The Cleansing, Part Two

2024-07-31

The Cleansing, Part Two

Clang!

Under the violent impact, sparks scattered from the blades.

The brawny man had considerable confidence in his own strength. He was one of the Qinghe Gang's core members; ordinary patrol guards were no match for him at all.

That was also why he had been able to carve a path through the encirclement and escape.

So long as a Patrol Captain did not personally intervene, he feared no one.

Yet beneath this strike, the web between his thumb and forefinger throbbed with pain, and his long saber nearly flew from his grasp.

Alarmed, he had never expected this young patrol guard, who gave no sign of his abilities, to possess such astonishing strength.

Song Changming exhausted the force of his strike, then stepped forward to press the attack. With a low shout, his arm suddenly exerted force again, and his saber angled downward in a diagonal slash.

This overhead strike carried tremendous force.

The Great Strength Bull Demon Art had forged immense strength in him, while the Soul Severing Saber gave his attacks an eerie, tricky speed.

Combined, the two made his blade something ordinary martial artists could neither receive nor evade.

The brawny man had clearly realized this as well. With no time to dodge, he could only widen his eyes, raise both arms, and lift his saber to meet the blow.

With an even sharper clash of blades, the brawny man felt his chest tighten, and his raised arms were viciously forced downward.

Nearly half of Song Changming's blade had sunk into the brawny man's shoulder bone, and blood immediately poured out.

Then Song Changming turned his blade and swept it toward the brawny man's neck, close at hand.

Those two strikes had already driven the brawny man to the brink of life and death.

The brawny man kicked at Song Changming's chest and abdomen, leaning his upper body back and narrowly evading the strike.

"Wait! You and I have no grievance between us. I'll give you all my money and valuables—spare my life." The brawny man broke out in a cold sweat. Realizing how troublesome Song Changming's strength was, he immediately tried to beg for mercy, hoping to buy his life by another means.

Upon hearing this, Song Changming slowed his attack slightly. The brawny man relaxed inwardly and was about to say more when Song Changming's blade abruptly sped up.

From the moment the other man had swung his blade at him, there had been no possibility of ending things peacefully between them.

Perhaps they had held no grievances before, but after exchanging blows, that was nothing but bullshit. There was no way he would let the man go.

In a flash of Electric Light, the brawny man seemed to hear a Fierce Ghost shrieking beside his ear, a sound that seized the soul.

In his daze, the blade's gleam had already swept across his neck.

The brawny man's head was cleanly severed.

Song Changming flicked his saber, and blood splashed a long crimson streak across the courtyard wall.

Letting out a long breath, he was gradually becoming accustomed to this kind of killing.

Since taking up his post, he had experienced several fights, large and small, against enemies. But he had never encountered a spectacle like tonight's before.

He crouched and felt around the headless corpse.

Before long, he found something wrapped in a square piece of cloth.

Opening it, he found several pages of a booklet.

On the first page, there was a clear title.

Azure Water Silkworm Rearing

"Azure Water Silkworm?" Song Changming raised a brow.

He had thought it would be some martial arts manual, but it turned out to be a method for raising silkworms.

He had heard of Azure Water Silkworms before. They were a type of aquatic insect with high nutritional value.

They could be used as medicinal ingredients for medicine and pills, while their body fluids could also be applied directly to wounds to speed healing.

They could also be eaten directly, whether raw or steamed and boiled. They benefited the health of both martial artists and ordinary people.

Moreover, because they were not commonly seen on the market and were relatively rare, Azure Water Silkworms had always commanded a high price.

In Donglai Commandery City, a single tiny Azure Water Silkworm seemed to be worth anywhere from several hundred copper coins to several strings of cash!

"If this thing can be raised on a large scale, it'll surely yield profits ten thousandfold!" Song Changming quickly recognized the value of the booklet in his hand.

Otherwise, the brawny man, whose strength and status in the Qinghe Gang had both been considerable, would not have specifically brought this booklet with him while fleeing. Song Changming put the booklet away and continued searching the corpse.

