Chapter 334 - 320: That is... an Immortal...?
High above, the astral winds howled.
Su Ling’er rode her Wooden Sword, gripping Ten-Pace Killer by the back of his collar like a helpless chick as she streaked toward the city outskirts.
Her mind was still a complete mess. The scene just now had been far too shocking.
She recalled the side hall, where that old fox Zhao Decang’s knees had gone weak the moment he heard it was a group of well-connected young masters doing the killing. He’d dropped to the ground, weeping and wailing, "Miss Su! I truly cannot handle this matter! According to Daqian Law, punishments do not apply to the nobility, and etiquette does not extend to the common folk!"
"Those refugees don’t even have household registrations! In the eyes of the law, they are ownerless property! For those young masters to shoot them is, at most... not a major crime. If I were to actually arrest them, it would cause a monumental uproar!"
’You’re an Immortal. You can just up and leave. But when those nobles decide to retaliate, it’ll be my head, Old Zhao’s, on the chopping block!’
But Ten-Pace Killer wasn’t having any of it! ’The law, huh?! Why would an Immortal like Mr. Su care about your laws? If he wants to kill, he kills! If I wasn’t afraid of getting red-flagged and losing the fight, I’d start killing them myself!’
Without another word, he whipped out a dagger and pressed it to his own neck, shouting, "If the law can’t handle it, then I’ll prove my resolve with my blood! I implore you, Miss Su, to rid the people of this scourge!"
Su Ling’er was startled. ’Seriously? You’re going to prove your resolve by dying? What if I hadn’t agreed? Wouldn’t you have died for nothing? Trying to kill yourself without a second thought... Are you from the same sect as my Eldest Brother? Cherish your life, for heaven’s sake!!!’
Acting on instinct, Su Ling’er sent out a stream of Spiritual Power that stopped the dagger cold, holding it motionless an inch from Ten-Pace Killer’s neck.
No matter how hard Ten-Pace Killer pushed the dagger in his hand, the tip refused to pierce his skin.
"Huh?"
Ten-Pace Killer paused, thinking his hand had slipped or that he was lagging.
He took a deep breath, gripped the hilt with both hands, clenched his jaw, and, his face flushing red, pushed against his neck with every ounce of his strength.
It wasn’t until he glanced in Su Ling’er’s direction that he realized the Immortal had intervened!
’Does this mean I can aggro the mob without having to die? Awesome! This is a huge win! Let’s go! Take me to get my revenge!’
Su Ling’er looked at the righteous city guard before her, then at the hopeless City Lord on the ground. She had made her decision.
She turned to Wang Xiedi beside her and said in a low voice, "The situation in the outskirts is urgent. I must go at once. Little Junior Brother, go to the An Mansion for the funeral in my place. Keep an eye on things there. I’ll be there as soon as I’m finished here."
Wang Xiedi nodded solemnly and turned to leave.
...
「Back to the present.」
"Miss Su! Straight ahead! That way!"
Following Ten-Pace Killer’s directions, the two descended from the clouds, landing at the edge of a forest on the outskirts of the city.
The moment she landed, Su Ling’er saw a gruesome corpse.
The body was dressed in tattered refugee clothing and was riddled with so many arrows it looked like a demonic hedgehog. It was a mangled, bloody, and utterly horrific sight.
Most crucially, the corpse was missing its head. The neck was a ragged cut, clearly made by a sharp blade that had been used to crudely saw it off.
Su Ling’er gasped. ’This is too cruel...’
Beside her, Ten-Pace Killer saw the scene and instantly exploded with rage.
’I... FUCK!!! Seriously?! You bastards! It was one thing to use your numbers to turn me into a pincushion, but why the hell did you have to cut off my head?!’
’What are you doing with my head? You’re not going to take it back and kick it around like a ball, are you?! Are you that twisted?!!’
He spun around and said to Su Ling’er, "Miss Su! Look! Just look at what these animals have done! This is just me. There must be more refugees over there who have met the same fate! We have to hurry! They’re too brazen! We have to kill them! Hack them into eighty pieces! No, eight hundred pieces!!"
Su Ling’er stared at the hedgehog-like corpse, her eyelid twitching as killing intent surged within her.
...
「Several hundred meters away, in a forest clearing.」
A group of lavishly dressed young masters sat on horseback, laughing and toying with the bows in their hands.
The leader, a young master in brocade robes, spat with a look of annoyance. "What a buzzkill! Before I left today, my old man actually wanted to ground me! Said I shouldn’t be out causing trouble."
"This is our annual ’Hunting Day.’ It’s not like he hasn’t done it before. How could we cancel such an important recreational activity just because of some woman?"
A portly young master beside him immediately chimed in, "Exactly! Mr. Zhang is right! My old man was the same, nagging on and on. Good thing I snuck out, or I’d be missing all this fun."
"Besides, that Miss Su is just a new broom sweeping clean, putting on a show for the common folk. Isn’t she supposed to be pursuing Cultivation? ’Heaven and Earth are ruthless, treating all things as straw dogs.’ Since when do Immortals care about the lives of mortals, let alone these worthless peasants without status? What’s wrong with us killing a few refugees for fun?"
