge. Instead, he grabbed Li Yan's sleeve and pleaded desperately, "Brother Yan! Brother Yan! I'm fine! Hurry and save my uncle!"

"Your uncle?" Li Yan frowned before looking at the brutes. "Where is he? Release him first. After that, I'll deal with you."

One of the brutes yelled, "Well now, what a bold mouth you've got!"

Guo Ai, the tall, lean man, had originally intended to tell Li Yan to mind his own business, but Li Yan's words amused him instead. "Kid, tell me then. What if we don't release him?"

Li Yan glanced at him indifferently before saying softly, "Simple. If he's still alive and hasn't lost any arms or legs, then I can calmly discuss compensation with you.

"But if anything's happened to him, there won't be any peaceful resolution."

Guo Ai was stubborn by nature as well. He sneered. "Fuck your mum. The man's already dead. I would like to see what you plan to do about it!"

Heidan felt as though he'd been struck by lightning and collapsed onto the ground. "What?!"

Killing intent also burst forth from Li Yan. "What am I going to do about it? Alright, then, I'll show you!"

"No problem."

At that moment, another man rushed over. "Brother Guo, don't fight!"

He whispered urgently, "Brother Guo, the Boss said not to create unnecessary trouble. Pick someone else and let them go. We'll settle things after today's business is over."

Guo Ai drew a deep breath. He had calmed down by then, and remembered that the gang had important matters to deal with today. Sneering at Li Yan, he pointed a finger at him before turning to leave.

"Stop." Li Yan's cold voice rang out. "This matter isn't over. Things have been left hanging. Who the fuck said you could leave?"

Guo Ai slowly turned back, staring at Li Yan in disbelief. "Kid, I've already decided not to pursue this today. Are you really looking to die?"

"Looking to die?" Li Yan smiled, his eyes growing even colder. "It seems not enough of your people died that night.

"The Eight Path Plum Blossom Blade has a bit of a reputation. But I wonder whose blade is faster. Is it you, or Yao San?"

It took Li Yan a second to recognize Guo Ai's stance. It was a rather obscure blade style from the Guanzhong Plains, supposedly originating from Ezhou. Those who practiced it were all skilled fighters.

Guo Ai's expression gradually grew serious. He had not been present during the ritual duel that night because he had been occupied elsewhere, but he knew exactly how many gang members had died.

The compensation for funeral expenses alone had been enormous. The funerals had continued one after another for half a month. According to those who had been there, however, the one who struck last had been an expert of the Daoist world. He was ruthless, vicious, and terrifying. He had even walked up to their leader without anyone noticing.

Though Xiong Baodong was overbearing by nature, he had swallowed his anger. He had done so partly because those had been the agreed-upon rules before the ritual duel, but even more because he feared the mysterious expert who appeared and disappeared like a ghost.

As for Yao San, he served as Xiong Baodong's bodyguard, while secretly carrying out all sorts of dirty work alone. His martial skill was only slightly inferior to Guo Ai's.

Rumor had it that he had died beneath a kid's sleeve blade.

A sleeve blade?

Guo Ai almost wanted to laugh as he made the connection. That sort of sneaky hidden weapon might fool amateurs, but not someone like him. He felt that the kid standing before him relied on nothing more than the two Daoist experts behind him, but he also dared not disobey Xiong Baodong's orders.

If he truly ruined their plans, his life might well be forfeit.

"Fine. Fine!" Thinking about the implications, Guo Ai gave Li Yan a thumbs-up. "You've got guts, kid. I just hope you'll still have that same guts the next time we meet."

With that, he untied a pouch from his waist and tossed it over. "No one died. He just suffered a few scrapes. Two hundred taels should be enough.

"Let's go!"

Though seething with anger, he nevertheless turned and left without hesitation.

"The Fire Bear Gang actually backed down?"

"They ran into someone they couldn't handle. You probably don't know this, but this Young Hero Li already made them suffer once before..."

"Oh? He's that impressive? He looks awfully young."

"If you've really got the guts, go cut off Xiong Baodong's head tonight!"

The troublemakers in the crowd immediately began shouting again.

Given the Fire Bear Gang's fearsome reputation, ordinary commoners usually avoided them whenever possible. At most, they merely watched from the sidelines. Those doing the shouting were nothing more than local hoodlums. There were petty thieves and widow-harassers, scum rotten to the core.

Li Yan shot them a cold glance. Bending down, he casually picked up two pebbles before flicking his wrist.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

"Ow!"

"Ow!"

Two men in the crowd immediately collapsed to the ground, blood pouring from their mouths. The surrounding onlookers burst into laughter. They dared not laugh at the Fire Bear Gang, but no one cared if a few hoodlums got beaten.

Li Yan ignored them after that and pulled Heidan away.

***

"It's over here!"

Heidan led Li Yan to a narrow alley before walking another several zhang and entering a courtyard on the right. It was a small, ordinary residence, but the courtyard lay in complete disarray. The moment Li Yan stepped inside, he frowned deeply and covered his nose.

