Supreme Sword Exalt

The demoness gave a gentle nod. “What you said is right. Being myself truly feels wonderful.”

She slowly approached him, a hint of distress flashing in her eyes as she noticed his right arm. “How did you end up like this? And your cultivation?”

Gu Han pretended to be at ease. “It’s nothing. It’s just a small problem. I’ll recover in a while.”

For some reason, he instinctively concealed the matter of the human tribulation. He felt a bit worried that the worst possible outcome would occur.

The demoness sighed softly. “Liar. Did you forget? I know more than you do. Are you going through your human tribulation? Who is the one you must face? It’s me, isn’t it?”

Gu Han denied it outright, “No! The human tribulation takes countless forms and is very hard to grasp. I haven’t found the one I must face yet!”

Yet the demoness’ silence made it quite obvious.

Gu Han stared back at her. “What about you? I think something’s really wrong with you.”

He could faintly sense that the demoness was far weaker than before. She probably wasn’t much stronger than he was.

The demoness evaded the question. “Don’t ask. The people here are very kind. I also really like this life. That’s enough.”

Her Heavenly Demon Physique was on the verge of collapsing. After wandering all the way here, she’d already lost most of her cultivation. On top of that, she’d altered the memories of the villagers and used the last of her cultivation to help that elderly man regulate himself. Naturally, she had grown extremely weak, with only a few years left to live.

Immediately after, an elderly man walked in from outside the village, his voice full of delight. Spirited, he carried a fish basket on his back with a ruddy face. “Ah Yin, I caught some fish again! You and Ah Nan will have a treat today!”

Gu Han was taken aback and gasped softly. The demoness wanted revenge and the golden seal. Meanwhile, Mo Chenyin desired nothing but a home and a grandfather who cared for her and loved her.

The old man then noticed Gu Han. “And who is this young man?”

At that moment, Da Zhuang and Er Zhuang walked over, carrying an animal leg.

Da Zhuang said breathlessly, “Brother Gu, my dad said this is yours.”

This animal leg was the best part of the Mountain Lord’s meat, making up a tenth of the total. Upon hearing the old man’s question, the two brothers took turns, embellishing the story as they recounted what had happened.

As Da Zhuang got to the exciting part, his enthusiasm flared up again, and he reached for Gu Han’s right hand. “Look! Brother Gu, he—”

Gu Han finally lost his patience and kicked him away. Of course, he did it gently, or that kick would have killed him outright.

The old man’s eyes lit up. “Young man, what tremendous strength! No wonder you could kill the Mountain Lord with your bare hands!”

He had been the leader of the hunting team in his youth, so his judgment was better than most.

He stared at Gu Han, and a light gradually kindled in his eyes. “Good!”

Killing the Mountain Lord? That is skill! Dividing the meat among everyone? That is righteousness! He’s also good-looking!

Gu Han had delicate features and an extraordinary bearing. He was incomparable to these rugged mountain folk, who spent their days in the wind and sun and still couldn’t get enough to eat.

The old man finally couldn’t help himself and asked, “Young man, how old are you this year?”

Gu Han felt a chill run down his spine under his gaze. “Twenty, I think?”

Doing the math, it had only been two or three years since he left Tianwu City, so he wasn’t old at all. It was just that he had experienced so much, he appeared far more mature than others his age.

The old man couldn’t stop smiling. “This is great!”

Ah Yin is exactly twenty-three years old! In this impoverished mountain hollow, who could possibly match my granddaughter’s beauty? But this young man, he’s perfect! Absolutely perfect!

Gu Han felt uneasy under his scrutiny. “Old sir, what are you looking at?”

The old man swayed his head. “Three years older, and you hold a golden brick.”

The local saying from the mountains rendered Gu Han speechless. Hold what?

On the other hand, the demoness understood the local customs. “Grandpa!”