Just as he found a money pouch, another person climbed over the courtyard wall.

It was Wang Xianwen, who had just been about to abandon the pursuit. Only after hearing the sounds of fighting beyond the wall had he climbed over to take a look.

He then spotted Song Changming picking up the money pouch.

"It's you!"

Wang Xianwen recognized Song Changming at a glance, and his eyes narrowed at once.

Back then, Sun Wenyen had wanted to strip him of his deputy position and give it to Song Changming.

He had always remembered that matter.

He bore resentment toward his superior, Sun Wenyen, but he had only dared to be angry, not speak of it.

And with Liang Chuanshan backing Song Changming, he had never found an opportunity to cause Song Changming trouble and vent the stifled anger in his heart.

Now that they met under these circumstances, and he saw the brawny man who had escaped from his hands lying dead beneath Song Changming's blade, his displeasure intensified all the more.

"Kid, you broke the rules. You dare snatch someone so openly from me!" Wang Xianwen said coldly.

"Since you're new here, hand over what was on him, and I'll let this matter slide."

"I only acted under orders. I killed the man, and this belongs to me as well." Song Changming spoke calmly. He weighed the money pouch in his hand, then tucked it into his robe.

Though he was not particularly willing to provoke trouble on his own initiative, neither did he wish to be someone who only knew how to swallow humiliation and cower whenever trouble came.

You had Sun Wenyen behind you, while he had Liang Chuanshan behind him. You only had one life—once dead, you were simply gone—while he had an extra life as a safeguard. Even if he died, he could still live again.

Under such circumstances, he could not think of any reason to make himself bend and suffer.

Wang Xianwen's gaze instantly turned icy. Baring his teeth, he said word by word, "You're courting death!"

Since when had a mere newcomer dared to ride roughshod over him?

He glanced around. Beyond the courtyard wall, there were only the two of them.

The next moment, unable to restrain himself, he directly drew his saber at Song Changming.

As an old hand of the Patrol Guard Headquarters, he believed himself qualified to teach a newcomer a lesson, while taking back that money pouch in passing.

From his experience, as a core member of the Qinghe Gang, the other man must have swept away part of the gang's money before fleeing. The money hidden on him was surely no small sum.

The instant Wang Xianwen drew his blade, Song Changming sensed the fierce momentum of his saber. That meant Wang Xianwen also possessed saber skills at the Minor Accomplishment stage.

To hold firm as a deputy, his strength naturally had to surpass that of most patrol guards. Otherwise, he could not command respect.

"Stop!"

Just as Song Changming was about to strike again, a loud shout suddenly rang out.

Wang Xianwen stopped his saber with an ugly expression and did not continue approaching Song Changming.

The newcomer was Lu Gang.

As Liang Chuanshan's deputy, his appearance also made Wang Xianwen understand that he likely would not be able to reclaim that pouch of money.

"Wang Xianwen, with the mission at hand, you attack a newcomer in my team. Do you take my team for a group with no one to stand up for them?" Lu Gang strode before Song Changming, his face cold as he sternly rebuked Wang Xianwen.

"Hmph, it's because you failed to discipline him properly. The target I pursued halfway was snatched away by him. How could I not be angered?" Wang Xianwen snorted coldly.

Lu Gang looked toward Song Changming, seeking confirmation.

"When I saw him, he had broken out alone, with no pursuer behind him. After I killed him, Deputy Wang arrived only after a short while," Song Changming briefly explained what had happened.

As an old hand himself, how could Lu Gang not understand the true course of events? He looked at Wang Xianwen with a faint, knowing smile.

"You and I both know what happened, so I won't waste words. With me here, you won't get your way. There's profit to be had everywhere right now—why waste time on us?"

"Lu Gang, I'll remember this debt. There'll come a day when you pay it back!" After leaving behind those harsh words, Wang Xianwen truly did not wish to delay any longer and climbed over the wall once more.

(End of Chapter)