Mr. Zhang sneered. "Are refugees even human? They’re just stray dogs with no status! If they die, they die. It’s not against the law! At most, you could call this a normal hunt. Is she going to police that? Stop us citizens from shooting a few stray dogs? Even the orthodox Immortal sects wouldn’t bother with this, they’d look down on it. Why is someone from a no-name sect sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong?"
"Hahaha! Mr. Zhang sees things so clearly!"
"But speaking of which..." Mr. Zhang flicked his horsewhip, a little displeased. "Today’s outing has been a bit of a letdown. These refugees run too fast, and we didn’t bring the hound. And you guys, you brought a whole retinue of servants. That last ’prey’—your servants shot it more times than I did. Isn’t that kill-stealing?"
"Oh, come on, we’re all just having fun together. Being happy is what’s most important!"
The portly young master chuckled and pulled a bloody sack from his saddle. "Mr. Zhang, look! This is the ’first blood’ you drew just now! I had my servants take care of it for you!"
It was, unmistakably, a mangled human head!
The very head that Ten-Pace Killer was missing.
Zhang Ao took the head, clicking his tongue in amusement. "Well now, this head is quite heavy. Must have been a pain for the servants to pull out all the arrows, huh? It was shot to pieces."
"Say, what was that guy trying to say before we turned him into a pincushion?"
"Hah! What else could it be? Just another piece of trash whose land we seized and whose registration we erased."
"He probably recognized us and wanted to get a few curses in before he died. He should have taken a piss and looked at his own reflection. He’s already a refugee, and he still dares to shout and point fingers at me? Does he really think he’s still a respectable citizen? Damned peasant!"
Hearing this, the group erupted in another round of boisterous laughter.
Just then, a rustling sound came from the bushes up ahead.
"Hey! Look! There are twenty or thirty of them over there!"
Zhang Ao’s eyes lit up. He immediately nocked an arrow and shouted excitedly, "Well, well! A big one this time! Brothers, let’s see who’s the better shot!"
...
「Deep in the bushes.」
The refugees supported one another, staring in terror at the demons on horseback in the distance.
Some among them had once been respected citizens of Anhe City, with their own land and tiled-roof houses.
But that was in the past...
Through the combined schemes of the gentry and the money lenders, their fields had been seized, their houses demolished, and even their household registrations had been mysteriously erased. They wanted to file a complaint but couldn’t even enter the city gates. They were forced to live out here in the wilderness, a life worse than that of a stray dog.
They couldn’t accept it! They were once people who lived in the city, so why had it come to this?
At that moment, through a gap in the sparse bushes, an old man clearly saw the face of the young master in the lead.
In that instant, his pupils dilated, and his entire body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"It’s him! It’s him!"
"It’s that animal from the Zhang Family! He was the one who led the men to seize my land! I’d recognize him even if he were reduced to ash!"
"Why are they here? Wasn’t it enough to seize our lands and turn us into refugees?"
’Could it be...’
’No wonder... No wonder the refugee population outside the city never grows... So, it was never a plague, and it wasn’t wild beasts.’
’We’ve long been the prey of these rich young masters, hunted like animals for their amusement?!’
"TWANG—!"
The explosive twang of bowstrings echoed through the open forest. Dozens of sharp arrows tore through the air with a piercing whistle, accompanied by the wild, unrestrained laughter of the brocade-clad young masters in the distance:
"Shoot the old one! The old one can’t run!"
"Don’t touch the little one! Leave him for me! I want to shoot him in the eye!"
It was an unavoidable rain of arrows, and an utterly inhuman slaughter.
The approaching glint of steel reflected in the old man’s cloudy eyes. Behind him were his trembling daughter-in-law and his little grandson, who was still oblivious to what was about to happen.
’Is this their fate?’
’To work hard your whole life, to build bridges and repair roads, to never have done a single thing to feel guilty about... only to die without dignity in this wilderness like a stray dog, just because these nobles wanted a few acres of land and a ’fun’ game?’
’Why?!’
He hated himself... Hated that his calloused hands only knew how to grip a hoe. Hated his own powerlessness at this moment!
But even more, he didn’t want to die... Even if he had to live like a maggot, he didn’t want to become a pathetic, bloody trophy hanging from their saddles!
He didn’t want his little grandson’s blood to splash onto the polished boots of those animals...
But... it was too late...
The sharp wind stung his skin as a shadow fell over him.
The old man closed his eyes in despair, waiting for the piercing agony of an arrow through his heart.
And yet...
"VWOOM—!!!"
The expected pain never came. Instead, a shockwave of energy instantly swept across the entire battlefield!
"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"
The arrows were instantly blasted into dust. As the dust settled, the refugees stared blankly, opening their eyes to the figure standing before them.
She was dressed in black, but it couldn’t hide her otherworldly, transcendent aura. Holding a Wooden Sword in a reverse grip, she simply stood there, perfectly still.
’Is that... an Immortal...?’