A hint of blush crept across her face, and her heart gave two unsteady thumps. She didn’t dare look at Gu Han. Her life was already very good as it was. She couldn’t possibly hope for more. With that thought, she gently took the fish basket and prepared to make soup.

Suddenly, a member of the hunting team came running over in a panic. “Something... Something terrible has happened! People from Shiyuan Stronghold have come to take the meat!”

***

Even though the Mountain Lord wasn’t a demonic beast, its hide was extremely tough, far beyond what the worn-out chopping knife in Uncle Wang’s hand could cut. Still, in order to divide the meat, he was willing to take out an heirloom: a sharp sword. By now, he had mostly dismembered and distributed the Mountain Lord’s corpse.

An elderly man looked at a sallow-faced man beside him with distress. “Er Hu, once you eat the Mountain Lord’s meat, your injury will heal, and our family’s days will get a little better.”

The man’s nose stung with emotion, and he shook his head. “Father, you’re not well. You need the nourishment. I’m still young. It’s fine.”

A seven or eight-year-old boy stared at the meat in the hand of the woman beside him, licking his lips. “Mom, after Dad died, I’ve never had meat again...”

The woman’s eyes reddened. “I’ll stew it for you when we get home so you can eat your fill!”

There was only so much of the Mountain Lord’s meat; it was gone after being divided among over a hundred people. Of course, everyone wanted to give it to the people they cared about most.

Among them, Ah Nan stood on her tiptoe, craning her neck eagerly.

Uncle Wang cut off another piece of meat and handed it to her. “Here! Can’t forget you, little girl!”

She struggled to hold the meat with her small frame. “Thank you, Uncle Wang!”

Nevertheless, she was beaming, and she kept swallowing saliva, as if she wanted to take a bite right then.

Uncle Wang joked, “Little girl, don’t bite it, or you’ll chip a tooth.”

She ran outside. “I’m going to share the meat with Sister Ah Yin. She’s so good to me. Not only does she let me have fish soup, she’s also going to make me new shoes and new clothes!”

However, she seemed to bump into something and tumbled to the ground, her meat flying through the air. Tears of pain welled in her eyes, but she still tried to pick it up first. “My meat!”

A gaunt, unfamiliar man reached out from the side and picked up the meat. Immediately after, twenty or thirty people surged in. Every one of them was strong and buff, with shiny chopping knives tucked into their belts, and finely crafted bows slung across their backs. They seemed far superior to the hunting team.

The gaunt man groveled to a burly man in the crowd. “Stockhold Chief, was I right or what? I saw them carrying out the Mountain Lord’s corpse with my own eyes. If we’d come any later, this meat would have been all divided up!”

A young man beside the burly man couldn't stop drooling at the meat. “Meat... Meat... Eat meat... Eat meat...”

He was fair and plump, but his expression was vacant, saliva constantly dripping from the corner of his mouth. The young man didn’t seem quite all there.

Uncle Wang’s heart sank. “Chief He!”

The Cold Mountains stretched over a thousand li, so Wangxiang Village wasn’t the only settlement. As for Shiyuan Stronghold, it was the largest stronghold within a hundred-li radius, with a population of over two thousand and two to three hundred able-bodied young men. It was far richer and far stronger than Wangxiang Village. The village’s hunting team even traded their bows and arrows for a fair amount of animal meat from them.

Chief He sneered. “Divide the meat? Who gave you the guts to do this? Mountain Lord meat is a great tonic. Do you even deserve to eat it? Give the meat back to us!”

Uncle Wang was stunned for a moment. “Give back?”

The gaunt man’s eyes darted about, and he immediately broke into a grin. “That’s right! How could a bunch like you possibly kill the Mountain Lord? Our people killed it! You shamelessly stole the corpse while we went back to get reinforcements. Give it back to us right now, or you’ll regret it!”

To her, this piece of meat was more important than her own life. After seeing the young man gesture as if to bite into it, she could no longer hold back. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and she charged at him like a madwoman to snatch it back.

