The Price of Taking Action

"So that means this young master completely understood the principles of the Five Elements Lost Track Fist just by watching me perform it once, and even deduced the missing killing move?" Liang Zhenhuan swallowed hard. "Could the top masters in the martial arts world do something like that?"

"As far as I know, that's impossible."

"What about the Grandmaster?"

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I've never met Grandmaster, so I can't say for sure. Even during the most prosperous period of our sect, we never produced Grandmaster." Zhao Donglai still smiled bitterly.

Liang Zhenhuan's breathing suddenly became heavy. He clenched his fists and said in a deep voice, "Master, this is fortuitous opportunity!"

Zhao Donglai taken aback. "You mean...?"

"It's better to offer help in times of need than to add flowers to brocade. If we can seize this opportunity to befriend this person, the revival of our sect will be just around the corner!"

Upon Zhao Donglai's expression shifted between joy and worry. He hesitated and said, "Look at him now, he's seriously injured and is likely still being hunted down by his enemies. Do you know how terrifying an enemy is who can severely injure someone as powerful as him? Once they discover that our Origin Return Sect is connected to him, we'll face annihilation in the blink of an eye. How can we possibly have a future of revival then?"

Liang Zhenhuan advised, "But Master, if it weren't for this special period, how could our Origin Return Sect be qualified to offer help to such an important figure as him in his time of need? Forget about owing him a favor, we wouldn't even have the opportunity to make contact. Now, such a great fortuitous opportunity is right in front of us. Are we just going to do nothing and wait to miss it? Fortune favors the bold, Master!"

Zhao Donglai, covered in sweat and looking as if facing a formidable enemy, said nervously, "This matter is of great importance and cannot be decided lightly. We must be extremely cautious."

Liang Zhenhuan said anxiously, "Master, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Don't you want Origin Return Sect to regain its glory in your hands? fortuitous opportunity are fleeting; if you miss this chance, won't you regret it later?"

Zhao Donglai simply waved his hand. "Wait a little longer, let me think about it some more."

"Master..."

Liang Zhenhuan was greatly disappointed. He knew that the person in front of him was no longer the ambitious martial arts hero "Head-Shaking Lion" who dared to roam the world with a sword, but a middle-aged man with children, who only wanted to live a life of wife, children, and a warm bed, facing the crisis of baldness, and who could be seen everywhere on the street.

Chapter 338 The Price of Taking Action

No matter how long the road is, it will eventually come to an end. The day after encountering the bandits, the group arrived in the county town. Everyone said goodbye to each other and carried their goods home.

In the end, Zhao Donglai couldn't take that step. He was no longer young, and he had a family to protect and care for. He dared not take any more risks. The important task of revitalizing the sect should be left to future generations.

Si Ming wasn't disappointed. Three-legged toads were hard to find, but third-rate martial arts sects were everywhere. Because the Barbarian Continent lacked a highly centralized, unified empire, the imperial court's prestige was low, and there was no saying, "Master your skills in literature and martial arts, and sell them to the emperor." Furthermore, with the warring states, military generals held a higher status than civil officials, which significantly elevated the status of martial artists in the martial arts world. This made it one of the preferred future paths for ordinary people.

To prevent assassination, many feudal lords would hire experts from major sects to protect them. At the same time, it was common practice to hire experts to assassinate enemy leaders during wars. The existence of high-level military force amplified the role of individuals, and sometimes a single person with One Sword could influence the course of a war.

In this situation, as long as the feudal lords aren't fools, they will cultivate good relations with the major sects within their kingdoms. When princes vie for the throne, they will also try to win over martial arts sects, making various promises to make them their solid backing. After all, no matter how capable you are in governing the world or how many troops you command, if you can't withstand the assassination attempt by a powerful figure, it's all just a mirage and empty talk.

Although Liang Zhenhuan was filled with resentment, it was impossible for him to leave the sect and join Si Ming's sect. A person who could easily abandon his sect could also easily betray others. People in the martial arts world value integrity the most, and they especially despise those who betray their masters and ancestors. Once someone does such a thing, they will have no place in the martial arts world.

