"Why are you going through all the trouble of burying these bandits, Ye Jing? Weren't they nothing more than scum?"
Around midday, we were ambushed by a band of local bandits in Henan Province.
There were thirty of them. Unfortunately for them, they had chosen the wrong travelers to rob.
Within minutes, blood flooded the road we had been walking. Thirty corpses lay piled along the roadside.
Beside the mound of bodies, Ye Jing rolled up the sleeves of his robe and began digging a massive trench.
"Rotting flesh and spilled blood will attract wild beasts and spirit beasts. They may end up attacking nearby villages." He continued digging despite his hands being covered in dirt.
Back then, Ye Jing had already reached the Soul Transformation Realm. Creating a pit as deep as a well required nothing more than a single movement.
"That's none of our concern. You're wasting time, Ye Jing. They brought this upon themselves by trying to rob us, or some travelers in broad daylight."
Ye Jing dusted the dirt from his hands and sighed.
"To me, every living being have the same value. Some are kind, others are evil. But in the end, they all walk upon this earth. And one day they all return to it."
One by one, Ye Jing lowered the corpses into the trench.
I let out a sigh before reluctantly helping him.
"What a strange monk. We don't have time for this. There are still plenty of corpses waiting to be buried."
Rolling up my sleeves, I joined him. Several minutes later, we finished covering the grave with fresh red earth.
***
Shun Jin sprinted through the dense grove of plum blossom trees.
Each tree towered two or three times the height of a grown man. Their pale pink blossoms drifted gently through the night air, only to be scattered apart by the relentless flashes of steel. Branches that stood in the way were severed without mercy.
The newly risen moon illuminated the clearing. Only the shadows beneath the plum trees remained cloaked in darkness.
Four pursuers chased after her.
Rather than leading them back toward the camp, Shun Jin deliberately drew them farther away.
Once she judged the distance sufficient, she stopped running. Turning around, she assumed her sword stance.
Her expression grew completely serious.
"Stop running, you stupid girl."
"Surrender now, and maybe we'll be merciful."
"Hehehe..."
The four men in dark blue robes slowly spread out, surrounding her from four directions.
A standard sword formation throughout Jianghu.
Four blades shimmered beneath the moonlight, each carrying murderous intent mixed with filthy desire.
"Surrender?" Shun Jin raised her sword beside her face. "I think you should be the ones surrendering."
"Hah?!"
"What makes a stupid girl like you think you can defeat four of us?"
"We're all Late Qi Refining cultivators!"
Shun Jin slowly inhaled.
"It looks like I'll only be able to use two sword techniques before this blade breaks again."
"Cut off her arms and legs!"
The four men attacked simultaneously.
As they rushed from every direction, Shun Jin lowered her stance. She welcomed them with a single sword technique.
"Mist Sword Technique First Form; Dawn Mist Slash."
Their blades sliced toward her arms, legs, neck— Only to pass through nothing.
Mist.
"Where did that stupid girl go—ACK!"
Stab!
Shun Jin suddenly appeared behind one of them.
Her slender sword pierced through his back and burst from his abdomen. Blood immediately filled his mouth.
"Y-you...!"
"Start from one."
"Kill her!"
Ignoring their companion's agony, the remaining three lunged at her together.
Shun Jin pulled her sword free.
She parried one strike. Spun around. And severed one arm from someone attacking from her back.
"ARGH!! My arm!"
She ducked beneath another slash aimed at her neck.
At the same time, she kicked aside the attacker charging from her flank while deflecting a thrust from the left.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Damn you! You can't even use Sword Qi!"
One of the men roared in frustration, swinging wildly.
The relentless assault forced Shun Jin backward until her back nearly touched the branches of a plum tree.
"Die!"
He raised his sword overhead and unleashed his sword technique.
Before the blade could touch even a single strand of Shun Jin's hair— She had already slipped to the side.
One clean slash.
His sword arm fell to the ground.
"YOU BITCH—GHK!"
Before he could finish screaming...
Shun Jin's blade swept across his throat.
Blood erupted into the air, splattering across her upper body and staining her beautiful face crimson.
Now, only two enemies remained. One of them with only a single arm.
"You damned woman!"
"You killed our brothers!"
Shun Jin flicked the blood from her slender sword. Her eyes burned with cold fury.
"You intended to kidnap an innocent little girl. Intending to rape her and kill her. That's reason enough for me to erase every one of you tonight. Filth."
She raised her sword once more.
The remaining two exchanged nervous glances. Fear spreading to their heart. They roared desperately.
"DIE, BITCH!"
"Mist Sword Technique Second Form; White Mist."
Shun Jin stepped backward. Her sword carved a broad horizontal arc.
Slash!
Crack.
The strike nearly shattered her repaired blade. A large crack spread across its center. After all, the sword had never been completely reforged.
The two men were still two steps away. Its clearly Shun Jin attack had missed.
Yet neither of them realized. The moment they witnessed that impossibly straight, flawless slash— Their throats had already been cut.
Blood burst from both necks.
They collapsed onto their knees before falling face-first into the earth, desperately clutching at the fatal wounds.
Shun Jin calmly walked over. She stopped beside them.
Silently watching as they struggled through their final breaths.
"Khh... I'll... kill... you..."
She waited until both men stopped moving. Then she spat on their corpses.
"Rot in hell."
From the edge of the battlefield, I slowly applauded.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
"My disciple is finally growing up. How touching."
"Cut it out, crazy man. Hmph!" Shun Jin glared at me, crossing her arms beneath her ample chest. "Why were you just standing there watching?!"
"You need to get used to killing. Jianghu world is far crueler than life itself."
She puffed out her cheeks and turned her face away with an irritated huff.
"Hmph! You have to carry me back to the inn! I'm exhausted after being kidnapped by those disgusting perverts and fighting four of them all by myself!"
I ignored her complaint and began walking toward the enemy camp.
"Hey! Crazy man! Are you listening?!"
"Once we return to the inn, you'll run fifty laps tomorrow morning while carrying a stone on your head. Its because you disobeyed my orders. I told you to buy a new sword. Not repair that broken one. It's your fault we ended up in this situation."
Shun Jin's cheeks puffed up even more.
"You mean crazy man! You stupid lunatic! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"
***