Chapter 29: The Crimson Blade of Vengeance

Shui Jingxuan’s revenge plan perfectly suited Ji Wushuang’s twin sister’s taste.

Thus, that very night, the impatient Ji Wushuang’s twin sister dispatched people to infiltrate the villages along the Tartars’ route, spreading rumors that a merchant caravan would soon pass through.

Pillage, arson, and plunder were practically the Tartars’ nature. As expected, upon hearing this news, they fell for the trap.

They gathered, conspired for a while, and decided to raid the merchant caravan’s encampment that very night to seize goods and kill.

The secret agents sent to monitor the Tartars observed that they had ceased their daytime raids on the surrounding villages.

They were merely sleeping or idly polishing their weapons outside their tents. The agents immediately sensed an impending move and rushed back to the sect to report.

“Haha, the Tartars truly fell for it!” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister laughed heartily after hearing the agent’s report.

She clapped Shui Jingxuan on the shoulder, encouraging him, “Little one, tonight is all up to you. You must leave them not even a single piece of armor!”

“I obey the Sect Master’s command!” Shui Jingxuan bowed with cupped hands, answering respectfully.

Wolf Girl, having matured slightly in social etiquette over the years, also bowed in agreement.

“Be careful during your training, and don’t get hurt. If you do get injured, don’t let anyone get close to you. Come back to me immediately.”

Ji Wushuang, worried about his beloved disciple’s unique constitution being exposed, gave an earnest admonition.

In truth, when Shui Jingxuan was injured, as long as he didn’t circulate his internal energy to heal, his wounds would close faster than an ordinary person’s, but not to an inhuman extent.

However, Ji Wushuang had been unaware of this for five years. He therefore protected his disciple like a fragile item, and his disciple’s injury was the last thing he wished to see.

Shui Jingxuan deeply appreciated his master’s care. He smiled radiantly and promised, “Master, rest assured, I will not get hurt.”

Ji Wushuang had grown accustomed to his beloved disciple’s gentle, subtle smiles. Caught off guard by such a dazzling, brilliant grin, his pupils constricted violently.

His heart felt a tingling numbness, a subtle ache, and a profoundly strange sensation.

He froze for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse voice, “Yes, the Tartars are numerous and powerful. If you can’t handle them, light a signal flare for aid immediately. Safety is paramount.”

“The little one hasn’t even left yet, and you’re already thinking he’ll fail? Can you even talk properly?” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister couldn’t stand her younger brother’s fussiness.

Without waiting for Shui Jingxuan’s reply, she complained first.

Shui Jingxuan lowered his head and chuckled softly. After composing himself, he spoke with certainty, “Master, please wait at ease for your disciple’s triumphant return. Your disciple will go prepare.”

Ji Wushuang’s heart tightened, yet he had no choice but to let him go. The look in his eyes as he watched his beloved disciple leave was inexplicably somber.

Wolf Girl followed Shui Jingxuan out of Ji Wushuang’s room, her emotions incredibly complex. She didn’t know when it had happened, but her master’s meticulous care for her had gradually shifted entirely to the boy.

In her master’s eyes, she had slowly become an expendable presence. She had initially believed she wouldn’t care, but standing in the corner like a transparent figure, watching the boy and her master’s intimate bond, her heart felt utterly hollow.

‘During this training, I must make Master see me in a new light,’ she vowed, clenching her fist, her resolve firm.

***

The last ray of sunlight was swallowed by the mountain pass, and darkness gradually enveloped the land. Tiny stars glimmered faintly across the sky, illuminated by a crescent moon.

It was a night bathed in clear moonlight and gentle breezes, yet no one would have guessed it was also a night harboring bloodshed and lurking danger.

Behind them, Ji Wushuang silently followed. His beloved disciple had barely left the sect gates before a restless Ji Wushuang trailed after him.

Fortunately, though his twin sister was displeased, she empathized with his anxious feelings and merely grumbled a few times before cooperating with his actions.

As the group arrived at the merchant caravan’s encampment, the Tartar cavalry had just reached it, wantonly trampling the tents and occasionally brandishing their scimitars to sever the heads of fleeing people.

The encampment was littered with corpses, blood flowing like rivers, and the sounds of wailing and cries for help echoed in a cacophony. From afar, one could sense the overwhelming malevolence of a veritable purgatory.

“These damned beasts!” Wolf Girl’s eyes were bloodshot, fixated on the scene of carnage. She reached for the snakeskin whip at her waist.

“Wait, it’s not our time to act yet. We’ll go out when they’re both severely weakened,” Shui Jingxuan said in a low voice, pressing down on her hand.

Wolf Girl ignored him, continuing her motion to draw the whip, but she was horrified to find that even though her hand was gently pressed by her junior brother, she couldn’t move it at all.

This suppression was absolute, effortless. It was clear that her junior brother’s internal energy far surpassed hers, not just by one or two levels.

Wolf Girl bit her lip in frustration, finally slowly releasing her grip on the whip.

Not far away, Ji Wushuang watched their movements intently. Seeing Wolf Girl’s impulsive expression, his eyebrows twitched, and his eyes held an indifferent gaze. He no longer held any expectations for Wolf Girl.

Ji Wushuang’s twin sister, however, curled her lips in a sarcastic smile. Using a secret sound transmission, she commented to her younger brother, “Five years, and under your guidance, Wolf Girl still hasn’t made much progress!”

“At least she didn’t abandon the team midway this time,” Ji Wushuang replied objectively, his deep eyes as calm as water.

“Hmph, that’s true! That’s all you expect from her, isn’t it?” Perceiving her younger brother’s coldness towards Wolf Girl, Ji Wushuang’s twin sister was satisfied. Her eyes curved slightly as she continued to observe the movements of the boy and his group.

