Who Let Him Cultivate?! (WX)

Meng Jingzhou felt that some things couldn’t be judged by appearances alone.

During the day, Quyi County appeared to be enjoying efficient administration and harmony among its people, and I’d praised Man Gu’s governance. But once night fell, the cracks began to show.

We’d barely been patrolling in our constable uniforms for the first time, yet in less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, we were attacked by two different groups. Thankfully, we brothers have some skill, allowing us to get away unscathed.

Forget it. As senior brothers, we have to learn to be understanding toward our junior brother. Since Old Lu and I are here, we might as well help Man Gu maintain public security in Quyi County.

“W-what?!”

While Meng Jingzhou was pondering, Old Wang was utterly nonplussed. He had prepared this sword strike long in advance, even forcing the evil sword to drink blood. How could it have been caught with just two fingers?! Even those from the Hundred Swords Alliance aren’t capable of that!

Old Meng slashed his palm, letting the blood flow freely into the evil sword. The sword possessed an inherent spirit nature, but had entered a long slumber due to the lack of nourishment from blood.

Now, with Old Wang feeding it without regard for his own life, the bloodthirsty sword finally awakened from its slumber. Finally, the sword was at its peak.

Old Wang activated the sword, but it only hummed, as if it was facing some terrifying existence. It recoiled desperately and seemed to be shivering, afraid of opposing the person before it.

“Who are you?!” Who exactly is this? Why is the bloodthirsty evil sword so terrified? This was completely beyond Old Wang’s understanding.

Lu Yang tugged at the collar of his constable uniform and said helplessly, “Didn’t we already tell you? We’re constables from the yamen. My surname is Lu, and the one beside me is surnamed Meng.”

The people of Quyi County are truly fierce. They either slash at us or make themselves bleed.

Lu Yang dragged out the two unconscious figures from behind him. “We encountered these two criminals during our patrol. After subduing them, they told us their purpose, so we came to investigate.”

At the sight of the emblem on their chests, Old Wang’s pupils contracted. “The Hundred Swords Alliance!”

Lu Yang remarked, “Oh, so they weren’t lying; they were looking for you.

“We might have been a bit heavy-handed with the interrogation. They passed out before we could finish questioning them. Since you are the victim, you should know something. Tell us, why were they after you?”

Old Wang felt conflicted for a moment, gritting his teeth. Finally, he sighed inwardly. These two constables are definitely not simple. Withholding the truth would be unwise.

“A hundred years ago, I violated our ancestral teachings and forged an immensely evil sword...” He didn’t hold anything back, repeating the story he had told Little Wang.

As he recounted his experiences, he secretly observed Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou, only to find their expressions unreadable like the abyss.

“I see.” Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou nodded casually. This is a pretty common experience; there’s nothing to be surprised about.

“But we’ve never heard of the Hundred Swords Alliance.” The two had heard of most factions from the Five Great Immortal Sects down to third-class sects, but the Hundred Swords Alliance didn’t ring a bell.

Old Wang shook his head. He didn’t know much about the Hundred Swords Alliance either, only that it was full of experts, many of whom were on par with himself.

He lowered his voice, as if he was sharing a big secret. “One more thing. I’ve heard that the Hundred Swords Alliance has connections to the authorities!”

“Oh ho, now that’s interesting.” Lu Yang smiled and shot Meng Jingzhou a look.

Meng Jingzhou splashed ice water on the two mysterious figures and pinched their philtrums to wake them.

“Two lowly constables dare to mess with the Hundred Swords Alliance? You must be tired of living—”

Meng Jingzhou lost his patience and gave them two slaps. “Behave yourselves! Don’t you know the rules? Answer whatever you’re asked!

“What exactly is the Hundred Swords Alliance? Why have we never heard of it?”

“Heh heh.” One of the figures let out a contemptuous sneer. “The world is far more complex than you imagine. Where there’s light, there’s darkness. Those ranked sects are just factions that operate in the open. Our Hundred Swords Alliance is a faction that walks in the darkness!”

Lu Yang nodded and translated it. “So it’s an unregistered illegal organization.”

“Brat, watch your words!” the other figure snapped, feeling insulted.

“Our Hundred Swords Alliance aims to collect the world’s divine swords. Every member wields a heavenly divine sword that contains unparalleled power!”

“My ‘Ghost King Soul-Severing Sword’ can cut the three ethereal souls and seven corporeal souls! His ‘Lightning Dragon Bone Sword’ can summon lightning!”

“Our alliance leader and vice alliance leader are unfathomably powerful. They’re both Divine Transfiguration cultivators who participated in the Sword Tower’s Sword-Seeking Ceremony!”

“Sword-Seeking Ceremony?” After all their rambling, Lu Yang finally heard a familiar term and was slightly surprised.

Is qualifying for the Sword-Seeking Ceremony something to brag about?

I’d assumed that any sword cultivator could participate. So there was actually a minimum requirement.

Seeing Lu Yang’s stunned expression, the two mysterious figures sneered. “Now you know what kind of faction you’ve offended, don’t you?!”

Meng Jingzhou kicked the pair and cursed, “I thought you were part of some big faction. Turns out you’re just a minor third-class sect! What’s there to be so arrogant about?!”

A minor third-class sect?

The two mysterious figures and Old Wang wondered if they had misheard. Since when is a third-class sect associated with the word “minor?”

“Alright, that’s enough. Let’s wrap this up while we’re on night duty. We can question them about the Hundred Swords Alliance on the way.” Lu Yang hauled the two figures along and prepared to leave the Wang Family Forge.

Old Wang called out to them. “Hold on, aren’t you arresting me?!”

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou looked at him oddly. “Why would we arrest you? Because you attacked us? Haven’t we already cleared that up? You mistook us for the Hundred Swords Alliance. That’s understandable.”

“I forged an evil sword!”

“Grandpa, don’t leave!” Little Wang bawled, clinging to Old Wang.

Old Wang caressed Little Wang’s head lovingly, remembering when he had first found the child. “In the blink of an eye, you’ve grown so much. It’s a pity I can’t stay by your side anymore.

“All these years, your grandpa has been tormented day and night. If I hadn’t broken the ancestral teachings and forged that evil sword back then, none of this would have happened. Perhaps if I spend the rest of my life in prison, my heart will finally find peace.”

Listening to Old Wang’s words, Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou grew increasingly puzzled. “Forging an evil sword isn’t illegal.”

“That’s impossible!” Old Wang became flustered. He even pulled out an old booklet from the front of his robes. It was the Divine Craftsman Wang Family’s ancestral teachings. He argued with them, “One of our Divine Craftsman Wang Family’s ancestral precepts is that we must not forge evil swords because it’s against the law!”

Lu Yang fell silent for a moment. “When were these ancestral precepts written?”

Old Wang was extremely proud of the Divine Craftsman Wang Family’s history. “Our Divine Craftsman Wang Family has been a reclusive clan for ten thousand years. The precepts were naturally written ten thousand years ago!”

Lu Yang nodded. “That explains it.”

“What does that explain?”

“When the penal code was revised eight thousand years ago, the ban on forging evil swords was abolished. After all, whether a sword is evil depends on its use. This bloodthirsty evil sword is quite suitable to be nurtured with one’s body. With enough time, it might even develop a sword spirit.”

Before departing, Lu Yang pulled out a book and handed it to Old Wang. “By the way, we constables also have a duty to educate the public about the law. This is the latest penal code. Study it when you have time. Stop scaring yourself for nothing.”