Chapter 9: Killing the Enemy
The moment the blade in Yuan Zhao’s hand shattered, she immediately threw her head back, narrowly dodging the massive broadsword sweeping in from the old general.
This old general’s blade was at least twice as wide as a normal broadsword, and its spine at least twice as thick. Two rows of metal rings hung from its back, producing a loud clang with every swing.
Fighting this weapon—never mind getting slashed—just being hit by it would be enough to smash a person into pulp.
After dodging the incoming strike, Yuan Zhao lunged forward fiercely, landing a savage kick to the old general’s chest, then quickly retreated.
Though young, Yuan Zhao was far from weak. Especially after training in the Tongxin technique, her strength had greatly improved.
The Tongxin technique was a comprehensive cultivation technique that enhanced both spiritual power and the physical body.
Yet even with that strength, her full-force kick landed on the armored chest of the general like striking a stone wall—completely ineffective.
Unwilling to give up, Yuan Zhao leapt behind him in a flip, landing five or six kicks squarely on his back. But again, there was no effect.
The old general spun around suddenly, grabbing Yuan Zhao by the ankle and, after swinging her around, viciously threw her away.
“Hahaha~ You ignorant little wench! I’ve spent decades tempering my body in hard-style martial arts! You think a brat like you can break through my defense? Keep dreaming!”
Yuan Zhao crashed to the ground with a stifled grunt, a metallic taste rising in her throat. She forced herself to swallow it back.
She was still too weak.
The Tongxin technique might be powerful, but she’d only trained in it for a short time!
By now, the old general had lunged at her again, raising that monstrous blade to cleave her in two.
Yuan Zhao threw the broken sword in her hand with all her might, but the general struck it aside effortlessly, the metal-on-metal screeching painfully in the ears.
At that critical moment, Yuan Zhao dodged with a donkey roll, narrowly escaping the deadly blow that gouged a deep trench in the sand.
She rolled to a fallen soldier’s body, quickly grabbing the broadsword he had discarded and launched herself back at the general.
Her Hellgate Blade clashed with the general’s iron-ringed weapon, sparks flying. The few surviving soldiers dared not approach, fearing even a stray gust from the blades might slice them apart.
The Hellgate Blade style was similarly bold and power-focused.
But Yuan Zhao’s training time had been short. In just a brief clash, the blade in her hand had already begun to chip and curl.
In both strength and weapon quality, she was outmatched.
Once again, after blocking an attack, Yuan Zhao was sent flying by a brutal kick.
The sheer force of the kick was terrifying. If not for her spiritual energy shielding her, she’d have been crushed into paste.
Even so, the pain radiating from her internal organs told her she had suffered serious internal injuries.
As she lay in the sand, a sudden thought struck her: she could draw on the power of nature. Wasn’t this desert the perfect environment for manipulating earth and sand?
She began to channel her inner spiritual energy, harmonizing with her surroundings.
Sure enough, it worked—quickly, an area of flowing sand formed beneath her.
The favorable terrain empowered her.
As the old general charged in for the final blow, he suddenly realized his feet were trapped in the sand, no matter how hard he struggled.
He instantly realized the girl was behind this and roared, “You d*mn brat, what kind of sorcery is this?!”
Soft sand couldn’t be escaped by brute force. The harder he struggled, the deeper he sank.
Despite her pain, Yuan Zhao gritted her teeth, grabbed another undamaged broadsword, and charged back into battle.
Now that the old general was waist-deep in the sand, he finally began to falter.
Seizing the opening, Yuan Zhao sliced off the hand holding his sword.
Previously, her strikes had been ineffective due to his armor. But now, his unarmored wrist—one of the few vulnerable spots—was exposed.
Blood spurted from his severed wrist, dyeing the sand red.
His broadsword fell to the ground.
Now disarmed, the old general was nothing more than a lamb waiting for slaughter.
“You old beast, your time has come!” Yuan Zhao shouted, slicing across his face, leaving a long, bloody gash.
The old general shrieked and cursed, “You d*mn wh*re! Do you even know who I am?! Kill me, and the Great Xiao Iron Cavalry will grind your entire clan into mush!”