The Tartars, inherently brutal, spared not even young children. When they encountered beautiful women, they dragged them aside, unleashing their depraved desires on the spot.

This hellish scene was so horrific it was unbearable to witness. Wolf Girl’s forehead veins bulged, and her eyes were blood red with fury. Only Shui Jingxuan remained expressionless, having swallowed all soft emotions.

The human world, ravaged by war, was filled with despair. Yet, in the apocalypse, merely living was a never-ending despair. Having crawled out of the abyss of hell, Shui Jingxuan’s heart had long turned to iron, no longer moved by unrelated people.

Above, the Ji Wushuang siblings also stood silently, coldly observing the tragedy unfolding in the encampment. Looking at his disciple’s composed face, Ji Wushuang deeply realized that his disciple was indeed the same kind of person as him, their mental states perfectly aligned.

Within the encampment, the security guards of the escort agency had been completely wiped out. The Tartars, somewhat exhausted, seeing no one left to resist, dismounted their horses.

They began to loot valuables and, in many cases, raped women on the spot.

“Alright, go,” Shui Jingxuan finally withdrew the hand he had placed in front of Wolf Girl, speaking in a low voice.

The anger and killing intent within Wolf Girl’s heart burned like a raging fire. Seeing her junior brother finally give the command, she brandished her snakeskin whip and darted forward with extreme speed.

Before even landing, she had already severed many heads from a distance.

“Ah, the demoness is here! Everyone, attack! Tear her to pieces!” The leading Tartar, scimitar in hand, roared to his subordinates.

Wolf Girl’s eyes were icy cold. She charged directly at the group, her long whip cracking loudly. In a flash of lightning speed, she had already whipped the man who spoke into shattered pieces.

“Exactly eight pieces!” Wolf Girl declared grimly after flicking the blood from her whip and settling her stance.

The Tartars who were about to charge were horrified, staring at the unrecognizable chunks of flesh on the ground. They scattered and fled in a panic.

‘That line sounds so familiar! The plot is truly beginning!’ Azhuang and the others also charged out. Shui Jingxuan, still standing in place, heard Wolf Girl’s words and curved his lips into a smile.

He drew the long sword from his waist, and with a light tap of his foot, he ascended several zhang, sweeping towards the encampment. Upon landing, he began to mercilessly harvest heads, instantly clearing a large area.

A Tartar on horseback, seeing his slender figure, foolishly attempted to trample him to death. He squeezed his horse’s flanks, raised his scimitar, and charged towards him with menacing momentum.

“Heh~” Shui Jingxuan parted his lips, letting out a soft laugh. With just a slight flick of his sword tip, a powerful sword qi burst forth, cleanly splitting both man and horse perfectly in half.

“Ah! Monster! Run!” Staring as the man and horse slowly split down the middle, blood mist spraying three feet high, the Tartars’ eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

They shrieked in terror, then turned and fled.

“Only thinking of escaping now? Isn’t it a bit late?” Shui Jingxuan’s smile was gentle, yet his actions were utterly ruthless. As he leisurely strolled, he stirred up another wave of blood and gore.

He had deliberately worn a red outfit, so even when covered in blood, he showed no trace of disarray. A teardrop-shaped crimson bloodstain landed near his eye, and against his snow-white skin, it made him appear incredibly sinister, yet also added a touch of alluring beauty.

He was killing, yet his every movement was so elegant and relaxed, transforming the heinous act into an art form.

Ji Wushuang stared intently, feeling as though everything beneath the trees was slowly losing its color, leaving only that vivid red figure imprinted in his eyes.

The red-clad youth was like a jade-carved Asura, beautiful in an eerie, cruel, and sharp way. A single glance was enough to steal his breath, and then capture his very soul.

His heart contracted violently, a sudden pain surging through him, as if a fissure had opened in his heart’s wall.

Something hotter than magma erupted, burning through his body.

“Little brother, what’s wrong with you? Breathe!” Sensing her younger brother was on the verge of suffocating, Ji Wushuang’s twin sister was greatly alarmed and quickly sent a secret sound transmission.

‘I actually forgot to breathe?’ Ji Wushuang regained his senses, gasping for air. Yet, his body remained hot, and his gaze could not shift even slightly from that vibrant red figure.

“Little brother, what happened to you just now?” Ji Wushuang’s twin sister anxiously pressed.

His pupils felt scorched. Ji Wushuang finally averted his gaze, closing his eyes. After barely calming his emotions, he replied indifferently, “Nothing, merely an sudden eruption of inner demons.”

After all, demonic cultivation was demonic cultivation—extremely sinister and prone to qi deviation. This situation had occurred many times, so Ji Wushuang’s twin sister had no doubts and promptly urged her younger brother to return and recuperate.

Ji Wushuang cast a deep look at his beloved disciple’s figure, then lightly tapped his toes and flew away. The intense emotions that had overwhelmed him moments ago, nearly suffocating him, left him bewildered and even more terrified.

It was a fear of an unknown emotion, and instinctively, he chose to flee.

Not long after Ji Wushuang left, the slaughter in the encampment also drew to a close.

With Wolf Girl and Shui Jingxuan, two formidable weapons, Azhuang and the others had sustained no injuries. At this moment, one person lit a signal flare, calling for fellow sect members to help transport the loot.

Azhuang, meanwhile, led his people in meticulously sifting through the piles of corpses for spoils of war.

Knowing that Wolf Girl would meet Zhuo Yihang in the forest after leaving, Shui Jingxuan left with the words, “I’ll go check on her,” to ensure the plot hadn’t been interfered with by his own butterfly effect.

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