After running several hundred meters, all four were out of breath, though Nangong Ling was still three or four meters ahead.
Ling, who had been fleeing in front the whole time, had fear in his eyes. In the end, he was just an ordinary person, and he was afraid of dying too, but...
Kill them! Kill them! Kill...
A discordant voice came from deep within Nangong Ling's soul. It wasn't his own; it sounded like the guy who had been hacked to death for stealing persimmons was shouting.
His consciousness and thoughts had vanished, but his resentment and memories remained. He was influencing Nangong Ling, and the more Ling thought about it, the angrier he got. Those three bastards had even tried to rob him of his damn clothes.
Yeah, why the hell should I be afraid of those three skinny fiends? My sword's longer than theirs...
Influenced by the resentment, Nangong Ling stopped and spun around with a horizontal slash. The three men pursuing him had never expected this cowardly brat to fight back.
"Aaaah! Damn brat!"
The man with the wooden staff couldn't stop in time and was slashed across the chest. He screamed at once, while the other two looked on in shock and suspicion.
Nangong Ling pulled a paper-wrapped rice ball that smelled sour from inside his clothes. He swallowed it in one bite and snarled, "Then come on!"
The three men's faces twisted as well. The brat really did have food on him, and he even dared to eat it in front of them.
"You bastard! You said you didn't have any food, and now you're eating it right in front of us... Kill him!"
The staff-wielding man stopped crying out in pain, killing intent spilling from him. After calling to the others, he took the initiative and thrust his one-and-a-half-meter staff at Nangong Ling. The other two had bloodshot eyes; they were nearly mad with hunger...
Nangong Ling knocked the sharp wooden staff's thrust aside with his katana and slashed straight at the skinny fiend's neck, but the man ducked his head and dodged.
The dagger-wielding man on the left saw his chance and stabbed at him. Nangong Ling swung his long sword at him, forcing him to abandon the stab and dodge instead.
But that left him unable to deal with the man holding the broken blade on his right. With Nangong Ling's back now effectively turned to him, the man slashed him across the back.
"Argh!!!"
Nangong Ling screamed and quickly turned, swinging twice, but the broken-blade wielder had already pulled away.
"Hehehehe..."
"You're finished, brat."
"Reiryoku-awakened people, there have been at least twenty who died at the hands of us Tianxiong's Three Heroes!"
The three skinny fiends stood shoulder to shoulder, sneering. They had occupied this village of fewer than a hundred people for three months.
Whenever they encountered a Reiryoku-awakened person alone, they would kill them and steal their possessions and food. If they encountered a group or people too numerous and powerful, they would hide and come out again once they had gone.
"Three Skinny Fiends? Enough with the chatter. Today I'll send you so-called heroes to your graves!"
Blood flowed from Nangong Ling's back, and the pain stung. As his anger rose, faint traces of red appeared on the surface of his body, as though he had drawn on Reiryoku that had long existed within him.
"Damn it, this feeling..."
"Is it Reiatsu?"
"How could an ordinary person possibly have such high Reiatsu?"
The faint pressure made the Three Skinny Fiends cry out in alarm.
"So fast!"
As the Three Skinny Fiends reeled in shock, Nangong Ling moved. To the three of them, he was too fast. He slashed the skinny fiend with the staff, and before the man could scream, he stabbed the startled dagger wielder beside him.
"Damn it!"
The broken-blade wielder also drew on the Reiryoku within him and infused it into his broken blade. He had the most Reiryoku of the three; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to use a broken blade.
The broken blade chopped sharply at Nangong Ling, who swung his sword to block. After they exchanged several blows, Nangong Ling was overjoyed. He was stronger than this bastard.
"Die!"
The broken-blade wielder realized he was at a disadvantage, but he didn't lose heart. Spotting an opening, he roared and stabbed at Nangong Ling's chest.
"Argh!"
Nangong Ling let out a scream like a pig being slaughtered, but then realized the man's blade had struck his rib. Wild with joy, he swung his sword at the man's neck...
Huff... huff... huff!
"Ah, bastard, that hurts!"
As soon as the fight ended, Nangong Ling sat on the ground, panting and howling. He didn't dare lie down; his back had been slashed, and the bleeding wouldn't stop.
He looked at the three corpses, fear, anger, and happiness on his face. Those three bastards deserved it for bullying an honest man.
Perhaps it was because he had seen the miserable death of the Shinigami earlier, or because of the influence of the original Ling's memories, but Nangong Ling didn't feel there was anything wrong with killing people here. He didn't throw up either; he simply felt unusually comfortable in body and mind.
Indeed, he felt comfortable because the resentment inside him was gone. The soul fragments belonging to the original Ling had sensed Nangong Ling's strength and fully merged into him.
With two souls combined, and the original soul already having awakened Reiryoku, how could he not be strong with that added boost?
"I'm really tired! Was that what it felt like to release Reiryoku and Reiatsu? I'd better treat my wounds first!"
The wound on Nangong Ling's back wasn't very deep, but if it wasn't treated properly, it could fester and prove fatal. Souls could fall ill and die, and those with Reiryoku could even starve to death.
According to the few memories he had from the original Ling, there were countless thugs who occupied small villages like those three skinny fiends. Since these areas were remote, no Shinigami came to deal with them.