Ah Nan glared at the man. “You’re lying! Big Brother killed the Mountain Lord! It has nothing to do with you—oof, give me back my meat, that’s for Sister Ah Yin!”

The young man looked at Ah Nan with malice and kicked her hard. “My... meat!”

The kick was vicious. Ah Nan was frail and small. She flew through the air and landed hard, nearly losing her life.

The villagers’ eyes burned with rage. “Ah Nan!”

Chief He sneered. “You dare steal my son’s meat? You’re better off dead! Hurry up and carry the Mountain Lord back. Remember, don’t leave a single drop of blood behind. Our stronghold paid a great price to kill it!”

A young man from the hunting team stared at Ah Nan’s pitiful state, his eyes bloodshot. “Uncle Wang, let’s fight them! This is too much!”

The gaunt man waved his hand, and the able-bodied men immediately drew their bows at the villagers. “How dare you! Come, if you want to die!”

The villagers were filled with grief and anger. They knew full well the other side was twisting the truth and seizing by force, but there was nothing they could do.

Even though Ah Nan was badly injured, she still stared fixedly at the young man, filled with stubbornness and unwillingness. “The meat is... for Sister Ah Yin... to eat...”

The man cackled, strode over quickly, and aimed a heavy kick at Ah Nan’s head. “You want the meat? Die, and you won’t want to eat meat anymore!”

In the next moment, a figure leaped into the courtyard with astonishing speed, appearing before him in an instant.

The gaunt man was a bit stunned. “What...”

So fast!

Before he could see the newcomer’s face, the newcomer already seized his neck and lifted him into the air.

Just then, the demoness and the others arrived. Her heart ached after seeing Ah Nan barely breathing. She quickly scooped her into her arms. “Ah Nan!”

Ah Nan still stared at that piece of meat. “Sister Ah Yin... The meat... I want you to have it...”

The demoness’s eyes reddened, her heart in agony. “Silly girl! I don’t like eating meat...”

A faint glimmer of darkness flashed in her eyes.

Just then, Gu Han shouted coldly, “Don’t move! Leave it to me!”

He knew very well that the demoness could no longer fight.

The man’s face turned purple as he struggled, but he couldn’t break free from Gu Han’s grip. “Let... go...”

“Let go of—”

Before he could finish, Gu Han’s grip tightened, snapping his neck. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the corpse back at Chief He’s feet. It was followed by dead silence. Neither the people of Wangxiang Village nor those from Shiyuan Stronghold had expected Gu Han to act so decisively and ruthlessly.

After a moment, Chief He finally reacted, his gaze locked on Gu Han. “You... You dare kill one of our men?”

Gu Han remained impassive. “Yes. I killed him. So what? I also killed this Mountain Lord. Do you want it?”

The Shiyuan Stronghold men’s expressions changed slightly. Kill the Mountain Lord?

Even their able-bodied men would have to sacrifice at least a third of their lives for even a slim chance of defeating that beast. Thinking of Gu Han’s speed and ruthlessness, they immediately had second thoughts.

Chief He smiled grimly. “What are you afraid of?! Did you forget who my eldest son is? He’s an outer disciple of the Blood Soul Sect! He practices immortal arts! He’s an immortal master!”

The mountain folk had never heard of the Blood Soul Sect before, but they were familiar with the words “immortal master.”

Uncle Wang gritted his teeth. “Little brother, a wise man doesn’t fight when the odds are against him. How about—”

Gu Han glanced at Ah Nan, his tone growing even colder. “Uncle Wang, who hurt her?”

Before Uncle Wang could speak, a little boy in the crowd resentfully pointed at the simple-minded young man. “It was him! That idiot kicked Little Sister Ah Nan!”

The young man seemed oblivious as his gaze locked onto the demoness. His eyes gleamed as he drooled nonstop. “Dad... Pretty... Wife... Wife...”

Gu Han’s killing intent surged, and his eyes narrowed. That idiot is dead.