Hearing this, Yuan Zhao’s fury erupted, “Still barking at death’s door? I don’t care if you’re the Emperor himself—today, you will die!”
With that, she raised her blade and chopped off half of his shoulder.
“AHHHHH!!!” The old man’s screams echoed across the empty desert.
“Bark! Bark louder, let Grandma here hear you again!” Yuan Zhao snarled. “Weren’t you so arrogant in Tianmen Town? Killing anyone who looked at you wrong—bark again if you dare!”
With one blow after another, Yuan Zhao unleashed her wrath.
When she finally came to her senses, the old general was completely unrecognizable—disassembled, one might say.
The remaining soldiers were so terrified they collapsed, soaking their pants in fear.
Yuan Zhao, her rage exhausted, was sickened by the gruesome sight and vomited loudly.
With the vomiting came intense pain from her injuries.
After retching violently, she gradually calmed. Looking at the pile of corpses, she found it hard to believe—
She had killed them.
She had actually killed people!!!
But Yuan Zhao did not regret it. Even if she could go back, she would still slaughter these beasts—to avenge her grandfather. Her kind, gentle grandfather…
How could they… How dare they?
Through this bloody battle, Yuan Zhao’s heart was utterly transformed. Staring at her bloodstained hands, she silently swore to protect everything she held dear from now on.
She looked at the three surviving soldiers. Despite the pain wracking her body, she gripped her still-dripping broadsword and stepped toward them.
“Don’t kill me, I beg you…”
“I don’t want to die yet…”
“Mercy! Please, Miss Hero, have mercy!”
The three men were paralyzed with fear, unable to escape, crawling backward on the ground.
“I bet others begged you like this too. I wonder… did you spare them?”
Yuan Zhao gave them no chance—her blade flashed, and three heads flew.
By now, night had fallen.
Yuan Zhao searched the corpses, quickly finding plenty of loot.
These men were likely habitual raiders. Each had at least a half-tael of silver.
From the other 15 men (not counting the general), she collected:
10 strings, 405 coins in copper and 14 taels of silver
The old general had the most:
15 taels of silver, 2 strings and 158 coins
Total: 29 taels of silver, 12 strings and 563 copper coins
(Note: 1 tael of silver = 1 string = 1,000 copper coins)
Her grandfather was gone. Now it was up to her to support the household. This money would help—and she couldn’t afford to lose it.
She wrapped the coins in her headscarf and tucked it into her chest.
Next, she dealt with the bodies.
Anything bearing identifying marks was destroyed to avoid drawing deadly trouble. She then piled the corpses and set them ablaze.
Though weak in combat, her spirit fire burned extremely hot, enough to reduce them to ash.
Only a few broadswords and bits of armor remained.
Iron was valuable in this world, especially military-grade weapons. But Yuan Zhao couldn’t take them into town or keep them at home. After thinking for a moment, she buried them at a secret spot for future use.
She wasn’t worried about finding them again—she could sense the metal’s presence through spiritual resonance with the environment.
Once done, she raced home under the cover of darkness.
When she arrived, Uncle Luo and Uncle Er Zhu were anxiously waiting at the door.
Seeing her, they jumped up.
Uncle Luo rushed over. “Yuan girl, thank goodness you’re back! We were so worried!”
Uncle Er Zhu asked, “Where’d you go, child?”
Yuan Zhao lied, “I went to Huangshitan to find a good stone for Grandfather’s coffin.”
They both sighed in relief.
They’d feared she’d gone for revenge, but didn’t say it aloud.
“Where’s Ah Qing?” Yuan Zhao asked.
Uncle Luo sighed deeply. “She cried herself to sleep.”
Yuan Zhao nodded.
Seeing it was late, Uncle Luo said, “Child, it’s getting dark. We’ll head home now. You and Ah Qing take care—and call us if you need anything.”
Yuan Zhao thanked them. “Uncles, thank you so much for everything today.”
Uncle Er Zhu waved her off. “No need. We’ve been neighbors for decades.”