With the Origin Return Sect's escort mission completed, Zhao Donglai immediately distributed rewards. Most of the disciples took the money and went off to enjoy themselves, while also boasting to others about their experiences on the road—the mysterious Sick Young Master and the maidservant of the Heavenly King Stronghold chief who killed her with a single palm strike. This was enough for them to brag about for a month.

Of the remaining disciples, some with families took the money and went home. In the end, only seven or eight followed Zhao Donglai Origin Return Sect. These seven or eight disciples had formally performed the apprenticeship ceremony, kowtowed, and been offered tea. They were the kind of disciples who felt "reincarnated" when they took a master. The other disciples were more like gang members. If they were to encounter a catastrophic disaster, don't expect them to stay and share the burden.

Zhao Donglai arrived at the main gate, he saw the butler standing there. Just as he was about to greet him, the butler said anxiously, "Master, you've finally arrived! Something's happened to the young master!"

Zhao Donglai's heart skipped a beat. For his seasoned butler to lose his composure like this, it was no small matter. He immediately asked with concern, "What happened?"

"Young Master... sigh, Master, you'll know when you go see for yourself."

Filled with worry, Zhao Donglai hurried towards the inner courtyard and found his wife looking haggard outside his son's room.

"Master, you must save Jiaren!"

Zhao Donglai's wife was not a martial arts practitioner, but came from a scholarly family; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to raise a son who passed the imperial examination at the county level.

"Jiaren is my only son. I would save him even without you saying so."

When Zhao Donglai saw his wife, who managed the entire sect so well, say such nonsense, his suspicions immediately plummeted to the worst possible scenario. He pushed open the door and found his son's room tightly sealed off by several screens. He immediately realized that what had happened to his son probably couldn't be known to outsiders.

"Yili, Zhixin, Zhenhuan, the three of you come in with me. The rest of you wait outside."

The fates of these three men were already intertwined with that of the Zhao family; they shared both glory and ruin, and would never leak the secret.

Zhao Donglai entered the bedroom and saw his son lying on the bed. It was the summer solstice, and the weather was getting hot, but his son was covered with a thick quilt.

"Father, Father..."

Zhao Jiaren struggled to lift his head, his face deathly pale, his eyes sunken, looking like someone who had indulged in excessive sexual activity.

"Don't move, don't be afraid, Dad is here for you."

Zhao Donglai forward and pulled back the blanket covering Zhao Jiaren. He was startled, and the three disciples who had come in with him were also terrified, their faces turning pale and their bodies stiffening.

Zhao Jiaren's back was covered with black patterns that formed distorted human faces.

If it were just these things, it wouldn't be so bad; they'd just be scary to look at. But once these faces were exposed to the air, they immediately emitted a strange "heh-heh" laugh and kept writhing, as if they were living creatures.

Liang Zhenhuan asked, "Is it Human-Faced Sore?"

Zhao Donglai tilted his head back, closed his eyes, and sighed, "It's Anomalies."

The room fell silent, unsure of what to do.

Although martial arts sects bear the responsibility of eliminating Anomalies and protecting the peace of the region, it's just a nice-sounding title. In reality, they only have two methods for dealing with Anomalies. If the Anomalies is attached to a building, they will destroy the building, such as by setting it on fire or using gunpowder. If the Anomalies is attached to an animal or a person, they will kill it or sink it into the river.

As for methods of subduing demons and ghosts, they are martial Law Technique practitioners, not magicians, so naturally they don't understand these things.

Zhao Zhixin asked, "Why did you become involved with Anomalies, brother?"

Zhao Jiaren was not a bookworm or a brave but reckless person. Because of his weak constitution, he was unable to practice martial arts. He had also witnessed a lot of treacherous conflicts in the martial arts world within the Origin Return Sect. He was much more intelligent than his peers and understood the principles of seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, and protecting himself wisely.

It's a long story, best left unsaid.

Zhao Jiaren shook his head slightly, his face filled with sorrow, clearly unwilling to discuss the reason. He said to Zhao Donglai, "Father, let's follow the rules. We can't let this continue. As the host, I can feel this thing behind me draining my life force. Once it's finished, it will look for its next target. I don't want to harm anyone else."

Zhao Donglai shouted, "Shut up! There must be another way to do this!"