Thus, Nangong Ling decided to follow their example and occupy the village temporarily while he was injured, having the people help him find medicinal herbs and food.
When they had been about to fight, the whole nameless village had shut its doors and hidden, showing that there were no powerful people left nearby.
Nangong Ling staggered into the nameless village with his bloodied sword over his shoulder. He had decided to recover here before leaving, and when they saw him return, many villagers poked their heads out to see what had happened.
The handsome youth who had fled was back, with blood on his sword and wounds on his body. Judging by the experience of some older villagers who had lived here for over a decade, those three men were probably dead.
Even so, someone was curious and secretly followed the path they had taken in the chase to investigate. Upon seeing the three corpses, he immediately turned pale and fled back...
"From today on, I call the shots in this village!"
Pale-faced, Nangong Ling shouted at the villagers peeking out, then said in a low voice, "Where did those three live? That place is mine now."
"S-sir, this way, please!"
A young man in blue cloth clothes, with a long, horse-like face, came out trembling. He wanted to curry favor with Nangong Ling so that Nangong Ling wouldn't harm his family, and so that he could get a little protection as well.
He had always done this. He wasn't the only one; he had also encouraged the villagers to do the same.
When it came to these petty rulers, as long as they didn't go too far, none of the villagers even considered resisting. The main reason was that they couldn't keep resisting them all. There were too many; one might die today, and another Reiryoku-awakened person might arrive tomorrow.
They could only curry favor with them to avoid being killed, and wait until they grew tired of the poor village and left of their own accord.
A locked wooden hut had been the home of the three skinny fiends. Inside were only two beds and some odds and ends, as well as an iron pot hanging up and several sets of bowls and chopsticks.
"You can go now."
"Uh, yes. Um... sir, my name is Hayama. If you need anything, you can call for me."
"Get me some clean water!"
"Yes!"
Nangong Ling glanced at Hayama, who stood with his back bent and head lowered. Without ceremony, he ordered him to work, and Hayama acknowledged the order and went out.
Nangong Ling forced himself to endure the exhaustion and pain as he boiled water and cooked several strips of white cloth to sterilize them. He then dried them over the fire and bandaged his wounds. He found several bottles of medicine for cuts among the odds and ends and applied it to the wounds.
After treating his wounds, he told Hayama not to disturb him, then fell asleep.
The next morning, Nangong Ling woke up hungry. Much of his Reiryoku had recovered, but his wounds hadn't healed yet.
While the wounds hadn't fully healed, Reiryoku and Reiatsu would automatically suppress them, keeping them from bleeding too much.
Reiryoku released beyond the body's surface would form Reiatsu, which could be used to attack. The stronger the Reiatsu, the more Reiryoku it represented. When a soul's body was damaged, its Reiryoku would be damaged, and its Reiatsu would suffer in turn.
Once the body had fully recovered, the Reiryoku suppressing the wounds would be freed, allowing one's strength to return completely...
Nangong Ling called Hayama over and asked if he had any food. This stumped him. He had never needed food, so he didn't know where to find any.
With no other choice, Nangong Ling sent him to take a few young men out to look for some. Nangong Ling went out himself as well. After asking where the water source was, he took the small pot and headed straight there.
Less than two hundred meters from the village, a small stream flowed quietly. The water was no more than ten centimeters deep, and Nangong Ling spotted a school of small fish and shrimp in it at a glance.
Excited, Nangong Ling used mud to block off a four-meter stretch of the stream at both ends, making the water flow in another direction. He was going to catch the little fish and shrimp inside...
An hour later, Nangong Ling finally finished catching the little fish there.
"Haha, at least two bowls' worth. Enough for one meal."
A smile appeared on Nangong Ling's face. When he was a child, before his sudden death, he had often caught fish and shrimp in streams and fried them. They had smelled wonderful.
"Hey, brat over there, you're the one who muddied the water, aren't you?"
Just as Nangong Ling was drooling over the thought of good food, a bald, burly man came up from downstream, anger on his face.
"This river doesn't belong to you. I'll do whatever I damn well please with it."
Nangong Ling showed the uninvited guest no courtesy either. Instead, he tilted his head toward the sky and looked down his nose at him.
"You're all alone, and you still dare act so arrogant?"
The bald man's eyes darted around, as though checking whether anyone else was nearby.
In fact, he had seen the fish and shrimp in Nangong Ling's pot and intended to rob him. But Nangong Ling was also carrying a long sword and was clearly no easy target. If he had companions nearby, the man might not be able to beat them alone.
As the burly man scanned the surroundings, Nangong Ling put away his arrogance and sized him up too. He saw several round bulges at the man's belt. They looked like... fruit?
Food? Should I make a move... or should I make a move? Nangong Ling didn't answer the burly man. Instead, after spotting the fruit, his gaze changed, becoming eager...
Once the bald man opposite him decided no one else was around, his gaze changed too. He pulled the small sickle from his waist, a sneer on his face.
"You can have the fish!"
Nangong Ling gave an awkward smile and threw the pot at him, then instantly drew his sword and sprang forward.
The bald man instinctively glanced at the pot, and that single glance sealed his defeat.
The fight between two lone wolves ended in an instant. Nangong Ling won.