As they left, Yuan Zhao glanced at the old yellow banner over the door, its four characters read: “Strong & Plentiful.”
It was said that a wandering martial artist, impressed by Old Zhao’s cooking, had written it as a gift.
It had always been his pride.
The banner still fluttered in the wind, but Old Zhao was gone.
A wave of grief welled up inside Yuan Zhao.
She walked into the house, where her grandfather’s cleaned and dressed body lay in the center of the main room. His ragged clothes had been changed, and all blood cleaned—thanks to the two uncles.
The old wolf lay quietly beside the body. Seeing Yuan Zhao return, it ran to her.
She patted its head, then knelt before Old Zhao’s body and, choking up, whispered:
“Grandpa… I’ve avenged you.”
But what did it matter? The dead could not return.
After keeping vigil beside her grandfather for a while, Yuan Zhao said to the old wolf,
“You watch over Grandpa, I’m going to check on Ah Qing.”
“Awuu~” the old wolf responded, watching as Yuan Zhao entered Ah Qing’s room.
Ah Qing was a light sleeper, any slight sound would wake her instantly.
“Sister, where did you go? Ah Qing was so scared!” As soon as she saw Yuan Zhao, she sat up and began to sob uncontrollably.
Grandpa was gone, and she was terrified her sister might abandon her too.
Yuan Zhao walked over to the bed and pulled Ah Qing into her arms.
“Isn’t sister right here? Don’t cry. Sister won’t go anywhere. I’ll always stay with our Ah Qing.”
Ah Qing had cried so long her voice was hoarse, her eyes swollen beyond recognition. Yuan Zhao truly feared she might faint if she kept crying.
After soothing Ah Qing, Yuan Zhao intended to return to the central room to continue watching over their grandfather. But Ah Qing insisted on staying with her.
So the two sisters kept vigil over their grandfather together throughout the night.
***
The next day, Yuan Zhao did indeed go to Huangshitan.
After all, Grandpa had to be properly buried.
Once she found a suitable stone, she enlisted the help of Luo Dazhu and Luo Erzhu to bring it back, then handed it over to the town’s stonemason to craft into a coffin.
Yuan Zhao’s internal injuries were severe, she couldn’t carry the stone herself. So she had to ask Luo Dazhu and Luo Erzhu for help, all while pretending she was uninjured to keep Ah Qing from worrying, and to prevent others from linking her to the disappearance of those soldiers.
Tianmen Town had few trees. The most common plant growing there was red poplar, but that kind of wood wasn’t suitable for coffins. So most families used stone coffins.
Yuan Zhao paid extra, and the stonemason finished crafting the coffin in just three days.
The heat in Tianmen Town during the day was intense. If the body wasn’t buried soon, it would quickly begin to decay.
After keeping vigil for three days, Yuan Zhao and Ah Qing, with help from Luo Dazhu and Luo Erzhu, buried their grandfather. His grave was placed out on the desert plain beyond town.
Most people in Tianmen Town were buried there.
Other than a few neighbors who came to pay their respects, Old Zhao’s death passed quietly and without much attention.
In Tianmen Town, death was an all-too-common occurrence.
After seeing off the mourners, the two sisters, dressed in mourning clothes, knelt before their grandfather’s grave. Even the old wolf had a strip of white cloth tied around its head.
Staring at the tombstone, Ah Qing began sobbing quietly again. In just a few days, she had cried countless times.
“Sister, I don’t have a Grandpa anymore…”
Yuan Zhao wrapped an arm around Ah Qing’s shoulder.
Yes, they didn’t have a Grandpa anymore.
“Ah Qing, we must do as Grandpa said—live on, and live well.”
“Mm~” Ah Qing nodded softly, leaning against Yuan Zhao.
At that moment, Yuan Zhao suddenly asked, “Ah Qing, do you want to learn martial arts from Sister?”
She had decided to teach Ah Qing the Yin Yang Ode.
Her grandfather’s death had made one thing clear: no matter how strong she became, she couldn’t protect everyone she cared about on her own.
Ah Qing had to become strong too.