There was only one reason. The place absolutely reeked!

Animal hides of every size hung from the walls. Everything from wolf skins, dog skins, donkey and horse hides to weasel pelts and rat skins were pinned to the walls. Leatherworking tools filled the entire courtyard, though every one of them had been overturned.

Heidan rushed into the small room anxiously, yelling, "Uncle! Uncle!"

Inside, an elderly man leaned against the wall, bruised and swollen, clutching his mouth as he groaned in pain.

Upon seeing Heidan, he immediately struggled to his feet. "Why did you come back? Run! Hurry!"

"Master, don't worry..." Only after seeing that his master was unharmed did Heidan begin mumbling through everything that had just happened, doing his best to reassure him.

Watching the scene before him, Li Yan quietly nodded to himself. He had already asked Heidan what had happened while they were on the way over.

After Li Yan had left, Heidan had finally grown tired of village life as well. After a huge argument with his father, he insisted that he no longer wanted to farm and instead wished to leave home to learn a trade. Unable to change his son's mind, Heidan's father eventually agreed.

As it happened, Heidan's uncle worked in Chang'an as a leatherworker. In the end, Heidan had left home and arrived in Chang'an even earlier than Li Yan.

Learning a trade was anything but leisurely. Every day, Heidan rose before dawn and worked until late into the night. Besides learning the craft from his uncle, he also had to help keep the small workshop running. Leaving early and returning late every day, he had been so busy he barely had time to catch his breath.

Naturally, he had no idea Li Yan had also come to Chang'an.

Heidan's uncle slowly rose and cupped his fists. "Young Hero Li, thank you."

Unlike Heidan, the foolish boy, the old man wasn't merely someone connected to the Daoist world. He could also be considered half a jianghu veteran himself. Naturally, he had heard of Li Yan's reputation.

He had never expected his foolish nephew to know him personally.

Pinching his nose, Li Yan quickly said, "No need for formalities. Let's find somewhere else to talk first."

He had already been overwhelmed by the stench, and was in no mood to spend time on etiquette.

Everything in the world was governed by cause and effect. Ever since he had built his inner temple, his divine sense of smell had continued to strengthen. As a result, he had become increasingly sensitive to odors. Bad smells had already become his greatest weakness.

The smell inside this courtyard was simply unbearable.

"What happened really was a disaster out of nowhere..." Inside a private room at a tavern, Heidan's uncle took a sip of wine and sighed repeatedly. "The Fire Bear Gang wanted to hire me to prepare leather."

Li Yan sneered. "They actually resort to force just to hire craftsmen. The Fire Bear Gang truly is overbearing."

"Not exactly." Heidan's uncle shook his head bitterly. "The price they offered was actually fair enough. The problem is... something happened to me. Even if I wanted to earn the money, I couldn't."

Li Yan frowned, "What happened?"

The old man fell silent and a trace of fear flashed across his eyes. Eventually, he mumbled, "You probably wouldn't believe me even if I told you. I offended a Demon Immortal.

"I originally learned my craft from a shadow puppet troupe in Hua County. Later, by sheer chance, I awakened a hearing divine ability and could then hear the voices of ghosts and spirits. What my master originally taught me was nothing more than ordinary leatherworking.

"One day, while everyone else from the troupe had gone out for work, I got drunk alone. In my haze, I suddenly heard a voice saying it would teach me how to make spirit leather."

Li Yan listened curiously. "What is spirit leather?"

The old man took another drink before speaking again. "Spirit leather refers to the hides of animals that have developed spirituality. After they die, their resentment lingers, and they frequently become sources of supernatural disturbances.

"Craftsmen who know how to make spirit leather also know how to suppress that resentment, gradually wearing it away without damaging the hide's spirituality. Only hides processed that way can later be used to refine magical artifacts.

"I was bold back then. Thus, following the voice's instructions, I caught a spiritual rat. Then, taking advantage of heavenly lightning striking a temple, I killed an old python whose cultivation had been suppressed.

"Step by step, under that voice's guidance, I learned how to produce spirit leather. I even used it to create a shadow puppet. But that's when disaster struck. That thing actually possessed the shadow puppet. Every night it would come out to cause trouble, feeding on the vitality of the troupe's performers.

"I was terrified, so I secretly informed the troupe leader when I found the chance. The troupe leader hired a spirit medium, who subdued the creature and sealed it beneath an abandoned temple's dried-up well.

"But because I'd been the one who caused the disaster, I was driven out as well. Later, after wandering around, I eventually came to Chang'an. Relying on this craft, I managed to build a small business of my own..."

At this point, his eyes filled with terror. His voice trembled as he continued, "I never imagined that after all these years... That thing would break free! It even possessed a human body and came all the way to Chang'an to find me."

Listening to the story, Li Yan suddenly felt that something wasn't quite right. "It dared come to Chang'an?"

"Yes." The old man gulped and continued, "It knew everything that happened back then. It even placed a curse on me.

"Not only did it seize my livelihood, it also forced me to swear an oath. From this day forward... I must never again craft spirit leather."